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Civil society seeks to delay new dam on Sesan River
Civil society groups urged the National Assembly Thursday to delay the adoption of a bill on the construction of a $780 million dam on the Sesan River in northeast Cambodia. Chhit Sam Ath, executive director of NGO Forum, told a news conference that estimates of ...
http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=13&token=OTNhN2RjN2M1ZTA
Prey Lang activists halted on road
More than 300 activists from Kampong Thom province’s Prey Lang Community Network were stopped by district police yesterday as they were marching from the Vietnamese-owned CRCK Company to deliver a lawsuit in Sandan district calling for the postponement of alleged forest clearing and the “invasion” ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013021461350/National/prey-lang-activists-halted-on-road.html
Ecotourism in Cambodia up 9.7 per cent
Ecotourism sites in the northeast of Cambodia last year saw visitor growth of 9.7 per cent – a total of 53,374 tourists – compared with 2011, an official said yesterday during the first Workshop on Northeast Ecotourism Development, organised by the Ministry of Tourism. Tith Chantha, ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013021461366/Business/ecotourism-in-cambodia-up-9-7-per-cent.html
Angkor Wat sees tourism spike over Lunar New Year
The number of domestic and foreign tourists visiting Siem Reap’s ancient Angkor Wat temple and the Kingdom’s coastal areas increased sharply during this year’s three-day Lunar New Year. Data from the Siem Reap provincial tourism department show that 52,909 tourists visited Siem Reap during Lunar ...
Energy Minister Defends Lower Sesan 2 Project
Energy Minister Suy Sem yesterday defended a draft law on the financing of a massive dam project in Stung Treng province which is slated for debate at the National Assembly on Friday. Environmental groups have called debate of the law premature, as no consultation with local ...
$2m missing: telecom staff
More than 200 employees of Telecom Cambodia demonstrated yesterday morning, demanding the company’s general director step down and that the Anti-Corruption Unit investigate the company. The strikers claimed general director Lao Saroeun had been involved in large-scale embezzlement, other forms of corruption and disrespect ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013021461353/National/2m-missing-telecom-staff.html
Cambodia launches project to develop biomass-fuelled energy technologies
Cambodia’s Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy on Thursday launched a four year project, aiming at promoting the development of biomass-fueled renewable energy generation technologies in industrial sector, officials said. The 5.6 million US dollar project will provide technical and partial financial support for the ...
Illegally Logged Concessions Face Invalidation
The Ministry of Agriculture will request that Prime Minister Hun Sen from now on revoke all economic land concessions (ELC) whose owners are found guilty of illegal logging or other major forestry crimes, a ministry official said yesterday. ...
តម្លៃដីធ្លីតាមបណ្តោយផ្លូវធំ ៗ កើនឡើងយ៉ាងខ្លាំង
តម្លៃដីធ្លីតាមបណ្តោយមហាវិថីចំនួន ៤ នៅរាជធានីភ្នំពេញបានកើនឡើង ១៦ ភាគរយនៅដើមឆ្នាំ ២០១៣ នេះបើយោងតាមអ្នកជំនាញអចលនទ្រព្យ បើប្រៀបធៀបទៅនឹងរយៈពេលដូចគ្នាកាលពីឆ្នាំ ២០១២ ។ លោកឌិត ចាន់ណា ប្រធានក្រុមហ៊ុនអចលនទ្រព្យ VMC និយាយថា ...
ស៊ឺន សុន
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/real-estate/land-prices-along-major-roads-increase-sharply
Injunction Issued Against Garment Factory
The Kandal Provincial Court issued an injunction yesterday against Yung Wah Industrial Co. Ltd., preventing the company from selling assets at its two garment factories in Takhmao City where thousands of workers have been protesting the past two days over unpaid wages. ...
Insight: Cambodia's $11 billion mystery
The remote district of Rovieng was once a battleground between Cambodian government troops and Pol Pot’s genocidal Khmer Rouge. Unexploded bombs still lurk in its fields and forests. So does something more desirable – iron ore – and supposedly in such huge quantities two Chinese companies ...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/13/us-cambodia-china-idUSBRE91C1N320130213
Private residential property in Cambodia attracting foreign investors
Private residential property in Cambodia is being seen by some investors as relatively cheap, with potential for attractive returns. Industry players believe these factors are the main draw for foreign buyers, looking to grow their money in Cambodia. Keuk Narin, vice president of Asia Real Estate Cambodia ...
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/marketnews/view/1253968/1/.html
Vietnamese Firm’s Land Concession Could be Canceled
The Ministry of Agriculture will ask Prime Minister Hun Sen to cancel a 4,900-hectare economic land concession belonging to a Vietnamese rubber company in Ratanakkiri province on the grounds that the firm has been illegally logging on a large scale, officials said yesterday. According to ...
Preah Vihear Families File Complaints As Land Set Aside for Airport
More than 60 families living in Preah Vihear province filed a complaint with rights group Ahdoc yesterday after officials announced that their land had been set aside for a new airport and would not be measured for private land titles, local officials said. Adhoc Preah ...
Rights Group Denounces Gag Order on Lawyers Before Election
New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the Cambodian Bar Association of trying to silence potential government critics ahead of July’s national elections by imposing restrictions on lawyers making public statements. The Bar Association and the Information Ministry have both issued edicts that ...
Gold rush in Prey Lang forest
For four years now, this mineral-flecked land deep inside the Prey Lang forest has drawn thousands of small-scale seasonal miners. There are perks to working the dry season: space is one, avoiding the unofficial “taxation” system is another. For years, development agencies have urged a sweeping ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013021361348/National/gold-rush-in-prey-lang-forest.html
Thousands of Workers Protest For Increase of Minimum Wage
More than 5,000 workers from across seven factories in Svay Rieng province protested yesterday, demanding a doubling of the current minimum wage, a provincial labor official said yesterday. The country’s minimum wage sits at $61, and is supplemented by a $5 health benefit and a ...
Minimum wage may rise for Cambodian garment workers
The Cambodia’s Ministry of Labour has scheduled a meeting on February 26 with representatives of various unions to discuss the new minimum wage for garment workers in the country. However, the Ministry expects the various workers’ unions to agree on what the new wage should ...
http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/apparel-news/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=120969
Scrutiny over hotel service fees in Cambodia
Major hotels are under the microscope after a labour rights group found that some have been failing to pass their entire service charge on to their staff, a violation of the Labour Law. Dave Welsh, country manager of the American Center for International Labor Solidarity(ACILS), said yesterday ...
Senator's Wife Showers Police, Military With New Year Cash
At 9 a.m. yesterday, more than 200 soldiers, police and military police officers were gathered outside a large mansion on Street 55 in Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district. All were waiting for their promised “ang pao” – red envelopes containing cash usually handed out during ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/senators-wife-showers-police-military-with-new-year-cash-9831/
Forest activists, firm facing off once again
The Prey Lang Community Network yesterday delivered a letter to authorities in Kampong Thom province’s Sandan district calling for the postponement of a Vietnamese concessionaire’s forest clearing and notifying authorities of their intention to deliver a lawsuit to the provincial hall tomorrow, network activists said. According ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013021261309/National/forest-activists-firm-facing-off-once-again.html
Lawmakers to Discuss Sesan 2 Dam Draft Law
The National Assembly has announced that it will discuss a draft law on the financing of a controversial dam project in Stung Treng province on February 15, a move environmental groups called premature. Meach Mean, coordinator for 3S Rivers Protection Network – which has been ...
Graduates fear career jobs woe
A year from now, 23-year-old Sum Tiara will graduate from the Royal University of Law and Economics with a degree in law. At the moment, however, she needs to earn a living and pay for her studies by working in bars and restaurants in Phnom Penh. ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013021261305/Business/graduates-fear-career-jobs-woe.html
Greener Pastures
Market competition resulting from costly domestic rice remains a key factor driving Thai exporters to seek openings in neighbouring countries where the rice trade is more prosperous. Exporters say their performance was weak last year, mirroring the country’s overall decline in rice exports, which plunged ...
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/335303/greener-pastures