After the hArvesting of peppers from JAn 1 to MAy 31 this yeAr, fArmers in KAmpot province were Able to hArvest 16 tons And the hope is to increAse production to 20 tons in 2012. Nguon LAy, the heAd of KAmpot pepper community, sAid on <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/km/news/kAmpot-seeks-to-rise-pepper-production-in-2012/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

The biggest names in the apparel industry, including Nike, Puma and Gap, would meet today with officials from the Ministry of Labour to discuss issues plaguing the Cambodian garment manufacturing industry, such as mass fainting and contractual disputes, labour activists said yesterday.  Dave Welsh, country <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/big-brands-talk-labour-rights/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Cambodian rice is due to be exported to the United arab Emirates (UaE) at the end of this year after Cambodia’s rice exporters participate in the Rice International Conference and Exhibition (RICE) 2011, which will be held on November 3-5 in Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UaE In <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/cambodia-to-export-rice-to-united-arab-emirates/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

An emergency cAbinet meeting hAs been cAlled for todAy to discuss disAster response And prevention in the fAce of severe flooding thAt hAs hit mAny pArts of the country. More thAn 132,000 hectAres of rice pAddy field hAve been inundAted with wAter since flooding begAn eArlier <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/km/news/emergency-cAbinet-meeting-cAlled-over-floods/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

The number of foreign visitors arriving in Cambodia jumped 14.1 percent to about 16.2 million in the first seven months of this year compared to the same period last year, according to data released Friday by the Tourism Ministry. Vietnam accounted for the largest number of <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/visitors-to-cambodia-up-14-1-through-july/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Prison directors across the country said yesterday they were eager to launch for-profit manufacturing programs following the expected passage of a controversial prison law that legalizes such schemes. Human rights groups, however, called on the government to strike the provision, saying that it would violate <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/prison-chiefs-eagerly-await-labor-programs-law/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

NagaCorp, which owns Phnom Penh’s only licensed casino, announced on Wednesday that net profits at the company had more than doubled in 2011 and that plans are in store to expand its operations in the country. Financial Results filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/nagaworld-profits-double-to-98-million/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered the release of all prisoners serving sentences and suspects facing charges related to illegal fishing, officials said yesterday, though it was unclear when the directive would take effect. Nao Thuok, director general of the Fisheries administration, said the prime <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/hun-sen-orders-fishing-criminals-released/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Construction approvals granted by government authorities have increased 93 percent in the first six months of the year, compared to the same period last year, figures show. Some 1,079 potential projects worth US$637.7 million were given the go-ahead in the January to June period, compared with <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/cambodias-construction-approvals-soar/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

H.E. Tram Iv Tek, Minister for Pulic Works and Transport this week hosted a ceremony in Kampong Chhnang to inaugurate the completion on 87 kilometers of maintenance on National Road 5 between Phnom Penh and Kampong Chhnang under the joing Road asset Management Project. The <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/australia-helps-safer-roads-in-cambodia/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The league of association of Small and Medium Enterprises of Cambodia will conduct a forum on rice products in 17 October at Koh Pich center to boost the export of milled rice product to one million tons by 2015 as guided by the government. Cambodia <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/cambodia-will-host-forum-of-rice-product-to-boost-rice-export/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Cambodia’s foreign donors are staying largely mum about the government’s decision to indefinitely  high-level aid meeting, though one donor conceded that the move had caught it off guard. Economists also said yesterday that a delay in holding the donor meeting would have little effect, but <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/donors-mum-on-aid-forum-postponement/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Thailand’s former Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban has denied Cambodia’s recent claim that he initiated secret bilateral talks over coveted oil reserves in disputed Gulf of Thailand waters, Thai news service MCOT reported Saturday. In a statement last week, the Cambodian National Petroleum authority said <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/thailands-former-official-denies-secret-oil-talks/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Kompong Thom provincial authorities have threatened to shut down two NGOs who have been providing free legal education to poor villagers in the province, accusing the groups of fomenting rural unrest against private investors. The NGOs, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights and the Natural <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/police-warn-ngos-over-workshops/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Maruhan Japan Bank and Seilanithih microfinance institution announced this month they are forming a business alliance through which they will work together for mutual benefit and to provide banking opportunities for Cambodia “By joining forces with us, Seilanithih will be able to expand the size of <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/japanese-bank-and-cambodian-mfi-join-forces/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The company that’s behind the Koh Pich bridge development is providing US $70 million to Phnom Penh city hall to improve the city’s infrastructure “all of the money that comes from the Koh Pich development is being used by city hall to develop Phnom Penh city’s <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/ocic-provides-infrastructure-funding/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Three percent of the country’s rice crops have been destroyed by flooding in provinces along the Mekong River and around the Tonle Sap lake, and another seven percent is at risk of being lost, the minister of agriculture said yesterday. New government estimates also show that <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/flooding-destroys-3-of-national-crop/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Police said they freed one recruit from a Phnom Penh recruitment agency this weekend and were seeking to prosecute its director, adding that they were doing the same for the director of the SKMM recruitment agency, where 78 recruits were freed last week. The court <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/police-raid-maid-agency-push-charges-against-others/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Garment workers who went on strike over delayed payment of wages and other alleged violations of labour law on Tuesday morning were paid on Wednesday by management at the Chea Ieng garment factory in the capital’s Sen Sok district. Factory employee Sun Sopheak said yesterday that <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/garment-staff-get-pay-push-for-labour-rights/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday ordered an end to all private land deals inside the country’s protected areas and warned local businessmen and officials against making such illegal deals. “all official paperwork in connection with natural protected areas is invalid,” he said while speaking at the <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/hun-sen-calls-off-deals-on-protected-land/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>