Social development

The government will spend at least $12 million to relocate the Royal University of Fine Arts (RUFA) and build a cultural center on four hectares of land in Chroy Changvar district, while the old university buildings will be used to expand the National Museum. ...

Thousands of students across the country are scanning identification cards and their thumbprints at school as part of a pilot program aimed at encouraging attendance. ...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday used a speaking slot at a children’s rights conference to once again castigate the United States, urging the UN to “increase its volume” in condemning the US for dropping bombs that maimed and killed children.​ ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday called on everyone whose work related to children to be conscientious and passionate about their job. He spoke at the opening ceremony of the Asia-Pacific Regional Early Childhood Development Conference, which is being held over three days in Siem Reap City. ...

The opposition CNRP decided to amend its internal regulations yesterday, paving the way for the political party to have three deputy presidents who will be announced and voted on at today’s party congress. ...

Founded in 1995 by a French couple, Christian and Marie-France des Pallieres, PSE is a well-recognized charity, home to nearly 7,000 students who are educated, fed, provided with healthcare and vocational training skills. ...

Transparency International (TI) released their Global Corruption Barometer yesterday, revealing that in recent years, Cambodian citizens’ personal experience with corruption has gone down, while their perception of its prevalence has gone up. ...

Cambodia ranked 157th in the world and last in Southeast Asia, according to the report, released on Tuesday by NGO Open Data Watch, dropping four points since last year to a total score of 22 out of 100.​​ ...

In an effort to promote financial literacy to students in primary and secondary schools, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport yesterday officially launched the “Let’s Talk Money” comic book.​ ...

The World Bank has approved provision of $20 million to help poor and vulnerable families in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh increase their income, build skills and construct small-scale community infrastructure. ...

As commune elections approach, civil society groups and Cambodian NGOs have announced plans for a situation room and more than 20,000 observers at polling stations across the country. ...

Health officials have urged people to take care when buying food beyond its use-by date or suspected to be chemically contaminated after more than 60 students in Takeo province became ill from eating noodles. ...

More than 300 ethnic villagers at two separate locations in Preah Vihear province conducted traditional ceremonies yesterday beseeching the spirits for an end to their ongoing land dispute with the Chinese-owned Rui Feng sugar company. ...

At least three women – one pregnant – and a man were hurt in a clash with security forces at Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday after land rights activist Tep Vanny was jailed for two and a half years over a 2013 protest. ...

The Cambodian government and UNICEF yesterday released results of a clinical trial on new locally produced food supplements to tackle the country’s persistently dismal malnutrition figures, with at least one of the two products proving effective.   ...

Fifteen national and international organizations representing 38 civil society groups met with the National Assembly’s first commission yesterday to discuss eight major land dispute cases in an effort to find a solution for those affected.   ...

The EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, Frederica Mogherini, yesterday released a letter outlining Europe’s continued concern with what it perceives as a deteriorating political situation in Cambodia. ...

Besieged by color revolutionaries, agitators and criminal politicians, the Interior Ministry kept the country safe from encroaching instability—at least, that was the ministry’s boast on Wednesday at its annual meeting. ...

Members of Mekong River Commission and civil society groups will be heading to Luang Prabang in Laos to attend the regional stakeholder meeting on Wednesday to discuss Laos’ proposal to build a third dam on the Mekong mainstream, the Pak Beng. ...

Cambodian environmental groups on Friday asked the government to reject Laos’ 912-megawatt Pak Beng hydropower project, alarmed by the potential impacts on fisheries and sediment flow in the Mekong. ...

Despite initial hopes that the man who tortured her 2-year-old son last year would face trial in Cambodia, the child’s mother said on Tuesday that Vietnamese police have informed her that the abuser would not be extradited from Vietnam. ...

National Assembly effectiveness declined last year with prosecutions of opposition lawmakers, partisan passing of laws and many assembly members visiting constituents only to shore up their vote, an election watchdog claimed yesterday. ...

Health officials in Svay Rieng province, which was hit by an outbreak of bird flu (H5N1) early this month, said the virus has been stopped and there was no sign of a continuing outbreak.   ...

Cambodia’s first lady appealed to civil servants and health workers to improve efforts to reduce maternal and child deaths in conjunction with the National Day on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health today. ...