CamboJA

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. ...

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the 2018 bribery convictions of five current and former staffers of human rights group Adhoc, concluding the appeal process in a criminal case that critics have said failed to substantiate the charges. ...

More than 200 people from Memot and Tambor districts, Tbong Khmum province have filed a petition at Tbong Khmum Provincial Hall and appealed to the Court of Appeal to intervene in the years-long land dispute which makes their lives more difficult. ...

Chinese-funded construction, including land clearing, several new structures and a new pier, “continues to transform” Sihanoukville’s Ream Naval Base “at a rapid pace,” a U.S. think tank said Tuesday. ...

A son of casino firm NagaCorp’s billionaire senior CEO has been accused by unionists of snatching and throwing to the ground a phone belonging to a striking employee of the company’s NagaWorld casino, with video also showing the identified executive lobbing a traffic cone at ...

The Phnom Penh court on Friday ordered opposition Candlelight Party vice president Son Chhay to pay the ruling CPP 3 billion riel ($750,000) in damages, finding him guilty of defamation for saying that voting fraud occurred during the June commune elections. ...