Siem Reap is planning a low-key event in mid-April to celebrate the Khmer New Year, seen by some as a pivotal piece in its efforts to revitalise the tourism sector and the broader economy of the province, according to the provincial administrative chief. Even so, Siem Reap Provincial Administration director Sun Chamnan told The Post on March 16 that the organiser, the provincial branch of the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia (UYFC), has been unable to provide a definitive list of the attractions and activities to be arranged for the “Siem Reap Songkran 2022”. Nonetheless, he said, given the…
Author: post staff
Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) and the European Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia (EuroCham) on March 16 entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to foster closer cooperation between the two associations and their members, and to support European garment companies and fashion brands in the Kingdom. The MoU comes just days after Cambodia and the EU renewed their pledge to enhance bilateral trade and investment ties in spite of the lingering economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. The MoU was signed within the premises of the Cambodian Garment Training Institute (CGTI), in Phnom Penh. Under the deal, EuroCham…
US chip-making giant Intel on March 15 said it planned to invest tens of billions of euros in the EU, as the continent seeks to reduce its reliance on semiconductors from Asia. The project to boost the entire production process, from the research of new technologies to the manufacturing and packaging of semiconductors, could total up to €80 billion ($87.9 billion) over the next decade, the group said in a statement. The production of the key technology, also known as chips, has become a strategic priority in Europe as well as the US, after the shock of the pandemic choked…
North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile that exploded mid-air shortly after launch, Seoul said Wednesday, with analysts warning it was likely a failed test of Pyongyang’s so-called “monster missile”. The launch – North Korea’s tenth suspected weapons test this year – comes after the US said the nuclear-armed country was preparing to fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) “at full range” for the first time since 2017. Despite biting international sanctions over its weapons programmes, Pyongyang conducted seven missile tests in January and twice launched components of what it claimed was a “reconnaissance satellite”. South Korea and the US…
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have a crucial role to play in taming global oil markets after Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on March 15 as he jetted to the Gulf for talks. Johnson is due to meet crown princes Mohammed bin Zayed and Mohammed bin Salman in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh on March 16, as part of his drive to help wean the West off a dependency on Russian oil. The visit to Saudi Arabia in particular is controversial, after outrage from human rights groups at the mass execution on March 12 of…
US President Joe Biden’s nominee for the role of the top Federal Reserve banking cop Sarah Bloom Raskin said on March 15 she was withdrawing her name from consideration, a source familiar with the matter told AFP. Raskin had previously won bipartisan approval for senior roles at the Fed and Treasury, but faced opposition from Republicans as well as a key Democratic lawmaker over her stance on climate change. Disagreements over Raskin’s nomination had led the Republican opposition in the Senate to boycott a committee vote on her post and four other top Fed positions, stalling their progress towards approval…
New Zealand will scrap its strict border controls early because the country’s world-leading pandemic response has made it “a safe place to visit”, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on March 16. “We’re ready to welcome the world back,” Ardern told reporters. “I’m proud that New Zealand is a country able at this moment in time to provide a safe place for our tourists to return to.” Ardern said that vaccinated Australians could visit without undergoing quarantine or self-isolation from April, rather than the July date originally planned. Travellers from nations and territories that have visa-free arrangements with New Zealand –…
Russia said on March 15 it would pull out of the Council of Europe (COE) after pressure mounted for Moscow to be expelled from the pan-European rights body over its military offensive in Ukraine. Essentially jumping before it was pushed from the Strasbourg-based body, the Russian foreign ministry said it had given notification of its departure to the Secretary General Marija Pejcinovic Buric. The decision draws the curtain on Russia’s quarter century membership of the COE and also opens the way for Moscow to reimpose the death penalty if the authorities decide. The so-called “Ruxit” from the Council of Europe…
A 30-year-old man with a lengthy criminal record and a history of mental illness was arrested on March 15 for a string of shootings of homeless men in Washington and New York, police said. “We’ve got our man,” Washington police chief Robert Contee announced. Gerald Brevard III was arrested in Washington at around 2:30 am by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents, Contee said. Brevard, a Washington resident, has been charged with first degree murder, assault with intent to kill, and assault with a dangerous weapon in connection with the attacks on homeless men in Washington. He faces…
Long-promised national reconciliation talks will take place next week in the perennially restive Central African Republic between the government and unarmed opposition groups and civil society, a presidential decree said on March 15. The CAR was plunged into bloodshed along sectarian lines in 2013 when the then president, Francois Bozize, was toppled by a predominantly Muslim militia. Military intervention by France, the country’s former colonial ruler, helped stabilise the situation, enabling the deployment of the MINUSCA UN peacekeeping force. “The Republican Dialogue will be convened from Monday 21 to Sunday 27 March 2022 in Bangui,” said the decree, signed by…