The Phnom Penh Post
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
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
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
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
IFC criticised for abusive investments
Rights groups yesterday took aim at the private-sector arm of the World Bank for investing money into companies that are responsible for human rights abuses around the world, highlighting a Vietnamese rubber firm accused of illegal logging and land grabbing in Ratanakkiri province as a ...
Alice Cuddy
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ifc-criticised-abusive-investments
UN concerns plentiful in Geneva postmortem
A UN rights panel that grilled government delegates in Geneva last month yesterday handed down its concluding observations on how Cambodia has implemented the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which it acceded to more than two decades ago. The only positive aspects outlined by ...
Kevin Ponniah
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/un-concerns-plentiful-geneva-postmortem
Two-day drug raid snares 30
A two-day drug crackdown in Kampong Thom province on Tuesday and Wednesday led to the arrests of 30 alleged drug users and dealers – including two police officers who were later released. ...
Taing Vida
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/two-day-drug-raid-snares-30
A lending alternative to MFIs
Oxfam said it will expand its savings-led community-lending model in Cambodia as an alternative to traditional credit-based microfinance services, which it says are ineffective in reaching the Kingdom’s poorest. Oxfam’s Saving for Change project, which trains rural communities to form savings groups, now has $5 million ...
Charles Rollet
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/lending-alternative-mfis
Land, insecurity linked: report
Rampant land grabs, economic land concessions and a disastrous land-titling program have fostered an environment of insecurity for Cambodia’s most marginalised citizens, according to a new report, which argues that the Kingdom needs to rethink its current business-centric development model. ...
Ethan Harfenist
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/land-insecurity-linked-report
Illegal tools of fishing trade go up in smoke
Fishery Administration officials in Kampong Chhnang province burned nearly 1,000 electric fishing nets and other devices yesterday morning in a ceremony capping off a provincial crackdown on illegal fishing equipment. ...
Khouth Sophak Chakrya
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/illegal-tools-fishing-trade-go-smoke
Progress, hurdles for education
Despite the fact that Cambodia is slated to reach the six internationally agreed-upon education goals set by Unesco for 2015, the Kingdom’s education system continues to face systemic problems, according to the Ministry of Education’s annual report. The report’s final draft, which was released to the ...
Sarah Taguiam and Rebecca Moss
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/progress-hurdles-education
Eviction fears: Villagers on notice over flood remedy
The filling in of a canal in the capital’s Chbar Ambpov district has prompted local villagers to push back against looming displacement, district officials and community representatives have told the Post. ...
Chhay Channyda
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/eviction-fears-villagers-notice-over-flood-remedy
Dredgers ‘pledge’ to wait on gov’t
The Ministry of Mines and Energy has said that it will perform environmental, social and economic impact assessments within three to six months before renewing and granting new licences for sand dredgers and sand miners operating in Phnom Penh and Kandal. ...
Taing Vida
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/dredgers-pledge-wait-govt
Storms kill one, destroy homes
Authorities are tallying the cost of major storms that battered three provinces in recent days, leaving one woman dead and more than 100 homes and other buildings damaged. ...
Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/storms-kill-one-destroy-homes
Aviation authority to monitor Thai safety concerns
Cambodia’s aviation authority says it has no plans to follow in the footsteps of some of Asia’s largest nations and ban new flights from Thai-based carriers, after an international audit has raised “significant safety concerns” about the standards of Thailand’s aviation authority. ...
Chan Muyhong
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/aviation-authority-monitor-thai-safety-concerns
NagaWorld sees year-on-year boost in VIP revenues
Phnom Penh casino NagaWorld has announced that gross gaming revenue (GGR) rose 48 per cent year-on-year for the first quarter of 2015, largely on the back of returns from VIP clients. Nagacorp, the Hong Kong stock exchange-listed parent of NagaWorld, said in an unaudited report released ...
Charles Rollet
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/nagaworld-sees-year-year-boost-vip-revenues