Ministries and other national bodies

The effort to reduce violence against children in Cambodia is gaining speed, with a boost from the Religion Ministry, which will highlight the Buddhist value of nonviolence as well as the practice of meditation in the country’s schools, according to ministry officials. ...

The Cambodian Rice Federation signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday to receive $450,000 in financial support from the government to increase Cambodia’s rice exports, according to a federation official. ...

Alcohol consumption in Cambodia is high enough that authorities are now drafting legislation for a drinking age. But as the country and its economy develop, many here say it has become an essential part of their social—and professional—lives. ...

The government has set aside some $33 million to finish rebuilding Cambodia’s northern rail line by late next year, according to the Transportation Ministry, reanimating a long-delayed and over-budget project that had been one of the Asian Development Bank’s priorities in the country. ...

Cambodia’s Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction had granted licenses to 915 construction projects with a total investment of 808 million U.S. dollars in the first six months of 2015, an official said Thursday.       ...

The Mines and Energy Ministry on Thursday announced the winners of its public auction to award four sand dredging licenses along a stretch of the Mekong River where there is a buildup of silt. ...

A deal signed Thursday with the China Law Society will give Justice Ministry officials access to scholarships at Chinese universities and see Beijing fund the construction of a legal research center in Cambodia, ministry spokesman Chin Malin said. ...

Following a meeting at the Labor Ministry’s conflict resolution department Thursday, the Capitol Tours bus company and five of its drivers—who claim they were fired for attempting to organize a union—remained deadlocked over their reinstatement. ...

The governor of the National Bank of Cambodia hit out at unlicensed microfinance institutions or lenders, who he said were the reason why interest rates in the sector were high, despite interest rates falling among registered lenders. ...

Each year, more than a quarter of possible teaching hours are lost at the primary school level – the equivalent of 50.5 school days – due to teacher absences, missing class hours and the high number of school holidays, a report released yesterday found. ...

Some 5,000 security personnel were called to the headquarters of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit in Kandal province on Thursday, where the premier said they must protect Cambodia’s territorial integrity, according to a number of officials in attendance. ...

For more than 30 years, Svay Simorn, a social worker in Phnom Penh, has cared for her daughter and grandson, both of whom are mentally disabled. Over time, she has experienced discrimination and isolation. ...

Commerce Minister Sun Chanthol warned students at the elite Royal School of Administration on Tuesday: “We cannot live on a rich island in the middle of a poor ocean.” ...

Environment Minister Say Sam Al was in Preah Vihear province on Sunday to help inaugurate Try Pheap’s newest project, a $52-million rubber plantation and additional facilities that the timber magnate has cleared thousands of hectares of protected forest to build. ...

In their continuing effort to stop illegal fishing in Cambodian waters, the Kingdom’s Immigration Police impounded 11 Vietnamese fishing boats last week caught in Cambodian territorial waters off Koh Kong province and ordered their 39 crew members deported. ...

Cambodia’s Ministry of Labor granted about 25,000 work permits to foreigners in the first six months of 2015, about 5,000 more than the total of last year, a local newspaper reported Friday. ...

Ahead of a visit to the Prey Speu social affairs center Friday, Phnom Penh governor Pa Socheatvong on Wednesday urged NGOs to get homeless people off the streets and into safe environments where they can turn their lives around, according to a post on City ...

The Cambodian government has granted $20,000 to the national Special Olympics team, for travel and competition at this year’s games in Los Angeles later this month. ...

Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism has awarded star-ratings to 26 hotels according to information reported in the ministry’s latest update on registration in the hospitality and travel sectors. ...

Gaming tax revenue reached $12 million in the first six months of the year, a 20 percent increase over the first half of 2014, due to a greater number of Thai nationals crossing into Cambodia to gamble, a Finance Ministry official said Wednesday. ...

When police brought Manly to his room in the Mundoul Orkas Knhom drug rehab center outside Phnom Penh, he saw blood on the wall. ...

The Commerce Ministry on Wednesday released a draft of the country’s first food law, which establishes a Food Safety Authority charged with protecting domestic consumers and ensuring that exports meet international standards. ...

Confused citizens in coastal communities like Kampot and Sihanoukville are complaining about surging electricity bills, which they say are not linked to higher usage or even rises in per unit cost. ...

The results of a Korean proficiency test for would-be migrant workers were released Wednesday, with more than 7,000 Cambodians qualifying as prospective laborers in South Korea’s agriculture, manufacturing and construction sectors, according to officials. ...