VOA Khmer

At a small food shop in Phnom Penh recently, customers crowded in, eating hotdogs and meatballs. These kinds of processed meats are widely popular in Cambodia, and business was brisk. Few here seem to be concerned by new warnings from the World Health Organization that ...

Australia’s refugee policies were condemned during a review by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Australia automatically detains asylum-seekers who arrive in the country without visas. Hundreds of detainees are sent for processing to offshore camps in the South Pacific in Papua New Guinea and ...

Two opposition lawmakers who were attacked outside the National Assembly last month have filed a complaint of attempted murder against their assailants. ...

Myanmar President Thein Sein has congratulated opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy Party (NLD) for their apparent landslide victory in this week’s parliamentary elections over the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). ...

World leaders are expected to express their support for progress on the South China Sea question at an upcoming summit in Malaysia next month. China is facing overlapping claims in the sea with Asean members Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. ...

As Asean heads toward greater economic integration, Cambodia remains one of the least competitive countries in the world.A country is competitive when it can attract investment and sell and supply goods and services for export at an accelerating rate. According to the World Economic Forum ...

Cambodia’s opposition leaders are visiting Japan this week, calling on support for improved democracy in Cambodia through free and fair elections.The visit of Sam Rainsy, the president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, and Kem Sokha, the party’s vice president, coincides with the long-awaited election ...

An opposition senator who has been jailed since August has lost an appeal to be released on bail. He will appeal the bail to the Supreme Court, he said. ...

Three men have turned themselves into Cambodian police, claiming they were involved in the beatings of two opposition lawmakers last week.The Ministry of Interior announced late Tuesday Chay Sarith, Mao Hoeurn, and Suth Vanny had turned themselves in earlier in the day. But little more ...

Drivers on Cambodia’s chaotic streets are often quick to criticize the traffic police, who seem unable to bring things under control. However, the drivers themselves forget that poor driving and the ignoring of traffic laws lead to so many snarls. ...

Officials from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party say they will continue political talks, despite last week’s assault of two opposition lawmakers and the removal of Rescue Party Vice President Kem Sokha from his senior post at the National ...

Some six years after 2,000 families were evicted from their land in northeastern Cambodia, they have still not received compensation and are living with few means, rights workers say. ...

Experts say maritime territorial disputes over parts of the South China Sea are unlikely to lead to military conflict, after a meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart in Washington in September. ...

Defense Minister Tea Banh says Cambodia’s soldiers should have the right to support demonstrations.Speaking at the airport as he waited for Prime Minister Hun Sen to arrive from an official visit to France, Tea Banh said his troops have a right to “express their opinion.” ...

Cambodian Commerce Minister Sun Chanthol says the country’s rice has a branding problem. With better branding, he told a group of officials at a roundtable recently, more rice would sell. ...

Human Rights Watch and local rights groups condemned Monday’s attack on two opposition parliamentarians, who were dragged from their cars and beaten by an organized group of masked men. ...

Transparency International Cambodia has launched a digital library to help people research injustice, corruption, governance and social issues. ...

Local and international right groups have asked French President François Hollande to pressure Prime Minister Hun Sen to release 21 activists ahead of an official visit by the premier this weekend. ...

Cambodian officials have defended the government’s record on the forestry sector, despite the publication this year of several substantive reports alleging that deforestation is accelerating due to policy failures. In response, Sophalleth echoed previous comments by the prime minister, insisting that once deforested land is ...

Provincial authorities in Koh Kong province have barred a group of law students from conducting a two-day training course on human rights and democracy, citing a controversial law passed earlier this year. ...

The International Labor Organization says a new National Employment Policy will improve the country’s economy for the young generation.The policy, drafted with the help of Sweden, aims to increase “decent and productive” employment opportunities, enhance skills and human resources development, and strengthen labor market governance, ...

Twenty-four years after the Paris Peace Accords were signed, ending decades of civil strife in Cambodia, political observers say many of their main tenets remain unfulfilled, especially in the realms of human rights and democracy.Son Chhay, a lawmaker for the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, ...

As the United States commits to admitting 10,000 refugees from the current conflict in Syria, Cambodian refugees who arrived in the U.S. some 35 years ago say more needs to be done to help refugees resettle in order to prevent further suffering and future social ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen has called on Asean countries and China to maintain dialogue on the South China Sea. ...