HUN SEN

The son of longtime autocratic Cambodian leader Hun Sen has been approved as the country’s new prime minister.

Cambodia’s king has appointed army chief Hun Manet to succeed his father and long-ruling Prime Minister Hun Sen as the nation’s leader later this month.

Cambodia’s electoral body has announced its final result for last month's election — which has been criticized by the West as neither free nor fair — sealing a landslide victory for the ruling party of long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen and a mandate for the next five years.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen says he will step down in August and hand the position to his oldest son, though Asia’s longest-serving leader is expected to continue to wield significant power.

Hun Sen has been Cambodia’s autocratic prime minister for nearly four decades, during which the opposition has been stifled and the country has moved closer to China.

A United Nations expert group is calling for the immediate release of a Cambodian-American human rights activist, saying an investigation it conducted has concluded she was being “arbitrarily detained in violation of international law.”.

Campaigning for Cambodia’s general election has officially begun.

Cambodia’s long-serving, tough-talking leader, Hun Sen, says he is considering banning Facebook in his country, largely because he is fed up with the abuse he receives on it from his political foes abroad.

A quasi-independent review board is recommending that Facebook temporarily suspend the social media accounts of Cambodia's prime minister.

Cambodia’s top opposition party has been barred from participating in the July elections after the Constitutional Council refused to overturn a decision not to register the party over a paperwork issue.

Cambodia's Interior Ministry says three land rights activists who were arrested on charges of plotting against the government planned to provoke a peasant revolution by teaching farmers about class divisions between rich and poor.

Cambodian army chief Hun Manet, who is widely expected to replace his father as the country’s prime minister later this year, has been promoted to his country’s highest military rank.

A court in Cambodia has convicted opposition leader Kem Sokha of treason and sentenced him to 27 years of house arrest, the latest blow in a campaign by the government to silence its critics or drive them out of the country.

A spectacular collection of centuries-old jewelry has been returned to Cambodia.

One of Cambodia’s last free media outlets has ceased operations after Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered its closure for allegedly slandering his son in a story.

Leaders from around the Asia-Pacific have condemned and called for an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Asia-Pacific leaders meeting in Bangkok appear likely to issue a statement condemning Russia's war on Ukraine.

Pacific Rim leaders are seeking common ground on the war in Ukraine and other dire threats to humankind in an annual meeting that began Friday in Bangkok.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday he has COVID-19 and is leaving the Group of 20 meetings in Bali, just days after hosting President Joe Biden and other world leaders for a summit in his country’s capital.

Indonesia’s president is vowing not to let Southeast Asia become the front lines of a new Cold War amid increasing tensions between the United States and China.

President Joe Biden says the United States will work with a strategically vital coalition of southeast Asian nations to build a region that is free, stable, prosperous and secure.

A custom wristwatch from Cambodian leader Hun Sen at the ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh, a foot-long dagger at the G-20 meetings in Bali, and cricket ice cream and Thai noodles with worm sauce at the APEC talks in Bangkok.

Ukraine has signed a peace accord with Southeast Asian nations.

Southeast Asian leaders are convening in Cambodia, faced with the challenge of trying to curtail escalating violence in Myanmar while the country’s military-led government shows no signs of complying with the group’s peace plan.

Eleven students in southern Cambodia who were crossing a river have died after the boat they were on capsized.

The international court that judged the Khmer Rouge for its brutal 1970s rule ended its work by rejecting the last surviving leader's appeal.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi is stressing his country’s efforts to strengthen ties with Southeast Asian nations at a meeting with their foreign ministers, which comes as Beijing seeks to expand its influence in the region.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is calling for calm in the Taiwan Strait, urging against any “provocative action” in the wake of a visit to Taipei by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that has infuriated Beijing.

Top Southeast Asian diplomats meeting in Cambodia’s capital are intensifying efforts to stop the escalating violence in Myanmar.

Myanmar has carried out its first executions in nearly 50 years, hanging a former lawmaker, a democracy activist and two other political prisoners who had been accused of a targeted killing after the country’s military takeover last year.

A Cambodian court has convicted a Cambodian-American lawyer and dozens of members of a now-dissolved opposition party on charges of treason.

Chinese and Cambodian officials have broken ground on a contentious naval port expansion project, dismissing American concerns it could provide Beijing with a strategically important military outpost on the Gulf of Thailand.

Cambodian and Chinese officials will break ground this week on the expansion of a port facility that the U.S. and others worry will be used by Beijing as a naval outpost on the Gulf of Thailand, but the government has denied that any Chinese military presence will be allowed.

Cambodians are voting in local elections that are their first chance to go to the polls since the ruling party of long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen swept a 2018 general election that was widely criticized as unfair.

A security alliance between China and the Solomon Islands has sent shudders throughout the South Pacific, with many worried it could set off a large-scale military buildup or that Western animosity to the deal could play into China’s hands.

Cambodia is vaccinating 3- and 4-year-olds with Chinese-made Sinovac shots after finding young children accounting for many new infections.

Myanmar says it will not participate in this week’s meetings in Cambodia of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, spurning an invitation to send a non-political representative instead of its chief diplomat.

Cambodia’s foreign minister has defended Prime Minister Hun Sen’s trip to Myanmar, the first by a foreign leader since the military takeover plunged the country into turmoil, though there was little evidence the mission yielded any immediate breakthrough.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s visit to Myanmar to revive peace efforts after last year’s military takeover is provoking an angry backlash among critics, who say he is legitimizing the army’s seizure of power.

Cambodian security forces have briefly detained a Cambodian-American lawyer who is a prominent rights activist as she walked barefoot near the prime minister’s residence in the capital of Phnom Penh.

The U.S. has ordered an arms embargo on Cambodia, citing deepening Chinese military influence, corruption and human rights abuses in the Southeast Asian country.

Cambodia’s Prince Norodom Ranariddh, former prime minister and the son of the late King Norodom Sihanouk, has died.

After slow starts, vaccination campaigns in several countries in the Asia-Pacific region now boast inoculation rates that rank among the world’s best.

Cambodia has reopened its borders to fully vaccinated travelers two weeks earlier than originally planned, as it emerges from a lengthy lockdown bolstered by one of the world’s highest rates of immunization against COVID-19.

A Cambodian court has released 18 activists, including a prominent labor leader who has been a longtime critic of the government.

Cambodia is dismissing as “politically motivated” sanctions imposed by the United States on two senior defense officials over allegations of graft, accompanied by a broader warning of systemic corruption in the Southeast Asian nation.

An autistic Cambodian teenager has been released from prison after serving time for posting comments critical of the government on social media in a case that has attracted international attention.

A Cambodian activist has denounced a delay in releasing her autistic teenage son, who has been imprisoned for comments critical of the government he made on social media.

The sultan of Brunei says Myanmar remains an integral part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the bloc hopes its military government will work with an ASEAN envoy to defuse the political crisis triggered by its seizure of power in February.

Cambodia’s prime minister has boasted of barging uninvited into a video conference call hosted by his political opponents.

Cambodia is vaccinating 6-to-11-year-olds so students can safely return to schools that have been closed for months due to the coronavirus.

The Nevada Hospital Association is urging people to avoid going to emergency rooms except in true emergencies, especially in northern Nevada where a resurgence in coronavirus infections is running double the rate in the Las Vegas area.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen says China has agreed to provide the Southeast Asian nation with grant aid of 1.75 billion yuan ($272 million).

The last living leader from the inner circle of Cambodia’s brutal Khmer Rouge regime is in court Monday seeking to overturn his conviction on genocide charges before a long-running international tribunal.

Health officials in Arizona on Sunday reported more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases for the second consecutive day.

Health authorities in Thailand are racing to set up a large field hospital at one of Bangkok’s airports as the country sees new highs in coronavirus infections and deaths.

China says its relationship with Cambodia has made positive contributions to regional peace and stability, after the U.S. expressed concerns about the presence of the Chinese military in the country.

Cambodia is shutting its most popular tourist destination, the centuries-old Angkor temple complex, to visitors for two weeks to help curb the country’s coronavirus outbreak.

Doug Ducey said the site switch will maintain the state’s vaccination program’s presence in southeastern Maricopa County while protecting staff, volunteers and people getting vaccinated. Greece is currently grappling with a surge in coronavirus infections which has seen many hospitals run by the state health system reach capacity. 23, a total of 42,028 COVID-19 cases have been diagnosed on the island nation of around 900,000 people, of which 248 died due to COVID-19. Kate Brown said those groups will now be eligible to sign up for the COVID-19 vaccine on April 5. ___PHOENIX — Arizona on Friday reported 571 new coronavirus cases and 24 deaths as the number of virus-related hospitalizations remained fairly stable.

A medical worker prepares a shot of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in a local rural medical post in the village of Ikhala in Russias Karelia region, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)MEXICO CITY — Mexico has received its first shipment of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine. Mexico received its first shipment of vaccines from Pfizer in mid-December, but turned to Sputnik V in January when other expected vaccine shipments were delayed. The company reiterated that it will have capacity to provide 100 million vaccine doses to the U.S. by the end of June. ___WASHINGTON — The White House now says it expects to catch up by mid-week on deliveries of coronavirus vaccine doses that were delayed by severe weather.

(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has reported 504 new coronavirus cases for the latest 24-hour period. Although coronavirus cases stayed relatively low in Japan last year compared to the United States and Europe, infections have been climbing recently. Kate Brown says outdoor contact sports, including high school football, can resume this week amid a decline in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. On Wednesday, Germany’s Robert Koch Institute reported 8,072 new virus cases and 813 deaths in 24 hours. ___MADRID — Spain’s official 14-day rate of coronavirus cases has fallen to 584, from a peak of 900 two weeks ago.

Inmates have staged protests in recent weeks at several prisons as the number of coronavirus cases surges in the facilities. About 50 prison guards have also tested positive. Sri Lanka has reported a total number of 22,988 coronavirus cases, including 109 fatalities. — India has recorded 38,772 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, driving its overall total to 9.43 million. India is second behind the U.S. in total reported coronavirus cases.

(AP Photo/Hau Dinh)HANOI, Vietnam -- Vietnamese authorities are conducting intensive contact tracing after the country’s first confirmed local transmission of the coronavirus in 89 days. The flight attendant tested positive on Saturday, the Tuoi Tre newspaper said. The new case ended Vietnam’s streak of 89 days without any known local transmission of the virus. The country has reported 1,347 coronavirus cases, including 35 deaths. State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said Monday on Twitter that the record comes ahead of an “anticipated Thanksgiving acceleration” in coronavirus cases.

Of the 115 infections reported Sunday, 24 were untraceable. Hong Kong has reported 6,239 coronavirus infections since the pandemic began, with 109 deaths. — India has reported 41,180 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, with the daily toll staying below the 50,000-mark for the fourth week. He traveled to South Korea on Thursday. China has so far reported a total of 86,512 confirmed coronavirus infections, with 4,634 deaths.

Theary Seng, center, a Cambodian-American lawyer gestures as she enters the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. Theary Seng, who has long been one of the most outspoken critics of Hun Sen and his government, is one of the best known defendants living in Cambodia. Hun Sen has been in power for 35 years and has often been accused of heading an authoritarian regime. On Wednesday, the U.N. human rights expert on Cambodia expressed serious concerns about the trial. “The mass trials of CNRP activists appear to be politically motivated, lacking clear legal grounds and constitute a serious violation of the due process rights, firmly established by international human rights law,” said Rhona Smith.

Szijjarto tested positive for the coronavirus after arriving in Thailand for an official visit, Thai and Hungarian officials said Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020. (Pool Photo via AP)PHNOM PENH – Cambodia on Wednesday banned all state-organized events in the capital and a neighboring province for two weeks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus after a number of people connected to a Hungarian official's visit tested positive. Two Hungarian ambassadors, to Thailand and to Cambodia, are among those who have tested positive since Szijjarto's visit. Thai authorities said Tuesday that a Hungarian diplomat in Bangkok tested positive for the virus, the only local case in Thailand so far linked to Szijjarto. The 53-year-old Hungarian diplomat in Bangkok was sent to an infectious disease facility for treatment and isolation.

A Sri Lankan woman prepares to give swab samples to test for COVID-19 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)COLOMBO – Sri Lanka police will strictly enforce mask and social distancing requirements and punish violators starting Monday as other anti-virus measures are eased to reduce the economic pain. “From today onwards, we will strictly enforce this law and will arrest those who defy these rules,” Rohana said. Sri Lanka has counted 13,929 COVID-19 patients with 35 deaths since the pandemic began. Both figures have been increasing because of two recent clusters that account for more than 9,900 of the total infections.

As Americans celebrate or fume over the new president-elect, many in Asia are waking up to the reality of a Joe Biden administration with decidedly mixed feelings. (AP Photo/Lintao Zhang, Pool, File)TOKYO – As Asia comes to terms with the reality of a Joe Biden administration, relief and hopes of economic and environmental revival jostle with needling anxiety and fears of inattention. Now, as Biden looks to settle tumultuous domestic issues, there’s widespread worry that Asia will end up as an afterthought. A Biden White House won’t “risk antagonizing a country that is widely viewed in Washington as America’s best strategic bet in South Asia,” he said. ___Foster Klug, the AP's news director for the Koreas, Japan, Australia and the South Pacific, has covered Asia since 2005.

With 8.3 million confirmed cases of coronavirus, India is the second worst-hit country behind the United States. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)NEW DELHI – India’s coronavirus outbreak increased by more than 50,000 cases Thursday amid a resurgence of infections in the capital. Nerves are frayed in New Delhi after it reported a record 6,842 new cases in the past 24 hours. With 8.3 million confirmed cases of coronavirus, India is the second worst-hit country behind the United States. Indonesia has reported more than 425,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the largest in Southeast Asia and second only to India’s 8.3 million in all of Asia.

Szijjarto tested positive for the coronavirus after arriving in Thailand for an official visit, Thai and Hungarian officials said Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020. (Pool Photo via AP)BANGKOK – Hungary's minister of foreign affairs and trade tested positive for the coronavirus after arriving in Thailand for an official visit, Thai and Hungarian officials said Wednesday. The 42-year-old foreign minister will return on one plane and the other members of his party in a separate aircraft, Anutin said. The Hungarian news agency MTI, citing the chief press officer at Hungary’s foreign ministry, confirmed that Szijjarto tested positive for the coronavirus. During his visit, Szijjarto paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Hun Sen and held separate meetings with Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and the ministers of commerce and agriculture.

Cambodia's exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy waves as he gets in a car after arriving at Kuala Lumpur International's Airport in Sepang, Malaysia Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019. Hun Sen's government has vigorously opposed their return and declared they would be arrested immediately if they made it onto Cambodian soil. Malaysia and Thailand have both hindered the free movement of opposition party leaders, drawing criticism from human rights groups. With the elimination of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, Hun Sen's party swept the 2018 polls. Inside Cambodia, scores of supporters of the opposition party have been arrested in the past few weeks.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, center, greets his government officers during the country's 66th Independence Day from France, at the Independence Monument in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Vithy Soth)KUALA LUMPUR The Latest on Malaysia's exiled opposition Sam Rainsy's effort to return to his home country (all times local):4:55 p.m.Cambodia's exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy has landed in Kuala Lumpur in a bid to return to his homeland after Thailand had earlier blocked him from entering. Rainsy was stopped Thursday by Thai Airways from boarding a flight from Paris, his home in exile, to Bangkok. An effort he made Thursday to fly from Paris to Thailand Cambodia's western neighbor was thwarted when Thai Airways refused to let him board. Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha earlier said he would be barred from entering.

Hun Sen had declared that Sam Rainsy and his colleagues would be blocked from entering Cambodia and had informed neighboring countries that they were unwelcome. We need to continue, the days of Hun Sen are numbered. Many human rights activists criticized ASEAN countries for attempting to block Sam Rainsy and his colleagues. Cambodian officials have repeatedly warned that if the opposition leaders make it back, they will be immediately arrested. The Cambodian opposition party was dissolved by court order in late 2017, allowing Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party to sweep a 2018 general election.

RCEP aims to level trade barriers between ASEAN members and six other countries in a bloc encompassing nearly a third of all global trade. ASEAN also reported progress toward setting a code of conduct with China regarding disputed waters in the South China Sea. China and its allies in ASEAN, led by Cambodia, have opposed any attempt to use the annual meetings to vilify the Asian economic powerhouse. ASEAN members include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The proposed RCEP trade bloc aims to facilitate and set standards for trade among ASEAN and six other nations: China, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.