Government
National government
Ministry asks Japan to help map out forests
The Ministry of Environment is asking Japan for help mapping Cambodia’s forests using satellite imagery, one week after it vehemently refuted a report of such imagery showing accelerating forest loss in the Kingdom. ...
Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ministry-asks-japan-help-map-out-forests
NGO accused of plotting revolution
A senior Ministry of Defence official yesterday claimed that housing rights group Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT) had received close to half a million dollars a year from the United States to foment “colour revolution” among the land dispute groups it worked with – a claim ...
Niem Chheng and Ananth Baliga
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ngo-accused-plotting-revolution
Factory workers protest against contract offers
Workers from the Pou Yuen Cambodia garment factory in Sen Sok district yesterday protested outside the premises after the management decided to offer them only three-month contract extensions. ...
Soth Koemsoeun
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/factory-workers-protest-against-contract-offers
Agriculture scholarships to help nurture local talent
A new agriculture scholarship and research grant were launched yesterday with the aim of nurturing local expertise by providing students opportunities to pursue graduate degrees and conduct research. ...
Chea Vannak
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5086816/agriculture-scholarships-help-nurture-local-talent/
Bracing for protests, authorities to prevent citizens from entering capital for Sokha trial
Anticipating popular unrest surrounding the “treason” trial of opposition leader Kem Sokha, Minister of Interior Sar Kheng on Friday instructed provincial governors, police chiefs and officers to block people from travelling to the capital and to prevent any attempts at demonstrations. ...
Mech Dara and Ananth Baliga
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/bracing-protests-authorities-prevent-citizens-entering-capital-sokha-trial
As CNRP’s dissolution looms, small parties look set to enter a big stage
The seemingly impending demise of Cambodia’s main opposition, and the snap draft laws put in motion to replace them in parliament, threatens to throw a handful of obscure parties into the political arena at the highest level. ...
Ben Sokhean and Erin Handley
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/cnrps-dissolution-looms-small-parties-look-set-enter-big-stage
Hun Sen spins demise of CNRP into boon for democracy
“They talk about the multi-party problem, but I want to confirm that when the one party is dissolved, there will be five parties that will replace it. That means that it will go from two parties to six parties in the National Assembly,” Hun Sen ...
Andrew Nachemson and Mech Dara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/hun-sen-spins-demise-cnrp-boon-democracy
Ministry disputes forests data
The Ministry of Environment released a statement late Tuesday night vehemently refuting University of Maryland data that showed a 30 percent spike in forest cover loss in 2016 over the year before, pointing instead to its own data showing only minimal deforestation over the same ...
Phak Seangly and Ananth Baliga
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ministry-disputes-forests-data
Bid to invest in silkworm farms taking shape
Six month after announcing its intentions to invest in local silk production, a Japanese beauty company, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, has released a new study on silkworms and their potential for the cosmetics industry, paving the way for more concrete action to ...
Sok Chan
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5085780/bid-invest-silkworm-farms-taking-shape/
Health probe targets chemical bomb sites
Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered the Health Ministry to investigate the well-being of villagers living within the vicinity of an estimated 15 chemical bomb sites in Svay Rieng province’s Korki commune. ...
Ven Rathavong
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5085764/health-probe-targets-chemical-bomb-sites/
Unrelenting rains
Provinces nationwide – particularly those along the Cambodia-Thailand border – are likely to experience more flooding as a result of a low-pressure system that is expected to bring rain across the country, according to a forecast from the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology. ...
Khouth Sophak Chakrya
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/unrelenting-rains
Government studying migrant issues
Interior Minister Sar Kheng yesterday announced he has formed an assessment group – with representation from the ministry’s identification and immigration departments as well as the Ministry of Labour – to study the issues affecting Cambodian migrant workers and provide recommendations to fix them. ...
Kong Meta and Yesenia Amaro
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/government-studying-migrant-issues
Pressure kept on for land dispute solutions
An inter-ministerial joint working group yesterday said it would continue its work on resolving land disputes for 540 families battling sugarcane companies in four provinces. ...
Pech Sotheary
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5085582/pressure-kept-land-dispute-solutions/
Ministry ups scrutiny of NGOs
The Interior Ministry has instructed provincial officials to urgently report any instances in which activities are carried out by any NGOs or grassroots associations without prior notification, adding that authorities can stop any planned events if they affect “public order and national security”. ...
Mech Dara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ministry-ups-scrutiny-ngos
Families regain land as claims given approval
More than 200 families who have been locked in land disputes with sugar firms will have at least some of their land returned to them after the Ministry of Land Management approved their claims yesterday, though hundreds more families are still waiting for resolution. ...
Soth Koemsoeun
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/families-regain-land-claims-given-approval
Government order to display prices in riel currency fails to stick
A government prakas that requires all businesses to post prices of their goods and services in the local riel currency has had little impact on pricing practices, with the vast majority of businesses in Cambodia continuing to quote prices in US dollars and authorities showing ...
Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/government-order-display-prices-riel-currency-fails-stick
Ministry produce plan comes up short
A $20 million Ministry of Agriculture programme has struggled to meet its goal of introducing 160 tonnes a day of high-quality locally produced vegetables to the market, with ministry officials saying that as a result of high production costs and pricing issues it was currently ...
Cheng Sokhorng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/ministry-produce-plan-comes-short
Hun Manith gets another star
Prime Minister Hun Sen’s middle son, Hun Manith, was among 28 officers to receive high-level promotions in the military, with the now three-star general continuing his rise through the ranks of the armed forces and ruling party. ...
Mech Dara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/hun-manith-gets-another-star
Central bank marks 38 years since rising from rubble
Cambodia’s banking sector has grown enormously on solid foundations since being rebuilt from scratch in 1979, central bank Governor Chea Chanto said yesterday during an event marking the 38-year anniversary of the re-establishment of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) after the fall of the ...
Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/central-bank-marks-38-years-rising-rubble
Analysis: Cambodia’s government learns the art of ‘lawfare’
On Friday, all the pieces fell into place. The Ministry of Interior, a day prior, had primed the media, instructing them on how to report the day’s events. The government’s investigation and filing to the Supreme Court that called for the main opposition party to ...
Erin Handley and Mech Dara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/analysis-cambodias-government-learns-art-lawfare
NEC Facebook hack investigated
The Interior Ministry is investigating how hackers got into the Facebook page of the National Election Committee (NEC) spokesman and controlled it for weeks, preventing the public dissemination of election-related information. ...
Ben Sokhean
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/nec-facebook-hack-investigated
Wage law change threatens Labour Advisory Committee
The future of the government’s Labour Advisory Committee is hanging in the balance as the country’s first draft law on the national minimum wage is set to come into force by the end of the year. ...
Mom Kunthear
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5085122/wage-law-change-threatens-labour-advisory-committee/
English classes extended to Grade 6
The Education Ministry has decided to include English classes in the curriculum of primary schools from Grade four to six to ensure students have a foundation to continue learning at secondary school. ...
Pech Sotheary
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5085108/english-classes-extended-grade-6/
Big boost for garment sector minimum wage, though some see a political motive
The government yesterday significantly upped the garment and footwear sector’s minimum wage to $170 a month, from $153, the highest increase in wages in the past two years and one that comes ahead of a crucial national election next July. ...
Yon Sineat and Ananth Baliga
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/big-boost-garment-sector-minimum-wage-though-some-see-political-motive