Government
War declared on illegal weapons
Sao Sokha, the commander-in-chief of the military police, has ordered his units to crack down on illegal gun ownership, pledging to resign his post if he is unable to reduce the prevalence of arms. Speaking at the Royal Gendarmerie’s annual meeting on Monday, he ordered ...
May Titthara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/22082/war-declared-on-illegal-weapons/
Construction jobs doubled last year: ministry
The construction sector created almost twice as many jobs last year as it did in 2014, according to a report from the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction. ...
Sum Manet
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/22067//
Cambodia preps peacekeeper deployment
Prime Minister Hun Sen told the United Nations that Cambodia is well equipped to send more peacekeepers on missions abroad if such a request is made. ...
Ven Rathavong
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/22074/cambodia-preps-peacekeeper-deployment/
Campaigners dismiss Facebook as a solution to land problems
Activists have cast doubt on whether Prime Minister Hun Sen’s new initiative for the country’s problems to be solved through social media can tackle the country’s most pervasive problem—land disputes. ...
Hean Socheata
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/campaigner-dismiss-facebook-as-a-solution-to-land-problems/3212705.html
‘No land revolution’ coming: official
While vast tracts of Cambodia remain concentrated in the hands of a few and accusations of land grabbing remain rife, the broader distribution of land is more than equitable and could never lead to an uprising, the government official in charge of finding solutions to ...
Lay Samean and Jack Davies
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/no-land-revolution-coming-official
Rice sector facing collapse, millers warn
About half of the country’s rice millers and exporters went out of business last year and those clinging on are likely to follow suit within two years unless the government injects capital into the sector and takes measures to curb the flood of imported rice ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/22030/rice-sector-facing-collapse--millers-warn/
Forestry crimes decrease by 9 percent in 2015, report says
Forestry crimes fell by around 9 percent last year compared to 2014, according to an annual report released by the Ministry of Agriculture on Friday. ...
Khuon Narim
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/forestry-crimes-decrease-by-9-percent-in-2015-report-says-109231/
Property transfer tax rises ‘signals strong market’
Revenue from the property transfer taxes collected by the General Department of Taxation (GDT) was about $72 million last year, according to a report from the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction. ...
Sum Manet
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/22010/property-transfer-tax-rises----signals-strong-market---/
Government starts preparing confiscated ELCs for poor
Land Management Minister Im Chhun Lim said on Monday his staff were already at work studying land that the government has confiscated from economic land concession (ELC) owners for redistribution to poor families, though details on the location of the sites remained elusive. ...
Kang Sothear
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/government-starts-preparing-confiscated-elcs-for-poor-109220/
Gov’t: illegal fishing on rise
Police officials at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said cases of illegal fishing continued to rise last year, when almost 4,000 illegal fishing offenses were stopped and 181 were sent to court. ...
Ban Sokrith
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/22020/gov---t--illegal-fishing-on-rise/
Cambodia, Vietnamese pledge crime cooperation
The Justice Ministries of Cambodia and Vietnam will sign agreements regarding inmate transfers and mutual assistance, according to Cambodian Ministry of Justice spokesman Chin Malin. The agreements will make it easier and more efficient for the Justice Ministries to crack down on border crimes, particularly ...
Taing Vid
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/22028/cambodia--vietnamese-pledge-crime-cooperation/
Ministry says arsenic levels in rice 'no problem'
The Ministry of Agriculture has played down the results of a study that found high levels of arsenic in some samples of locally grown rice. ...
Jack Davies
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ministry-says-arsenic-levels-rice-no-problem
Sar Kheng paying traffic cops bonus out of own pocket
Interior Minister Sar Kheng has been paying traffic officers daily bonuses directly from his own pocket since January 1, information he revealed on Friday at a ministerial meeting on the transparent disbursement of traffic fine revenue, officials said yesterday. ...
Bun Sengkong and Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/sar-kheng-paying-traffic-cops-bonus-out-own-pocket
Philippine army to assist Cambodian military
The Commanding General of the Philippine Army Eduardo M. Año pledged to strengthen bilateral ties with the Kingdom and train Cambodian armed forces in natural disaster relief, sea security, drug trafficking and illegal border crossing prevention on Friday during a meeting with Commander-in-Chief of the ...
Ban Sokrith
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21976/philippine-army-to-assist-cambodian-military/
Building for Thai princess not luxury toilet, officials say
Following media reports that $40,000 was spent to build a luxury outhouse for Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn to use during her recent visit to Ratanakkiri province, authorities released a statement on Friday rejecting the notion that the building was a toilet. ...
Kang Sothear
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/building-for-thai-princess-not-luxury-toilet-officials-say-109140/
New scrutiny for heavy trucks on tsubasa bridge
The Ministry of Public Works and Transport has set up a checkpoint with a vehicle scale at the eastern entrance to Tsubasa Bridge on Friday, after an overloaded rice truck damaged the bridge’s pavement last week. ...
Pech Sotheary
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/new-scrutiny-heavy-trucks-tsubasa-bridge
US museum returns stolen Rama statue
A 10th century stone carving of the Hindu deity Rama, the last remaining statue from the Koh Ker temple complex that had been on public display outside Cambodia, was returned to Phnom Penh last week, officials confirmed on Sunday. ...
Peter Ford and Ouch Sony
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/us-museum-returns-stolen-rama-statue-109134/
PM’s son warns that civil war is possible
Cambodia could be headed to another civil war if the country’s young people fail to appreciate and preserve the peace achieved after decades of civil conflict, Hun Many, the son of Prime Minister Hun Sen, said over the weekend. ...
May Titthara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21971/pm---s-son-warns-that-civil-war-is-possible/
NEC reforms must reach local level to be effective, analysts say
As the National Election Committee seeks to reform itself and the election process, election observers say it is failing at the provincial and local level. Critics say hundreds of NEC directors and deputies across the country could potentially fail to implement the policies of the ...
Pin Sisovann
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/nec-reforms-must-reach-local-level-to-be-effective-analysts-say/3209656.html
China admiral talks warships with Cambodia as navy drill shores up ties
China held a joint naval drill with Cambodia for the first time on Friday, tightening a budding relationship that could give Beijing a small but strategic foothold in a region being strongly courted by the United States. ...
Analysts suggest now is the time to replace aging, ineffective officials
Cambodia’s ministries are run by an increasingly aged demographic. Some analysts say the government should consider beginning to replace the people in many of these posts with younger officials. ...
Hul Reaksmey
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/analysts-suggest-now-is-the-time-to-replace-aging-ineffective-officials/3209638.html
KNUP holds first congress
About 2,800 supporters attended the first congress of Nhek Bun Chhay’s Khmer National United Party (KNUP) in Phnom Penh yesterday, a party spokesperson said, weeks after splitting from the Prince Norodom Ranariddh-controlled Funcinpec party. ...
Ananth Baliga
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/knup-holds-first-congress
Illegal construction sites surge almost 40 percent: Gov’t
The number of construction sites without permits rose almost 40 percent in the capital last year, with officials and realtors putting this down to a lack of understanding of regulations. ...
Sum Manet
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21906/illegal-construction-sites-surge-almost-40-percent--gov---t/
Human trafficking up, spurred by migration
Human trafficking out of Cambodia is on the rise, according to an Interior Ministry report released on Thursday, and is being fueled by relaxed border controls and economic disparity in the region, according to a separate U.N. report. ...
Taylor O'Connell and Ben Sokhean
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/human-trafficking-up-spurred-by-migration-109004/