Social development

Even by his own admission, it is an extraordinary change in fortunes for Adam Whittington. Eight months ago, the so-called “child recovery agent” was languishing in a stark Lebanese jail facing kidnapping charges after a failed attempt to snatch two children from the streets of Beirut ...

Hundreds of chickens and ducks infected with H5N1 bird flu have been culled in Svay Reing province after an outbreak of the virus last week, the first reported cases since November 2015. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday issued a sub-decree to limit teacher overtime in public schools in an effort to fix teachers’ working hours in accordance with government budgetary constraints. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen said he would consider releasing four human rights officers and an election official – who have been detained since April – after the verdicts in their cases, but he said two members of the opposition will receive no such consideration. ...

Two hundred ethnic Phnong villagers in Mondulkiri’s Koh Nhek district launched a protest on Friday after the deputy district governor and an armed escort seized timber from their homes, before allegedly attempting to extort a bribe for its return. ...

In a joint statement, 48 civil society organizations have urged the Appeal Court to overturn a ruling by the Koh Kong Provincial Court in a case against three Mother Nature activists. The statement says the three activists are not criminals,but brave environmental protectors who had contributed ...

While Cambodia in theory offers full citizenship to members of its Khmer Krom minority, in practise, many members of the community remain in a legal shadowland, unable to access a wide range of rights, a new report released yesterday shows. ...

Marie Stopes International Cambodia said yesterday it will look to strengthening partnerships instead of accepting US federal funds after it forfeited its rights to USAID funding in order to continue providing legal abortion services.This was in response to US President Donald Trump’s executive order issued ...

A five-year pilot program is being created to integrate arts and culture into public schools throughout the country, and may help Cambodians develop a better understanding of their roots and the creative ability to take on global challenges. ...

A new study examining the development of health care in post-conflict societies suggests that the influx of NGOs in Cambodia may have weakened the government health sector. ...

Phnom Penh City Hall has decided to allocate three places for disabled musicians to play instead of along public streets or at markets. Phnom Penh governor Pa Socheatvong said on his Facebook page on Friday after meeting with a representative of the disabled musicians that City ...

Government officials reacted strongly yesterday to a recent statement by NGO Global Witness calling on Switzerland, the host of this year’s World Economic Forum, to turn away Prime Minister Hun Sen and not give him a platform to find new international business partners. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen has called on all media institutions in the country to disseminate accurate news and avoid immoral acts and commentary that could sway public opinion or that of the judiciary. ...

Close to 2,000 chickens from Thailand were confiscated by Pursat provincial authorities after they were found to have been illegally brought into Cambodia. ...

An activist in Stung Treng province has been hauled before commune authorities, threatened with a defamation suit and allegedly warned he could be beaten to death for exposing land clearing in his native Thala Borivat district. ...

Ethnic Kuoy villagers in Preah Vihear’s Chey Sen district filed a complaint against Chinese sugar company Rui Feng on Tuesday after a long-simmering land dispute almost erupted into violence last week. ...

The Ministry of Health has called on all travelers to beware of a new strain of bird flu that is now spreading in South Korea and Japan. In a notice released yesterday, the Health Ministry said the discovery of H5N6, a new strain of the bird ...

Almost 200 people protested yesterday in Banteay Meanchey province’s Poipet City, demanding the release of Mang Puthy, president of the Cambodia Informal Economy Reinforced Association (CIERA), who says he was arrested after officials framed him for attempted murder. ...

About 100 people representing 162 families from Koh Kong province came to Phnom Penh yesterday to resubmit a petition to the National Assembly and some state institutions asking for intervention in a decade-old land dispute with three sugar companies. Phav Nherng, a representative of the families ...

The government has patched up a quarrel with the United Nations’ human rights wing less than two weeks before the organization would have been forced out of Cambodia. But the two-year agreement came with a reminder of Cambodia’s sovereignty and the principle of non-interference in national ...

An environmental impact assessment released on Friday for a $245 million mining project slated to begin operations in Mondolkiri province next year has raised concerns about its potential effects on the environment and local communities. The project, proposed by the Chinese-owned Alex Corporation, would see a ...

With 10 days remaining until a government-imposed deadline for the U.N.’s human rights office to either sign a new agreement to operate in the country or close down, there is no sign that the two sides have come any closer to reaching a deal. ...

More than 30 percent of Cambodian women have experienced some form of domestic violence at the hands of their partner at some point in their lives, a report released on Friday by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) revealed. ...

Tourism Ministry officials outlined plans yesterday for two new vocational training facilities for the country’s growing tourism sector. Try Chhiv, deputy director general of the Ministry of Tourism, said the government will build the first school in Phnom Penh with a capacity of 1,000 students, ...