Cambodian News

The US FBI and national police on Friday wrapped up four days of training to prevent the theft of cultural artifacts.
The training included speakers from the US National Parks Service and State Department. The US supplied $12,000 worth of computer and electronic equipment “designed to assist the force with the apprehension and prosecution of those [...]

An unruly gathering of opposition supporters on Friday caused Phnom Penh Municipal Court to postpone a verdict in the defamation case against Mu Sochua until August.
Mu Sochua is being sued by Prime Minister Hun Sen for defamation, following her own suit against the premier in April. The municipal court was swarmed with more than 200 [...]

BANGKOK, July 27 (Xinhua) — A group of Thai people following up the Preah Vihear dispute rallied in front of the Government House Monday morning, calling on the government to withdraw from a joint Thai-Cambodian statement issued on June 18, 2008.
The joint statement, which supports Cambodia’s unilateral listing of the ancient [...]

Freedoms of expression and the press have been seriously damaged in recent months, which can have a ripple effect throughout the region, rights groups and analysts said recently.
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance and other concerned groups sent an open letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen July 17, denouncing a “rapidly and palpably deteriorating environment for [...]

Human trafficking and sexual and labor exploitation are likely to become more prevalent in Cambodia as the economic crisis continues, senior officials and UN observers say.
The economic slowdown is limiting job prospects, forcing some workers to look abroad, where they could be in danger of exploitation, while others could fall into dangerous entertainment sectors.
“Because of [...]

PHNOM PENH, July 26 (Xinhua) — Cambodia’s confirmed A/H1N1 flucases have increased to 17 and the latest case is a 22-year-old Irish woman who traveled from Vietnam, health officials said here on Sunday.
“So far, nobody has died in the country,” said Ly Sovan, deputydirector of the communicable disease control department. The latest [...]

Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday disavowed responsibility to find a lawyer for opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua, who is defending herself in a defamation suit brought by the prime minister.
Mu Sochua, who is facing a summons from the court for July 24, has been without a defense attorney since her original counsel, Kong Sam On, [...]

A leading newspaper editor cautiously praised Cambodia’s media environment Monday, saying the press is faced with “legal action” but not “violence” as in other countries.
Pen Samithy, editor-in-chief of the Reaksmey Kampuchea, a leading daily newspaper, was reacting to the closing of Moneaksekar Khmer, an opposition paper, after its editor was charged with defamation.
“The situation today [...]

The tourist resort town of Siem Reap has recorded its first cases of H1N1 virus, sometimes called swine flu, though to date none has died from the disease in the country.
Health officials say an American family of four, one man and three women, tested positive for the virus, which emerged earlier this year in Mexico [...]

Economic factors, the fight against terrorism and worries over China’s growing regional influence have all contributed to increased US involvement in Cambodia, analysts say, but not to an extent where human rights and democracy are overlooked.
The improved relationship has led to a shift toward more developmental assistance from the US, but it has prompted more [...]