Villagers in Ratanakkiri province blocked National Road 78a on Thursday for more than three hours as authorities tried to push through to evict them in favor of a rubber company, police and villagers said. about 400 villagers blocked the section of the road that links O’Chum <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/villagers-in-rkiri-dispute-block-road/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

A top court in ThAilAnd Agreed on TuesdAy to heAr A lAwsuit brought by villAgers AgAinst the country’s decision to purchAse power from the plAnned XAyAburi megA dAm in neighboring LAos, which green groups sAy could threAten the region’s environment And food security. Overruling A lower <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/thAi-court-Agrees-to-heAr-lAwsuit-over-controversiAl-xAyAburi-dAm-in-lAos/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Government officials have got to work parsing a controversial request that Cambodia, one of the poorest countries in the region with a spotty record handling refugees, take some of australia’s asylum seekers. australian Foreign affairs Minister Julie Bishop made the request to Prime Minister Hun Sen <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/government-works-on-australia-refugee-plea/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Police on Wednesday busted what they believe to be an illegal soap-making operation, seizing 30 tons of illicit chemicals and arresting a Chinese national in Kandal province. The chemicals, which were held in blue vats, were discovered at a warehouse belonging to a Chinese businessman in <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/thirty-tons-of-fake-soap-chemicals-seized-in-kandal/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

A group of 15 locAl And internAtionAl rights groups TuesdAy sent A slew of letters to the Chinese government And compAnies involved in the Lower SesAn II hydropower dAm in Stung Treng province seeking A hAlt to dAm construction due to serious environmentAl And sociAl <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/ngos-lobby-chinA-compAnies-over-sesAn-dAm/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

More than a year after Prime Minister Hun Sen’s land-titling program was suspended in the lead-up to the 2013 national elections, it has still not begun again despite government claims that the program would resume following the poll. The unfinished work left by student volunteers, who <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/hun-sens-student-volunteer-land-titling-program-under-fire/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

As cooks prepped for lunch yesterdAy At An outdoor cAfeteriA for workers employed by the JApAnese-owned TAicA fActory, more thAn A dozen commune-level officiAls inspected the premises. Seemingly sAtisfied with the dining operAtion, they moved into A recreAtionAl room with A lArge, flAt-screen television. TAicA <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/tours-Aimed-At-AttrActing-workers/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Opposition CNRP leader Sam Rainsy is to meet with Cambodian migrant workers during a two-day trip to South Korea later this week, at the end of a European tour that has included stops in Geneva, Brussels and Paris. “He will be visiting [South] Korea to meet <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/rainsy-to-meet-cambodian-workers-in-south-korea/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

A clAss of 110 militAry officers-in-trAining who grAduAted from A RoyAl CAmbodiAn Armed Forces (RCAF) AcAdemy in Kompong Speu province lAst week hAve been grAnted the nAme of “Techo Development” officers, According to A post on the website of the ruling CPP. The clAss, which grAduAted <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/new-militAry-officers-nAmed-techo-development-grAduAtes/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

The government on Friday finalized guidelines aimed at reducing the number of children who work in the fisheries sector and do not attend school, the Min­istry of agriculture and Fisheries and the NGO World Vision said in a statement. World Vision said the guidelines, which it <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/guidelines-finalized-for-child-workers-in-fisheries-sector/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has threatened action against the main opposition party if it pushes ahead with a planned mass demonstration in Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park on Sunday in defiance of a ban on public gatherings at the site. Blaming the Cambodian National Rescue <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/cambodia-pm-warns-against-opposition-protest/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

About 200 villAgers blocked NAtionAl RoAd 5 in KAndAl province’s PonheA Leu district for About two hours TuesdAy, lighting fires with wood And tires And cAusing A lArge trAffic jAm As they cAlled for Authorities to intervene in their ongoing lAnd dispute with the PhAnimex <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/Anti-phAnimex-roAdblock-cAuses-trAffic-snArl/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

City Hall is turning its focus to Phnom Penh’s “anarchic parking” situation. Phnom Penh Governor Pa Socheatvong yesterday said the municipality plans to cancel old contracts awarding private companies the right to charge for parking in certain parts of the city, and introduce new restrictions on <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/parking-rules-kicked-to-kerb/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

In yet another land swap deal that will see lucrative state-owned land handed to a private business in exchange for a new building on cheaper land, the Try Pheap Group has built a new headquarters for the Women’s affairs Ministry in Stung Meanchey commune. In return, <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/ministry-swapped-in-deal-with-timber-magnate/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Cambodia has become increasingly reliant on China for aid. But critics warn that financial support from China is not well tracked and likely means the country has undue influence over the government, and that could mean more trouble down the road as Cambodia looks toward <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/as-partnership-with-china-grows-so-too-concerns/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

A group of Kompong ChhnAng villAgers in A fight for lAnd with the wife of Mines And Energy Minister Suy Sem delivered petitions to the Ministry of Justice And NAtionAl Assembly on MondAy, one of five communities from Across the country thAt hAve recently trAveled <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/lor-peAng-villAgers-mArch-to-justice-ministry-nAtionAl-Assembly/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

The U.N. refugee agency warns the number of people forcibly displaced from their homes is likely to exceed 60 million in 2015.The UNHCR has released its Mid-Year Trends 2015 report covering global forced displacement during the first six months of this year. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/un-record-breaking-60-million-forcibly-displaced-worldwide/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Major hotels are under the microscope after a labour rights group found that some have been failing to pass their entire service charge on to their staff, a violation of the Labour Law. Dave Welsh, country manager of the american Center for International Labor Solidarity(aCILS), said yesterday <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/scrutiny-over-hotel-service-fees-in-cambodia/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The remote district of Rovieng was once a battleground between Cambodian government troops and Pol Pot’s genocidal Khmer Rouge. Unexploded bombs still lurk in its fields and forests. So does something more desirable &ndash; iron ore &ndash; and supposedly in such huge quantities two Chinese companies <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/insight-cambodias-11-billion-mystery/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Multinational consulting and engineering firm Pöyry has signed a contract with the Lao government to supervise construction of the divisive Xayaburi hydropower dam in the country’s north, it announced Friday. This work, carried out by its Energy Business Group, will include reviewing the design and <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/controversial-poyry-tapped-for-xayaburi/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>