Despite having access to other sources of information about the election process, including television and smartphones, Cambodia’s urban poor remain heavily reliant on potentially biased village-level officials when it comes to voter registration, according to a new report. ...

The Central Bank announced on Monday that it exchanged 3.76 billion of old and worn Khmer riel banknotes (equivalent to $930,091) to new notes during its “Loving Riel Notes”, campaign which lasted five days during the Pchum Ben holiday. ...

In what some are calling one of the most significant threats to democracy that Cambodia has faced in a generation, the CPP-controlled National Assembly on Monday voted to give the government and courts sweeping new powers over political parties. ...

Health officials in Svay Rieng province, which was hit by an outbreak of bird flu (H5N1) early this month, said the virus has been stopped and there was no sign of a continuing outbreak.   ...

The National Election Committee will hold a meeting with political parties and civil society organisations next month to discuss the high number of invalid ballots in the commune elections. Of more than 7 million ballots cast, 133,484 were deemed invalid. ...

CNRP chief whip Son Chhay sought to lay down a unified party line yesterday, saying the opposition would push through the current political upheaval and contest next year’s critical national election, setting straight conflicting statements coming from various party officials. ...

The Ministry of Interior is moving forward with a plan to revoke official documents from 70,000 individuals living in Cambodia, claiming they were “improperly” issued and mistakenly confer citizenship on “immigrants” – many of whom are ethnic Vietnamese born in Cambodia. ...

A Ministry of Health official yesterday said the ministry has banned the buying and selling of antibiotics without a prescription in an effort to curb the overuse that has led to an alarming level of antibiotic resistance in the Kingdom. ...

Ruling party lawmaker Chheang Vun has accused popular former opposition Commune Chief Sin Rozeth of supporting the Sam Rainsy-led “Cambodia National Rescue Movement” and using a restaurant she opened following the dissolution of her party to conduct political activity. ...

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. ...

A part of the new bamboo railway in Battambang province was blocked yesterday over of a dispute between the owner of the construction company that built the line and a man claiming the railway ran through his land near Banan mountain. ...

The Interior Ministry has decided to allow land rights NGO Equitable Cambodia to operate in Cambodia after suspending its activities in September. The announcement was made after a meeting between Interior Minister Sar Kheng and EU ambassador George Edgar on Friday. ...

The price that Cambodian rubber latex fetches overseas dropped by 10 percent since the beginning of the year, a fall that officials attribute to an oversupply of the commodity in global markets and the sluggish growth of the international economy.​ ...

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. ...

Opposition lawmakers have requested Health Minister Mam Bunheng appear at the National Assembly to answer questions over graft, irregularities and poor services within his portfolio, including claims that officials from the National Malaria Centre misappropriated cash from the Global Fund. ...

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. ...

A group accused of rubber-stamping autocratic elections in 2013 said on Tuesday it would return to observe the June 4 commune elections, with the airfare, accommodation and an excursion to Siem Reap province covered by the Foreign Affairs Ministry. ...

Chinese language skills are in growing demand from companies looking to hire in Cambodia’s job market as China’s influence in the Kingdom is increasingly felt both in the business and tourism sectors, online job portal Everjobs said yesterday. ...

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. ...

The ruling CPP is losing votes in remote provinces while making up ground on the opposition CNRP in Phnom Penh and surrounding areas, according to election data showing the two major parties cutting into each other’s leads in traditional strongholds. ...