National government

The government today will begin strict inspections of agencies that recruit workers to send overseas, Labor Minister Ith Sam Heng said Tuesday. The labor minister has previously threatened to suspend or revoke the licenses of agencies that do not comply with labor laws. Speaking at a workshop ...

Judges are now required to write a reasoned explanation when placing citizens in pre-trial detention, instead of simply checking a box as was previously practiced, Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana said Tuesday. But the Ministry of Justice is also considering amending the criminal procedure code to ...

Labor Minister Ith Sam Heng said Tuesday that he has sent a letter responding to 30 international clothing brands who recently wrote to the government expressing their concerns over a draft union law which could allow for the arbitrary breakup of unions. Speaking outside a conference ...

Forty families in Kampong Chhnang province’s Peani commune complained yesterday that a local factory has been polluting their land with toxic liquid waste. Kong Yom, 40, a representative of the 40 families in Krang Ta Ekh village, said yesterday that this is not the first time ...

The Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) will join with the Ministry of Education this year to curb cheating during national-level high school and junior high exams, according to ACU chairman Om Yentieng. In order to eliminate old habits of purchasing answer sheets and paying bribes to exam monitors, ...

Cambodia’s European aid donors said Tuesday they are working on a new five-year “cooperation strategy” designed to increase the impact of the millions of dollars in loans and grants they give the country each year. With a combined $209 million in aid to Cambodia in 2012, ...

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s largest bank by assets, said on Tuesday it has been approved by National Bank of Cambodia as a clearing bank for the Chinese yuan currency in the country. ...

Some 625 prisoners could be released or see their jail terms reduced on the occasion of Khmer New Year, which falls on April 14-16, according to the Ministry of Justice. ...

The United States government on Tuesday organized an intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement workshop for some 50 Cambodian and Lao law enforcement officials. ...

A highly controversial, Chinese-backed hydropower project in the Areng Valley could be delayed in favour of mining, should “research” for the dam approved by Phnom Penh in February uncover precious metals or gems. Sinohydro Resources Ltd, a holding company for Sinohydro Group, was granted approval on ...

Drug seizures jumped last year, while drug arrests remained relatively steady, according to the annual report from the National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD) released Monday. As in 2012, methamphetamine retained its position as the most commonly seized type of drug. Police confiscated 17.3 kg of methamphetamine ...

The Anti-Corruption Unit revealed that a district police chief and his deputy in Kampot province who were arrested last week made more than $64,000 by embezzling money, taking bribes and stealing from his subordinates. Srun Lam, Banteay Meas district police chief, and his deputy, Mok Hort, ...

The Education Ministry will reconfigure how it ranks high school graduates seeking placement at state universities as part of its campaign to promote accountability in the school system, Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron announced on Friday. Delivering closing remarks at the Education Ministry’s annual meeting, Mr. ...

Phnom Penh residents should experience blackouts less frequently this dry season, as state-run Electricite du Cambodge (EdC) now has enough power to avoid a repeat of last year’s rolling blackouts, a senior company official said yesterday. The amount of electricity Cambodia will receive from several hydropower ...

Beehive Radio owner Mam Sonando yesterday promised to once again defy Phnom Penh Municipal Hall and go ahead with an unsanctioned March 31 protest against the Ministry of Information’s refusal to give him a television licence and more relay frequencies to extend the reach of ...

A 120-megawatt hydropower plant in western Cambodian province of Pursat will come into operation on Thursday after a Chinese developer completed five- year construction, a senior energy official said Monday. ...

Cambodia on Monday called on all religious leaders to help stop violence against children by making their followers fully aware of children’s rights, officials said. “We urge all religious leaders to use their religious texts and teachings to stop parents from using violence against children and ...

The European Commission (E.C.) will today ban all fish imports from Cambodia, carrying through on its threat made in November to punish the country for failing to show genuine commitment to tackling the global problem of illegal fishing, according to a memo released Friday. The ban, ...

A group of 54 local and international non-government groups said Sunday that the state may be behind the disappearance of a 16-year-old boy last seen bleeding from a bullet wound at a garment worker protest in January, and urged the government to investigate. Five garment workers ...

A Chinese developer with a “family-like” relationship to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit has accelerated construction at its $5 billion resort – ostensibly cancelled by royal decree in 2010 – in a protected national park in Preah Sihanouk province. The 3,300-hectare Golden Silver Gulf resort ...

Thailand’s ambassador to Cambodia was formally summoned on Friday to the Foreign Affairs Ministry over the shooting death last week of a Cambodian man who was among nine allegedly caught by soldiers cutting down forest across the country’s northwestern border with Thailand. ...

Military police in Svay Rieng province on Friday seized more than 250 kg of elephant tusks stashed inside 10 suitcases in a van heading for the Vietnamese border, officials said. This is the second such haul in the space of a month, leading to fears Cambodia ...

Cheating on national grade nine and 12 exams – which has been rampant in the past – just got harder. The Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) announced yesterday that it will enlist the services of independent NGOs, civil society groups and private companies to monitor the more than ...

Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei is to attend the inauguration of a tractor assembly in Cambodia next week, according to the Belarusian Telegraphic Agency. “There are plans to discuss a wide range of issues of the bilateral agenda with the emphasis on the prospects of ...