Cambodia
- Covid-19 News
Half a million vaccine doses set aside for return of migrant workers
The Thai government has set aside up to half a million Covid-19 vaccine doses as it prepares for the return of much-needed migrant workers. The move comes following confirmation from Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin that Thailand will sign MoUs with neighbouring countries to allow workers to enter through legal channels. Officials have vowed to crack down on people smugglers and…
- World News
Cambodia leads Asia for highest percentage of fully-vaccinated population
Cambodia is topping the list in Asia for the country with the highest percentage of fully-vaccinated individuals in its population. The country’s 16 million-plus population has seen around 82% receiving at least 2 doses of a Covid-19 vaccine since November 3, according to ourworldindata.org. The percentage of those fully-vaccinated has beat out Singapore, Brunei and South Korea by 1%. And,…
- Thailand News
Illegal border crossing on the rise along with tourism reopening
While Thailand is eager to see foreigners entering the country after Monday’s reopening, not all foreigners are as welcome as others. A crackdown on migrants crossing land borders illegally and entering the country without quarantine caught more than 3,000 people in this past week. A spokesperson for the Internal Security Operations Command correlated Thailand’s reopening to international tourism with the…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand renews crackdown on illegal migrants ahead of re-opening
Thailand is cracking down on illegal migrants and those who smuggle them into the country, as authorities try to prevent imported Covid-19 infections. The Defence Ministry says over 30,000 illegal migrants have been intercepted and deported since the beginning of the year. According to a Bangkok Post report, the number arrested continues to rise as the country prepares to re-open…
- Thailand video news
Thailand Top Stories | Quarantine like to be waived for vaccinated travellers on November 1 | October 12
Natty gives us a quick update on the national Covid-19 situation as well as the top headlines in Thailand and Southeast Asia: Quarantine like to be waived for vaccinated travellers from 10 countries, Alcohol ban likely to be lifted by December, Tham Luang cave complex will reopen on Friday, Indonesia to reopen borders to travellers from 18 countries, Vietnam workers…
- Covid-19 News
Nearly 40,000 new Covid infections reported across Southeast Asia
Southeast Asian countries collectively reported nearly 40,000 new Covid-19 infections yesterday, with the total now reported in the region topping 12.5 million. Nation Thailand reports that 39,996 new cases were reported yesterday, with 492 deaths. There have now been 268,655 Covid-related deaths across ASEAN nations. Meanwhile, Cambodia is considering a full reboot of its economy, subject to the situation remaining…
- Thailand News
Police rescue more than 40 wild monkeys reportedly being smuggled to restaurants
More than 40 monkeys being smuggled to local restaurants were rescued on Friday by officers from Thailand’s Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Division. Nation Thailand reports that officers had received a tip the alleged smugglers were using Highway 359 in the eastern province Sa Kaeo, which borders Cambodia, as a route to smuggle the wild monkeys to restaurants where the…
- Visa Information
Labour Ministry confirms timeframe for registering undocumented migrant workers
The Thai government has issued a timeframe during which employers must register undocumented migrant workers, thereby allowing them to obtain work permits and work legally. According to a Bangkok Post report, the Labour Minister, Suchart Chomklin, says the measure applies to migrant workers from Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, and is being introduced to mitigate the risk of further Covid-19 outbreaks.…
- World News
Last surviving Khmer Rouge leader denies role in Cambodia genocide
The last former leader of the radical communist Khmer Rouge regime is denying charges of genocide. The Khmer Rouge brutally ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 and led to the death of around 2 million people. Some were killed in mass executions by the Khmer Rouge and some were tortured to death. Others died while they were forced to work…
- Covid-19 News
Rollout of Covid-19 vaccination for teenagers gets underway in Cambodia
Cambodia is extending its Covid-19 vaccination programme to teenagers, starting in the capital Phnom Penh and another 3 hard-hit provinces. According to an AFP report, the grandchildren of the country’s leader, Hun Sen, were among the first to be vaccinated. The vaccination of teenagers kicked off on Sunday, with doses administered to people between the ages of 12 and 17…
- Thailand News
Migrant workers ask Thai government for assistance during the pandemic
With Covid-19 affecting many migrant communities in Thailand, Cambodian workers are now asking the Thai government for help. A petition calling for assistance during the pandemic to help with providing food, financial support and medical services was submitted this week to the Thai Ministry of Labour and Parliament. Thousands of Cambodian migrant workers signed the petition, which was submitted by…
- World News
6 arrested in Cambodia for allegedly trafficking people into Thailand
6 young men and teenagers were arrested for allegedly trafficking people from Cambodia across the border into Thailand for work. The men and teenagers are facing human trafficking charges in Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court. The suspects allegedly acted helped smuggle 12 people into Thailand to work, a police inspector told Khmer Times. 3 of the suspects were identified as labour…
- World News
Southeast Asia sees highest tally of Covid-19 infections in a single day
Southeast Asia has recorded its highest number of Covid-19 infections in a single day, with 26,435 new cases reported yesterday. However, the death rate has lowered overall. Yesterday’s infections were an increase on Saturday’s 25,656 and the highest in 2 weeks. According to a Nation Thailand report, 387 additional deaths were reported yesterday, down from 426 the day before. ASEAN…
- Northern Thailand News
Covid-19 prevention leads to 14 arrests of longterm overstays
While attempting to curb the spread of Covid-19 through migrant workers and illegal immigrants, Immigration Police have arrested 14 foreigners with “egregious overstays”. Today’s announcement of the bust of 14 foreign nationals took place mostly in northeastern provinces. The Immigration Chief explained that officials at immigration have been proactive in seeking out people who entered Thailand illegally to prevent an…
- World News
UN report: Changes in Southeast Asia drug trafficking during the pandemic
While the notorious Golden Triangle remains a major production base for methamphetamine, drug syndicates in Southeast Asia have changed up trafficking routes and added production bases to not only survive but capitalise during the pandemic. Large-scale methamphetamine production has emerged in Cambodia during the pandemic, according to the annual UN Office on Drugs and Crime report on synthetic drugs in…
- World News
United States to return 27 stolen antiquities to Cambodia
The United States is returning 27 stolen antiquities to Cambodia. The antiquities, which include Buddhist and Hindu statues from the Angkorian era, are valued at around USD$3.8 million. It’s unclear where the statues were found, or when they were smuggled to the US, but reports say investigators in New York spent years working to recover the antiquities. Operations from Manhattan’s…
- World News
More than 15,000 foreigners arrested since January for illegal border crossings
Thousands of foreign nationals have been arrested this year for illegally crossing land borders into Thailand. Due to fears that those entering Thailand illegally and evading the mandatory 14-day quarantine could possibly lead to the spread of Covid-19, particularly more contagious variants of the virus, Thai authorities say they will take tough legal action on illegal migrants and labour traffickers.…
- World News
Health officials point to Thailand’s porous borders as biggest “Indian variant” threat
Thailand’s health officials say the Kingdom’s porous borders pose the greatest risk in terms of the so-called Indian variant of Covid-19 being imported. Prasit Watanapa from the Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital says there is a distinct possibility the highly contagious variant, currently wreaking havoc with India’s healthcare system, could be imported by migrants slipping into the country illegally.…
- Covid-19 News
Illegal border crossings bringing in new Covid-19 infections
Authorities are worried about illegal border crossings into Thailand bringing in the Coronavirus after 5 recent Covid-19 infections from such crossings. Bypassing all health and security checkpoints along the border, 5 Thai nationals were identified today as being positive for Covid-19 after they snuck into the country, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Authorities nabbed 2 after border…
- World News
Once Covid-19 free, Cambodia eases lockdown amidst surge
After remaining relatively unscathed during the global pandemic in 2020, Cambodia, like other countries in the region, is in the midst of a massive Covid-19 surge. As recently as late February, the country had only seen about 500 cases in their population of 16 million. But just two days ago, 650 new cases and 4 fatalities were recorded nationally. Cambodia…
- Thailand News
Free media threatened by Covid-19-inspired laws
The International Commission of Jurists is warning that media and journalists in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam are seeing legal repression grow during the Covid-19 pandemic. In a submission to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the group outlined the expanding threat. New laws that many claim violate human rights also serve to throttle the space…
- World News
Cambodia threatens jail for Covid-19 quarantine violations
In the face of expanding Covid-19 infections in Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen has warned that violators of quarantine may face prison sentences, and government workers could be fired if they don’t get vaccines. More than 1,000 new Coronavirus cases were diagnosed in the last 2 days along, nearly 25% of the total cases since the pandemic began. The government…
- World News
Tourism developments threaten Cambodia’s forests and coastline
The following story is by Danielle Keeton Olsen and Roun Ry for China Dialogue, a nonprofit focused on environmental news related to China and Asia. “Before when we wanted to eat, we just went and caught some fish, but now it’s nothing like before, as all the natural resources have disappeared,” says 68 year old Sen Chantha who lives in…
- World News
Investigation underway after 77 migrants allegedly contract Covid-19 at Thai immigration centres
The Disease Control Department has launched an investigation after 77 migrants seemingly contracted Covid-19 while being held at Thai immigration centres in Bangkok. It’s understood around 68 of the illegal migrants are Burmese, while the others are Laotian and Cambodian nationals. They are being detained at immigration offices in the Bangkok districts of Bang Khen and Lak Si. According to…
- Thailand News
Thailand News Today | Pyramid scammer arrested, first vaccines arrive next week | February 16
A 45 year old Thai woman, known as Jay Phet, has been arrested, along with several Burmese accomplices and nearly 400 of the trafficked migrants. She was arrested for acquiring illegal Burmese migrants, getting them over the border… undetected, and then sending them to the Central Seafood Markets along the coast of Samut Sakhon province, just south west of Bangkok.…
- Thailand News
More than 600,000 migrants registered with Labour Ministry over the past month
More than 600,000 migrant workers have registered with the Thailand Labour Ministry over the past month. Late last year, the Thai government announced migrants from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar would be granted a 2-year work permit and health insurance. Registration with the ministry’s Department of Employment was open from January 15 until February 13. The move follows the Covid-19 outbreak…
- Thailand News
Thailand News Today | Thai surrogacy ring, vaccine-passport | February 8
An alleged illegal transnational surrogacy ring, posing as a cleaning company, has busted by Thailand’s cybercrime police after surrogate mothers were unable to deliver the children to buyers overseas due to the current travel restrictions. Officers from the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau raided 10 locations suspected of being involved in the underground transnational surrogacy network, arresting 3 alleged agents and…
- Thailand News
Migrant workers to be granted 2-year work permit and health insurance
Undocumented migrant workers from 3 countries will be able to register for legal employment allowing a 2-year stay. The Cabinet approved the measure in an effort to control the spread of Covid-19 after an outbreak at a Samut Sakhon seafood market affecting a large migrant community who worked around the fishing hub. Migrant workers from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar will…
- Covid-19 News
UPDATE: Latest news from the Samut Sakhon Covid-19 outbreak
More than 800 Covid-19 cases linked to a seafood market in Samut Sakhon have been reported, and numbers are expected to increase as health officials roll out mass testing on over 10,000 people. 2 more Covid-19 cases were reported in Bangkok today from people who both recently went to the Central Shrimp Market in Samut Sakhon, adding to the city’s…
- Thailand News
New forum to tackle Mekong challenges
For nearly 20 years, activists have called against the development of hydro-dams and water projects along the Mekong River. But now, the campaign is taking the next step with plans to focus on taking action at the policy level. It took 2 decades, but activists have now launched the “Mekong People’s Forum.” 200 people attended the forum including local villagers, conservationists,…
