Government
National government
‘Press’ license plates could now mean jail time, minister says
Authorities say they are cracking down on illegal “press” license plates, threatening imprisonment for the offense. ...
Pin Sisovann
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/press-license-plates-couldnot-mean-jail-time-minister-says/3195043.html
Program to deal with LGBT issues in works
The Ministry of Information says it is working with LGBT rights groups to create a regular radio program that discusses LGBT issues, with the aim of making society more welcoming. ...
Morn Vanntey
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/program-deal-lgbt-issues-works
Japanese warships arrive in Sihanoukville, Chinese to moor next week
Three Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force ships dropped anchor in Cambodian waters yesterday, mooring at a Sihanoukville provincial port for a three-day visit meant to strengthen the relationship and boost bilateral ties between Cambodia and Japan, according to General Chhum Socheat, spokesman for the National Defense ...
Minister of interior addresses ‘gaps’ in democracy
Cambodia’s acting Prime Minister while Mr. Hun Sen is out of the country for the US-ASEAN summit, Interior Minister Sar Kheng, acknowledged that there are “gaps” in the implementation of democracy in Cambodia during a speech to the National Police Academy on Tuesday, but warned ...
Taing Vida
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21549/minister-of-interior-addresses----gaps----in-democracy/
NGO transfers schools for blind, deaf to government
This week, 25 years after a Frenchmen created the first of five specialized schools for blind and deaf students, it is handing over the schools—plus the tools and expertise its staff developed over decades—to the Cambodian government. ...
Michelle Vachon
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/ngo-transfers-schools-for-blind-deaf-to-government-108648/
Kingdom ranks low on global green list
Cambodia has performed poorly in the 2016 edition of a recent environmental report, ranking a dismal 146 out of 180 countries.The Kingdom returned one of the lowest Environmental Performance Index (EPI) scores in the region, narrowly edging ahead of Myanmar and Laos. ...
Erin Handley
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/kingdom-ranks-low-global-green-list
Labor leader wants unionists’ charges dropped
A prosecutor at the Kompong Speu Provincial Court said on Wednesday that charges would stand against five union officials who were released on bail last month after they were arrested during a brawl with a rival association, despite calls by a prominent labor leader to ...
Sek Odom
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/labor-leader-wants-unionists-charges-dropped-108658/
133-story twin towers get initial approval
The government is reviewing a mammoth $1-billion proposal by the Thai Boon Roong Group to build twin commercial skyscrapers in Phnom Penh which, if constructed, would be among the world’s tallest buildings. ...
Kang Sothear
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/133_story_towers_approved-108645/
Ministry removes officials from office for skipping work
The Ministry of Interior has removed four Oddar Meanchey provincial officials from office, including former deputy governor of Anlong Veng district Nhem En, for failing to show up for work, according to a ministry letter received by Khmer Times yesterday. ...
May Titthara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21423/ministry-removes-officials-from-office-for-skipping-work/
Cambodia is open for investment, PM tells America
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday made a direct appeal to businesses in the United States to increase investment in Cambodia, ahead of the US-ASEAN Summit in Sunnylands California, and just days after Deputy Prime Minister Sok An spoke with officials from the US Embassy here ...
Chea Vannak
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21410/cambodia-is-open-for-investment--pm-tells-america/
Veggie farming to trim kingdom’s import bill
Government officials, economists and businesses discussed the implementation of a draft program to invigorate vegetable farming in the Kingdom and cut imports from neighbouring countries in half by 2018. ...
Ayanna Runcie
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/veggie-farming-trim-kingdoms-import-bill
Two Cambodian merchants denied bail in Thai court
The two Cambodian merchants arrested at Rong Kluea Market during a Thai Department of Special Investigation (DSI) raid that turned violent earlier this month were denied bail on Friday by the Thai Court of Appeals, according to a statement released by the Cambodian Foreign Affairs ...
Pav Suy
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21374/two-cambodian-merchants-denied-bail-in-thai-court/
Minister decries fake journo licence plates
Information Minister Khieu Kanharith took to Facebook on Saturday to remind drivers of vehicles with illegal “press” licence plates that “it will not be a fine, but prison” if police catch them. ...
Lay Samean
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/minister-decries-fake-journo-licence-plates
Ministry makes it easier for the little guys to dig
It will get easier for small, rural mining operations to register with the government this month, thanks to a change in the Ministry of Energy and Mines’ policy of issuing licenses, according to a ministry statement released last week. ...
Chea Vannak
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21376/ministry-makes-it-easier-for-the-little-guys-to-dig/
Saudis sign MOU on maids
Cambodia and Saudi Arabia on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding to begin work on opening a pipeline for Cambodians to work in the gulf nation, which has been routinely criticised for failing to protect migrant domestic workers from abysmal treatment and slave-like conditions. ...
Chhay Channyda and Shaun Turton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/saudis-sign-mou-maids
Montagnards ‘to be processed’
Immigration officials yesterday sought to dial back public remarks by Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak, who on Wednesday appeared to tell reporters that the more than 100 Montagnard asylum seekers currently waiting to have their claims assessed would be summarily deported. ...
Mech Dara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/montagnards-be-processed
Japanese, Chinese navies to visit Cambodia days apart
The final two weeks of February will feature visits to Sihanoukville from both the Japanese and Chinese navies to conduct goodwill and training exercises, as the two powers vie for influence and allies in Southeast Asia amid increasing Asian nautical tensions. ...
Peter Ford and Sek Odom
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/japanese-chinese-navies-to-visit-cambodia-days-apart-108270/
Japan lobbies for joint meeting with ASEAN ministers of defense
A high official from the Japanese Defense Ministry (JDM) has lobbied for Cambodia and another ASEAN members to support the creation of a meeting between their defense ministers and the JDM to be held next year in Laos, according to officials at a meeting at ...
Ban Sokrith and Phun Chan Ousaphea
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21309/japan-lobbies-for-joint-meeting-with-asean-ministers-of-defense/
Journalist detained over logging story
A journalist who accused a military police commander of accepting bribes from illegal loggers in Mondolkiri province was arrested and briefly detained on Thursday on the commander’s orders, a move that was criticized by the Ministry of Information. ...
Ben Sokhean
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/journalist-detained-over-logging-story-108258/
National police force hires more than 4,500 officer
The National Police has hired more than 4,500 new officials into its ranks, according to a sub-decree dated Wednesday. ...
Sek Odom
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/national-police-force-hires-more-than-4500-officer-108298/
Postal service delivers new partner
Kerry Express, a subsidiary of WorldBridge International (Cambodia), yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with state-owned Cambodia Post to expand delivery services in the Kingdom, executives and officials said after signing the MoU yesterday. ...
Sok Chan
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21220/postal-service-delivers-new-partner/
Remaining montagnards not refugees, ministry says
Less than a month after the government announced that more than 170 Montagnard asylum seekers would have their refugee applications processed, an Interior Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday that the group had not met the criteria for refugee status and would be returned to Vietnam. ...
Khuon Narim and George Wright
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/remaining-montagnards-not-refugees-ministry-says-108113/
Government targets foreign retirees with new policy
The government is planning to boost Cambodia’s attractiveness as a second-home tourist destination for foreign retirees, according to a draft policy obtained from the Ministry of Tourism Wednesday. ...
Kang Sothear and Tej Parikh
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/government-targets-foreign-retirees-with-new-policy-108126/
‘Second-home Policy’ aims to entice more tourists
With a surge in visitors from the world’s most populous nation, the government is preparing a “second-home policy” to encourage more Chinese tourists to visit and stay longer, and for those who have already visited to do so more often, Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon ...
Sum Manet
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21219/---second-home-policy----aims-to-entice-more-tourists/