International relations

Cambodian human rights organizations say they have major concerns over a deal with Australia that could send unwanted refugees to Cambodia. The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee says Cambodia’s track record of human rights abuse and corruption make people “living on the margins” vulnerable to abuse. Australia ...

Cambodia’s opposition leader yesterday called on the Australian government to reconsider its plan to send refugees to the country, which he said was a short-term solution that does not address the root causes of displacement. Sam Rainsy, Cambodia National Rescue Party president, told the Post that Australia should ...

Laos will push ahead with its ambition to become the “battery of Southeast Asia,” planning a Mekong River dam that has drawn opposition from neighbors and threatens to involve China and the U.S. Four Mekong River nations are scheduled to meet June 26-27 in Thailand to ...

The government of New Zealand on Wednesday signed up to provide Cambodia with 3.7 million U.S. dollars for the preservation and protection of Angkor Wat Temple, one of the world heritage sites, said a news statement from the Cambodian government. Bun Narith, director general of Apsara ...

The Cambodian Ministry of Defense on Tuesday launched a U.S.-aided strategic planning manual with an aim to assist Cambodian strategists to design standardized and effective defense strategic plans. Major Gen. Phat Vibolsopheak, chief of international relations department at the Defense Ministry, said the 17-page instruction manual ...

Housing rights activist Yorm Bopha, who spent nearly a year in jail for leading demonstrations, will receive a reward and recognition for her work. The James Lawson Award, named for an American activist and given for nonviolent achievements, will grant her $6,000 in Boston later ...

Anti-trafficking groups in Cambodia are urging donors to maintain support for their cause, following claims a well-known activist fabricated her life story, to raise funds. Somaly Mam resigned from the charity she co-founded, after a news investigation cast doubt on her story, including being sold into ...

China’s minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun Tuesday held talks with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Kheng on boosting security cooperation. Guo, also a state councilor, said China and Cambodia have conducted fruitful cooperation on combating telecom fraud, hunting for those who have ...

Thailand’s political crisis could create ongoing problems for Cambodian migrant workers, especially night time curfew, a development expert says. Ya Navuth, executive director of Caram Cambodia, said undocumented Cambodian workers in Thailand may not know about the curfew and could be arrested when they travel. ...

The South Korean ambassador to Cambodia, Kim Han-soo, on Monday denied having asked the Labor Ministry to stop a strike at a South Korean-owned garment factory last week, but said the dispute has put a $40 million investment from the parent company on hold. On Sunday, ...

Officials in Banteay Meanchey province said a group of Thai farmers once again tried to plow a piece of land hundreds of meters inside Cambodian territory on Sunday but were turned back by border police. Prak Sarath, deputy commander of border police Unit 911, said the ...

Less than two weeks after a major rights group lambasted the US’s training of Cambodia’s “abusive armed forces”, allegedly incriminating photographs have been removed from the official Facebook page of the joint training exercise. On May 20, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a statement hitting out ...

Hidden at the end of a pathway that breaks off from Mao Tse Tung Boulevard in Phnom Penh is a temple of a different kind, where seances are sacrosant and French writer Victor Hugo – author of Les Miserables – is considered a saint. Worshippers there practise Caodaism, ...

Nine of the group of 23 workers and labour activists who were released from custody and given suspended sentences on Friday over January’s garment employee protests will receive medical care in Thailand, rights group Licadho said yesterday. A number of the men were beaten by security ...

Cambodia has accused the Thai troops of erecting a new barbed wire fence on land in front of the 11th century Preah Vihear temple and has asked Thai side to remove it, Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Monday. “Our military ...

South Korea on Monday signed up to provide a grant aid of 21 million U.S. dollars to Cambodia to support four projects for rural development, waterway improvement, health and the stock market. Speaking after the signing ceremony, Hor Namhong said 8 million U.S. dollars of ...

Cambodia and Iran are looking for possibilities to strengthen and expand bilateral ties and cooperation for the mutual benefits of the two countries and peoples. Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong held a talk on Monday with the Hanoi-based Iranian Ambassador to Cambodia ...

The Council of Ministers on Friday approved a new five-year National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) – the guiding policy document used by the government – requiring an estimated $26.58 billion in spending and investment, or more than $5.3 billion a year, until 2018. The plan ...

Marubeni Corp. said Monday that it would acquire a 20 percent stake in a Cambodia-based electricity generation and transmission business owned and operated by Malaysia’s Leader Group, marking Japan’s first foray into Cambodia’s power market. Leader Infrastructure Ltd. operates two 50 megawatt coal-fired power stations in ...

In the wake of last month’s Thai military coup, an uneasy quiet has fallen over official checkpoints in Oddar Meanchey province, leading many on this side of the border to fear for their livelihoods. Sitting on a motorbike in the queue for O’Smach international border checkpoint ...

The Cambodian Council of Ministers on Friday approved a five-year development strategic plan (2014-2018), which needs financial resources of 26.5 billion U.S. dollars to achieve the target, according to a news statement released after a weekly cabinet meeting. The plan is designed to develop infrastructure, ...

Since he began making the perilous journey to Thailand to log rosewood 10 years ago, Sao Sophon* has had plenty of time to calculate the cost of dying. “When we cross the border to Thailand, our lives are equal to $80 or $90, because that is ...

The price of durian from Thailand has risen sharply this year, leading to shrinking profits for fruit vendors in Phnom Penh as demand from China for the spiky, pungent fruit grows more robust. On Sihanouk Boulevard, fruit vendor Heng Sovanna said that since March, the price ...

The Japanese and South Korean governments yesterday announced millions of dollars in aid to Cambodia for a scholarship program and a number of rural development projects. Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong and Japanese Ambassador Kumamaru Yuji signed for a $2.85 million grant yesterday to fund ...