Expats traveling to Cambodia may want to know that Hun Sen doesn’t plan to vacate power any time soon…Pacific South Morning Journal ®

So what’s behind Cambodia's crackdown on the opposition?

Cambodia's supreme court disbanded the country's main opposition party on Thursday.

Hun Sen, 65, is one of the world's longest-serving leaders, first taking office as prime minister of Cambodia in 1985. Rights groups say hundreds of opposition figures, journalists, trade union leaders and others have been killed in politically motivated attacks during his time in power.

Hun Sen's dominance was challenged in parliamentary elections in 2013, when the newly formed Cambodia National Rescue Party nearly pulled off an upset. Since then, its leaders have either been jailed or pushed into exile.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court dissolved the party, accepting the government's claim that it conspired with foreigners to stage a revolution.

This effectively allows the ruling party to run uncontested in next year's polls.

So, will the court's ruling help consolidate Hun Sen's three-decade-long grip on power?

I think that within two years my assets will decrease, there won’t be a gain. And besides my salary I don’t have any other income. But I think my children will support me, they won’t let me starve.”

That was how Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen first replied when he asked by the anticorruption unit of Cambodia about his assets in 2011. He also claimed that he took home an annual salary of just US$13,800, and that it was his sole source of income.

On 7 July however, the anti-corruption activist group Global Witness published a report which revealed the colossal wealth of Hun Sen’s family, which could not have come from accumulating an annual salary of US$13,800 a year.

Hun Sen’s family members are alleged to be major stakeholders in several large international corporations such as Procter and Gamble, Apple, Nokia, Visa, Unilever, Durex and Honda with a total capital of more than US$200m. Their total assets are between US$500 million and US$1 billion, according to experts, the report said.

For this reason, as the Global Witness report has proposed, there should be a reformation of the Anti-Corruption Law which will leave no room for Hun Sen and his family members to continue their exploits with impunity. They should, as the report also recommended, also be obliged to publicly declare their assets and business holdings in order to boost the culture of transparency and accountability in Cambodia.

For those of us who are in the Philippines this is Déjà vu all over again.. i.e. Marcos….

Options For Submitting your 7162 Proof of Life form to SSA

Mail the Form SSA-7162 U. S. Postal Service Social Security Administration P.O. Box 7162 Wilkes-Barre, PA 18767-7162 U.S.A. Courier the Form SSA-7162 Private Delivery Service (FedEx (Air-21), UPS, LBC, etc.) Social Security Administration Data Operations Center Attn: SSA-7162 Process 1150 E. Mountain Drive Wilkes-Barre, PA 18767-7162 U.S.A. FAX Form SSA-7162 You can FAX the form to the international desk using the following fax numbers: If the last 2 digits of your social security number is 00 to 16: 410-965-5882 If the last 2 digits of your social security number is 17 to 32: 410-966-6782 If the last 2 digits of your social security number is 33 to 49: 410-965-8054 If the last 2 digits of your social security number is 50 to 66: 410-965-9409 If the last 2 digits of your social security number is 57 to 82: 410-966-5552 If the last 2 digits of your social security number is 83 to 99: 410-966-1042 Be safe and attach a cover letter with your name & address as well as your SS#.

Philippines 13a Visa Requirements Explained - Pacific South Morning Journal ®

So you’ve moved to The Philippines, fallen in love and now you’re married. Welcome to the club! It’s time to take care of the practical side of living here permanently, and one way to do that is to obtain a Philippines 13A visa. This allows you to live here in the Philippines indefinitely and puts an end to those monthly visits to the hot and bothersome immigration office once and for all. So how do you go about getting the 13A visa? Let us explain via this handy FAQ! Q. Who’s eligible for a 13A visa? A. Anybody married to a Filipino. If you’re married (either here or abroad), you’re eligible. Q. Where can I find the relevant law at its source? A. A quick Google search for ‘Philippine Immigration Act 1940, Section 13’ will bring up the exact law. You can see for yourself exactly what it says. Alternatively click here . Q. Where can I apply for the 13A visa? A. You can apply in Cebu, Manila, and Davao. While you can’t apply in any other city as of the time of writing you can ask...

How Brexit turned the UK German

Industrial strategy, devolution and public investment. Stian Westlake offers up a fairy tale. of 2017. Share: When Britain voted to leave the European Union, few people expected it would result in the UK becoming more like Germany, the country that runs the European show. But that’s what ended up happening, and it was in 2017 that the process really began. Industrial strategy was the first step. Theresa May’s government decided that Britain’s ever-increasing trade deficit was a luxury that the UK, as an independent nation, could no longer afford. Already in 2016 Philip Hammond had begun to deviate from decades of Treasury orthodoxy by announcing £23 billion of investments into infrastructure, skills and research. Over the course of 2017, the UK proved the Treasury view wrong by investing effectively in downstream R&D, identifying its real industrial strengths, focusing big government budgets like health and energy on innovation, and sowing the seeds for a revival of productive bu...

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