Environmentalists skeptical ahead of Laos meeting on hydropower dam
The four-nation Mekong River Commission (MRC) this week holds public consultations on the development of a large hydropower dam in southern Laos. The project is one of a series of planned dams in the Mekong River Basin that environmentalists say could harm an ecosystem critical ...
Ron Corben
https://www.voanews.com/east-asia/environmentalists-skeptical-ahead-laos-meeting-hydropower-dam
Chinese Embassy Petitioners Sent Packing
Just hours before Chinese President Hu Jintao landed in Phnom Penh on Friday, a group of dismayed Koh Kong province villagers whose land is under threat from a sprawling Chinese tourism project were escorted onto a bus and sent back home before they were able ...
Troubled Village Embroiled In New Land Disputes
A year after a massive military raid here that left a 14-year old girl dead and hundreds of families evicted, there remains little sign of the original land dispute that turned this rural village into a hotbed of agitation. But a new firm and a government-issued ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/troubled-village-embroiled-in-new-land-disputes-25184/
Bruised but Not Beaten, Protesters Return to Wat Phnom
Anger over the violent attack on peaceful protesters at Wat Phnom on Sunday night simmered at the site Monday morning, with the same demonstrators returning to confront their alleged attackers and detaining a police official they accused of spying. Shortly before 11 p.m. on Sunday night, ...
Ben Woods and Mech Dara
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/bruised-but-not-beaten-protesters-return-to-wat-phnom-43049/
Poor Education Could Cripple Business Growth
Low-quality education is jeopardizing business growth in Cambodia, and local graduates will not be employable in skilled jobs if the government does not quickly implement educational reforms, business executives warned Thursday at the Cambodian Market Intel 2013 seminar in Phnom Penh. During an hourlong panel discussion ...
Joshua Wilwohl
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/phnom-penh-listed-as-nsa-collection-point-48188/
Factories Closed Until Safety Guaranteed
The Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) on Sunday said all of the country’s 400-plus garment factories will remain closed until the government and striking trade unions can guarantee the safety of the factories and all employees who want to work. The decision, outlined in an ...
Aun Pheap
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/factories-closed-until-safety-guaranteed-49749/
SUVs Block Pagoda to Keep Out Monks on Peace March
Harassment of monks and their supporters, who are marching to Phnom Penh to participate in International Human Rights Day rallies in the capital, continued Friday when three suburban utility vehicles were used to block the entrance to a pagoda in Kompong Speu province where marchers ...
Khy Sovuthy
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/suvs-block-pagoda-to-keep-out-monks-on-peace-march-48816/
BHP Billiton Faces Bribery Charges After Abandoned Project
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the country’s financial regulator have informed Australia-based mining giant BHP Billiton it could still be charged over allegations the company bribed overseas officials, which include claims of improper payments to members of the Cambodian government. Prime Minister Hun Sen ...
Economy Should Do Well, Despite China Slowdown: Experts
Although China has undergone an unprecedented economic slowdown, Chinese and Cambodian officials believe it will not seriously affect Cambodia’s economy. Over the past nine months, China’s GDP grew slightly above 7 percent, its slowest pace in 13 years, and some economists expect poor performance for the ...
Khoun Theara
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/economy-should-do-well-despite-china-slowdown-experts-cambodia-khmer/1748785.html
Specter of Typhoon Approaching Raises Fears of More Floods
As monthlong flooding that has so far left 122 dead slowly subsides, officials and relief agencies were on Sunday concerned that a powerful typhoon approaching Vietnam may bring more heavy rain and the risk of more floods to provinces where tens of thousands of families ...
Simon Henderson and Ben Sokhean
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/specter-of-typhoon-approaching-raises-fears-of-more-floods-45003/
After strong start, city bus’ future unclear
After a monthlong test run saw 10 buses often filled with passengers, a Chinese-owned company promised in early March to inject millions into the project and add hundreds of new buses. But Global Trade Development left the project last month after the municipality refused to grant ...
Hul Reaksmey and Simon Henderson
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/after-strong-start-city-bus-future-unclear-58640/
Not going without a fight
Teng Khorn’s living room is under a tree, his bedroom in a boat hauled up on a slipway for caulking beside the mangroves that lead to his source of income: the sea. His choice of abode is also his act of defiance against the monolithic Chinese ...
May Titthara and David Boyle
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/not-going-without-fight
Low salaries stifle education reform efforts
Sao Sothy’s home is small and the furniture is sparse. There are no tables or chairs. In one room, there is a small bed, but her family of four sleeps on mats in the living room. Hanging on the otherwise bare walls is Ms. Sothy’s ...
Emily Wilkins and Sek Odom
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/low-salaries-stifle-education-reform-efforts-56752/
Siam Kubota launches Cambodia, Laos units
Siam Kubota Corporation Co Ltd is set to expand its business by opening subsidiaries in Cambodia and Laos as part of its preparation for the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015. Siam Kubota has invested a total of Bt68 million in the two ...
Erich Parpart
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Siam-Kubota-launches-Cambodia-Laos-units-30228172.html
Mekong villagers wary of Xayaburi dam
Fishermen bring their boats to shore, pack away their traps and hand over the day’s catch to their awaiting families on the banks of the Mekong River in Kratie province’s Chitra Borei district. “When my husband arrives home each day, we eat some of what he ...
Mekong Dams Threaten Extinction of Giant Catfish
The elusive Mekong giant catfish, which the U.S.-based World Wildlife Fund (WWF) called “one of the world’s largest and rarest freshwater fish,” can reach up to three meters (10 feet) and weigh up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds). The Xayaburi dam would prove an “impassable barrier” ...
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/dams-06192013184629.html
Cambodia’s Excess Baggage
“I don’t know what I was expecting, but I wasn’t going expecting to look out the bus window and see all the blue bags along the roads and in the fields,” said 27-year-old Christopher Convery, who is currently backpacking for the first time in Cambodia. ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/selected-features/cambodias-excess-baggage-22003/
Gems in the rough in Ratanakkiri
“These are the best quality stones,” Lat Yun says with a grin. Nestled in his outstretched hand are three unassuming rocks. “I don’t know what they’re called, I just know they’re the best.” The gemstones of Ratanakkiri are a mineral called zircon, but in Cambodia, they ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/gems-rough-ratanakkiri
US Ambassador Says Corruption Scares Off American Firms
U.S. Ambassador William Todd on Thursday said that despite his efforts to promote Cambodia as an attractive destination for business, major American companies are reluctant to invest here as they still perceive the country as indelibly corrupt. “I believe now is the time for big U.S. ...
Ben Woods and Phorn Bopha
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/us-ambassador-says-corruption-scares-off-american-firms-42799/
Strikers, police clash
A woman was killed and at least six others shot yesterday morning when police fired live ammunition into a crowd of hundreds of rioting garment workers in the capital’s Stung Meanchey district. UN reports said police also arrested 37 people, including seven monks, as a result ...
Sean Teehan, Mom Kunthear and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/strikers-police-clash