Government
Health ministry confirms first case of measles in four years
Three months after the Health Ministry proclaimed Cambodia measles-free—after tests on a child suspected to be carrying the disease came back negative—it announced on Wednesday that a 7-month-old in Kompong Speu province has contracted the highly contagious virus. It is the first confirmed case in ...
Ben Sokhean
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/health-ministry-confirms-first-case-of-measles-in-four-years-106654/
Cambodia-Thai border to be discussed in Bangkok
Cambodian Secretary of State Neang Phat will lead a delegation to Thailand this morning for the 11th General Border Committee (GBC) meeting, according to an announcement from the Defense Ministry. ...
Ban Sokrith and Phun Chan Ousaphea
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20650/cambodia-thai-border-to-be-discussed-in-bangkok/
ACU probes high-ranking corruption case, warn official
The director of the Anti-Terrorism Police Department has been warned by the Anti-Corruption Unit following the lodging of a corruption complaint against him, according to officials at the ACU. Y Sok Khy has allegedly been illegally collecting so-called ‘voluntary funds’ from his subordinates on a ...
Taing Vida
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20654/acu-probes-high-ranking-corruption-case--warn-official/
Commerce minister proposes ‘extra premium’ rice brand
At the close of the three-day annual Cambodia Rice Forum, Commerce Minister Sun Chanthol on Tuesday suggested that the first-rate rice brand set to be launched on the international market this year be marketed as “Extra Premium” jasmine rice. ...
Kang Sothear
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/commerce-minister-proposes-extra-premium-rice-brand-106528/
New body to address Sesan dam concerns
The Ministry of Mines and Energy has created a committee to resolve compensation and resettlement issues for 1,000 families displaced by the controversial Lower Sesan II hydropower dam in Stung Treng province. ...
Lay Samean
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/new-body-address-sesan-dam-concerns
New tourism strategy to focus on Chinese market
A new five-year plan is being drafted to woo more Chinese tourists to the Kingdom, following a surge in visitors from the world’s most populous nation, Tourism Minister Thong Khon said yesterday. /Sum Manet ...
Sum Manet
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20580/new-tourism-strategy-to-focus-on-chinese-market/
Officials dispute transparency international’s corruption index
Cambodia scored very poorly on a perceived corruption index, put out each year by Transparency International, but a government spokesman says the report doesn’t reflect the “effort” the government has put into combating the practice. ...
Hul Reaksmey
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/officials-dispute-transparency-international-corruption-index/3166483.html
Ministry, Chinese firm spar over Siem Reap mine
The Ministry of Mines and Energy is currently working to withdraw the licence of a copper mining company in Siem Reap province’s Chi Kraeng district that it accuses of operating illegally for more than a year. ...
Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ministry-chinese-firm-spar-over-siem-reap-mine
Revenue surges 40 percent at water supplier
Revenue for the state-owed Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) surged more than 40 percent last year from 2014, according to a preliminary report released last week. ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20582/revenue-surges-40-percent-at-water-supplier/
After dispute, ACU to monitor judicial exams
Following a long delay due to a dispute between the Royal Academy for Judicial Professionals and the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), the annual exam for prospective judges has been rescheduled for next month, officials said on Tuesday. ...
Aun Pheap
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/after-dispute-acu-to-monitor-judicial-exams-106507/
Kerry presses for reform in talks with PM
US Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday pushed Prime Minister Hun Sen and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong on the need for greater political freedom in Cambodia during meetings in Phnom Penh but also praised the Kingdom’s “extraordinary” development since his first visit as a senator ...
Mech Dara, Vong Sokheng and Shaun Turton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/kerry-presses-reform-talks-pm
In Cambodia, John Kerry balances trade ties with warning on human rights
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Cambodia’s leaders Tuesday, the second in a three-country swing through Southeast Asia meant to deepen U.S. partnerships ahead of a key summit with the region’s leaders next month.Kerry met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, now Asia’s ...
Elise Labott
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/26/asia/kerry-cambodia-human-rights/index.html
U.S. Secretary of State hails Cambodia for rapid development
Visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday hailed Cambodia for its rapid development and said the United States is committed to further enhancing ties with the Southeast Asian country. ...
Xinhuanet News Staff
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-01/26/c_135047515.htm
Protest derails provincial sand dredging operation
After over 100 villagers in Kampong Thom province’s Sandan district spent three days protesting a sand dredging operation near their homes in Srey Chang village, the company responsible for allegedly affecting villager’s jobs and drinking water source agreed to stop their project in its entirety. ...
May Titthara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20548/protest-derails-provincial-sand-dredging-operation/
Protest derails provincial sand dredging operation
After over 100 villagers in Kampong Thom province’s Sandan district spent three days protesting a sand dredging operation near their homes in Srey Chang village, the company responsible for allegedly affecting villager’s jobs and drinking water source agreed to stop their project in its entirety. ...
May Titthara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20548/protest-derails-provincial-sand-dredging-operation/
Thousands of dead chickens dumped into canal
A farm in Kompong Thom province that supplies Thai agro-industry giant Charoen Pokphand (CP) dumped the carcasses of 11,500 diseased chickens into an irrigation canal on Sunday, poisoning the waterway and endangering local livestock, according to officials. ...
Khy Sovuthy
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/thousands-of-dead-chickens-dumped-into-canal-106379/
John Kerry touches down in kingdom
Prime Minister Hun Sen has warned opposition leaders they will face ruling party rallies at home if he is met with anti-government demonstrations during his high-profile trip to the US next month, a threat that raised the spectre of pro-government protests in October that ended ...
Meas Sokchea and Shaun Turton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/john-kerry-touches-down-kingdom
In the eye of the storm
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry launched a swing through Southeast Asia en route to China on Jan. 24 with visits to Laos and Cambodia, part of a broader U.S. push to improve relations with the region and counterbalance China’s rising influence. ...
Sebastian Strangio
http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/International-Relations/In-the-eye-of-the-storm
US urged to press Cambodia for reforms
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is being pressed to ensure that democratic reforms and human rights are at the top of the agenda when he meets here Tuesday with Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen, leader of the ruling Cambodia People’s Party (CPP). ...
Daniel De Carteret
http://www.voanews.com/content/us-urged-to-press-cambodia-for-reforms/3161355.html
Ministry to streamline ID process
Minister of Interior Sar Kheng has sent a new set of procedures to local authorities aimed at speeding up the sluggish process of issuing new IDs. ...
Vong Sokheng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ministry-streamline-id-process
Interior ministry threatens to fire “ghost employees” who haunt gov’t offices
The Interior Ministry has warned 140 of its employees to stop skipping work or risk being fired. It is one of the first government ministries to penalize “ghost workers” – the thousands of bureaucrats, police officers, and other civil servants who are on the government ...
May Titthara / Jonathan Cox
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20480/interior-ministry-threatens-to-fire----ghost-employees----who-haunt-gov---t-offices/
New standards for recruitment agencies
The Ministry of Labour on Saturday issued a 12-point set of standards for recruitment agencies sending workers abroad, warning operators they have just over a month to comply. ...
Sen David
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/new-standards-recruitment-agencies
Ministries announce lower licensing costs
Driver’s licence and vehicle inspection fees have been cut nearly in half, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation announced late last week. ...
Lay Samean
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ministries-announce-lower-licensing-costs
Letter urges Kerry to pressure government on human rights
Ahead of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s planned visit to Cambodia this week, local and international NGOs have urged Mr. Kerry not to sign any new bilateral agreements unless Cambodia vows to improve its human rights and democracy efforts. ...
Peter Ford
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/letter-urges-kerry-to-pressure-government-on-human-rights-106254/