Independent radio station owner Mam Sonando declared his innocence yesterday at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court where his trial began over his alleged involvement in a secessionist movement in Kratie province. Commenting on organization he founded, the Association of Democrats, Mr. Sonando told the court it was ...

Speculators have been selling rice to Thailand via Cambodia for over a month despite domestic prices rising VND1,000/kg. at the meeting of Vietnam Food Association (VFA) on September 7 in HCM City, Director of An Giang Export Company Nguyen Van Tien said the amount of rice ...

Cambodia reported a trade deficit of 34% in equivalent to US$1.51-B in the 1st 7 months of this year, the report of the Commerce Ministry showed Thursday. During January-July period this year, the country’s total import and export value was US$7.45-B, up 15% from US$6.47-B at ...

The long-awaited trial of former Bavet town governor Chhouk Bandith – accused of shooting three garment workers at a protest in February – could begin within the next week, a Svay Rieng Provincial Court official said yesterday. Investigating judge Pich Chhert said the inquiry into the ...

On September 10, Thol Vin, 18, left for her job at a garment factory in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district, just like any other day. She had been working there for more than two years until she disappeared unexpectedly during her lunch break. On Friday, Thol and ...

An international rights group yesterday said the situation of human rights in Cambodia was continuing to worsen and accused the government of being “at war” with its own citizens over access to land. In its briefing paper, the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) also said that Cambodia was ...

A casino in Poipet that pays wages only in Thai baht is yet to fulfil its promise to improve conditions for its 500 workers, a union representative said yesterday. Workers are still working 12­-hour days – often without a break – at the Tropicana Casino, one ...

More than 60 people yesterday rallied at the National Assembly, the UN Human Rights Office, the Danish Embassy and the German Embassy as part of a petition campaign to seek the release of two jailed women from the Boeung Kak and Borei Keila communities. Villagers and ...

Social work, long-established in developed countries but unheard-of in Cambodia, could be set to change the face of child protection in the country as interest in the field grows. Last week, a hundred potential social workers from around the country came to Phnom Penh for an ...

A Commerce Ministry official yesterday denied that Cambodia was exporting luxury wood logs to China, insisting that any wood leaving the country was in a “processed” form. The China Customs data also states that each year, just under 10,000 cubic meters of “logs” and about ...

Cambodia’s growing economy and hunger for new brands, particularly among young people, contribute to making Cambodia a profitable market for the franchise business, industry insiders said at the Franchising Forum in Phnom Penh last week. [Rami Sharaf, CEO of RMA Group in Cambodia] said Cambodia is ...

As Asian and European leaders gather for high level meetings this month in Cambodia and Laos, the luxury living quarters and extensive security arrangements made for their arrivals have come at considerable human and environmental expense. Government authorities went on a building spree ahead of this ...

Activists are welcoming Prime Minister Hun Sen’s public vow to prevent logging and rosewood trafficking, but they also say it’s too little too late to have any serious impact on protecting Cambodia’s already decimated forests. In a speech on Friday at the Ministry of Interior, Hun ...

Property experts say foreign companies are coming to invest in Cambodia’s property sector, as they see the growth and potential of the Kingdom. Sung Bonna, director of Bonna Realty Group, said that the number of foreign companies in the sector has grown, and most are from ...

A GROUP of Japanese businessmen yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with Sonatra Group chairman Sorn Sokna to develop a special economic zone along the Mekong River at the site of the Prey Veng ferry terminals. The ferry service is expected to become redundant when the ...

Senior representatives for Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and ASEAN met here Tuesday and issued a joint statement highlighting their agreement to forge stronger mutual investment, trade, transport and scientific cooperation links. The joint statement was released at the conclusion of the 6th annual Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam (CLMV) Summit, ...

Despite offering an uplifting outlook for Cambodia’s economy this year, economists at the World Bank said yesterday that it could still succumb to volatile commodities prices, particularly food and gas. Speaking to journalists after the release the bank’s East Asia and Pacific Economic Update for 2012, ...

While the CPP in Phnom Penh has spent much of the campaign period broadcasting speeches by Prime Minister Hun Sen, hosting music concerts and sending well-known comedians into the streets to work the crowds, the SRP has a starker campaign focus. When the sun sets, 10 ...

On his first day of questioning at the Khmer Rouge tribunal yesterday, Sar Kim Lomouth, the deputy director of the State Bank of Democratic Kampuchea, described how the national financial institution was nothing but a charade during the Pol Pot regime. Currency had been abolished and financial transactions eliminated under ...

A union representative was beaten with electric batons and arrested by police in Phnom Penh yesterday after more than 20 garment workers marched to submit a petition to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cabinet. The petitioners, workers at the Tai Yang garment factory who belong to the ...