India is looking to ease its visa regime for ASEAN nations in a bid to increase Buddhist tourist arrivals – travellers looking to visit Buddhist heritage sites – to the country, India’s vice president said. ...

The government is reviewing a mammoth $1-billion proposal by the Thai Boon Roong Group to build twin commercial skyscrapers in Phnom Penh which, if constructed, would be among the world’s tallest buildings. ...

In the wake of the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) clearing him of any wrongdoing, a Phnom Penh commune police chief yesterday refuted allegations that he had accepted protection pay-offs from neighbourhood drug dealers. ...

China’s Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng, who has been on an official visit to Cambodia, will discuss roads, railways, airport construction, agriculture and other projects with senior government officials in the next few days. ...

Twelve NGOs have issued an open letter to the UN Human Rights Council urging it to adopt a strong resolution on what they term the grave deterioration of the human rights situation in Cambodia. ...

Cambodia should seek to enlarge its market share of the Thai consumer market by focusing on the export of unique items, a visiting Thai trade promoter said during a workshop in Phnom Penh yesterday. ...

The Chinese government will import 200,000 tons of rice from Cambodia from next year – double the current amount – and will also help in the restoration of Preah Vihear temple, it was announced yesterday. ...

The Cambodia National Rescue Party plans to ask the National Election Committee to investigate the citizenship status of more than 400 people who have recently logged their names in the new digital voter lists. ...

Borei Keila residents reacted with outrage yesterday when City Hall announced only 34 of 154 displaced families will get on-site housing in the community, following a reassessment of the land dispute victims’ claims. ...

Trade unions are proposing a new committee to monitor the country’s social fund for injured workers, pension program for civil servants and health care for the poor in a bid to improve and expand coverage. ...

Officials with the Interior Ministry and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Thursday that a fifth person from Australia’s refugee camps on Nauru had arrived in Cambodia, but declined to provide any details. ...

Cambodian entrepreneurs and business leaders on Saturday stressed the challenges for firms in the hospitality and retail sectors that adopt an aggressive pricing policy, suggesting a more value-added approach instead.   ...

Thousands of workers and unions gathered yesterday to celebrate the 130th International Labor Day, once again demanding the government raise the minimum wage in the garment and footwear industries to $207 a month. ...

In a bid to increase visitor numbers, the government has agreed to issue three-year multiple-entry visas to Chinese, South Korean and Japanese tourists later this year, Tourism Minister Thong Khon said yesterday. ...

To help improve the logistics sector, the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation has announced it will set up the Logistics Committee, which will work to improve the flow of goods in the Kingdom. ...

A study of drinking water sources in Kandal province found widespread contamination from human excrement, posing a health risk to residents that likely mirrors the situation across Cambodia, the authors say.   ...

A new initiative aimed at encouraging more trading on Cambodia’s persistently quiet stock exchange will allow securities underwriters and dealers to become liquidity providers who can hold and trade shares in listed companies. ...

Vietnamese budget airline VietJet will re-launch flights to Cambodia at the end of October following a six-month halt in the service due to unspecified market issues, an aviation official said yesterday. ...

Anti-human trafficking police yesterday arrested six suspected traffickers who were in the process of arranging for three Cambodian women to be flown to China to marry local men, a court official said yesterday. ...

State-owned agriculture company Green Trade said yesterday that it will not participate in the latest Philippine government’s rice auction as Cambodia’s rice cannot compete on price with neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam. ...