Government

Cambodian legislators approved two controversial election laws on Thursday that were promptly condemned by rights groups as undemocratic for their restrictive provisions — including a ban on NGOs from criticizing political parties during election campaigns. The laws, which were unanimously approved, received backing from both the ...

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy on Thursday expressed hope that culture of dialogues will continue when new election laws are adopted. ...

On the 45th anniversary of Lon Nol’s U.S.-backed 1970 ouster of Prince Norodom Sihanouk, Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday publicly accused the opposition CNRP of working to illicitly overthrow his CPP government. ...

Most Cambodians between the ages of 15 and 30 are prepared to pay bribes to get ahead and many believe they can engage in corruption without losing their integrity, according to the results of a survey released Wednesday by Transparency International Cambodia (TIC). ...

National Assembly spokesman Chheang Vun on Wednesday called on CNRP President Sam Rainsy to gag a senior opposition lawmaker who has repeatedly agitated for an investigation into gross misspending and nepotism within parliament. ...

National Assembly spokesman Chheang Vun said Wednesday that bipartisan support for the country’s two new election laws would ensure they are passed with little debate by the parliament today, despite substantial public concern about their content. ...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday that the China-proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is very attractive to rich countries, particularly in Europe. The prime minister’s remarks came after Germany, France and Italy followed the suit of Britain in deciding to join AIIB as founding ...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday broke ground for the construction of a 174-kilometer national road No. 58 under Chinese financial support. Road No. 58 stretches from Banteay Meanchey province, which shares an international border with Thailand, to neighboring Uddor Meanchey province to the ...

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong met with David McKean, director of Policy Planning Office at the U.S. State Department here on Wednesday and the two sides discussed a number of issues ranging from bilateral ties to regional matters. ...

Cambodia and Iran on Wednesday held the first political consultation with an aim of enhancing bilateral ties and cooperation. The meeting was co-chaired by Cambodia’s Foreign Secretary of State Long Visalo and Iran’s visiting Deputy Foreign Minister Ebrahim Rahimpour. ...

Police are probing a suspected arson attack on a Mercedes-Benz coupe in Sihanoukville, which caught fire shortly after its driver, a Turkish national, stepped out of the vehicle early Tuesday morning. ...

Following last month’s release of 16 incarcerated women, the government has assembled a team of experts to continue releasing women who are pregnant or have recently given birth. ...

The Cambodian government is aiming to increase its revenue collection to $3.78 billion for 2015, on the back of strong tax and customs income. A directive signed by Monaster of Economy and Finance Aun Porn Moniroth on Monday says $2.75 billion will be collected via current ...

About 100 villagers from Boeng Chhouk village in Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district blocked officials and workers on Tuesday from bringing in heavy machinery to begin work on a road expansion that would destroy some of their homes.   ...

About 150 ethnic Kuoy in Preah Vihear province on Tuesday prevented police and a court prosecutor from taking back a pair of bulldozers the villagers seized last year from a Chinese-owned plantation they accuse of encroaching on their farms. ...

Minor political parties have come out swinging at the ruling and opposition political parties for overhauling the election system on a bi-party basis. Two election-related laws that the National Assembly is expected to pass later this week have been negotiated for months solely by the CPP ...

National Police Commissioner Neth Savoeun on Tuesday called on Phnom Penh’s police forces to increase arrest rates in the city to 75 percent of reported crimes and also asked municipal judges to grant bail less frequently.​ . ...

Criticism of two draft laws aimed at reforming Cambodia’s electoral system continues to grow. On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch issued a statement saying the draft laws “violate basic human rights and democratic norms and should be substantially revised before being presented to the National Assembly for ...

First Lady Michelle Obama embarks on a five-day Asia trip Wednesday to launch the Obama Administration’s initiative “Let Girls Learn,” promoting the education of millions of girls worldwide. Ahead of her stops in Japan and Cambodia, Obama and her husband said the inability of an ...

Representatives of 163 families from Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district submitted a request to the Agriculture Ministry on Monday to meet with Minister Ouk Rabun over his request that the Phnom Penh Municipal Court delay the allocation of nearly a hectare of land the families ...

CNRP Vice President Kem Sokha said in a speech in the U.S. last week that he was unhappy with the opposition party’s decision to end its boycott of the National Assembly last year but was prepared to “swallow gravel and rocks” to maintain unity with ...

Daun Penh district governor Kuoch Chamroeun on Monday negotiated a truce between two rival groups of tuk-tuk drivers who clashed violently earlier this month in a dispute over passengers. ...

Electricite du Cambodge (EDC) will spend $167 million to install a 350-km-long high-voltage transmission line connecting four provinces around the Tonle Sap lake, the state-owned utility announced in a press release Monday. ...

Chuon Phang, the 79-year-old chief of Tasanh commune in Battambang’s Samlot district, has always handed out free cotton kramas to local villagers about a month ahead of elections. But the ruling Cambodian People’s Party representative does not characterise the practice as vote-buying. He says he gives ...