On Thursday, Hun Manet will visit Thailand to talk with his Thai counterpart, Srettha Thavisin, focusing on bilateral relations and regional issues, including cross-border trade and the exodus of Cambodians persecuted by Hun Sen, father of the current PM.
Cambodia is one of the few Southeast Asian countries without a consumer protection association. David Hutt, researcher at the Central European Institute of Asian Studies, "The authoritarian political system, which isn’t about to open up, has denied space for ordinary people to express themselves as citizens. The next best thing would be to empower them as consumers."
Today's news: Two of the three hostages featured in the Hamas video dead; North Korean hackers share clandestine money laundering networks with fraudsters and traffickers in Southeast Asia; An Iranian court handed down an additional 15-month sentence to Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi; Tajikistan and Uzbekistan 'do not recognise' the outcome of the vote in Taiwan.
The volume of business fell from USD 12.8 billion in 2022 to USD 11.09 billion. However, the overall export figure is growing, up 1.8%, driven by machinery, electrical components and rubber. In addition to the wars, the loss of competitiveness in relation to other countries such as Bangladesh is weighing on the country.
Koh Kong is Cambodia's largest island, but hard to reach from the mainland. Young protesters, including a German, have organised a series of meetings to raise awareness of environmental risks to the place. Satellite images show forest loss from logging, an activity facilitated by the presence of the Cambodian Navy on the island.
The well-known American museum will return several ancient statues to Cambodia (and two to Thailand) after federal prosecutors, aided by former Cambodian looters, discovered that the artifacts had been stolen from ancient temples. For Cambodians, sculptures are not just works of art but hold the soul of their ancestors.
