The Phnom Penh Post
Brands including H&M and Gap urge Cambodia garment industry reform, seek meeting with Hun Sen
A group representing some of the largest apparel brands in the US and Europe – including Gap, H&M and ASOS – expressed “growing concern” on Tuesday over several controversial labour laws and ongoing court cases against unionists described as restrictive and unjust. ...
MPs beaten outside National Assembly in 2015 appeal
Two opposition lawmakers beaten up outside the National Assembly in 2015 will have their appeal heard this Friday – nearly two years after the three Bodyguard Unit members responsible for the attack were given mostly suspended sentences by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court. ...
Ben Sokhean
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/mps-beaten-outside-national-assembly-2015-appeal
NBC officials optimistic about growing riel usage
The Cambodian riel accounted for about 17 percent of total currency circulation last year, a number similar to previous years, but central bank officials said they remained optimistic that use of the local currency will grow in the future. ...
Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/nbc-officials-optimistic-about-growing-riel-usage
Senior CPP members urging citizens to vote in coming elections
Four months out from the July elections, senior Cambodian People’s Party officials at home and abroad have called on people to exercise their vote in July – even if they don’t vote for the CPP – amid predictions of low turnout and waning enthusiasm for ...
Ben Sokhean and Ananth Baliga
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national-politics/senior-cpp-members-urging-citizens-vote-coming-elections
Lon Nol coup marked
Cambodian government officials and pro-government media yesterday commemorated the seldom-observed anniversary of Marshal Lon Nol’s rise to power, seizing the opportunity to once again re-litigate historical grievances with the United States. In an article on Sunday, Lim Cheavutha, the CEO of government mouthpiece Fresh News, ...
Andrew Nachemson
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/lon-nol-coup-marked
Hong Kong economic delegation visits Kingdom
Hong Kong’s top economic official will lead a 48-person delegation to Cambodia on Monday and Tuesday to explore business opportunities related to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, according to a release from the official’s office. ...
Post Staff
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/hong-kong-economic-delegation-visits-kingdom
Kampot pepper hit by climate change
Farmers of Kampot pepper have had a rough planting season due to climate change, but the decrease in production is unlikely to seriously affect the market, according to the head of the Kampot Pepper Promotion Association (KPPA). ...
Cheng Sokhorng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/kampot-pepper-hit-climate-change
Borei Keila resident summoned for questioning
A Borei Keila villager has been ordered to appear for questioning Tuesday at the Ministry of Interior over protests in Tuol Kork last month against the forced evictions of residents to make way for a development project. ...
Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/borei-keila-resident-summoned-questioning
Rights protests at Asean-Australia summit as leaders discuss cooperation
An Asean special summit with Australia wrapped up on Sunday, with regional leaders declaring a “new era” of increasingly close relations, following two days of protests in Sydney against the rule of Prime Minister Hun Sen. An estimated 300 protesters gathered on Friday, the majority ...
Erin Handley and Chhay Channyda
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/rights-protests-asean-australia-summit-leaders-discuss-cooperation
Honn given authority over NGOs
Former Bar Association president and Interior Ministry official Bun Honn was given additional powers at the ministry to act as a signatory for Minister Sar Kheng in matters relating to NGOs and associations. ...
Mech Dara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/honn-given-authority-over-ngos
Wildlife sanctuaries in Kratie, Battambang and Banteay Meanchey closed
Two protected wildlife sanctuaries – Snuol Wildlife Sanctuary in Kratie province and Roneam Daun Sam Wildlife Sanctuary in Battambang and Banteay Meanchey provinces – have been dissolved under a royal decree, with at least one conservationist on Sunday saying the move illustrated the government’s failure ...
Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/wildlife-sanctuaries-kratie-battambang-and-banteay-meanchey-closed
‘Like-minded friends forever’: Golden Dragon, Cambodia’s 17-day military exercise with China, kicks off
On Saturday morning, hundreds of Cambodian and Chinese soldiers in full combat gear stood in formation in front of a backdrop of tanks, armoured trucks, machine gun-mounted helicopters, and artillery weapons. Generals from both sides spoke warmly of the deepening relationship between the two countries, ...
Bulldozers seized by authorities in Stung Treng sanctuary
Stung Treng provincial environmental officials on Sunday confiscated two excavators that were inside the Anlong Phe Wildlife Sanctuary and will send the case to court, according to an official. Eng Phirong, director of the provincial Environmental Department, said he received a report from villagers in ...
Khouth Sophak Chakrya
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/bulldozers-seized-authorities-stung-treng-sanctuary
Heavy rains washing out local salt industry in Kep, Kampot
Cambodia’s salt producers are suffering from a catastrophic harvest season that is likely to deplete their reserves and threaten the industry’s future prospects, according to leaders of the country’s largest salt federation. ...
Cheng Sokhorng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/heavy-rains-washing-out-local-salt-industry-kep-kampot
Australia’s ‘dance with dictators’: Country expected to stay mum on rights abuses with Asean leaders in town
While calls from all corners have demanded Australia take Cambodia to task – not only for its political crackdown but also for Prime Minister Hun Sen’s threats to beat up protesters on Australian soil – observers say any such confrontation is unlikely to materialise during ...
CCFC event blocked yet again
A gathering in Svay Rieng province of some 40 villagers led by a farmers’ organisation was shut down by local police on Thursday because the group allegedly had not requested permission, though provincial authorities had been notified the week before. ...
Soth Koemsoeun
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ccfc-event-blocked-yet-again
Sesan holdouts demand compensation from flood
Sesan dam holdouts from Kbal Romeas and Srekor villages have gone on the offensive, demanding compensation for destroyed rice fields and new homes on their ancestral land. Both villages were flooded following the inauguration of the China-backed Lower Sesan II Dam in September. While some accepted ...
Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/sesan-holdouts-demand-compensation-flood
Government takes back Koh Kong mangrove forest; no arrests
The Cambodian government has reclaimed 13 hectares of protected mangrove forest in Koh Kong province, which were illegally sold off to a tycoon and partially filled with sand, though nobody involved in the sale will be sent to court. According to an announcement from the ...
Phak Seangly and Yesenia Amaro
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/government-takes-back-koh-kong-mangrove-forest-no-arrests
Plans take root for cassava processor
A Chinese-based investment firm has announced plans to begin construction on the first of 10 cassava processing plants next month, with a total planned investment of $150 million, according to Agriculture Minister Veng Sokhon. ...
Cheng Sokhorng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/plans-take-root-cassava-processor
PM Hun Sen questions Vietnam’s loyalty, accuses Sam Rainsy of treason
In an unusual reversal of rhetoric, Prime Minister Hun Sen publicly questioned the loyalty of long-time ally Vietnam on Wednesday, while ordering the interior and justice ministries to thoroughly investigate former opposition leader Sam Rainsy for treason for allegedly colluding with the Kingdom’s eastern neighbour. ...
Ben Sokhean and Andrew Nachemson
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/pm-hun-sen-questions-vietnams-loyalty-accuses-sam-rainsy-treason
Land activists submit petition for release of leader Tep Vanny
Boeung Kak activists and family members of jailed protest leader Tep Vanny submitted a petition to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s cabinet on Tuesday asking for her release or a reduction in her sentence. ...
Soth Koemsoeun
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/land-activists-submit-petition-release-leader-tep-vanny
Villagers claim forest illegally sold in Mondulkiri
An ethnic Phnong community near Mondulkiri’s Sen Monorom town on Monday claimed that at least 80 hectares of forestland, which they have long depended on for their livelihoods, were covertly sold, with local authorities allegedly signing off on the sale. While the Phnong villagers from ...
Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/villagers-claim-forest-illegally-sold-mondulkiri
Mondulkiri villages to get REDD+ funds
Twenty villages in Mondulkiri province are set to receive at least $10,000 each as a result of the $2.6 million carbon credit purchase by the Walt Disney Company in 2016, under a scheme meant to protect the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, officials said yesterday.This would ...
Yesenia Amaro and Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/mondulkiri-villages-get-redd-funds
Hun Sen complains about $500M Lon Nol-era debt
Prime Minister Hun Sen revisited a wedge issue between Cambodia and the US on Tuesday, complaining about the approximately $500 million in Vietnam War-era debt accumulated under the Lon Nol regime still owed to the superpower. ...
Mech Dara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/hun-sen-complains-about-500m-lon-nol-era-debt