News

As Cambodia prepares for an official visit from US Secretary of State John Kerry next week, the country’s US ambassador says it would consider joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership. ...

The government cancelled two concessions for offshore oil – Block B and Block F – held by two foreign companies last year because they failed to comply with the terms of their agreements, senior officials from Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) told Khmer Times ...

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. ...

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 ...

The oft-delayed and amended traffic law is scheduled to take effect in mid-March after being postponed since January due to widespread complaints from citizens across the country. Although the law won’t take effect until mid-March, police are still checking vehicle documents, and are looking out ...

Authorities raided yet another rubber plantation on Tuesday as part of a new dragnet to catch illegal loggers in eastern Cambodia, said Eng Hy, spokesman for the National Military Police. ...

The Interior Ministry has asked Interpol to help arrest a “Cambodian living abroad” it believes is responsible for doctoring and circulating an image of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s wife, according to a ministry spokesman. ...

Global brands rely on a hidden workforce within their supply chains to avoid responsibility for poor working conditions and abuse, according to a new report from the International Trade Union Confederation. ...

Five shouting protesters yesterday morning shut down a meeting of the joint committee for housing solutions in Borei Keila before it could sign cash compensation deals with 56 evicted families. ...

Ministry of Interior officials will meet to discuss the internationally condemned Law on Associations and Non-governmental Organisations (LANGO) with representatives of the Cooperation Committee for Cambodia (CCC), officials said yesterday following a letter sent by the group to Interior Minister Sar Kheng last week. ...

Military police investigated two warehouses in Kratie and Mondulkiri provinces yesterday amid a crackdown on illegal logging in eastern Cambodia. As police continue to raid warehouses and tighten security along the Vietnamese border, illegal logging and the sale of luxury wood has ground to a ...

Traffic police will not fine road users for offenses related to licenses and vehicle documentation until March 15, while other provisions of the new Land Traffic Law will continue to be enforced as usual, officials said on Tuesday. ...

Passenger traffic at all three of Cambodia’s international airports is expected to grow this year despite the economic slowdown in Asia’s biggest economy, which could see many Chinese tourists tightening their belt. ...

In an effort to prepare more students for ASEAN integration, the Education Ministry plans to set up a program to give high school students access to student loans so they can continue their studies at university. ...

Thailand’s Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will visit Cambodia next month to boost bilateral education ties between the kingdoms, a topic she has worked on since her first visit in 1992. ...

The bipartisan committee tasked with examining the Kingdom’s controversial draft trade union law wrapped up its activities yesterday, ultimately making few of the substantive changes that unions demanded. ...

Though it’s extremely early days, experts this week welcomed Cambodia’s membership to the nascent China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), saying it would provide much-needed diversity of funding for the nation’s infrastructure and connectivity needs. ...

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 ...

Timber magnate Try Pheap and businessman Lim Bunna were granted economic land concessions (ELCs) on property inside a wildlife sanctuary confiscated from two other companies for violating their government contracts, a provincial governor told a meeting of officials on Monday. ...

Cambodia is lagging behind its target to achieve nationwide electrification by 2020, the head of the country’s electricity regulator warned Tuesday. ...

Six months after the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the Cambodian government to scrap a draft NGO law that came into effect in August, the E.U. announced on Monday that it had pledged 8.2 million euros (about $8.9 million) to local and international ...

A rights group official said he was threatened for looking into a December homicide case in Pursat province that left one woman dead and her brother injured. ...

Rising incomes are driving the growth of new and used car sales in the Kingdom, putting pressure on the Kingdom’s limited road infrastructure, an industry specialist said yesterday. ...

A collection of houses and other structures belonging to nine families living alongside a canal in the capital’s Russey Keo district was destroyed yesterday by a large group of men sent by local authorities.   ...