News
Appeal court upholds Son Chhay defamation ruling, ups damages owed to CPP to $1 million
The Appeal Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling finding Candlelight Party vice president, Son Chhay, guilty of defamation against the Cambodian People’s Party and ordered him to pay 4 billion riel ($1 million) in damages — an increase by a third of what ...
Sorn Sarath
https://cambojanews.com/appeal-court-upholds-son-chhay-defamation-ruling-ups-damages-owed-to-cpp-to-1-million/
Son Chhay found guilty for defamation, ordered to pay CPP $750,000
The Phnom Penh court on Friday ordered opposition Candlelight Party vice president Son Chhay to pay the ruling CPP 3 billion riel ($750,000) in damages, finding him guilty of defamation for saying that voting fraud occurred during the June commune elections. ...
Sorn Sarath
https://cambojanews.com/son-chhay-found-guilty-for-defamation-ordered-to-pay-cpp-750000/
Son Chhay meets opposition activists in prison
Candlelight Party politician Son Chhay met on Wednesday with 23 jailed opposition officials and activists at Prey Sar prison and asked for them to be released on bail, characterizing their arrests as political cases. ...
Nat Sopheap
https://vodenglish.news/son-chhay-meets-opposition-activists-in-prison/
Candlelight Party’s Son Chhay confirms that he accepted the seats won by the Party
Son Chhay, Vice President of the Candlelight Party, has confirmed that his party accepted the seats that the party won in the last 5th Commune / Sangkat Council Election. ...
Khmer Times Staff
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501089499/candlelight-partys-son-chhay-confirms-that-he-accepted-the-seats-won-by-the-party/
CNRP unifies message on 2018
CNRP chief whip Son Chhay sought to lay down a unified party line yesterday, saying the opposition would push through the current political upheaval and contest next year’s critical national election, setting straight conflicting statements coming from various party officials. ...
Niem Chheng, Ananth Baliga and Ben Sokhean
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/cnrp-unifies-message-2018
CNRP to rejoin national assembly
Senior opposition member Son Chhay said yesterday that he and his fellow party members would enter the National Assembly to resolve some ongoing problems and planned to summon four ministers for clarifications as well as to appeal for the health minister’s resignation. After visiting opposition officials ...
Pech Sotheary
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/29990/cnrp-to-rejoin-national-assembly/
Prime minister vows to ‘eliminate’ opponents who protest
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday said he would “eliminate” opponents who dare to protest against his government during a speech in which he also declared that he personally ordered the military to deploy around the CNRP’s headquarters late last month. Speaking at a graduation ceremony ...
Kuch Naren
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/prime-minister-vows-eliminate-opponents-protest-118198/
PM: no land for Vietnamese
Prime Minister Hun Sen has implored those living along the border with Vietnam to stop renting land to Vietnamese nationals and ordered his government to speed up a demarcation process that has been slow to accurately define the country’s borders. ...
May Titthara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/28647/pm--no-land-for-vietnamese/
Vietnam wants its citizens protected
In the wake of startling deportation numbers released by the general department of immigration last week showing that more than 85 percent of those deported since 2014 were Vietnamese, the government in Hanoi has asked Cambodia to ensure that the rights of those being sent ...
Ros Chanveasna
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/28164/vietnam-wants--its-citizens-protected/
Hun Sen vows to preserve peace, rejects talk of political ‘crisis’
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday rebuked those who have labeled the current political situation a “crisis,” urging his audience of young garment workers to be glad they did not have to live through the horrors of the Khmer Rouge. ...
Kuch Naren
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/hun-sen-vows-to-preserve-peace-rejects-talk-of-political-crisis-113757/
Justice Min. to debate despite boycott
The Justice Minister will verbally clarify laws and procedures relating to politicians and the judiciary in the National Assembly on June 9, despite requests by the opposition to cancel the session. ...
May Titthara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/25829/justice-min--to-debate-despite-boycott/
PM deems drought relief efforts a success
With rain finally starting to fall across the country, Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday declared an end to the relief campaign he launched last month to counter the worst drought in decades, calling the devastating dry spell an opportunity for “lessons” in governance. ...
Janelle Retka and Kuch Naren
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/second/pm-deems-drought-relief-efforts-a-success-113033/
If Rong Chhun goes, CPP can veto any new NEC member
Any appointments to the National Election Committee (NEC) to replace CNRP-appointed Rong Chhun, who now faces a criminal trial for “intentional violence,” would have to be approved by the ruling CPP under current laws, a lawmaker said on Thursday. ...
Kuch Naren and Alex Willemyns
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/if-rong-chhun-goes-cpp-can-veto-any-new-nec-member-112828/
Government says lawmakers must respect court summons
The Justice Ministry on Thursday rejected the opposition CNRP’s argument for refusing to be questioned by prosecutors over party Vice President Kem Sokha’s sex scandal, calling its claims of unconstitutional behavior “slander.” ...
Ben Sokhean
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/government-says-lawmakers-must-respect-court-summons-112226/
ElCs earn just $5M for gov’t
The bulk of Cambodia’s economic land concessions (ELCs) – at the centre of numerous land disputes and human rights concerns over the past two decades – generated just $5 million for state coffers last year, with critics attributing the meagre returns to a lack of ...
Ananth Baliga and Vong Sokheng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/elcs-earn-just-5m-govt
New transport minister unveils 100-day plan
Sun Chanthol, the newly-appointed Minister of Public Works and Transport, revealed his plan to improve the ministry’s efficiency and transparency by overhauling its internal operations within his first 100 days in office during a speech yesterday. ...
Ros Chanveasna
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/23768/new-transport-minister-unveils-100-day-plan/
Still lessons to learn for Cambodians watching U.S. election campaign
The ongoing presidential election campaign in the United States may be one of the more unseemly the country has seen, but observers and politicians in Cambodia say their country still has a lot to learn from the American democratic process. ...
Phorn Bopha
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/still-lessons-to-learn-for-cambodians-watching-us-election-campaign/3268463.html
Trade union law passes
The National Assembly yesterday passed a contentious trade union law, just hours after a group of pro-union demonstrators and Daun Penh district security guards clashed violently outside. ...
Ananth Baliga and Pech Sotheary
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/trade-union-law-passes
Lack of transparency hinders budget progress
On Monday, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced a new phase of the Public Financial Management Reform Program, a donor-assisted initiative established in 2004 to bolster the country’s ability to soundly manage its budget. In a speech at the launch event, he touted the government’s progress ...
Tej Parikh and Kang Sothear
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/lack-of-transparency-hinders-budget-progress-110437/
Reforming public financial management an ongoing task
Reforming public financial management will not be effective unless there are enough qualified human resources at ministries and institutions, the prime minister said yesterday. ...
Chea Vannak
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/23019/reforming-public-financial-management-an-ongoing-task/
Workshop to air views on draft union law
A public consultation session on the controversial draft union law will be held at the National Assembly next Wednesday, officials confirmed yesterday. ...
Meas Sokchea
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/workshop-air-views-draft-union-law
Japanese remains top development partner
Although loans to build infrastructure from the Japanese government may fall slightly this fiscal year, when grants and technical assistance are added to the total, overall assistance is likely to rise, Naoaki Kamoshida, a counsellor at the Japanese Embassy to Cambodia, said during a recent ...
Chea Vannak
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/22064/japanese-remains-top-development-partner/
Nagacorp casino profits swell to $173M
Cambodian casino operator NagaCorp Ltd. posted a net profit of $172.6 million last year, a 27 per cent increase over the previous year, attributing the surge to increased business volume across all gaming segments at its NagaWorld casino complex in Phnom Penh. ...
Cam McGrath
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/nagacorp-casino-profits-swell-173m
Committee wraps up trade union law talks
The bipartisan committee tasked with examining the Kingdom’s controversial draft trade union law wrapped up its activities yesterday, ultimately making few of the substantive changes that unions demanded. ...
Pech Sotheary
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/committee-wraps-trade-union-law-talks