Khmer translated by ODC
‘Good prospects’ for improved US relations, Cambodia lawmaker says
The U.S. and Cambodia have so far forged a good relationship, but there is room for improvement, a Cambodian lawmaker said Wednesday. Hun Many, who spoke at the U.S.-Korean Institute under Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies, said Cambodia needs more friends than ...
Men Kimseng
http://www.voanews.com/content/good-prospects-improved-relations-united-states-cambodia/3156514.html
Singapore works with Cambodia to hasten the process of getting patent grants
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has started work with Cambodia on patent applications, a move which will allow firms from both countries to hasten the process. ...
Rachael Boon
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-works-with-cambodia-to-hasten-the-process-of-getting-patent-grants
National election committee addressing ID challenges
The National Election Committee (NEC) is confronting challenges this week regarding new voter registration, paying particularly close attention to problems arising from the dissemination of new voter ID cards and allowing better access to monks who wish to obtain them. ...
Chea Takihiro
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20311/national-election-committee-addressing-id-challenges/
Launch of child welfare plan marked
The Cambodian government on Monday launched its first nationwide policy for child development, aiming to enhance education, promote social welfare and strengthen protection for children in the Kingdom. ...
Igor Kossov
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/launch-child-welfare-plan-marked
Pheap timber under scrutiny
Authorities from the government’s new anti-logging task force swooped into Stung Treng yesterday and inspected timber stockpiles belonging to the Kingdom’s most prominent logging magnate, Try Pheap, who has been accused of reaping immense profits from the clear-cutting of Cambodian forests for years. ...
Mech Dara and Charles Rollet
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/pheap-timber-under-scrutiny
Ratanakkiri sanitation push starts
The Ministry of Rural Development, UNICEF and NGO Plan International Cambodia on Monday launched a new project to improve access to sanitation for 2,000 families in Ratanakkiri province. ...
Igor Kossov
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ratanakkiri-sanitation-push-starts
On energy policy, experts and officials differ
Experts on Wednesday urged Cambodia to move away from large-scale hydropower and coal projects and toward more environmentally friendly sources of power or risk long-term energy insecurity, following the launch of a report by investment and advisory firm Mekong Strategic Partners in Phnom Penh. ...
Tej Parikh
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/on-energy-policy-experts-and-officials-differ-105945/
Gov’t U-turn on Montagnard refugees
In a seeming about-face, the government has backed away from its looming deadline to deport more than 100 Montagnards currently seeking asylum in Cambodia, instead pledging to “expedite” the process of assessing their refugee status. ...
Daniel de Carteret and Chhay Channyda
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/govt-u-turn-montagnard-refugees
Japan’s top airline to add Phnom Penh route in September
All Nippon Airways (ANA) – Japan’s largest carrier – will begin flying between Tokyo and Phnom Penh on September 1, the spokesman for the Secretariat of State of Civil Aviation told Khmer Times yesterday, adding that the first direct flight from Japan to Cambodia will ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20134//
New agriculture strategy aims to ‘promote exports’
The Agriculture Ministry yesterday launched a strategy for the developing the sector, aiming to expand exports of agricultural products to spur economic growth through sustainable farming practices.Agriculture Minister Ouk Rabun said the government has implemented many strategies and development plans to boost the agriculture sector ...
Sok Chan
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20133/new-agriculture-strategy-aims-to----promote-exports---/
Cambodia lags behind 2020 power target
Cambodia is lagging behind its target to achieve nationwide electrification by 2020, the head of the country’s electricity regulator warned Tuesday. ...
Prashanth Parameswaran
http://thediplomat.com/2016/01/cambodia-lags-behind-2020-power-target/
3,000 women, children allegedly trafficked to Laos, Cambodia
Some 3,000 Vietnamese women and children were suspected to have been trafficked to Laos and Cambodia in 2015, the Tuoi tre (Youth) newspaper reported.The women were sold into prostitution and children were forced into hard physical labor. ...
Viet Nam News Staff
http://vietnamnews.vn/society/281258/3000-women-children-allegedly-trafficked-to-laos-cambodia.html
European bank adds Cambodia to network
France’s BRED Bank, one of the largest lenders in Europe, plans to open its first branch in Cambodia by the end of the year as it expands its network in ASEAN, its CEO said, adding that it aims to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/19971/european-bank-adds-cambodia-to-network/
Approved construction investments up 30 per cent in 2015
Investment in the construction industry in 2015 amounted to $3.3 billion – a 33.14 per cent increase from the same period in 2014, which was only $2.5 billion.Seng Lot, spokesperson for the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (MLMUPC) said on Tuesday that ...
Siv Meng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/real-estate/approved-construction-investments-30-cent-2015
NBC moves to strengthen banks’ liquidity
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) is requiring financial institutions to gradually phase in a higher liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) to ensure sustainable growth in the industry and avoid crises. ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/19748/nbc-moves-to-strengthen-banks----liquidity/
Rice exports miss the mark again
Five years after setting out an ambitious 1 million-tonne milled rice export target, the rice sector fell well short of the mark last year, exporting close to 550,000 tonnes, with industry experts cautiously optimistic over export increases in 2016. ...
Cheng Sokhorng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/rice-exports-miss-mark-again
At party congress, CPP gives itself top marks
As senior members of the ruling CPP gathered in Phnom Penh this weekend for their annual congress, the party gave itself a glowing performance review and noted almost no areas for improvement, according to a 49-page report distributed to delegates at the two-day event. ...
Aun Pheap
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/104926-104926/
Man arrested for alleged death threat against PM on Facebook
A 28-year-old man was arrested and brought in for questioning at Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday for allegedly insulting and threatening to kill Prime Minister Hun Sen in a social media post, while a soldier was also questioned this week after a Facebook account linked ...
Phak Seangly, Mech Dara and Shaun Turton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/man-arrested-alleged-death-threat-against-pm-facebook
Community sues border police over loggers
A group of villagers in Mondolkiri province filed a lawsuit this week against three local border police officers and a forestry official accusing them of allowing Vietnamese loggers to sneak across the nearby border and illegally log the forests they depend on for a living. ...
Ben Sokhean
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/104780-104780/
Gov’t preparing to eliminate import duties for ASEAN products
The government is planning to gradually reduce tariffs on most goods imported from other ASEAN member states to zero, putting Cambodia ahead of what is required of it under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), officials said. ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/19589/gov---t-preparing-to-eliminate-import-duties-for-asean-products/
Cambodia has 6.27 mln internet users by last year
Cambodia reported 6.27 million internet users in 2015, a 25 percent rise from 5 million users in the year before, according to the figures of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications on Thursday. ...
Global Post News Staff
http://www.globalpost.com/article/6716027/2016/01/07/cambodia-has-627-mln-internet-users-last-year
Thailand-Cambodia rail link complete by December
Construction of a restored rail link with Cambodia to improve transport in the Mekong sub-region will be completed by the end of 2016, Khmer officials say. The railway connection between Aranyaprathet and Sisophon stopped in the 1970s due to internal conflicts in Cambodia. ...
Bangkok Post News Staff
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asean/815452/thailand-cambodia-rail-link-complete-by-december
Newly titled communities hope to protect more than just traditions
After three years of processing, two Phnong villages in northern Kratie province finally received community land titles on Saturday, the first to do so in Kratie province. Currently, there are two more villages with community land titles in Ratanakiri, and seven in Mondulkiri, making eleven ...
Aisha Down
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/19402/newly-titled-communities-hope-to-protect-more-than-just-traditions/
Day of reckoning for bad drivers as new traffic law comes into effect
True to its New Years resolution to enforce stricter traffic laws, the government pulled over a total of almost 25,000 drivers in the three days after the law came into effect. Though many drivers were sent off with a warning rather than a fine, the ...
Mom Kunthear and Jonathan Cox
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/19404/day-of-reckoning-for-bad-drivers-as-new-traffic-law-comes-into-effect/