Minister of National Defence Tea Banh and new US ambassador to Cambodia Patrick Murphy have agreed to strengthen cooperation between the two countries, particularly militarily. Banh, who is also deputy prime minister, told The Post that during a meeting with Murphy on Wednesday at the <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/banh-talks-ongoing-over-us-cooperation/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The government of Japan, via its embassy in Cambodia, granted more than $190,000 on Tuesday to Nature Centre Risen, an NGO for environmental education at kindergarten and secondary schools in the Kingdom. The grant is for the project, “Realisation of Sustainable Life Environment through the <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/japan-grants-190k-for-environment-education/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol on Tuesday called on China’s Hunan province to promote bilateral trade, cooperation and investment, and seize opportunities in many potential sectors. He was speaking at the Hunan Investment Promotion and Machinery Expo in Phnom Penh on Tuesday to <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/minister-wants-better-business-relationship-with-hunan-province/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

US president Donald Trump has expressed the US’ commitment to respecting Cambodia’s sovereignty and invited Prime Minister Hun Sen to attend the US-asean summit in the US next year. Trump made the pledge and invitation in two separate letters addressed to Hun Sen early this <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/trump-us-does-not-want-regime-change-in-kingdom/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Minister of Mines and Energy Suy Sem called on companies operating mining projects to ensure the communities and environment are not affected by related activities. On Friday, the ministry announced to open for four mining locations in three provinces to apply for an exploration licence. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/ministry-of-mines-and-energy-calls-for-responsible-mining/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Interior Minister Sar Kheng yesterday said there were more than 3,400 traffic accidents in the Kingdom so far this year which killed 1,665 people and injured 5,212. Speaking at a World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims event on Koh Pich, Mr Kheng noted <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/rise-in-traffic-accidents-despite-safety-efforts/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The Child Protection Unit (CPU) has established Internet Crimes against Children (ICaC) &ndash; an online group created to combat any form of online child sexual exploitation and abuse. In a Facebook post on Saturday where he made the announcement, ICU operations director James McCabe said <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/child-protection-unit-forms-online-group-to-fight-cyber-exploitation/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Kratie provincial authorities have resolved a land dispute between more than 1,800 families and the Memot Rubber Plantation Company in Snuol district’s Pi Thnou commune. Khan Chamnan, provincial deputy governor, yesterday said that each family will receive two hectares of Social Land Concessions.  <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/kratie-resolves-memot-rubber-plantation-land-dispute-in-snuol/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The Preah Sihanouk provincial authority plans to clear and expand five canals spanning some 26km starting on Monday, to mitigate city flooding which had previously affected areas in their vicinity. Provincial governor Kuoch Chamroeun asked the relevant authorities to inform and advise people to demolish <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/five-canals-to-be-expanded-in-preah-sihanouk-province-to-mitigate-against-flooding/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The US on Tuesday pledged to help train military officers, particularly Cambodia’s blue helmet troops deployed for UN’s peacekeeping operations. The pledge was made during a meeting between US ambassador Patrick Murphy and Royal Cambodian armed Forces (RCaF) commander-in-chief General Vong Pisen. Further strengthening of <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/us-cambodia-pledge-to-strengthen-military-ties/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Kampong Speu provincial authorities shut down 10 sawmills temporarily in four villages of Baset district for buying timber and operating without permission on Saturday. Provincial governor Vei Samnang said on Sunday that the owners of sawmills did not buy wood logged from the forest. Instead, <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/authorities-of-kampong-speu-province-temporarily-shut-down-10-sawmills/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The government on Monday issued a sub-decree to delegate the management of healthcare provision to sub-national administrations, which will be effective as of January next year. The sub-decree was approved by Prime Minister Hun Sen last Wednesday and signed by relevant ministers including Minister of <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/healthcare-management-transferred-to-sub-national-level/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The Senate on Monday approved draft amendments to 10 articles of the Law on Trade Unions at the fourth session of the fourth legislature. It did so without modification, following its approval by the National assembly last month. The 10 articles comprise articles 3, 17, <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/senate-passes-amendments-to-10-articles-of-trade-union-law/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Cambodia’s needs and how they overlap with the UK’s strengths are an important issue in trade and investment relations between the two countries, according to British ambassador Mark Gooding during a presentation to the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce (CCC) yesterday. Bilateral trade is mainly driven by <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/needs-compared-with-the-uk/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The disputes over sovereignty in the South China Sea are approaching a tipping point. as former aSEaN secretary-general Rodolfo Severino said last month: “The disputes cannot be resolved anytime soon, if at all. The most that can be done is to prevent them developing into armed <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/south-china-sea-outlook/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

In his talk at the aSEaN energy ministers meeting held in Phnom Penh last week, Prime Minister Hun Sen emphasized the need for the ten-member bloc to work together to bolster its regional energy connectivity to meet a rapidly growing demand for energy. He also <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/at-asean-energy-summit-green-energy-and-investment-were-in-focus-2/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The government and its foreign donors are preparing for their next high-level aid meeting Wednesday, their first sine the government surprised donors in august 2011 by indefinitely suspending the meetings, citing the global financial crisis. However, officials at the Finance Ministry and the Council for the <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/long-delayed-donor-meeting-set-for-wednesday/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Cambodia has made almost no progress over the past six years when it comes to gender equality, and is still the lowest-ranked country in the region, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2012 Gender Gap Index. Ranked 103 out of 135 countries surveyed, Cambodia placed last <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/index-shows-little-progress-in-gender-equity/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The value of construction projects approved by the government during the first nine months of the year reached $1.83 billion, an 83.61 percent increase compared to the same period in 2011, according to data released yesterday by the Ministry of Land Management. Tith Khemra, director of <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/value-of-approved-property-projects-soar/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

“Vespa was in Cambodia before the war [and] Piaggio wanted to come back to the market in Cambodia, because the market is growing,” explained Frederic Bachelet, head of business development at Narita Vespa Co. Ltd. The company plans to break ground next week on <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/in-phnom-penh-the-vespa-comes-back-officially/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>