Despite some appearances to the contrary, things in Cambodia are looking pretty rosy at least according to the World Bank. In its latest revision of world economies the Bank raised Cambodia’s status from a low-income economy to a lower-middle income country. ...

The agency tasked with investigating abuse by Malaysia’s security forces said that claims of fatal abuse against foreign maids—including Cambodians—at a detention center were untrue, though it said the center where the abuse allegedly occurred was in urgent need of attention. ...

The Interior Ministry’s anti-human trafficking department on Monday questioned an administrator at a maritime school over complaints lodged in September by seven former students who claim they were forced to flee a pair of Chinese-owned cargo ships after working in slave-like conditions. ...

Telecom operator Smart Axiata Co. Ltd. and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding that will see Smart donate more than $320,000 to build a facility for students at the National Institute of Post, Telecom & ICT (NIPTICT). ...

Making a dramatic arrival by helicopter at the Sofitel Hotel in Phnom Penh after a flyover of Prey Lang forest, Environment Minister Say Sam Al and US Ambassador to Cambodia William Heidt discussed a plan to make the Kingdom’s largest forest a protected area. ...

Some 34 families in Kampong Chhnang’s Lorpeang village yesterday filed a new petition at the provincial hall urging authorities to intervene in a nine-year land dispute with KDC International, which villagers say has reached a bottleneck and is affecting their daily lives. ...

More than 300 families in Kompong Speu province this week signed a deal with Senator Ly Yong Phat’s Phnom Penh Sugar Company aimed at ending their long-running land dispute, though several of the families have yet to agree on compensation.   ...

Teachers at Toul Mead Primary School in Siem Reap province tell students to bring drinking water from home to keep them hydrated in the scorching heat. But water is increasingly hard to come by as the worst drought in decades drags on.   ...

Shares in Phnom Penh SEZ debuted on Cambodia’s nascent stock exchange yesterday morning, ending the day at 2,890 riel ($0.71), down slightly more than 3 per cent from its opening price of 2,980 riel after an underwhelming level of trading. ...

More than 60 percent of rural homes in the Kingdom will have electricity by the end of this month and all villages in the country will no longer be engulfed in pitch darkness at night when they are connected to the national grid by 2020. ...

A judge postponed the start of a defamation trial against National Election Committee official Ny Chakrya on Monday after the two Siem Reap court officials who brought the case against him failed to show up at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court.   ...

Unions meeting on Friday arrived at an estimated cost-of-living salary for garment workers ahead of minimum wage talks, one remarkably similar to the monthly wage they’ve demanded two years running, though suggested the final number they push for will be higher. ...

Indonesia is willing to offer Cambodia’s navy ships at a discount and would like the Kingdom to be involved in joint patrols in the region, Indonesia’s Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu yesterday told the Post, amid his meetings with government leaders. ...

An inspection at the Sino Great Wall International Engineering’s building site in Phnom Penh yesterday found nearly 200 Chinese workers without work permits, according to an immigration official, though a spokesman for the project’s developer said the employees’ paperwork was in the pipeline. ...

A report published last week by the UN Action for Cooperation Against Trafficking in Persons (UN-ACT) says the main cause of human trafficking from Cambodia to China was a lack of jobs and low wages, forcing many young women to look at opportunities abroad. ...

In the midst of annual minimum wage negotiations, Minister of Labour Ith Samheng used a visit from members of the Southeast Asian Youth Programme to reiterate that the minimum wage for garment workers would reach at least $160 a month by 2018, state media reported. ...

The Labor Ministry on Tuesday warned unions that if they failed to reach a consensus on a new minimum wage for the garment sector ahead of Friday’s Labor Advisory Committee meeting on the issue, the committee would not consider any proposal from the unions at ...

The cracks in Mam Sonando’s recently revived Beehive Social Democratic Party are widening, with a lawsuit against the party president, alleging he embezzled funds, slated to be filed at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court today on behalf of the party’s own leadership. ...

Art can represent a nation’s identity, and younger generations have a responsibility to conserve it. But that means education, to help youth appreciate art and culture, says Donna Strahan, head of conservation and research at the Freer-Sackler Gallery. ...

Cambodian casino operator NagaCorp Ltd. posted a net profit of $172.6 million last year, a 27 per cent increase over the previous year, attributing the surge to increased business volume across all gaming segments at its NagaWorld casino complex in Phnom Penh. ...