The defence team of former opposition leader Kem Sokha said they were not happy to see the prosecutor adding evidence, saying it put more pressure on their client. Sokha’s treason hearing resumed on March 16, following a short delay due to a Covid-19-positive test from a member of the prosecution. Speaking after the hearing, Ang Udom, one of Sokha’s four defense lawyers, said the hearing focused on two additional items of evidence submitted to the court by the prosecution. He said his team had requested that the court reject the new evidence, as introducing it at this stage is outside…
Author: post staff
A senior Ministry of Health official said Cambodia will receive more than seven million additional Covid-19 vaccine doses before the end of September, both through the generous assistance of other nations and COVAX – a global mechanism aimed at ensuring equitable access to Covid-19 jabs. While receiving more than 520,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses donated by Hungary at Phnom Penh International Airport on March 15, ministry secretary of state York Sambath said the Kingdom has no shortage of vaccines available for its people. She noted that Cambodia now has a stockpile of more than six million doses as the country prepares…
Minister of Interior Sar Kheng has met with the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia to discuss several concerns, including the bail release of NagaWorld protesters and the upcoming commune council election. According to the ministry, topics of discussion between Sar Kheng and Vitit Muntarbhorn included the work toward the commune election scheduled for June 5, the killings and disappearance of several unnamed individuals, overcrowding in prisons, refugees in Cambodia and the labour dispute concerning former employees of the NagaWorld integrated resort. The discussion opened with Sar Kheng telling Vitit that Cambodia will organise this year’s commune election…
The Kampong Thom Provincial Administration is set to launch a new clean water production plant in April. The plant – located in Stung Sen town’s Prey Tahou commune and built with the assistance of a grant from the Japanese government – will have the capacity to serve about 60,000 local people. While leading a working group to inspect the progress of the construction on March 16, provincial governor Nguon Ratanak said the project has the capacity to supply 100 per cent of the clean water to the people in the town and expand distribution to Kampong Svay district. He added…
The Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training announced that it has sought intervention from other ministries to allow three protesters to be released on bail so as to attend negotiations, in fresh efforts to reach a solution in the ongoing labour dispute between former NagaWorld employees and company management. The latest effort was a meeting with both sides on the afternoon of March 16 to continue the discussion, the labour ministry said. “At the request of three former employees detained on the charge of breaching [health] safety regulations, the ministry has sent a request to the health and justice ministries…
Fourteen journalists from five different periodicals have been selected to receive “Inspirational Journalism Awards” for their contributions to the promotion of journalism in the Kingdom. The award ceremony is scheduled for March 24. This programme was initiated by the Ministry of Information to commemorate the dedication, sacrifices and physical and mental strength of those who have contributed to the development of journalism in Cambodia from the 1970s to the present. Phos Sovann, head of the ministry’s General Department of Information and Broadcasting, said this is the first year of the programme. The organising committee selected veteran journalists to study the…
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) called for urgent action to protect the river for the benefit of the millions of people throughout Southeast Asia who depend on it. The Mekong is severely impacted by water infrastructure projects and climate change, it said. On March 15, the MRC issued a 174-page report highlighting its major accomplishments and actions taken, and giving key indicators that have raised region-wide awareness of how development and increasingly severe flooding and drought all impact the Lower Mekong River Basin. “With the vital river now impacted by both water-infrastructure projects and climate change, the new report calls…
A senior Ministry of Environment official urged commune and district administrations to stop signing certificates of transfer of rights, land use applications, or sale or purchase letters for state land within natural protected areas and biodiversity corridors under their jurisdiction. The call came as ministry secretary of state and spokesman Neth Pheaktra presided over a workshop held to disseminate environmental laws to enforcement officials and local authorities in Kep province on March 15. The two-day workshop was run by a team of ministry lawyers and attended by 160 people including court officials, members of the armed forces, rangers, law enforcement…
Siem Reap provincial authorities have equipped several police motorcycles with fire extinguishers. Seven motorcycles – some used on patrol and others stationed at busy locations – will each be equipped with two extinguishers to ensure a rapid response should a fire break out. Siem Reap provincial traffic police chief Som Virak said there have been car accidents which resulted in fires, sometimes destroying market stalls. In other cases, the traffic police had been first on the scene to small fires but unable to offer assistance other than directing traffic. These examples illustrated how this new initiative could prevent fires from…
Draft amendments to the laws on Forest, Fisheries and Natural Protected Areas may be prepared for a final review in early April, according to a senior Ministry of Interior official. Ngan Chamroeun – ministry secretary of state and head of the National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development Secretariat – said working groups held meetings on March 14 to discuss the changes to the three laws. The teams had agreed on key provisions related to the division of responsibilities – which would pave the way for the transfer of fisheries and forestry management functions to sub-national administrations. “Final drafts should be…