An Australian teacher charged with sexually abusing six young boys claimed during the first day of his trial at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court Tuesday that an anti-pedophile NGO framed him. George Moussallie, 52, a former English teacher at the American Pacific School in Phnom Penh, href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/former-teacher-denies-child-sex-abuse-charges/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Falling crop yields, damage to infrastructure and heat-related illnesses brought on by climate change could cost the four Southeast Asian countries of the lower Mekong River basin $34 billion per year, researchers say. A report released on Monday found that climate change could cost Cambodia, href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/floods-storms-and-heat-projected-to-cost-se-asia-34-bln-per-year/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Taiwan’s outbound property investments are likely to increase significantly in 2015 amid growing interest in overseas markets and a slowdown in the domestic market, an investment consulting firm in Taipei said Saturday. Taiwan’s property investors are also looking at opportunities in emerging markets, including Vietnam href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/taiwans-2015-overseas-property-investments-likely-to-grow-sharply/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Vietnam has gained a substantial share of Hong Kong’s rice market at the expense of Thailand, resulting from fierce competition over the past 10 years. Thailand’s market share in the first month of this year was up to 65.1 per cent versus Vietnam’s 26.3 per href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/vn-sees-success-in-seizing-hk-rice-market-from-thailand/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Poor governance and uneven distribution of wealth to rural communities are both behind Cambodia’s poor record of girls’ education, an expert says. Despite the country’s high economic growth rate in recent years, few opportunities are available in rural areas, which leads to girls dropping out of href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/poor-governance-at-root-of-cambodias-education-problems-expert-says/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Three imprisoned land activists intentionally injured themselves on Friday in an alleged suicide attempt after being confined in their cell for two days, according to their families and a fellow inmate. Tep Vanny, Kong Chantha, and Bor Chorvy – all from Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak community href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/boeung-kak-women-self-harm/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

While it may be unpopular, nearly everyone has had to do homework. Yet for those living in communities with no or intermittent access to electricity, the ability to study at home is sometimes a luxury. In Cambodia, French non-profit association Lumières sur le Mékong – href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/solar-sheds-some-light-on-cambodian-students/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Australian immigration officials have approached asylum seekers within the Nauru detention centre about resettlement in Cambodia, apparently in contravention of the agreement between the two countries. The settlement agreement with Cambodia specifies that offers should be made only to people with refugee status. But it href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/resettlement-offer-to-asylum-seekers-may-have-breached-cambodia-deal/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

The National Election Committee has expressed concern over whether the Interior Ministry will be able to issue enough new biometric identity cards – which ensure voter names aren’t duplicated – in time for it to register voters ahead of the 2017 commune elections. The issue, among href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/nec-concerned-over-new-ids/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Cambodians spent more than $40 million on purchasing flat panel televisions from April 2014 to March 2015, on the back of improving economic prosperity among the middle class, according to Singapore-based research firm Gfk. The data shows that 126,000 TVs were bought for $46.3 million during href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/rising-incomes-lead-to-television-upgrades/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Cambodia experienced low inflation of around 1 per cent over the last three months thanks to a decline in oil prices, according to the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics. Inflation went from 0.8 per cent in January to 1.2 per cent in February, href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/inflation-down-as-global-oil-prices-ease-off/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

The Cambodian government has sent a second diplomatic note in the space of three days to the Vietnamese embassy, demanding an end to encroachment across an as-yet-unmarked section of the shared border. The second note – published yesterday by Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong on his href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/vn-issued-second-border-note/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

An influx of suspected drug dealers to Kampong Chhnang’s jail has led its director to plead with the provincial officials for help amid fears that the prison authorities will soon be unable to control inmates. Pov Vuthy, Kampong Chhnang prison director, said yesterday that the recent href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/prisoner-influx-worries-warden/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Despite the deployment of law enforcement officials across the capital in a bid to halt the demonstration, activists yesterday marched as promised to the National Assembly to protest the looming adoption of highly controversial union and NGO laws. Starting at about 8am, hundreds of land activists, href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/ngo-law-in-crosshairs/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

In the first semester of the year, the number of demonstration and riot up but crime down, said a report of the Phnom Penh Police Commissariat. During that period, there were 236 cases of demonstrations and riots, up 55 cases compared to the same period of href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/demonstration-and-riot-up-but-crime-down/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

As el niño continues to buffet Cambodia, the next two weeks could be crucial in determining whether the Kingdom will suffer from a smaller-than-usual rice harvest and potential food shortages, experts said yesterday. According to Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries general director So Khan href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/clock-ticks-on-rice-harvest/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

The government has declared leases on plantations will be limited to 50 years, slashing the length of some existing concessions in half, though neither ministry responsible for overseeing the move would confirm the legal basis for doing so.The decision was announced in a press release href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/lifespan-of-elcs-slashed-by-govt/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Cambodia inaugurated Takhmau Bridge across Tonle Bassac River, along with a 12-km road here on Monday in an effort to facilitate travel and boost local economic development.The concrete bridge, along with its connecting road, is located about 13 km south of Phnom Penh capital. It href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/cambodia-inaugurates-fifth-china-funded-bridge-in-s-province/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Work is expected to begin in September on initial repairs to the Northern line which links the capital Phnom Penh with Sisophon, 40 km from the border with Thailand.The government has agreed to provide US$33m to support what it terms ‘emergency repairs’ on the 386 href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/government-funds-phnom-penh-sisophon-rehabilitation/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

The announcement last month that traffic cops will collect 70 per cent of fines they give out has already seen enforcement increase, according to a senior official at the Interior Ministry.Speaking yesterday, General Run Roth Veasna, director of the ministry’s Department of Order, said tickets href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/fines-up-after-new-rule-govt/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...