Date: 28/02/2025

New US Secretary of State still speaks out in defense of human rights!

New US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement from the US State Department after the Thai government deported 40 Uyghurs to China after they had been detained in Thailand for more than a decade.

Thailand’s stance of cooperating with China despite human rights abuses comes as the Thai economy has slumped due to the loss of Chinese tourists.

The US Secretary of State’s message said that human rights protections remain strong and firm despite the Trump administration’s criticism of its authoritarian leadership!

Marco Rubio’s statement: “We strongly condemn Thailand for deporting 40 Uyghur detainees to China, a place where human rights are not respected, where fair trials are not given, and where Uyghurs are mistreated, forced to work, and tortured.”

 

រដ្ឋមន្ត្រីការបរទេសអាមេរិកថ្មី នៅតែថ្លែងរក្សាការពារសិទ្ធិមនុស្ស!

លោក ម៉ាកូ រូប៊ីយ៉ូ (Marco Rubio)រដ្ឋមន្ត្រីការបរទេសអាមេរិកថ្មី បានចេញសេចក្ដីថ្លែងការណ៍របស់ក្រសួងការបរទេសអាមេរិក ធ្វើឡើងក្រោយរដ្ឋាភិបាលថៃ ចាប់បញ្ជូនជនជាតិអ៊ុយហ្គ័រ ៤០ នាក់ឱ្យទៅប្រទេសចិន ក្រោយអ្នកទាំងនេះបានជាប់ឃុំនៅថៃ ជាងមួយទសវត្សរ៍ទៅហើយយ៉ាងណាក្ដី។

ជំហរថៃសហការជាមួយចិន ទោះរំលោភសិទ្ធិមនុស្សនេះ ធ្វើឡើងក្រោយសេដ្ឋកិច្ចថៃធ្លាក់ចុះ ដោយសារបាត់ភ្ញៀវចិន៕

សាររបស់រដ្ឋមន្ត្រីការបរទេសអាមេរិករូបនោះបានថ្លែង រឿងការពារសិទិ្ធមនុស្ស នៅតែខ្លាំងនិងម៉ឺងម៉ាត់ ទោះរដ្ឋបាលលោកត្រាំ បានរងការរិះគន់ជុំទិស រឿងដឹកនាំតាមបែបផ្ដាច់ការកដោយ!

ប្រសាសន៍លោក ម៉ាកូ រូប៊ីយ៉ូ (Marco Rubio)៖បានបញ្ចាក់ថា “យើងសូមថ្កោលទោសប្រទេសថៃ យ៉ាងដាច់អហង្ការ ចំពោះការចាប់បញ្ជូនអ្នកជាប់ឃុំជនជាតិអ៊ុយហ្គ័រ ៤០ នាក់ ទៅប្រទេសចិន ដែលជាទីខ្វះការគោរពសិទ្ធិ ជាទីខ្វះការជំនុំជម្រះក្តីដោយយុត្តិធម៌ និងជាទីដែលជនជាតិអ៊ុយហ្គ័រ រងការធ្វើបាប ត្រូវគេបង្ខំឱ្យធ្វើការ និងរងអំពើទារុណកម្ម”។

Angelina Jolie to direct Cambodia film for Netflix

Angelina Jolie is to direct a film about children caught up in Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime for Netflix, based on a memoir by a former child soldier.

  Posted 25/07/2015

Jolie was 'deeply affected' by Loung Ung's memoir about surviving the Khmer Rough regime

Angelina Jolie is to direct a film about children caught up in Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime for Netflix, based on a memoir by a former child soldier.

Jolie has co-written the script with Loung Ung, adapted from Ung's harrowing book First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers.
The film will premiere on the streaming service in 2016.
Jolie's son Maddox - who was adopted from Cambodia in 2002 - will also be involved in the production.
The actress-turned director said she was "deeply affected" by the book and admits the film will be "hard to watch".

Australian officials paid people smugglers to turn back to Indonesia, says police chief

This news from

Canberra Times - ‎Wednesday‎, ‎10‎ ‎June‎ ‎2015

Australian officials paid thousands of dollars to the captain and crew of a boat carrying asylum seekers, who were then returned to Indonesia, according to passengers and an Indonesian police chief.
Sixty-five people from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, who were seeking asylum in New Zealand, had their boat intercepted by Australian navy and Customs officials in late May, and were then returned to the island of Rote.
The Indonesian police chief on Rote, Hidayat, said the six crew members said they had been given $US5000 each by Australian officials. The crew were apprehended when they arrived at Rote and are being processed for people-smuggling offences.
Mr Hidayat said the captain, Yohanes, told him they had been given the money by an Australian customs officer called Agus, who spoke fluent Indonesian. The other crew members had corroborated Yohanes' story.

Australian climber describes harrowing escape from Mount Kinabalu quake

ABC News- Sunday‎, ‎7‎ ‎June‎ ‎2015
Australian climber Vee Jin Dumlao was atop Malaysia's Mount Kinalabu when a magnitude-6.0 earthquake hit. When her group was left stranded by rescue officers, they decided to make the perilous journey down themselves.
It was supposed to be a quiet dawn climb.
Leaving at 2:30am for the top of Malaysia's Mount Kinabalu, Borneo's tallest mountain, a group of 137 climbers including two Australians, reached the peak's granite plateau at dawn, and had expected to back at Laban Rata for breakfast.
But at 7:30am, that plan abruptly changed.
"We had just completed the ascent to the peak, and [we were] making our descent, taking some photos when we heard a loud crash, and felt the ground shaking," Vee Jin Dumlao, a clinical psychologist from Sydney, told the ABC.
Though Ms Dumlao felt calm at first, panic set in when the group was told that the magnitude-6.0 earthquake that rocked the mountain had destroyed their route back.
"When our guide took our empty water bottles to be refilled, at perhaps 1:00pm ... they came back with news of massive landslides and the route having been decimated and no certainty of rescue," Ms Dumlao said.

Hillsong Church under pressure for inviting controversial pastor to Australian conference

Saturday‎, ‎6‎ ‎June‎ ‎2015
Hillsong Church is copping an almighty backlash for welcoming a shamed US pastor, who railed against "penis-envying burned feministed [sic] single mothers", to its Australian conference, ABC's Lateline reports
The "Mega-church" pastor Mark Driscoll was shunned by his own Seattle congregation, Mars Hills Church, in October last year after an internal review found he was "guilty of pride", as well as abusive, controlling and manipulative behaviour.
Driscoll was also accused of misusing tithes - funds bequeathed by church members that amounted to 10 per cent of their annual income. Mars Hill Church crumbled under the weight of the scandal and by November the church had collapsed.
But the disgraced pastor who once referred to women as "penis-houses" and bemoaned the US as a "pussified nation" has been invited by Hillsong Australia to appear on the main stage at its national conference in Sydney this month.

Long-term unemployment: Sharp rise taking a toll on Australia's wellbeing

Canberra Times - ‎Saturday‎, ‎6‎ ‎June‎ ‎2015
The Abbott government faces a growing jobs challenge as the number of people trapped in long-term unemployment hits a 16-year high, taking a growing toll on Australia's collective wellbeing.
The number of people out of work for a year or more has risen by 18 per cent over the past year to 188,000, seasonally adjusted Bureau Statistics figures show. That's the highest number since the late 1990s and almost three times more than mid-2008, just before the global financial crisis.
The Fairfax-Lateral Economics Wellbeing Index – which uses a range of indicators to measure changes in national welfare – shows the wellbeing cost of long-term unemployment reached a record $3.9 billion in the March quarter. This was driven by a sharp rise in long-term unemployment in the quarter.
The index's author, economist Nicholas Gruen, said the result underscored the economic damage caused by long-term unemployment.

Cambodia 2015: Open Competition Seeks Proposals for Floating Structures on Tonle Sap Lake

 02/05/2015

Eleven has launched its inaugural ideas and design international competition based on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake: a chance for architects, designers and students to engage in a unique design challenge and help make a difference along the way.
Located just a few miles south from the magnificent Angkor Temples, the Tonle Sap Lake is the largest fresh water basin in Southeast Asia. It boasts a UNESCO biosphere status since 1997 due to its ecological significance as a haven for hundreds of species of birds and fish, many of which are endangered. The lake is also home to more than 1.2 million people living in traditional floating villages. These remote communities migrate seasonally around the basin and re

Tony Abbott's sister Christine Forster says same-sex marriage will be legal in Australia by end of the year

Friday‎, ‎29‎ ‎May‎ ‎2015

Prime Minister Tony Abbott's sister Christine Forster says gay marriage will be legal in Australia by the end of the year and she thinks her brother knows it is inevitable.

Ms Forster, who is engaged to a woman, told Lateline it is wonderful that the change to marriage laws will come under a conservative, deeply religious Prime Minister.

"That will be for me one of the proudest moments of my life," she said.

"To think that this reform comes under the prime ministership of Tony Abbott ... I think it's entirely appropriate that it would come under the prime ministership of Tony Abbott.

"At the end of the day I'm sure he will understand that this is good and fair for everybody and it will be great for Australia."

Australia's winter likely to be drier and milder than usual as El Nino kicks in

Friday‎, ‎29‎ ‎May‎ ‎2015

Most of Australia can expect a drier and warmer than usual winter as the influence of an El Nino takes hold – although the first few days of the season won't feel very balmy for many.
The latest three-month outlook released by the Bureau of Meteorology on Thursday shows the odds favour drier-than-average conditions for most of south-eastern Australia for June and for winter as a whole. South-west WA is an exception.
The winter forecast is also for above-average temperatures for most of the country, particularly for overnight temperatures.
"The pattern is fairly classical El Nino," Andrew Watkins, manager of the bureau's climate prediction unit, said.

Australia to vote against Blatter for FIFA presidency

Friday‎, ‎29‎ ‎May‎ ‎2015


The first cracks in Asia's support for embattled FIFA boss Sepp Blatter emerged on Thursday when Australia's federation announced it would be voting for a new president at Friday's election.
The Football Federation of Australia (FFA) had previously been a staunch ally of Blatter, voting for him at every election since he first assumed power in 1998.
But the FFA Chairman Frank Lowy AC released a statement after arriving in Switzerland, announcing Australia would switch its support to Prince Ali bin Al Hussein.

IS fighter Khaled Sharrouf's wife and children seek return to Australia

Wednesday‎, ‎27‎ ‎May‎ ‎2015


Notorious Australian Islamic State fighter Khaled Sharrouf's wife and children, including the son who was photographed holding a severed head, are seeking to return to Australia.
Fairfax Media understands the family of Sharrouf's wife, Tara Nettleton, is trying to help her and the couple's five children return to Sydney.

Cambodia to accept first Australia deal asylum-seekers

 ‎Friday‎, ‎22‎ ‎May‎ ‎2015

Cambodia said Thursday it has agreed to take its first batch of asylum seekers from Australian custody as part of a controversial deal between the countries that triggered widespread international criticism.

Four Nauru refugees flown to Darwin after agreeing to Cambodia transfer: reports

 

 

14/05/2015

 

Four refugees have agreed to resettle in Cambodia from Nauru, the ABC understands, amid reports the group has been secretly flown to Australia.

Cambodia has agreed to take refugees from Nauru who tried to reach Australia by boat.
It is believed an Iranian couple and a single Iranian man along with an ethnic Rohingya man from Myanmar have accepted the Federal Government's offer to resettle in the south-east Asian nation.
An asylum seeker advocate said the group arrived in Darwin on Sunday and was waiting in the Darwin Airport Lodge immigration facility.
The advocate said it was interesting the facility was being used, adding that it had not been used in months.
Fairfax Media reports the group arrived in Darwin on Sunday and is waiting in immigration accommodation before flying to Cambodia.
Fairfax says Cambodian officials - who insist on vetting the refugees before their arrival - have not been informed about the shift to Australia.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton's office has refused to provide details of the group, if they have arrived in Darwin or when they will arrive in Cambodia.

More details emerge of Australian Government offers to refugee

The ABC understands one of the people was offered $10,000 to take the deal, along with paid employment, free accommodation in Phnom Penh and a permanent visa.
The Federal Government's offers to those on Nauru have also including language training and health insurance.
Flights have departed Nauru's international airport for Brisbane and Darwin over the past fortnight.
The Phnom Penh Post reports an Iranian refugee on Nauru said the group had said they were travelling to Australia.
"They just disappeared for a while and they said that they are going to Cambodia, but they are in Australia now and wait[ing] for the flight to take them to Cambodia," the refugee told the newspaper.
The first charter flight from Nauru was expected to leave as early as April 20.

Cambodia gets travel laurel

Tourists leave Angkor Wat temple as the sun sets in February. Last week the Kingdom received an award for being the best cultural and heritage tourist destination in the world. Vireak Mai

Cambodia gets travel laurel

Mon, 11 May 2015

Cambodian tourism authorities expect the sector, which saw tourist arrivals drop in 2014, to get a boost this year, after the country was accorded an award for being the best cultural and heritage tourist destination at last week’s World Travel Fair in Shanghai.
Tith Chantha, secretary of state at the Ministry of Tourism, said the award was based on criteria such as clean and green environment, good security for tourists, food and hospitality services among others. The fair had 50 countries participating and showcasing their tourism sites and products in a bid to attract Chinese tourists.
“It is the positive sign for us to prove that we got noticed for our green and good tourism sites. Of course, it benefits our tourism industry a lot as it will promote us and more tourists will come,” he said.
“Chinese tourists have increased around 20 per cent every year, compared to other tourist arrivals. Once, we get this award, for sure, there will be more Chinese tourist [coming to Cambodia],” he added.
Data from the Ministry of Tourism showed that 560,335 Chinese tourists arrived in the country last year, an increase of more than 21 per cent compared with 2013 and second only to Vietnamese travellers.
Ang Kim Eang, president of the Cambodia Agent of Travel Agents, said the award will not only to attract Chinese tourists into the Kingdom but also to promote Cambodia to other potential markets.
He added that spending by Chinese tourist is now more when compared to other foreign tourists to Cambodia.
“Chinese tourists are now spending much more during their trip to our country and they spend a lot on buying souvenirs,” he said.
Marcio Favilla, executive director of the World Tourism Organization, said, at the Global Tourism Economy Forum in Macau last October, that China was a major contributor to growth in the regional tourism industry, with 97.5 million outbound Chinese travelers spending $128 billion on their travels in 2013, the highest in the world.
The award comes on the heels of Siem Reap province, home to the Angkor Wat complex, being ranked No.2 among the world’s top 25 tourist destinations and No 1 in Asia by TripAdvisor, an online travel site.

Pakistan court hands down life sentences to men who shot Malala Yousafzai

‎Thursday‎, ‎30‎ ‎April‎ ‎2015

A Pakistani court has handed down life sentences to the men who shot Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai in 2012.
She was attacked outside her school in the Swat valley — the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
After narrowly surviving the assassination bid, Malala was taken to Britain with her family for treatment, where she now lives.
She has gone on to become a global ambassador for the right of all children, especially girls, to go to school.
In an address to the United Nations in 2013, which earned her a standing ovation, Malala said strength, power and courage was born out of her attack.
"I do not even hate the Taliban who shot me," she said.
"Even if there is a gun in my hand and he stands in front of me, I would not shoot him.
"The wise saying, 'The pen is mightier than [the] sword' was true.
"The extremists are afraid of books and pens."
Malala first rose to prominence in 2009, aged just 11, with a blog for the BBC Urdu service chronicling life under Taliban rule in Swat.
"These terrorists are afraid of the power of women and they are not letting us go to school because education will make us more powerful. That's why they stopped us," she once said.
"I realised that education is very important and you must go to school and you must learn and struggle for education."
She won the EU's prestigious Sakharov human rights prize last year and went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

South Australia to randomly drug test parents in child protection system following Chloe Valentine case

Thursday‎, ‎30‎ ‎April‎ ‎2015

The chief executive of Families SA has told a parliamentary hearing his department has introduced random drug testing for parents in the child protection system.
Tony Harrison appeared today at the Parliamentary Select Committee on Child Protection, which follows a lengthy inquest into the death of four-year-old South Australian girl Chloe Valentine in early 2012.
Chloe died after her parents did not seek medical help after their daughter was knocked unconscious following a fall from a motorbike.
Her parents, then 21-year-old Ashlee Polkinghorne and former partner Benjamin McPartland, were jailed for eight and seven years respectively for manslaughter by criminal neglect.
The trial heard Chloe lived in a home of squalor, with drugs and rubbish scattered throughout the family’s property.

Bali nine duo's last wish - renewed global push to abolish the death penalty

30/04/2015


Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran wanted their legacy to be a renewed push across the globe to abolish the death penalty.
Their long-time lawyer Julian McMahon revealed the desire as he disclosed new details about their final minutes, including that Chan made a roll call of the other prisoners to ensure they were okay  just moments before they were shot dead.
The bodies of the two reformed drug smugglers are due to return home on Friday at about 9.30am, transported by Indonesia's national carrier Garuda Airlines.
Along with the families, Chan's new wife Febyanti Herewila will also travel to Australia for the men's funerals, expected to be held next week.
Mr McMahon said the duo wanted people "to care enough about what has happened to do something about the death penalty".

Profiles: Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran

Wednesday‎, ‎29‎ ‎April‎ ‎2015

Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have reportedly been executed for attempting to smuggle more than eight kilograms of heroin to Australia.
The ringleaders of the so-called Bali Nine group were arrested at Denpasar airport in April 2005 and sentenced in 2006 to death by firing squad.
Despite intense lobbying by the men's families and the Australian Government the pair were refused clemency by Indonesian president Joko Widodo as part of a hardline stance on the death penalty for convicted drug criminals.
In the wake of their execution, take a look at their lives before their arrest.
Andrew Chan
Chan was born on in Sydney in 1984, the son of Chinese migrants.
The youngest of his three siblings, Chan was known to friends and family for his love of practical jokes and a passion for sports, particularly rugby league.
He grew up in Enfield in Sydney's south-west and attended Homebush Boys High School before leaving school in Year 10.
Although he and Sukumaran attended the same school, they did not meet until years later.
Chan had worked as a part-time cook before his arrest and his parents had owned a restaurant before they retired.
An atheist before his arrest, Chan later converted to the Christian faith.

Filipina drug mule Mary Jane Veloso spared as Bali Nine members Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran executed

Wednesday‎, ‎29‎ ‎April‎ ‎2015

Indonesia has confirmed the only woman who was to be executed alongside Bali Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran has been given a reprieve.
Attorney-General spokesman Tony Spontana confirmed Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso of the Philippines had not faced the executioner on Wednesday morning (AEST).
"There was a request from the Philippine president regarding the perpetrator who's suspected of committing human trafficking and surrendered in the Philippines," he said in a text message.
"MJ is needed for her testimony."

Bali Nine pair Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran executed by Indonesia

From AAP - ‎Wednesday‎, ‎29‎ ‎April‎ ‎2015

An Indonesian firing squad has executed Bali Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran and six other drug offenders.
The executions went ahead despite heavy international pressure on Indonesia and President Joko Widodo to grant clemency.
Officials on Cilicap have yet to confirm the executions. Attorney-General HM Prasetyo will make a media statement in Cilacap at 5.30am (0830 AEST), Cabinet Secretary, Andi Widjajanto said.
But Indonesian media has reported the eight were shot dead at 12.25am (0325 AEST) on Wednesday.
"We've carried out the executions," an Attorney General Office official, talking to the press on condition of anonymity, said, The Jakarta Post reported.
A Cilacap police officer told the Post: "The executions went well, without any disruptions."
Prayers were said for each of the eight, according to their respective religion, after the executions.
The others executed were Indonesian Zainal Abidin, Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte, Nigerians Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise, Raheem Agbaje Salami and Okwudili Oyatanze, and Ghanaian Martin Anderson.
Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso of the Philippines was spared after a woman who allegedly recruited her to act as a drug courier gave himself up to police in the Philippines on Tuesday.
"There was a request from the Philippine president regarding the perpetrator who's suspected of committing human trafficking and surrendered in the Philippines," an attorney-general spokesman said in a text message.