MANILA: Cambodia has pardoned and sent home 13 Philippine women who were jailed over a scheme to become surrogate mothers, an outlawed practice, the Philippine government said on Sunday (Dec 29). They were among 24 foreign women detained by Cambodian police in September and convicted and sentenced to four years in prison on Dec 2 … Read more
In both Hinduism and Buddhism, the snake or Naga, Sanskrit for “serpent”, is often depicted as a divine or semidivine being with spiritual and physical powers. In Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand and Cambodia, with Theravada Buddhism in their cultures, Naga is considered an auspicious creature, one that brings protection and blessings, and can … Read more
CIA official Asif William Rahman was arrested by the FBI in Cambodia on Tuesday and charged with disclosing classified documents allegedly showing Israel’s retaliation plans against Iran, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. He was brought to a federal court in Guam to face charges. Rahman was indicted by a US federal court … Read more
China aims to scale up infrastructure construction in uniquely strategic Laos to accelerate trade and investment throughout Southeast Asia as Chinese businesses scout for space to grow offshore, analysts said. Laos, relatively undeveloped and small at just 7.4 million people, matters to Beijing because it shares borders not only with China, but also with the … Read more
China’s commercial aircraft have received interest from Laos, after Premier Li Qiang rolled his sleeves up to promote the symbol of advanced Chinese manufacturing and technology during his Southeast Asia tour. In a joint communique with China’s Southeast Asian neighbour on Saturday, the countries agreed to strengthen cooperation under China’s Belt and Road Initiative and … Read more
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Thirteen pregnant Philippine women accused of illegally acting as surrogate mothers in Cambodia after being recruited online could face prison terms after giving birth, a senior Interior Ministry official said Saturday. Interior Ministry Secretary of State Chou Bun Eng, who leads the country’s fight against human trafficking and sexual exploitation, said … Read more
PREK TAKEO, Cambodia — The Mekong River is a lifeline for millions in the six countries it traverses on its way from its headwaters to the sea, sustaining the world’s largest inland fishery and abundant rice paddies on Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. Cambodia’s plan to build a massive canal linking the Mekong to a port on … Read more
Shopping in Singapore, looking down from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, taking in the massive ancient temples in Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, and Borobudur in Java: tropical Southeast Asia is hardly short of things to do for tourists or places to go. Some of the region’s best attractions are not on land. Diving is another … Read more
PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA — Nhem Liza made her first visit to the National Museum of Cambodia after learning about the August return from the United States of dozens of looted Cambodian artifacts, including important Hindu and Buddhist masterpieces dating from the ninth to 14th centuries. “Those artifacts are amazing,” said 15-year-old Nhem, a 10th grade … Read more
Some videos have received more than 2 million views and inspire copycat versions daily. Simon Warrack, a conservationist who has worked for three decades to preserve the nearly millennia-old ruins at Angkor, is troubled by the potential damage as well as the cultural and religious insensitivities being trampled on. “You wouldn’t run through St Peters … Read more
