Cambodia

Arrested in the province of Tra Vinh on charges of ‘abusing democratic freedoms’. Almost 1.3 million Khmer Krom live in a part of Vietnam that was once south-eastern Cambodia. Activists tell Radio Free Asia: ‘The Vietnamese government wants to prevent the expression of our cultural identity’.

To reach an upper-medium level of development this decade, greater investments in energy are needed. For supporters, nuclear plants would guarantee stable and "clean" energy, and improve the environment at a critical juncture for traditional renewables. Moscow and Beijing would partner in infrastructure development.

The National Assembly approved a bill that provides for up to five years in prison for anyone who questions the atrocities of the Pol Pot regime. The measure comes a few months before the 50th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge seizure of power. For observers, the law could also be used to repress political dissent.

The charity, which has had a long and close connection with the Cambodian government, has received millions of dollars from entrepreneurs linked to online scam centres in Southeast Asia, some of whom sanctioned by Western governments. In the meantime, Myanmar and Thailand continue operations against online scams and human trafficking under pressure from China.

Southeast Asia expert Bridget Welsh analyses Kuala Lumpur's first steps at the helm of the bloc: the leadership will be successful if it puts ‘the interests of those who live in the region above those of its leaders’. ‘Calling for “inclusive elections” in Myanmar contradicts the real situation on the ground’.

A member of the Missions Étrangères de Paris, the clergyman died in France at the age of 85. In 1975, he was among the last foreigners to leave the country whose ideological shift he later recounted in "Cambodia: Year Zero", a book that became a point of reference for Pol Pot's regime. Back in Cambodia in 1993, he accompanied the rebirth of the Cambodian Church, also thanks to his translations of the Bible and catechisms in the local language.

A report by UNICEF and Cambodia’s Ministry of the Environment was published yesterday highlighting the issue. According to the Children's Climate Risk Index (CCRI), children in Cambodia are most exposed to extreme heat and flooding in rural areas. For the authorities, the findings will provide guidelines for government action.

Veteran reporter Chhoeung Chheung, 63, was shot in the abdomen. Police arrested a suspect, but claims the attack was due to a "personal dispute" rather than the journalist’s ongoing investigations. Human rights groups are unconvinced by this version of events. Since 1994, at least 15 journalists have been killed in the Southeast Asian country.

A Cambodian court sentenced the women to four years in prison, with two years suspended. For the Cambodian government, they were involved in human trafficking, while for the Philippine embassy they are victims. It is unclear what fate awaits the children once they are born. In the past Cambodia forced dozens of surrogate mothers to raise the children, initially intended for other couples.

Thailand repatriated the activists a day after detaining them. Once back in Cambodia, they were imprisoned in three different facilities. Human Rights Watch slammed the operation, lamenting that authoritarian governments in Southeast Asia routinely expel political prisoners to their country of origin. Next year, Thailand will have a seat on the UN Human Rights Council.

A few days after the US approved the transfer of these weapons to Ukraine, the review conference of the Ottawa Convention, which regulates the ban on anti-personnel mines, got underway in Asia, the first time in this continent. Even after decades of demining and clearing land, Cambodia is still dealing with the serious consequences that mines have on civilian lives.

The Cambodian Environment Ministry announced a bid for the collection of forest by-products from clearing the site of the future Chinese-built Stung Tatai Leu dam. Koh Kong province has long been the victim of illegal logging activities and environmentalists fear that the government's announcement is but a sham.