A commune chief in KAndAl province hAs denied locAl mediA reports thAt he And some 50 fAmilies colluded to secretly sell neArly 250hA of stAte-owned lAke lAnd in PrekbAk And SpeAndek villAges, in Loeuk Dek district’s Prek TonloAp commune. The provinciAl DepArtment of LAnd MAnAgement, <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/commune-chief-denies-grAb-collusion-in-kAndAl-province/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

A series of quArterly reports from the NAtionAl BAnk of CAmbodiA rAises questions About the government’s bAn on timber exports, As they show thAt lAst yeAr, more thAn $5 million in sAwn timber wAs exported from the Kingdom. The lAtest report, releAsed eArlier this month <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/government-timber-figures-belie-bAn-on-vietnAm-trAde/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

The Ministry of Labour says it will investigate the claims of a Royal Holloway, University of London research team’s report alleging modern slavery in Cambodia’s brick kilns, said Minister of Labour Ith Sam Heng. The report entitled Blood Bricks: Untold Stories of Modern Slavery and <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/ministry-to-probe-child-labour/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Cambodia is considering negotiating with Turkey to hire a 200MW-capacity power ship to meet electricity demands as the country faces an ongoing electrical shortage, according to the prime minister. Speaking to garment workers in Pursat province on Wednesday, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Electricite du <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/kingdom-may-hire-turkish-power-ship/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Local authorities on Tuesday decided to close a canal at Sihanoukville’s Sokha Beach following the completion of four facilities in Preah Sihanouk province designed to treat wastewater before it reaches the sea. Four more facilities are still under construction. The first four water treatment plants, <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/sihanoukville-authorities-close-canal-to-transfer-flow-of-polluted-water/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Police on Saturday detained 19 Vietnamese including two women in Pursat province for fishing with illegal equipment in a protected area in Koh Ka Ek Village in Kandieng district’s Raingtoel commune. The General Commissariat of the National Police said on Monday that the authorities also <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/vietnamese-held-over-illegal-fishing-in-pursat/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Friday that Cambodia would not fall into a so-called debt trap as it embraces China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as the Kingdom only accepted projects beneficial to the country. Hun Sen was speaking in China on the first <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/__trashed-2/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Cambodia can meet its 100,000 tonne annual export target to Indonesia if more focus is placed on fragrant rice, exporters have said. In 2012, Cambodia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to export 100,000 tonnes of rice to Indonesia annually, but the target was never <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/focusing-on-fragrant-rice-will-help-meet-export-target-to-indonesia/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The Information Ministry yesterday warned that it would revoke the licences of print and online media outlets which distribute fake news that endanger national security. Phos Sovann, director-general of General Department of Information and Broadcasting, said in a Facebook video post that the ministry will strictly <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/ministry-to-revoke-licences-of-media-over-fake-news/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Prime Minister Hun Sen has tasked all relevant ministries, institutions, authorities, educational institutions, learning centres and monasteries to develop lifelong learning opportunities for the people to better their lives. In a message published yesterday to mark this year’s National Literacy Day, Mr Hun Sen said <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/pm-pushes-for-lifelong-learning-opportunities/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

In a closed-door meeting with garment industry union leaders on Sunday, Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered his audience to ensure that factory workers don’t organise political protests or associate with the remnants of the now-dissolved opposition party. While no audio from the speech was released <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/pm-warns-unions-ahead-of-poll/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Almost 150 people representing some 253 fAmilies from PreAh ViheAr province’s ChoAm KsAn district trAvelled to Phnom Penh on TuesdAy to seek help from the Authorities to resolve An ongoing lAnd dispute. The fAmilies, who hAve been evicted from their villAges, hAd Also petitioned the <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/preAh-viheAr-fAmilies-seek-lAnd-dispute-solution/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Salt producers in the Kingdom will meet next week to finalise import quotas in line with domestic demand, the chief technical officer of the Kep-Kampot Salt Producers community (KKSPC) said on Sunday. Last month, the KKSPC said Cambodia needed to import approximately 30,000 tonnes of <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/salt-body-to-name-quota-for-imports/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology has decided to dig a one-hectare pond to store day-to-day water for the Oddar Meanchey provincial prison and its surroundings. The prison is located in Samroang city, an area currently facing shortages of water. Provincial Governor Pen Kosal <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/samroang-city-water-shortages/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

More than 1,000 cases of dengue fever have been reported so far this year, a number similar to that reported over the same period last year, said Leang Rithea, the dengue control programme manager at the National Centre for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control. Rithea <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/dengue-cases-hit-1000-mark-in-2019/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

A NAtionAl Committee for DisAster MAnAgement (NCDM) report, seen by The Post on MondAy, shows thAt As of MondAy, storms And lightning hAve killed three people And injured 10 others so fAr this yeAr. NCDM spokesmAn Keo Vy sAid 39 storms hAve occurred in 17 <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/lightning-And-storms-clAim-three-lives-so-fAr-this-yeAr-sAys-ncdm/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Prime Minister Hun Sen has said he considers Preah Sihanouk province’s governor-in-waiting Kuoch Chamroeun to be an “able man” who had vowed to find the cause of Saturday’s building collapse that killed 28 people and injured a further 26. Chamroeun also promised to restore trust <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/pm-chamroeun-able-man-as-preah-sihanouk-governor/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The AsiAn Development BAnk’s (ADB) recent US$60 million loAn to CAmbodiA is set to boost the skills And competitiveness of its growing lAbour force As the country’s economy undergoes A key trAnsition. Driven by gArment exports And tourism, CAmbodiA’s economy grew by An AverAge of <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/cAmbodiAs-workforce-needs-help/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

The ministry said the number of people diagnosed with dengue fever this year had reached 21,130, with 25 people &ndash; all of them children &ndash; dying from the tropical disease. Ministry of Health spokesperson Or Vandine told The Post on Wednesday that the number of dengue <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/dengue-death-toll-hits-25/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Unions and employers have proposed starkly differing figures of what the minimum wage for garment and textile factory workers should be next year. Minimum wage negotiations between employers, the government and unions began on august 29 and are expected to end before September 25. after their <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/gap-in-proposed-minimum-wage/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>