Social development

The opposition plans to attend the National Assembly’s Standing Committee meeting today to debate the lifting of immunity for two of its lawmakers.   ...

A group of United Nations human rights experts have condemned the murder of Cambodian political analyst and social activist Kem Ley and called for an impartial investigation by an independent body with no ties to the government. ...

Concerns are mounting among the human rights community, particularly in the wake of political analyst Kem Ley’s murder, that UN Special Rapporteur to Cambodia Rhona Smith is failing to fulfil her mandate in a time of what one observer termed “fear and confusion”. ...

Financial markets in Cambodia have to serve more people, especially the poor, with more products at a lower cost and the key challenge lies in creating a broader interconnected financial ecosystem that reaches populations that cannot access banks, said industry experts. ...

The garment industry is the linchpin of Cambodia’s economy, and the single biggest employer of women. Some 500 factories hire almost 500,000 female workers, many of whom are young and have migrated to the city from the countryside. ...

As the government plans to transfer roughly 60 percent of detainees at the notorious Prey Speu detention center to a “mental illness” center in Kandal province, mental health experts expressed doubts this week over the country’s capacity to provide proper care. ...

Two weeks after police rounded up blind and disabled performers begging for money on streets around Phnom Penh in a bid to prevent traffic congestion, the performers were back on the streets on Wednesday, defiantly defending their right to earn their keep. ...

An archaeological dig at the ancient capital of Angkor Thom started on Monday in search of metal tools from the Kingdom’s Angkorian era. The École Française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO), a French institute dedicated to the study of Asian societies, started the dig in cooperation with the ...

The newest U.S. ambassador to Cambodia is visiting Long Beach, which is home to the largest population of Cambodians outside their native country – many of whom are still connected to their homeland.   ...

More than 100 striking workers at the Vanny Bio-Research company in Pursat town agreed to go back to work yesterday after mediators promised to find an adequate resolution to their demands for a wage hike. The company breeds and cares for 30,000-40,000 monkeys they sell to ...

Women’s inclusion and empowerment in Cambodia’s burgeoning financial sector is crucial for the Kingdom’s economic growth, said delegates yesterday at a regional economic forum. ...

For years, archaeologists excavating pre-Angkorian sites in Banteay Meanchey province unsuccessfully attempted to stop the looting of the area’s temples and buried treasures.   ...

A prominent pediatrician announced on Sunday that the use of the Bacille Calmette-Huerin (BCG) vaccination for tuberculosis was not only ineffective, but could prolong suffering for children with the disease. Doctor Beat Richner, the founder of the Kantha Bopha Hospitals, took to Facebook on Sunday, ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen will leave for Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia this week for the two-day Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit starting on July 15. ...

The teeth of some 60,000 Cambodian children have been “sealed” to help prevent tooth decay under an oral health project that recently concluded, but many more continue to be in need of such service, given the country’s significantly high tooth-decay rate. ...

Officials at the Prey Speu Social Affairs Center in Phnom Penh’s Por Senchey district are scrambling to deflect criticism after reports surfaced that a young boy and a man were beaten and injured there, with the director of the center saying the boy injured himself ...

Twenty-nine homeless Cambodians, including 20 children, will be repatriated from Ho Chi Minh City today. Apart from the children, the group consists of nine adults – three men and six women. Of the 20 children, 10 are boys and 10 are girls, according to Ministry of ...

Cambodian parents are commonly using medicinal balms and oils such as “Tiger Balm” on their newborn children despite potentially toxic effects, according to a new report.   ...

Anti-graft group Transparency International (TI) is launching a project to encourage young people to combat corruption in Cambodia.   ...

The Japanese Embassy granted $256,317 in development aid to Cambodia on Monday, to be used by the Association for Aid and Relief, Japan (AAR Japan) to promote the educational inclusion of children with disabilities. ...

The Ministry of Education on Tuesday announced an ambitious five-year plan with Metfone to provide internet access to 5,000 state education institutions across the country. ...

A reporter in Mondulkiri province who climbed a mango tree to look into a police official’s compound for a rumored stash of illegal timber over the weekend says he was later detained and threatened with a beating. ...

A group of four female Indian bikers, who have been traveling by motorcycle, covering more than 10,000km across Asia to promote education for young girls, arrived in Phnom Penh yesterday and met with Foreign Affairs Minister Prak Sokhon. ...

Slow action from courts and police, a dire lack of mental health counselling and sparse government funding were named as ongoing challenges in Cambodia’s quest to eliminate violence against women at a conference yesterday.   ...