Members of Mekong River Commission and civil society groups will be heading to Luang Prabang in Laos to attend the regional stakeholder meeting on Wednesday to discuss Laos’ proposal to build a third dam on the Mekong mainstream, the Pak Beng. ...

At least three women – one pregnant – and a man were hurt in a clash with security forces at Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday after land rights activist Tep Vanny was jailed for two and a half years over a 2013 protest. ...

Thai authorities withdrew a 700 percent import tax increase on Cambodian fish vendors on Thursday after the angered cart-pushers formed a wall of baskets teeming with fresh fish along a border checkpoint on Thursday in protest, according to Poipet authorities. ...

More than 88,000 candidates will be vying for the 11,572 seats up for grabs in the June 4 commune elections, the National Election Committee (NEC) announced on Monday, following a three-day registration window that closed on Sunday. ...

Four senior officials for rights group Adhoc will remain behind bars after the Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Court of Appeal’s ruling that they should be held in detention while awaiting trial, but gave no reason for the decision. ...

Every Cambodian will be assigned a 10-digit identification number under which information from various government departments, as well as the private sector, will be collected in a central database, Interior Minister Sar Kheng announced on Thursday.   ...

The US government has pulled any future funding from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a group focused on reproductive rights for women and girls, over claims it has practiced coercive abortions and involuntary sterilizations in China.   ...

Customs officers have released a pair of trucks that local officials said were seized late last month while being used to smuggle timber belonging to business mogul Kith Meng into Vietnam in breach of a government ban, according to police. ...

Cambodia and China reiterated their commitment to speed up the construction of the Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville super highway and the building of a new airport in Siem Reap, according to the government’s Press and Quick Reaction Unit yesterday. ...

Foreign Minister Park Sokhornn will be at the White House on Thursday for the first meeting between Asean foreign ministers and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson since the new administration of President Donald Trump took office in January.   ...

So Sophort, deputy secretary-general of the Cambodia National Mekong Committee, said Cambodia would attend the meeting of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) in Vientiane, which is part of a six month prior consultation process for the 921-megawatt dam. ...

The Mines and Energy Ministry on Friday defended sand exports reported last week by an environmental NGO, saying Cambodia’s sand ban did not include the type seen in a video being loaded onto vessels off the coast of Sihanoukville. ...

Nearly 100 residents living along a stretch of land running from a railway in Boeung Kak to National Road 5 have gathered again outside City Hall to demand information about the development of a new road threatening to destroy their homes. ...

Cambodia’s agricultural sector must improve post-harvest processing to increase the value of its products, while increased knowledge sharing could help farmers better understand the different value chains and identify opportunities, agricultural experts participating in the Grow Asia Forum said yesterday. ...

The Garment Manufacturer Association of Cambodia (GMAC) will launch its new vocational training centre next month, providing courses aimed at upgrading the skills of Cambodian workers in a bid to replace the middle-management positions currently occupied predominantly by foreigners. ...

Bun Mony, advisor to the Cambodian Microfinance Association (CMA) noted that though the interest rate cap could lower revenue and cut profit margins in the sector, overall neither the election nor the cap would have a lasting impact for the industry.​ ...

The National Election Committee will hold a meeting with political parties and civil society organisations next month to discuss the high number of invalid ballots in the commune elections. Of more than 7 million ballots cast, 133,484 were deemed invalid. ...

More than 430 of the 493 families who formerly resided in Phnom Penh’s White Building have vacated the premises, but around 15 families have yet to accept compensation packages for their apartments, according to a Land Management Ministry official. ...

An activist and villagers yesterday said that sand dredging boats had been spotted off the coast of Koh Kong, prompting fears that they were set to begin operations, despite a standing ban on sand exports from companies operating in coastal areas. ...

An official in Stung Treng province said there was no way to grant a last-minute reprieve requested on Thursday by villagers whose homes could be flooded within days once testing of the Lower Sesan II hydropower dam begins on Saturday. ...