South China Morning Post

Bat researchers in Cambodia are on a mission to help track the origins of the pandemic by collecting samples from horseshoe bats in the country’s northern regions near Laos.

A US$54 million World Bank initiative is helping develop eco-tourism sites, improve access and train local communities to handle visitors.

China delivers its neighbour pandemic aid and the handover of a new stadium as well as promises to buy more Cambodian agricultural goods. Wang Yi tells Hun Sen China hopes to conclude negotiations of the South China Sea code of conduct with Asean during Cambodia‘s rotating presidency next year.

Pictures of a structure under scaffolding in Thailand were posted online, and commentators in Cambodia were quick to condemn its likeness to their pride and joy. Cultural and political tensions between the two countries have long been complicated when it comes to temples and claims over their sovereignty.

China’s foreign minister will head to Vietnam on Friday for the start of a weeklong trip to Southeast Asia and South Korea, as both Beijing and Washington court key Asia-Pacific partners.

The inaugural meeting between the bloc and the Mekong River Commission has been hailed as a means of boosting protection of the vital waterway. Asean has not previously discussed issues relating to the river at the regional level, but its fluctuating water levels have put upstream Chinese dams in the spotlight.

Experts say China has a strategic interest in having more such bases worldwide, not just to project military power but also to safeguard its global interests. But while Beijing may be exploring this route in response to US-led efforts to counter its influence, the path to a network of outposts abroad is hardly straightforward.

Khieu Samphan, 90, was the former head of state for the Khmer Rouge regime.

Experts had warned that damming the confluence of the Sesan and Srepok rivers would threaten fish stocks crucial to millions living along the Mekong’s flood plains.

Windle, 22, credits his adoptive father with helping him achieve his Olympic dream. He and Jerry, who is gay, co-wrote a book on the challenges they faced. American Olympic legend and LGBTI activist Greg Louganis describes Windle as ‘determined and dedicated’.

Cambodia recorded fewer than 500 cases and zero Covid-related deaths last year, but an Alpha outbreak has pushed its caseload to around 73,000. As the country ramps up its vaccination effort, the highly infectious Delta variant is also a cause for concern.

Drugs, teenage hookups, struggling family businesses and reincarnated relatives – Anthony Veasna So writes engagingly about a community of which he was part. His stories are full of poignancy, with scenes that stay long in the mind; they are made all the more so by the knowledge there will be no more from his pen.

The United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will hold a foreign ministers’ meeting virtually on Wednesday, the Cambodian government said in a statement on Monday.

A defanged and declawed lion trafficked to an upscale neighbourhood of the Cambodian capital was returned to its owner on July 5, 2021, after Prime Minister Hun Sen intervened.

Officials removed the 18-month-old lion, whose canine teeth and claws had been pulled out, from an upmarket Phnom Penh neighbourhood last Sunday.

US deputy secretary of state raised ‘serious concerns’ over Chinese military presence and facilities at the Ream Naval Base at the Gulf of Thailand.

After being offered jobs online, Vietnamese have been forced to work 16-hour shifts and were physically assaulted when they tried to escape. Sihanoukville, which has received massive Chinese investment in recent years, has emerged as one of the primary destinations for labour trafficking.

The defence ministry says American Colonel Marcus Ferrara asked to inspect parts of Ream that were not named in proposals. Two US-built structures there were razed last year, sparking concerns that China will benefit from upgrades to the base.

Magawa, the landmine-sniffing “hero rat”, completed his last mission on May 31, 2021 and has retired after five years of service in Cambodia.

At least 600 workers have received lay-off messages, in what NagaWorld says is due to financial hardship from the Covid-19 pandemic. The job losses come amid news that its parent company NagaCorp reported US$102.3 million in net profit in the year ending December 31, 2020.