Forty-six senators from the ruling CPP on Monday unanimously ap­proved the 2016 national budget and the telecommunications law in the absence of 10 boycotting senators from the opposition Sam Rain­sy Party (SRP), according to a press re­lease. ...

Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong on Monday once again defended recent legal actions and political moves against the opposition CNRP, and admitted to personally pushing for the enforcement of a years-old defamation and incitement sentence against CNRP President Sam Rainsy. ...

Water cannons have been used to bring the angry protest by garment workers to an end. Thousands of people went on strike after they had been promised an 18 euro pay rise and only received half.   ...

Hun Many, the youngest son of Prime Minister Hun Sen and a CPP lawmaker, revealed during a radio show on Wednesday his ambition to follow in his father’s footsteps and become the future prime minister. ...

Environmental activist Alex Gonzalez-Davidson made a direct ap­peal to Prime Minister Hun Sen via Facebook on Wednesday for help se­curing a visa to return to Cambodia to attend his pending trial for aiding a trio of fellow activists. ...

More than 200 activists attempting to cycle from the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to the National Assembly in Phnom Penh to mark International Women’s Day were penned in by authorities Tuesday morning after pedaling less than 100 meters. ...

At least 27 vehicles loaded with confiscated timber were destroyed by fire while parked in the Kravanh Forestry Administration compound in Pursat province on Sunday, leaving no evidence for potential prosecution and rights groups doubting the authorities’ version of events. ...

The Health Ministry has yet to respond to a request from the Interior Ministry last week seeking assistance in dealing with drug abuse in the country’s prisons and rehabilitation centers, Interior Ministry secretary of state Nuth Sa An said yesterday. ...

Local rights group Adhoc has cried foul after roughly 1,200 square metres on 2 hectares of land that used to be home to an airport in Preah Vihear province have been granted to a local official to build a house. ...

Phnom Penh’s hell-raising street racers will enjoy a structured outlet for their love of motorbikes at a new amateur racing cup on Koh Pich island this weekend, a competition also meant to promote compliance with the new traffic law. ...

A group of four female Indian bikers, who have been traveling by motorcycle, covering more than 10,000km across Asia to promote education for young girls, arrived in Phnom Penh yesterday and met with Foreign Affairs Minister Prak Sokhon. ...

Banking industry insiders expressed concern yesterday over a spike in the amount of delinquent debts reported by microfinance institutions (MFIs) across the Kingdom, which they attributed to farmers struggling to repay their loans after adverse weather conditions affected their crops. ...

The rapid growth in the number of Cambodians using mobile money services to transfer remittances is a positive step towards greater financial inclusion, and is serving as a gateway to financial services for the largely unbanked rural population, experts said yesterday. ...

Authorised dealerships of new cars and trucks have said a recent increase in the specific tax on vehicle imports has put a dent in profits, with some dealers claiming sales have slowed since the tax hike went into effect in April. ...

Cambodia, along with six other Asean member countries, reached an agreement to form an alliance of sugar-producing countries ‒ or so the called Asean Sugar Alliance (ASA) ‒ to promote and support the regional sugar industry and make it more competitive globally. ...

With rebuke raining down on the ruling CPP for its judicial assault, arrests and intimidation of the political opposition and other critics, Cambodia’s annual assessment by the U.N. Human Rights Council will be held next week in Geneva. ...

Cambodia’s 700,000 garment and footwear workers currently earn a minimum wage of $128 a month. Last year, the lowest legal salary for Cambodian workers in the $5.7 billion industry was only $100 per month. ...

The Disability Action Council (DAC) said yesterday it would conduct an investigation of Bassaka Airlines and the Cambodian Airport Management Service Ltd (CAMS) to determine whether a $240 surcharge for a wheelchair-bound passenger qualifies as discrimination under the country’s disability law. ...

A visiting Mongolian delegation comprised of government, industry and civil society active in the petroleum and mining sectors shared their experience in implementing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) with their Cambodian counterparts at a workshop in Phnom Penh yesterday. ...

Twenty-eight warehouse workers, including some known gang members, were arrested by military police in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district on Wednesday night for their involvement in the severe beating of a garment worker, officials said on Thursday.   ...