Cambodia morning news for January 29

King Sihamoni signs off on council law amendment
King Norodom Sihamoni on Thursday signed off on an amendment to the law on municipal, provincial and district council elections, effectively increasing the number of local council seats.
— Khmer Times

‘All media outlets must pay tax’
Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith on Friday said Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) would be allowed to reopen their offices only after fulfilling their tax obligations.
— The Phnom Penh Post

PM warns against foreign interference
Prime Minister Hun Sen has urged all Cambodians to protect hard-earned peace and oppose any possible interference into internal affairs by foreign countries, citing a political crisis in Venezuela where an opposition leader took power from the incumbent president.
— Khmer Times

From rice to riches: adapting to climate change on Cambodia’s coasts
Until a few years ago, 70-year-old rice farmer Neang Bo had no problem putting food on the table by cultivating fields around her village on the Cambodian coast.
— United Nations Environment

Asean-EU meeting in Brussels highlights ties
The Foreign Ministry on Friday said the Asean-EU Ministerial Meeting in Belgium last week, which Minister Prak Sokhonn attended, highlighted mutually beneficial cooperation to further strengthen and deepen Asean-EU dialogue relations.
— Khmer Times

Protesters arrested over clash freed
Preah Sihanouk provincial police have released all six people involved in Thursday’s clash with police during a protest to stop authorities from measuring land in Prey Nob district.
— Khmer Times

Cambodia seeks opposition leader’s arrest amid EU sanctions threat
Cambodia renewed calls for arrest of veteran opposition chief Sam Rainsy on Monday amid the threat of sanctions by the European Union, its biggest garment export market worth billions of euros a year, over human rights concerns.
— EuroNews

Former Opposition Urges EU to Maintain Pressure on Cambodia Over Rights
EU and Asean ministers wrapped up an annual meeting last week during which members of Cambodia’s former opposition called on EU leaders to continue to apply pressure to the Cambodian government.
— VOA Khmer

Cambodia’s foreign policy: Challenges and prospects
Small states such as Cambodia have fewer foreign policy options, given the narrowing strategic space for small states to manoeuver.
— Khmer Times

Kamsab removed from ports as Kingdom braces for loss of preferential trade access
The Cambodian government has begun a series of reforms intended to strengthen economic independence and promote business in the Kingdom, as they prepare for the possible loss of preferential trade access to the EU and US in the coming months.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Banks and MFIs growing at a healthy rate: Central Bank
The National Bank of Cambodia says the local banking and microfinance industry saw healthy growth in 2018, with total assets expanding by 19.4 percent year-on-year to reach about $40 billion.
— Khmer Times

Cambodia’s rubber export up 15 pct last year
Cambodia had exported 217,500 tons of dry rubber in 2018, up 15 percent from a year earlier, according to a General Directorate of Rubber report released on Monday.
— Xinhua

National Currency Circulation and Supply Increase
The circulation and supply of Riel, the National Currency of Cambodia, have remarkably increased, according to a senior official of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC).
— Agence Kampuchea Presse

Government to streamline sub-national administrations
Following an announcement by Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday that sub-national administrations will soon be streamlined, a government spokesman told The Post that the measure will improve efficiency and effectiveness in governance at a local level.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Sub-decrees approve creation of new districts
Prime Minister Hun Sen has issued two sub-decrees reclassifying two communes in Phnom Penh as districts, as per a request made by Interior Minister Sar Kheng last week.
— Khmer Times

Government calls for PM ‘fake news’ correction
The Cambodian government on Friday strongly urged Singaporean outlet Channel News Asia (CNA) to issue a correction to an article it published on Thursday, claiming Prime Minister Hun Sen had called on the military to destroy the country’s political opponents.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Anti-smuggling watercraft launched
The General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia (GDCE) last week held an inauguration ceremony in Sihanoukville for two patrol boats donated by the Japanese government.
— Khmer Times

Ministry of Foreign Affairs To Hold Consultative Meeting with FNGOs
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFA.IC) of the Kingdom of Cambodia will convene a “Consultative Meeting between the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) and Foreign Non-Governmental Organisations (FNGOs)” tomorrow.
— Agence Kampuchea Presse

Ministry of Health issues series of precautions for the holidays
The Ministry of Health has issued a statement advising the public to take precautions against rice wine and food poisoning, as well as H5N1 “bird flu” virus, during the upcoming Chinese and Khmer New Years.
— The Phnom Penh Post

CHRC to defend Cambodia’s rights
Keo Remy, president of Cambodian Human Rights Committee, yesterday led a delegation to Geneva, Switzerland to attend the 32nd meeting of the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review.
— Khmer Times

Rights committee in UPR review
The Cambodia Human Rights Committee (CHRC) led a delegation to participate in the 32nd Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, for the third time, it said in a press release issued on Friday. It said Cambodia had already submitted documents last November for the review.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Court upholds decision on Funcinpec leadership
Phnom Penh Municipal Court has upheld an Interior Ministry’s decision rejecting the appointment of Prince Norodom Chakravuth as acting Funcinpec party president and the sacking of high-ranking party officials last year.
— Khmer Times

Joint forces confiscate illegally logged timber
The Pursat provincial Military Police, in cooperation with provincial environmental officers, on Saturday confiscated a total of 150 Reach Kol timber logs, which had been hidden near the Cardamom Mountains in Rovieng village in Phnom Kravanh district’s Samrong commune.
— The Phnom Penh Post

W&D followed law when firing workers: GMAC
The Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia on Saturday issued a statement saying W&D Cambodia Co Ltd’s termination of striking workers was done in accordance with the law.
— Khmer Times

Sar Kheng: Only ‘fifty-fifty’ chance of Rainsy returning
Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng said on Sunday there is a 50 per cent possibility that outlawed opposition leader Sam Rainsy would return to Cambodia as his diplomatic measures abroad had reached a dead-end.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Ministry slams Rainsy’s army appeal
The Ministry of Defence on Saturday issued a statement strongly condemning self-exiled former opposition leader Sam Rainsy for appealing to the Cambodian army to rise against the government.
— Khmer Times

An anti-tank mine kills one, wounds one in Banteay Meanchey
A man was killed and another seriously injured when an anti-tank mine exploded in Banteay Meanchey province’s Malai district on Friday. The incident took place in Tuol Pongro commune’s Sralao Chrum village.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Kong Korm becomes KWP’s honorary president
Kong Korm, former top advisor to the opposition party has been appointed honorary president to Khmer Will Party led by his youngest son Kong Monika.
— Khmer Times

Number of municipal and provincial council members up in 3rd mandate
The number of district, town, provincial and municipal council members will increase to 819 when elections are called for their third mandate on May 26, said a sub-decree issued on January 25 and received by The Post on Sunday.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Cambodian peacekeepers leave for UN missions
More than 180 Cambodian peacekeepers joined the United Nations’ mission in Lebanon on Sunday.
— Khmer Times

Phnom Penh, Siem Reap airports to inaugurate e-gates
The Phnom Penh and Siem Reap international airports will inaugurate their E-gates on February 1. The move will allow Cambodians bearing E-passports to pass through without arrival or departure stamps, said General Department of Immigration spokesman Ath Bunny.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Feature photo Horticulture Innovation Lab

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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.

Cambodia morning news for January 29 added by Piseth Pov on January 29, 2019
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Piseth Pov

Piseth Pov graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics Science from the Royal University of Law and Economics, Phnom Penh in 2017, and a Bachelor’s degree in English Communications from Western University, Phnom Penh, the same year.