Cambodia

Ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra will visit Cambodia this week in his new role as the government's economics adviser, the Cambodian Prime Minister told reporters Sunday. "Thaksin will be at the Ministry of Economy and Finance on November 12, to do a briefing with more than 300 Cambodian economics experts," Hun Sen told a news conference at Phnom Penh International Airport. The visit is likely to increase tensions between Cambodia and Thailand, which have escalated since Wednesday when Cambodia announced the appointment of Thaksin, who was ousted as Thai prime minister in a 2006 coup. Both countries Thursday recalled their respective ambassadors and Thailand ... Read Full Story

The head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations urged Thailand and Cambodia to show "maximum restraint" amid tensions over Phnom Penh's job offer to a fugitive former Thai premier. ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan said the 10-country bloc should not be seen to be divided by the dispute ahead of a historic meeting with US President Barack Obama and regional leaders later this month. Cambodia and Thailand on Thursday recalled their respective ambassadors after Cambodia appointed Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted as Thailand's prime minister in a coup in 2006, as an economic adviser. Thailand and Cambodia have fought a series deadly clashes ... Read Full Story

Cambodia recalled its ambassador to Thailand on Thursday, the deputy prime minister said just hours after Bangkok pulled its envoy in a row over Phnom Penh's job offer to former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra. "To reciprocate the recall of Thailand's ambassador-designate, the Royal Government of Cambodia decided to recall its ambassador for the time being but regards this only as a temporary measure," Deputy Prime Minister Sok An said. Sok An told a news conference in Phnom Penh that the Cambodian envoy would be sent back to Bangkok "only after Thailand has sent its ambassador-designate to Cambodia". The Cambodian government announced the appointment of ... Read Full Story

Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been appointed as an economic adviser to the Cambodian government. Photograph: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images Thailand-Cambodia Tensions Rise Over Appointment of Fugitive Thai Official — Voice of America Tensions between Southeast Asian neighbors Thailand and Cambodia are high after Cambodia’s leader appointed a fugitive former Thai prime minister as an advisor. Both countries have withdrawn their ambassadors and claim interference in their internal affairs. Regional political analysts say relations between Bangkok and Phnom Penh are the worst they have been in several years. Read more …. More News On Tensions Between Thailand And Cambodia Thailand, Cambodia dispute not good for ASEAN: ... Read Full Story

On a muggy afternoon in Cambodia's ancient Angkor complex, workers in hardhats hunch over the world's biggest jigsaw puzzle, painstakingly assembling sandstone blocks. Walled-off from camera-toting tourists, they are finally close to completing an astonishing reconstruction of the fabled 11th century Baphuon Temple. "This is not easy to plan like a construction project is," says architect Pascal Royere from the French School of Asian Studies, who is leading the rebuilding team. Restorers dismantled Baphuon in the 1960s when it was falling apart, laying some 300,000 of its stone blocks in the grass and jungle around the site. But before the French-led team of archaeologists ... Read Full Story