National Election Committee (NEC) Secretary-General Tep Nytha said on Thursday that next year’s crucial commune council elections would likely be held in June but that the decision must ultimately come from the government.   ...

With the Cambodian Rice Federation (CRF) ready to adopt “Angkor Malis” in June as the official brand name for the Kingdom’s premium varieties of jasmine rice, exporters said that inconsistent English to Khmer translations need to be corrected. ...

Cambodia’s minister of social affairs on Sunday departed for a visit to Spain, which will be followed by a trip to Malta, to discuss and sign adoption agreements with both countries, according to a statement released Sunday. ...

Plans to complete the railway line connecting Phnom Penh to Poipet City—thereby linking Cambodia’s main port in Sihanoukville to Thailand—may not be completed within current time and budget constraints, a Transport Ministry official said on Tuesday. ...

More than $90,000 worth of luxury timber seized during National Anti-Deforestation Committee (NADC) raids in Stung Treng province will be up for public auction until July 29, the Ministry of Economic and Finance announced last week. ...

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Sunday that the CNRP’s 55 lawmakers will in the coming days be ordered to fall in line with the party leadership and cease attacking the ruling CPP on issues concerning the border with Vietnam. ...

Cambodia’s fight against malaria is at risk of being derailed because of a dispute over expenses payments between the Cambodian government and the Global Fund, the biggest donor to the country’s malaria programme. ...

Dozens of military police were deployed in Phnom Penh on Wednesday as about 80 truck drivers rallied outside the General Department of Cus­toms and Excise demanding tax breaks and for right-hand drive vehicles to be legalized, an official said. ...

Police in Kompong Thom province arrested 11 people—eight who claimed to be journalists and three who said they were environmental NGO directors—on Sunday for extorting money from truck drivers transporting goods in Prasat Balaing district, officials said Monday. ...

A commune chief in Takeo has taken responsibility for producing a birth certificate that incorrectly lists the southern Cambodian province as being in Vietnam, but claimed he had made an honest mistake, officials said, adding that he would not face punishment. ...

More than 5,000 competent forces will deploy for security and public order during the 8thCongress on the ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) that will be held in Phnom Penh next Monday. ...

The Thai government’s planned diversion of billions of cubic metres of water from the Mekong River, described last week by a Thai Ministry of Water Resources representative as being as far as two years away, has already begun. ...

A new online ticketing system for the Kingdom’s biggest tourist draw, Angkor Wat, will be introduced to provide faster and convenient service to tourists, while increasing the transparency and clarity of ticket sales revenues.   ...

The Interior Ministry has asked Cambodians to continue applying for new electronic identity cards that will be crucial to the upcoming commune and general elections after noticing that the number of people signing up for the cards has slumped. ...

When the National Assembly meets today to approve the prime minister’s second cabinet reshuffle since the last election, it will be a case of back to the future for outgoing Commerce Minister Sun Chanthol.   ...

Environment Minister Say Samal claims Cambodia has put an end to illegal logging and timber exports to Vietnam, despite reports of continued, and even rising, levels of forest clearing and timber being transported to the Kingdom’s neighbor. ...

China has signed an agreement to assist the Kingdom with judicial reforms and to share expertise in overhauling such systems, though one international expert yesterday cautioned that China shouldn’t be considered “a model for justice reform in Cambodia”. ...

Guangzhou Automobile Group it awaiting approval from the Cambodian government to set up a manufacturing facility in Cambodia that could be a springboard for exports to ASEAN, a senior executive of the group told Cambodian journalists visiting the province last week. ...

Marking the Cambodian Day of Persons with Disabilities on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam An encouraged all government ministries to make an effort to employ more people with disabilities, though experts say the government should be more proactive. ...

More than 100 family representatives yesterday filed complaints at Ratanakkiri Provincial Hall and the Interior Ministry, claiming that requests to be issued with identity cards so they could vote in upcoming elections were denied by local police officials. ...