News

The National Election Committee has so far approved more than 30,000 observers from NGOs for the June 4 commune elections and confirmed that more than 100,000 observers affiliated with political parties will also monitor voting. ...

Local logistics firm Kerry Worldbridge officially launched its customs bonded warehouse yesterday, allowing firms to import and store materials in the facility without paying duties and taxes provided the final product is re-exported. ...

A second ship accused by the NGO Mother Nature of illegally exporting dredged ocean sand last week is expected to arrive at a port in China today with a cargo of silica sand, which is exempt from the ban, the ship’s owner said yesterday. ...

Fourteen community representatives speaking for thousands of families yesterday petitioned the South Korean Embassy, Environment Ministry and Forestry Administration to halt the expansion of a controversial “reforestation” project by a Korean company situated between the protected Prey Lang forest and Mekong River. Their petition – ...

Ground was officially broken yesterday on a new facility at Prey Sar prison that will soon enable the upper crust of the Kingdom’s underworld to buy their way out of overcrowded jails and into the relative luxury of a privately run institution. ...

Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (SAP), the state enterprise that operates Cambodia’s principal seaport, announced a share price of 5,040 riel ($1.26) yesterday for its upcoming initial public offering following a bookbuilding exercise that garnered a strong response from institutional investors. ...

Cambodians at home and abroad yesterday mourned the passing of peacekeeper Im Sam, who was shot to death during a guerrilla ambush in Central African Republic. He was the Kingdom’s first peacekeeper to ever be killed in combat, officials said. ...

Cambodia has enjoyed strong economic growth but needs to improve its governance and rule of law in order to promote greater development, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escap) said in a report released yesterday.​ ...

An environmental ranger and a village chief were questioned yesterday by the Pailin Provincial Court for allegedly colluding to grab, clear and sell land in a protected area supported by the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation, according to officials. ...

Facebook has long been the key battleground in Cambodian politics, with parties wrestling for the ear of a young and increasingly connected electorate. But recent analytics show a particularly political brand of social media addiction in the Kingdom, even by regional standards, pushing the stakes ...

As Cambodia prepares to host the World Economic Forum in East Asia, an official from the group that organizes the event has said the country is ready, having seen steady growth and reductions in poverty in recent years. ...

The U.S. has told Cambodia to continue accepting Cambodian citizens deported from the U.S., despite repeated requests to renegotiate a repatriation agreement between the two countries, Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn said on Monday. ...

The prime minister’s older brother Hun San has sent a letter to the Interior Ministry asking for “serious action” to be taken against a deputy National Police chief over an alleged dispute on his land in Banteay Meanchey province. ...

About 300 victims of an alleged Ponzi scheme filed complaints with the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, the Justice Ministry and the National Assembly on Monday asking for the government’s help in recouping their losses. ...

While financial inclusion is a top priority for emerging economies, new research suggests more stringent enforcement of anti-money regulations in recent years has resulted in major Western banks disconnecting from these regions, leaving local businesses without access to the international financial system. ...

Authorities intercepted four trucks carrying 81 pieces of illegal luxury timber at a checkpoint in Ratanakkiri province’s O’Yadav district last Friday, District Military Police Commader Sok Min said yesterday. ...

The Interior Ministry announced yesterday it had recently deported 46 foreigners from six countries and was holding 87 it believed had entered Cambodia illegally or overstayed their visas. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen returned to Cambodia yesterday after an urgent medical examination in Singapore due to exhaustion. The premier was forced to cancel diplomatic meetings and ceremonies last week and was rushed abroad for treatment. ...

Japan-based company Metawater will provide its power-saving inverter technology to a water treatment plant in Cambodia’s capital through an arrangement that will help the Japanese government earn carbon reduction credits, according to a Nikkei Asian Review report. ...

Provincial tourism department director Soy Sinol said a construction study of the Asian Development Bank-funded project had been completed.The $18-million tourism seaport is due to come into service by 2019.​   ...

The Mekong River Commission held its second stakeholder meeting on Laos’s controversial proposed Pak Beng dam on Friday, giving involved parties the opportunity to hear responses to concerns raised at the first meeting in February. ...

Speaking at a pagoda inauguration on Saturday, Phnom Penh Governor Pa Socheatvong said City Hall is looking to move warehouses and automobile repair shops out of the city centre to the outskirts to reduce pollution and traffic congestion – a move Hun Sen’s sister Hun ...

Reacting to criticism from the CNRP and other organizations, Cambodia’s top election body on Sunday defended its support of a ban on election marches along prominent public areas of Phnom Penh, saying it was for public safety. ...

The Mines and Energy Ministry on Friday defended sand exports reported last week by an environmental NGO, saying Cambodia’s sand ban did not include the type seen in a video being loaded onto vessels off the coast of Sihanoukville. ...