Social development

Malnutrition remains a challenge that threatens the lives of thousands of children and leads to annual economic losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars, senior government officials and experts said yesterday. ...

More than 60 per cent of Cambodian students have experienced gender-based violence in schools, with staff committing the violence a fifth of the time, according to a new research report from Plan International and the International Center for Research on Women. ...

Saying every girl “has value,” President Barack Obama announced a more focused government effort Tuesday to help tens of millions of girls around the world attend and stay in school. Michelle Obama said she’s heading to Japan and Cambodia later this month to promote it. ...

First Lady Michelle Obama will visit Cambodia as part of a tour later this month to promote a Peace Corps initiative for the education of girls. ...

Civil society groups have contributed significantly to the development of Cambodia over the past 20 years, working as a government partner, but sometimes they face challenges in the areas of good governance and legal education, an expert says. Government spokesman Phay Siphan said there are ...

About 50 people with claims to land being developed in Phnom Penh’s Chroy Changva peninsula protested in front of City Hall on Monday and delivered a petition on behalf of more than 100 families demanding intervention in their dispute with the Overseas Cambodia Investment Corporation ...

Thousands of kilograms of rice donated by the Cambodian Red Cross to impoverished families in Battambang province, including residents of HIV-hit Roka commune, had to be replaced Monday after villagers complained it was rotten, officials said. ...

Local rights group Licadho yesterday praised the government’s plan to release a number of incarcerated women who are pregnant or have their children with them in prison within the next week, but said deeper reforms are needed. In a statement, the NGO said it welcomed an ...

More than 400 teachers who took part in an eight-month teaching course at the National Institute of Education (NIE) are demanding the government pay them scholarship funds that were initially promised only to be later axed over cost concerns. In a petition sent yesterday to the ...

The Cambodian government will provide legal representation to three citizens who were shot at and arrested by Thai soldiers last week while allegedly smuggling drugs across the border. ...

Nobel Peace laureate and education activist Malala Yousafzai was barely of school age in 2001 when Kamal Ahmad came up with the idea of establishing a tertiary institution for women in Asia. The university hosts about 600 students from 15 countries, compared with 120 in ...

Thirteen Vietnamese Montagnards have been recommended for refugee status by Cambodian authorities, pending approval by the Minister of the Interior. Spokesman Khieu Sopheak added that the refugee status for the remaining 13 now will be considered for official confirmation. ...

Cambodia’s lowest paid high-school and primary-school teachers will receive a $25 increase to their base monthly salary by the end of May, the government revealed on Monday. Prime Minister Hun Sen announced the raise at the opening of the National Literacy Campaign on Monday and reiterated ...

Increasing exposure to damaging sound levels in recreational areas and the unsafe use of personal audio devices are putting Cambodians, especially teenagers and young adults, at a high risk of hearing loss, health experts said yesterday. ...

Vocational skills are due to be added to the state curriculum next year in an attempt to improve graduates’ job prospects, Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron has said. ...

A Cambodian national who was allegedly arrested on Thursday alongside dozens of Montagnard asylum seekers remained missing yesterday, while those sent back to Vietnam were reportedly abused by authorities for their attempted escape. Forty-two-year-old Dy Heun, an ethnic Jarai from Ratanakkiri province, was officially reported missing ...

Phnom Penh anti-human trafficking police prevented an accused sex trafficker from boarding a plane on Saturday along with five women—including a teenager—she was planning to sell into the sex trade in Malaysia, officials said Sunday. ...

In the heart of the Areng Valley, on the edges of the rolling Cardamom Mountains, an old Bodhi tree pierces the thick green canopy. At its base, nestled in between its hanging roots, sits a ramshackle altar of tin and timber for the spirit of ...

Police in Sihanoukville are seeking to arrest a Russian businessman who is wanted in his home country for possession of weapons and explosives as part of a criminal syndicate, according to Interpol. ...

Police in Sihanoukville arrested a Turkish businessman Friday afternoon, less than 24 hours after gunmen fired up to 10 shots at his car from a passing vehicle, leaving a Cambodian man wounded outside Kampongsom City Casino on Thursday night, officials said. ...

About 200 garment workers protested outside the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday after 20 colleagues were turned away when trying to enter the Smart Shirts factory earlier the same morning, union leaders said. ...

After the government deported Spanish environmental activist Alex Gonzalez-Davidson on Monday, the opposition CNRP has called on the Interior Ministry to turn its attention to thousands of Vietnamese immigrants living in the country illegally. ...

The University of Health Sciences (UHS) rejected allegations from staff and students yesterday that their management is embezzling funds from the national medical exit examinations. On Tuesday, UHS staff and students accused the university of pocketing funds from the $125 exams that were held between February ...

A senior official yesterday urged local leaders to share information on available community services and government changes to residents as the Ministry of Information yesterday laid out its social accountability strategic action plan for the coming year and eyed last year’s results. ...