News

The Grassroots Democracy Party, co-founded by slain political analyst Kem Ley, has announced it will compete in the national elections next year in all provinces, though analysts yesterday doubted that it would be able to mount a serious challenge to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. ...

The United States Embassy has pledged $55,500 to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts in part to preserve the clothes worn by victims of atrocities at S-21 prison. ...

Civil society this year marked International Human Rights Day much differently than last year, out of concern that any public gatherings would be likened to joining a colour revolution to overthrow the government. ...

The Beehive Social Democratic Party will convene next week to pick its third president in four months after party leader Houn Phannary resigned due to “personal reasons”. ...

The Ministry of Interior warned NGOs and associations yesterday to submit their annual financial reports or face legal action, including being shut down. ...

The coastal city of Sihanoukville is undergoing a massive transformation. Once perceived as a seedy haunt for lethargic backpackers and expats, a flood of Chinese tourists and investors has begun to alter the landscape by setting up everything from gaudy casinos to towering luxury resorts ...

The Apsara Authority announced yesterday that it will begin sharing preservation knowledge and collaborating in restorations with the city officials behind Beijing’s ancient Imperial City. Officials from Cambodia’s heritage preservation authority met with Du Jingxin, an official from Beijing’s Xicheng district, to discuss ways the ...

A memorandum of understanding meant to beef up protections for Cambodian maids in Malaysia is still on hold after Malaysia’s human resources minister said he was not aware of the agreement, according to Malaysian media. ...

Environmental NGOs expressed concerns this week about a requirement from the Ministry of Environment to get advanced permission to patrol the Prey Lang protected forest, saying doing so could lead to illegal loggers getting tipped off, given the history of collusion with officials in the ...

Following several warnings, officials in Prey Veng province’s Peamro district yesterday shuttered an illegal sand-dredging operation being run by a provincial police officer.Chum Chea, Prek Khsay Khor commune chief, said more than 10 officers on Wednesday halted the operation and confiscated machinery, with the operation ...

A lawyer for the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces filed a complaint accusing former opposition leader Sam Rainsy of “incitement” yesterday, despite Prime Minister Hun Sen vowing on Wednesday to sue his long-time political opponent for “treason”. ...

Italy, along with six other European Union countries, has filed a fresh request to European Commission to limit the volume of rice imported from the Kingdom by activating a “safeguard clause” that allows EU member states to impose barriers to protect against trade imbalances. ...

Among the 50 prisoners who were pardoned or received sentence reductions for the Water Festival this year, several were convicted of serious crimes, such as rape, murder and human trafficking, according to a review of the roster included in the most recent Royal Book. ...

The government will not consider further reductions of import quotas for live pigs, nor will it ban imports of the livestock, a high-ranking official at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) recently said, adding that companies in the meat industry should rethink their ...

The Cambodia Import-Export Inspection and Fraud Repression Directorate General (Camcontrol) opened a new laboratory in Preah Sihanouk province on Wednesday to monitor food and ensure its safety. ...

A total of 17 Cambodia-Vietnam friendship monuments across Cambodia will be renovated by March next year with nearly $8 million provided by Vietnam’s Defence Ministry. ...

Nuth Sokhom, former Funcinpec lawmaker; Hel Sarat, formerly of the Cambodian Nationality Party; and Dim Sovannarom, former deputy director of the government’s human rights body, were all confirmed to the NEC, replacing three CNRP-nominated members who resigned in protest of the party’s dissolution in November. ...

The Minister of Labour yesterday warned factory owners around the country that they would face legal action if large groups of workers faint during working hours within their enterprises. ...

The US State Department will issue visa restrictions on individuals “involved in undermining democracy in Cambodia”, the Trump administration announced overnight yesterday, following the dissolution of the main opposition party last month and the arrest in September of former opposition leader Kem Sokha. ...

Representatives of 175 families in Koh Kong province gathered once again in front of the Ministry of Land Management yesterday to ask for a quicker resolution to a decade-long land dispute. ...

The National Assembly approved the replacement of three members of the National Election Committee yesterday. It also recognized 16 new members of parliament from the ruling CPP. ...

In a bid to decentralise the certificates of origin (COs) process to help promote international exports and ease cross-border trade, the Ministry of Commerce launched a pilot project yesterday that allows officials in the provinces of Battambang and Pailin to directly issue certification. ...

Cambodia’s beloved Irrawaddy dolphins are facing troubled waters, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) yesterday flagging the riverine mammal as ‘critically endangered’ in an update to its ‘Red List’. ...

Amid accusations of bias in favour of the ruling party – and following the removal of the main opposition party from the electoral field – the National Election Committee has announced the creation of a new press reaction team to “attack back at negative points”. ...