A group accused of rubber-stamping autocratic elections in 2013 said on Tuesday it would return to observe the June 4 commune elections, with the airfare, accommodation and an excursion to Siem Reap province covered by the Foreign Affairs Ministry. ...

Almost 100 people from Boeung Snor village gathered at Banteay Meanchey’s Provincial Hall yesterday, demanding that provincial authorities resolve a 13-year-old dispute involving land promised to a group of Khmer Rouge defectors by the government in 1997. ...

Asian election monitor Anfrel yesterday commended authorities, citizens and political parties for Sunday’s smooth commune elections, but stopped short of calling the ballot “free and fair”, raising concerns over the heightened political rhetoric in the run-up to June 4. ...

The Thai government on Wednesday publicly announced that nationals of five countries, including Cambodia, can visit Thailand for up to 90 days without a visa to seek medical treatment, an official at the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh said yesterday. ...

Parents of children born to surrogate mothers in Cambodia will be required to provide the government with yearly updates of their child’s mental and physical development, according to new guidelines officially disseminated to embassies for the first time yesterday. ...

Phnom Penh Governor Khoung Sreng said the municipality was half-way through a two-week crack-down on pawn shops in order to prevent the sale of stolen goods at the increasing number of second-hand establishments across the capital. ...

U.S. companies doing business in Cambodia are optimistic about the country’s overall investment environment, but remain dissatisfied with the supply of cheap and skilled labor, corruption, tax structure, and attitudes toward the U.S., according to a new survey. ...

The Tax Department yesterday escalated its attack on the Cambodia Daily by filing a legal complaint accusing its founder and two directors of obstructing the tax process and tax evasion, which could see them face up to six years in prison. ...

Jailed opposition leader Kem Sokha’s lawyers have said that they are under surveillance during meetings with their client in Tbong Khmum’s Trapaing Thlong prison, which they yesterday called a violation of their rights ensuring client-attorney conversations are confidential. ...

In spite of recent pledges to expand social protections, the Cambodian government has failed to prioritise spendIng on services that reduce poverty and improve quality of life among vulnerable populations, accordIng to a new report from the International Labour Organization. ...

A REDD Programme representative yesterday said it would be concerning if recent claims of the military systematically clearing protected forest in Oddar Meanchey province covered under the scheme proved true – though a third-party company has dismissed the claims as outdated. ...

The Japanese government on Tuesday pledged to donate two patrol boats to the General Department of Customs and Excise. The announcement was made in a meeting between Economy Minister Aun Ponmonirath and Iizuka Atsushi, director-general of Japan’s Customs Bureau. ...

Australian mining firm Medusa Mining has announced plans to begin exploration for gold, copper and oil in Kratie province’s Prek Kampi commune, about 35 kilometres west of a stretch of the Mekong River that is home to endangered river dolphins. ...

Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol yesterday signed a $44 million contract with Chinese company Beijing Urban Construction Group Co Ltd to carry out sewage and road improvement projects in Battambang, Poipet and Bavet towns, among other projects. ...

Fourteen families in Koh Kong province’s Kiri Sakor district filed a court complaint today against 60 security guards employed by Union Development Group (UDG) for allegedly destroying their crops and small huts on land belonging to the development conglomerate.​ ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen today threatened to boycott next month’s Asean-Australia Special Summit in Sydney – and to “beat” demonstrators outside who burn his image – after apparently being supplied leaked telephone calls between opposition members predicting forthcoming international “pressure”.​ ...

A gathering in Svay Rieng province of some 40 villagers led by a farmers’ organisation was shut down by local police on Thursday because the group allegedly had not requested permission, though provincial authorities had been notified the week before. ...

If it wasn’t already clear, Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday let an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos know how he really felt about former U.S. President Barack Obama and his administration’s “pivot” to Asia. ...

Watching the premiere of Angelina Jolie’s new film “First They Killed My Father” in the shadows of the ancient ruins of Angkor on Saturday night, Riem Vet was transported back to his teenage years living under the Pol Pot regime. ...

Eurth Ang stood in court yesterday and calmly described how he shot Kem Ley, insisting that it was over an unpaid debt. “I regret and apologize to the victims’ family, but he cheated me which made me angry,” Mr. Ang said. ...