Sugar Firm Files Defense in Cambodian Lawsuit
British sugar firm Tate & Lyle has denied knowing of the alleged abuses at two Cambodian plantations accused of illegally driving hundreds of families off their farms and says that the families have no right to ask the company for compensation, according to the firm’s ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/uk-sugar-firm-files-defense-in-cambodian-lawsuit-21913/
Old Soldiers Won't Fade Away
“I don’t know how to protect the territorial integrity [of the nearby Cambodian-Thai border] – even my three hectares of land I cannot protect,” said Bun Chanthorn, 54, one of hundreds of retired and active soldiers who since 2010 have been battling the local authorities ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013050765451/National/old-soldiers-won-t-fade-away.html
Protesters take aim at prices
Tuk-tuk, motorbike and taxi drivers were among hundreds of workers from Cambodia’s “informal economy” who called on the government yesterday to cap fuel prices at 4,000 riel ($1) per litre, amid claims that the current 5,000 riel price leaves them unable to cover any more ...
Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/protesters-take-aim-prices
Canadia park, a ghost town
On most Sundays, the wide boulevard separating two rows of some 40 mustard-coloured factories in the Canadia Industrial Park is teeming with people. Garment workers who live on the premises stroll or bicycle along the road, stopping to eat at the same restaurants, patronizing the same ...
Joe Freeman and Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/canadia-park-ghost-town
After prison, Bopha undeterred
Shelving any thoughts that 14 months in prison had deterred her from protesting, Yorm Bopha rushed to the capital’s Borei Keila community yesterday morning to try to stop authorities from forcing evictees from an abandoned building. Bopha was one of about 10 Boeung Kak activists called ...
Phak Seangly, Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Shane Worrell
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/after-prison-bopha-undeterred
Poll anger simmers in Kandal
Two weeks ago, Kandal erupted. Skirmishes broke out at multiple polling stations where voters were left off the list, and at least one was forced to shut down as locals blocked what they claimed were outsiders from voting. In the end, this hotly contested province swung ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/poll-anger-simmers-kandal
‘Patience’ of riot cops praised
Three thousand riot police officers yesterday received certificates of appreciation for their post-election work, which included “controlling the escalation” at the Kbal Thnal overpass last month, where one man was killed and at least nine injured by police who fired live ammunition at unarmed rioters. Interior ...
Vong Sokheng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/%E2%80%98patience%E2%80%99-riot-cops-praised
Cobras Thrown Into Land Dispute Family’s Home
Three highly venomous cobras were thrown early Tuesday morning into the Phnom Penh home of a family locked in a dispute with a private company that wants to develop the family’s land in Tuol Kok district. Ly Sreang Kheng, 58, his wife Mok Siv Hong, 51, ...
Mech Dara
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/three-cobras-thrown-into-land-dispute-familys-home-46359/
UDG accused of farming instead of building
The Chinese-owned Union Development Group in Koh Kong province is bulldozing swaths of its land concession, originally intended for a massive tourist resort, to plant cassava and palm oil trees instead, a CNRP lawmaker-elect said Monday. Son Chhay, lawmaker-elect and CNRP chief whip, visited the area ...
Lauren Crothers and Hul Reaksmey
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/udg-accused-of-farming-instead-of-building-53164/
After Chinese company’s visit, villagers fear dam construction
Following a visit by representatives of the Chinese company planning to build a controversial 108-MW hydropower dam in Koh Kong province’s Areng Valley, local officials and residents say they fear that construction on the project, which will require the evacuation of an estimated 1,500 villagers, ...
Sani Sinary
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/after-chinese-companys-visit-villagers-fear-dam-construction-53409/
Cambodian Government Promises Cities 100% Clean Water by 2025
Prime Minister Hun Sen promised that 100% of people living in Cambodia’s cities and towns will have access to clean running water by 2025. ...
Sovann Sreypich
https://cambojanews.com/cambodian-government-promises-cities-100-clean-water-by-2025/
Cambodia’s ambitious Funan Techo canal project sparks concerns near and far
Heang Nang Eng, 60, had a bad feeling when she first heard rumors about a canal project that would impact the Prek Ta Hing stream near where she lives. ...
Seoung Nimol and Ly Rosslan
https://cambojanews.com/cambodias-ambitious-funan-techo-canal-project-sparks-concerns-near-and-far/
Cambodian greens see red in upcoming dams
For Meach Mean, a veteran campaigner against hydropower dams in Cambodia’s northeast, this year has brought a double dose of bad news. First, he says, two Chinese hydropower companies have begun feasibility studies into a pair of dams planned for tributaries of the Mekong River ...
http://www.gulf-times.com/environment/231/details/353963/cambodian-greens-see-red-in-upcoming-dams
Garment Exports Booming Despite Concerns
Despite criticisms over safety, outbreaks of sometimes violent industrial action and a raise in the minimum wage that it was warned would scare off manufacturers, Cambodia’s garment sector is booming, according to government figures. A report on state newswire Agence Kampuchea Presse (AKP) on Friday said ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/garment-exports-booming-despite-concerns-34035/
Work Begins on Controversial Cambodian Dam
As work begins on Cambodia’s biggest dam, those advocating against its construction have warned that the region’s rush for hydropower will have a disastrous effect on millions of people who rely on the Mekong River to survive. Last month, workers began preparing an area in northeastern ...
http://www.voanews.com/content/work-begins-on-controversial-hydropower-dam/1656035.html
Cambodia Plantations Not IFC’s First Controversy
In the wake of a new report from environmental rights group Global Witness rebuking the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Deutsche Bank for investing in rubber plantations accused of illegal logging and forced evictions, both institutions have denied responsibility and deflected the blame ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/cambodia-plantations-not-ifcs-first-controversy-23793/
Lao Dams, Mining Ruining Sekong Water Quality in Cambodia
Dam-building and gold mining in southern Laos are ruining water quality downstream on the Sekong River in Cambodia, where villagers are no longer able to drink or use the water, according to an environmental group. The activities undertaken by Lao and Vietnamese companies on the Sekong’s ...
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/sekong-06252013190742.html
Climate report paints dismal picture for region
As much of the country grapples with crippling floods, a comprehensive report on global climate change released yesterday predicts the situation could be poised to get even worse. According to the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as the planet grows warmer, cyclones making ...
Stuart White
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/climate-report-paints-dismal-picture-region
Land-title program ‘Ineffective’
Land certificates handed out by Prime Minister Hun Sen’s youth volunteers have been seized by local authorities in some parts of the country and sold on to companies, a forum on land rights was told yesterday, amid reports of rising numbers of land conflicts. Speaking at ...
May Titthara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/land-title-program-%E2%80%98ineffective%E2%80%99
Evictees, Activists Scuffle With Police in Front of City Hall
Evictees and anti-eviction activists on Wednesday briefly scuffled with police and security guards after cutting off traffic in front of Phnom Penh City Hall to demand that businesswoman Suy Sophan compensate them for homes that were bulldozed early last year. Human rights group Adhoc said at ...
Khuon Narim and Zsombor Peter
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/evictees-activists-scuffle-with-police-in-front-of-city-hall-46362/