PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Impoverished Cambodia plans to build a 1,820-foot (555-meter) skyscraper, its prime minister said Wednesday, a feat that would give one of the region’s least-developed capitals the tallest building in Asia. Prime Minister Hun Sen said he had approved a master plan for the skyscraper, which would be located about half a [...]
At least three local organizations say they are preparing a stack of complaints of graft and misdeeds for submission to the new national Anti-Corruption Unit. Fourteen members of the unit were sworn in on Tuesday, vowing to uphold an anti-corruption law that was passed earlier this year. The complaints, which will be the first test [...]
Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday he expects to meet his Thai counterpart on the sidelines of an Asia-Europe meeting in October, where the two could discuss ways to resolve the ongoing border dispute near Preah Vihear temple. Both sides are at loggerheads over a small stretch of land west of the ancient temple, but [...]
Senior Thai military officials arrived in Phnom Penh Thursday to hold talks with their Cambodian counterparts over border issues. The preliminary talks will set the stage for a general border committee meeting that was postponed last month, defense officials said Thursday. The resumption of talks at the military level comes after the resumption of diplomatic [...]
Cambodian human rights workers say they have faced increasing threats and pressure for doing their work over the past two years from police, courts and government officials. In a report issued Wednesday examining the years 2008 and 2009, the rights group Licadho said it found “the intensified use of the courts as a weapon,… increased [...]
Fourteen members of Cambodia’s nascent Anti-Corruption Unit were sworn in Tuesday, vowing to use their full legal rights to investigate the country’s graft problem. Members include senior government adviser Om Yientang, who is the head of the unit, and his three deputies, Seang Borath, Chay Svauth and Nuon Phal. “We have full legal rights to [...]
Khmer Rouge tribunal officials are prepared to appoint a new head of the court’s victims unit as judges move toward a second trial of regime leaders, two court monitors said Tuesday. That appointment is expected to go to Rong Chhorng, who is currently the acting head of the unit, officially known as the Victims Support [...]
Opposition lawmakers and rights groups on Tuesday criticized as unfair a letter from Prime Minister Hun Sen defending a government land concession at the heart of an escalating dispute with villagers. Hun Sen said in a written response to lawmakers the 9,000-hectare concession in Kampong Speu province had been legally given to the Phnom Penh [...]
Minority opposition party leader Kem Sokha has had meetings with election organizations in the US to seek a fair playing field in upcoming local and national elections. The president of the Human Rights Party is on a trip through the US to build support for his party ahead of commune council elections in 2012 and [...]
Investigating judges are nearly finished reviewing some 4,000 applications for civil party complaints in an upcoming trial for Khmer Rouge leaders. Tribunal officials say they expect the review process to be finished by next week. That will determine which complainants can participate in Case 002 when it goes to trial as early as next year. [...]
Cambodians have long had a habit of buying and stocking gold, especially as jewelry, but that habit may be changing, thanks to gold’s continual rise in value. “No one wants to buy gold now,” said Chea Ly, a Phnom Penh resident living near Deum Kor market who has stopped stocking jewelry herself. “We would rather [...]
The Nobel-Baza Fine Art Gallery in San Diego is hosting this month two Cambodian artists. The gallery represents international artists who are making an impact on the contemporary art scene. The show is called “Sight Lines,” and it runs from June 3 to July 3. Pierrette Van Cleve, the founder and president of the Art [...]