Cambodia Celebrates Return of ‘Priceless’ Stolen Artifacts

This handout photo taken and released by Cambodia's Government Cabinet on March 17, 2023 shows Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (L) and Cambodia's Ministry of Culture and Fine Art Phoeurng Sackona (2L) looking at jewelry during a ceremony held to unveil a collection of stolen Angkorian artifacts at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh. (Kok KY / Cambodia's Government Cabinet / AFP)
This handout photo taken and released by Cambodia's Government Cabinet on March 17, 2023 shows Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (L) and Cambodia's Ministry of Culture and Fine Art Phoeurng Sackona (2L) looking at jewelry during a ceremony held to unveil a collection of stolen Angkorian artifacts at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh. (Kok KY / Cambodia's Government Cabinet / AFP)
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Cambodia Celebrates Return of ‘Priceless’ Stolen Artifacts

This handout photo taken and released by Cambodia's Government Cabinet on March 17, 2023 shows Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (L) and Cambodia's Ministry of Culture and Fine Art Phoeurng Sackona (2L) looking at jewelry during a ceremony held to unveil a collection of stolen Angkorian artifacts at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh. (Kok KY / Cambodia's Government Cabinet / AFP)
This handout photo taken and released by Cambodia's Government Cabinet on March 17, 2023 shows Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (L) and Cambodia's Ministry of Culture and Fine Art Phoeurng Sackona (2L) looking at jewelry during a ceremony held to unveil a collection of stolen Angkorian artifacts at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh. (Kok KY / Cambodia's Government Cabinet / AFP)

Centuries-old cultural artifacts that had been illegally smuggled out from Cambodia were welcomed home Friday at a celebration led by Prime Minister Hun Sen, who offered thanks for their return and appealed for further efforts to retrieve such stolen treasures.

Many, if not all, of the items displayed at the government’s offices Friday had been looted from Cambodia during periods of war and instability, including in the 1970s when the country was under the brutal rule of the communist Khmer Rouge. Through unscrupulous art dealers, they made their way into the hands of private collectors and museums around the world.

A statement from the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts described the returned artifacts as embodying the “priceless cultural heritage and the souls of generations of Khmer ancestors.”

The statement credited the items’ return to “tremendous cooperation and support” from public and private institutions, national and international experts, and close relations with other countries through bilateral, multi-lateral and international institutions, including UNESCO, the UN Cultural Agency.

It also singled out cooperation between the Cambodian and US governments. Many of the items returned so far have come from the United States.

The returned items included important Hindu and Buddhist statues, as well as ancient jewelry from the once-mighty empire of Angkor.

In February, a spectacular collection of jewelry was returned to Cambodia from the estate of antiquities collector and dealer Douglas Latchford, who was accused of buying and selling looted artifacts. The 77 pieces of jewelry included crowns, necklaces, bracelets, belts, earrings and amulets. US prosecutors in 2019 indicted him on charges related to alleged trafficking in stolen and looted Cambodian antiquities. Latchford, who died in 2020, had denied any involvement in smuggling.

In remarks to an invited audience that included US Ambassador W. Patrick Murphy, Hun Sen said that some Cambodian sculptures are still missing and held in foreign countries, and he appealed for their return in the spirit of goodwill. He said his government is determined to use all means at its disposal to secure those stolen artifacts, including negotiations and legal action.

“The United States joins Cambodians in celebrating the return of looted artifacts back to their rightful home in the Kingdom,” said a statement from the US Embassy.

“(asterisk)For 20 years the United States has worked to protect, preserve, and honor Cambodia’s rich cultural heritage with local partners, American academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations," it said. “Through a long-standing US-Cambodia cultural property agreement, the United States has facilitated the return of over 100 priceless antiquities.”



Private Lunar Lander Blue Ghost Falls Silent on the Moon after a 2-week Mission

Private lunar lander Blue Ghost’s shadow is seen on the moon’s surface after touching down on the moon with a special delivery for NASA, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (NASA/Firefly Aerospace via AP)
Private lunar lander Blue Ghost’s shadow is seen on the moon’s surface after touching down on the moon with a special delivery for NASA, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (NASA/Firefly Aerospace via AP)
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Private Lunar Lander Blue Ghost Falls Silent on the Moon after a 2-week Mission

Private lunar lander Blue Ghost’s shadow is seen on the moon’s surface after touching down on the moon with a special delivery for NASA, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (NASA/Firefly Aerospace via AP)
Private lunar lander Blue Ghost’s shadow is seen on the moon’s surface after touching down on the moon with a special delivery for NASA, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (NASA/Firefly Aerospace via AP)

It’s lights out for the first private lunar lander to pull off a fully successful moon mission.

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander fell silent over the weekend, wrapping up two weeks of science experiments for NASA. The end came as the sun set at the moon, no longer providing energy for the lander’s solar panels.

“Mission is completed,” Firefly CEO Jason Kim said via X late Sunday night. "But the Ghost still lives on in our hearts and minds for the journey it’s taken us on!"

The lander operated five hours into the lunar night as planned before it died Sunday evening. Photos of the lunar sunset and glow will be released on Tuesday, Kim said, The AP reported.

Blue Ghost launched from Cape Canaveral in January as part of NASA’s commercial lunar delivery program. It landed at the moon’s far northeastern edge on March 2. It carried a drill, vacuum and other science and tech instruments for NASA. Firefly confirmed Monday that all 10 experiments worked.

Late last week, Blue Ghost observed a total solar eclipse from the moon — a total lunar eclipse as seen from Earth.

The Texas-based Firefly became the first private company to land on the moon without falling or crashing after a string of failed missions by other companies over the past few years. Only five countries — the United States, Russia, China, India and Japan — have achieved a successful landing.

A Japanese company's lunar lander shared the SpaceX rocket ride, but took an even longer route to get to the moon. That lander from ispace is targeting an early June touchdown.

Another Texas company, Intuitive Machines, ended up sideways in a crater near the moon's south pole earlier this month, dooming the mission. It was the second incomplete mission for Intuitive Machines. Its first lander put the US back on the moon last year for the first time since the Apollo era after a less-than-perfect landing that hampered communications.

Firefly is already working on its next lunar lander and striving for one moon landing a year.