News

In a move to crack down on future illegal logging, the government has created a special Commission, led by human rights group Adhoc, which will review and cancel any licenses of companies that violate forestry laws. ...

Next week, Cambodia will join a conference focused on stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). The conference, to be held in Washington D.C. on January 27th, is part of the US-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), started in 2003 to keep bomb parts ...

The Ministry of Public Works and Transportation in an announcement yesterday warned that action would be taken against those who illegally construct on the shoulders of, or fill in canals along, National Road 4 between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville. ...

Cambodia canceled two offshore licenses of Malaysia’s operator Resourceful Petroleum, due to violations of the concession agreement and not performing obligations of petroleum agreements. The two licenses were for development and operations of offshore oil Block B and Block F, which has sufficient resources of oil ...

The U.S. and Cambodia have so far forged a good relationship, but there is room for improvement, a Cambodian lawmaker said Wednesday. Hun Many, who spoke at the U.S.-Korean Institute under Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies, said Cambodia needs more friends than ...

Unions yesterday called for further discussion of the draft trade union law after a bipartisan committee tasked with examining the controversial legislation concluded on Tuesday having agreed to few substantive changes. ...

The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has started work with Cambodia on patent applications, a move which will allow firms from both countries to hasten the process. ...

The government should invest more in sustainable energy, with a focus on solar power, experts told a conference on energy security yesterday, adding that this could reduce Cambodia’s dependence on large-scale hydropower projects and coal-fired plants. ...

The National Election Committee (NEC) is confronting challenges this week regarding new voter registration, paying particularly close attention to problems arising from the dissemination of new voter ID cards and allowing better access to monks who wish to obtain them. ...

A trade facilitation manual aimed at increasing the size of Cambodia’s seafood products will be ready by April and looks to help producers and exporters improve their export readiness and take advantage of ASEAN integration. ...

About 300 vendors from the Tumnup market in Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district protested in front of the municipal court on Wednesday to demand that two of their colleagues who were arrested amid a dispute over market fees be released. ...

After seeing a signing ceremony interrupted by protesters on Tuesday, officials from the joint committee for Borei Keila housing solutions yesterday inked compensation deals with 32 out of 56 evicted families. ...

The Cambodian government on Monday launched its first nationwide policy for child development, aiming to enhance education, promote social welfare and strengthen protection for children in the Kingdom. ...

Authorities from the government’s new anti-logging task force swooped into Stung Treng yesterday and inspected timber stockpiles belonging to the Kingdom’s most prominent logging magnate, Try Pheap, who has been accused of reaping immense profits from the clear-cutting of Cambodian forests for years. ...

The Ministry of Rural Development, UNICEF and NGO Plan International Cambodia on Monday launched a new project to improve access to sanitation for 2,000 families in Ratanakkiri province. ...

Experts on Wednesday urged Cambodia to move away from large-scale hydropower and coal projects and toward more environmentally friendly sources of power or risk long-term energy insecurity, following the launch of a report by investment and advisory firm Mekong Strategic Partners in Phnom Penh. ...

As Cambodia prepares for an official visit from US Secretary of State John Kerry next week, the country’s US ambassador says it would consider joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership. ...

The government cancelled two concessions for offshore oil – Block B and Block F – held by two foreign companies last year because they failed to comply with the terms of their agreements, senior officials from Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) told Khmer Times ...

In a seeming about-face, the government has backed away from its looming deadline to deport more than 100 Montagnards currently seeking asylum in Cambodia, instead pledging to “expedite” the process of assessing their refugee status. ...

All Nippon Airways (ANA) – Japan’s largest carrier – will begin flying between Tokyo and Phnom Penh on September 1, the spokesman for the Secretariat of State of Civil Aviation told Khmer Times yesterday, adding that the first direct flight from Japan to Cambodia will ...

The oft-delayed and amended traffic law is scheduled to take effect in mid-March after being postponed since January due to widespread complaints from citizens across the country. Although the law won’t take effect until mid-March, police are still checking vehicle documents, and are looking out ...

Authorities raided yet another rubber plantation on Tuesday as part of a new dragnet to catch illegal loggers in eastern Cambodia, said Eng Hy, spokesman for the National Military Police. ...

The Interior Ministry has asked Interpol to help arrest a “Cambodian living abroad” it believes is responsible for doctoring and circulating an image of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s wife, according to a ministry spokesman. ...

Global brands rely on a hidden workforce within their supply chains to avoid responsibility for poor working conditions and abuse, according to a new report from the International Trade Union Confederation. ...