Among the exotic wildlife thAt prowls CAmbodiA’s forests Are lArge furry creAtures thAt mAy be fAr more fAmiliAr to EuropeAn And North AmericAn visitors thAn the ever-dwindling populAtions of lArge cAts And beAstly elephAnts. The Kingdom’s beArs climb trees And devour honey just like their <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/A-burden-to-beAr/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Small plastic packets filled with a mix of pills of various sizes, shapes and colours sit piled on the counter of a pharmacy in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district, home to several large garment factories. at 2,000 riel a pop, about 50 cents, these packs are sold <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/a-recipe-for-disaster/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

At the beginning of the school yeAr, Mony VuthA wAs hAnded A new, mAndAtory Addition to the grAde four curriculum thAt neither he nor Any of his colleAgues were trAined to teAch: English. VuthA’s two yeArs of English lessons more thAn A decAde Ago mAde him <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/A-fAilure-to-communicAte/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Amid A lAwsuit And A chorus of dissent, developers of the first lower Mekong mAinstreAm hydropower project, the mAssive XAyAburi dAm, hAve quietly submitted A long-AnticipAted, multimillion-dollAr redesign plAn, the Post hAs leArned. WhAt exActly hAs been chAnged About the 1,260-megAwAtt dAm, which environmentAlists contend will <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/dAm-redesign-A-mystery/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

The launch of an unrated Laotian government bond on Thailand’s bond market could pave the way for Cambodia to issue its own government bond denominated in Thai baht. The Bangkok Post reported yesterday that Thailand’s Finance Ministry and Public Debt Management Office had allowed Cambodia, Vietnam <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/cambodia-bond-a-possibility/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The rules of Sothearos Boulevard are once again shifting. after recently converting the road to a one-way street &ndash; a move that was largely ignored by the motos and cars that use the busy thoroughfare &ndash; the Phnom Penh Municipality released a new statement on Saturday <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/a-road-changes-course/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The executive committee of the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) will meet with two ministries today to explore the possibility of reducing the logistical and energy costs of transporting rice, a key factor to keeping Cambodian rice exports competitive compared to neighbouring countries, a CRF official <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/rice-competitiveness-a-worry/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Holding her husband’s hand through prison bars yesterday, Tith Narin delivered the heartbreaking news &ndash; their eldest son was dead.Narin’s husband, Ouk Pich Samnang, was one of 11 Cambodia National Rescue Party activists convicted on Tuesday for his alleged role in a protest that turned <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/a-prisoners-heartbreak/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

In an apparent defence of his frequent absence from the Kingdom, opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party president Sam Rainsy said that visiting Cambodians in wealthy Western countries such as France or australia was just as important as visiting them in Cambodia itself. a recent war <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/a-unique-khmer-family/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

They came from down the road and from across the country, trailing flags and portraits in their wake. They paused to pin thin black ribbons and coarse patches of cloth onto blazing white shirts. and, one by one, starting early yesterday morning, Cambodian mourners lined the <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/a-nation-pays-respects/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

An InternAtionAl MonetAry Fund And World BAnk report hAs questioned CAmbodiA’s Ability to deAl with future finAnciAl crises if government borrowing increAses. While the report indicAted thAt CAmbodiA wAs At low risk for severe debt problems, it highlighted the need for effective mAnAgement of new debt <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/cAmbodiAs-debt-A-concern/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

At his AppeAl heAring yesterdAy, former Anti-drug police chief Moek DArA rAiled AgAinst whAt he sAid wAs injustice of his incArcerAtion for A slew of drug-relAted crimes, for which he continues to deny his guilt. Mr. DArA, former chief of the NAtionAl Authority for CombAting Drugs, <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/former-Anti-drugs-chief-sAys-he-is-A-victim-not-A-criminAl/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Resentment is still simmering toward Cambodia for its handling of the contentions South China Sea issue last year, which fractured the unity of asean, analysts from around the region said Thursday. During the first day of a two-day regional conference in Phnom Penh organized by the <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/a-year-on-cambodias-role-as-asean-chairman-a-bitter-memory/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

More than 1,000 villagers in Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district have signed a petition pro­testing the removal of a crematorium that is currently on land slated for a large development project. according to a letter from the Council of Ministers addressed to the Ministry of Cults <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/villagers-petition-against-crematoriums-removal/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

AdvocAcy groups, environmentAlists And policy-mAkers hAve wrApped up five dAys of events surrounding Mekong River issues in WAshington. “Mekong DAys,” A series of tAlks, films And other forums thAt ended TuesdAy, highlighted issues in the region, where some 60 million people live. The Mekong River, A mAjor <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/in-wAshington-mekong-dAys-puts-river-in-focus/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Cambodian sex workers are often thought of as victims of trafficking. and that may be true for some. For others, however, work in the country’s entertainment sectors offers financial security, and sex work becomes a choice. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/for-some-women-sex-work-is-a-choice-not-a-matter-of-trafficking/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Plan International Cambodia and other partner organizations have ended the Cambodia Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Improvement Program (CRSHIP), saying all of the families involved now understand the importance of sanitation and hygiene.   <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/ngos-deem-sanitation-effort-in-rural-cambodia-a-success-albeit-a-partial-one/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Fish yields have supposedly dropped by 20 to 30 percent according to fisherman, as a result of the destruction of natural marine environments such as mangroves and the increase in the number of people fishing. Ministry of agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries estimated the total number <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/fishermen-catch-a-rough-deal/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The government yesterday moved to protect endangered Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong River, announcing plans for a 180-kilometre-long conservation area that would stretch from the Lao border through Stung Treng province to Kratie town. Touch Seang Tana, chairman of the Commission for Conservation and Development of <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/a-refuge-for-river-dolphins/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

When Reaksmey (not his real name) was in high school two years ago, he and his classmates were urged to attend the supplementary classes taught by their teachers before and after regular school hours. For an hour before school and two to three hours after each <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/a-hard-lesson-in-arithmetic/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>