Iv Sovann has been in lockdown with her family in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh since 5 April when the government imposed a raft of stringent measures to curb a sudden surge of coronavirus cases.The 36-year-old’s family of six has no income. Her husband, a teacher, lost his job when the school where he worked shut down a year ago.Sovann has been keeping the family afloat by working as an accounts assistant for a local transport company.“We are not rich. We live hand to mouth.

Spiralling COVID-19 cases have put Cambodia "on the brink of death", its strongman premier Hun Sen has warned, as the country imposed lockdowns in the capital city of Phnom Penh as well as in a nearby city.The Southeast Asian kingdom has seen COVID-19 cases surge since February, when an outbreak was first detected among its Chinese expatriate community. Authorities said last week that hospitals in Phnom Penh were running out of beds and that they had transformed schools and

Cambodia's strongman premier Hun Sen threatened quarantine-breakers with jail time Saturday and warned civil servants they could lose their jobs if they go unvaccinated, as the country grapples with a growing coronavirus caseload.In the past two days Cambodia has registered more than 1,000 infections – many among garment workers and market vendors – bringing the country's tally to 4,081 cases and 26 deaths.Authorities this week banned travel between provinces, imposed a night-time c

When the novel coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan, China – the unknown and new virus was initially referred to as the “Wuhan virus” or “China virus.” Outbreaks have always been associated with places and regions, such as the Spanish Flu and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

Cambodia's government moved to exert near-total control over the country's online life Wednesday, setting up a national internet gateway which activists say will stifle freedom of expression and block content via a China-style firewall.Cambodia has seen a rapid increase in internet use in recent years, and Premier Hun Sen's government - which dissolved the main opposition party in 2017 - has intensified a crackdown on online dissent.A government spokesman dismissed concerns ove

China will donate one million doses of its Sinovac coronavirus vaccine to Cambodia, the kingdom's strongman premier Hun Sen has said, thanking "friend" Beijing for its generosity. Cambodia has long been a staunch ally of Beijing, receiving billions of dollars in soft loans and investment from China.While many countries reacted early in the pandemic by closing its borders to Chinese travellers, Hun Sen refused, and even travelled to Beijing to meet with leader Xi Jinpin

Cambodian premier Hun Sen announced Tuesday that the kingdom had extracted its first drop of crude oil from its waters, a long-awaited milestone for one of Southeast Asia's poorest nations.The Gulf of Thailand boasts significant oil deposits, with Chevron first finding proven reserves off Cambodia in 2005.But production stalled as the government and the United States (US) giant failed to reach a revenue-sharing agreement, leading the firm to sell its stake to Singapore's KrisEnergy

A mass trial of more than 120 Cambodian opposition figures kicked off in Phnom Penh on Thursday, amid United Nations (UN) concerns the proceedings were politically motivated and violated due process.The case is linked to attempts by exiled opposition figurehead Sam Rainsy to return to Cambodia last year from France, where he has lived since 2015 to avoid jail for convictions that he says are bogus.Prime Minister Hun Sen is one of the world's longest serving leaders, maintaining a 35-year

The United States (US) expressed disappointment Tuesday that Cambodia had demolished a second American-funded military facility without warning, as the kingdom turns to China to expand a naval base.Cambodian authorities this month finished dismantling a maintenance facility at Ream base - built in 2017 with US money after razing a tactical naval headquarters there in September.Cambodia's Defence Minister Tea Banh confirmed the demolition on Tuesday, drawing a rebuke from the US embassy.&

There will be no Cambodian Spring anytime soon. This is the sobering reality to a question so tempting to ask – particularly in the shadow of what’s happening in Thailand and now in Lao PDR. So, why won’t a civil society uprising happen in Cambodia soon?