At PinakPou, (With Uncle Restaurant), Chef Mork Mengly is doing more than serving food – he is telling the story of Cambodia, one dish at a time. With his signature “farm to leaf plate” concept – Cambodia Food Journeys on Banana Leaf, Mengly transforms a humble banana leaf into a canvas of Cambodia’s biodiversity, offering diners a journey through the Kingdom’s land, rivers and mountains. The experience begins in Siem Reap, which he refers to as the land of rice. Here, Mengly lays the foundation of his feast with rice in its many forms – fried, steamed and sticky –…
Author: Raksmey Hong
Both the Cambodian and Thai militaries have pledged to uphold the ceasefire and strengthen cooperation along their shared border following a high-level regional commanders’ meeting, held on August 21-22 in Sa Kaeo province, Thailand. The Regional Border Committee (RBC) meeting brought together Cambodia’s 5th Military Region Commander, General Ek Sam Oeun, and Thailand’s 1st Army Region Commander, General Amarit Boonsuya, who co-chaired the talks. “The two-day discussions concluded successfully at 11.15am this morning, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to implementing the 13-point agreement aimed at preventing armed clashes, restoring normalcy in sensitive areas and enhancing bilateral relations,” said a…
Cambodia’s tourism sector saw dramatic shifts in July as arrivals from Thailand collapsed, although there was a silver lining as Chinese visitor numbers climbed sharply, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Tourism. International tourist arrivals fell overall by nearly 40% year-on-year to 347,492, but the composition of travellers changed notably. “Thai visitors — long among Cambodia’s top markets — plummeted by 90.5%, dropping from 192,000 in July 2024 to just 18,000 this year,” said the July report. “In stark contrast, Chinese arrivals jumped 35% to more than 100,000, overtaking all other countries as Cambodia’s largest single source…
More than 500 photographs which capture the vibrant life, people and heritage of Cambodia’s capital will go on display later this month. They are part of Photography for Empowerment, a citywide exhibition jointly organised by the Phnom Penh Photography Collective (PPPC), Cambodian Children’s Fund (CCF) and Kinin Collective. “The exhibition, opening on August 30, will span three venues — Maloop, Kinin and Nesat — each highlighting a unique theme of Phnom Penh’s identity,” explained the organisers. Maloop will feature Phnom Penh Eclectic, focusing on architecture and heritage; Kinin will present Faces of Phnom Penh, a celebration of the city’s diverse…
The administration of Oddar Meanchey province’s Anlong Veng district has clarified that an image of seven dead birds which has been widely circulated on social media shows the aftermath of a collision with a vehicle — not from poisonous fumes or chemical weapons, as was claimed. The “Mak Ounya” Facebook account posted a video of the deceased animals, believed to be lesser whistling ducks, on August 20. She claimed that the birds had died as a result of exposure to “toxic smoke”. Authorities questioned the account owner, Long Sophat, who admitted that she had not witnessed the incident firsthand. She…
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched its first Climate Bank Accelerator (CBA) programme in Cambodia, with the goal of supporting efforts to green the financial industry in Cambodia, including the development of the Sustainable Finance Roadmap and the implementation of the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy, both led by the National Bank of Cambodia. Three financial institutions were selected to take part in the programme, which will advance the climate finance and sustainability capacity of Cambodia’s banking sector. The inaugural cohort includes AMK Microfinance Institution PLC, Foreign Trade Bank of Cambodia PLC and Maybank (Cambodia) PLC. The banks were chosen following…
The Cambodia Palestine Solidarity group held an August 16 vigil at the Royal Palace Plaza in memory of the more than 270 journalists killed in Gaza, joining simultaneous actions across Southeast Asia to honour their lives and voices. The gathering also marked the launch of a new donation campaign to support families in north Gaza during the upcoming Pchum Ben festival. Organisers said the campaign, which will run until September 23, aims to raise $5,000 to purchase food and essentials for families under siege. Funds will be distributed through trusted networks connected to a Palestinian member of the group whose…
Heng Ratana, director-general of the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC), has hit back at Thailand, accusing it of distorting facts and slandering Cambodia over unexploded munitions, border violations and landmines. He likened Thailand’s actions to an attempt to “turn an elephant into an ant and an ant into an elephant” by concealing its own brutality and fabricating stories — most recently the claim that soldiers in Cambodian army uniforms had planted landmines. In a series of social media posts, Ratana presented concrete examples to refute Thailand’s accusations. MK-84 bomb manufactured in 1996 Ratana recalled the case of a one-tonne MK-84…
The EU has announced an emergency humanitarian package worth €700,000 (approximately $816,000) to assist civilians caught in the recent conflict along the Cambodia-Thailand border. According to the EU, the funding will help provide multipurpose cash assistance, mental health and psychosocial support, and displacement tracking for affected communities over a six-month period. The cross-border clashes forced many families to flee their homes, creating urgent humanitarian needs. “This assistance is designed to reach those most directly impacted by the displacement and insecurity,” the EU said in a statement, stressing that its interventions follow thorough needs assessments and uphold the humanitarian principles of…
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Hun Manet today, August 19, to review the latest developments regarding the fragile ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand. During the discussion, the two sides exchanged views on the work of the Interim Observer Team (IOT), which has been deployed to monitor sensitive border areas between the neighbouring Kingdoms. “We also touched on the interim observer team (IOT) which has been conducting careful monitoring on the border areas of both neighbouring countries and discussed other steps that can be taken to streamline the effectiveness of monitoring operations…