The Phnom Penh Post
Plan to boost birth records
Working with Unicef, Cambodia will develop a 10-year national strategy to boost birth-registration rates and build an integrated database encompassing identity records for the entire population, recently released tender documents reveal. Among the challenges to improving the birth-registration system, according to Kosalvathanak, is a lack ...
Shaun Turton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/plan-boost-birth-records
Cashew, poultry feed rules on the way
The Institute of Statistics Cambodia issued two new draft standards yesterday, one for cashew nuts and another for chicken- and duck-feed production. The new guidelines aim to bring the products in line with international standards and also help producers increase their exports. ...
Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/cashew-poultry-feed-rules-way
Villagers’ request for crossing rebuffed
Demanding that 20 metres of a median on National Road 6A in the capital be removed to ease commutes to and from their villages, about 45 people protested outside the Ministry of Public Works and Transport yesterday. ...
Khouth Sophak Chakrya
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/villagers-request-crossing-rebuffed
Minor party leader charged
League for Democracy Party (LDP) president Khem Veasna was yesterday charged at the Appeal Court on allegations that he cheated a party activist out of $70,000 between 2009 and 2011. The plaintiff, Duk Moeun, had sued Veasna at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in August 2013, ...
Buth Reaksmey Kongkea
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/minor-party-leader-charged
Thais expand health benefits for migrant workers
Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand are now reportedly able to access the same healthcare benefits as Thai nationals following the implementation of new regulations, although rights organisations warned yesterday that problems will persist for Cambodians across the border, the majority of whom remain undocumented. Under new ...
Charles Parkinson
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/thais-expand-health-benefits-migrant-workers
Timber by the numbers
Cambodia’s foremost logging baron exported more than 100,000 cubic metres of timber from Sihanoukville Port last year, likely including a species protected by an international treaty to which the Kingdom is a signatory, an analysis by Global Witness of leaked export records suggests. The data, obtained ...
Daniel Pye
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/timber-numbers
Sangkran set to break records in tourism and line-dancing
Preparations for this year’s Angkor Sangkran, Siem Reap’s largest cultural event, are almost complete, with half a million tourists expected to join in the celebration during Khmer New Year, according to provincial officials. Of the anticipated 500,000 visitors this year, the majority are expected to be ...
Chan Muyhong
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/sangkran-set-break-records-tourism-and-line-dancing
UN investigating possible refugee deaths
After 11 more Montagnard asylum seekers from Vietnam reportedly arrived in Ratanakkiri province late on Sunday evening, the United Nations yesterday said it was looking into unconfirmed reports from local villagers that eight others had been found dead in the province. While it was impossible ...
Phak Seangly and Alice Cuddy
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/un-investigating-possible-refugee-deaths
Construction firms move into Kingdom
Two large European companies working in the construction sector have announced plans to expand their distribution networks in Cambodia, according to a joint agreement signed last week. Together with the Thai subsidiary of French building-materials giant Saint-Gobain, the France-based electrical installation multinational Schneider Electric signed a ...
Charles Rollet
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/construction-firms-move-kingdom
Military cops slated to see posts change
Several high-ranking provincial military officials – including Prey Veng’s military police commander, some of whose men are under investigation for police brutality – are slated for reassignment to national positions, according to a document obtained yesterday. ...
Taing Vida
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/military-cops-slated-see-posts-change
Energy, disease risks: report
A global risk-analysis firm has released a grim – albeit partial – snapshot of Cambodia, noting that the Kingdom’s overreliance on essential resources from other countries leaves it vulnerable to instability, and that it is at “extreme risk” of a communicable-disease pandemic. The Global Risks and ...
Charles Parkinson
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/energy-disease-risks-report
Poisioning is result of ‘bad prep’
Lab results have revealed that an outbreak of food poisoning that left hundreds hospitalised in Siem Reap province last week was caused by bacteria likely passed on through unhygienic food preparation, an official said yesterday. ...
Alice Cuddy and Pech Sotheary
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/poisioning-result-bad-prep
Official questioned over $1.5M land ‘fraud’
A former Ministry of Interior police officer was tried by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday for allegedly embezzling more than $1.5 million under the pretense of buying land from Kandal province villagers for a company he used to work for. ...
Buth Reaksmey Kongkea
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/official-questioned-over-15m-land-fraud
Casino bill likely this year
The National Assembly will likely approve a casino-management bill before the end of the year, which is aimed at doubling gambling revenues and bringing the industry on par with international standards, said a senior official from the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Ros Phearun, deputy director ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/casino-bill-likely-year
River dolphin found dead by Laos border
A 200kg Irrawaddy dolphin was found dead at the border between Stung Treng province and Laos, bringing the dolphin death toll for 2015 to five, authorities said yesterday. Villagers in Koh La Ngor, in Preah Rom Kel commune, discovered the carcass on April 1, according to ...
Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/river-dolphin-found-dead-laos-border
Oil deal before petroleum law
Singaporean energy firm KrisEnergy and the Cambodian government will conclude their long-drawn negotiations for extraction of oil from offshore oil field Block A before the passage of an upcoming law for the petroleum sector. The petroleum law, which will be the country’s first legislation governing ...
Charles Rollet
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/oil-deal-petroleum-law
New summonses in old dispute in R’kiri
Four ethnic Jarai village representatives in Ratanakkiri province, including the wife of a rights group activist, were ordered to appear at court today or face arrest on charges of defamation against Keat Kolney, the sister of Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon. The case is part of ...
Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/new-summonses-old-dispute-rkiri
Rice trade rebounds with help from China
Cambodian rice exports saw a rebound in March, increasing to 75,867 tonnes and doubling February’s export numbers, on account of increased Chinese imports, which benefitted from the relaxing of import restrictions by the Chinese government, according to the Cambodia Rice Federation. ...
Chan Muyhong
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/rice-trade-rebounds-help-china
Boeung Kak women self-harm
Three imprisoned land activists intentionally injured themselves on Friday in an alleged suicide attempt after being confined in their cell for two days, according to their families and a fellow inmate. Tep Vanny, Kong Chantha, and Bor Chorvy – all from Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak community ...
Khouth Sophak Chakrya
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/boeung-kak-women-self-harm
Road puts threatened species ‘at risk’: experts
Environmental experts yesterday called for the government to find an alternative to the Srea Ampos-Kbal Damrei Road, which would link Mondulkiri with Vietnam but also bisect a protected forest and pose a “high risk” to threatened species. ...
Shaun Turton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-weekend/road-puts-threatened-species-risk-experts
IFC gives Acleda a $110M loan boost
The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank, and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) announced Thursday that they will provide Acleda Bank with a $110 million loan to finance rural and micro-businesses, especially agricultural enterprises. ...
Ananth Baliga
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/ifc-gives-acleda-110m-loan-boost
Disabled education lacking
In an internal report released this week, the Ministry of Education gave itself high marks for the access to education it offers disabled children, offering a rundown of successes in the field dotted with green checkmarks, not unlike a school report card. However, though the ministry ...
Rebecca Moss
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/disabled-education-lacking
Gov’t offers bursaries for poor
The government will provide scholarships to poor public school students in grades 1 through 12 in an effort to curb drop-out rates. ...
Chhay Channyda
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/govt-offers-bursaries-poor
No end date in sight for oil plant completion
Cambodia Petroleum Company says its $2.3 billion oil refinery is still in the early stages of construction, after being delayed twice since it announcement in 2013. The landmark oil refinery, to be built on 365 hectares across Kampot and Sihanoukville provinces, was first expected to be ...
Chan Muyhong
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/no-end-date-sight-oil-plant-completion