Cops handcuffed by seizure rules, sentencing: chief
Police officials yesterday called for tougher sentencing of drug dealers and for the government to make it “easier and faster [for police] to seize their property”, as the Interior Ministry’s annual drugs conference wrapped in the capital. ...
Mech Dara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/cops-handcuffed-seizure-rules-sentencing-chief
New body to protect Koh Ker
Local authorities in Preah Vihear province are teaming up with the Apsara Authority to protect the 8,100 hectares of land surrounding the Koh Ker archaeological site, which they say is under threat from illegal loggers and intrusive settlers. ...
Kong Meta
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/new-body-protect-koh-ker
Government welcomes drought relief measures by China
Government officials on Wednesday applauded China’s decision to take emergency measures to counter the impact of a regional drought by releasing water into the Mekong River from the Jinghong Hydropower Station in China’s southwestern Yunnan province. ...
Khy Sovuthy
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/government-welcomes-drought-relief-measures-by-china-110018/
Mekong dams’ annual impact put at $450M
A 30-month study by Vietnamese researchers on the impact of 11 proposed hydroelectric dams in the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) has found that the economic damage to Cambodia alone will be worth some $450 million per year. ...
Igor Kossov
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/mekong-dams-annual-impact-put-450m
Date set for Rainsy’s latest defamation trial
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who is living in France to avoid prison time, will be tried over allegations of defaming National Assembly President Heng Samrin starting July 28, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court has announced. ...
Khy Sovuthy
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/date-set-for-defamation-trial-111814/
Timber smuggling on the rise in Cambodia's Ratanakiri province
The smuggling of illegally cut timber from northeastern Cambodia’s Ratanakiri province to Vietnam has dramatically increased since around April 17, with smugglers traveling the roads between the two countries day and night, sources in the region say. ...
RFA Team
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/timber-04262016170028.html
Thai timber found with Khmer script
More than 100 pieces of luxury rosewood bearing Cambodian names and a phone number were found by Thai police and forest conservation officers in a national park in Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province on Tuesday. ...
Khouth Sophak Chakrya
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/thai-timber-found-khmer-script
Government expands sanctuary in Prey Lang, adds Preah Vihear
The government has reversed course on a controversial decision to downsize the proposed boundaries of a long-awaited protected area for the beleaguered Prey Lang Forest, the largest lowland evergreen forest left in Southeast Asia. ...
Aun Pheap and Zsombor Peter
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/govt-expands-sanctuary-in-prey-lang-adds-preah-vihear-112723/
Fix Prey Speu or shut it down, Prime Minister tells officials
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday told Phnom Penh authorities and the Ministry of Social Affairs to either improve the city’s notorious Prey Speu detention center or shut it down in order to spare his government more embarrassment. ...
Kuch Naren
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/fix-prey-speu-shut-prime-minister-tells-officials-113305/
Open Development Cambodia updates Agricultural policy and administration page
Open Development Cambodia (ODC) has updated and translated the Khmer version of Agricultural policy and administration in Cambodia. Click here for access to the page. ...
Officials on run after journalist reports threats, illegal timber
A reporter in Mondulkiri province who climbed a mango tree to look into a police official’s compound for a rumored stash of illegal timber over the weekend says he was later detained and threatened with a beating. ...
Ben Sokhean
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/officials-on-run-after-journalist-reports-threats-illegal-timber-115055/
MFIs extend reach with branchless banking
Branchless banking, including mobile banking, is one of the hottest trends in Cambodia’s microfinance industry, helping financial institutions deliver their products conveniently and affordably to people living in rural areas, industry insiders said yesterday. ...
Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/mfis-extend-reach-branchless-banking
Customs official jailed after arrest over bribery claims
An official at the Finance Ministry’s customs and excise department has been jailed on bribery charges following his arrest by the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) last week on suspicion of taking kickbacks from foreign companies. ...
Sek Odom
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/customs-official-jailed-after-arrest-over-bribery-claims-115565/
Vietnamese military remains get repatriated
From 2015 to 2016, as many as 748 sets of remains belonging to Vietnamese soldiers who died in the Kingdom between 1979 and 1989 were repatriated, according to a local news report on Tuesday. ...
Ros Chanveasna
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/27760/vietnamese-military-remains-get-repatriated/
Thais reopen border to agriculture goods
The Cambodia-Thailand border in Pailin province temporarily reopened to various Cambodian agricultural products on Friday after a meeting between provincial authorities on both sides of the border, according to the deputy provincial governor who led the Cambodian delegation. ...
Pav Suy
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/29890/thais-reopen-border-to-agriculture-goods/
ANZ to remain in local market?
The chief executive of ANZ Royal Bank has denied media reports that the Australian and New Zealand Bank Group (ANZ) is considering pulling the plug on its Cambodian operations amid a planned retreat from the region’s markets. ...
Kali Kotoski
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/anz-remain-local-market
Slowdown in port container traffic
The Kingdom’s two main ports reported markedly slower growth in container traffic last year due to a fall in import traffic, although exports of garments and agricultural products continued to rise, according to newly released port data. ...
Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/slowdown-port-container-traffic
China asked to fund bridges
Cambodia yesterday asked China to help fund the construction of two bridges across the Mekong River, which it said would cut traffic congestion in Phnom Penh and help create a ring road around the city. ...
Ros Chanveasna
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36169/china-asked-to-fund-bridges/
Cambodians see major drops in corruption levels: Transparency International
The Global Corruption Barometer, which was compiled from interviews with more than 1,000 Cambodians, showed overall decreases in the direct experiences of corruption in the judiciary since 2011, down from 72 percent to 59 percent in 2016. ...
Hul Reaksmey
http://www.voacambodia.com/a/ti-says-only-petty-corruption-decrease/3751603.html
Startups discuss local challenges
Cambodian startups currently face several regulatory challenges in pursuing growth and profitability, according to three of the Kingdom’s most successful startup founders who shared their experiences over the weekend with the hope to inspire increased innovation and entrepreneurship. ...
Matthieu de Gaudemar
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/startups-discuss-local-challenges