Prime Minister Hun Sen has signed a sub-decree to mark 18 protected areas over nearly three million hectares of land across Prey Lang forest, according to a Ministry of Environment statement released yesterday. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/pm-signs-off-on-protected-forests/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Cambodia should seek to enlarge its market share of the Thai consumer market by focusing on the export of unique items, a visiting Thai trade promoter said during a workshop in Phnom Penh yesterday. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/key-to-cracking-thai-consumer-market-unique-products/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Police have seized property from a rented house in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district belonging to a recruitment firm that allegedly cheated money from some 100 Cambodians hoping to find work in Thailand. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/recruiters-assets-seized-by-police/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

A RohingyA refugee who lAnded in Phnom Penh in June As pArt of A controversiAl resettlement deAl with AustrAliA is likely bAck in BurmA After requesting to return home, According to the Interior Ministry. <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/rohingyA-refugee-likely-bAck-in-burmA/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Amid rising tensions, Authorities in Tbong Khmum province yesterdAy pledged to intervene in A long-running lAnd conflict between DAmbe district residents And A Chinese compAny by demArcAting the disputed AreA with wooden posts. <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/Authorities-promise-to-demArcAte-disputed-lAnd/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

The Interior Ministry is searching for a man who posted a doctored birth certificate to Facebook that lists his birthplace as Takeo province, Vietnam&mdash;reasoning that the suspect had “poisoned the environment,” officials said on Thursday. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/fake-birth-certificate-posted-to-facebook-prompts-investigation/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Trade unions are proposing a new committee to monitor the country’s social fund for injured workers, pension program for civil servants and health care for the poor in a bid to improve and expand coverage. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/unions-propose-new-body-to-monitor-social-fund-pensions/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

More than 220 ethnic Tompuon families in Ratanakkiri’s Lumphat district yesterday filed a complaint to rights group adhoc over a 2,000-hectare land dispute against an economic land concession.   <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/families-in-ratanakkiri-file-elc-complaint/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Falling productivity and rising infrastructure costs are putting Cambodia’s garment industry at a disadvantage as it tries to compete with rivals Vietnam, Bangladesh and Myanmar, a leading union said yesterday.   <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/pressure-mounts-on-garment-industry/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Multiple animal species are in “dramatic decline” on Cambodia’s Eastern Plains as a result of habitat loss, road incursion, insufficient law enforcement and poaching, the World Wildlife Fund said in a statement yesterday. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/species-in-dramatic-decline-in-east-wwf/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

A study of drinking wAter sources in KAndAl province found widespreAd contAminAtion from humAn excrement, posing A heAlth risk to residents thAt likely mirrors the situAtion Across CAmbodiA, the Authors sAy.   <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/kAndAl-drinking-wAter-contAminAted-with-fecAl-mAtter-study-sAys/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Japan-based JCB International (JCBI), a global payment brand and a leading credit card issuer and acquirer, has reached an agreement with Cambodia Public (Campu) Bank to expand the reach of its JCB cards in Cambodia. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/jcbi-expands-reach-in-deal-with-campu-bank/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The Council of Ministers yesterday approved a sweeping new master plan for managing urban development in Phnom Penh over the next 20 years, according to a statement from the cabinet, although it was scant on specifics. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/new-phnom-penh-land-master-plan-passed/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Each morning, Phan Kha drags her cart full of mussels through the streets of Phnom Penh. She pulls the cart up to 20 kilometers a day, and on a good day, she makes $10. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/cambodian-women-face-major-economic-challenges/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

A police officiAl in Kompong Thom province hAs so fAr Avoided prosecution in A weekend timber smuggling cAse involving his brother, three unidentified loggers And three cArloAds of rosewood logs mArked with his nAme. <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/police-officiAl-Avoids-prosecution-for-rosewood-smuggling/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

One man is missing and presumed dead, and there are concerns about an oil slick of unknown size after a Kampuchea Tela oil tanker crashed into a jetty belonging to the company at Sihanoukville. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/oil-tanker-crashes-into-jetty-off-sihanoukville/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

A lAck of inspectors, humAn resources As well As holes in wire fences hAve been found At CAmbodiA’s three Airports during checks AheAd of A UN AviAtion Audit in October, According to officiAls. <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/Airports-checked-before-AviAtion-Audit/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

A wAterwAy pAssenger trAnsport service viA the Tonle SAp And Tonle BAssAc rivers will be lAunched next yeAr, bringing hopes of eAsed trAffic congestion in Phnom Penh And providing A new option for tourists. <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/wAter-tAxis-for-phnom-penh/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

The International Finance Corporation and amru Rice, one of Cambodia’s biggest rice exporters, launched a new partnership yesterday to improve the competitiveness of the Kingdom’s rice sector, according to a press release. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/partnership-to-lift-rice-standards-in-kingdom/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Some 130 families in Preah Sihanouk province yesterday requested the intervention of provincial authorities to solve a dispute with their deputy village chief over the construction of a small bridge in their town yesterday. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/families-seek-officials-help-in-bridge-dispute/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>