In a former political bastion of Kem Sokha, president of the outlawed opposition CNRP, silence prevails over political discussions — though some ex-supporters quietly betray continuing hope for the opposition’s promise of change.
Since last week, 34 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in a local cluster tied to the country’s prisons director. Health authorities called on people to return for their second tests on Monday and Tuesday, but crowded testing centers had some worrying about the risk of contagion.
Road repairs following recent nationwide flooding will cost $91 million, the Rural Development Ministry estimated this week, as farmers say they are struggling with rising costs due to broken transport links.
Nearly 150 CNRP officials and supporters are due to appear at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Thursday, their lawyer said this week.
Citing an “alarming deterioration” in Cambodia’s democratic rule, a group of U.S. politicians appealed to their government to ramp up sanctions against Phnom Penh, as analysts said pressure from the U.S. was likely to rise with the coming change in administration.
At least 26 defendants told the Appeal Court over two years that they faced violence or torture by authorities to force confessions, according to a trial monitoring report by the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.
Prominent unionist Rong Chhun, whose July arrest over comments he made about the Vietnam border sparked a series of protests, on Wednesday appealed for bail in the Supreme Court, but was shut down by judges for asking the court to “not be politically influenced.”
Prime Minister Hun Sen inaugurated the construction of a new bridge from the capital’s Koh Pich island to the under-construction Koh Norea satellite city by seemingly threatening the local family of former CNRP lawmaker Ho Vann, living in exile overseas.
With more heavy rainfall expected this weekend and ongoing flooding that has killed at least 21 people this month, Prime Minister Hun Sen cast doubt that the in-filling of capital lakes had contributed to severe flooding in Phnom Penh.
A 15-year-old boy who illegally entered the outlawed CNRP’s former headquarters over the weekend was released by authorities on Tuesday morning after questioning.
A growing number of men are becoming stay-at-home dads, a job that advocates say is undervalued, underappreciated and entangled with traditional gender expectations in the country.
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