News
Labor Ministry lauds success
The Labor Ministry found jobs for more than 210,000 people last year, 55 percent of which were for women and 40 percent were overseas. According to a Labor Ministry report on its annual congress obtained by Khmer Times on February 19, the ministry provided occupation services ...
The new normal: facing climate change
Last year’s drought caused a nationwide crisis, with harvests ruined, forest fires raging and many rural families struggling to feed themselves. As experts take stock of the impact, news of another potential El Niño raises a question: Is Cambodia prepared for the next drought? For ...
Illegal fishing blamed for protected turtle death
An adult female royal turtle, among 21 of the endangered species released into the wild with installed microchips and GPS transmitters in 2015, has been found dead due to illegal electrofishing in Koh Kong province’s Sre Ambel district. According to the Wildlife Conservation Society on February ...
Help clear mines, Canada urged
Cambodia has asked Canada to consider resuming aid for demining. Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn made the request when he met Canadian ambassador Donica Pottie, who is based in Bangkok, at the Foreign Ministry on February 16. Canada’s development aid for Cambodia, including assistance on demining, ended ...
Ministry working on labor laws
The draft law on the minimum wage for garment and footwear industry workers will be completed and approved this year, according to Labor Minister Ith Samheng. The ministry is also working on another draft law concerning labor dispute resolution, he told the ministry’s annual congress on ...
Government floats new pay scheme
Minister of Labour Ith Sam Heng on February 15 fingered large end-of-contract severance payments as a prime reason owners flee when their factories go bankrupt, suggesting the introduction of a yearly bonus scheme and fortnightly salaries would “reduce the risk” of garment workers being left ...
Drought fears spark warning
The government has warned people to be careful about water supplies – for people and animals as well as rice fields – due to fears of a repeat of last year’s drought. Nhem Vanda, the vice-president of the National Committee for Disaster Management, said on February ...
Hundreds of logged trees found in protected Pursat forest
An official delegation led by the head of the nation’s illegal logging task force found hundreds of felled trees inside protected forest areas in Pursat province on February 14, officials said. National Military Police chief General Sao Sokha, who heads the task force, and more ...
Government plugs rubber switch
The government is seeking intrepid smallholder farmers to pilot a project that would transform 6,000 hectares of cropland in two provinces into a patchwork of small rubber plantations. The Ministry of Agriculture is eyeing 5,000 hectares of land in Ratanakkiri and 1,000 hectares in Battambang ...
Party Law draws EU eyes
A European parliamentarian has submitted a “priority question” to Europe’s high representative for foreign affairs, Frederica Mogherini, urging strong action against Cambodia in response to recent threats by Prime Minister Hun Sen to dissolve opposition parties. Legislation proposed on Monday by the ruling Cambodian People’s ...