Government

Cambodia must do more than open its borders for trade and investment if it hopes to benefit from regional economic integration and reduce the glaring economic inequality wrought by entrenched patronage networks and corrupt institutions, according to a new report by the Asian Development Bank ...

The wife of political activist Ouk Pich Samnang, who was charged with intentional violence and causing damage to public property after smashing his tuk-tuk through a barricade during a protest in Phnom Penh last week, said Monday she felt the opposition CNRP had “turned a ...

The ministers of education and health said Monday they expect an 18 and 15 percent increase to their ministries’ budgets, respectively, in the draft 2015 national budget signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday. ...

A senior police official said Monday that the leader of the Khmer National Liberation Front (KNLF), 10 members of which were charged Sunday with plotting to incite violence, was once part of the Tiger Head movement, another supposed terrorist organization. ...

Anti-drug police officers arrested nine foreign nationals in a sting on a rental house on Sunday, accusing the men of involvement in a drug-trafficking ring catering to other foreigners in the vicinity of Phnom Penh’s Central Market, police said yesterday. ...

The Minister of Industry and Handicrafts on Monday said the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC), the country’s most prominent private-sector lobbying group, should be doing more for the country’s entrepreneurs. “Honestly, even though the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce has more resources, it has not provided ...

About 800 prisoners will be considered for Royal pardons or reduced sentences as part of Water Festival events, Such Sophan Nara, director of the Ministry of Justice’s penal department, said yesterday. ...

Dozens of taxi drivers in Poipet City protested Monday against the creation of a new checkpoint where they are forced to pay costly bribes to transport goods that have been smuggled across the border from Thailand. ...

Expecting thousands of international tourists to travel to Phnom Penh for the first Water Festival held since 2010, the National Committee for Organizing National and International Festivals plans to set up several services catering specifically to foreigners. ...

Australian mining giant BHP Billiton has announced that it is in negotiations with the U.S. government to settle allegations of corruption abroad, which include claims that the company paid a $2.5 million bribe to Cambodian officials to secure exploration rights in the country’s northeast. ...

The seven-inch scar runs diagonally across the left flank of his skinny torso, a glaring reminder of an operation he hoped would save his family from debt but instead plunged him into shame. But on discovering the broker earned US$10,000 for each kidney they sacrificed, ...

Cambodia’s opposition and ruling parties have completed 90 percent of a draft law to reform the country’s electoral body, officials said Monday following talks. Revamping the National Election Committee (NEC), which oversees the country’s elections, was a key component of a deal struck in July between ...

Phnom Penh City Hall has launched an appeal for the country’s wealthy to help fund this year’s Water Festival in the capital, which is set to return next month after being canceled for the past three years. ...

Dissatisfied by wages at home, thousands of Cambodians have been lured to Malaysia by the promise of bigger pay cheques, but while many have found themselves subjected to long hours, unpaid wages, unsafe working conditions and even physical abuse, they have – until now – ...

More than 1 million hectares of forest terrain and land leased by private companies has been put under government control since Prime Minister Hun Sen initiated a moratorium on new economic land concessions (ELCs) in May 2012, the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and ...

Cambodian migrant worker hopefuls have heard murmurs about the poor work conditions in South Korea. However, they remain unfazed – even the recent reports of long hours and abusive employers are doing little to deter their quest to secure better wages abroad. ...

Thousands of workers from the Grand Twins International garment factory—one of two companies listed on the Cambodia Stock Exchange (CSX)—blocked a major highway leading out of Phnom Penh on Friday morning to protest for better working conditions and higher wages. ...

Ten tonnes of protected rosewood found stashed in a tanker truck bearing the logo of petroleum giant Sokimex was seized by police in Oddar Meanchey province on Friday. In August, police found 14 tons of rosewood hidden in the tanker of another truck bearing the ...

About 100 workers representing eight trade unions and labor associations rallied in front of the Ministry of Labor on Sunday demanding that the government relax registration requirements that they say are being used to stifle efforts to increase their memberships. ...

The Foreign Affairs Ministry on Friday chastised the Thai government for the fatal shooting of a Cambodian national who was reportedly attempting to steal a motorbike across the border the day before. Every year, dozens of Cambodians are shot by Thai soldiers and border police ...

Pailin province’s ex-governor and provincial council president Y Chhien yesterday denied corruption allegations against him, describing the claims as politically motivated. The two opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party members on the nine-seat provincial council accused Chhien in mid-October of misusing $400,000 in state funds and exploiting ...

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Saturday charged 10 members of the Khmer National Liberation Front (KNLF), a political advocacy group vehemently opposed to the ruling CPP, with plotting to incite violence following their arrests last week. ...

Drivers must be responsible for what they commit when they cause road accidents that lead to loss of lives; they not only face fine, but also imprisonment, said Pen Khon, deputy chief of Bureau of Land Traffic. ...

Undersecretary of state of Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry, along with 16 senior officials, visited border marker in Koh Kong province. ...