National Rail Project on Hold ‘Indefinitely’
Work on a $143 million donor project to renovate the country’s creaking railway system, which is already over budget and years behind schedule, is now indefinitely postponed due to a lack of funds, with more than 300 km of rail still to be laid, a ...
Phorn Bopha
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/national-rail-project-on-hold-indefinitely-51323/
Cambodia’s parliament OKs dam compensation plan
Cambodia’s energy minister allayed concerns in parliament over inadequate compensation offered to villagers who face relocation for a proposed China-backed dam on a Mekong River tributary, saying the government has allocated to villagers more than four times the area taken over for the project. Minister of ...
Joshua Lipes
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/dam-06192014195419.html
Lao Dam troubles Mekong waters
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 ...
Marwaan Macan-Markar
http://www.irrawaddy.org/asia/magazine-regional/lao-dam-troubles-mekong-waters.html
Kratie villagers block road after officials torch homes
Police and military police in Kratie province’s Snuol district on Wednesday burned to the ground 56 homes they said were on protected land, causing displaced villagers to block National Road 76 in protest for four hours, officials said. Snuol district Governor Kong Kimny said Thursday that ...
Aun Pheap and Ben Sokhean
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/kratie-villagers-block-road-after-officials-torch-homes-52232/
Aeon microfinance booms with mall on horizon
When Sor Songheng, a manager for an accountancy firm, wanted to replace his cheap Nokia phone a few months ago, he set his heart on a top-of-the-line iPhone 5S worth $780—nearly his entire monthly salary of $800. But instead of scrimping and saving for months to ...
George Styllis
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/aeon-microfinance-booms-with-mall-on-horizon-58122/
Ethics Awards for Much Maligned Media
The first ever Annual Journalism Ethics Awards ceremony was held Wednesday in Phnom Penh, which conferred a total of 19 awards on five national newspapers and eight national television stations in recognition of their adherence to ethical journalism. The newspapers garnering awards in categories including balance ...
Phorn Bopha and Simon Henderson
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/ethics-awards-for-much-maligned-media-49153/
Cambodian PM unveils 5-year strategy, vowing deep reforms
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday announced his new government’s five-year strategy, vowing to deepen reforms in all fields to ensure sustainable growth and poverty reduction. “Reforms are the top priority for Cambodia and the country will continue deepening reforms in all fields in order ...
Nguon Sovan
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-09/25/c_132749682.htm
UN Rights Envoy Subedi Vows to Continue Work in Cambodia
U.N. human rights envoy Surya Subedi on Wednesday wrapped up his appearance before the Human Rights Council in Geneva with a vow to continue assisting Cambodia in improving its judicial system as NGOs provided withering testimony of the situation of rights in the country. A dialogue ...
Lauren Crothers
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/un-rights-envoy-subedi-vows-to-continue-work-in-cambodia-43410/
Demolition Order for 2 Buildings Near Royal Palace
Government officials have ordered the immediate demolition of two buildings located within blocks of the Royal Palace because the structures are taller than the allowed limit for buildings surrounding the palace, officials said Wednesday. One building, owned by Vattanac Properties, is located a block from the ...
Aun Pheap and Joshua Wilwohl
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/demolition-order-for-2-buildings-near-royal-palace-45306/
Zoo fighting back from brink
A leopard appears healthy and strong as it paces the walls of its cage with a confident swagger and muffled growl that hints at its ferocity. It’s a welcome sight at Kampot province’s much-maligned Teuk Chhou zoo, which less than one year ago was struggling to ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012031355003/National-news/zoo-fighting-back-from-brink.html
National Radio Site Swapped With Land Developer
The Ministry of Information has swapped an 11-hectare plot of land in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district, which was previously the site of National Radio AM 918, with a property development firm in exchange for the construction of a new radio tower and transmitter on a ...
Kuch Naren and Colin Meyn
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/national-radio-site-swapped-with-land-developer-45419/
Social Media Challenges ‘Official’ Version of Events
Seeing is believing—particularly in a country where the government controls the broadcast media and current affairs news, aired on pro-ruling party TV and radio, is often at odds with the country’s few independent media outlets. But in the aftermath of a violent clash between striking garment ...
Kuch Naren and Colin Meyn
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/social-media-challenges-official-version-of-events-47012/
Rainsy Amasses Support Ahead of Monday’s Rally
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy on Friday visited vendors in Phnom Penh’s Olympic and Russian markets and appealed to voters disgruntled by preliminary election results awarding a victory to the CPP to join a planned opposition rally at Freedom Park on Monday. As he toured both markets, ...
Khy Sovuthy and Simon Henderson
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/rainsy-amasses-support-ahead-of-mondays-rally-40743/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rainsy-amasses-support-ahead-of-mondays-rally
ADB waters down plans to amend mistakes in Cambodia
Newly approved plans by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to fix mistakes it made on a $143 million railway project appear to water down recommendations proposed by the Bank’s own review panel, and could impose the costs of the plan on the very families who ...
Zsombor Peter
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/adb-waters-down-plans-to-amend-mistakes-in-cambodia-51763/
2,500 workers in Bavet SEZ go on strike
More than 2,000 workers at three factories in Svay Rieng’s Bavet City went on strike Saturday, claiming their bosses owed them money. About 500 workers at the You Li factory, which makes baby clothes, went on strike Saturday because management refused to pay them for Thursday ...
Mech Dara
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/2500-workers-in-bavet-sez-go-on-strike-56762/
Not going without a fight
Teng Khorn’s living room is under a tree, his bedroom in a boat hauled up on a slipway for caulking beside the mangroves that lead to his source of income: the sea. His choice of abode is also his act of defiance against the monolithic Chinese ...
May Titthara and David Boyle
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/not-going-without-fight
More Than 160 Now Infected With HIV in Battambang
An official said Wednesday that more than 160 villagers have now tested positive for HIV in Battambang province’s Roka commune in an outbreak that has baffled health officials and international experts, who are now conducting a survey to determine how the virus was spread. Soeum Chhom, ...
Khy Sovuthy
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/more-than-160-now-infected-with-hiv-in-battambang-74832/
Compensation for culled poultry is a catch-22
Since its emergence in the region more than a decade ago, the governments of Southeast Asia have been fighting to contain the human avian influenza virus through surveillance programs, rigorous inspections and widespread culling of infected birds. In Cambodia last year, 13 people died of ...
Simon Henderson and Sek Odom
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/compensation-for-culled-poultry-is-a-catch-22-52485/
Government spokesman summons student over Facebook post
Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan has summoned a student from the country’s top state journalism school for a meeting at his office after she used a post on her Facebook page to question the sense of a guest lecture he delivered last week. Mr. Siphan ...
Alex Willemyns and Phorn Bopha
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/government-spokesman-summons-student-over-facebook-post-58460/
Land Is Life, and It’s Slipping Away
Nean Narin, a humble man and father of three children, says his family is going hungry. Narin lives in the village of Boeung Kak, situated on the edge of Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. For years, he and other villagers relied on the Boeung Kak Lake ...