HUN SEN

Cambodia is lifting its mask mandate for open public places

Cambodia is lifting its mask mandate for open public places, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced Tuesday. “I hope that the lifting of the mask-wearing requirement will create a moment of happiness for all our people, and at the same time help them save money by using what they had been paying for masks to instead buy clothing for their children,” he said, speaking after an inter-ministerial meeting to evaluate the COVID-19 situation.

The real threat to autocracies everywhere is the democrats within. The United States must do more to support them.

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 China’s hands.

Human rights advocates have decried the accusations as "baseless" and say the trial is meant to sideline political opponents of Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has been in power for more than 30 years.

Cambodia is vaccinating 3- and 4-year-olds with Chinese-made Sinovac shots after finding young children accounting for many new infections.

As Russian military exercises near Ukraine continue, the crisis appears to be reaching a critical point. A key event is the Munich security conference next weekend. Vice President Kamala Harris and Sec. of State Antony Blinken are due to attend. (Feb. 14)

Myanmar says it will not participate in this week’s meetings in Cambodia of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, spurning an invitation to send a non-political representative instead of its chief diplomat.

Cambodia’s foreign minister has defended Prime Minister Hun Sen’s 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.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s visit to Myanmar to revive peace efforts after last year’s military takeover is provoking an angry backlash among critics, who say he is legitimizing the army’s seizure of power.

SECURITY FORCES open deadly fire in SUDAN PROTEST

Cambodian security forces have briefly detained a Cambodian-American lawyer who is a prominent rights activist as she walked barefoot near the prime minister’s residence in the capital of Phnom Penh.

The U.S. has ordered an arms embargo on Cambodia, citing deepening Chinese military influence, corruption and human rights abuses in the Southeast Asian country.

A mass trial of critics and opponents of Cambodia’s government has resumed amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent in the country

Cambodia’s long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday explicitly declared his support to have his eldest son, army commander Hun Manet, succeed him as the nation’s leader. The 44-year-old Hun Manet, a West Point graduate, has the rank of lieutenant general and holds several important military posts. Hun Sen, who has held power for 36 years, has often mentioned Hun Manet as his potential successor after 2028, when he plans to step down.

Cambodia’s Prince Norodom Ranariddh, former prime minister and the son of the late King Norodom Sihanouk, has died at age 77.

After slow starts, vaccination campaigns in several countries in the Asia-Pacific region now boast inoculation rates that rank among the world’s best.

Cambodia has reopened its borders to fully vaccinated travelers two weeks earlier than originally planned, as it emerges from a lengthy lockdown bolstered by one of the world’s highest rates of immunization against COVID-19.

A Cambodian court has ordered the early release of five activists, including a prominent labor leader who has been a longtime critic of the government.

Cambodia is dismissing as “politically motivated” sanctions imposed by the United States on two senior defense officials over allegations of graft, accompanied by a broader warning of systemic corruption in the Southeast Asian nation.

An autistic Cambodian teenager has been released from prison after serving time for posting comments critical of the government on social media in a case that has attracted international attention.

A Cambodian activist has denounced a delay in the release of her autistic teenage son, who has been imprisoned for comments critical of the government he made on social media.

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.

Cambodia’s prime minister has boasted of barging uninvited into a video conference call hosted by his political opponents.

Cambodia is vaccinating 6-to-11-year-olds so students can safely return to schools that have been closed for months due to the coronavirus.

The Nevada Hospital Association is urging people to avoid going to emergency rooms except in true emergencies, especially in northern Nevada where a resurgence in coronavirus infections is running double the rate in the Las Vegas area.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen says China has agreed to provide the Southeast Asian nation with grant aid of 1.75 billion yuan ($272 million).

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Sunday that China has agreed to provide the Southeast Asian nation with grant aid of 1.75 billion yuan ($272 million), announcing the assistance during a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Wang met with Hun Sen and other officials for bilateral talks on combating COVID-19, trade and investment, education and security issues. Cambodia’s foreign ministry said earlier that Wang’s meetings on Sunday and Monday also would include discussions of regional and international issues of shared interest.

The last living leader from the inner circle of Cambodia’s brutal Khmer Rouge regime is in court Monday seeking to overturn his conviction on genocide charges before a long-running international tribunal.

Health officials in Arizona on Sunday reported more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases for the second consecutive day.

Health authorities in Thailand are racing to set up a large field hospital at one of Bangkok’s airports as the country sees new highs in coronavirus infections and deaths.

The animal was seized in the capital Phnom Penh last month after officials said the pet was illegal.

The U.S. Embassy in Cambodia says one of its diplomats was not allowed to freely inspect a naval base on the Gulf of Thailand despite permission to do so to assuage Washington’s concerns about China’s military presence there

Efforts by Cambodia to assuage U.S. concerns about China's right to use a naval base on the Gulf of Thailand suffered a setback Friday when an American diplomat invited to inspect it was allowed only limited access, according to the U.S. Embassy. The embassy said Defense Attaché Col. Marcus M. Ferrara traveled to the Ream Naval Base in coordination with Cambodian authorities, but was denied full access to the facility, leading him to cut short his visit and ask for it to be rescheduled without any limits to what he could see. Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said Cambodia fulfilled its commitment to allow a visit as requested, and if U.S. officials were not satisfied, they could request another visit as long as it did not involve spying or violating Cambodian sovereignty.

China says its relationship with Cambodia has made positive contributions to regional peace and stability, after the U.S. expressed concerns about the presence of the Chinese military in the country.

China said Thursday its relationship with Cambodia has made positive contributions to regional peace and stability, after the U.S. expressed concerns about the presence of the Chinese military in the Southeast Asian nation. In a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman focused on China's construction of new facilities at Ream Naval Base.

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Cambodia is shutting its most popular tourist destination, the centuries-old Angkor temple complex, to visitors for two weeks to help curb the country’s coronavirus outbreak.

Doug Ducey said the site switch will maintain the state’s vaccination program’s 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 — Arizona on Friday reported 571 new coronavirus cases and 24 deaths as the number of virus-related hospitalizations remained fairly stable.

A medical worker prepares a shot of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in a local rural medical post in the village of Ikhala in Russias Karelia region, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)MEXICO CITY — Mexico has received its first shipment of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine. Mexico received its first shipment of vaccines from Pfizer in mid-December, but turned to Sputnik V in January when other expected vaccine shipments were delayed. The company reiterated that it will have capacity to provide 100 million vaccine doses to the U.S. by the end of June. ___WASHINGTON — 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.

(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)SEOUL, South Korea — 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, Germany’s Robert Koch Institute reported 8,072 new virus cases and 813 deaths in 24 hours. ___MADRID — Spain’s official 14-day rate of coronavirus cases has fallen to 584, from a peak of 900 two weeks ago.

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. — 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.

(AP Photo/Hau Dinh)HANOI, Vietnam -- Vietnamese authorities are conducting intensive contact tracing after the country’s 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 Vietnam’s 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 “anticipated Thanksgiving acceleration” in coronavirus cases.

Of the 115 infections reported Sunday, 24 were untraceable. Hong Kong has reported 6,239 coronavirus infections since the pandemic began, with 109 deaths. — 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.

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. “The 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,” said Rhona Smith.

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 – 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.

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 – 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. “From today onwards, we will strictly enforce this law and will arrest those who defy these rules,” 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.

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 – 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, there’s widespread worry that Asia will end up as an afterthought. A Biden White House won’t “risk antagonizing a country that is widely viewed in Washington as America’s best strategic bet in South Asia,” he said. ___Foster Klug, the AP's news director for the Koreas, Japan, Australia and the South Pacific, has covered Asia since 2005.

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 – India’s 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 India’s 8.3 million in all of Asia.

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 – 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 Hungary’s 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.