Cambodia

DARA SAKOR, Cambodia — The airstrip stretches like a scar through what was once unspoiled Cambodian jungle. When completed next year on a remote stretch of shoreline, Dara Sakor International Airport will boast the longest runway in Cambodia, complete with the kind of tight turning bay favored by fighter jet pilots. Nearby, workers are clearing trees from a national park to make way for a port deep enough to host naval ships. THAILAND CAMBODIA Mekong R. Phnom Penh Dara Sakor International Airport vietnam Ream Naval Base Gulf of Thailand 50 miles The politically connected Chinese company building the airstrip and port says the facilities are for civilian use. But the scale of the land deal at Dara Sakor — which secures 20 percent of Cambodia’s coastline for 99 years — has raised eyebrows, especially since the portion of the project built so far is already moldering in malarial jungle. The activity at Dara Sakor and … [Read more...] about A Jungle Airstrip Stirs Suspicions About China’s Plans for Cambodia

A school has left parents in total confusion after offering its students an exotic four-week excursion to Cambodia - for £4,500. Controversial South Wigston High School, which isn't private, has set an eye-watering price tag for the trip. According to an email sent out by the Leicestershire school, those lucky enough to go will be able to try scuba-diving, visit Cambodia’s two largest cities and get stuck in with community projects. But the cost has left mums and dads suggesting only the most wealthy people would be able to afford it, reports LeicestershireLive. The school, which hit the headlines after taking girls out of class and putting them into isolation because their skirts were too short, insists students will be offered support in their efforts to raise funds to pay for their tickets. It's a very costly trip to Cambodia for parents ( Image: iStockphoto) But that hasn't stopped questions being asked with the country coping with the Cost of Living … [Read more...] about Controversial school’s £4,500 Cambodia student trip has parents all asking the same thing

A school has come under fire for forcibly shaving male students during classes for "school discipline". On Monday the school's official Facebook page shared pictures of teachers using electric razors to administer compulsory haircuts to male students, with the caption “school discipline by teacher and youth council.” Photographs show the boys with large patches cut out of their hair, while the pupils report friends crying and say that girls laugh at them when they seem them. Other images show a teacher brandishing an electric razor in the air as a full class of pupils watch. One student is seen covering his face with his hand while getting his head shaved. Cambodia's Ministry of Education spokesperson, Ros Sovacha, confirmed they are investigating Samdech Techo Hun Sen Sampov Loun High School, where the combined lessons and haircuts for male students have apparently become widespread. Officials from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport say they are investigating the … [Read more...] about School faces backlash for forcibly SHAVING students’ hair in class for ‘discipline’

Leaders of the Quad, a plurilateral framework comprising India, Australia, Japan, and the US, have taken note of attempts to discredit the grouping through "disinformation" and are committed to consolidating its positive and constructive agenda, the government told Lok Sabha on Friday. In a written reply to a question on whether the government has taken note of the opposition of China to the Quad group, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said Quad countries share a commitment to uphold a free, open, inclusive, prosperous, and peaceful Indo-Pacific region based on the principles of respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, international law, and the rules-based international order. "Quad Leaders and Ministers have taken note of attempts to discredit Quad through disinformation. They are committed to consolidating Quad’s positive and constructive agenda focused on the delivery of public goods to countries in the Indo-Pacific in areas such as health, … [Read more...] about Quad Leaders Have Taken Note of Attempts to Discredit Grouping; Committed to Consolidate Positive Agenda: Govt

Plans to drastically alter the century-old Castro Theatre in San Francisco could be coming to a standstill. At a marathon hearing that ran for nearly six hours Wednesday afternoon, the Historic Preservation Commission voted unanimously in recommendation of expanding the historic theater’s landmark status to include “both exterior and interior character defining features, and update the statement of significance to include LGBTQ historical associations.” (The 6-0 vote did not include Commissioner Jason Wright.) For those hoping to preserve the theater’s orchestra-level seats and historic programming, it’s a step forward, but the fight is far from over. Every chair was filled inside meeting room 400 on the top floor of San Francisco City Hall, while dozens of other people stood along the walls. Many were wearing red and holding signs that read “Save the Seats!” to show that they were opposed to renovation plans proposed by Berkeley-based concert promoter Another Planet … [Read more...] about ‘Biting our nails’: Hearing on Castro Theatre status packs SF City Hall

The House of Representatives voted by an overwhelming margin on Thursday to condemn “the horrors of socialism.” It’s obvious that the real targets are politicians like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez . But instead of explaining what’s wrong with popular democratic socialist policy proposals like Medicare for All or eliminating tuition at public universities, most of the resolution is wasted on denouncing the real or alleged “horrors” committed by authoritarian dictatorships with no resemblance to anything advocated by democratic socialists. The text is a mess. It’s full of bad history, sloppy definitions, and extreme libertarian rhetoric. It reads to me like the work of nervous ideologues who worry that the s-word is losing its power to terrify ordinary Americans. Rewriting History The resolution starts by claiming that “socialist ideology necessitates a concentration of power that has time and time again collapsed into Communist … [Read more...] about Democratic Socialism Isn’t Soviet Communism, You Idiots

China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, a dapper man in well-pressed suits, keeps up a relentless travel schedule, more than 30 countries so far this year, to places big and small: island nations in the Pacific, Central Asia on China’s western periphery and, often, Africa. He is the campaigner for the global ambitions of his boss, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, carrying the message that Beijing will not be pushed around, least of all by the United States. During a meeting last month with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken in Indonesia, Mr. Wang arrived with a list of four “wrongdoings to be corrected,” including that the United States must rectify its “serious Sinophobia.” Relations would be at a “dead end” if the demands were ignored, Global Times, a nationalist Communist Party newspaper, warned later. As China carves out its place in a changing world order, Mr. Wang has been its public face, particularly because Mr. Xi hasn’t visited a foreign country since the start of the pandemic. … [Read more...] about The Face of China: A Globetrotting Diplomat Armed With U.S. Admonitions

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 13 JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Southeast Asian foreign ministers vowed to finalize negotiations with China over a proposed pact aimed at preventing conflicts in the disputed South China Sea in their annual retreat on Saturday in Indonesia’s capital. In the final session of their two-day meeting, the ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations also agreed to unite in their approach to implement a five-step agreement made in 2021 between ASEAN leaders and Myanmar’s military leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, that seeks to end that country’s worsening crisis. China and the ASEAN member states, which include four rival claimants to territories in the South China Sea, have been holding sporadic talks for years on a “code of conduct,” a set of regional norms and rules aimed at preventing a clash the disputed waters. … [Read more...] about ASEAN vows to conclude pact with China on disputed territory