More than one million cubic metres of illegal timber has flowed unhindered from protected areas in Cambodia’s northeast provinces to Vietnam as the latter continues its role as a serial illegal timber trade offender, according to a report issued by the Environmental Investigation Agency. ...

More than 1,000 Cambodians in Tokyo, Japan, demonstrated on Sunday, demanding that the Japanese government cease supporting the upcoming national elections. The protesters asked the Japanese government to declare that it will not support the national elections on July 29 or its results. ...

Prime Minister-designate Hun Sen on Thursday urged the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) to work with all microfinance institutions (MFIs) to find ways to ease debt burdens on those displaced from flooding in the Kingdom. ...

Forty-five families in Oddar Meanchey province’s Lumtong commune appealed to the Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction Chea Sophara on Wednesday to help get back 2,400 square metres of land they claim was grabbed by a senior military official. ...

Survivors of acid attacks in Cambodia are being denied free government treatment that they are legally entitled to, Human Rights Watch says. Its report focused on 17 survivors, none of whom are said to have received government aid for their injuries. ...

Alleged victims of land grabbing in Oddar Meanchey province have filed a formal complaint to the UK government against Bonsucro, the sugar industry’s sustainability certification body, accusing it of breaches of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. ...

The National Authority for Land Dispute Resolution and Battambang provincial authorities will launch an investigation on Monday into an ongoing land dispute between tycoon Lim Tealeng and Chan Hoeu in Kors Kralor district’s Preah Phos commune following an order from Prime Minister Hun Sen. ...

Kampong Thom provincial military police yesterday seized 114 wild animals being illegally transported by bus in Stoung district. Brigadier General Hang Thol, provincial military police commander, said police also arrested the bus driver for questioning after the seizure at Samproch commune’s Slak Kranh village. ...

The Japan Mine Action Service (JMAS) is to provide the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) with $401,650 in untied aid following the signing of an agreement on Monday. JMAS representative Noriyoshi Suenaga and CMAC director-general Heng Ratana signed off on the agreement. ...

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). ...