The Bureau of Investigative Journalism • 27th March 2024

Online gig work is feeding Russia’s surveillance machine

The world was watching as people gathered in Moscow to pay their respects to Alexei Navalny, the opposition leader who died in a Russian prison last month. So too were about 200,000 cameras that make up the city's vast surveillance system, one of the most extensive in the world.

POLITICO • 21st September 2023

On shaky grounds - the secret, slipshod evidence the EU uses to sanction Russian oligarchs

It was an unusual apology: from the office of the president of the European Council to a sanctioned Russian oligarch. In a confidential evidence packet used by the European Union to justify freezing his assets, Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor’s nationality had been listed as “Jewish/Russian.”

POLITICO Europe • 14th February 2024

The Baltic border loophole in EU's Russia sanctions

Customs officials in EU frontline states know that truckers are shipping banned goods into Russia — but they can’t do much about it.

POLITICO Europe • 2nd February 2023

On the hunt for Vladimir Putin's ex-wife and her ironman husband

The apartment belongs to the husband of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ex-wife, but the man who answers the door tells me it could be mine — for a price. He’s stocky, dressed in a tight white T-shirt, and he speaks with a Russian accent.

POLITICO Europe • 6th September 2023

Most EU countries oppose Polish-led calls to keep Ukraine grain curbs

Most EU countries are against extending an import ban on Ukrainian grain beyond mid-September, four EU diplomats told POLITICO, pushing back against calls by five eastern member countries to keep the restrictions in place.

POLITICO • 24th February 2022

Swiss to tighten measures targeting Russia — but not yet freeze individual assets

Swiss officials say they aim to tighten rules targeting Russia, but are still deciding on certain concrete steps and will not immediately freeze assets of wealthy oligarchs held in Swiss banks, which may allow them to move funds elsewhere.

dpa International • 25th January 2021

Britain, EU forge last-minute 'historic' post-Brexit trade deal

Brussels/London (dpa) - Britain and the European Union have struck a historic post-Brexit trade deal just days before London was set to free-fall out of the bloc's single market on January 1.

South China Morning Post • 20th February 2020

Cambodian city loses bet as money for Chinese casinos dries up

Thousands of Chinese construction workers have been left unpaid and stranded in Cambodian city as work on half-built casinos backed by Chinese investors comes to a halt following August ban on online gambling.

Al Jazeera • 14th March 2020

Cambodia to host war games with China amid coronavirus outbreak

Cambodia is set to kick off its annual joint military exercise with China on Saturday, with thousands of soldiers expected to join despite events being cancelled around the world amid the coronavirus pandemic. This year's Golden Dragon annual exercise will take place at a military training site in the southern Kampot province and will focus on "counterterrorism and humanitarianism".

Washington Post • 15th February 2020

Shackled and locked up, Cambodia’s mentally ill languish in limbo

SIEM REAP, Cambodia — The slender 15-year-old shifts restlessly from one knee to the other on the wooden floor of his family's houseboat. He has just finished a dinner of rice and fish, but he can't play with the other children: His ankle is shackled, and he can move only within a three-foot radius. "Our boy has a mental problem," said his mother, Seam, a shy woman in her early 40s with long hair and a broad smile. "We put him in chains because he likes to smell gasoline, and when he does that too much, he damages his health. So we need to keep him from getting out.

The Guardian • 17th June 2019

Where does your plastic go? Global investigation reveals America's dirty secret

What happens to your plastic after you drop it in a recycling bin? According to promotional materials from America’s plastics industry, it is whisked off to a factory where it is seamlessly transformed into something new. But this doesn't reflect the reality on the ground.

Al Jazeera • 25th April 2020

China's dams exacerbated extreme drought in lower Mekong: Study

Southeast Asian countries would have likely experienced a much less severe drought last year if it were not for China's dams, a new study says, prompting a pushback from the intergovernmental Mekong River Commission (MRC). The 4,000-km (2,485-mile) Mekong is one of the world's longest rivers - winding through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam - and millions of people rely on it daily for food and income.

Voice of America • 14th February 2020

100s of Children in Cambodia Work in Brick Factories, Report Finds

Efforts to end child labor in the country by 2020 have officially begun, but observers remain skeptical as to whether the goal is attainable

Al Jazeera • 11th February 2020

EU to suspend some of Cambodia trade benefits over human rights

Cambodia's government is preparing for the European Union to partially and temporarily remove the country's Everything But Arms (EBA) trade privileges on Wednesday, in the wake of a 2018 political crackdown. The EU warned Cambodia last February it would withdraw the scheme unless it made more effort to improve the human rights situation. The deadline for a decision is February 12.

Al Jazeera • 15th January 2020

Cambodia: 'Treason' trial for opposition leader begins

A court has begun its "treason" trial for opposition leader Kem Sokha more than two years after his arrest. Almost no journalists and no non-governmental organisations were allowed into the courtroom on Wednesday, drawing criticism from civil society groups and the press.

Al Jazeera • 12th January 2020

Mekong communities struggle as China tests dam equipment

Water levels on the Mekong River, which flows through China and five other countries before emptying into the South China Sea, have dropped once again after Beijing revealed it was testing equipment at one of its 11 dams in the upper reaches of the vital waterway.

Voice of America • 30th December 2019

Observers: Cambodian Government Tightened Grip on Power in 2019

This past year, Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Sen, consolidated his power, observers say, pointing to intimidation of the opposition and a minimal improvement of human rights following the European Union’s threat to withdraw the trade agreement Everything But Arms. “We're seeing the real Cambodia and the real Cambodian government, which is rights abusing, corrupt and non-democratic."

Al Jazeera • 26th December 2019

Experts doubt effectiveness of new plan to address Mekong drought

After a year of severe drought that hit the region, the inter-state agency Mekong River Commission (MRC) has laid out new measures to mitigate the effects of the crisis but experts have questioned the effectiveness of the plan.

Al Jazeera • 19th December 2019

'Beautifying Phnom Penh': Muslim Cham face eviction in Cambodia

Cambodia's Muslim Cham are facing eviction in Phnom Penh, putting their livelihoods at risk.

Al Jazeera • 25th November 2019

Officials to meet on Mekong crisis as fishing communities suffer

Siem Reap, Cambodia - On Cambodia's Tonle Sap, record low water levels have plunged fishing communities into crisis but with warnings of "severe drought", there are concerns the situation will get even worse. "Every day we can only find about one or two kilogrammes of fish, and you can see there are many people in the family," fisherman Lay Non said. "How can we feed everyone?"