News

After 24 years of fiercely independent journalism, the Cambodia Daily will publish their final edition today due to an “exorbitant” $6.3 million tax bill levelled at them last month – an outcome critics say threatens Cambodia’s free press ahead of next year’s crucial national election. ...

The Ministry of Labour’s spokesman yesterday said that free medical treatment for garment workers, announced by Prime Minister Hun Sen last week, will start on January 1. ...

Authorities yesterday discovered at least 20 tonnes of rosewood and other luxury timber after raiding a warehouse in Kandal province’s Kien Svay district. ...

Nearly 300 families accused of grabbing state land to build huts near a canal in Kandal province have been given three days to dismantle the structures. ...

The Land Management Ministry on Wednesday announced a plan to resolve a yearslong land dispute between thousands of villagers and well-connected sugar barons by early next month, though not all affected communities were included. ...

The National Election Committee has appealed to Cambodian people working or studying abroad to come home and register to vote in the 2018 national election. ...

The Ministry of Labour’s spokesman yesterday said that free medical treatment for garment workers, announced by Prime Minister Hun Sen last week, will start on January 1. Spokesman Heng Sour said the scheme would have help from other ministries. ...

Solar home systems are an appropriate solution to provide affordable, reliable and clean electricity in rural Cambodia, and the Green Microfinance Programme assists villagers to take out loans to purchase them. ...

The Ministry of Commerce yesterday launched a petroleum mobile lab to detect fraud and cheating at petrol stations and ensure fair competition. The lab, under the authority of CamControl, will drive across the country, starting from Phnom Penh. ...

Two new rice seeds – Japonica and Indica – would be introduced to Cambodian farmers in order to diversify the markets for Cambodian rice, according to a local media report. ...

Kampot pepper, a Cambodian product that got geographical indication (IG) certification from the European Union, is expected to yield 80 matrix tons for the markets by this year. ...

The joint cabinet meeting between Cambodia and Thailand next month will exclude discussions on the Phnom Penh-Bangkok rail link, leaving the exact date of its launch in limbo. ...

The Ministry of Interior has launched an investigation into the opposition CNRP’s funding sources after the government-aligned Fresh News website posted a leaked document purporting to show that the party received funds from a foreign organisation. ...

Wan Hai Ship Line Ltd., a Taiwan-based container shipping company, will add Sihanoukville Port to its shipping route next month. ...

The Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction yesterday promised to settle land disputes between villagers and sugar companies granted economic land concessions in Kampong Speu, Koh Kong and Preah Vihear provinces. Minister Chea Sophara made the promise after an inter-ministerial meeting at his office ...

National Road 3 is to be widened to four lanes under a government development scheme financed by a Chinese loan. Speaking yesterday in a meeting with garment workers at Vattanac Industrial Park II, which is on National Road 3, Prime Minister Hun Sen said the upgrade ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday continued his bid to woo the Kingdom’s thousands-strong bloc of garment workers, reminding workers of the perils of former opposition leader Sam Rainsy’s proposal to leverage an EU embargo on garment imports to improve the country’s political and human rights ...

Cambodia and New Zealand have reached a memorandum of understanding aimed at improving agricultural productivity to increase food safety and reduce reliance on imports. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered officials to set up health centres next to factories and areas where workers live to improve treatment for staff who fall sick. ...

The Interior Ministry has filed a Supreme Court complaint requesting the dissolution of nine political parties accused of flouting their obligations under the Law on Political Parties. ...

Three local NGOs are to request a meeting with the Interior Minister to discuss the granting of ID cards to Kampuchea Krom people living in Cambodia. ...

The government is to give the Bar Association a 50 percent boost in the legal aid budget by 2018 to pay lawyers who defend the poor for free. ...

A team of researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has found that the loss of dense forest in Cambodia is associated with higher risk of diarrhea, acute respiratory infection, and fever in children. ...

The US Embassy yesterday hit back at unsubstantiated claims of a United States-backed conspiracy to topple the government disseminated by pro-government media outlet Fresh News, even as local news reported that the Interior Ministry would investigate the purported plot.​   ...