CAMBODIA: Prime Minister Hun Manet led a celebration today marking the return of dozens of precious artefacts from museums and private collectors abroad, vowing that his government would continue working to bring more home.

The PM, who took over from his long-serving father Hun Sen last year, said the 70 returned statues symbolically reunited the Cambodian people with their ancestral souls.

INDONESIA: Police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands of protesters who attempted to storm parliament today after tearing down a section of fence and throwing stones at officers. 

The unrest forced the legislature to delay a vote on changes to election laws that could further enhance the political influence of outgoing President Joko Widodo.

RED SEA: A French destroyer rescued 29 mariners from an oil tanker that came under repeated attack, officials said today, while also destroying a bomb-carrying drone boat in the area.

Yemen’s Houthi-led government is suspected of carrying out the assault on the Sounion, now abandoned in the waterway. The attack is the most serious in the Red Sea in weeks. 

UKRAINE: The parliament ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday, taking a step towards joining the European Union.

There were concerns among some Ukrainians that ratification of the statute could allow the ICC to prosecute Ukrainian citizens participating in the current war with Russia.

A clause was added to the new legislation saying Ukraine will not recognise ICC jurisdiction in cases where the crimes may have been committed by Ukrainian nationals.