A once-popular Cambodian singer alleged on social media that he received millions of dollars, a luxury car and expensive jewelry from former Prime Minister Hun Sen a decade ago – a claim that quickly brought an angry response from Hun Sen. Sapoun Mi Dada, who reached his highest fame in the early 2000s but hasn’t released any new music since 2013, said he no longer has the money or the expensive items, and pleaded for financial help from Hun Sen and his wife, Bun Rany. “About US$6.7 million, a villa, a red Mercedes, a necklace covered with 12 carat diamonds given by Samdech Father and Mother m ..read more

The young boy who was abducted as a 6-year-old turned 35 this week.  What he does, where he lives or even if he’s still alive isn’t known, thanks to the reticence of the Chinese government, which kidnapped him along with his family and his teacher 29 years ago. Beijing leaders, ever wary of potential rivals for the Communist Party’s authority, viewed the boy, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, as a possible threat.  Days earlier the Dalai Lama had named him the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, the second-highest spiritual leader in the largest sect of Tibetan Buddhism.  Tibetan leader ..read more

President Joe Biden has offered "ironclad" U.S. military support for the Philippines in the face of Chinese naval harassment in the South China Sea waters that fall within Manila's exclusive economic zone but are also claimed by Beijing as its historic territory. Biden's remarks came ahead of an unprecedented trilateral summit at the White House with counterparts Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., whose nations are longstanding U.S. treaty allies ..read more

It’s April, hunger crunch time in North Korea. The potato fields are filled with adults and children desperately hacking at the earth with hoes and wearing makeshift backpacks.  But these are not farm workers – the potato harvest ended in March. They are scavengers looking for potatoes missed by the harvesters or discarded due to spoilage. The scene at the fields in the northern province of Ryanggang is indicative of the starvation the country experiences this time of the year, as food from the year-end government rations run out, and the next scheduled rations have not yet come in, said ..read more

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a three-day visit to China on Friday with talks with President Xi Jinping and a vow that the recent dialogue between the rival powers was reducing the risk of “misunderstanding and miscalculation” that could cause conflict. But the final stretch of the trip was not without drama.  Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi earlier warned ominously of a “downward spiral” in bilateral ties amid a series of disagreements, and Xi told Blinken during talks in the cavernous Great Hall of the People that the countries “should be partners rather than rivals ..read more

One day in early April 2012, a Philippine naval surveillance plane spotted eight Chinese fishing boats inside Scarborough Shoal, a triangular chain of reefs around 125 nautical miles (232 kilometers) from Luzon, the Philippines' main island. For decades, the country's fishermen had trolled the area’s waters and used its protective lagoon as a refuge from typhoons. But this day would mark a turning point. Less than 48 hours after the Chinese boats were spotted, they were met by the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, the Philippine navy’s largest patrol vessel. Armed sailors boarded the Chinese vessels, wh ..read more

Myanmar shut a main border crossing with Thailand early on Friday as junta forces carried out airstrikes in nearby areas, Thai officials and residents of the area told Radio Free Asia.  Insurgent forces captured most of the eastern border town Myawaddy this month but they were forced to withdraw days later under the threat of junta airstrikes. Junta troops re-gained control of a main battalion headquarters  in the town on Wednesday.  Residents of the Thai town of Mae Sot, over a border river from Myawaddy, said they heard explosions early on Friday, apparently coming from junta ..read more

Vietnam’s ruling party relieved one of the country’s top lawmakers of his post as chairman of the National Assembly on Friday, media reported, citing his violations of regulations affecting the party and the state. The Communist Party's Central Committee let Vuong Dinh Hue resign “at his personal request” after an extraordinary meeting, Vietnamese news sites reported. The Central Committee is the party’s highest authority. His removal comes amid a party crackdown on corruption in which thousands of people, including regional and national government officials and senior business leaders, have b ..read more

A Myanmar junta airstrike on a hospital in the west of the country has killed four people, including patients and staff, and wounded 15, a rebel group told Radio Free Asia on Friday.  The Thursday strike hit a hospital in Chin state’s Mindat township, the anti-junta People’s Administration in the region said.  The state, bordering India, has seen a surge of violence since the Myanmar military staged a coup in early 2021, with junta forces  accused of frequently razing villages of the largely Christian minority and persecution, including the planting of landmines. “They dropped s ..read more

China has expressed “grave concern” about the possibility of Japan joining the AUKUS security pact, saying it would undermine peace and stability in the region and the world. A spokesperson at China’s defense ministry said on Thursday that China was open to normal military cooperation between countries but “we firmly oppose relevant countries cobbling together exclusive groupings.”  North Korea, meanwhile, said the United States has made “reckless moves” to involve Japan to “frantically expand its alliance sphere without limits.” Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. formed the AUKUS ..read more