Government
National government
Details still murky for 2015 budget
A request for more information about the proposed $3.75 billon national budget has been denied and the bill will now likely pass through the National Assembly next week relatively unchanged, opposition lawmaker Son Chhay said yesterday. ...
Shane Worrell
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/details-still-murky-2015-budget
Conservationists ask minister to take action
A group of conservationists in Kratie province submitted on Friday a formal request asking Defence Minister Tea Banh to discipline two Kratie-based military commanders. They accuse the officers of profiting from illegal logging and threatening to kill an activist should he continue his work. ...
Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/conservationists-ask-minister-take-action
Thirteen ethnic Montagnards from Vietnam seek refugee status in Cambodia
More than a dozen ethnic Montagnards are hiding in the jungles of northeastern Cambodia after fleeing alleged religious persecution across the border in Vietnam, a member of a hill tribe living in the area said Monday. The 13 Christian Montagnards, who crossed into Cambodia’s Ratanakiri province ...
Joshua Lipes
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/montagnards-11242014144636.html
Police arrest 17 Bangladeshis wanted for human trafficking
A yearlong investigation by immigration police culminated in the arrest on Saturday of 17 Bangladeshi men hiding in Phnom Penh and Poipet City to avoid charges of human trafficking in their home country, police said Sunday. Three of the fugitives, arrested at a guesthouse in Phnom ...
Ben Sokhean
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/police-arrest-17-bangladeshis-wanted-for-human-trafficking-72876/
Authorities warn union leader
Police on Friday warned labour union leader Pav Sina that if he continues to lead protests – thereby violating the rules of a court order – he will be arrested. The Collective Union of Movement of Workers leader was called to the Choam Chao commune police ...
Mom Kunthear
http://phnompenhpost.com/national/authorities-warn-union-leader
Workers say $128 per month is not enough to live on
Cambodian unions say they will not agree to a minimum wage proposed by the Cambodian government. Union leaders say the government’s proposed minimum wage of $128 per month will not be enough for workers to keep up with the rising cost of living in the country. ...
Heng Reaksmey
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/workers-say-128-per-month-is-not-enough-to-live-on/2529249.html
Regional officials meet over rubber fall
Officials from Southeast Asia’s natural rubber-producing nations met in Kuala Lumpur yesterday for the 12th International Tripartite Rubber Council (ITRC). Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) joined ITRC core nations – Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia – for the event, which is being touted as a joint ...
May Kunmakara
http://phnompenhpost.com/business/regional-officials-meet-over-rubber-fall
New panel for teachers’ problems
Teachers will be able to file complaints to the government under a new commission led by Minister of Education, Youth and Sport Hang Chuon Naron. The commission will include Naron as chairman, two undersecretaries of state as deputies and a number of other officials. ...
Chhay Channyda
http://phnompenhpost.com/national/new-panel-teachers%E2%80%99-problems
GMAC claims on true wages ‘exaggerated’
The Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) said in a statement this week that under the new minimum wage workers can actually earn up to $250 per month, though others were quick to label the figure exaggerated. The Ministry of Labour last week approved the new ...
Mom Kunthear and Sean Teehan
http://phnompenhpost.com/national/gmac-claims-true-wages-%E2%80%98exaggerated%E2%80%99
Commerce Minister announces reduction in petrol prices
Gasoline prices have been decreased by 300 Riel per liter, according to an announcement issued Thursday by Ministry of Commerce. The oil prices of four companies are decreased from current 5,050 Riel to 4,750 Riel per liter for gasoline, while from 4,750 Riel to 4,500 ...
The Cambodia Herald News Staff
http://thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/commerce-minister-announces-reduction-in-petrol-prices-7695
Ministry forecasts rainfall on 24-30 Nov.
The Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology has forecasted that Cambodia would see nationwide rainfall from next week, according to its statement on Wednesday. ...
The Cambodia Herald News Staff
http://thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/ministry-forecasts-rainfall-on-24-30-nov%E2%80%AC-7691
European diplomats concerned by arrests
European diplomats called on Interior Minister Sar Kheng yesterday to express their concerns about the recent spate of activists’ arrests, with the minister reportedly saying that he believed a one-year sentence speedily handed down to seven Boeung Kak lake protesters last week was rather “heavy”. ...
Kevin Ponniah
http://phnompenhpost.com/national/european-diplomats-concerned-arrests
‘Cyber War Team’ to monitor web
The Council of Ministers’ Press and Quick Reaction Unit has created a “Cyber War Team” to monitor and collect information from Facebook and other websites in order to “protect the government’s stance and prestige,” according to a proclamation published in the Royal Gazette. The document, signed ...
Matt Blomberg and Kuch Naren
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/cyber-war-team-to-monitor-web-72677/
Maid agreement looms
Under an agreement with Malaysia, Cambodian migrant workers will be allowed to hold on to their passports and copies of their contracts but will be banned from any “political activities”, according to a draft version of the document obtained by the Post. The memorandum of understanding ...
Alice Cuddy
http://phnompenhpost.com/national/maid-agreement-looms
Foreign Ministry strikes back at Subedi remarks
Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong yesterday defended the independence of Cambodia’s judiciary following concerns raised by a UN official about the whirlwind imprisonment of 11 activists arrested for protesting last week. Kuong accused Surya Subedi, the UN’s special rapporteur for human rights, of making a habit ...
Taing Vida
http://phnompenhpost.com/national/foreign-ministry-strikes-back-subedi-remarks
Cambodia exports over 300,000 tons of rice in during January-October
Cambodia exported 304,788 tons of rice in first ten months of 2014, up from 294,154 tons exported in the same period last year, according to a report of Ministry Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. ...
The Cambodia Herald News Staff
http://thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/cambodia-exports-over-300000-tons-of-rice-in-during-january-october-7685
Global rice traders in Cambodia to explore business opportunities
Some 300 rice traders and millers from around 40 countries met here on Wednesday to seek opportunities to expand their rice businesses, officials said. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the World Rice Conference, Commerce Minister Sun Chanthol said the conference was an opportunity for Cambodia ...
Global Post News Staff
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/xinhua-news-agency/141119/global-rice-traders-cambodia-explore-business-opportunities
Cambodian parliament panel chief questions management of Angkor Wat revenue
A parliamentary commission leader wants Cambodia’s tourism ministry to manage revenue generated by the country’s iconic Angkor Wat temple complex, amid concerns that the government is losing money by retaining a private company to oversee ticket sales. A quasi-government group, Apsara Authority, which is responsible ...
Roseanne Gerin
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/angkor-wat-11192014172942.html
20 Cambodian workers rescued in Indonesia to return home this afternoon
20 Cambodian workers, who were rescued recently in Indonesia, will return home Wednesday afternoon, said a senior official. Kuong said the repatriation of the Cambodian workers is arranged by the Cambodian Embassy in Indonesia in collaboration with International Organization for Migration (IOM). Following a request ...
The Cambodia Herald News Staff
http://thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/20-cambodian-workers-rescued-in-indonesia-to-return-home-this-afternoon:-spokesman-7684
Justice Ministry says hands tied in CNRP arrests
Despite opposition party hopes to the contrary, the Ministry of Justice yesterday rejected the idea that it could intervene in the court system to release Meach Sovannara, a Cambodia National Rescue Party official jailed last week. According to ministry spokesman Kem Santepheap, a letter from CNRP ...
Meas Sokchea and Buth Reaksmey Kongkea
http://phnompenhpost.com/national/justice-ministry-says-hands-tied-cnrp-arrests
After hiatus, World Bank OKs proposal for new funding
Officials at the World Bank, which in 2011 froze new loans to Cambodia amid a furore surrounding the Boeung Kak lake evictions, have approved preliminary proposals to issue funding for a project that could see families forcibly removed in Kampong Thom province. Under the World Bank’s ...
Daniel Pye and Mom Kunthear
http://phnompenhpost.com/national/after-hiatus-world-bank-oks-proposal-new-funding
Japan grants US$ 2.1 mln for road project in Cambodia
Japanese government granted US$ 2.1 million in grand aid on Monday for road improvement project in Cambodia. The grand aid agreement was signed by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia, Yuji Kumamaru, for the implementation of the project ...
The Cambodia Herald News Staff
http://thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/japan-grants-us-21-mln-for-road-project-in-cambodia-7673
New members named for top judicial council
King Norodom Sihamoni officially appointed new members to the judicial body that oversees the Kingdom’s judges and prosecutors last week, following the passing of a controversial law earlier this year outlining its organisation and functioning. According to a Royal Decree that was signed Thursday by the ...
Cheang Sokha
http://phnompenhpost.com/national/new-members-named-top-judicial-council
Most are OK with the new wage, not all
After meeting with members, several labour union leaders yesterday said that they will not hold protests against the government-set garment industry minimum wage for 2015. Minister of Labour Ith Sam Heng last week approved $128 as 2015’s minimum monthly wage in Cambodia’s garment sector. The increase, ...
Mom Kunthear
http://phnompenhpost.com/national/most-are-ok-new-wage-not-all