The trade commissioner and foreign affairs representative of the European Union (E.U.) have turned down a request from 13 members of the European Parlia­ment that they immediately investigate Cambodia’s much criticized economic land concessions, but said they were monitoring the issue closely. In a March letter ...

Independent election monitors and civil society groups submitted a request to the National Election Committee (NEC) on Friday asking to review post-election voter rolls and Identity Certificates for Elections (ICE) forms in seven provinces in which reports of election irregularities were widespread on July 28. The ...

The Ministry of Education on Tuesday again publicly accused the Ministry of Finance of not injecting enough funds into the education sector in order to bring Cambodia in line with the rest of Southeast Asia. Speaking at the close of a two-day workshop to formulate the ...

The Council of Ministers’ Press and Quick Reaction Unit on Friday released a scathing, official “white paper” on the opposition party’s conduct in the lead-up to, during and after the hotly contested July 28 national election, accusing it of trying to destabilize the country to ...

Injecting methamphetamines is on the rise in Cambodia, particularly among younger addicts, as recreational users have begun to switch from smoking and pill-popping to mainlining, a report by the Australian National Council on Drugs suggests. The report, released yesterday, details how amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) and their ...

More than 200 students and opposition supporters marched Sunday around Phnom Penh’s Wat Phnom with flowers in hand, urging parties to refrain from violence during Saturday’s protest against last month’s contested national election results and for recent incitement charges against two students to be dropped. The ...

Cambodia’s opposition said it will not attend the scheduled opening of parliament next week despite a request by the king to call off their boycott. The opposition continues to insist that the ruling party agree to an independent investigation into allegations of massive voting fraud ...

A mob of 500 villagers beat a man to death in Kampong Cham province yesterday after he allegedly slaughtered his wife and stepdaughter with a pair of scythes and reportedly taunted the assembled crowd with his wife’s severed hand. Police said Laing Pises, 48, used the ...

Some of the world’s largest clothing brands have warned the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia of possible business ramifications should the factory representative continue with plans to impede labour monitoring. Thirteen major buyers, including Gap, H&M, Levi’s, Nike and Puma, have signed a letter to GMAC ...

About 20 leprosy patients have been treated at a rehabilitated and expanded wing of the Battambang Provincial Referral Hospital, the second hospital to offer professional treatment for leprosy patients in Cambodia. “We have two doctors and one nurse who specialize in leprosy treatment, and in the ...

NGOs yesterday were granted permission to hold an International Human Rights Day event on Tuesday outside Wat Phnom – just a short distance from Freedom Park, where the Cambodia National Rescue Party has been given approval for a 10,000-person mass demonstration. In letters signed by Minister ...

A day of peaceful demonstrations gave way to an evening of unrest last night as a handful of protesters were removed from a small patch of land across from the United States embassy and a grup of uninvolved people threw Molotov cocktails towards riot police ...

CPP lawmakers including Prime Minister Hun Sen unanimously voted Friday for their party members, Suy Sem and Cham Prasidh, to become heads of the newly created Ministry of Mines and Energy, and the Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts, respectively. The 67 ruling-party parliamentarians present also approved ...

The Cambodia National Rescue Party has said it plans to expand the mass demonstration already slated for Tuesday in Siem Reap to include another large rally in the capital. The CNRP announced late last month it was moving its first in a series of new rallies ...

Two of the country’s largest mobile phone operators are again offering attractive deals on calls, despite the Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia’s (TRC) recent order to mobile operators to follow the government’s minimum prices for calls and to scale back customer promotions. On Sunday, Smart, which is ...

Beer, whisky and strong, home-brewed moonshine have long Been Cambodians’ favorite tipples, but with an ever-growing middle class, tastes are changing and if you’re part of the new elite, it is increasingly important to know your Pinot Gris from your Pinot Noir. To help enhance one’s ...

Following a high-level meeting yesterday, Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Sam Rainsy said that his party would seek to restart negotiations with the ruling party and possibly join the government. The move marks an apparent about-turn from a party press conference held on Wednesday when Rainsy ...

A new set of prakases tacked onto a law that regulates overseas employment recruitment agencies is a “step in the right direction” towards protecting some of Cambodia’s most vulnerable citizens from scams and abuse, local and international NGOs said yesterday. But some remain unconvinced that the ...

Born with cerebral palsy, 5-year-old Chhen Sivong has trouble walking, standing and raising his arms, but he also struggles with an even more fundamental motor skill: swallowing. Around the time he turned one, the little boy began having problems eating solid food, which upset both Sivong ...

The government can’t seem to agree on whether or not Prime Minister Hun Sen has lifted the ban on the constitutional right to freedom of assembly. Last week, Mr. Hun Sen said in a speech: “I will not prevent [demonstrations] because everyone has equal rights,” which ...