An official in Stung Treng province said there was no way to grant a last-minute reprieve requested on Thursday by villagers whose homes could be flooded within days once testing of the Lower Sesan II hydropower dam begins on Saturday. ...

A newly leaked document attesting to a $15,000 deal between representatives of Ratanakkiri’s Samut Krom village and a timber trader to allow Vietnamese-backed logging in the community’s forest appears to add further weight to its critique. ...

Political fixture and former Co-Defence Minister Nhek Bun Chhay was officially charged yesterday with conspiracy to produce drugs and importing drug components after being linked to a decade-old bust by one of the men convicted in the original case. ...

The state-run Rural Development Bank (RDB) received a total of 10 proposals from Cambodian agricultural firms expressing interest in developing rice storage and drying facilities across three provinces using government-backed low-interest loans, a bank official said yesterday. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen announced yesterday that China will begin funding demining efforts, just days after the US said it would pull financial support for a removal project with the Cambodian Mine Action Centre in the eastern part of the country. ...

A National Police officer who beat up a traffic policeman on Tuesday for reprimanding him for running a red light was sent to pre-trial detention by Phnom Penh Municipal Court this afternoon and faces the preliminary charge of “intentional violence”. ...

Borei Keila residents have continued to reject compensation in exchange for leaving their land, claiming the latest offer was inadequate. Two of the remaining 11 families met with the 7 Makara district governor in Phnom Penh yesterday to discuss compensation. ...

The Grassroots Democracy Party yesterday suggested taking a pin to Cambodia’s inflated bureaucracy, saying it would campaign on a proposal to reduce the number of ministries from 23 to just 15 in order to improve efficiency and cut wasteful spending. ...

In a response to a parliamentary inquiry, the German government on Wednesday laid out a number of measures it has quietly taken over recent months to pressure the Cambodian government following its crackdown on media outlets, NGOs and the political opposition. ...

Malaysian telecom giant Axiata Group will consider divesting a portion of its stake in Cambodian mobile operator Smart Mobile in a bid to free up capital to “pursue opportunities”, including infrastructure expansion and future acquisitions, a company executive said yesterday. ...

Cambodia sits at a crossroads in the Asean region, potentially making it a key part of regional economic development and trade flows, though improved infrastructure and more innovative financing approaches are still needed, infrastructure experts meeting in Phnom Penh said yesterday. ...

Axiata Group sold a 10 percent stake of its Cambodian subsidiary Smart Axiata to Japanese group Mitsui Co Ltd to form a strategic partnership and further the firm’s activity in the Kingdom, according to a company release on Friday. ...

Almost 100 people from Boeung Snor village gathered at Banteay Meanchey’s Provincial Hall yesterday, demanding that provincial authorities resolve a 13-year-old dispute involving land promised to a group of Khmer Rouge defectors by the government in 1997. ...

Germany-based apparel industry trade fair organiser Messe Frankfurt France signed a memorandum of understanding with the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia yesterday to offer discounted exhibitor fees to Cambodian manufacturers in a deal valued at €400,000 ($450,000). ...

Police have summoned the CNRP’s top party boss in Phnom Penh to appear for questioning today about a clash between a motorbike driver and a group of opposition supporters campaigning earlier this week in the capital. ...

Asian election monitor Anfrel yesterday commended authorities, citizens and political parties for Sunday’s smooth commune elections, but stopped short of calling the ballot “free and fair”, raising concerns over the heightened political rhetoric in the run-up to June 4. ...

Despite vows by both major political parties to increase female representation in politics, women made up only a small proportion of commune chiefs chosen in this month’s elections, though some gains were made by the opposition party.   ...

The Thai government on Wednesday publicly announced that nationals of five countries, including Cambodia, can visit Thailand for up to 90 days without a visa to seek medical treatment, an official at the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh said yesterday. ...

King Norodom Sihamoni will once again be out of Cambodia on the day that widely condemned new laws are due to be signed into force, prompting some observers to suggest he is abstaining from affixing his signature to politically questionable legislation. ...

Taking stock of his party’s June commune elections losses, CNRP president Kem Sokha has embarked on a countrywide tour to gather feedback and intelligence the party can use to steer its national election campaign, party officials said on Tuesday. ...