Two new claims of abuse of Cambodian maids employed in Malaysia have emerged since Friday, including one case of a woman who returned home with severe mental trauma following alleged mistreatment by her Malaysian employer, the victims’ families said. Iy Thar, a villager from Kompong Thom <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/two-maids-allegedly-suffered-abuse-in-malaysia/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The clearing of land for a Ratanakkiri rubber plantation had been frozen after more than 300 Tumpoun ethnic minority villagers captured a quartet of company security guards and another staffer, tied them up and held them hostage on Tuesday, company officials said yesterday. Jing Zhong Ri <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/villagers-take-hostages/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Security footage of a shooting outside a shoe factory on Monday that left three protestors in hospital has been reviewed by police, the head of the special economic zone where the incident took place said yesterday. The three women were shot at a violent protest of <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/cctv-shooting-footage-reviewed/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

PRASAC, CAmbodiA’s lArgest microfinAnce institution by outstAnding loAns, plAnned to become A licensed commerciAl bAnk in the Kingdom, compAny officiAls sAid yesterdAy. The news comes despite cAlls from insiders And experts &ndAsh; most recently the InternAtionAl MonetAry Fund And World BAnk &ndAsh; for the NAtionAl <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/km/news/prAsAc-seeks-commerciAl-bAnk-stAtus/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Environment Minister Mok Mareth yesterday defended the recent surge of economic land concessions granted by his ministry inside the country’s enviornmental conservation areas, saying that they would do more to help the areas than hurt them. Mr Mareth’s comments came while responding to questions at <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/environment-minister-defends-concessions/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Leaning over the railing on the roof of the Khmeroyal Hotel along Phnom Penh’s Sisowath Quay, 54-year-old scholar and long-time Cambodian resident Oliver de Bernon peered across at his crumbing riverfront apartment yesterday. Residents of the block between streets 178 and 184 on Sisowath Quay <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/french-scholar-shocked-over-damage-to-riverside-home/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Opposition party members and a human rights group yesterday condemned the demolition of eight homes and businesses at Phnom Penh’s Boeng Kak lake on Friday, calling the act a violation of the law. Two excavators belonging to Shukaku Inc tore down homes as riot police pushed <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/after-razing-of-boeng-kak-homes-outrage-lingers/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Top government officials yesterday either declined to comment or said they had no knowledge of a letter from Finance Minister Keat Chhon to Prime Minister Hun Sen proposing to bar all foreign NGOs from “advocacy” work in the country, as well as stopping foreigners from <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/officials-mum-on-advocacy-ngo-missive/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

More than two weeks after a ban on sending maids to Malaysia began, work on a bilateral agreement that would protect Cambodian maids working in Malaysia has not begun, officials said yesterday. Ho Vuthy, deputy director general at the Ministry of Labor’s department of labor, said <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/talks-yet-to-begin-with-malaysia-on-maid-ban/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

After A yeAr of mounting concern over the treAtment of migrAnt workers both within And outside CAmbodiA, the Ministry of LAbor, NGOs And recruitment Agencies yesterdAy reAched An Agreement on stAndArdized contrActs Aimed At minimizing the possibility for exploitAtion. The groups Agreed on A contrAct between <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/km/news/govt-ngos-firms-finAlize-migrAnt-contrAct/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Government authorities are investigating the death of a migrant domestic worker in Malaysia after her family and rights groups raised questions about the stated cause of death from a lung infection, a relative of the deceased woman said yesterday. Na Rith, 42, said his cousin Ouk <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/maids-cause-of-death-sparks/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The Kratie Provincial Court yesterday charged a truck driver with illegally collecting and transporting luxury wood after forestry officers last week confiscated 148 pieces of luxury wood totalling 31.2 cubic meters from his truck, which had been transporting the timber along National Road 7 <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/illegally-logged-rosewood-seized-in-kratie-operation/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Government officials and a representative at Unesco in Phnom Penh yesterday said that Sotheby’s in New York had no right to a 10th-century Khmer statue worth more than $2 million that US federal agents were expected to seize from the auction house today. On Wednesday, New <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/us-agents-poised-to-seize-khmer-statue/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

បន្ទាប់ពី​មាន​ការ​ពេញ​ចិត្ត​អំពី​ការ​រៀបចំ​ព្រឹត្តិការណ៍​មួយ​យ៉ាង​អឹកធឹក​នៅ​សណ្ឋាគារ​សូហ្វីថែល​កាលពី​ដើម​ខែ​នេះ​ដែល​ព្រឹត្តិការណ៍​នោះ​រៀបចំ​ឡើង​ដើម្បី​ប្រមូល​ការ​គាំទ្រ​នៅក្នុង​ស្រុក​ចំពោះ​លំនៅឋាន​ដ៏ល្អ​ប្រណីត​របស់ The Peak ជា​លំនៅឋាន​បែប​ខុនដូ​ទាំង​នោះ​មាន​តម្លៃ​ថ្លៃ​បំផុត​ដែល <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/investors-show-confidence-in-the-peak/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Japanese developer aeon Mall (Cambodia) Co. Ltd. will break ground on a 68,400 square meter high-end shopping mall in Phnom Penh in November, the firm said yesterday. Speaking during an introductory workshop for potential tenants, Kuniaki Minohara, general manager of aeon’s leasing department, said the mall <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/aeon-mall-to-break-ground-in-november/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

A Borei KeilA protester received A summons yesterdAy to come to Phnom Penh MunicipAl Court to Address A complAint of “incitement to commit A crime” filed by Suy SophAn, director of the PhAnimex compAny, which evicted the Borei KeilA fAmilies in JAnuAry. Borei KeilA resident Tim <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/km/news/borei-keilA-protester-summonsed-to-court/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

The World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday urged Cambodia to increase taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products-currently the lowest in the world-in order to raise revenue and deter smokers. ayda Yurekli, coordinator of the WHO’s tobacco control economics unit, said during a workshop in Phnom Penh <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/who-urges-higher-taxes-on-tobacco/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

With a proposed telecommunications law yet to be approved, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications yesterday launched the Telcom Regulator of Cambodia (TRC) to handle disputes between mobile phone companies and Internet providers, although officials admitted that the body will have limited powers. .. But unless <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/telecommunications-regulatory-body-launched/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

A fAmily of three, including An 18-yeAr old girl, died when the driver of A militAry truck cArrying illegAlly cut wood slAmmed into their motorbike in Siem ReAp province, officiAls sAid yesterdAy. The fAmily died At the scene while the occupAnts of the militAry truck, seen <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/km/news/Army-truck-cArrying-illegAl-timber-kills-fAmily/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Cambodia ranks among the lowest in the region on its ability to reform; corruption, political stasis and a rapidly widening income gap are hindering its progress, according to a recent survey of the country’s democratic institutions. Transformation Index, which every two years ranks countries considered <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/km/news/democracy-on-the-decline-think-tank/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>