Day: November 5, 2022

H.E. Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, and Madam will pay an official visit to Cambodia from Nov. 8-11, 2022, at the invitation of Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
The forthcoming visit was announced by the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in a press release AKP received this morning.
During the visit, it pointed out, H.E. Li Keqiang will be granted a Royal Audience by His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath NORODOM SIHAMONI, King of Cambodia, at the Royal Palace.
Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen and H.E. Li Keqiang will hold a bilateral meeting at the Peace Palace, during which various aspects of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Cooperation between the two countries as well as some regional and international issues of common concern will be discussed, said the same source, adding that both Leaders will preside over the signing ceremony on a number of bilateral cooperative documents and the symbolic inauguration ceremony of the Phnom Penh-Sihanouk Ville Expressway, at the conclusion of the meeting.
H.E. Li Keqiang will lay wreathes at the Independence Monument and the Royal Memorial Statue of His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah NORODOM SIHANOUK “PREAH BOROM RATANAK KAUDH”, the Late King-Father of Cambodia.
The Chinese Premier will also visit Siem Reap province where he will preside over with H.E. Chea Sophara, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, and High Representative of Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen the handover ceremony of Takeo Temple Restoration Project.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. —
Astronomers have discovered the closest known black hole to Earth, just 1,600 light-years away.
Scientists reported Friday that this black hole is 10 times more massive than our sun. And it’s three times closer than the previous record-holder.
It was identified by observing the motion of its companion star, which orbits the black hole at about the same distance as Earth orbits the sun.
The black hole was initially identified using the European Space Agency’s Gaia spacecraft, said Kareem El-Badry of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
El-Badry and his team followed up with the International Gemini Observatory in Hawaii to confirm their findings, which were published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The researchers are uncertain how the system formed in the Milky Way. Named Gaia BH1, it’s located in the constellation Ophiuchus, the serpent-bearer.

Source: Voice of America

SINGAPORE —
A Singaporean businessman wanted by the United States on suspicion of violating sanctions on North Korea is in the city-state where he is under investigation, Singapore police said.
In a statement issued late Saturday, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said they have sought clarification from their U.S. counterparts over the reward as they have kept the U.S. informed about the ongoing probe by local authorities.
The U.S. State Department on Thursday offered $5 million for information on businessman Kwek Kee Seng, accusing him of numerous fuel deliveries to North Korea and ship-to-ship transfers as well as money laundering through front companies.
Federal prosecutors in New York in 2021 issued an arrest warrant for Kwek, a year after one of his oil tankers, the M/T Courageous, was seized by Cambodia at the request of the U.S. over alleged sanctions violations.
Kwek, 62, owns the Swanseas Port Services shipping company based in the city-state.
The State Department’s Rewards for Justice program had said his exact location was not known and that he also has been identified as being in North Korea, Cambodia, Taiwan and Thailand as well as Cameroon and the tiny Caribbean nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
But Singapore’s police said in their statement that “Kwek is presently in Singapore.”
He has been under investigation since April 2021 by the Commercial Affairs Department, the city’s white-collar crime investigation agency, and his passport has been impounded.
The Singapore police said the investigation was launched after the U.S. Justice Department announced a criminal complaint had been filed against Kwek for “allegedly conspiring to evade economic sanctions” on North Korea and for money laundering.
The SPF said they have shared information about their investigation of Kwek with U.S. law enforcement authorities.
“Since then, there were several more exchanges. Due to the nature and complexity of the case, investigations are still ongoing,” police said.
“On 4 November 2022, the SPF wrote to our U.S. counterparts to seek clarification, given that we had been in active communication with our U.S. counterparts on Kwek’s case,” it added.
“Singapore will continue to assist the US authorities within the ambit of our laws and international obligations,” it said.
The reward comes as the U.S. urges strict enforcement of United Nations sanctions on North Korea since its recent missile launches, including one missile that landed close to South Korea’s waters.

Source: Voice of America

Phnom Penh will host the ASEAN Mayors Forum (AMF) and the Meeting of Governors/Mayors of ASEAN Capitals (MGMAC) in early December.
Phnom Penh Governor H.E. Khuong Sreng confirmed the planned regional gatherings when convening a preparation meeting of the organising committee on Nov. 4 at the capital hall.
He called on a collective and thorough effort among all forces to ensure security and safety of the events.
The ASEAN Mayors Forum and the Meeting of Governors/Mayors of ASEAN Capitals will be held on Dec. 2-3 with Phnom Penh as the host.
According to H.E. Nuon Pharath, Phnom Penh Deputy Governor, Cambodia has so far invited delegates from 73 cities to attend the regional meetings.
The meetings will serve as a platform for city delegates to share experience and learn from each other to make cities across ASEAN more resilient, cleaner, and smarter.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press