One person was killed by lightning and at least another ten injured as severe thunderstorms hit Siem Reap province last night, March 16. Siem Reap deputy police chief Sok Pisan stated that at least two people suffered serious injuries, while the fatality was recorded in Svay Leu district. The storms struck 10 districts across the province, and damaged more than 300 homes. The authorities are currently compiling a report on the incident,” he told The Post. Numerous trees were felled by high winds, including inside the Angkor Archaeological Park, and authorities were working hard to clear the fallen debris and…
Author: post staff
A total of 1,035 fires were recorded across the Kingdom in 2024, marking an increase of 269 cases, or 35 per cent over 2023. These unfortunate incidents resulted in significant property damage, including the destruction of 615 houses, 658 market stalls, 24 warehouses, 11 factories and 46 vehicles, along with other assets, according to a March 14 report from the Ministry of Interior’s Department of Fire Prevention, Extinguishing and Rescue. The report did not share details of public casualties. In February however, Soth Kimkolmony, spokesperson for the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), noted that in 2024, there were at…
Streetlights are typically designed to assist pedestrians and lightweight vehicles such as bicycles and scooters which do not produce sufficient lighting on their own. As neither pedestrians or light vehicles are permitted to use expressways, streetlights are rarely installed along them. The Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway Company offered this clarification on March 14, following a series of public comments asking why lighting is not installed along the 187km high-speed roadway. A company statement explained that the expressway is equipped with reflective lane marking systems, which reflect vehicle headlights to ensure that drivers are aware of the road layout, lane dividers and…
An inter-ministerial working group – working with the Kampong Speu provincial authorities and members of the Tang Bampong community – has taken action to return 40 hectares of land to the community. Prime Minister Hun Manet announced that investment projects by four companies were halted, with demarcation markers removed from the Khnang Phsar area, in a March 14 social media post. The land was officially returned to the community on March 13, following the prime minister’s recommendations. He emphasised the importance of preserving the land as a key source of income for approximately 100 families in Tang Bampong village, in…
The authorities have doubled down on eviction plans for the remaining holdouts in Pursat province’s Phnom 1500 area, noting that many of their claims of ownership are demonstrably false. A total of 24 families out of the 98 living in the area, in Veal Veng district, have still not vacated the area. While many of them have claim to have resided there for more than a decade, the provincial administration notes that Ministry of Environment maps from ten years ago the area as heavily forested and inaccessible by road. Minister of Mines and Energy – and head of the Pursat…
As the war in Ukraine continues, the international community faces difficult questions about how to maintain global stability and protect sovereign nations from aggression. With the US increasingly focused on an “America First” policy and prioritising domestic issues and its relationship with Israel, and the EU facing economic and political challenges that limit its ability to provide long-term military support, a significant gap in global security has emerged. In this context, the Commonwealth of Nations — an organisation comprising 56 member states — stands as an underutilised yet promising vehicle for global security. By transforming itself into a military alliance,…
A groundbreaking study, published today in scientific journal PeerJ, provides the first robust population estimate for Asian elephants in the northern plains of Cambodia. Conducted by Fauna & Flora, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, the study was carried out during the 2020-2021 dry season. It utilised non-invasive genetic sampling techniques across three key protected areas: The Prey Lang, Preah Roka and Chhaeb Wildlife Sanctuaries. The Royal University of Phnom Penh conducted the genetic research, with technical support from the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. Samples of ‘genetic material’ were collected during the 2020-2021 dry season. Fauna and Flora…
Nearly 15 tonnes of narcotics were seized by Cambodian authorities in 2024, a fourfold increase over 2023. Meas Vyrith, secretary-general of the National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD) shared the figures during the authority’s March 121 annual meeting. Despite the promising results of last year, Vyrith warned that Cambodia continues to face the threat of global drug trafficking, especially from the “golden triangle” region. The results of anti-drug operations show that drug-related crimes had increased compared to 2023. In 2024, law enforcement handled 10,630 drug-related cases, an increase of 2,567, or 31.84 percent, over the previous year. “27,071 suspects were…
The Kratie provincial police are hunting four Chinese men – reportedly chiefs of staff at Gold City Casino in Snuol district – for allegedly confining and torturing three Cambodian employees and extorting $15,000 from them. The employees claimed to have earlier taken part in a scheme to steal from the casino by manipulating games and helping customers to win. The Snoul district police station disclosed details of the case on March 12, explaining that the “incident” took place at the casino on March 10. Officials revealed that an individual, identified only as “Kh.S”, filed a March 10 complaint, and reported…
At least seven of the more than 100 factories in Cambodia have been illegally discharging contaminated wastewater into natural clean water sources. One of the companies has been discharging polluted water for the past three years. Minister of Environment Eang Sophalleth shared the news on March 11, following the second meeting of an inter-ministerial committee on coordinating the implementation of the project concerning “Strengthening Capacities in Water Pollution Management”. “There are over 100 large factories which have the potential to discharge pollutants. If they do not manage their waste properly, the water they discharge causes environmental pollution, sometimes contaminating our…