Government

Cambodia’s foreign affairs minister and his Laotian counterpart will hold a two-day meeting in Phnom Penh this week to draft a letter to France requesting detailed maps to resolve a border dispute that flared up last month. ...

The Ministry of Labour has weighed into a dispute between more than 600 garment workers and their former employer, confirming that the factory owner has closed operations and disappeared.   ...

China wants to import 300,000 tonnes of rubber from Cambodia by early next year, as the Cambodian government boosts its capacity for direct rubber exports to China. ...

The Ministry of Land Management has set up three working groups to allocate land plots to families in disputes with sugar companies in Kampong Speu, Koh Kong and Preah Vihear provinces. ...

The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces plans to recruit 3,850 new soldiers, the majority of which will be enlisted in a new brigade established after a border row with Laos, a document obtained yesterday showed. ...

Phnom Penh Governor Khoung Sreng has asked owners of container trucks, cement trucks and other heavily loaded vehicles to cease use of three main roads in the capital in a bid to ease congestion. ...

After 24 years of fiercely independent journalism, the Cambodia Daily will publish their final edition today due to an “exorbitant” $6.3 million tax bill levelled at them last month – an outcome critics say threatens Cambodia’s free press ahead of next year’s crucial national election. ...

The Ministry of Labour’s spokesman yesterday said that free medical treatment for garment workers, announced by Prime Minister Hun Sen last week, will start on January 1. ...

Nearly 300 families accused of grabbing state land to build huts near a canal in Kandal province have been given three days to dismantle the structures. ...

The Land Management Ministry on Wednesday announced a plan to resolve a yearslong land dispute between thousands of villagers and well-connected sugar barons by early next month, though not all affected communities were included. ...

The National Election Committee has appealed to Cambodian people working or studying abroad to come home and register to vote in the 2018 national election. ...

The Ministry of Labour’s spokesman yesterday said that free medical treatment for garment workers, announced by Prime Minister Hun Sen last week, will start on January 1. Spokesman Heng Sour said the scheme would have help from other ministries. ...

The Ministry of Commerce yesterday launched a petroleum mobile lab to detect fraud and cheating at petrol stations and ensure fair competition. The lab, under the authority of CamControl, will drive across the country, starting from Phnom Penh. ...

Kampot pepper, a Cambodian product that got geographical indication (IG) certification from the European Union, is expected to yield 80 matrix tons for the markets by this year. ...

The joint cabinet meeting between Cambodia and Thailand next month will exclude discussions on the Phnom Penh-Bangkok rail link, leaving the exact date of its launch in limbo. ...

The Ministry of Interior has launched an investigation into the opposition CNRP’s funding sources after the government-aligned Fresh News website posted a leaked document purporting to show that the party received funds from a foreign organisation. ...

The Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction yesterday promised to settle land disputes between villagers and sugar companies granted economic land concessions in Kampong Speu, Koh Kong and Preah Vihear provinces. Minister Chea Sophara made the promise after an inter-ministerial meeting at his office ...

Cambodia and New Zealand have reached a memorandum of understanding aimed at improving agricultural productivity to increase food safety and reduce reliance on imports. ...

The Interior Ministry has filed a Supreme Court complaint requesting the dissolution of nine political parties accused of flouting their obligations under the Law on Political Parties. ...

Three local NGOs are to request a meeting with the Interior Minister to discuss the granting of ID cards to Kampuchea Krom people living in Cambodia. ...

The government is to give the Bar Association a 50 percent boost in the legal aid budget by 2018 to pay lawyers who defend the poor for free. ...

The US Embassy yesterday hit back at unsubstantiated claims of a United States-backed conspiracy to topple the government disseminated by pro-government media outlet Fresh News, even as local news reported that the Interior Ministry would investigate the purported plot.​   ...

The Permanent Mission of Cambodia to the United Nations in Geneva shot back at the UN human rights office (OHCHR) yesterday for criticising what it characterised as the Kingdom’s deteriorating political climate, claiming the criticism was “unverified” and “politically motivated”. // //   ...

Ten representatives of 143 indigenous families affected by the development of the Lower Sesan II hydropower dam in Stung Treng province gathered yesterday to submit a petition to the Interior Ministry and the Prime Minister’s cabinet. ...