The Phnom Penh Post
Landowner unwittingly begins clearing ‘ancient spirit forest’
A Kampong Thom landowner was stopped by provincial officials from clearing a piece of land used as a “spirit forest” by local villagers. ...
Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/landowner-unwittingly-begins-clearing-ancient-spirit-forest
Hun Manet talks colour revolution
Senior military official and son of the prime minister Hun Manet yesterday joined his father in using an event to commemorate the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge as an opportunity to voice authorities’ commitment to thwarting any attempts to topple the current government through a ...
Mech Dara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/hun-manet-talks-colour-revolution
China deals swiftly signed
Cambodian and Chinese officials and business leaders yesterday signed 19 agreements during a visit to Phnom Penh by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, boosting Chinese investment at a time when the regional power has upped its economic and political support for Hun Sen’s government. ...
Hor Kimsay and Cheng Sokhorng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/china-deals-swiftly-signed
Cop caught on camera beating traffic officer placed in pre-trial detention
A National Police officer who beat up a traffic policeman on Tuesday for reprimanding him for running a red light was sent to pre-trial detention by Phnom Penh Municipal Court this afternoon and faces the preliminary charge of “intentional violence”. ...
Kong Meta
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/cop-caught-camera-beating-traffic-officer-placed-pre-trial-detention
Analysis: Cambodia signing up for Chinese billions – at a price
Arriving in Phnom Penh in the midst of a political crackdown on dissent, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang showed no qualms about signing 19 major development deals yesterday with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, making it clear that Chinese aid to the Kingdom remains unaffected by ...
Andrew Nachemson
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/analysis-cambodia-signing-chinese-billions-price
Fake monks arrested in Siem Reap
Police in Siem Reap province yesterday arrested 20 boys and young men pretending to be Buddhist monks in order to beg for money.Huot Sothy, deputy provincial police chief overseeing criminal offences, said officers had followed the group for a while before getting permission to crack ...
Niem Chheng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/fake-monks-arrested-siem-reap
Ex-deputy PM Lay Sreng called in to court for defamation
Former Deputy Prime Minister Lu Lay Sreng, who has been abroad since October, has been summonsed to appear in Phnom Penh Municipal Court for a defamation hearing on January 25. Lay Sreng, 77, was sued for defamation by his former party, Funcinpec, and Prime Minister ...
Niem Chheng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ex-deputy-pm-lay-sreng-called-court-defamation
RDB loans $30M to boost rice purchases
The government has provided $30 million in loans to rice millers since September to facilitate the purchase of paddy rice, with the head of a state-run bank saying more money was available if necessary. The loans were issued to 38 rice millers by the state-owned ...
Cheng Sokhorng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/rdb-loans-30m-boost-rice-purchases
Lightning strikes kill two as return of colder temps predicted
Two people were killed and one injured in three separate lightning strikes in Pursat and Prey Veng provinces on Monday, according to the National Committee for Disaster Management. ...
Khouth Sophak Chakrya
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/lightning-strikes-kill-two-return-colder-temps-predicted
Analyst Kim Sok's bail request denied at Supreme Court
Outspoken government critic Kim Sok was rejected bail at the Supreme Court this morning, with the prosecutor arguing that to grant Sok early release from an 18-month prison sentence would cause “chaos” in society. ...
Mech Dara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/analyst-kim-soks-bail-request-denied-supreme-court
Monovithya appeals to US officials
Kem Monovithya, the daughter of jailed opposition leader Kem Sokha and a CNRP official, met with United States officials yesterday to discuss the possibility of further sanctions on the Cambodian government if measures taken in an ongoing political crackdown are not reversed. ...
Andrew Nachemson and Ben Sokhean
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/monovithya-appeals-us-officials
Bag firm plans to grow local operations
Wah Sun Handbags International Holding unveiled plans yesterday to expand its Cambodia operations, citing the country’s low labour costs as the primary reason for the move. In a filing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the handbag manufacturer announced plans to raise up to $18 ...
Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/bag-firm-plans-grow-local-operations
Chinese firm invests in forest
A little-known Chinese company is investing $200 million in a massive timber plantation in Stung Treng that the government has equated to “replanting the forest”, despite concerns among environmental protection groups that existing forest will be destroyed in favour of non-native commercial species. ...
Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/chinese-firm-invests-forest
China and Mekong states sign 5-year plan for cooperation, but details remain undisclosed
The leaders of Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos, along with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, announced the adoption of a five-year plan for cooperation on matters relating to the Mekong River, though experts and observers yesterday questioned who would benefit from China’s increasing involvement in ...
Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/china-and-mekong-states-sign-5-year-plan-cooperation-details-remain-undisclosed
Chinese, local firms sign agricultural deals worth $526M
More than a dozen Chinese companies inked deals to purchase about $526 million worth of agricultural products from Cambodian firms on Monday. The 34 agreements between 14 Chinese firms and 18 Cambodian firms were announced by the two country’s commerce ministries at a press conference ...
Post Staff
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/chinese-local-firms-sign-agricultural-deals-worth-526m
Virgin ‘stops purchases of Oddar Meanchey REDD credits’
A Virgin Atlantic representative yesterday said that the British airline is no longer purchasing carbon credits from an area of Oddar Meanchey province set aside for a UN REDD+ program after a report describing widespread problems. ...
Yesenia Amaro
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/virgin-stops-purchases-oddar-meanchey-redd-credits
ADB signs $180M in loans to Cambodia
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday signed a $180 million package of loans and grants to Cambodia that are meant to improve the country’s roads, water supply and small-scale farms. One $70 million loan will go towards improving 147-kilometres’ worth of flood-prone stretches of National Road ...
Hor Kimsay and Brendan O’Byrne
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/adb-signs-180m-loans-cambodia
No protest after Thai border policy changed
A local Poipet union has called off a protest against what they characterised as overly expensive border passes used by day labourers entering Thailand after provincial officials introduced a new, cheaper permit. ...
Kuoch Masy
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/no-protest-after-thai-border-policy-changed
Delinquent loan rate continues to rise
The rate of microfinance loans with overdue payments nearly doubled last year according to the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), though it remained within a normal range and was coupled with a rise in deposits. ...
Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/delinquent-loan-rate-continues-rise
Military clearing claims dismissed as outdated
A REDD Programme representative yesterday said it would be concerning if recent claims of the military systematically clearing protected forest in Oddar Meanchey province covered under the scheme proved true – though a third-party company has dismissed the claims as outdated. ...
Yesenia Amaro
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/military-clearing-claims-dismissed-outdated
Ethnic Phnong claim their forest land was grabbed by officials
An ethnic Phnong community in Kratie province’s Snuol district has accused local officials and soldiers of grabbing over 1,000 hectares of community forest and threatening the lives of local villagers for years, with the rights group Adhoc yesterday saying they would take the case to ...
Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ethnic-phnong-claim-their-forest-land-was-grabbed-officials
Juvenile elephant found dead in hole in Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary
A young male elephant was found dead after getting stuck in a hole on Monday afternoon in Mondulkiri’s Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, according to officials. ...
Khouth Sophak Chakrya
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/juvenile-elephant-found-dead-hole-keo-seima-wildlife-sanctuary
Government to add new kindergartens
The Ministry of Education plans to incorporate an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 community-based kindergartens – currently run by commune councils with support from NGOs – into the state public school system to ensure their sustainability, according to a new sub-decree. ...
Niem Chheng and Yesenia Amaro
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/government-add-new-kindergartens
Cambodia negotiates reopening of informal Vietnam border crossings
Ratankkiri provincial authorities are trying to resolve a border dispute with Vietnam, urging the Vietnamese to reopen four recently blocked border crossings, according to National Police spokesman Kirth Chantharith. The conflict originated when Cambodia rejected Vietnam’s proposal to build four new, formal border checkpoints, only accepting ...