The government has created a new national committee to tackle forest land clearing and grabbing. However, the move was immediately shot down by a prominent forest activist who said it would be ineffective, given the systemic collusion between the authorities and land grabbers. ...

Minister of Interior Sar Kheng ordered relevant authorities to freeze the assets of those found to be involved in human trafficking and illegal logging. Sar Kheng was speaking at the annual Interfaith Forum on Combating Human Trafficking in the capital on Wednesday. ...

Six ethnic Kuoy villagers, citing fear of arrest, refused to appear for questioning in Preah Vihear on Wednesday over the confiscation of four pieces of equipment being used to clear community land by a subsidiary of the Chinese sugar company Rui Feng. ...

An estimated 200 members of construction sector unions gathered in front of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training on the World Day for Safety and Health at Work on Sunday to deliver petitions asking for issues facing construction workers to be addressed. ...

Tycoon Soeng Sam Ol and three alleged accomplices have been placed in pre-trial detention after being charged with illegal logging, while more than 40 vehicles reportedly used to carry out the offences were handed over to Mondulkiri provincial authorities on Sunday. ...

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is forecasting that 44 percent of Cambodia’s total rice exports will be smuggled out of the country through informal channels this year, a persistent problem that weighs down profits and threatens to cripple the industry. ...

City Hall yesterday launched five new city bus routes using buses provided by the Japanese government. The Japanese agreed to provide 100 buses and 60 have already been delivered with 20 more arriving today. The rest will be delivered later this year. ...

A kratie provincial investigating judge has ordered well-known timber trader and oknha (tycoon) Kong Kroeng, and his son-in-law Math Naseat, to be detained at the provincial prison after they were questioned last week about their alleged role in forestry crimes. ...

It will be some months before Cambodian maids resume travel to Malaysia despite a newly signed agreement between the two countries lifting the ban on domestic workers sent from Cambodia to its ASEAN neighbour, The Cambodia Daily reported. ...

Listed hire-purchase company Thitikorn plans to open two branches in Cambodia next year, after being in the market for one year and finding huge opportunity and high demand for motorcycle lending there, managing director Prathama Phornprapha said yesterday. ...

Local authorities say they are struggling to protect the Mondulkiri Protected Forest and the Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary from being logged by villagers in the province’s Koh Nhek and Pech Chreada districts, while villagers accuse authorities of colluding with certain logging groups. ...

Cambodia​ is​ now​ perceived​ to​ be​ the​ most​ corrupt​ country​ in​ Southeast​ Asia,​ according​ to​ Transparency​ International’s​ 2015​ Corruption​ Perceptions​ Index​ (CPI),​ which​ was​ released​ on​ Wednesday​ and​ promptly​ dismissed​ by​ the​ country’s​ anti-graft​ chief.​ ...

A study of the Kingdom’s district health system has found it “unable to manage” non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, which are estimated to be responsible for more than half of adult deaths.    ...

Despite concern from the E.U. that Cambodia is being used by Chinese bicycle makers to avoid an anti-dumping duty, the bike industry has maintained strong export growth to Europe, according to the latest data from the European Commission (E.C.). ...

With the draft union law due to be debated during a public forum on Wednesday, a group of 21 unions and NGOs released a statement yesterday calling on the National Assembly to allow more time to discuss the legislation before it is passed.  ...

A group of election-monitoring NGOs have expressed alarm at what they say are inexplicable delays in starting to rebuild the national voter list, with concerns that the National Election Committee (NEC) may be leaving things too late for the 2017 commune elections. ...

Large-scale “bio-sand” filters have been found to be among the most cost-effective water cleaning methods in the Kingdom, according to a recent evaluation by the Trailblazer Foundation, which hopes to start installing them in villages soon.   ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Sunday announced across-the-board cuts to the fees being charged by three of the state’s main logistics firms and ordered a probe into transport sector corruption, which he blamed for nearly half the industry’s expenses. ...

Almost a year since the latest wave of Montagnards began arriving in the country, claiming to be fleeing persecution in Vietnam, the Interior Ministry said on Friday that all but 13 of them have been given three months to return home or face forced repatriation. ...

After being monitored by the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) for an unspecified length of time, three state-run bodies have been accused of not following legal requirements in the awarding of contracts, and have been told to fall into line or face punitive action. ...