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.”



Flash Floods in Southern Spain Prompt Officials to Evacuate over 350 Homes

A van is swept away by the current of the Campanillas river, in Almogia, Malaga province, Spain, 18 March 2025. EPA/JORGE ZAPATA
A van is swept away by the current of the Campanillas river, in Almogia, Malaga province, Spain, 18 March 2025. EPA/JORGE ZAPATA
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Flash Floods in Southern Spain Prompt Officials to Evacuate over 350 Homes

A van is swept away by the current of the Campanillas river, in Almogia, Malaga province, Spain, 18 March 2025. EPA/JORGE ZAPATA
A van is swept away by the current of the Campanillas river, in Almogia, Malaga province, Spain, 18 March 2025. EPA/JORGE ZAPATA

Flash floods unleashed by heavy rains promoted officials in southern Spain to evacuate over 350 homes, shut down roads and cancel classes on Tuesday.

Regional officials ordered the evacuation of 365 homes in the village of Campanillas near Malaga city late on Monday after a nearby river burst its banks. The evacuees spent the night in a municipal sports hall.

Andalusia's interior chief Antonio Sanz said that 19 rivers in Andalusia were on red alert for flooding on Tuesday, as bad weather spread from Malaga on the southern coast to landlocked areas near Sevilla and Cordoba. A total of 40 highways across Andalusia as well as some rail lines had to be closed due to rising waters.

The same area in Malaga was hit in November when heavy rains across a large swath of Spain led to devastating flooding in the country's east, claiming 233 lives mostly in Valencia.

Spain, which has suffered from a prolonged drought in recent years, has received steady rainfall especially in its south for the last two weeks, and the latest storm proved too much for reservoirs and riverbanks.

Scientists and government officials link these swings between extreme dry and wet spells to climate change, which has also produced increasingly hot summers in Spain.