News

The government’s announcement on Wednesday that companies looking to start rubber plantations could skirt a moratorium on new economic land concessions (ELCs) by taking over existing, dormant ones continued to make a good impression on prospective investors in town Thursday. Ly Phalla, who heads the Agriculture ...

Every morning, right about 8am, Vuthy* starts to feel out of sorts. On the way from his home in Meanchey district to the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital, where he receives treatment, he breaks into a sweat. Vuthy is one of about 140 former heroin addicts who ...

RMA Cambodia confirmed yesterday it had taken over from rival firm Envotech as the Kingdom’s only authorised dealer of Land Rover and Jaguar vehicles. Envotech will have held the authorised dealer rights for two years when it closes its Phnom Penh dealership on March 26. RMA, whic ...

VisionFund Cambodia, which took root in the Kingdom in 2003 as the result of a partnership with global NGO World Vision, aims to empower women and their families with small loans and other financial services, in additional to bolstering the education available for poor children ...

Thmey Thmey online news and Women’s Radio FM 102 on Thursday announced a partnership that will see journalists from both outlets join forces to create evening news bulletins to be broadcast daily starting Saturday. “Our concept is independent Cambodian news, by Cambodians, for Cambodians, and 102 ...

The government now requires union leaders to prove that they have no criminal record before registering new branches of their organization, according to a statement from the Ministry of Labor, a decision that comes less than a week before planned nationwide strikes in the garment ...

Representatives of some of the 3,000 families evicted from Phnom Penh’s Boeng Kak neighborhood in recent years said Thursday that municipal government officials, who were ultimately responsible for the mass evictions, told them they would be inviting the World Bank and NGOs to help compensate ...

Phnom Penh’s Panha Chiet University has informed the local NGO Silaka that it cannot hold a meeting on women’s rights planned for today because the event might deal with political issues. Silaka had rented a conference room at the university for the meeting, intended to mark ...

Suy Sophan, the owner of development firm Phan Imex, has been ordered to repay $2.7 million to a Korean company over an uncompleted sale of land at Borei Keila, from where hundreds have been violently evicted, a court document reveals. In a decision handed down in ...

Mass faintings in Cambodia’s garment factories do not occur as a result of long hours and arduous working conditions, but from workers’ failure to care for their own health, according to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) director. During an annual meeting, which mainly focused on ...

The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party will hold a seminar this morning on election reform to “seek input” from civil society and election monitors ahead of the second meeting of a bipartisan election reform committee on Monday. According to an invitation issued on Tuesday, the CNRP ...

Promising to dramatically open up the region’s airways, the planned Asean Single Aviation Market (ASAM) will bring with it fierce competition and price wars, experts said yesterday during a seminar on the subject at the Phnom Penh Hotel. The seminar brought representatives from the majority of ...

The Opposition leader reaffirmed that the Cambodia National Rescue Party would not join the National Assembly until there is an agreement on new election. “We will not join the Assembly until there is an agreement on the holding of a new election,” Sam Rainsy said in ...

A spirited debate on human rights in Cambodia was heard in the Australian parliament this week after an opposition Labor Party MP introduced a motion calling on the government to condemn state violence against striking garment workers and ask authorities to release detained protesters. Clare O’Neil, ...

British Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy David Puttnam said Thursday that the country looked to boost bilateral trade volume with Cambodia to $5 billion by 2020. “The bilateral trade between the UK and Cambodia reached $1 billion last year and we expect the trade volume will hit ...

The quality of education is still a big concern for Cambodia and the country needs to set a more effective strategy to enhance teaching conditions and quality of education for all learners, Anne Lemaistre, UNESCO representative in Cambodia, said Thursday. “I would like to commend ...

An increasing number of NGOs in Cambodia are facing the prospect of budget cuts, with money from foreign donors decreasing as a political deadlock continues. Cambodia’s robust civil society relies on donor countries, but some have postponed funding while the country’s two rival political parties remain ...

Cambodia could lose its competitive advantage in bicycle manufacturing and assembly, an industry source says. In a report from the Taipei Cycle Show late Wednesday, the US-based Bicycle Retailer and Industry News said Cambodia had used low wages and zero tariffs in the European Union to ...

Three judicial reform draft laws will be submitted to the Council of Ministers last this month, justice officials said Wednesday. The draft laws deal with the functions of the courts and the conduct of judges and prosecutors, as well as an oversight body called the Supreme ...

Cambodia’s trade volume with Asean member states reached US$4.16 billion last year, up 12 percent from US$3.71 billion in 2012, Xinhua news agency reported. In the Commerce Ministry’s report released Wednesday, Cambodia exported products equivalent to US$482 million to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) ...

NGOs working in democracy, human rights and transparency all say they face a lack of cooperation from Cambodian authorities, especially in the provinces, a new report finds. The Cooperation Committee for Cambodia conducted research on Cambodia’s overall climate for civil society organizations, finding that those dealing ...

The Ministry of Agriculture has created designated bird flu contamination zones in Phnom Penh and Kandal province following the deaths of hundreds of birds due to the H5N1 virus, officials said Wednesday. Agriculture Minister Ouk Rabon signed two directives late last month saying that poultry being ...

The Chinese-owned company that began operating Phnom Penh’s new public bus service Wednesday secured its five-year deal on the basis of a verbal agreement and has not yet signed a formal contract with City Hall, the company’s CEO said. Lim Andre, the CEO of Global (Cambodia) ...

The government will not consult civil society groups on the latest iteration of a draft law that will regulate non-governmental organisations and associations, a senior Interior Ministry official said yesterday. Meas Sarim, deputy director-general of the General Department of Local Administration at the Ministry of Interior ...