The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office said Wednesday that Cambodia’s wild swings in gold imports and exports over the past three years could be linked to speculative investments and stricter border controls capturing more accurate data.
Prime Minister Hun Sen said politics and human rights should not get in the way of an Asean-E.U. free trade deal as at least 100 Cambodian protesters demonstrated in Brussels upon his visit and demanded the release of political prisoners and the protection of human rights.
Prime Minister Hun Sen told dissidents and analysts they would fail to uproot his family from Cambodian politics “even with 500 more lifetimes” as he made a speech to supporters after arriving in Europe for an Asean-E.U. conference.
Prime Minister Hun Sen is returning home from Indonesia after testing positive for Covid-19, he said this morning, noting he has no symptoms but will miss meetings with Chinese and French leaders.
A string of high-level meetings has continued back-to-back in Phnom Penh this weekend, with Asean stating it could reconsider Myanmar’s participation in future meetings and the U.N. chief calling for human rights defenders and climate activists in Cambodia to be protected.
Phnom Penh Municipal Police said the arrest happened around 1:20 p.m. along one of the main roads in Phnom Penh being used to shuttle Asean Summit VIPs to and from the Sokha Hotel in Chroy Changva.
A small group of protesters camping out at Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park say they have been told they must leave and continue their hunger strike in support of a jailed opposition activist at home.
Myanmar and Ukraine are expected to be key topics as the Asean Summit — and at least 12 side summits — kick off in Phnom Penh Thursday.
U.N. secretary-general António Guterres will discuss the climate emergency at the Asean Summit in Phnom Penh, while a new coal-fired power plant lights up Sihanoukville.
Asean is promoting a “Smart City Network” of tech-focused solutions to the region’s urban problems. But there are simpler, cheaper and more sound urban policies without falling for the notion that technology is the answer to everything, writes Future Forum’s Ses Aronsakda.
VOD is an independent media outlet producing radio programs and disseminating information to the public via the Internet.
© 2019 VOD. All Rights Reserved.
