Cambodia Morning News For October 30

Government proposes $6B budget for 2018
The Council of Ministers on Friday approved a national budget for next year that calls for more than $6 billion in spending, the largest increase ever proposed for the Kingdom, with big boosts for education, defence and the arts.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Boris Johnson to face calls to tackle Cambodia over human rights crisis
Boris Johnson is to face calls to slap targeted sanctions on the Southeast Asian nation amid its worst human rights crisis in two years.
— The Telegraph

Japan’s diplomacy misperceived
When the human rights situation in Cambodia deteriorated last September, with restrictions on civil society groups, activists looked to foreign governments in particular those big donors like Japan for…
— Bangkok Post

Tea Banh shrugs off threat of international sanctions
Defence Minister Tea Banh expressed indifference to the threat of international sanctions being levied on government officials and the Cambodian economy on Saturday, while ordering his military to be ready to destroy any attempts at an alleged “colour revolution” or popular demonstration over the arrest of opposition leader Kem Sokha.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Concerns over Cambodia’s HIV funding
A group of anonymous civil society organisations, people living with HIV and others has raised “grave” concerns regarding funding from the Global Fund, the largest donor to the fight against HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria in the Kingdom – as well as Cambodia’s allocation process to support services over the next three years – according to emails obtained by The Post.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Prime Minister Hun Sen to Aid $20,000 for Kem Ley’s Burial Site
Following the request of Kem Ley’s mother and younger brother on Friday evening, Prime Minister Hun Sen decided to donate $20,000 for Kem Ley’s burial site on top of the first $50,000 that he had granted.
— Fresh News

Business Insider: Digging out a niche in funeral services
With a predominantly Buddhist population, Cambodia’s nascent funeral industry primarily serves the expatriate community.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Interview: ‘Hun Sen Cannot be Allowed to do Whatever he Wants’
Former Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) President Sam Rainsy, who has been forced to live in exile since 2015 in the face of questionable defamation charges made against him, has been traveling abroad to lobby world governments to put pressure on Cambodian government to halt Prime Minister Hun Sen’s harsh crackdown on the opposition ahead of July 2018 elections.
— Radio Free Asia

Cambodia Asks U.N to Send Experts for U.S Bombs
Prak Sokhonn, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said that Cambodia has requested the United Nations to help send experts to Cambodia for U.S bombs dropped onto this country since the Indochina war.
— Fresh News

Cambodia’s crashes cause concern
Cambodia’s crashes continue to be a cause for concern. The country’s National Committee for Road Traffic Safety says that road deaths increased by 11% during the first nine months of 2017 compared with the same period in 2016.
— World Highways

Cambodia Establishes New Brigade in Stung Treng
Ministry of National Denfense (MoD) officially announced the newly established brigade in Stung Treng on Saturday morning.
— Fresh News

Feature photo World Bank Photo Collection/Chhor Sokunthea
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Cambodia morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Cambodia news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.