The Phnom Penh Post

Cambodia’s badly overcrowded prison population leapt by nearly 20 per cent in the first 10 months of this year, government data show, raising serious health concerns.The figures, released by the Interior Ministry’s general department of prisons yesterday, show that there were 17,522 prisoners in jails ...

Interior Minister Sar Kheng yesterday took aim at the police chiefs of Battambang, Kandal and Pursat provinces, warning that they should be prepared to lose their titles if they fail to crack down on a recent crime wave.Kheng said the three police chiefs needed to ...

The persistence of dangerous and demeaning forms of work remains a major challenge for the Kingdom’s development, according to the UN’s annual Human Development Report (HDR) launched yesterday by the United Nations Development Programme.Dubbed “Work for Human Development”, the 2015 report finds the Asia-Pacific region home ...

The Ratanakkiri prison director accused of a litany of crimes by his underlings has fired back, denying their reports and accusing them of drug-taking, laziness and running illegal timber businesses. ...

LGBT Cambodians face a formidable level of prejudice and discrimination, which for many means a life lived in secrecy and isolation, a major new study of attitudes has revealed.The survey of almost 1,600 people, straight and LGBT, across seven provinces, published yesterday, found that a ...

This year’s Sea Festival, held for the first time in Kampot last weekend, attracted over 300,000 visitors and generated more than $15 million in revenue for the local community, tourism minister Thong Khon said yesterday. ...

New targets have been set to boost the number of women in positions of influence, according to an initiative launched yesterday by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday told the Ministry of Justice to re-check pardon applications from convicted robbers and drug dealers, saying that recidivism is a big problem in the Kingdom.The premier’s statement, made in a speech on Koh Pich, follows a turbulent weekend rife with ...

The CNRP yesterday announced its lawmakers will attend Wednesday’s plenary session at the National Assembly, ending the party’s almost two-month boycott that began after the brutal beating of two of its lawmakers outside parliament by pro-government protesters. ...

The Ministry of Social Affairs yesterday issued a new sub-decree ordering all orphanages to get a permit, submit to inspections and limit the conditions under which children can be admitted.According to many experts, including Social Affairs Minister Vong Soth, orphanage care does more harm than ...

As ASEAN member states race to get ready for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) integration later this month, one of the pillars of the new economic bloc is the free flow of skilled labour across borders, with Cambodian industry experts unperturbed by the possibility of ...

In spite of gains, gender inequality in Cambodia remains significant, particularly in education and political empowerment, according to the World Economic Forum’s recently released 2015 Global Gender Gap Report. ...

Dozens of officials at Ratanakkiri Provincial Prison have called for the director of the facility to be removed, citing a wide range of violations, including having sex with a female inmate, permitting unsanctioned prison labour and pocketing money paid in exchange for benefits. ...

Hun Manet, a senior military official and eldest son of Prime Minister Hun Sen, took to Facebook this weekend to defend himself from unnamed detractors who, he said, had accused him of spending millions of dollars buying Cambodian expatriates’ support during a youth recruitment drive ...

The season for making prahok, the fermented fish paste that is a staple of the Cambodian diet, has opened this month amid mixed forecasts for the annual catch.Prahok production, which fuels the Kingdom’s largest annual fish harvest, sustains the incomes of thousands of Cambodians, particular ...

Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng has sought to reassure residents of Koh Rong, an island off the coast of Preah Sihanouk province that has been leased to a local tycoon, that they would not be adversely affected by planned development projects. ...

The Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday the rescue of eight trafficked Cambodian women who worked either as maids in Malaysia or were tricked into becoming brides to men in China.Of the eight women, five worked as domestic workers in Malaysia and three were married off ...

Minister of Health Mam Bunheng yesterday asked the public to stop drinking rice wine and eating sick animals after 19 people died and 170 fell ill in Kratie province over the past month. ...

The Royal Group, in partnership with a Thailand-based Swiss investor, will build a 148-room five-star hotel on Preah Sihanouk’s Koh Rong island, with the group having completed a ground-breaking ceremony on Saturday. ...

Cambodia’s embattled opposition risks losing its official salaries and government-provided Lexuses if it continues to boycott sessions of the National Assembly, a ruling party spokesman said yesterday.The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party began boycotting parliamentary sessions at the end of last month when it pulled ...

More than $15 billion exited Cambodia in illicit capital flows over the past decade, stripping the economy of money that could have been used for development, a new report showsA staggering amount of money was funnelled out of Cambodia in shady transactions over the past ...

Thai soldiers opened fire on a group of 17 illegal loggers yesterday evening, wounding two, police said.The group had illegally crossed the border into Thailand in Oddar Meanchey province under cover of darkness when they encountered a Thai patrol, according to Brigadier General Men Leu, ...

Close to 2,000 people, including monks, NGO workers and citizens, marched peacefully to the Ministry of Justice yesterday morning, defying City Hall’s ban on the Human Rights Day protest.Demonstrators from 16 different provinces marched from three separate locations – the Senate, Chenla Cinema and Wat ...

Salt producers in Kep and Kampot say their revenues have plummeted over the last two years as cheaper and better-quality salt from Thailand floods the local market.Bun Baraing, co-director of the Kep-Kampot Salt Producers Community, said local consumers have switched to imported Thai salt, which ...