Social development

The tobacco industry has urged the government to crack down on cigarette smuggling ahead of new laws mandating graphic health warnings, saying failure to do so gave smuggled products a competitive edge. ...

The number of new HIV infections in Cambodia nearly doubled over the past decade—the greatest increase in Asia—while less than a third of Cambodians living with the virus are receiving medication to slow its development, according to a report released this week. ...

Cambodian police say they are investigating the declaration of a coup against the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, but have laughed off any suggestion of the threat being serious.   ...

Four members of a forest patrol were ambushed in Preah Vihear’s Cheam Pen community forest on Tuesday afternoon, according to deputy forest chief Ros Lim. ...

A majority of the more than 2,500 children hospitalized by illnesses in the Kantha Bopha hospital network between Sunday and yesterday were critically poor and could not survive without free treatment, Kantha Bopha hospital founder and head Dr. Beat Richner said. ...

A visiting U.S. human rights envoy on Tuesday urged the government to release and drop charges against five current and former rights workers arrested in April amid what he called a deteriorating political situation in which the courts have disproportionately targeted state critics. ...

NGO Forum director Tek Vannara yesterday called on the Ministry of Land Management to speed up collective land titling for indigenous communities. ...

International media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said in a statement released on Tuesday that it was concerned by what it characterized as a “surge” in threats against journalists and news organizations in Cambodia in recent weeks.   ...

Two measles cases investigated by the government in recent weeks have been confirmed positive, bringing the total number to five this year and causing concern among health officials about a possible outbreak after the World Health Organization declared the country measles-free just last year.   ...

Turkey’s ambassador to Cambodia alleged on Monday that a top international school in Phnom Penh is overseen by the “terrorist organization” behind last week’s thwarted coup in Turkey—prompting a threat of legal action by the school.   ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday wrote on his Facebook page that he was concerned about the 115 Cambodian students studying at different universities in Turkey where an attempted coup to overthrow the government happened on Friday. ...

Justice Ministry spokesman Chin Malin sang the praises of UN Special Rapporteur Rhona Smith on Saturday, following a report in the Post on Friday that she had lost the confidence of many in the human rights community.   ...

Villagers in Mondulkiri province are protesting the construction of a Ministry of Mines vocational training centre on a piece of land they say is sacred with cultural significance to people across the province.   ...

The opposition plans to attend the National Assembly’s Standing Committee meeting today to debate the lifting of immunity for two of its lawmakers.   ...

A group of United Nations human rights experts have condemned the murder of Cambodian political analyst and social activist Kem Ley and called for an impartial investigation by an independent body with no ties to the government. ...

Concerns are mounting among the human rights community, particularly in the wake of political analyst Kem Ley’s murder, that UN Special Rapporteur to Cambodia Rhona Smith is failing to fulfil her mandate in a time of what one observer termed “fear and confusion”. ...

Financial markets in Cambodia have to serve more people, especially the poor, with more products at a lower cost and the key challenge lies in creating a broader interconnected financial ecosystem that reaches populations that cannot access banks, said industry experts. ...

The garment industry is the linchpin of Cambodia’s economy, and the single biggest employer of women. Some 500 factories hire almost 500,000 female workers, many of whom are young and have migrated to the city from the countryside. ...

As the government plans to transfer roughly 60 percent of detainees at the notorious Prey Speu detention center to a “mental illness” center in Kandal province, mental health experts expressed doubts this week over the country’s capacity to provide proper care. ...

Two weeks after police rounded up blind and disabled performers begging for money on streets around Phnom Penh in a bid to prevent traffic congestion, the performers were back on the streets on Wednesday, defiantly defending their right to earn their keep. ...

An archaeological dig at the ancient capital of Angkor Thom started on Monday in search of metal tools from the Kingdom’s Angkorian era. The École Française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO), a French institute dedicated to the study of Asian societies, started the dig in cooperation with the ...

The newest U.S. ambassador to Cambodia is visiting Long Beach, which is home to the largest population of Cambodians outside their native country – many of whom are still connected to their homeland.   ...

More than 100 striking workers at the Vanny Bio-Research company in Pursat town agreed to go back to work yesterday after mediators promised to find an adequate resolution to their demands for a wage hike. The company breeds and cares for 30,000-40,000 monkeys they sell to ...

Women’s inclusion and empowerment in Cambodia’s burgeoning financial sector is crucial for the Kingdom’s economic growth, said delegates yesterday at a regional economic forum. ...