The Ministry of Tourism is working to mediate a resolution for over 80 families who lost tens of thousands of dollars due to invalid flight tickets sold by Sakona Travel (Cambodia) Co Ltd for overseas travel packages. The latest mediation session was held on November 18, led by tourism minister Huot Hak, with participation from lawyers representing Sakona Travel and representatives of 82 affected families. On November 13, the ministry announced the cancellation of the company’s operating licence due to its failure to fulfil contractual obligations to clients and violations of laws and regulations governing the tourism sector. Several victims…
Author: Niem Chheng
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn is slated to return to his former role, a position he held for several years. Analysts have suggested that the reshuffle reflects Cambodia’s response to the increasingly complex geopolitical competition among global powers. The National Assembly is set to undertake a vote of confidence on a reshuffle of the composition of the cabinet on November 20. The reshuffle is widely expected to see Sokhonn, currently serving as first-vice president of the Senate, resume his former post as foreign minister, replacing Sok Chenda Sophea, who has held the position for 15…
Senior Minister Ly Thuch, first vice-president of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), held talks with Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung to strengthen bilateral cooperation on mine action and reaffirm commitments to peace-building efforts. The meeting, which included Cambodian ambassador to Vietnam Chea Kimtha and Juan Carlos Ruan, director of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention’s Implementation Support Unit, focused on the shared goals of both nations in addressing the global landmine crisis, according to a CMAA press statement. Thuch, who currently serves as president of the convention, praised Vietnam’s contributions to peacebuilding in Cambodia…
As the Kingdom hosts the Southeast Asia School Meals Coalition Summit from November 18 – 20 in Siem Reap, Minister of Education Hang Chuon Naron has highlighted the importance of school meal programmes. The summit, a collaboration between the Cambodian education ministry, the governments of the Philippines and South Korea and other regional partners, has brought together senior officials from around the region, as well as delegates from China and Japan. The event aims to strengthen the participants’ commitment to ensuring all children have access to nutritious school meals by 2030, in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).…
A senior official has identified economic diplomacy as essential in the coming year, sharing his belief that 2025 will bring heightened global turbulence. While addressing a November 18 press conference to review the progress of the seventh-mandate government after its first 15 months in office, Jean-Francois Tain, Minister Delegate attached to the Prime Minister in charge of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, highlighted the economic and trade challenges that lie ahead, particularly with the return of Donald Trump to the US presidency. “2024 is a historic turning point. This year, many major countries around the world have held elections, including…
Sok Sunnareth, a military official and the father of opposition activist Sorn Dara, has been charged and detained for “illegal possession of drugs” under Article 40 of the Law on Drug Control. According to a statement released by a spokesperson for Kampong Speu Provincial Court, Sunnareth, 66, was arrested on November 13 in Dak Por village, Svay Kravan commune in the province’s Chbar Mon town. The case was submitted to the court on November 14 for further legal proceedings. Court documents stated that he was found in possession of two packages containing methamphetamine, weighing a total of 15.52 grammes, as…
A total of 115,200 condoms and 4,000 packets of lubricant will be distributed to the public during the three-day Water Festival, taking place from today until November 16, in Phnom Penh. The free contraceptives will be accompanied by 45,500 educational pamphlets on HIV/AIDS, 3,000 pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis kits, HIV testing services, counseling, AIDS and STI treatment, as well as a quiz programme offering 800 T-shirts as prizes at the OCIC Chroy Changvar Convention Center. Sim Suyeng, undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Health, shared details of the plans with local media outlet Fresh News. This service aims to…
The Cambodian Senate has approved a draft law on wastewater systems aimed at achieving the goal of preventing and reducing wastewater discharge into seas, rivers, streams, lakes, creeks and ponds by 50 per cent by 2030, in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). This draft law, initially approved by the Council of Ministers on August 23 and passed by the National Assembly on October 31, was signed off by the Senate today, November 13. It has been under preparation by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport for more than 10 years, with 116 consultation meetings staged since 2013.…
The government has formed the “National Committee for Leading the Implementation of the Social Land Concession Programme for Joint Forest Protection and Sustainable Development” to ensure that social land allocated to disadvantaged individuals remains sustainable and that the surrounding forests are protected. This committee is directly overseen by the prime minister and comprises leadership from various ministries, heads of national institutions, provincial governors, as well as members of the armed forces and National Police. According to a Royal Decree issued on November 6 and published on November 13, the committee’s purpose is to “allocate land in the form of social…
As of November 12, six people had been detained by law enforcement and the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), in connection with fraud and corruption cases involving disgraced Okhna Ly Samet. The latest arrest made by the ACU was of Kan Sokkhay, former governor of Lvea Em district in Kandal province. Sokkhay was removed from his position by Prime Minister Hun Manet after it was revealed that he gifted $300,000 to Ly Samet in a fraudulent scheme to obtain the position of governor of Arey Ksattown in the same province. The other detained individuals include Ly Samet, Duong Dara, formerly an assistant…