National government

Financial records the Global Fund requested for its investigation into widespread corruption in health grants to Cambodia were withheld and censored by grant recipients, the probe found, suggesting a systematic attempt to cover up wrongdoing. Out of a total of $220.3 million worth of expenses the ...

As garment union groups resume their strike today, thousands of workers plan on returning to work, largely citing financial necessity rather than ideological disagreement with the unions. The Ministry of Labour on Monday ordered union leaders to cease a nationwide strike that began nine days ago, ...

The government’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) on Tuesday delivered its latest report on its review of allegations of massive bribe taking inside the Health Ministry leveled by the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria in November. Officials on Wednesday were mum about the review, however, ...

Both dengue fever and malaria deaths have plummeted this year compared to the same period in 2012, which was a peak year for the cyclical dengue, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Health. Dengue fever killed 59 people and infected 17,491 during the ...

Tens of thousands of workers protested in front of the Ministry of Labor on Monday, after negotiations between labor leaders and the government failed to find a resolution to demands of higher wages in the face of a rising cost of living. Labor Minister Ith ...

In an apparent departure from the usual diet of colourless press releases and updates on the travel plans of officials, the Council of Ministers’ Press and Quick Reaction Unit website yesterday posted two articles critical of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government. The articles – Reuters’ coverage ...

Government officials have agreed to speed up the delivery of land titles promised to some 1,500 families in Kratie province after about 200 of them, angered by the months-long delay, protested outside their local commune office Monday. The protesters said they had their land measured in ...

As mass demonstrations by garment factory workers continued Monday, the government laid out plans to bring an end to the labor unrest within the next three days, including suing union leaders in the courts and mobilizing security forces to take unspecified action. Signed by Council ...

The Education Ministry and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Monday that they had begun a joint investigation into the misappropriation of textbooks intended for secondary school students under an ADB-funded scheme. Two NGOs on Thursday released results of an investigation into 33 secondary schools, which ...

The Cambodian government said Monday that a law on access to information will be adopted in three years. Cambodia has spent more than a decade working on this draft law. The formation of a new government in July committed to reforming all the government’s bodies ...

Tuk-tuk, motorbike and taxi drivers were among hundreds of workers from Cambodia’s “informal economy” who called on the government yesterday to cap fuel prices at 4,000 riel ($1) per litre, amid claims that the current 5,000 riel price leaves them unable to cover any more ...

Law and order in Cambodia this year has been a strange mix of the brutal and the bizarre. From horrific murders to the police’s decision to deliver crystal meth to phony hostage-takers during a bank heist, crime has continually made headlines in a year when the ...

Beehive Radio director Mam Sonando said yesterday that he was forced to postpone a planned demonstration in support of his bid for a television license as he had given authorities insufficient notice of what he hoped would be an ongoing protest. On Friday, Sonando – whose ...

The Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) on Sunday said all of the country’s 400-plus garment factories will remain closed until the government and striking trade unions can guarantee the safety of the factories and all employees who want to work. The decision, outlined in an ...

SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia—In this quiet beach town, Lim Loeung says she spends up to 80 hours a week gluing soles onto shoes at a factory that does work for companies including Japanese sneaker-maker Asics Corp. 7936.TO +0.95% The factory believes Ms. Lim is at least 18 ...

An increasing number of Cambodians see themselves faring worse, a Gallup polls suggests. In a global survey released earlier this month, the US-based firm ranked Cambodia near the very bottom in terms of life satisfaction, and it found that 34 percent of surveyed Cambodians consider themselves ...

Striking garment factory workers and protesting CNRP supporters should respect people of other nationalities and make sure they act within the boundaries of the law, Defense Minister Tea Banh said Thursday. Speaking at an opening ceremony for three new Royal Cambodian Armed Force science laboratory buildings, ...

Cambodian Minister of Labor Ith Samheng on Friday afternoon held an urgent talk with the representatives of six pro-opposition trade unions after they have led tens of thousands of workers off work in protest against low wage increase for 2014. As the meeting was going on, ...

The economic fallout from garment worker protests and the industry’s response is expected to cost the key sector millions of dollars while tarnishing the country’s reputation among international buyers, interviews with suppliers and figures from previous periods of labour unrest show. Disputes over wages came to ...

School textbooks paid for by the Asian Development Bank have been routed to district education offices, some of which are charging schools for books that are supposed to be free, an NGO investigation has found. The textbooks on Khmer literature, maths, geography, morality and science were ...

The Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training on Wednesday said that any activities made by the unions against the minimum wage of $95, agreed upon by the Labor Council, are against the law. After the wage talks yesterday, the Labor Council agreed to raise ...

A rice trader on Monday filed a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Unit, Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cabinet and three ministries alleging that officials in Kompong Cham province had wrongly fined her for an overweight truck after using improperly weighted scales. Saing Darlin had her truck impounded ...

The Ministry of Labor hopes that a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will see Cambodia resume sending domestic workers to Malaysia by February, but negotiations on the document have stalled after Malaysia recently rejected 90 percent of proposed provisions to protect workers’ rights. Most strikingly, Malaysia ...

The French Agency for Development will provide $26 million in loans to the Cambodian government to rehabilitate irrigation systems across three provinces in the northwest. Speaking at the signing ceremony for the deal yesterday, Aun Pornmoniroth, the Minister of Economy and Finance, said the new systems ...