National government

This week, 25 years after a Frenchmen created the first of five specialized schools for blind and deaf students, it is handing over the schools—plus the tools and expertise its staff developed over decades—to the Cambodian government. ...

Cambodia has performed poorly in the 2016 edition of a recent environmental report, ranking a dismal 146 out of 180 countries.The Kingdom returned one of the lowest Environmental Performance Index (EPI) scores in the region, narrowly edging ahead of Myanmar and Laos. ...

A prosecutor at the Kompong Speu Provincial Court said on Wednesday that charges would stand against five union officials who were released on bail last month af­ter they were arrested during a brawl with a rival association, de­spite calls by a prominent labor leader to ...

The government is reviewing a mammoth $1-billion proposal by the Thai Boon Roong Group to build twin commercial skyscrapers in Phnom Penh which, if constructed, would be among the world’s tallest buildings. ...

The Ministry of Interior has removed four Oddar Meanchey provincial officials from office, including former deputy governor of Anlong Veng district Nhem En, for failing to show up for work, according to a ministry letter received by Khmer Times yesterday. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday made a direct appeal to businesses in the United States to increase investment in Cambodia, ahead of the US-ASEAN Summit in Sunnylands California, and just days after Deputy Prime Minister Sok An spoke with officials from the US Embassy here ...

Government officials, economists and businesses discussed the implementation of a draft program to invigorate vegetable farming in the Kingdom and cut imports from neighbouring countries in half by 2018.   ...

The two Cambodian merchants arrested at Rong Kluea Market during a Thai Department of Special Investigation (DSI) raid that turned violent earlier this month were denied bail on Friday by the Thai Court of Appeals, according to a statement released by the Cambodian Foreign Affairs ...

Information Minister Khieu Kanharith took to Facebook on Saturday to remind drivers of vehicles with illegal “press” licence plates that “it will not be a fine, but prison” if police catch them. ...

It will get easier for small, rural mining operations to register with the government this month, thanks to a change in the Ministry of Energy and Mines’ policy of issuing licenses, according to a ministry statement released last week. ...

Cambodia and Saudi Arabia on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding to begin work on opening a pipeline for Cambodians to work in the gulf nation, which has been routinely criticised for failing to protect migrant domestic workers from abysmal treatment and slave-like conditions. ...

Immigration officials yesterday sought to dial back public remarks by Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak, who on Wednesday appeared to tell reporters that the more than 100 Montagnard asylum seekers currently waiting to have their claims assessed would be summarily deported. ...

The final two weeks of February will feature visits to Sihanoukville from both the Japanese and Chinese navies to conduct goodwill and training exercises, as the two powers vie for influence and allies in Southeast Asia amid increasing Asian nautical tensions. ...

A high official from the Japanese Defense Ministry (JDM) has lobbied for Cambodia and another ASEAN members to support the creation of a meeting between their defense ministers and the JDM to be held next year in Laos, according to officials at a meeting at ...

A journalist who accused a military police commander of accepting bribes from illegal loggers in Mondolkiri province was arrested and briefly detained on Thursday on the commander’s orders, a move that was criticized by the Ministry of Information. ...

The National Police has hired more than 4,500 new officials into its ranks, according to a sub-decree dated Wednesday. ...

Kerry Express, a subsidiary of WorldBridge International (Cambodia), yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU)  with  state-owned Cambodia Post to expand delivery services in the Kingdom, executives and officials said after signing the MoU yesterday. ...

Less than a month after the government announced that more than 170 Montagnard asylum seek­ers would have their refugee applications processed, an Interior Min­istry spokesman said on Wednesday that the group had not met the criteria for refugee status and would be returned to Vietnam. ...

The government is planning to boost Cambodia’s attractiveness as a second-home tourist destination for foreign retirees, according to a draft policy obtained from the Ministry of Tourism Wednesday. ...

With a surge in visitors from the world’s most populous nation, the government is preparing a “second-home policy” to encourage more Chinese tourists to visit and stay longer, and for those who have already visited to do so more often, Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon ...

The Ministry of Agriculture’s departments of Forestry and Fisheries will be placed under the control of the provincial agricultural administrations, according to an official letter released by Agricultural Minister Ouk Rabun on Monday. The move is part of an effort to decentralize government responsibilities and ...

More than 30 workers fainted at a garment factory in Kandal prov­ince over the past two days after inhaling noxious fumes circulated by a ventilation fan located near the facility’s toilets, an official said.   ...

Consular officials yesterday were working to repatriate a Cambodian maid fleeing what she described as unfair working conditions in Saudi Arabia, even as Cambodia’s minister of labour was en route to seal a long-awaited deal to open a pipeline of workers to the Gulf nation. ...

India is looking to ease its visa regime for ASEAN nations in a bid to increase Buddhist tourist arrivals – travellers looking to visit Buddhist heritage sites – to the country, India’s vice president said. ...