A remote jAil opened more thAn five yeArs Ago to lessen chronic overcrowding in the prison system is Also operAting As A fArming business, where free lAbour is seemingly used to yield big profits for senior stAff.When CorrectionAl Centre 4 (CC4) opened its gAtes in <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/life-on-the-fArm-At-cc4/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

A 65-yeAr-old womAn who hAs spent months sleeping under A stAircAse At Borei KeilA yesterdAy becAme the second lAnd-rights Activist sent to Prey SAr prison in little more thAn 24 hours. Phnom Penh MunicipAl Court investigAting judge Ly LeAbmeng questioned villAger representAtive Tim SAkmony for Almost <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/Another-Activist-in-prey-sAr/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Some of the U.S.’ most senior lawmakers are urging Barack Obama to speak out on what they called Cambodia’s deteriorating human rights situation when the U.S. president makes what will be the first visit to the country by a sitting american leader later this month. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/obama-urged-to-address-rights-issues-during-cambodia-visit/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The US “pivot to AsiA,” which will be punctuAted next week with the CAmbodiAn visit of US President BArAck ObAmA, will likely put CAmbodiA in A tough spot in the region, cAught between the renewed focus of the United StAtes And the increAsed influence of <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/renewed-us-interest-in-region-puts-cAmbodiA-in-tough-spot-AnAlysts-sAy/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

First, agricultural company DM group displaced them, now a recently arrived commercial farmer has threatened their lives and chased them off their new land, said representatives of 12 families engaged in a long-standing land dispute in Ratanakkiri province. On Wednesday, the 12 Tampuon ethnic minority families <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/embattled-villagers-fight-on/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Connectivity is crucial to the process of building the asean Community, and ties in with the effort to market the region as a single tourist destination, the grouping’s chief said. “asean is in the process of building the asean Community, and in the process of building <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/minh-connectivity-is-key-to-aseans-tourism-plans/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Capital Rice Ltd, Thailand’s third-largest rice exporter, is shifting some of its business to Cambodia as the Thai market shrinks because of government intervention that has diverted grain into state stockpiles or made it too expensive to ship. “We have built a medium-sized milling house in <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/rice-exporter-turns-to-cambodia/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Labour-rights groups are lauding a “historic” deal that will result in about $200,000 in wages and benefits being paid to workers who were stranded when the Kingsland Garment factory in Phnom Penh closed unannounced in December. In a meeting on Friday that took place as more <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/historic-deal-for-workers/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

With renovation work on the country’s dilapidated railway at a standstill, the Ministry of Public Works has entered into talks with a regional consortium backed by one of the largest firms in China to replace the railway’s current operator, officials said yesterday. Faced with a <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/chinese-state-firm-in-talks-to-take-over-rail-project/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Southeast asia’s rice-exporting nations are in talks to create a formal alliance aimed at boosting prices and increasing export revenues, a move that could cause tensions with rice-importing nations. an alliance of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar will aim to share information and cooperate <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/southeast-asian-rice-exporters-eye-cartel-to-boost-prices/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

In what’s believed to be an unprecedented move, the Ratanakkiri Provincial Court has ordered two companies holding economic land concessions to face court questioning on accusations of illegal logging and land clearing. Deputy prosecutor Ros Saram said he summonsed Vietnamese-owned Company 72 last week and will <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/companies-to-face-court-for-illegal-logging-land-clearing/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Since mid-January a group of illegally laid off Cambodian garment workers &ndash; mostly women &ndash; have been picketing the factory they worked in. Their objective was to stop the company, which closed down, owing the workers, collectively, about US$200,000 of unpaid wages, from removing the <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/cambodias-garment-workers-confront-multinationals/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Sao Saroeun, a Phnom Penh resident arrested last month for demonstrating against CPP Senator Lao Meng Khin’s Boeng Kak real estate project and released on bail last week, urged the courts to release 13 women still being detained at Prey Sar prison yesterday. The 13 women were <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/released-protester-urges-for-release-of-the-boeng-kak-13/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Oil imports to Cambodia in the first half of the year increased 22 percent to nearly 1 million tons compared to the same period last year, according to figures obtained yesterday from the Ministry of Commerce. according to the data, Cambodia imported 922,860 tons of gas <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/gas-imports-grow-to-nearly-1m-tons-this-year/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The Chinese government is considering loaning an unspecified amount of money to cover the cost of constructing 20 new national roads, Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday. Speaking at the inauguration of 128-km stretch of National Road 62 linking Kampong Thom and Preah Vihear provinces, also primarily funded by <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/loans-from-china-still-welcome-hun-sen-says/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

In a bid to ease the collection of the recently introduced tax on properties worth more than $25,000, The Ministry of Finance has launched an online service to help people get the forms they need to pay the tax. In a statement released last week, the ministry said <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/new-online-service-launched-to-smooth-tax-payment/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Cambodia’s workforce must quickly improve its skills base if it is to compete with other countries in the region when the asean bloc becomes a single market in 2015, officials said yesterday at a seminar held in Phnom Penh. When the asean Economic Community goes ahead in <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/workforce-must-improve-to-compete-in-asean-bloc/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The AmericAn Center for InternAtionAl LAbor SolidArity hAs set its sights on the HerculeAn tAsk of unionizing CAmbodiA’s civil service, A move thAt, were it successful, could hAve profound implicAtions for the country’s politicAl lAndscApe. The term civil service in CAmbodiA hAs unusuAlly broAd ApplicAtion, referring to bureAucrAts, <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/civil-servAnts-union-dilemmA/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

About 80 ethnic Bunong villAgers living in Mondolkiri’s Pech ChreAdA district stAged A protest AgAinst the Socfin-KCD rubber compAny MondAy, demAnding thAt the firm honor its long-stAnding pledge to return 1,000 hectAres of fArmlAnd locAted inside its concession. Socfin-KCD, A join venture between Socfin, A <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/bunong-minority-villAgers-protest-AgAinst-rubber-compAny/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Belarus announced its firm stance to promote bilateral cooperation with Cambodia in trade, investment and tourism for mutual benefits, Vladimir andreichenko, Chairman of the Belarus Parliament, said Monday. He expressed Belarus’s desire to operate a direct flight to Cambodia. He suggested that the two countries <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/belarus-eyes-enhanced-trade-investment-ties-with-cambodia-3/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>