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. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/govt-to-talk-adoptions-on-visits-to-spain-malta/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

A mAjor fActor holding up An Agreement to send CAmbodiAn workers to QAtAr is the CAmbodiAn government’s refusAl to send domestic workers to the country Amid A “high risk” of sexuAl Abuse, A LAbour Ministry officiAl sAid yesterdAy. <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/Abuse-feArs-holding-up-workers-pAct-for-qAtAr/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

With a new traffic law set to come into force next year, officials and NGOs Thursday announced an aggressive campaign to tell people that failing to wear a helmet while riding a motorbike will threaten their lives and their wallets. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/in-bid-to-increase-helmet-use-campaign-focuses-on-fines/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday questioned two members of the Free Trade Un­ion (FTU) over a complaint filed against them for attacking members of another union during pro­tests at a factory in June, a unionist said. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/court-questions-union-members-over-brawl/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Government, factory and union representatives tasked with proposing a new monthly minimum wage for the garment sector will vote Wednesday to find a figure after once again failing to reach a consensus during negotiations in Phnom Penh on Tuesday. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/govt-factories-unions-to-vote-on-minimum-wage-today/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

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. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/chinese-auto-group-plans-factory-here/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The National Bank of Cambodia will launch a new payment system to increase inter bank activity in a move to shore up confidence in the Kingdom’s rapidly expanding banking sector, it said in a press release yesterday. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/nbc-reveals-interbank-fund-payment-service/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

AcledA, A leAding commerciAl bAnk in CAmbodiA, And Forte InsurAnce (CAmbodiA) signed An Agreement on FridAy on generAl insurAnce And micro insurAnce And Agreed to estAblish A bAsic frAmework to cooperAte And promote A rAnge of insurAnce products. <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/AcledA-forte-insurAnce-to-work-together/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Representatives of evicted families and a sugarcane plantation owned by a prominent CPP senator announced an agreement on Thursday that provides compensation ranging from $500 to $5,000 to eligible villagers after a five-year battle over land. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/evictees-sugar-company-reach-deal-at-last/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Local petroleum retailers responded to a government deadline yesterday by agreeing to adopt a flexible pricing mechanism to reflect fluctuations in global oil prices, but there will not be any immediate price reductions, according to a Commerce Ministry spokesperson. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/petrol-prices-should-reflect-drop-in-import-costs-govt/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The lawyer of a 19-year-old high school student who has accused a district police chief in Kompong Chhnang province of raping her says her client will appeal a prosecutor’s decision to close the case without explanation. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/prosecutor-drops-rape-case-against-district-police-chief/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

At A time when he’s fAcing one of the tensest politicAl periods since the 2013 nAtionAl elections, Prime Minister Hun Sen lAst SAturdAy took time to tell A former bitter enemy he hAs A “very sweet” voice. <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/culture-of-crooning-rAnAriddh-wows-pm-with-new-Album/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Authorities in PreAh ViheAr province on TuesdAy Arrested A locAl soldier on suspicion of being involved in the fAtAl shooting of A police officer And A Forestry AdministrAtion rAnger on An overnight pAtrol for illegAl loggers eArly SAturdAy morning. <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/rcAf-soldier-Arrested-over-murder-of-officer-rAnger/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

The United Kingdom sees Cambodia as a strategic location at the heart of a transportation network through Thailand, Vietnam and Laos to reach China and other countries in the region and the world, a senior UK trade official said yesterday. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/uk-trade-envoy-pushes-fdi-british-brands/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone (PPSEZ) has signed an agreement with a Singaporean clean energy firm to install and operate a solar panel system inside the 357-hectare industrial park, the company said yesterday in a press release. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/industrial-park-to-install-solar-energy-system/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

In what one commentator described as “a bold step”, the Interior Ministry’s prisons department has seemingly admitted it has a drug problem, and last week sent a letter requesting the Health Ministry’s assistance in tackling it. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/interior-ministry-admits-to-prison-drug-problem/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Officials from China’s Export-Import Bank are expected to visit Cambodia this week to study granting a loan to a Chinese construction firm to build a $1.6 billion, 190-kilometer long expressway from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/chinese-firm-seeks-funding-for-sihanoukville-expressway/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The National assembly (Na) yesterday approved a proposal by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) to punish politicians who are absent from parliamentary meetings without a “reasonable” explanation, the assembly spokesman said, after a boycott by the opposition. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/absent-mps-salaries-to-be-cut/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The owners of Hong Sopheap Development Company in Preah Vihear have been arrested days after military police carried out a massive raid on a 4,000 hectare social land concession (SLC) that the company holds a licence to log. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/company-owners-employees-arrested-over-huge-timber-raid/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Villagers involved in a long-running land dispute in Kratie province’s Sambor district have prevented soldiers from building a fence around disputed land that the army intends to use as a sniper training ground. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/villagers-soldiers-in-land-battle/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>