Local watchdog groups say they have been forced to take forest protection into their hands, due to a failure of government to do so. “As we have seen: the National Assembly, the Senate and the government do not work,” Ouch Leng, head of the Cambodian Human href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/local-groups-say-they-must-protect-forest-as-government-fails/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday that the country’s development in all fields could not be detached from China’s aid and vowed to further deepen ties between the two countries. According to the figures recorded by the Cambodian Finance Ministry, to date, China has href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/cambodias-progress-cannot-be-separated-from-chinas-support-pm/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

The largest fish harvest of the year is approaching, and Phnom Penh’s fish markets are about to get busy. In short, it’s December and so prahok season is upon us. A traditional Cambodian fish paste, prahok is made from fermented Siamese mud carp called trey riel in href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/high-hopes-for-fishing-season/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Cambodia is preparing three long-awaited laws aimed at restoring its widely criticized judicial system. However, two of the three draft laws obtained by VOA Khmer still need a lot more improvement, according to legal experts. The laws focus on codifying court jurisdiction, laying out guidelines for href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/judicial-reform-drafts-still-need-work-experts-say/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday morning granted bail to two of the 23 union activists and protesters jailed following the lethal suppression of garment worker strikes by military police on January 3. Municipal court presiding Judge Leang Samnatt held an unscheduled hearing on Friday href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/two-of-23-jailed-protesters-granted-bail-release-date-unknown/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Last year across Cambodia’s cities, more and more people decided to take the plunge and invest in housing. This should be obvious to anyone who lived in Cambodia last year. The sounds of construction or renovation were more noticeable than before in cities across the Kingdom. Data href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/housing-loans-up-in-2013-growth-expected-to-continue-in-14/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Richard Rogers, the lawyer retained by the opposition CNRP to potentially submit a case against Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government with the International Criminal Court at The Hague, said Thursday that letters were hand-delivered to two military police chiefs requesting information about the fatal shooting href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/military-police-asked-to-answer-for-protest-deaths/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Trash collectors were working overtime Thursday to clean the vast piles of garbage that had accumulated in Phnom Penh this week after their four-day strike for higher wages. Although workers returned to their duties after agreeing to a pay rise of between $20 and $25 per href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/trash-collectors-battling-with-mounds-of-garbage/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Tax revenue increased 9.5 percent to $353.46 million in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period last year, according to a statement released Friday by the Ministry of Finance’s general department of taxation. Kong Vibol, general director of the taxation department, said href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/for-union-leader-on-run-militant-attitude-prevails/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Cambodia Ministry of Tourism hopes to encourage international tourists to visit coastal areas and ecotourism destinations to take pressure off Siem Reap. The ministry’s marketing & promotion department representative, Hou Sokhom, told TTR Weekly that the country needs to encourage tourists to travel more to other href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/cambodia-to-diversify/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

The Court of Appeal on Monday upheld the protest-related convictions handed down to 11 activists in November, but reduced the prison sentences of all but the most high-profile members of the group. Seven of the defendants were arrested in mid-November for blocking traffic during a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/appeal-court-upholds-controversial-convictions/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Preah Sihanouk provincial governor Kouch Chamroeun has called on provincial and town police to stop the unwarranted inspections of businesses run by foreigners, especially Chinese nationals.​Chamroeun was speaking at a provincial administration meeting last week that discussed encouraging further foreign investment in legitimate businesses in href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/stop-all-checks-on-chinese-venues/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

As of January 4, nearly 8,000 of some 20,000 government officials have declared their assets and debts and submitted the relevant documents to the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU). This follows an ACU notice on October 17, last year, to nearly 50 ministries and institutions in the href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/officials-declare-assets-debts/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Mondulkiri provincial joint forces detained a man for questioning, confiscated seven motorbikes and seized 178 timber logs in O’Raing district’s Dak Dam commune on Saturday. Provincial department of Agriculture director Song Kheang said officials from his department, the forestry administration, provincial police, Military Police and href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/man-held-timber-motorbikes-seized-in-dak-dam-commune/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

The Ministry of Interior has launched a study on land service provision via the one-window service at select locations in the Kingdom. The move is to enhance people’s access to government services. The ministry’s director-general Prak Samoeun said it decided to conduct the study in href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/govt-studies-land-service-provision-via-one-window/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

To ensure public health and safety, Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday signed a directive calling on relevant ministries, institutions and sub-national administrations to lead the charge on reducing air pollution in the Kingdom. The directive said that measures carried out by the authorities to href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/pm-orders-ministries-to-step-up-in-battle-against-pollution/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

Political stability, growth in all economic sectors and a strong banking system were major drivers that reinforced public confidence in the Kingdom’s banking system last year, said the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC). According to its “Macroeconomic and Banking Progress 2019 Report and 2020 Outlook”, href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/report-banking-system-healthy/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

The Koh Kong provincial authorities said the land reclamation work in Smach Meanchey commune in Khemarak Phumin town has already been put back to its original state while the court spokesman said legal procedures are being taken against Tun Dieth, the two-star major general held href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/smach-meanchey-land-reclamation-reinstated/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

One hundred and thirty-two people, including members of the Prey Preah Roka Forest Community Network (PPRFCN) and monks from three districts of Tbeng Meanchey, Chheb and Choam Ksan in Preah Vihear province organised a tree ordination ceremony from Friday to Sunday to honour those who href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/prey-preah-roka-forest-trees-ordained/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...

The National Committee for the Prevention and Crackdown on Natural Resource Crimes said forestry crimes have largely decreased, with 59 suspects arrested and sent to court throughout last year. The committee also confiscated 9,215 cubic metres of mixed timbers and 491 items used to commit href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/forestry-crimes-see-decrease/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...