Social development

Acleda Bank signed an agreement in Bangkok yesterday with International Finance Corporation and the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women initiative for a $70 million long-term loan project to support Cambodia’s small- and medium-size enterprises (SME) owned by women. ...

Cambodia has the third-highest prevalence rate for modern slavery in the world, trailing only North Korea and Uzbekistan, according to the Global Slavery Index 2016, released this morning by the Walk Free Foundation.   ...

Familiar scenes of police ripping banners during heated scuffles with protesters marked the fourth “Black Monday,” as activists continued to call for the release of human rights workers who have been in Prey Sar prison for almost one month.   ...

The United Nations on Sunday voiced alarm at the escalating political tensions in Cambodia, including attempted arrests of politicians, amid allegations from the opposition that Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling party is persecuting it. ...

A group of pro-government and independent unions have condemned an announcement by Free Trade Union (FTU) president Chea Mony, who last week told the press that members of his union and others would hold mass strikes and protests if acting president of the Cambodia National ...

Exploration company Angkor Gold Corp is working with NGOs to educate residents of Pate commune’s Plang village in Ratanakiri’s Ou Ya Dav district after villagers refused to give the company permission to explore for gold on their land. ...

The Council of Ministers approved a draft law last week regulating and controlling organ donations and transplants in response to a World Health Organization (WHO) report which revealed that the lives of patients with non-communicable diseases like hypertension and diabetes could be further endangered following ...

In what appears to be part of a wider push to cut down on smoking in the Kingdom, cigarette companies will have to publish pictorial and text warnings that take up 55 percent of each packet by the end of July, according to the Ministry ...

The Ministry of Health has issued a set of guidelines calling on referral hospitals and health centres to provide increased documentation of their expenses with an aim of introducing more “transparency” to official spending.   ...

As soon as the clock struck seven in the morning, a commotion broke out in front of an old, yellow building inside the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital. More than 40 people flocked to the main metal door separating them from the waiting area and consultation rooms. Some ...

Allegations that acetic acid imported from Thailand is being used in recipes to replace lemon juice in Banteay Meanchey and Battambang provinces has caused an outcry on social media. ...

Political intimidation, the suppression of political expression and restrictions on freedom of assembly have Cambodia’s young democracy under threat, observers in the country say. ...

Amnesty International has designated four human rights officers and an election official who were jailed earlier this month as “prisoners of conscience” and will call on millions of members around the world to petition the government for their release.   ...

The Phnom Penh health department has announced an investigation into the death of a newborn who allegedly choked while being fed by staff at the privately owned VIP Sorphea Maternity Hospital.   ...

An opposition official in Kampot was arrested yesterday evening over his involvement in collecting thumbprints for a Royal petition calling for the release of detained human rights officials and politicians in the Kingdom. ...

Police who shut down a gathering of 30 people in a private home in Prey Veng province yesterday justified the action by saying the organisers had failed to notify the district governor in writing beforehand. ...

Teachers at Toul Mead Primary School in Siem Reap province tell students to bring drinking water from home to keep them hydrated in the scorching heat. But water is increasingly hard to come by as the worst drought in decades drags on.   ...

Malnutrition costs the Cambodian economy an estimated $266 million each year, according to a new report, which urged the government to invest more in tackling the problem.   ...

Gay and transgender people yesterday called on the government to legalise same-sex marriage and change identity cards to reflect a person’s true gender during an event to mark International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia. ...

The Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) donated $1 million to the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospitals on Monday.   ...

Officials from provinces across the country gathered in Banteay Meanchey yesterday and the day before to learn about alternative community-based drug rehabilitation services and vocational training, anti-drug officials said.   ...

A quicker diagnosis and a shorter and cheaper course of treatment for multidrug-resistant TB patients in Cambodia could soon be on the horizon.   ...

The first outbreak of H5N1 this year was confirmed in Kampot province on May 10, health officials said yesterday. ...

In the lead-up to the upcoming elections, three provinces have been selected to participate in a three-year project designed to encourage women, first-time voters and the youth to actively participate in politics. ...