Government

In a few weeks, Cambodian high school seniors will sit down to take the national college entrance exam. Last August, Cambodia’s Minister Hang Chuon Naron pulled off a revolution. He cracked down on cheating. Pass and fail rates neatly flipped, with only 25 percent passing ...

Cross-border porters in Banteay Meanchey’s Poipet town over the weekend defended the decision last week to stage a demonstration over customs fees – a demonstration that turned violent and ultimately left four injured – saying that import tax and unofficial fees exacted by police are ...

A complaint lodged with the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) alleges that a high-level planning official in Phnom Penh has been illegally building a house that has caused damage to neighbouring buildings, and used his influence to override a court order for construction to stop. ...

In their latest crackdown on shisha, Phnom Penh police detained, “educated” and informed the parents of 80 people found smoking the flavored tobacco out of water pipes at two separate establishments over the weekend, officials said Sunday. ...

More than 300 locals from Tbong Khmum province accompanied by opposition lawmakers scuffled with Vietnamese soldiers Sunday morning while trying to reach a disputed 16.6-hectare plot of land along the country’s border with Vietnam. ...

Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh on Sunday warned the leaders of the CNRP to call off their “culture of dialogue” with the ruling CPP, which he said was an attempt by the opposition party’s leaders to trick their supporters. ...

More than 30,000 people are expected to turn out for CPP President Chea Sim’s funeral procession in Phnom Penh on Friday, with security around the city to be ramped up accordingly, a festival official said Wednesday. ...

Three refugees who have agreed to travel to Cambodia are being housed in the Nauru detention centre before they are scheduled to fly out. There are currently just four refugees who have agreed to take up the Australian government’s resettlement offer in Cambodia, despite a large ...

A final draft of the 26th ASEAN Chairman’s Statement says the group will call for intensified consultations on a code of conduct for the South China Sea. The draft, obtained by VOA Khmer from an ASEAN official who did not want to be identified, says the ...

A dissident group, which was unexpectedly given the green light last month to form a political party, claims it has already exceeded the number of signatures necessary to register. ...

A Cambodian migrant worker was shot dead by a Thai foreman at the construction site where he was working last week in Thailand’s Chachoengsao province, a border official said Sunday. ...

A lawyer for Russian developer Sergei Polonsky has filed a complaint with the Preah Sihanouk Provincial Court accusing the son of his former business partner of defamation for disseminating a letter that claims Mr. Polonsky paid officials $250,000 to imprison his father. ...

The Tourism Ministry has downgraded the one-year operating licenses of two hotels where children recently drowned in swimming pools in an effort to make them compensate the victims’ families and carry out safety upgrades. ...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has told opposition leader Sam Rainsy not to take revenge on him if one day he is out of power so as to maintain national peace and unity. ...

Cambodia will continue to diversify its export markets, and is optimistic that investors will reap good benefits from investing in the country. Prime Minister Hun Sen said to expand its exports, the government would promote transport connectivity and the logistic systems, improve the regulatory framework and ...

Actions by some claimant countries in the South China Sea dispute are further complicating Asean’s diplomatic efforts to draw up a binding Code of Conduct (CoC) to help defuse the ongoing spat. ...

ASEAN and the European Union (EU) are set to explore the possible resumption of talks on a free-trade agreement (FTA) after the ASEAN Economic Community comes into effect this year, Malaysia’s Bernama news agency reported Sunday. ...

A spokesman for the newly reconstituted National Election Committee (NEC) said Friday that Japan and the European Union (E.U.) have agreed to send experts to Cambodia next month to look for ways to improve the country’s flawed voter lists and to better educate voters. ...

Phnom Penh, Siem Reap City and Sihanoukville will each be divided into 10 zones to allow for easier management, according to the Ministry of Land Management. ...

Amid the latest rapprochement between Prime Minister Hun Sen and opposition CNRP leader Sam Rainsy, the two men are scheduled to team up in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday as hosts at a reception for Cambodians working in Malaysia. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen and opposition leader Sam Rainsy will meet together with Cambodian people living in Malaysia this weekend, Sam Rainsy posted in his Facebook page. ...

China’s growing influence in Laos, marked by expanded investment and trade, has led some international agencies to warn Laos about an unhealthy financial dependence on China.  Analysts say Laos is looking to balance China’s influence by drawing support from longstanding backer Vietnam as well as ...

Funcinpec party president Prince Norodom Ranariddh has called on the opposition and ruling parties to form a tripartite coalition with the royalists after Cambodia National Rescue Party president Sam Rainsy and Prime Minister Hun Sen embarked on a “honeymoon” after years spent at each others’ ...

A spokesman for the government on Thursday released a 20-minute video monologue accusing deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha of secretly harboring a “communist” tendency, only days after Mr. Sokha used the same word to describe the ruling CPP. ...