Cambodia's relocation of people from UNESCO site raises concerns
Cambodia's program to relocate people living on the famous Angkor archaeological site is drawing international concern over possible human rights abuses, while authorities maintain they're doing nothing more than protecting the UNESCO World Heritage Site from illegal squatters.
Chinese navy ships are first to dock at new pier at Cambodian naval base linked to Beijing
Chinese naval vessels have become the first ships to dock at a new pier at a Cambodian naval base that the United States and some international security experts say is destined to serve as a strategic outpost for Beijingโs navy.
Cambodia electoral body confirms Prime Minister Hun Sen's party as the winner after final vote tally
Cambodiaโs electoral body has announced its final result for last month's election โ which has been criticized by the West as neither free nor fair โ sealing a landslide victory for the ruling party of long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen and a mandate for the next five years.
UN expert group calls for release of Cambodian-American human rights activist after investigation
A United Nations expert group is calling for the immediate release of a Cambodian-American human rights activist, saying an investigation it conducted has concluded she was being โarbitrarily detained in violation of international law.โ.
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen had been a huge Facebook fan. Now he's threatening to ban it
Cambodiaโs long-serving, tough-talking leader, Hun Sen, says he is considering banning Facebook in his country, largely because he is fed up with the abuse he receives on it from his political foes abroad.
Cambodia's top opposition party barred from July elections, leaving Hun Sen's party unchallenged
Cambodiaโs top opposition party has been barred from participating in the July elections after the Constitutional Council refused to overturn a decision not to register the party over a paperwork issue.
Cambodian land activists arrested for allegedly inciting farmers to hate the rich
Cambodia's Interior Ministry says three land rights activists who were arrested on charges of plotting against the government planned to provoke a peasant revolution by teaching farmers about class divisions between rich and poor.
China, Cambodia breaking ground on joint port project
Cambodian and Chinese officials will break ground this week on the expansion of a port facility that the U.S. and others worry will be used by Beijing as a naval outpost on the Gulf of Thailand, but the government has denied that any Chinese military presence will be allowed.
China's security deal with Solomons raises alarm in Pacific
A security alliance between China and the Solomon Islands has sent shudders throughout the South Pacific, with many worried it could set off a large-scale military buildup or that Western animosity to the deal could play into Chinaโs hands.
Cambodia defends leader's trip to Myanmar as 'positive step'
Cambodiaโs foreign minister has defended Prime Minister Hun Senโs trip to Myanmar, the first by a foreign leader since the military takeover plunged the country into turmoil, though there was little evidence the mission yielded any immediate breakthrough.
Brunei says Myanmar still 'integral' to ASEAN despite rebuke
The sultan of Brunei says Myanmar remains an integral part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the bloc hopes its military government will work with an ASEAN envoy to defuse the political crisis triggered by its seizure of power in February.
The Latest: Texas state judge upholds Austin's mask mandate
Doug Ducey said the site switch will maintain the stateโs vaccination programโs presence in southeastern Maricopa County while protecting staff, volunteers and people getting vaccinated. Greece is currently grappling with a surge in coronavirus infections which has seen many hospitals run by the state health system reach capacity. 23, a total of 42,028 COVID-19 cases have been diagnosed on the island nation of around 900,000 people, of which 248 died due to COVID-19. Kate Brown said those groups will now be eligible to sign up for the COVID-19 vaccine on April 5. ___PHOENIX โ Arizona on Friday reported 571 new coronavirus cases and 24 deaths as the number of virus-related hospitalizations remained fairly stable.
The Latest: Oklahoma opens second phase of COVID-19 vaccines
(AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)MEXICO CITY โ Mexico has received its first shipment of Russiaโs Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine. ___WASHINGTON โ The White House now says it expects to catch up by mid-week on deliveries of coronavirus vaccine doses that were delayed by severe weather. AdBeginning March 1, anyone aged 55 to 64 will be allowed to get a COVID-19 vaccine. ___OKLAHOMA CITY โ Oklahoma opened its second phase of coronavirus vaccinations on Monday, providing inoculations to public school teachers and staff and to adults of any age with illnesses that make them susceptible to the virus. There have been 419,853 coronavirus cases and 4,203 deaths due to COVID-19 in Oklahoma since the pandemic began, the state health department reported.
The Latest: Jump in cases worries S. Korea as holiday starts
(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)SEOUL, South Korea โ South Korea has reported 504 new coronavirus cases for the latest 24-hour period. Although coronavirus cases stayed relatively low in Japan last year compared to the United States and Europe, infections have been climbing recently. Kate Brown says outdoor contact sports, including high school football, can resume this week amid a decline in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. On Wednesday, Germanyโs Robert Koch Institute reported 8,072 new virus cases and 813 deaths in 24 hours. ___MADRID โ Spainโs official 14-day rate of coronavirus cases has fallen to 584, from a peak of 900 two weeks ago.
Asia Today: 8 dead in pandemic unrest at Sri Lanka prison
Inmates have staged protests in recent weeks at several prisons as the number of coronavirus cases surges in the facilities. About 50 prison guards have also tested positive. Sri Lanka has reported a total number of 22,988 coronavirus cases, including 109 fatalities. โ India has recorded 38,772 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, driving its overall total to 9.43 million. India is second behind the U.S. in total reported coronavirus cases.
The Latest: Vietnam has 1st local transmission in 89 days
(AP Photo/Hau Dinh)HANOI, Vietnam -- Vietnamese authorities are conducting intensive contact tracing after the countryโs first confirmed local transmission of the coronavirus in 89 days. The flight attendant tested positive on Saturday, the Tuoi Tre newspaper said. The new case ended Vietnamโs streak of 89 days without any known local transmission of the virus. The country has reported 1,347 coronavirus cases, including 35 deaths. State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said Monday on Twitter that the record comes ahead of an โanticipated Thanksgiving accelerationโ in coronavirus cases.
Asia Today: Cambodia tracks contacts after family infected
Of the 115 infections reported Sunday, 24 were untraceable. Hong Kong has reported 6,239 coronavirus infections since the pandemic began, with 109 deaths. โ India has reported 41,180 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, with the daily toll staying below the 50,000-mark for the fourth week. He traveled to South Korea on Thursday. China has so far reported a total of 86,512 confirmed coronavirus infections, with 4,634 deaths.
Cambodia begins mass trial of opposition activists
Theary Seng, center, a Cambodian-American lawyer gestures as she enters the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. Theary Seng, who has long been one of the most outspoken critics of Hun Sen and his government, is one of the best known defendants living in Cambodia. Hun Sen has been in power for 35 years and has often been accused of heading an authoritarian regime. On Wednesday, the U.N. human rights expert on Cambodia expressed serious concerns about the trial. โThe mass trials of CNRP activists appear to be politically motivated, lacking clear legal grounds and constitute a serious violation of the due process rights, firmly established by international human rights law,โ said Rhona Smith.
Cambodia bans state-organized events in capital over virus
Szijjarto tested positive for the coronavirus after arriving in Thailand for an official visit, Thai and Hungarian officials said Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020. (Pool Photo via AP)PHNOM PENH โ Cambodia on Wednesday banned all state-organized events in the capital and a neighboring province for two weeks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus after a number of people connected to a Hungarian official's visit tested positive. Two Hungarian ambassadors, to Thailand and to Cambodia, are among those who have tested positive since Szijjarto's visit. Thai authorities said Tuesday that a Hungarian diplomat in Bangkok tested positive for the virus, the only local case in Thailand so far linked to Szijjarto. The 53-year-old Hungarian diplomat in Bangkok was sent to an infectious disease facility for treatment and isolation.
Asia Today: Sri Lanka to strictly enforce virus regulations
A Sri Lankan woman prepares to give swab samples to test for COVID-19 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)COLOMBO โ Sri Lanka police will strictly enforce mask and social distancing requirements and punish violators starting Monday as other anti-virus measures are eased to reduce the economic pain. โFrom today onwards, we will strictly enforce this law and will arrest those who defy these rules,โ Rohana said. Sri Lanka has counted 13,929 COVID-19 patients with 35 deaths since the pandemic began. Both figures have been increasing because of two recent clusters that account for more than 9,900 of the total infections.
A worried Asia wonders: What will Joe Biden do?
As Americans celebrate or fume over the new president-elect, many in Asia are waking up to the reality of a Joe Biden administration with decidedly mixed feelings. (AP Photo/Lintao Zhang, Pool, File)TOKYO โ As Asia comes to terms with the reality of a Joe Biden administration, relief and hopes of economic and environmental revival jostle with needling anxiety and fears of inattention. Now, as Biden looks to settle tumultuous domestic issues, thereโs widespread worry that Asia will end up as an afterthought. A Biden White House wonโt โrisk antagonizing a country that is widely viewed in Washington as Americaโs best strategic bet in South Asia,โ he said. ___Foster Klug, the AP's news director for the Koreas, Japan, Australia and the South Pacific, has covered Asia since 2005.
Asia Today: India's virus cases jump on New Delhi resurgence
With 8.3 million confirmed cases of coronavirus, India is the second worst-hit country behind the United States. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)NEW DELHI โ Indiaโs coronavirus outbreak increased by more than 50,000 cases Thursday amid a resurgence of infections in the capital. Nerves are frayed in New Delhi after it reported a record 6,842 new cases in the past 24 hours. With 8.3 million confirmed cases of coronavirus, India is the second worst-hit country behind the United States. Indonesia has reported more than 425,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the largest in Southeast Asia and second only to Indiaโs 8.3 million in all of Asia.
Hungary's foreign minister tests positive for coronavirus
Szijjarto tested positive for the coronavirus after arriving in Thailand for an official visit, Thai and Hungarian officials said Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020. (Pool Photo via AP)BANGKOK โ Hungary's minister of foreign affairs and trade tested positive for the coronavirus after arriving in Thailand for an official visit, Thai and Hungarian officials said Wednesday. The 42-year-old foreign minister will return on one plane and the other members of his party in a separate aircraft, Anutin said. The Hungarian news agency MTI, citing the chief press officer at Hungaryโs foreign ministry, confirmed that Szijjarto tested positive for the coronavirus. During his visit, Szijjarto paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Hun Sen and held separate meetings with Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and the ministers of commerce and agriculture.