08/02/2026

WORLD 7 theSun on Sunday FEB 8, 2026

Unesco-listed temple scarred by shelling

PREAH VIHEAR: Chunks of broken sandstone litter Unesco-listed Preah Vihear Temple, whose sandstone facades are pocked with fresh shrapnel scars after weeks of border clashes. Considered a masterpiece of Khmer architecture that looks out over the northern Cambodian plains, the temple became a war zone when a border dispute erupted into fighting with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops last year. AFP was the first international

media outlet to access the Preah Vihear Temple since the clashes, documenting extensive damage to the ornate sandstone complex dating back to the 11th century. Cambodian officials said the destruction resulted from heavy artillery shelling and aerial bombardment carried out by the Thai army. “The damage is very serious,” said Ea Darith, director of conservation and archeology at the Preah Vihear Authority, which is in charge of preserving the temple.

He said 420 parts of the complex were damaged in December, and another 142 in a previous round of violence in July. “Some temple structures could collapse. We need urgent intervention,” he said. Ea Darith said Cambodia will consult Unesco on how to make repairs. The UN cultural agency said last month that it would send a team to assess the damage following a Cambodian request. It did not immediately respond

BEIJING: Kong’s commerce chief on Friday summoned the Panamanian Consul General in the city to condemn a court ruling that annulled Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison’s contract to operate two ports at the Panama Canal. The move came after China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office warned Panama of “heavy prices” to pay over the decision earlier this week. Hong Kong’s Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Algernon Yau Ying-wah, expressed “strong dissatisfaction and opposition” to the Panama Supreme Court’s decision during a meeting with the Panamanian Consul General, Jose Ramon de Jesus Varela Fabrega. Yau said the company had made large investments and created jobs in Panama over many years. He criticised Panama for “destroying its national credibility” in a move that he said would cause far reaching damage to the country’s business environment and economic development and seriously undermine international trade rules. He urged the Panamanian government to respect the spirit of the contract and provide a fair and just business environment for companies lawfully operating locally. “Hong Kong companies operating and investing in Panama should receive fair and reasonable treatment and protections,” Yau said. CK Hutchison has moved to challenge the ruling, with its Panama Ports Company unit launching international arbitration proceedings. Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino called the court’s decision definitive and said he did not expect the situation to escalate. “Panama is a dignified country and will not allow itself to be threatened by any country,” he said. – Reuters Hong Kong summons Panama envoy Hong A contested area near the temple was also the site of military clashes in 2008. Some of the damage inflicted during last year’s fighting cannot be repaired, said Hem Sinath, deputy director of the Preah Vihear Authority. “The Thai army fired a lot at the temple on the last day,” said a police officer stationed at the temple. “The damage is everywhere. They wanted to destroy the temple.” – AFP

to a request for comment on Friday. “Restoration will be difficult, take time and cost a lot,” Ea Darith said. The Preah Vihear Temple, which has been a Unesco heritage site since 2008, has been a point of contention between Thailand and Cambodia. The International Court of Justice granted Cambodia sovereignty over Preah Vihear in 1962 and over a patch of land surrounding the temple in 2013, but Thailand does not recognise the tribunal’s jurisdiction. said she lost all her belongings except a wardrobe when her house was destroyed by shelling, but told reporters: “I’m not scared because the army is around me.” She had “many good Cambodian friends”, she said, and was “sorry our armies are fighting”. Thai farmers were expected to benefit from the land newly brought under the military’s control once its allocation was finalised, said a senior officer. Thailand welcomed Cambodian war refugees to the area after the Khmer Rouge fell in 1979. Some Cambodian families remained long after. At the temple shelter, 67 year-old farmer Sok Chork said he settled in Prey Chan in 1980, when the area was landmine infested and undeveloped. “When it was forest, it was not theirs. But after Cambodians built concrete homes, they said it was their land,” he said. – AFP

A tale of two villages BAN NONG CHAN: A sign hanging from a rusty green shipping container installed by Thai forces on what they say is the border with Cambodia proclaims: “Cambodian citizens are strictly prohibited from entering this area.” in December. “The Thais reset us to zero,” Kim Ren said. Just to the north, where the village is known as Ban Nong Chan, Thai soldiers stood guard in front of an excavator filling a truck with debris during a media tour. buying a plot of land for US$40 in 1993. The border conflict stems from a dispute over the French colonial-era demarcation of their 800km frontier. The dispute erupted into clashes last year, killing dozens of people and displacing more than a million in July and December. Cambodians lament loss of property

Phnom Penh says Thai forces captured several areas in border provinces and demanded their withdrawal, while Bangkok insists it has reclaimed land that was part of Thailand and had been occupied by Cambodians for years. Thai flags flapped in the breeze and barbed wire lay scattered in Klong Paeng, another border village on the Thai military trip. Army spokesman Winthai Suvaree said Thai forces had “reclaimed” about 64ha in the village in December. Farmer Pongsri Rapan, 60,

On the opposite side of the makeshift barricade, fronted by coils of barbed wire, Cambodians lamented their lost homes and livelihoods as Thailand’s military showed off its gains. Thai forces took control of several patches of disputed land along the border during fighting last year, which could amount to several square kilometres in total. Cambodian Kim Ren said her house in Chouk Chey used to stand on what is now the Thai side of the barricade, and was bulldozed by Bangkok’s forces after a ceasefire agreement Queen’s image on coins ridiculed

Kim Ren is among more than 1,200 families from her village and Prey Chan, another contested location, who have been staying at a temple for weeks, according to local authorities. Blue tents donated by China are packed into the grounds of the pagoda 20km to the south, where residents manage as best they can. “Now, the thieves have seized everything,” said Kim Ren – her land, US$30,000 (RM118,395) worth of grocery inventory and a US$50,000 house she built after moving to the area and

SYDNEY: Australia’s royal mint has defended a widely-lampooned image of the late Queen Elizabeth II on new commemorative coins celebrating her life. The “stunning heavenly” 50 cent and A$5 coins were revealed by the mint this week, featuring a front-facing effigy of the queen to celebrate her reign, 100 years after her birth. But the image, which the Royal Australian Mint described on Thursday as a “stunning portrait” rendered with “warmth and dignity”, evoked widespread online mirth. “No. Stop, don’t release it, melt them all and get a proper portrait of The Queen, not a screen shot of Mrs Doubtfire,” said one user in reply to the mint’s revelation on Facebook, comparing the portrait to the character played by Robin Williams in the film. “There’s a reason most portraits are from the side. Looks like she just ran into a wall,” said another. Queen Elizabeth, who died in 2022, reigned for more than 70 years and had strong ties with Australia, which has the British monarch as its head of state. The mint posted an explanation of the coins’ details, including motifs celebrating the late monarch’s love of horses and corgi dogs. “Our coin images don’t always capture the full beauty of a design once it’s etched in metal,” it conceded. – AFP

READY FOR POLLS ... A Thai police officer watches closely as polling station committee members check papers during the set up of a station in Bangkok ahead of today’s general election. – REUTERSPIC