As always, the weekly news from Cambodia is about some good, some bad and some ugly. It never ceases to amaze me how the dichotomy that is the country is all pervasive, from the grand to the horrible, to the ancient to the brand-spanking-new, right up to from the historical to today's news.

Starting with another big bump in tourism, with Korea being the country sending the most visitors. A plane crash that killed 22 people, most Koreans, may impact future numbers, however.

A new air service that had only been running since January was taking passengers from Sihanoukville to Siem Reap when it went down. There were no survivors.

I've written before about the fallout from the Global Witness report on illegal logging and the toll it's taking on press freedom in Cambodia.

This article has a heck of a lot more on the story, including the closure of the French and Khmer-language newspaper Cambodge Soir, and the reaction from international press freedom watchdog group Reporters Without Borders.

Well worth a click and a read.

Follow that up with this about a journalist having to flee the country, and you'll get more of the big picture.

For a little fun, this story out of Ireland about BBC Radio 1 DJ Edith Bowman catching crocodiles in Cambodia is a hoot. It's about filming a segment of the program "Saving Planet Earth" called "Edith Bowman-Saving Crocodiles" and sounds like something to keep an eye open for.

Here's a "Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the UN International Day in Support of the Victims of Torture" that must be read.

I mentioned this article already, but wanted to plunk the info here, too, about a couple of hotels in Siem Reap that practice paying it forward. Great stuff!

This report from Time gives a look at why rich countries keep "funneling millions of dollars every year to a corrupt country like Cambodia". Scary.

And for a look at what Cambodian bloggers are saying about the recent donor meetings, this report is an eye-opener.

Making someone happy, I'm sure, Cambodian lawmakers have approved a package of "anti-terror laws that include phone tapping and computer hacking as part of a broad package.

And finally, for anyone traveling to Cambodia any time soon, an outbreak of Dengue Fever is taking a toll.

In the past six months around 7,655 Cambodian children have been hospitalized with the mosquito-borne illness, and 109 have died. How many have suffered and died outside of hospital care can't be known.

I've had Dengue twice, and can attest to the fact that it's a mighty nasty bug. Unlike malaria, there is no prophylaxis, and treatment is limited to pain and fever control. It's often called "Breakbone Fever" because of crippling muscle pain. About the only thing you can do is to avoid being bitten, but since repellant and such isn't an option for most Cambodians, avoidance is tough.