Cambodia in brief: February 1, 2017

PM Hun Sen tells ministers to ignore CNRP requests to appear at assembly A day after announcing plans to seize the opposition’s headquarters and push legislation that would oust its president, Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday continued to push home the attack on his rivals, slapping down their plans to summon three ministers to the parliament. READ MORE Officials investigating two avian flu outbreaks The Ministry of Health is testing a suspected human avian flu case following an outbreak in poultry in Svay Rieng province, with experts also investigating a different avian virus – H7N3 – new to Cambodia and discovered in ducks last month in Kampong Thom province, officials said yesterday. READ MORE  Kingdom rated ‘Not Free’ by report Cambodia earned a “Not Free” rating from Freedom House’s annual Freedom in the World Report yesterday, a label it has received from the American NGO every year since 1995. Cambodia received a rating of 31 out of 100, a slip of one point from the previous year. READ MORE  Siem Reap airport’s future up in the air The government is ready to move forward with negotiations on compensation for stripping a French company of its concession to operate Siem Reap’s international airport, while plans for the construction of a new Chinese-operated airport to serve the provincial capital are close to being finalised, a state official said yesterday. READ MORE Fintech potential still untapped Digital financial services have the potential to significantly expand economic activity in Cambodia by bridging the gap between existing financial products and growing credit needs, according to a new study. Adopting digital financial services, or fintech, could increase the Kingdom’s GDP by about 6 percent the authors concluded.  READ MORE Most popular story from yesterday 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