National government

Tractor sales continued to grow last year, driven by a shortage of labour in the agricultural sector and farmer cooperatives increasingly pooling their resources to buy farm equipment to serve their members. ...

At least 700 applicants have signed up to join the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), with the successful recruits to be trained to operate new Chinese-built artillery, a senior military source said yesterday.   ...

The Kingdom exported 9,379.29 tons of sesame last year, according to a report from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, with Vietnam buying the lion’s share. ...

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) have been expanding their financial services to include the use of mobile phones, a move aimed at boosting services for people in rural areas who find it difficult or expensive to travel to offices in towns or villages. ...

The government announced a set of price caps on retail petroleum products yesterday based on the application of its new fuel-pricing mechanism. Sor Chandara ...

The Ministry of Interior on Friday threatened legal action against lawbreaking auto shops that work without a licence or illegally assemble vehicles from scrap parts. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen told a summit on micro-finance development yesterday that stricter rules needed to be applied to organizations and institutions lending money as many people were being cheated, embezzled and losing their collateral to unscrupulous lenders. ...

A campaign will be launched country-wide to educate the public about how to properly use financial services, a forum on microfinance in Phnom Penh was told yesterday. ...

Cambodia’s health regulation system is in need of deep reform, not just minor adjustments, as it is failing to meet its national needs and ASEAN obligations, according to a new report. ...

Cambodian and Australian officials on Sunday denied claims made by a Rohingya refugee from Burma over the weekend that he was being poorly treated in Phnom Penh, with the Interior Ministry’s refugee director calling the man “a liar.” ...

Local rights groups have raised major concerns about Cambodia’s sweeping new Telecommunications Law, which gives the government virtually unchecked spying powers and criminalizes any electronic communication deemed to cause “national insecurity.” ...

More than 250 Preah Vihear families who have been living under the threat of eviction since 2010 are to be allowed to keep their homes, according to a letter from the Interior Ministry obtained yesterday. ...

Cambodia’s embassy in Thailand has denied allegations that officials from the embassy were extorting Cambodian employers and migrant workers in Thailand by demanding bribes for fake passports and pushing along applications to legalize a person’s working status. ...

Cambodia is set to host a seminar by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in May to encourage other countries to sign a treaty banning the use of cluster bombs and brief military officials on international conventions and laws. ...

Officials from 14 governments gathered in Siem Reap on Wednesday to discuss sustainable development of extractive industries in the regions, urging Cambodia to take stock of its oil, gas and mineral reserves and device mechanism to develop these resources sustainably. ...

As a result of the meeting with the specialist commissions, Minister of Labor Ith Samheng said that nearly 50 percent of the comments given by union leaders, business owners, development partners and the government were used to make changes in the draft union law yesterday. ...

Illegal strikes, the minimum wage and high electricity costs were the subjects discussed during the 13th annual meeting between Cambodia and Japan last week, according to the Council for Development of Cambodia (CDC). ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen wants more specialized doctors to work for the government in public medical facilities and become public servants, according to a speech given by the premier to close yesterday’s annual conference held by the Ministry of Health. ...

Gas stations around the country will be required to sell their products at a standardized price and any that overcharge will be fined, the government said yesterday. ...

The Foreign Affairs Ministry released a statement on Tuesday clarifying the policies that will be used to collect service passports from public servants after they have returned from their missions abroad and are no longer authorized to use them. ...

The government is preparing for the retirement of eight provincial governors, Interior Minister Sar Kheng announced at an event to commemorate International Women’s Day on Tuesday. ...

Health Minister Mam Bunheng said Wednesday that he was unconcerned by a letter sent to him by the head of the National Assembly’s health commission last month concerning a spate of recently discovered HIV cases in Kandal province.   ...

With the costs of health care on the rise, Health Minister Mam Bun Heng yesterday revealed plans to increase public health funding in order to provide greater medical coverage for those unable to afford it. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday said the government is now paying almost all civil servants’ salaries and collecting taxes using technology, rather than relying on officials to handle cash, which reduces corruption. ...