News

The National Election Committee yesterday closed the voter registration list at 5.30 pm, with more than 32 percent of an estimated 1.6 million newly eligible voters having signed up successfully. NEC spokesman Hang Puthea said final registration figures will be released today. ...

A massive centralised rice drying facility in Battambang province being developed by Thaneakea Srov (Kampuchea) Plc will soon be operational, while its adjacent rice storage operations are on track to be completed early next year, the CEO of the company said yesterday. ...

Registration for next year’s national elections closed yesterday with a rush of last-minute sign-ups, though two of every three remaining eligible voters still remain unregistered in an atmosphere that observers say raises questions about the legitimacy of next year’s planned national election. ...

The Khmer Kampuchea Krom for Human Rights and Development Association has announced plans to hold a rally in Siem Reap province to celebrate Human Rights Day next month. ...

Police in Kratie province were caught on video letting potentially illegal timber transporters pass through their checkpoints on Monday night, with provincial police yesterday suggesting they were powerless to crack down on such shipments as many transporters possessed axes and machetes and were addicted to ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen approved the establishment of a new interministerial task force yesterday that will work to develop and manage community-based ecotourism locations in a bid to find sustainable ways to draw tourists to destinations across the Kingdom. ...

Foreign tourist arrivals to the Kingdom have gone up during the first nine months of this year, reaching roughly 3.9 million to represent a year-on-year increase of 11.5 percent, according to data released by the Ministry of Tourism yesterday. ...

One day after it was revealed that the United States would discontinue funding for the Cambodian government’s explosives removal body, the US Embassy said it would fund a separate “world-class removal program” in the eastern part of the country, following a competitive bidding process. ...

Kry Lay lined up in early June to vote for the party he wanted to run Kampong Cham province’s Srak commune in the eastern part of the country. A former Sam Rainsy Party commune, the locale’s electorate delivered what Lay, a local farmer, wanted – ...

The US multinational Walmart has said it will buy more garment, footwear and luggage products from Cambodia next year due to increased capacity from suppliers and improved labour conditions in the country. ...

Farmers and agricultural NGOs slammed the seventh and final draft of a controversial agricultural law at a workshop in Phnom Penh yesterday, claiming that the law would benefit large corporations at the expense of small farmers if passed. ...

The Minister of Planning yesterday announced the third national census set for next year will be delayed until 2019 because the government must focus on the July general election. ...

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries recently released a handbook on contract farming to promote agricultural leasing arrangements among farmers and buyers in the hope it will aid sustainable development of the sector. ...

Government officials yesterday called for more private investment in cassava production, arguing it will help boost and diversify Cambodian exports. ...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is considering plans to revamp the airport in Stung Treng province to increase air connectivity in the Great Mekong Subregion (GMS). ...

The government has set up an inter-ministerial working group for the management and development of tourism and ecotourism. ...

During a meeting last week with a Vietnamese rubber association, Minister of Agriculture Veng Sakhon reminded Vietnamese investors of the many opportunities that the Cambodian agricultural sector offers and asked them to come to the kingdom to establish rubber and cassava processing factories. ...

The Building and Wood Workers Trade Union Federation of Cambodia has renewed its call for a meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen because its members need the government to take care of them. ...

Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak has announced that the government will be spearheading a new National Cassava Policy which aims to address challenges in the industry and work towards ensuring a sustainable and resilient crop, strong value chains and greater regional market presence. ...

The last families refusing to relocate from their homes near the Lower Sesan II dam have accused local authorities of being unwilling to settle their case. ...

The United States has cut funding next year for the Cambodian Mine Action Centre following months of criticism from Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government of America’s war legacy in the Kingdom. ...

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) will open a museum on finance and monetary matters in January 2018, a representative of the central bank has announced. ...

Kantha Bopha hospitals have treated almost 17 million children and pregnant women at a cost of $632 million, the organisation said, as it celebrated its 25th anniversary last week. ...

The government has unveiled four strategies to eliminate malnutrition in the country, especially among children. Prime Minister Hun Sen is enlisting state institutes, partners and NGOs to join the fight to eliminate malnutrition as the country holds national nutrition day today. ...