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New UN flood numbers grim
The latest United Nations assessment shows that the damage from flooding is far worse than previously thought, according to a report received by the Post late yesterday. Drawing on data from three ministries as well as the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), the assessment raises ...
Complaint filed against T&P in Banteay Meanchey
Thirteen construction workers have filed a complaint against the Banteay Meanchey provincial branch of T&P Co Ltd – the recruitment agency at the center of allegations involving illegal detainment of trainees – officials said yesterday. The workers, who had previously worked illegally as construction workers in ...
Kuch Naren, P.24
http://www.cambodiadaily.com
Report finds Cambodia's land disputes back on the rise
Following a dip in 2009, new land disputes increased last year by more than 50 percent to 28, while the total number of ongoing cases is now 282, according to a report released yesterday by the NGO Forum. Culled from media and field reports, each recorded ...
Labor minister defends loophole in maids ban
The Minister of Labor yesterday defended his ministry’s much-criticized interpretation of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ban on sending maids to Malaysia, after it allowed about 3,000 young women to still be sent abroad despite the serious risk of abuse and exploitation. Minister of Labor Vong Sauth ...
Dredging ends, effects linger
Ruling party Senator Ly Yong Phat has kept a promise to stop his company’s dredging operations on Koh Kong province’s Tatai river, relieved business owners and residents living along the waterway said yesterday. But provincial officials confirmed that as the senator’s dredging boats moved on to ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011102052249/National-news/dredging-ends-effects-linger.html
Residents seek market price
Representatives of 32 families living in the capital’s Chamkarmon district staged a protest yesterday in Tonle Bassac commune, pleading with Prime Minister Hun Sen to intervene on their behalf against the Thai Bun Roong company, which they say is forcing them to sell their land ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011102052253/National-news/residents-seek-market-price.html
Maid firm exposed
Scores of crying women who said they had been forcibly detained and girls who claimed to have received fake documents to conceal the fact that they were as young as 16-years-old were discovered at a centre owned by the SKMM Investment Group labour recruitment firm ...
យី សម្ផស្ស, ទេព និមល, David Boyle and អ៊ាក ស៊ុងឆាយ
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/maid-firm-exposed
Cassava exports jump 94%
The Kingdom’s cassava exports soared 94 per cent year-on-year in the first nine months of 2011, despite the recent flood devastation the agriculture sector has experienced, according to Ministry of Commerce figures. The statistics showed that Cambodia’s export of dry and fresh cassava hit about 22,652 ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011101952198/Business/cassava-exports-jump-94.html
Banks spared flooding woes
Cambodia’s banks should be largely spared the heavy damages already seen in many parts of the Kingdom’s economy, officials said yesterday, though microfinance lenders will feel some impact. Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon last week revised downward the government’s gross domestic products for 2011 ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011101952199/Business/banks-spared-flooding-woes.html
Lakeside villagers give their support
More than 200 residents of Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak lake gathered outside Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday as four villagers who filed complaints after their homes were demolished by real estate developer Shukaku Inc last month responded to summonses for questioning ...
China’s dam plans don’t hold water with panelists
China’s dam-building ambitions and alleged lack of transparency were front and centre yesterday during a roundtable discussion on Mekong River development held in the capital. Representatives from the Chinese embassy defended their country’s record, claiming that China was “eager to participate” in regional cooperation mechanisms. “We aren’t ...
New project aims to lower levels of industrial pollution
Industrial pollution ‘hot-spots’ have been identified in waterways in Phnom Penh, Kandal and Kompong Cham provinces following a five-month period of research as part of a UN-backed effort to encourage companies to adopt cleaner practices. The hot spots – defined as a source of pollution where ...
200 residents in land dispute prevented from registering
Residents involved in a long-running land dispute in Oddar Meanchey province’s Anlong Veng district have been prevented from registering to vote in next year’s commune elections, village representatives said yesterday. The village, Oambel, is not recognized by authorities as it forms part of a conservation area ...
Offshore energy claims open divisions in Southeast Asia
Depending on who you believe, the South China Sea could be the next Persian Gulf due to its untapped oil and gas deposits. It’s also a key shipping lane that the US Navy has guarded for decades. That’s why so many countries are sparring over remote ...
Experts question Thai energy crisis declaration
Although a Thai minister claimed recently that delays in resolving the disputed overlapping claims area with Cambodia would result in an energy crisis, experts said yesterday the statement had been politically motivated. Thai Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said last week Thailand would run out of gas ...
Property prices remain flat in Phnom Penh
Despite signs that demand is starting to come back to the real estate sector, an oversupply in the market has kept prices for commercial and residential properties in Phnom Penh flat over the past 12 months, according to data from Bonna Realty Group. Prices for commercial ...
Preah Sihanouk province power plant gets approval
Seventy-one out of 89 National Assembly lawmakers yesterday voted to approve the construction of a coal power plant in Preah Sihanouk province by a company run by CPP Senator Lao Meng Khin and his daughter, and licensed the plant to sell electricity to Electricite du ...
Protest blocked by security guards
About 250 villagers who turned out in Preah Vihear province’s Srayong commune to protest against alleged land-grabbing by rubber firm Siladamich Company yesterday found themselves blocked by company security guards and police, though arrests threatened a day earlier failed to materialise, villagers said. Villager representative Meas ...
Foreign donors slow on giving flood aid
As tens of thousands of families continue to struggle with ongoing flooding, delays are still hampering the provision of overseas aid, with some donors holding back on distributing funds. China flew in two planes, laden with supplies worth $8 million, over the weekend and the South ...
Questioning begins in two Boeng Kak court cases
Phnom Penh Municipal Court has summoned two residents of the Boeng Kak lake community to appear for questioning today and Wednesday in a defamation lawsuit filed against them by City Hall, a court official said yesterday. The families of the accused have been left out of ...
Maids ban flouted, rights group claims
Despite Prime Minister Hun Sen’s indefinite ban on sending Cambodian maids to Malaysia, two recruitment agencies continued to send maids there yesterday, according to rights group Licadho Recruitment agency Top Manpower put seven recruits on Air Asia flight AK 273 to Kuala Lumpur yesterday morning, while ...
Phnom Penh orders rice sell-off to fight price gouges
City Hall coordinated the release of 120 tons of rice in cooperation with the state-run Rural Development Bank yesterday to keep prices in the city stable amid reports that vendors were using the current floods to gouge customers. Last week, Prime Minister Hun Sen said the ...
Cash crop deal to aid Kingdom
A Malaysian firm on Saturday signed a joint agricultural agreement with property development company Paragon Corporation Cambodia worth a potential US$2 billion in exports of corn, rubber, coffee and other cash crops. Penned by Paragon Corporation Cambodia and Markmore Group Malaysia, the joint development project will ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011101752151/Business/cash-crop-deal-to-aid-kingdom.html
Protest planned despite warning
Kulan district villagers embroiled in a land dispute in Preah Vihear’s Srayong commune say they will follow through with a planned 200-person protest against rubber firm Siladamich Company today despite being threatened with arrest. Village representative Lem Lom, 32, said yesterday that Srayong commune police and ...