The Phnom Penh Post
Labour Ministry forms new body to monitor workplace safety
A new National Committee on Occupational Safety and Health established under a sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on November 21 will advise the government on all work-place safety issues – but excludes transportation accidents, which one observer said make up the majority of work-related ...
Banned rosewood trade up
Despite the presence of a blanket ban by the Cambodian government on all trade in Siamese rosewood since 2013, exports of the precious timber to Vietnam increased in the third quarter of this year, according to Vietnamese customs data compiled by US-based NGO Forest Trends. ...
Geneva meet waiting on labour union input
An International Labour Organization official on Sunday urged local unions to present their views on the contentious Trade Union Law to the body’s Committee of Experts, a request that has so far found little traction. The ILO’s Committee of Experts will meet in Geneva, Switzerland, ...
New fertiliser venture aims to satisfy growing demand
Fertiliser manufacturer Nangoku Agriculture Development, a Japanese-Cambodian joint venture, launched operations on November 21 with the aim of supplying locally manufactured fertilisers to Cambodian farmers at affordable prices. Cambodia’s Bayon Heritage Holding Group Co Ltd holds a 60-percent stake in the $2.2-million joint venture with partner ...
New Laos dam draws criticism
News that Laos will move ahead with the proposed 912-megawatt Pak Beng dam, which would be the third mainstream dam in Laos’ Lower Mekong River, has sparked criticism from environmental groups who say downstream countries should decide the fate of potentially harmful development projects. Laos ...
Migration blamed for low voter registration figures
National Election Committee spokesman Hang Puthea on November 20 said the body will likely miss its target of registering 9.6 million eligible voters because of the large number of Cambodian migrant workers who have failed to register. The NEC and political parties have been appealing ...
Cambodia’s prized rice falls short at awards
Cambodia’s Phka Rumdoul variety of fragrant rice, which won the World’s Best Rice award for three consecutive years from 2012 to 2014, narrowly missed its fourth crown at this year’s awards held in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand last week. Thailand’s own Hom Mali – ...
Health Ministry blames Pasteur Institute for Zika mistake
After social media users criticised the Ministry of Health for a Zika false alarm over the weekend, the ministry’s Department of Communicable Diseases pointed the finger at the Pasteur Institute for the misinformation. The ministry and the World Health Organization on November 18 issued a ...
Steel firm mulls factory in SSEZ
A Chinese steel company is in talks with Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone to set up an industrial facility in the zone, a marketing executive said on November 19. Gu Xia, section chief of SSEZ’s marketing department, said the Chinese company was currently reviewing the land ...
Environmentalists, solar sector see hope in treaty
A new treaty signed by Cambodia’s delegation to the COP22 climate conference in Marrakesh aims to bolster the country’s nascent solar energy industry, though some say substantial outside assistance is needed for solar to take off. On the sidelines of the conference on Tuesday, Environment ...
