Southeast Asian nations displayed a rare show of unity on Sunday against China’s sweeping maritime claims, calling for the first formal talks with Beijing over a sea dispute that has raised tensions and exposed deep divisions in the region. As Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in ...

Six Southeast Asian journalist organizations from five countries formed a regional partnership to combat increasing repression and deteriorating press freedom at a conference in Phnom Penh on Monday.  ...

Noeleen Heyzer, the UN secretary-general’s Special Envoy on Myanmar, has shared with Prime Minister Hun Sen that she had initiated a “three-layered solution” for the ongoing crisis plaguing the bloc’s westernmost country. ...

Émile Coué was a French psychologist who introduced a method of self-improvement based on optimistic autosuggestion. “Every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better,” was his mantra. He died in 1926 and probably never visited Cambodia, but his spirit has been hovering over ...

A coalition of women’s groups have lashed out at Malaysia for continuing to endorse a “public morality” clause in the draft ASEAN Declaration on Human Rights. They claim the clause is subjective and discriminates against women and sexual minorities and should be ditched. Currently being drafted by ...

The Mekong River Commission (MRC) will forgo an opportunity to voice opposition to the Xayaburi dam project – which member state Laos began building in November – when it meets for its annual council meeting next week. Surasak Glahan, communications officer with the MRC secretariat, confirmed ...

The number of foreigners who bought condos in Cambodia increased by between 30 and 40 per cent in 2012 compared with 2011, a recent study showed, while 997 condo units currently belong to foreigners. Nuon Rithy, general manager of the Bonna Realty Group, said that according ...

While observers yesterday accused the government of censorship for ordering radio stations not to transmit international broadcasters over the election weekend, a government spokesman defended the move. On Sunday, a Ministry of Information official said the ministry had ordered local F.M. stations not to transmit Voice ...

The Ministry of Commerce is conducting a feasibility study to set up an open paddy market for paddy rice in at least two provinces to make the rice trade more transparent, s senior official says. ...

Representatives of the ten ASEAN nations met on Sunday in Laos’ capital of Vientiane to launch the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF), where they pledged to expand tourism cooperation and discussed creating a pan-ASEAN tourist visa. The ATF, which was first held in 1981, is designed to ...

The owner of Cambodia Yellow Pages has agreed in principle to sell a 51 percent stake to the subsidiary of Malaysian technology firm CBSA Bhd. in a deal worth $2.04 million, an official at the company said Monday. According to a disclosure last week from CBSA ...

SENIOR diplomat Alison Burrows has been appointed Australia’s next ambassador to Cambodia. Ms Burrows will replace Penny Richards in April, Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr announced on Thursday. She is assistant secretary with the North Asia investment and services branch of the Department of Foreign Affairs ...

Delta Electronics (Thailand), one of the world’s leading producers of power supplies and electronic components, plans to expand to Cambodia and Myanmar, the Bangkok Post reported on Wednesday. “There is no indication of a specific timeframe for the expansion, but the company sees these countries . ...

The Overseas Cambodia Investment Corporation (OCIC) and Phnom Penh municipality are cooperating to undertake a study on major new projects for the city – two flyovers and a subway, each of which it is hoped would ease the city’s ever worsening traffic congestion. Touch Samnang, project ...

Being landlocked and poor has always placed Laos at a disadvantage to its more powerful neighbors. The only body of water that offers Vientiane an international reach is the Mekong River, which flows through the heartland of Southeast Asia. Now, that river, which laps the western ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday defended his government, saying its reputation for corruption is undeserved, laying blame on the private sector for initiating the bribe process and calling out international development partners for applying double standards. Speaking at the Eighth Regional Conference of Anti-Corruption Intiative for ...

Last year, the United Nations called for culture to be given top priority in the post-2015 global development agenda, citing its importance to economic growth, social inclusion, equality, and sustainable development. It is difficult to quantify the impact culture has on a nation, particularly for a developing ...

Three New Zealand companies will leave their mark on Kids City, a massive new family entertainment complex in Cambodia offering 7000 square metres of indoor activities, shops, cafes and an ice skating rink on the top floor. When it opens in March, visitors to the 12-story ...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced in late March that the nation was on target to move from the status of a low-income to a lower-middle-income nation by the end of 2013, ranking it the 15th country that obtained high economic growth in the world in the ...

China’s presence in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh is obvious. The city skyline is dotted by Chinese-funded projects. But the full extent of Beijing’s influence here will be tested when President Hu Jintao visits this week ahead of a regional summit. The timing of Hu’s visit ...