CamboJA

Cambodia mildly improved its score on Transparency International’s 2022 corruption index released Tuesday, but remains considered among the most corrupt countries globally. ...

A crowd of around 30 activists gathered at the base of Phnom Penh’s namesake Wat Phnom hill Wednesday before embarking down National Road 5 on a more than 200 kilometer journey by foot to Pursat province to promote social justice and morality. ...

Several Cambodian families missing relatives who worked at a Poipet casino engulfed in a deadly fire in late December say weeks later they have still not received information or compensation from authorities and the casino’s owners. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen urged the Information Ministry to finalize the long-delayed Law on Access to Information during a Saturday press gala in Phnom Penh. He claimed the draft law would be adopted in the next two years after the July national elections.  ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday threatened to sue the opposition Candlelight party after its leaders accused the ruling CPP of political persecution in the run-up to the July 23 national elections. ...

The government awarded a new Economic Land Concession (ELC) in March 2022 for the first time in nearly a decade and despite an existing moratorium on ELCs, government documents show. ...

Fugitive Thai politician Vatana Asavahame, linked to management of the Poipet casino devastated by a deadly fire last week, received Cambodian citizenship in a 2008 royal decree, according to documents viewed by CamboJA. ...

The National Election Committee (NEC) appears set to reject key recommendations from civil society and opposition political parties intended to improve fairness and transparency in the July national elections. ...

Rich in corals, sea creatures, and palm trees, Koh Sdach, located on the west and southwest coast of Cambodia, has long attracted tourists and investors with its beautiful white sand beaches. ...

Some 200 villagers living in Kandal province’s Kandal Stung district and Takhmao town gathered at Kandal City Hall on Tuesday demanding to know whether they would be joining the hundreds of others who are being displaced by the new Phnom Penh International Airport. ...

Kampong Thom’s Sandan district: Snang An village chief Sok Heng proudly displays a photo of his new home, constructed in July 2021, as his phone’s background image. But Late Cheng Mining Development, a gold mining firm with ties to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit, ...

Four forestry community representatives in Mondulkiri province have filed a complaint with local authorities against the provincial prosecutor’s office, accusing them of failing to prevent forest crime in a timely manner. ...

After going through countless obstacles, an indigenous Punong, Mr. Kreung Tola, who loves to protect the environment, forest and land tenure, have become a human rights defender at the human rights organization in a district. ...

More than 930,000 hectares of state public land inside protected conservation areas are now eligible for privatization, according to a November 30 sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen. ...

The Appeal Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling finding  Candlelight Party vice president, Son Chhay, guilty of defamation against the Cambodian People’s Party and ordered him to pay  4 billion riel ($1 million) in damages — an increase by a third of what ...

Three NGOs filed a complaint Monday to a Dutch government watchdog accusing social investor Oikocredit of failing to conduct due diligence by investing in Cambodian microfinance institutions (MFIs) whose lending practices have been linked to rights abuses. ...

Six Southeast Asian journalist organizations from five countries formed a regional partnership to combat increasing repression and deteriorating press freedom at a conference in Phnom Penh on Monday.  ...

More than 300 families in Chhouk district, Kampot province have requested authorities to provide them with land titles in which they have lived for more than 20 years. ...

Residents say that historical and tourist sites may be lost after a large-scale looting of Phnom Borei, while Angkor Borei district authorities have denied that the authorities have opened their hands to excavating Phnom Borei and sell it to private dealers as mentioned by citizens. ...

 In mid-August, Chhoeun Daravy and eight others found themselves negotiating with police over the wording of a handwritten contract. Officers initially wanted the agreement to say that the nine had “illegally” entered a “prohibited area” in the recently logged Phnom Tamao forest and flew a ...

 Some 200 unions and federations have accused two prominent independent labor organizations of inciting its members to leave and establish a new union. The claim was denied by one of organizations, which said it has never trained members of any of the signatories — many ...

Cambodia’s levels of freedom of expression, press and access to information remain low, and the work environment for journalists and human rights defenders is “increasingly dangerous,” the Cambodian Center for Human Rights said in a report released Thursday. ...

Ruon Thol plans to harvest his rice crop early next month. The farmer spent more than 6 million riel (about $1,500) this wet season to cultivate his four hectares of farmland in Battambang province’s Banan district. ...

Foul-smelling wastewater is draining into the sea at Sihanoukville’s O’Chheu Teal beach, leaving visitors plugging their noses and a local business owner and tourism official concerned that the stink will scare off tourists. ...