Social development

Half of a Kuoy ethnic community forest in Stung Treng province – for which villagers are seeking official recognition – has been logged in the past three years for private commercial gain, according to recently returned environmental activist twins Chum Hout and Chum Hour. Seven ...

A report published last week by the UN Action for Cooperation Against Trafficking in Persons (UN-ACT) says the main cause of human trafficking from Cambodia to China was a lack of jobs and low wages, forcing many young women to look at opportunities abroad. ...

After reports of 24 more cases of the Zika virus in Singapore, bringing the total to 115 so far, the Ministry of Health has warned Cambodians traveling outside the country – especially pregnant women – to take extra safety precautions and avoid being bitten by ...

Preah Sihanouk provincial authorities plan to recruit about 30 lifeguards to help prevent drownings across the province’s seven beaches. The move comes in the wake of several tourist drownings; the latest casualties involved a South Korean 40-year-old father, Lee Minseock, and his 4-year-old son, Lee Seungjae, ...

The agency tasked with investigating abuse by Malaysia’s security forces said that claims of fatal abuse against foreign maids—including Cambodians—at a detention center were untrue, though it said the center where the abuse allegedly occurred was in urgent need of attention. ...

A new report detailing the experiences of 42 women trafficked from Cambodia as brides to China found that officials in both countries were largely unsupportive in helping women escape once they were caught in unwanted domestic captivity. ...

Cambodian athletes are being screened for Zika after returning from the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and health officials will monitor their health for two weeks in order to minimise any possible transmission, an official with the Ministry of Health said yesterday. ...

Four Boeung Kak lake activists, including recently jailed community leader Tep Vanny, will face trial next month for a five-year-old case of insulting and obstructing public officials during a 2011 protest at City Hall. ...

A domestic violence law long criticized by human rights and gender advocacy NGOs for inadequately protecting abuse victims is being reviewed by the government in a renewed effort to reduce violence against women. ...

Real estate developer Shukaku Inc has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with education and training-focused NGO Don Bosco Foundation, worth more than $69,000. Under the MoU, Shukaku would sponsor 20, two-year scholarships for Don Bosco students as well as develop a brand-new computer lab. ...

The government will meet this month to begin addressing concerns that the lack of regulation for the surrogacy trade could lead to a proliferation of brokers working in Cambodia and foreign couples traveling to the country to take advantage of their services. The Ministry of ...

Zaman school officials and parents yesterday urged the Cambodian government not to shutter the schools as the Turkish Ambassador to Cambodia Ilhan Tug has requested, saying students will ultimately suffer. The Turkish Embassy has repeatedly called for the schools’ closure in recent weeks, citing their links ...

Poor women in Cambodia are more likely to use long-term reversible forms of birth control, like IUDs or implants, if they receive outside assistance, a new study has found. ...

The number of Cambodian women now thought to be caught in Saudi Arabia’s sex industry after being trafficked in the past year has risen to more than 20, officials said on Wednesday. However, the government remained tight-lipped about its efforts to rescue the women, while two ...

As the third year of strictly regulated national high school exams drew to a close on Tuesday, the Ministry of Education brushed off evidence of widespread attempts at cheating and declared the event a success. ...

Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron applauded the vast majority of Grade-12 students for obeying the strict no-cheating rules he introduced three years ago as nationwide testing kicked off yesterday with relatively few hiccups. ...

The research branch of the NGO Khana has argued in a new peer-reviewed study that livelihood programs for people living with HIV – which address recipients’ economic rather than medical needs – could be the key to significant improvements in quality of life for the ...

Twelve NGOs have issued an open letter to the UN Human Rights Council urging it to adopt a strong resolution on what they term the grave deterioration of the human rights situation in Cambodia. ...

Hopes of Cambodia’s first-ever Olympic medal crumbled on Saturday evening as taekwondo star Sorn Seavmey was comfortably beaten by Reshmie Oogink of the Netherlands. ...

A new study has predicted that even if Cambodia manages to eradicate so-called “human” strains of malaria by 2025 – a key government goal – it will continue be at “high risk” of infections from a strain of the parasite more typically found in wild ...

In his first year as education minister, Hang Chuon Naron quickly overhauled the national high school completion exam, enforcing strict regulations to eliminate rampant bribery and cheating, and cutting the pass rate in half to 41 percent. ...

Twin brothers who were granted temporary asylum in Thailand by the U.N. last month said on Thursday that they planned to return to Cambodia, citing a cooler political climate and a desire to continue their environmental activism. ...

The Ministry of Mines and Energy is in talks with the Chinese government to build a research and training school, in order to boost the staffing capabilities of the country’s growing mining industry, according to a senior ministry official. Following recent news that gold deposits ...

Cham Muslims are not fully integrated into Cambodian society and many Cambodian people continue to think Chams are practitioners of “black magic,” according to a report on religious freedom released last week by the US State Department. ...