Khmer translated by ODC

Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao said here Tuesday that Cambodia is on the verge of transforming from a low-income to a middle-income country. The middle-income nation is defined by the GDP (gross domestic product) per capita between 1,045 U.S. dollars and 12,746 U.S. ...

An opposition lawmaker in Siem Reap province is planning to file a complaint to the Constitutional Council to review National Assembly President Heng Samrin’s decision not to forward his request to terminate Sokimex’s Angkor Wat ticket collection licence. ...

Concerned Russians in Sihanoukville are passing around a petition urging the Russian Embassy to do more for its citizens amid a recent crime wave in the coastal town. ...

A man hired by a purported representative of a fertiliser company to haul 30 tonnes of “natural fertiliser” from Thbong Khmum province to Oddar Meanchey province some three months ago was surprised to learn this week that the load actually consisted entirely of cigarette butts. ...

The first Singapore patent has been granted protection and recognised in Cambodia, less than two months after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) and Cambodia’s Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts (MIH). ...

The ruling party and opposition on Monday held a workshop to discuss two draft laws on election reform, but many civil society groups refused to attend, claiming parts of the bills fall short and are unconstitutional. Koul Panha, executive director for Comfrel, told VOA Khmer on Monday that more ...

Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao on Tuesday pledged to provide continued support to Cambodia for socio-economic development, a Cambodian spokesman said. He said the nation’s poverty rate had fallen from 53 percent in 2004 to 18 percent in 2014. ...

Three Cambodian people who were cheated to work abroad returned home on Tuesday, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said. ...

The ruling CPP has denied that an article in the new election law that lays down strict penalties for politicians that incite racial discrimination during election campaigning is targeted at the opposition party. However, a CPP source familiar with election reform negotiations has disclosed that ...

A four-story crack in the south-facing side of Phnom Penh’s aging “White Building”—which first appeared in early February as a pile driver broke up earth inside an adjacent construction site—widened over the weekend, shortly after a meeting between worried tenants and the firms behind a ...

Fourteen companies have been added to a Ministry of Environment watchlist for purportedly failing to live up to their investment promises. The companies include firms owned by some of the country’s wealthiest and most politically connected land barons, such as Mong Reththy and Sok Kong. ...

Neighbors Vietnam and Thailand have bagged contracts to supply a total of 500,000 metric tons (MT) of rice to boost the Philippines’ buffer stock in time for this year’s lean months, an official from the National Food Authority (NFA) said yesterday. Existing bilateral rice agreements ...

Representatives of more than 60 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and an electoral reform group on Monday boycotted a national workshop held Cambodia’s ruling and opposition parties on the electoral reform draft law, saying they did not have enough time to review the documents. ...

The Transport Ministry is speeding up work on a joint plan for bus services that would link the far South and Malaysia to meet the needs of commuters between the two countries. Thailand also plans to hold talks with Cambodian authorities this month over increasing ...

Cambodia has much potential in the growth of science and technology, particularly given the motivation of young students, a US official says. In a visit to Cambodia last week, Geraldine Richmond, the US science envoy to Southeast Asia, told VOA Khmer she was surprised to see how ...

Environment Minister, Say Sam Al, said on Monday that the Royal Government of Cambodia has cut off over 14,000 hectares of land and handed over to citizens, and military forces. ...

Cambodia’s construction sector attracted a total investment of 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2014, down 10 percent from 2.77 billion U.S. dollars in 2013, according to official data on Monday. ...

Former employees of a Phnom Penh factory that burned down in July held a small protest outside the office of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union (C.CAWDU), demanding payment they say they are owed. ...

The National Assembly’s Anti-Corruption Commission will visit Siem Reap this month to further probe claims Angkor Archaeological Park’s manager, the Apsara Authority, underreported ticket sales, as new figures show a drop in visitors to the World Heritage site last month. ...

The Interior Ministry has given Cambodian dissident Sourn Serey Ratha permission to proceed with the registration of a political party despite the self-exiled government critic’s recent conviction in absentia for plotting an attack on the state. ...

The son of a police lieutenant colonel and a member of a commune council were among four people arrested Thursday in Kom­pong Thom province for dealing drugs and were remanded in custody, a court prosecutor said Friday. ...

The country’s two major political parties signed off on the final draft of a revised and highly controversial election law on Friday, with civil society groups arguing that the bill is unconstitutional due to a provision that restricts their activity during the election campaign period. ...

With the realisation of the ASEAN Economic Community due at the end of the year, politicians and business delegates, at a conference to discuss Cambodia’s AEC progress, have stressed the need for a more coordinated approach during the transition into deeper regional integration. “Our ambitious ...

There are now more than 1 million estimated Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand. This could be a threat to Cambodia’s economy and politics in the future, an analyst says. ...