Several of the 20 political parties registered to contest in the July 29 national elections denied on Thursday that they were “created” purely to add legitimacy to the polls and stave off criticisms against Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). ...

State-owned Rural Development Bank (RDB) projected that the demand for loans in the rice sector will increase this season, said CEO Kao Thach on Monday. He said while more rice facilities are ready for operation this year, there will be more demand for loans. ...

On a visit to Kratie province on Tuesday to celebrate Arbour Day, also known as National Tree Planting Day, King Norodom Sihamoni called on the people to plant trees in public areas and on their farmland and join together to prevent deforestation and environmental crimes. ...

Officials of NGOs Licadho and Sahmakum Teang Tnaut will attend a closed-door meeting at the Council of Ministers on Wednesday to explain the findings of their recent report claiming that increasing levels of debt at microfinance institutions (MFIs) has resulted in human rights violations. ...

The Apsara Authority has told Yun Sokhorn to remove a wall and a rest house from the southern part of Trapaing Hephka irrigation dike in Bos Kralanh village, Chriev commune, Siem Reap province because the structures had encroached on land designated as a national heritage. ...

A critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphin was found dead, floating along a stretch of the Mekong River in Kratie’s Chet Boreid district on Wednesday. The cause of the mammal’s death was determined as bruising to its gills caused by an illegal fishing net. ...

Thursday marks the 60th anniversary since China and Cambodia established diplomatic relations. After 60 years of friendship the two countries have set an example for neighboring countries in Southeast Asia on how to maintain fruitful and long-lasting diplomatic relations, Chinese observers said. ...

Despite huge amounts of potential and a well-rooted past, the Kingdom’s cotton cultivation industry seems to be hanging by a thread. Though the country relies heavily on cotton fabric in its massive garment sector, insiders say Cambodian farmers have mostly abandoned the crop. ...

The Water Resources Ministry yesterday warned that seven provinces will face floods again this week. In a statement, it said that the provinces of Oddar Meanchey, Preah Vihear, Kampong Thom, Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Pursat and Kampong Chhnang will experience heavy rain throughout the week. ...

At the Asean summit in Singapore on Wednesday, Prime Minister Hun Sen said he hoped the bloc’s relationship with China would “root deeply”, hailing the Asian power as a “strategic partner”, while its Premier Li Keqiang called for improved trade and “healthier globalisation”. ...

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) launched the Basic Education Equivalency Programme (Beep) on Sunday – an internet-based education programme for Cambodian youths in grades seven to nine who have dropped out of school – at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC). ...

Minister of Education, Youth and Sport Hang Chuon Naron met with representatives of Microsoft on Wednesday at the National Sport Training Center in Phnom Penh to support the multinational firm’s assistance with the development and expansion of the New Generation Schools (NGS) programme. ...

Civil society groups and associations released a public statement on Tuesday expressing concern over the EU starting the process to withdraw Cambodia’s access to its preferential “Everything But Arms” (EBA) agreement, as a delegation from the bloc landed in Phnom Penh the same day. ...

Ten representatives of Banong ethnic villagers from five districts in Mondulkiri were questioned for more than an hour by police on Tuesday for their attempt to seek intervention from Prime Minister Hun Sen’s cabinet over the loss of sacred land to 11 families. ...

After a ruling CPP official claimed that those who refuse to cast their ballot in the Kingdom’s upcoming elections “love dictatorship” and are “supporting rebel groups”, legal and election experts have said it is the individual right of citizens whether or not to vote. ...

Three new rice storage and drying facilities will be ready in July for the upcoming harvest season and will boost the sector’s capacity and export potential, even as the Ministry of Agriculture claimed the sector still needs more storage space to meet demand. ...

Better Factories Cambodia has found that more and more factories in the country are complying with its standards when dealing with critical worker issues after it began conducting studies on factory compliance. These critical issues include child labour, discrimination, forced labour and freedom of association. ...

Experts from the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) have cleared mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) from 25sqm of farmland and land set to be designated as economic zones in the first three months of this year, CMAC director Heng Ratana said on Monday. ...

The Joining Force Alliance, a coalition of six large organisations focusing on children’s rights, issued a report yesterday praising Cambodia’s achievements in defending children’s rights over the past three decades. ...

Government officials and public health workers met with about 100 students at the Ministry of Health’s school of nursing in Phnom Penh on Monday to mark World Rabies Day, calling for a united effort to eradicate a virus that kills hundreds of Cambodians each year. ...