The Phnom Penh Post

US Ambassador William Todd has spoken out about ongoing arrivals of Montagnard asylum seekers from Vietnam, saying that the international community is concerned about their treatment and urging the government to give the fleeing Christian minority unimpeded access to “internationally accepted asylum procedures”. ...

As millions of Cambodians prepare for Lunar New Year celebrations, Phnom Penh retailers say residents are spending more on the 2015 festivities than ever before. Independent economist Srey Chanthy told the Post that a dip in petrol prices had helped lower-income Cambodians increase their purchasing ...

Authorities have vowed to seize fireworks and punish anyone caught letting off explosives as Lunar New Year celebrations get under way today. The warning by the Phnom Penh municipality came as the Interior Ministry revealed plans to station more than 20 fire trucks around the city ...

Five men were sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday for selling nearly 1 kilogram of crystal methamphetamine to undercover police officers in the capital’s Tuol Kork district last April. ...

A Montagnard asylum seeker who was arrested and deported earlier this month along with his wife and three children has returned to a heavily guarded home after being detained and interrogated for 12 days by Vietnamese authorities. ...

Hundreds of workers at a new factory in Kampong Speu province continued yesterday to strike for better working conditions after one of their colleagues was allegedly struck with an electroshock weapon on Friday by their Chinese boss. ...

In an unanticipated act of leniency yesterday, Prime Minister Hun Sen established a new committee to deliver pardons to mothers jailed with their children, according to several attendees of the conference where the announcement was made. ...

More than 100 staff members of the Phnom Penh Referral Hospital and 7 Makara Health Care Center met the capital’s health director yesterday to discuss concerns about a land swap after a recent announcement that part of the hospitals lost their land title. The meeting came ...

Disgraced anti-sex trafficking activist Somaly Mam’s new charity – which is headed by former staff of her fallen foundation, a Hollywood actress and a PR guru – announced yesterday that it has been given the green light in the US. ...

Aiming to address a skills mismatch in the Cambodian economy, the government has put a hold on new licences for higher education courses in the fields of business and finance. In response to a growing need for science and engineering skills, as well as trade-qualified workers, ...

Kerry Worldbridge Logistics Ltd, a joint venture between Hong Kong-listed Kerry Logistic Network Limited and Worldbridge International Group (WIG), last week acquired the majority share of Cambodia Express Group, a local door-to-door logistics firm. ...

As security forces in Ratanakkiri province continued to seek the arrest yesterday of 32 Montagnards hiding there, villagers and a local rights worker said the harsh conditions had taken their toll on two of the asylum seekers. ...

The death toll is increasing in Battambang’s Roka commune, which has been plagued by a massive HIV outbreak, as health officials confirmed yesterday that two more HIV-positive villagers succumbed to illnesses despite undergoing antiretroviral treatment (ART). The two elderly women, aged 74 and 75, died on ...

Having begun life in an overcrowded cell with nowhere to play, little to eat and surrounded by abuse, when Dara* left prison at nearly 4 years old, he had not yet spoken a single word. According to the report, which was released on Saturday, Dara’s ...

Public and private sector representatives have urged the Cambodian government to fast-track policies to foster a more “formalised”, compliant and productive small- to medium-size enterprise (SME) sector. Chea Serey, director general at the National Bank of Cambodia said the high cost of regulatory compliance, a ...

As opposition grew yesterday over plans to remove Areng dam activist Alex Gonzalez-Davidson from the country when his visa expires later this week, analysts said the government was hoping to clear the way to develop the valley. ...

The Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone has 77 tenants from nine countries and 80 per cent occupancy, but high electricity costs and corruption remain a drag on profits. The main issue is electricity costs, says PPSEZ chief executive Hiroshi Umaetsu. “If [electricity] goes from 19 ...

A coalition of election watchdogs and rights groups known as the Electoral Reform Alliance (ERA) have tested a new “modernised voter registration” system that they hope the soon-to-be overhauled National Election Committee will use during forthcoming elections. ...

A group of opposition lawmakers on Wednesday began an investigation into a proposed government land swap in Kampot they fear may have questionable motivations. ...

More than a dozen opposition party officials have accused Thailand of encouraging extrajudicial killings of Cambodians along the border. In a strongly worded letter sent to Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Monday, the Cambodia National Rescue Party MPs asked for an independent investigation into an ...

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) yesterday unveiled a $52 million plan to help Cambodia’s government develop policies to assist poor farmers to improve agricultural productivity. ...

Three Montagnards, including a 10-year-old girl, arrived yesterday morning at the government’s Refugee Department in Phnom Penh to process their asylum claims. ...

More than a dozen opposition party officials have accused Thailand of encouraging extrajudicial killings of Cambodians along the border. In a strongly worded letter sent to Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Monday, the Cambodia National Rescue Party MPs asked for an independent investigation into an ...

Interior Minister Sar Kheng yesterday cast a negative light on Phnom Penh, labelling the capital a hotbed for criminal activity and likening the levels of street crime to the Ho Chi Minh City of yore, where he said it was once unsafe to walk around ...