Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Cambodia in brief: September 28, 2016

With Cambodia National Rescue Party lawmakers due to meet their ruling party counterparts this morning at the National Assembly, talk of a deal to resolve the Kingdom’s political stalemate hangs in the air, though it remains to be seen what, if any, compromises will be made.

A long-in-the-works “code of conduct” for Cambodia’s artists and performers moved a step closer to reality yesterday, a fact that has prompted concerns of censorship from some in the artistic community.

The government’s wage-setting body, the Labour Advisory Council (LAC), will Thursday afternoon discuss – and quite possibly rule on – a wage proposal emerging from today’s final tripartite meeting of garment industry stakeholders.

The integration of technology into Cambodia’s agricultural sector is vital to increase the competitiveness and overall performance of the Kingdom’s harvest, but efforts to push for widespread adoption of innovative solutions has been slow to take off, industry experts and stakeholders said at a forum in Phnom Penh yesterday.

China has signed an agreement to assist the Kingdom with judicial reforms and to share expertise in overhauling such systems, though one international expert yesterday cautioned that China shouldn’t be considered “a model for justice reform in Cambodia”.

Government officials have denied the sand-dredging industry is mired in corruption in the wake of damning figures pointing to a 70-million-tonne hole in Cambodian sand-export numbers to Singapore.

Despite uncertainty over the global economy, which has been stymied by a continued weak recovery in many developed economies, Cambodia will continue on its projected growth rate for the rest of this year and into 2017, buoyed by sustained growth from China and India, the Asian Development Bank (ABD) said yesterday in a reiteration of its previous growth forecast.

The trial of Cambodian-American businessman San Richer and three others accused of defrauding a local businesswoman out of a $1 million investment in 2012 resumed yesterday at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court.

Cambodia’s rampant land grabs have had a devastating impact on the psychological health of women and have led to a sharp increase in the rates of domestic violence they suffer, according to a new report.

An unidentified man in his twenties was shot dead yesterday morning in Siem Reap town’s Ampil commune, according to local authorities.

Outspoken Radio ABC owner “Aja A” has announced he will not apologise to journalists – whom his media outlet branded as thieves and extortionists – after the Ministry of Information announced it would call him to meet with the aggrieved reporters.

The National Election Committee (NEC) has thrown cold water on a request by the Cambodian Labour Confederation (CLC) that it permit garment workers extra time off to register in their home provinces without receiving a pay cut, according to a letter posted on the NEC’s Facebook page yesterday.

At least one person was killed and two more seriously injured after a speeding truck overturned and plunged into a pond in Kampong Thom province’s Santuk district on Monday afternoon, an accident an official attributed to a “sleepy” driver, who fled the scene.

Japan has pledged to help fund three projects in Cambodia with a grant totalling about $31.9 million.

Representatives from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Ministry of Environment and a handful of climate advocates met in Phnom Penh yesterday to brainstorm ways the country can transition to a “sustainable energy future”.

Twenty-six Cambodians were arrested by Thai authorities for allegedly illegally logging rosewood in Pang Sida National Park in Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province on Sunday.

Villagers from Preah Sihanouk province yesterday again protested the ongoing imprisonment of a local woman arrested for illegal forest clearing, claiming local authorities often allow illegal logging and are using her as a scapegoat.

An obscure NGO is providing life insurance coverage to low-income individuals, mostly garment workers, offering a financial safety net for the families of its policyholders, but triggering the concern of insurance regulators who take issue to its unlicensed operations.

Cambodia has been selected to chair the Global Coordination Bureau of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) next year, state-owned media outlet AKP reported yesterday.

The number of active SIM card users in Cambodia has decreased to 19.2 million from a late-2015 high of 21 million, Moa Chakyra, director-general of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication, was quoted as saying in state-owned media outlet AKP yesterday.


The state-owned bank entrusted with extending $27 million in emergency loans to millers to purchase rice paddy has marginally lowered the interest rate on these conditional loans in an effort to shorten some of the strings attached.

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