Khmer Times

When the Lao national assembly last week approved a potentially destructive dam project just 2 kilometers from the border with Cambodia, the surprise announcement was yet another blow to the regional framework designed to protect the Mekong River.  ...

Reading has always been a popular hobby for Cambodian children, but NGOs are now saying it is difficult for children in remote areas to access books and magazines. ...

The release last week of camera-trap photos showing fishing cats prowling wetlands in Koh Kong and Preah Sihanouk provinces drew cheers from environmentalists as well as a note of caution – ensuring their survival will require plenty of work. ...

Partnerships with mobile service providers have greatly helped insurance companies with market penetration here, insurers told Khmer Times. ...

In early August, Sihanoukville city’s then municipal governor, Chin Sarin, issued a notice giving 26 vendors and their families at Ochheuteal Beach days to remove their stalls from the beach or face forced eviction. ...

The International Business Chamber of Cambodia (IBS) on Friday took a step to formulate industry-wide construction standards by signing a memorandum of understanding with the UK’s Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), an accreditation agency that monitors quality and safety across the property market.  ...

The Indian government is giving about $4 million to conserve the Preah Vihear temple complex, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Chum Sounry. ...

People are no longer denying that El Nino – a cyclical weather phenomenon that can cause severe drought – has arrived in Cambodia. ...

As border controls ease among ASEAN nations, Interior Minister Sar Kheng warned Tuesday the downside could be a freer flow of criminals and illegal immigrants. ...

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Cambodia’s agriculture industry contributes 37 percent of GDP, and employs 67 percent of the workforce, with 75 percent of cultivated land dedicated to growing rice. ...

Residents of Wat Damnak village, just one kilometer from Pub Street, still resort to burning their rubbish when trash collection is slow.  ...

The Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has sent over 3000 Cambodian officials employed in ministries and other government institutions to study Master’s Degree programs in South Korea since 1993, a KOICA senior official told Khmer Times. ...

Promises of well-paying jobs in Malaysia turned into a nightmare for four young men repatriated from the country last week with help from rights group Adhoc. The four – who range from 18 to 24 years old – had been sold to a plantation ...

Thirty-five years later, the psychological wounds caused by the Khmer Rouge remain fresh. Witnesses still break down in tears while testifying at the Tribunal. But how has the psychological trauma of the Khmer Rouge years affected the survivors’ economic status? ...

Vietnam is considering the construction of an expressway to link Ho Chi Minh City to neighboring Tay Ninh Province with investment of 693 million U.S. dollars, local online newspaper Tuoi Tre (Youth) News reported Thursday. ...

Noun Phymean is an executive director at the People Improvement Organization (PIO). Born in Kampong Cham province, she spent over 12 years with the United Nations and other international organizations. Now, the hardworking humanitarian is focusing on helping some of the country’s most impoverished children. ...

The push for gender equality must start within families and parents should encourage their daughters to speak their minds, Minister of Culture and Fine Arts Phoeung Sackona said. ...

Commercial occupancy rates stayed almost flat in the first half of this year, with vacancy rates seeing only a marginal decline, according to a new semi-annual report from property consultancy firm Knight Frank. ...

Despite verifying that the current maps being used to demarcate the border with Vietnam and the maps loaned to the Kingdom from the UN last month were the same, the Cambodian government will hold another verification ceremony with a series of maps sent from France. ...

The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, USAID and a range of participating organizations have launched a five-year initiative they hope will transform the way in which the government, organizations, universities and citizens use data for research and decision-making. ...

Foreign diplomats this week have called for increased vigilance and caution on Cambodia’s coast, partcularly in places such as Sihanoukville, Koh Rong and Kampot, following a spike in serious crimes against foreigners. ...

Every evening, Seu Rin takes his family’s wooden fishing boat down the Teuk Chhu River to the waters of the Cambodian coast. ...

Cambodia’s new industrial development policy calls for more factories and special economic zones, but accomplishing this will be difficult. ...

The opposition yesterday threatened to censure Interior Minister Sar Kheng, accusing the government of not being honest about the number of Vietnamese in the country. ...