The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) yesterday sent the newly-drafted petroleum law to civil society organizations and other partner institutions working in the extractive sector for consultations before submitting it to the Council of Ministers for approval by the end of this year. ...

Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron on Wednesday defended the decision not to expel a senior official from the ministry after he was arrested for sexually assaulting his interpreter during a visit to South Korea in May, saying the crime was not serious—“not rape.” ...

Tourism Minister Thong Khon said on Sunday he did not believe an upcoming hike in the cost of tickets for foreigners visiting Angkor Wat will cause fewer tourists to come to Cambodia, with surveys showing most who visit the country are prepared to pay more. ...

The government sold off more than 10,000 cubic meters of illegally logged wood in direct negotiations with private businessmen over the past two days, according to a Finance Ministry official, after abandoning efforts to auction it off due to a lack of interest. ...

South Korean financial giant Woori Bank, widely seen as the preferred bidder for a 50 per cent stake in Cambodian microlender Prasac, is out of the running as it was not presented to the central bank as an official bidder, local banking officials have said. ...

In the midst of annual minimum wage negotiations, Minister of Labour Ith Samheng used a visit from members of the Southeast Asian Youth Programme to reiterate that the minimum wage for garment workers would reach at least $160 a month by 2018, state media reported. ...

The U.S. is continuing to urge the government to change and clarify key parts of a controversial trade union law that took effect in April, including an amendment to cover civil servants, the U.S.’s international labor affairs representative said on Tuesday. ...

An unlicensed health worker charged in Cambodia with causing a mass HIV infection by treating patients with reused needles said on Tuesday that he had always sterilized needles before using them and has no idea how the infection was spread. ...

An aggressive marketing campaign for a New Zealand brand of breast milk substitute – including giveaways to new parents in a hospital – has been condemned as “appalling” and “completely illegal” by a body that monitors Cambodia’s strict rules on the marketing of formula milk. ...

The cracks in Mam Sonando’s recently revived Beehive Social Democratic Party are widening, with a lawsuit against the party president, alleging he embezzled funds, slated to be filed at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court today on behalf of the party’s own leadership. ...

Cambodia National Rescue Party lawmakers Mao Monivann and Son Chhay visited a disputed area on the border between Ratanakkiri’s O’Yadav district and Vietnam on Monday and urged the government to take action over several ponds allegedly dug by the Vietnamese in Cambodian territory. ...

Nearly four decades after fleeing Cambodia as a child, a tearful Michael Vannak Khem Misie­wicz returned to his home country in De­cember 2010 on the U.S. Navy guid­ed-missile destroyer he commanded; his fall from grace has been equally dramatic. ...

Cambodian casino operator NagaCorp Ltd. posted a net profit of $172.6 million last year, a 27 per cent increase over the previous year, attributing the surge to increased business volume across all gaming segments at its NagaWorld casino complex in Phnom Penh. ...

A blaze authorities have attributed to a forest fire ripped through a nearly 4,000-cubic-metre timber stockpile on a social land concession in Preah Vihear’s Kulen district on the weekend, although the company yesterday said it suspected a case of arson. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen’s son Hun Manet inaugurated four primary schools in Koh Kong province’s Areng Valley on Monday, along with the head of a group known as the Cambodia Youth Movement 157, which donated the schools, a local official said on Tuesday. ...

A week after an alliance of millers and exporters criticized the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) for its inaction in the face of the sector’s possible collapse, the federation Wednesday announced the formation of a new task force to manage challenges facing its members. ...

As Phnom Penh sees a sprouting of organic grocery stores across the city, the newest entrant in the market says it will go a step further and sell chemical-free pesticides to farmers to encourage the growing trend of organic products and farming techniques. ...

The government was unaware of about half of the residential child care centers operating in four provinces and Phnom Penh prior to a study conducted last year, according to a report released on Thursday. ...

A group of 10 armed soldiers stormed a Forestry Administration office in Oddar Meanchey province on Monday and attempted to seize a military truck that had been confiscated from them after they used it to transport illegal timber, leading to an hourslong standoff, officials said.​ ...

The government decided to drop a 10 percent value added-tax (VAT) for rice products during a meeting on Wednesday between representatives of the rice sector and government officials at the Council for the Development of Cambodia in Phnom Penh, officials said.   ...