Cambodia’s self-exiled opposition figurehead Sam Rainsy said Tuesday he had not given up on getting home after an initial bid to return was thwarted, and external pressure on strongman Hun Sen would force him to change course.Rainsy spoke to media in Malaysia after flying in at the weekend from France, where he has lived since 2015, as he sought to fulfil a vow to return home by Independence Day on Saturday.Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, had denounced efforts by arch-rival Rainsy

Prime Minister Boris Johnson locked horns Wednesday with his rivals in a fiery launch to an unpredictable early general election aimed at breaking Britain's protracted Brexit deadlock.Johnson's sparring with the main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn came a day after MPs backed the premier's call for Britain's third election in four years.The December 12 poll was decided just a few hours after Brussels extended this week's Brexit deadline to give London mor

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday proposed settling the Brexit crisis through an early election on December 12 that could help Britain finally find a way out of the European Union.The Conservative leaders' offer comes with his party leading opinion surveys and the opposition split over whether to back a snap poll or to seek a new EU membership referendum that could undo the one triggering Brexit in 2016.It also suggests that Johnson has all but given up on his repeated pledge t

British MPs have again ruptured the Brexit process by withholding their support for Prime Minister Boris Johnson's new divorce deal with the European Union (EU).The House of Commons voted for an amendment making approval for the text conditional on parliament passing legislation to ratify the treaty before Britain leaves the EU.The failure to clearly back the deal triggered a law forcing Johnson to ask EU leaders to delay Brexit for a third time – though he vowed Saturday following the v

Brussels hopes to wake up to a Brexit breakthrough Wednesday as EU and British negotiators worked hard through the night on a draft agreement.The pound hit its highest level in five months after both sides voiced cautious optimism that an outline agreement could be found before Thursday's key European summit.Any deal would still have to go to EU leaders at that summit and then be voted on by a sceptical British parliament – perhaps as early as during a special session on Saturday.But EU

Half a million Cambodian farmers could possibly be looking at empty rice bowls if the European Union (EU) pushes through with the withdrawal of its Everything But Arms (EBA) trade preference.While the garment and footwear sectors stand to lose the most if the EBA trade scheme – which gives 49 of the world’s least developed countries tax-free access to vital EU markets for all exports except for arms and ammunition – is removed, Cambodia’s rice industry could be staring at tough times

What is a failed state? Not so long ago, when I was Britain’s Overseas Development Minister, and later European Commissioner for External Affairs, I would probably have tried to answer the question by pointing to specific examples, including several countries in Latin America and Africa.I would have highlighted tribal conflicts, military coups, economic failure, extremes of poverty, and high mortality rates.

After negotiating her own confirmation as president of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen must now put together a 27-nation team to help her run the bloc.The former German defence minister will need all her political and diplomatic skill to knit together a commission from different countries and parties.And then, in October, she will have to go back to a European Parliament that only barely approved her own coronation and ask it to back her appointments.She has quite a summer

Myanmar’s garment industry has cemented itself as an important engine of sustainable development, with the country now the region’s latest hub for low-cost clothing. With minimum wages lower than China, Cambodia and Vietnam – all neighbouring countries with established garment manufacturing sectors of their own – Myanmar has attracted orders from international retailers such as Adidas, Gap, H&M and Marks & Spencer.Leading the country’s manufactured goods expo

The European Union (EU) and Vietnam on Sunday signed a long-awaited free trade deal that will slash duties on almost all goods, an agreement that pushes back against a rising tide of global protectionism and hailed as a "milestone" by Brussels.