News
Activists claim arrests by Lao authorities at dam site
Two Cambodian activists say they were briefly detained by authorities in Laos on 24 January after sneaking across the border to take photographs of the planned site of the Don Sahong hydropower dam, which regional governments and environmentalists fear could cut into critical fish stocks downstream. Chum ...
Cambodia's national rice industry assembles to crown the top grains
A farmer from Battambang province took this year’s honor of growing the country’s top rice paddy on 24 January as industry heavyweights gathered in Phnom Penh for the first of the three-day Cambodia Rice Forum. “It is unbelievable,” said Hul Khlim, president of Sangha Phal Agriculture Community, ...
Vietnam congress ‘not likely to affect Cambodia ties’
As Vietnam’s Communist Party continues its weeklong congress to choose its general secretary, experts and analysts said the outcome would likely do little to change the historically close relationship between Cambodia and Vietnam’s ruling parties. Early media reports indicate that Nguyen Phu Trong will run for ...
Groups urge Kerry to demand government reforms
Five rights groups on 24 January called for United States Secretary of State John Kerry to use a visit to Phnom Penh this week to demand the Cambodian government stop persecuting political opponents and rights, environmental and trade union activists. Keep reading ...
Cambodian Government, UNHCR to share refugee responsibilities
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) on 21 January said that it would divide between itself and the Cambodian government the duties of processing and potentially relocating the scores of Montagnard asylum seekers whose claims the government finally agreed to hear on 20 January. Keep reading ...
Royal Group’s Sihanoukville port to be razed
A Cambodian government committee has ordered tycoon Kith Meng’s Royal Group to stop construction of a passenger port it was building on Sihanoukville’s Otres Beach, which it said was in clear violation of coastal development guidelines and had progressed without a permit. The National Committee for ...
Global slowdown sees a rise in jobless and vulnerable workers
The decelerating world economy is having far-reaching effects on unemployment, with new research projecting that the number of people out of work will grow to nearly 200 million this year, with millions of additional workers left vulnerable in developing countries, including Cambodia. Global unemployment reached 197.1 ...
Cambodian Government U-turn on Montagnard refugees
In a seeming about-face, the Cambodian government has backed away from its looming deadline to deport more than 100 Montagnards currently seeking asylum in Cambodia, instead pledging to “expedite” the process of assessing their refugee status. Following a meeting on 20 January in Phnom Penh between Interior ...
Governor visits Boeung Trabek following demolitions
Following the 19 January demolition of six homes in Village 1, a community on the southern shore of Phnom Penh’s Boeung Trabek reservoir, Municipal Governor Pa Socheatvong on 20 January addressed residents, promising a solution to a largely sceptical audience. Speaking on the afternoon of 20 January, Socheatvong said ...
Green energy remains untapped
Cambodia is overly reliant on developing large-scale hydro and fossil fuel-fired power stations, and should look to diversify its energy generation portfolio through cost-effective non-hydro renewable energy technologies that also offer fewer social and environmental costs, a study released on 20 January advised. In a report titled ...
