A day after the ruling party filed a defamation complaint against one of the country’s most prominent political commentators, Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday defended limitations on freedom of speech as being necessary for peace and stability. ...

At a time when he’s facing one of the tensest political periods since the 2013 national elections, Prime Minister Hun Sen last Saturday took time to tell a former bitter enemy he has a “very sweet” voice. ...

The position of National Assembly spokesman will no longer be held exclusively by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, with the role to be split in three, allowing for two partisan representatives and one from the parliament’s secretariat.​ ...

Cambodia was one of the few bright spots for the air cargo industry last year with a modest increase in year-on-year air freight shipments as other regions experienced weak growth due to the cooling global economy. ...

In what one commentator described as “a bold step”, the Interior Ministry’s prisons department has seemingly admitted it has a drug problem, and last week sent a letter requesting the Health Ministry’s assistance in tackling it. ...

Branchless banking, including mobile banking, is one of the hottest trends in Cambodia’s microfinance industry, helping financial institutions deliver their products conveniently and affordably to people living in rural areas, industry insiders said yesterday.   ...

Two village officials from Oddar Meanchey province filed complaints on Friday against one-star General Duong Sina, accusing him of using violence against them and two other villagers, though Military Police yesterday said the general appeared to have fled. ...

Cambodia rice mogul Song Saran, the CEO of one of the Kingdom’s top rice exporters, will diversify his agricultural business interests with the construction of a factory to clean and process locally grown pepper, he said yesterday. ...

Cambodia’s market regulator has finalised regulations for establishing a corporate bond, moving one step closer to introducing a new capital market tool that would allow companies to raise funds for expansions, debt refinancing or acquisitions, officials announced yesterday. ...

The Cambodian government has selected six agencies to facilitate sending domestic workers to Hong Kong – with one saying they will begin sending maids by the end of the year – though rights groups yesterday warned of potential exploitation and abuses. ...

A project in Stung Treng province is giving women the opportunity to participate in one of the fastest-growing food-production sectors in Cambodia: aquaculture fisheries – a field that has also traditionally been among its most male-dominated. ...

Two images on the back of the 500 riel banknote depict bridges, with the one on the left showing the Kingdom’s longest and most modern bridge, the Tsubasa (“Bird’s Wing”) Bridge linking Kandal and Prey Veng provinces. ...

An early draft of amendments to the Labour Law appears to expand the use of short-term contracts, a move criticised by labour activists and unionists, and one which directly contradicts recent recommendations made by Prime Minister Hun Sen. ...

The National Election Committee has received and settled 150 complaints in regards to preliminary voter lists for February’s Senate election. Among the complaints, 144 were approved, one was denied, three had already been resolved and two were withdrawn. ...

As authorities yesterday searched for officials suspected of killing three forestry patrollers in a brazen ambush near Mondulkiri’s border with Vietnam, families, friends and colleagues struggled to make sense of the sudden deaths of their loved ones. ...

The Institute of Standards of Cambodia developed 63 new standards last year, bringing the total number of certifications available from the government to 868, though one industry representative said the system still needed improvement in order to facilitate exports. ...

One hundred and thirty-five ethnic Kouy families from the Brame, Srae Preang and Bos Tom villages in Preah Vihear’s Tbeng Meanchey district gathered on Saturday and yesterday to protest the Lan Feng Company’s alleged bulldozing of their farmland. ...

Hattha Kasekar Limited (HKL), one of Cambodia’s largest microfinance institutions (MFI), plans to install 15 ATM machines to service its increasing number of depositors. It becomes the second MFI after Prasac in Cambodia to provide this service to its clients. ...

Four days after the Labour Advisory Committee approved a monthly minimum wage increase to $75 starting in May, more than 500 workers at the Su Tong Fang garment factory yesterday demanded that their company begin the wage increase one month early. ...

Japanese conglomerate Hitachi on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with three major companies to conduct a feasibility study on the potential development of a new special economic zone (SEZ) in Kandal province, said the CEO of one of the signatories. ...