Social development

Despite killing some 800 people in the Kingdom each year, rabies has been largely off the public health radar. Plans are in the works for a nationwide response, but can funding catch up? ...

Political commentator Kim Sok was sentenced to 18 months in prison this afternoon on charges of incitement and defamation for appearing to suggest that the ruling party was behind the killing of popular analyst Kem Ley. ...

As the Apsara Authority knocked down seven illegal structures in the Angkor Archeological Park yesterday, other residents expressed confusion over why they were first granted permission to build homes but are now being evicted. ...

A ground-breaking ceremony will be held today to mark the start of construction of a $6 million treatment centre for drug addicts in Sihanoukville. ...

The Indigenous People Network and civil society organizations yesterday asked the government to speed up registration of indigenous collective lands. ...

Plan International Cambodia has launched a three-year project to help young children living in remote and disadvantaged areas in Ratanakkiri and Stung Treng provinces receive education and health care services. ...

In a decision roundly criticised by rights observers, the Appeal Court yesterday upheld a two-and-a-half-year sentence for Boeung Kak activist Tep Vanny for her alleged involvement in a 2013 protest outside Prime Minister Hun Sen’s residence in Phnom Penh that turned violent. ...

UN Special Rapporteur Rhona Smith kicked off an official visit to the Kingdom yesterday by raising concerns over ruling party officials’ increased use of violent rhetoric, singling out Social Affairs Minister Vong Soth’s recent threats to bludgeon protesters with bamboo rods, during a meeting with ...

Senior Ministry of Health officials and health experts have warned an increase in non-communicable diseases is posing a threat to public health and the nation’s development. ...

Government officials have claimed the country could see an end to malnutrition and hunger following a decade of food security improvements and increased rice yields. ...

Authorities from four provinces, along with the Ministry of Justice, set more than 100 kilograms of drugs ablaze at the Preah Vihear provincial hall on Monday. ...

Only 200 of some 5,000 domestic NGOs have submitted required banking details to the Interior Ministry, its spokesman said on Monday, as the government steps up enforcement of tax requirements on organizations that may have racked up huge unpaid bills. ...

Government-aligned media outlet Fresh News has published a leaked letter from the Taxation Department to the Cambodia Daily claiming that it owes $6.3 million in back taxes, a disclosure accompanied by scathing anonymous “letters” attacking the English-language newspaper and prominent NGOs. ...

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia will pay her fourth visit to the country from August 8 to 18 to examine children’s rights, among other issues. ...

Ministry of Health has confirmed that Cambodia has no case of swine flu or H1N1, yet encouraged the public to take appropriate precaution to protect themselves and their families from the disease. ...

The Health Ministry’s Communicable Disease Control Department yesterday issued a statement urging citizens to be aware of the influenza strain H1N1 that has the potential to spread rapidly during the rainy season. ...

The Cham community in Kratie province’s Snoul district is seeking aid from donors to construct a school for 100 Muslim students. ...

Cambodia needs more than $5.41 billion for its three-year public investment plan, a government report says. The plan involves 586 projects which include the social sector, economic development, public infrastructure and the public service, the report said. ...

During the first six months of this year, the hospitals recorded $7.7 million in private donations from Switzerland, compared to $7.4 million during the first six months in 2016, according to Laurent.   ...

The Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation yesterday issued a sub-decree delegating responsibility for state-run childcare centres to sub-national levels in a bid to streamline aid to victims of child abuse. ...

Jailed activist Tep Vanny yesterday maintained her innocence and called on the judge to overturn her conviction in a hearing at the Appeal Court yesterday, as about 80 protesters demonstrated for her release outside. ...

NGOs in Cambodia and Malaysia are working with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to repatriate six of the 30 Cambodians who sought shelter at the country’s embassy after the Malaysian government started mass arrests of undocumented migrant workers on July 1. ...

The Apsara Authority on Wednesday reported it had approved more than 500 home construction applications inside Angkor Archaeological Park in the first six months of the year, even as it prepared to raze hundreds of illegally constructed houses inside the sprawling complex. ...

In an agreement mediated by the International Finance Corporation’s watchdog mechanism, a controversial Vietnamese rubber firm has reached a deal with 11 ethnic minority villages affected by its Ratanakkiri operations to return nearly 20 community “spirit mountains”, restore streams filled or polluted by its activities ...