Top minister says negotiations with Washington near fruition
US-Cambodia relations had plummeted over Beijing’s influence
ថ្ងៃព្រហស្បតិ៍ ១១រោច ខែពិសាខ ឆ្នាំខាល ចត្វាស័ក ព.ស.២៥៦៦ ត្រូវនឹងថ្ងៃទី២៦ ខែឧសភា គ.ស.២០២២
Thursday the 11th Waning Moon of Vesākha B.E.2566 equivalent to May 26, A.D.2022 Year of the Tiger
Bloomberg

Cambodia said ties with the US had improved significantly and it expects the Biden administration to lift sanctions imposed over its relations with China “very soon,” a senior minister said on Wednesday.

“We’re pushing very hard,” Kao Kim Hourn, Cambodia’s minister delegate to the country’s long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen, said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, referring to negotiations over sanctions.

“This is the best point we’ve had in our relationship in the past 72 years,” he said. “Bilateral trade and investment are rising and the leaders have met. We hope that we can achieve much more progress on some areas based on mutual respect.”

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Huge creature found in Mekong River where planned dams threaten ‘devastating’ ecological damage

ថ្ងៃព្រហស្បតិ៍ ១២កើត ខែពិសាខ ឆ្នាំខាល ចត្វាស័ក ព.ស.២៥៦៥ ត្រូវនឹងថ្ងៃទី១២ ខែឧសភា គ.ស.២០២២
Thursday the 12th Waxing Moon of Vesākha B.E.2565 equivalent to May 12, A.D.2022 Year of the Tiger
The Guardian

A team of marine biologists have welcomed the discovery of a huge endangered freshwater stingray during a recent expedition to a remote stretch of the Mekong River in Cambodia, though they warned the biodiversity of the area was under threat.

The stingray was accidentally caught by fishers in an 80-metre (260ft) deep pool in the Mekong in Cambodia’s north-eastern Stung Treng province. The visiting scientists helped return the animal alive.

Zeb Hogan, a fish biologist at the University of Nevada, said finding the 180kg (397lb) stingray, spanning 4 metres, was important.

“This catch was significant because it confirms the existence of these big fish in the stretch of river,” said Hogan, who led the United States Agency for International Development-funded Wonders of the Mekong expedition that wrapped up last week.

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President Biden Should Raise Key Issues with Regional Leaders
ថ្ងៃពុធ ១១កើត ខែពិសាខ ឆ្នាំខាល ចត្វាស័ក ព.ស.២៥៦៥ ត្រូវនឹងថ្ងៃទី១១ ខែឧសភា គ.ស.២០២២
Wednesday the 11th Waxing Moon of Vesākha B.E.2565 equivalent to May 11, A.D.2022 Year of the Tiger
HRW

The United States-ASEAN Special Summit on May 12, 2022 will embolden autocratic leaders unless it directly confronts the region’s worsening environment for human rights and democracy, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the summit’s host, US President Joseph Biden. Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should also acknowledge the bloc’s failure to achieve progress in addressing the human rights and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar since the February 2021 military coup.

“The Biden administration will need to convince ASEAN’s autocrats at the summit that the alliance’s ultimate future depends on democratic reform,” said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “The US-ASEAN relationship needs to honestly and directly address the region’s deteriorating human rights situation and democratic backsliding.”

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ថ្ងៃព្រហស្បតិ៍ ៥កើត ខែពិសាខ ឆ្នាំខាល ចត្វាស័ក ព.ស.២៥៦៥ ត្រូវនឹងថ្ងៃទី៥ ខែឧសភា គ.ស.២០២២
Thursday the 5th Waxing Moon of Vesākha B.E.2565 equivalent to May 5, A.D.2022 Year of the Tiger
DW

As many as 1.7 billion people are ‘highly exposed’ to the war’s affects, report warns

ថ្ងៃព្រហស្បតិ៍ ១៣កើត ខែចេត្រ ឆ្នាំខាល ចត្វាស័ក ព.ស.២៥៦៥ ត្រូវនឹងថ្ងៃទី១៥ ខែមេសា គ.ស.២០២២
Thursday the 13th Waxing Moon of Citta B.E.2565 equivalent to April 14, A.D.2022 Year of the Tiger
Fox News

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine appears to have set off a “perfect storm,” sparking multiple crises across the globe in the areas of food, energy, and debt, with devastating impacts for developing countries, the United Nations warned in a report Wednesday.

“The war in Ukraine, in all its dimensions, is producing alarming cascading effects to a world economy already battered by COVID-19 and climate change, with particularly dramatic impacts on developing countries,” the report warns. “Recent projections by UNCTAD [the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development] estimate that the world economy will be a full percentage point of GDP growth lower than expected due to the war, which is severely disrupting already tight food, energy, and financial markets.”

The report describes this disruption as a “perfect storm,” coming “on the brink of a global debt crisis.”

Ukraine and Russia provide around 30% of the world’s wheat and barley, around 20% of its maize, and more than half of its sunflower oil. Russia is the world’s top natural gas exporter and the second-largest oil exporter. Russia and its neighbor Belarus together export about 20% of the world’s fertilizers.

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The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on Thursday calling for Russia to be suspended from the Human Rights Council.
ថ្ងៃព្រហស្បតិ៍ ៦កើត ខែចេត្រ ឆ្នាំឆ្លូវ ត្រីស័ក ព.ស.២៥៦៥ ត្រូវនឹងថ្ងៃទី៧ ខែមេសា គ.ស.២០២២
Thursday the 6th Waxing Moon of Citta B.E.2565 equivalent to April 7, A.D.2022 Year of the Cow
UN

The resolution received a two-thirds majority of those voting, minus abstentions, in the 193-member Assembly, with 93 nations voting in favour and 24 against.

Fifty-eight abstained from the process.

Russia, China, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Vietnam, were among those who voted against.

Those abstaining, included India, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia.

The meeting marked the resumption of a special emergency session on the war in Ukraine and followed reports of violations committed by Russian forces.

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ថ្ងៃពុធ ៥កើត ខែចេត្រ ឆ្នាំឆ្លូវ ត្រីស័ក ព.ស.២៥៦៥ ត្រូវនឹងថ្ងៃទី៦ ខែមេសា គ.ស.២០២២
Wednesday the 5th Waxing Moon of Citta B.E.2565 equivalent to April 6, A.D.2022 Year of the Cow
The Phnom Penh Post

The annual National Reading Day is a significant event for every Cambodian as it provides updates on the competency levels of Cambodians and the role the government has played in promoting reading culture and literacy among the people.

I have been following the events annually and over the years to understand how the preparations are done and what the government aims to achieve through the national reading day. I have been impressed by the preparations and activities conducted towards making the event a success.

The previous events have been held in a physical space, thus allowing students and professionals to interact one-on-one with their peers. However, due to Covid-19, last year’s national event was held online to promote the safety of all people (Dara, 2021). The event’s theme was “Reading in the Context of Covid-19.” The 2022 event also had some activities held online. This year’s event was themed “Reading helps promote quality of life in the digital age.”

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