News

The government is forming an interministerial committee to review an application from a Chinese firm to build another hydropower dam in Koh Kong province, according to a spokesman from the Mines and Energy Ministry. ...

A Chinese-based oil exploration company and a Canadian partner have entered into preliminary negotiations with the government to obtain an exploration license in Block D in the Gulf of Thailand, according to a government spokesman. ...

The Ministry of Education has included a business training programme at 25 high schools across the country to give students the soft skills necessary to create their own jobs or find suitable jobs upon graduation. ...

The Ministry of Environment will soon collaborate with some NGOs to host a Bird Photos Fair for the first time at Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district in order to increase public awareness and understanding of Cambodian bird species. ...

UN special Rapporteur Rhona Smith’s request to meet with jailed opposition leader Kem Sokha in a Tbong Khmum prison was rejected by an investigating judge who cited “important tasks” that needed to be completed before outsiders were allowed such access. ...

The Ministry of Mines and Energy announced that 88 percent of villages nationwide will be electrified by the end of the year, setting the government on its way to achieve its goal of connecting every village in the country to the national grid by 2020. ...

The Ministry of Defence on Thursday warned civilians and aircraft to avoid a section of Kampong Speu province from March 15 to March 30 while Cambodia participates in its Golden Dragon military training exercises with China. ...

Provincial police broke up a gender equality event in Tbong Khmum yesterday despite the fact that the NGO hosting the event had received permission for the celebration, members of the Coalition of Cambodian Farmers Community (CCFC) said. ...

In celebration of International Women’s Rights Day, Prime Minister Hun Sen pledged to nominate more female secretaries and undersecretaries of state if he were given another mandate while chiding his ministers for not having hired more women officials. ...

Clashes between villagers protesting a land dispute and security officers erupted in gunfire yesterday in Kratie province, with a rights official initially reporting six killed, and villagers at the scene confirming at least two dead – while authorities provided a starkly different account, saying that ...

New resorts, restaurants and casinos could be coming to Bokor National Park after environment officials endorsed an “improved” plan for the mountain along with oknha Sok Kong’s hotel company, according to the government’s news agency. ...

Cambodian and Myanmar fishermen in Thailand are often paid below the minimum wage, see their payment withheld and face abuses, according to a new International Labour Organisation study. For the baseline study Ship to Shore Rights the ILO interviewed 434 mostly Myanmar and Cambodian fishermen ...

Imprisoned former Ambassador Suth Dina appeared in the Supreme Court yesterday to challenge the procedures of the Appeal Court, where he attempted to get his five-year sentence for “abuse of power” and “unlawful exploitation” overturned in August. ...

The Interior Ministry said it will investigate documents and a video from 2013 that resurfaced yesterday showing former opposition leader Sam Rainsy committing to upholding the rights of ethnic minorities in four northeastern Cambodian provinces, with a Justice Ministry spokesman saying it qualified as “treason”. ...

The Education Ministry plans to cooperate with the Ministry of Education of South Korea to help train teachers in Cambodia, specifically in new teaching techniques and on the subjects of science and mathematics. ...

Six nests of the critically endangered white-shouldered ibis have been found in the northern plains of Preah Vihear province. According to a statement from the Wildlife Conservation Society yesterday, the nests were found in Tmatbouy village in the Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary. ...

About 100 residents from Koh Kong province’s Sre Ambel and Botum Sakor districts gathered to protest and block the road of Koh Kong Sugar Industry to demand the company, local authorities and relevant ministries expedite a resolution to end their land dispute. ...

Royal Cambodian Armed Forces chief of joint staff Hun Manet has said he disagrees that Preah Sihanouk province, where Chinese investment in hotels and casinos has skyrocketed, will become a second Macau. Lieutenant General Manet made the comment on Monday during a ground-breaking ceremony for the ...

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the extractive industry, including some projects expected to be approved before the end of the year, now equals $1.3 billion, making it one of the most valuable economic sectors in the kingdom, according to data from the Ministry of Mines ...

Government officials today shot down rumours that Cambodia would be issuing its own national cryptocurrency, despite international media coverage and a high-profile government official’s plan to attend an event organized by the company responsible for the claims. ...

UN special Rapporteur Rhona Smith officially commenced her latest visit to the Kingdom yesterday, meeting with the Ministry of Justice to raise concerns over a slew of legislative and constitutional amendments undertaken as part of the government’s recent crackdown on political dissent. ...

After leading the legal team that won the widely condemned dissolution of the CNRP at the Supreme Court in November, Ky Tech, lawyer for the Council of Ministers and Prime Minister Hun Sen, has been given a rank equivalent to minister just weeks after he ...

The Commerce Ministry announced a standardised certification process for halal food in Cambodia yesterday, a move that was praised by Muslim religious leaders and food producers. ...

Officials are negotiating cash compensation for hundreds of villagers in Kandal province who will likely be displaced to make way for a massive airport project. Villagers and officials met at Kandal Stung District Hall yesterday to discuss the land dispute, one of several that have ...