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Phnom Penh police chief Lieutenant General Sar Thet urged traffic police in all districts to stop taking bribes from the owners of trucks transporting goods. He made the remarks on Friday last week after seeing that some traffic police officers had not complied with the order. He advised the elimination of bribes from trucks and other vehicles by instructing all traffic police to check for wagons carrying charcoal or other transportation vehicles to dare to travel in the capital during restricted hours. He said: “When people are abusing the traffic law, please explain to them clearly about their mistake with polite words and gestures, and all fines must be issued with ticket receipt.” Lt Gen Thet added that traffic police must not argue with drunk drivers because it makes a scene and affects other road users. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501024315/pp-police-chief-urges-end-to-traffic-bribe-collection/

Police in Siem Reap province’s Soutr Nikum district yesterday sent a pair of lovers to the provincial court for questioning over the alleged murder of the girl’s 11-year-old brother because he caught them having sex. The murder took place about 9.30 pm on January 8 at the backyard of the two siblings’ house located in the district’s Ta Ye commune. District deputy police chief Major Chan Saroeun yesterday identified the suspects as Chith Phan, 21, a construction worker, and his girlfriend Lay Sali, 17, a farmer. He identified the victim as Lay Bunleng, a primary school student. Maj Sareoun said that the two suspects’ confessed during the police interrogation. He said that on the day of the murder, the sibling’s parents had left the house to stay overnight at their farm in another district. Maj Saroeun said Phan came to visit Sali at 7pm and about 9.30pm, they both went to have sex in a bed behind the house while Bunleng pretended to be sleeping. “When they were having sex the victim arrived and saw them. The victim became angry with his elder sister and said he would inform their parents what she did when they came home,” Maj Sareoun said. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501023024/lovers-arrested-over-killing-of-girls-brother/

Cambodia registered new 163 factories last year, bringing the total operating factories to 1,879 factories last year, data from the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology, and Innovation shows. The registered factories generate over 980,000 jobs for local people. However, in light of COVID-19 pandemic, 148 factories have been shut down temporarily and completely. The ministry emphasised that the industrial products produced last year were valued at $7.433 billion, a year-on-year increase of 15 percent. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501023294/cambodias-number-of-factories-increase-to-1879-last-year/

Hanoi (VNA) - Authorities of Phnom Penh capital city has just issued a regulation to deal with the growing number of Omicron variant infections in Cambodia. Phnom Penh has requested all 14 districts in the city and municipal departments to strictly comply with COVID-19-related regulations, particularly strengthening communications campaigns to raise the public awareness on the matter. Business owners are required to check clients’ vaccination cards, while customers who have not received the booster shot four months after injecting the full basic doses are not allowed to come to public places. On February 10, Cambodia recorded 262 new cases of COVID-19, which were all Omicron variant infections. Meanwhile COVID-19 preventive measures are likely to be increased in neighbouring Thailand for Valentine’s Day and Songkran as daily infections have exceeded 10,000 for several days. The Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA)’s Operation Centre is considering proposing tougher preventive measures for Valentine’s Day next week and Songkran in April, according to a Government House source. The suggestion, along with other proposals by the Operation Centre, will be submitted for approval by the CCSA, which is headed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, at its meeting on February 11. On February 10, Thailand confirmed 14,822 new cases, the highest since September 11 last year. To date, the nation’s caseload hit 2,545,873, with 22,364 deaths./. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/cambodia-tightens-pandemic-prevention-measures/221903.vnp

The parties, led by former CNRP officials, would attempt to unseat the CPP in 2023 general elections. Six of Cambodia’s opposition groups, including the quickly growing Candlelight Party, are in talks to form a political alliance to compete with Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) ahead of a general election slated for next year. Leaders of the six parties – most of whom are former officials with the banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) – told RFA’s Khmer Service that they had hoped to form a bloc with the other opposition groups ahead of commune elections in early June but lacked the resources and time to do so. Instead, they said they are aligning on overlapping goals for electoral reforms in the near-term, while working towards the formation of an alliance in time to challenge the CPP in the July 2023 general ballot. Cambodia Reform Party Founder and former CNRP senior official Ou Chanrath told RFA that the six parties are working together “step by step.” “We will have a serious talk for the general election on how to compete with the CPP,” he said. “If we aren’t united, I believe it will be tough to compete with the ruling party.” Grassroots Democratic Party Spokesman Loek Sothea said that even though the parties have been busy preparing their individual platforms in the commune election, they have made time to work together. Recently, he said, the parties collaborated on a joint request to the National Election Commission (NEC) to amend the country’s electoral laws. “We have advocated on a few issues of common interest,” he said, adding that the parties will continue to produce joint statements in the future. Speaking to RFA on Wednesday, government spokesperson Phay Siphan dismissed talk of an alliance between the six parties as a tactic to draw the attention of former CNRP supporters. He said such a bloc would be unable to compete with the CPP for dominance in the political arena. “They aren’t trying to leverage good policies [to compete with the ruling party]; They are simply seeking numbers [of supporters] so [an alliance] won’t affect the ruling party, which is producing for the country,” he said. The popular CNRP was dissolved by Cambodia’s Supreme Court in November 2017 for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government, allowing the CPP to win all 125 seats in Parliament in a July 2018 election. The party’s acting President Sam Rainsy has lived in exile in France since 2015 was sentenced in absentia last year to 25 years for what supporters say was a politically motivated charge of attempting to overthrow the government. The Candlelight Party, formerly known as the Sam Rainsy Party and the Khmer Nation party, was founded in 1995, and merged with other opposition forces to form the CNRP in 2012. Activists told RFA earlier this week that the party has established headquarters in every Cambodian province since it reactivated late last year and can present a challenge to the CPP in upcoming elections. The Candlelight Party’s Acting President Thach Setha told RFA that almost 90 percent of the CNRP’s members have joined his party, which he said adheres to the banned party’s ideals. Political analyst Kim Sok told RFA on Wednesday that since the Candlelight Party and the other five opposition groups share common goals, an alliance is a natural fit. “Don’t simply cooperate and issue joint statements,” he said. “Establish a joint goal and a joint set of principles.” New party president Meanwhile, Cambodia’s Funcinpec Party held its first party congress since the November 2021 death of its leader Prince Norodom Ranariddh, electing his son Prince Norodom Chakravuth as its new president on Wednesday. Funcinpec spokesman Nhoeun Raden told the congress that Chakravuth had worked hard to bring a mix of royalists, democrats, and other political adherents into the party. He said Funcinpec also hopes to merge with other parties to build a larger support base ahead of upcoming elections. “Those who are royalists and supporters, please return to the Funcinpec Party so it can fulfill its mission to serve the country,” he said. Legal analyst Puth Kolka told RFA that the Funcinpec Party no longer enjoys a good reputation and that democrats are avoiding it. He said that the party is likely to have difficulty restoring its popularity to what it once was in the early 1990s. “When the party doesn’t connect to the voters and ignores people difficulties, it won’t gain support,” he said. “The party is working for the sake of the government only.” The Cambodian king’s half-brother who served as prime minister before being ousted by Hun Sen, Ranariddh died in France on Nov. 28, aged 77. Funcinpec won elections in 1993, but Ranariddh was deposed in a bloody 1997 coup by Hun Sen, a coalition partner who remains in power and has eliminated all subsequent rivals and challenges to his 36-year rule. In 2017, Ranariddh shocked admirers by backing Hun Sen’s dissolution the CNRP and jailing leader Kem Sokha on treason charges for which he is still on trial. Reported by RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/alliance-02092022234300.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

Tbuong Khmum Provincial Customs Department director yesterday refuted allegations that his officers are trying to extort money from traders at border checkpoints and clarified that the money collected is for the taxes they have to pay for the goods imported into the Kingdom. Muy Panharith said that neither he nor the customs officers had pressured any traders or truck drivers to give them between $140 and $250 per truck to cross the border each trip every day. At the Cambodia-Vietnam border checkpoint at Doung 7 Memot district in Tboung Khmum province, he added they have a list of prices for goods and the tax they have to pay if they carried more than the amount which is untaxable. “We are just doing our jobs. If we have to impose a tax on the goods that need to be taxed, then we have to do it. It’s their duty to pay the taxes,” said Panharith who was clarifying an allegation raised by a local trader in the province that Customs officers were putting pressure on them to give between $140 and $250 per truck when ferrying goods across the border. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501022140/customs-officers-are-collecting-taxes-and-not-extorting-money/

Cambodia will nominate Koh Ker temple, Nom Banhchok rice noodles and Khmer martial art “Bokator” for inscription into the UNESCO world heritage list and the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage of humanity list. Culture Minister Phoeung Sackona said this at a meeting to summarise the work results in 2021 and the work direction for 2022 of the ministry at the Chaktomuk Conference Hall. Sackona said the ministry has prepared the documents to request the inscription of the three proposed heritage into the UNESCO world heritage and intangible cultural heritage of humanity lists. “Battambang city in Battambang province has also been asked to join the UNESCO creative cities network,” she added. She said the ministry will continue to prepare a list of potential cultural heritage sites for UNESCO’s world heritage list, including Banteay Chhmar temple, Angkor Borei, Phnom Da and Kulen sites, Beng Mealea temple, Preah Khan Kampong Svay temple, Udong mountain, Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, Choeung Ek Genocidal Center, former S-13 Detention Center and the Water Festival. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501022249/three-more-cultural-heritages-nominated-for-un-listing/

Cambodia recorded it’s 4th consecutive day of triple digit daily new Omicron cases – as community Omicron cases neared 1000. Todays official daily new COVID case total (diagnosed by PCR test) was 102 – all the Omicron variant – bringing the COVID case total to 121,983 cases. The Kingdom recorded 87 new community and 15 new imported cases of the new variant. Cambodia has now recorded 1542 cases of Omicron – 564 imported and 978 community cases. In response to this rapidly growing total,, the Health Ministry plans to introduce a “No Jab, No Job” measure to ensure Covid-19 and its variants, especially the Omicron strain, do not become a widespread problem. Health Ministry spokesman Hok Kimcheng said yesterday that they will be forced to implement this harsh measure if apathy over getting vaccinated persists. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501021211/4th-consecutive-day-of-triple-digit-new-omicron-cases-for-cambodia-as-numbers-surge/

Cambodia’s 2021 signing into law of Sub-decree No. 30, which removed official protection from some 127,000 hectares of land formerly included in national parks, reserves and wildlife sanctuaries in Koh Kong province, has conservationists concerned about the ecological integrity of southern Cambodia. But experts caution that other protected areas in the country are hardly faring better, claiming that “a lack of commitment and vision, systemic corruption at varies levels and competing interests by state and private actors” is contributing to the rapid degradation of Cambodia’s remaining protected forest. There is some agreement between conservationists and government officials that the country does not have the resources to effectively manage its protected areas. As a solution, some point to Africa, where public-private ecotourism partnerships have been successful at preserving habitat. But others disagree. PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — In March 2021, Cambodia signed into law Sub-decree No. 30, which removed official protection from some 127,000 hectares of land formerly included in national parks, reserves and wildlife sanctuaries in Koh Kong province. Purportedly done to grant land rights to local communities, a 2021 Mongabay investigation revealed that land brokers with links to government officials were buying up large expanses of this now-obtainable land. read more https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/can-ecotourism-save-cambodias-ghost-parks/

Director General of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) Heng Ratana said that CMAC will continue to work towards the elimination of the threat posed by anti-personnel mines by the end of 2025. The statement was made by the Director General during a meeting with the Implementation Support Unit of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (ISU-APMBC) Director, Juan Carlos Ruan, during a meeting at the CMAC headquarters on February 8. “CMAC is a national institution and as a branch of the Royal Government in the implementation of demining activities and remnants of war materials, it will continue to work for the mandate of the Royal Government to ensure that Cambodia is free from the threat of anti-personnel mines by the end of 2025,” Ratana said. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501021321/cmac-committed-to-eliminating-threat-of-anti-personnel-mines-by-2025/

The revival of the party tests government tolerance after a 2017 crackdown wiped out the opposition. A small opposition party in Cambodia is growing quickly and can present a challenge to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling party in upcoming elections, activists told RFA. The Candlelight Party, formerly known as the Sam Rainsy Party and the Khmer Nation party, was founded in 1995, and merged with other opposition forces to form the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) in 2012. Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP in November 2017 in a move that allowed Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) to win all 125 seats in Parliament in a July 2018 election. Sam Rainsy, 72, has lived in exile in France since 2015 was sentenced in absentia last year to 25 years for what supporters say was a politically motivated charge of attempting to overthrow the government. Ahead of the commune elections in June, the Candlelight Party’s Acting President Thach Setha told RFA’s Khmer Service that the party has established headquarters in every Cambodian province since it reactivated late last year and has built about 80-90% of its local infrastructure. He said almost 90% of the CNRP’s members have joined Candlelight, which he added adheres to CNRP’s ideals. Most of the country’s youth are also joining the party, he said. “I have been to all 25 provinces and municipalities. … The party’s popularity is higher than it was in 1995,” Thach Setha said. “People have sacrificed physically and emotionally, and they have even contributed their resources as well.” Thach Setha said the ruling Cambodian People’s Party is concerned over the rising popularity of the opposition, although the Candlelight Party has not said whether it will compete in the upcoming elections. CPP’s Sok Ey San told RFA that it does not consider Candlelight a competitor. He also disputed the idea that it is gaining political ground, although he acknowledged the CPP has urged Candlelight members to switch sides. “Nothing is wrong when we convince other parties’ members to defect to our party. It is wrong if we intimidate them to join us,” Sok Ey San said. Prominent activist and president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions, Rong Chhun, has endorsed the Candlelight Party in a statement and urged his supporters to do the same. Boycott call In an interview with RFA, Rong Chhun said Candlelight is an alternative to the Cambodia National Rescue Party while it fights for reinstatement to participate in elections. If that happens, the two parties could join forces, he said. “If we wait for the CNRP to be reinstated it will be too late for the upcoming elections. We must do something to compete in the elections,” Rong Chhun said. He added however that he himself won’t join the Candlelight Party, despite his endorsement. Lawyer and activist Theary Seng, however, told RFA call that she does not support the Candlelight Party or other parties competing in elections organized by the ruling party because that would legitimize a "rigged" process. “You can’t win," she told an RFA Khmer Service call-in show. She urged parties to "boycott the elections," in 2022 while using Cambodia's status as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to draw world attention to its political crisis at home. "Don’t join the [election] process until we can resume normal political activism after 2022," said the Cambodia-American lawyer, who is among more 50 supporters and members of the CNRP on trial for conspiracy to commit treason and incitement of social unrest. The revived Candlelight Party has faced harassment at local levels by CPP officials. Authorities in the northwestern province of Battambang ordered the Candlelight Party to remove a sign from a citizen’s house last week, in spite of the fact that Cambodia’s Minister of Interior Sar Kheng recently asked local officials to allow political parties to act freely without political and partisan discrimination. Although Candlelight officials informed local authorities about the sign, they still stopped the villager from putting it up and threatened him, the Candlelight Party’s Director Pho Sovantha told RFA, who said that authorities were trying to prevent competition in elections. This isn’t the first time a sign has been targeted by local authorities. RFA reported in mid-January that governmental officials ordered the removal of a Candlelight Party advertisement from a public road in central Tboung Khmum province. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/opposition-candleligh-02072022084910.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

Cambodia’s Apsara National Authority (ANA) is restoring another three Buddha statues at Bakan tower of the famed Angkor Wat in the northwestern Siem Reap Province after the previous one was restored, the authority said. Soy Sophearin, technical officer with the ANA’s Department of Conservation of Monuments and Preventive Archeology, said the restoration project of the Buddha statues began in early February and is scheduled to be completed within five months. “The Buddha statues in Bakan tower had been damaged by natural factors and bats’ urine, a source of moisture and salinity,” he said. Cambodian experts will remove an old net and replace it with a new one in order to prevent bats from entering the structure, Sophearin said, expressing hope that the bats will no longer be able to stay at the location when the restoration is completed. In November 2021, the experts also completed the restoration of a ruined Buddha statue in the south of the Bakan tower, Soy Sophearin explained. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501021690/cambodia-restoring-three-more-buddha-statues-at-bakan-tower/

Renaissance Minerals (Cambodia) extracted 1,751 kg of gold ore as of earlier February, reaching nearly full capacity of gold extraction. Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday said that in the seven month extraction operation, the company is now extracting at average 80 to 100 kg per week. In other words, the company is extracting to its full capacity of 250 kg per month or 3,000 kg per year. “Gold ore extracted in Mondulkiri province, we refined 1,751 kg,” he said. “On an average, we refine between 80 kg to 100 kg per week, the amount is increasing.” Last June, Renaissance Minerals (Cambodia), the Australia-listed Renaissance, started a commercial gold refinery factory located in Mondulkiri province’s Keo Seima district. The company plans to refine an estimated three tonnes of gold ore every year for the first eight years of the mine’s operation. The company ships the gold ore to Australia for 99.99 percent purification. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501020782/cambodia-sitting-on-yellow-mine-1-7-tonnes-of-gold-ore-extracted/

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Police in Cambodia say they have arrested six men who admitted killing five members of a family they believed were using sorcery to kill other people in their village. A report posted Monday on the national police website said the victims in the Feb. 1 killings in the remote eastern province of Mondulkiri were a 45-year-old man, a 41-year-old woman, two 15-year-old boys and a 5-year-old boy. It said an 11-year-old boy survived the attack but was in critical condition at a hospital in the capital, Phnom Penh, where he was taken. The victims and several of the alleged killers, who face charges of premeditated murder, are members of the Pnong hilltribe ethnic minority. The Pnong, also called the Bunong, live mostly in jungle areas in east and northeastern Cambodia. The arrests took place Saturday. The police report said the suspects confessed to the killings and said they acted because they believed the victims’ family had used black magic against their relatives. Cases of killings linked to belief in witchcraft are rare in Cambodia. read more https://www.fairfieldcitizenonline.com/news/article/Cambodian-police-say-sorcery-suspicions-set-off-16838359.php

Hun Manet, the eldest son of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and commander of the country's army, plans to visit Japan in mid-February for talks with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other top officials, Japanese government sources said Sunday. Japan intends to step up coordination with Cambodia, this year's chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, over the Myanmar crisis and regional security through the visit of a man Hun Sen has appointed as his heir apparent, the sources said. Hun Manet is expected to hold separate talks with Kishida, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, as well as Ground Self-Defense Force troops to discuss ways to deepen bilateral defense cooperation, among other issues. read more https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/02/47ce8c298e12-cambodia-pms-son-heir-apparent-to-visit-japan-in-mid-feb.html

Activists claim the government is using COVID-19 laws to target peaceful protesters. Authorities in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh have arrested three more striking workers from the city’s NagaWorld Casino after they refused to follow orders to end their strike. Thousands of workers walked off their jobs in mid-December, demanding higher wages and the reinstatement of eight jailed union leaders and 365 workers they say were unjustly fired from the hotel and casino. Cambodian authorities have deemed the strike “illegal” and say it is supported by foreign donors as a plot to topple the government. Activists say the government is using COVID-19 laws to target peaceful protesters. RFA reported Friday that Phnom Penh City Hall ordered the strikers to go home after the Ministry of Health found one of them had tested positive for COVID-19. The announcement warned that workers refusing to comply would be prosecuted and face fines. Police in Phnom Penh arrested the three union leaders, all men, on Saturday night. Authorities are also said to be looking for four women. Arrest warrants issued by the city’s Deputy Prosecutor Seng Hieng said the strikers violated COVID-19 health regulations. City Hall on Sunday again released written orders for the strikers to take COVID-19 tests and stop the strike or face legal consequences. The Ministry of Health said it found 29 infected strikers on the same day. Authorities said the order is meant to protect the protesters, their families and relatives, and the larger community from infection. But representatives from civil society groups say that the arrests are meant to silence the strikers. “COVID laws should not be used against these strikers, as they had already been cooperating with and actively practicing COVID prevention rules,” Chak Sopheap, the chairwoman of Cambodian Center for Human Rights, told RFA’s Khmer Service. “They even went to go get tested as they were instructed. They did not avoid testing so using this law against them is excessive and unjust.” She called on the authorities to release the strikers and drop the charges. Authorities should take a neutral stance on the labor dispute, the deputy director for human rights monitoring for the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, Am Sam Ath, told RFA. “The root of the problem is to resolve labor disputes, not to arrest unionists and workers and putting them in prison,” he said. “It is not the solution. It is the cause of the problem that is causing it to drag on and on for a long time like this.” On Monday, more than one hundred domestic NGOs, unions and rights groups jointly submitted a letter to the Ministry of Interior and the National Assembly demanding the release of the 11 union leaders and activists. Ou Tep Phallin, president of the Federation of Food and Service Workers' Unions, told RFA that the letter asked the Minister of Interior Sar Kheng and National Assembly to intervene and demand NagaWorld allow employees and striking workers to return to work. “These detainees, who are union leaders, who just came forward to simply negotiate with the employers for workers and then got arrested. What is the situation in our country now?” she said. “So, please, our government should take this issue seriously. If we end the labor dispute as soon as possible, then there will be no strikes. If the government wants to fight poverty, it has to make sure the workers have equal rights in negotiating with the employers to avoid being treated like modern-day slaves.” Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Written in English by Eugene Whong. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/strike-02072022184119.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

PHNOM PENH, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen admitted an "unintentional mistake" on Monday in taking credit for helping to free an Australian in Myanmar whom the military government said was not being released. Sean Turnell, an economic adviser to deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, was arrested on Feb. 6 last year, a few days after a coup, and is charged with breaching the Official Secrets Act, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Hun Sen, as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), had earlier said Turnell had been freed following his lobbying of Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing to let him go, at the request of Australia's foreign minister. "In reality, the Australian national was not released," Hun Sen said in a Facebook post late on Monday. "The confusion is because of me getting information wrong, please forgive me for unintentional mistake." Myanmar military spokesperson Zaw Min Tun told BBC Burmese there were no plans to release Turnell. He did not answer calls from Reuters seeking confirmation. A source close to Turnell had also told Reuters there was no news of his release. Turnell's trial has yet to start. He is among about 11,000 people detained since the coup, say activists. Hun Sen has been eager to engage Myanmar's generals, despite ASEAN concerns about legitimising their rule. He has repeatedly pressed the military to deliver on commitments with ASEAN to end hostilities and allow dialogue with all parties, including the ousted government. A senior Cambodian official told Reuters on Monday the junta boss had agreed to let an ASEAN special envoy meet some members of Suu Kyi's party. read more Reporting by Prak Chan Thul and Reuters Staff; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Nick Macfie read more https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/cambodia-pm-says-he-was-mistaken-about-australians-myanmar-release-2022-02-07/

PM Hun Sen has announced his intention to celebrate Khmer New Year in 2022, after a gap of 2 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking at the the occasion of the inauguration of National Road No. 7 in Kratie province this morning, the PM reminded the people not to forget to protect themselves by implementing the three measures to protect themselves, especially to continue to promote the vaccination campaign as well as the dose. The PM added “So, please call on our people to make efforts not to go backwards after missing the New Year for two years….let’s dance for fun, but dance a little apart, do not crowd.” The PM also said that he had negotiated to buy 5 million doses of Sinovac vaccine from China, but the Chinese ambassador told him that there was no need to order and that China would provide it. The PM added that, due to the third dose campaign, the number of vaccines in stock has dropped to 8.8 million doses, so in the first half of this year, 8 million doses will be filled, of which Cambodia orders 3 million doses and China gives 5 million doses. https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501020465/pm-khmer-new-year-will-go-ahead-in-2022-after-2-year-absence/

Prime Minister Hun Sen has expressed his ambition to transform the north-eastern part of Cambodia into a new pole of national economy. While speaking at the inauguration ceremony for the official use of National Road No. 7 Rehabilitation Project from Klastus in Kratie provincial city to Romeat district, Kratie this morning, Prime Minister Hun Sen said the Royal Government of Cambodia had put all efforts to develop various economic poles, including Phnom Penh, Preah Sihanouk, Siem Reap and the north-eastern region of the country: Kratie, Stung Treng, Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, and Preah Vihear. The Premier said the north-eastern region is a major potential area for national development with its growing agro-industry and gold extraction, while other mineral resources, including bauxite, have not yet been subject to studies on their potential. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501020424/cambodia-ambitious-to-transform-north-eastern-region-into-new-national-economic-pole/

Cambodia has climbed to second place in the Nikkei Covid-19 Recovery Index, from 22nd place in December. The Japanese financial news service said Cambodia’s rise was due to low infection rates and the government’s decision to reopen the economy under the new normal in November. Average new infections have fallen to 51 a day from a peak of just under 1,000 in July with only one Covid-related death reported this year. Cambodia saw fewer than 500 cases and no deaths for the first year of the pandemic. That changed on February 20 last year when four Chinese nationals broke their quarantine at the Sokha Hotel, two of whom later tested positive for Coronavirus. After last year’s spike in infections, the pandemic was brought under control by the government’s successful vaccination campaign. Cambodia has now administered more than 33 million doses of vaccine, enough for the entire population. Most of the early vaccines were Sinopharm and Sinovac. Cambodia launched a booster campaign last year with AstraZeneca and has now moved onto a second booster campaign, using Pfizer. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501019937/cambodia-rises-to-second-in-nikkei-covid-19-recovery-index/

Police have arrested 6 people in relation to the brutal murder of 6 members of the same family – and state that accusations of ‘witchcraft’ were behind the brutal slaying. The murder of 3 adults and 3 children and the attempted murder of another child occurred in Pichreada district, Mondulkiri province on Tuesday this week. An operation to capture the perpetrators was carried out by the Criminal Police Department in collaboration with the Mondulkiri Provincial Police Force, the Technical and Scientific Police Department and the CPU Child Protection Organization under the direct command of General Dr. Neth Savoeun, National Police Commissioner, Lt. Gen. In Bora, Commissioner Deputy Commander, Lt. Gen. Neng Chuor, Director of the Criminal Police Department, and Lt. Gen. Lor Sokha, Mondulkiri Provincial Police Commissioner. Brigadier General So Sovann, Deputy Police Commissioner of Mondulkiri Province said that 6 people have been arrested. https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501019913/6-arrested-in-mondulkiri-mass-murder-case/

A 39-year old woman is battling for her life in hospital after her husband poured two litres of alcohol on her body and set her on fire at their house in Russei Keo district’s Chraing Chamres11 commune in Phnom Penh about 1.30am today. Both work as grocery vendors. Chraing Chamres II commune deputy police chief, Captain Vong Someth identified the suspect as Ly Hok, 44 and the victim as Chan Dy. He said the incident happened about 1.30am following a heated argument between the couple. In his fit of anger, Someth said the suspect took two litres of alcohol, poured on his wife’s body in front of their house in Kho Muy village and set her on fire. According to initial police investigation, he added the suspect always had arguments with his wife over the issue of jealousy. He said the suspect is being detained for committing “acts of intentional violence with aggravating circumstances” and if charged in court and found guilty, he will face a jail term of between two to five years. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501019347/man-sets-his-wife-on-fire-after-pouring-alcohol-on-her/

Sambars (Rusa unicolor) listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of threatened species have been spotted in Cambodian forests. The good news was shared on Feb. 3 by the Ministry of Environment, adding that Sambars were founded in protected areas of the country. The researchers from the Ministry of Environment have discovered them in Cambodian wildlife sanctuaries through camera traps. Sambar — a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent, South China, and Southeast Asia — is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2008. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501019300/rare-sambars-found-in-cambodia/

Alibaba Group is holding talks with Cambodian relevant stakeholders for exporting Cambodian products and selling them in the online marketplace in China. The topic was discussed during a virtual meeting last Friday between Yim Chhay Ly, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Council for Agricultural and Rural Development and Chairman of the Village 1 Product 1 Promotion Committee and a delegation of the Alibaba Group led by Song Juntao, Secretary-General at the Alibaba Globalization Office. During the meeting, Song said discussions were held on the cooperation between Alibaba and the Cambodian government to bring Cambodian products to market in China and hope that the National Committee for the Movement of Village 1 Product 1 will sell Cambodian products in Alibaba’s online marketplace Lazada app. https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501015766/alibaba-plans-to-launch-cambodian-products-in-china/

Authorities cite COVID concerns, but activists say the motive is to block labor reform. Authorities in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh have ordered workers from the NagaWorld Casino to immediately stop a long-running strike protesting labor conditions there, claiming the demonstrators could be spreading the coronavirus. Labor leaders say the government’s response is really about preventing meaningful worker’s rights reforms in the country. The order from Phnom Penh City Hall came after the Ministry of Health said that a striking worker tested positive for COVID-19. “The COVID-19 Combatting Committee advises workers to immediately stop gathering to hold demonstrations until such time that there is assurance that COVID-19 will not spread among the group,” the committee said in a statement Feb. 4. “In the case of stubbornness that leads to community infections, the concerned individuals will be fined and prosecuted,” it said. Thousands of workers began their strike in mid-December, demanding higher wages and the reinstatement of eight jailed union leaders and 365 workers they say were unjustly fired from the hotel and casino. Cambodian authorities have deemed the strike “illegal” and say it is supported by foreign donors as a plot to topple the government. A NagaWorld union member, Ouk Sopheak Molica, refused to comment on the order from City Hall, saying the workers have not decided how to respond. The worker identified by the health ministry as COVID-19-positive, Chhuon Sam An, told RFA’s Khmer Service that she did not get COVID-19 from the workers on strike. After she tested positive, the ministry ordered all the striking workers to get tested for the virus within three days. The ministry has also warned of serious legal consequences if they fail to follow through. The workers have asked the Ministry of Health to conduct the tests where they are holding the strike demonstrations, instead of requiring them to travel to test centers. Khun Tharo, program coordinator for the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights, a workers rights group based in Phnom Penh, told RFA that he is skeptical that City Hall’s demand the strike be ended was motivated by COVID concerns. “It seems there is something hidden behind their orders. We must seek the truth about the intentions behind the ministry’s order,” he said. The workers have been on strike for the past 50 days. Authorities in Phnom Penh arrested 29 strikers, union activists, and union leaders from Dec. 31 to Jan. 4, including several pregnant women who the labor group says were unjustly fired by NagaWorld. Of those arrested, 20 were later released after they pledged not to rejoin the strike. Another worker was placed under judicial supervision. NagaWorld casino is a subsidiary of NagaCorp, a Hong Kong exchange-listed company and one of the world’s most profitable gaming outfits. It claims to be the largest gaming entertainment company in the Mekong Region. According to the company’s website, NagaWorld owns, manages, and operates Phnom Penh’s only integrated hotel-casino entertainment complex and enjoys a monopoly within a 200-kilometer (124-mile) radius of the capital until 2045. A 2017 leaked text message by Chen Lip Keong, NagaCorp's chief executive officer, revealed his close business ties with the wife and children of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the sons of Sok An, the late deputy prime minister. None of the parties confirmed or denied the leaked information. Despite lockdown conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic, the company reported that it generated U.S. $173 million in profit during the first half of 2020 and U.S. $74.7 million dollars during the same period in 2021. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/casino-02042022175800.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.