Cambodia in brief: February 1, 2017

Hun Sen demands $1M in Sam Rainsy defamation suit as CNRP stripped of status Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday threatened to have the court seize and sell the property of opposition leader Sam Rainsy, including the CNRP’s Phnom Penh headquarters, and proposed a legal amendment that would see him barred from leading a political party. READ MORE National Assembly seat allocation distorted: think tank The number of National Assembly seats for the 2018 elections does not match the size of the population in several provinces, leading to a distorted representation of votes, a new assessment by the think tank Future Forum shows. READ MORE  Asset declarations still out Even as the Anti-Corruption Unit plans an expansion of its widely criticised asset declaration process, an announcement released yesterday noted that only 81 percent of officials had submitted their asset records as of Monday, despite yesterday serving as the final deadline.  READ MORE  Tax tweak makes it hard to hide An amendment to the tax code gives government auditors clearer authority to access individual and corporate financial data, providing a tool to identify tax evasion and a deterrent to prevent it, tax professionals said yesterday. READ MORE New regional platform to develop tourism companies The Mekong Business Initiative (MBI) will launch a new platform next month aimed at developing startups in the tourism sector throughout the CLMV region, which includes Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. READ MORE Rithy Panh’s Exile to headline Cambodia's international film fest The organizers of the Cambodia International Film Festival have unveiled the preliminary schedule for the seventh edition of the event, to be held from March 4-9 in venues around the capital. Organisers expect the festival to match and possibly surpass in size last year’s event, which featured 140 films. READ MORE  Most popular story from yesterday Steeper entry at Angkor temples Ticket prices for Angkor Wat are scheduled to increase on Wednesday, with industry experts expressing cautious optimism that despite reports showing tourist spending fell last year, the sharp increase in admission fares at the country’s premier tourist attraction would not deter foreigners from visiting Cambodia. READ MORE