Cambodia Morning News For October 26

Cambodian opposition member pardoned at PM’s request
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – A senator from Cambodia’s main opposition party was pardoned on Wednesday from the seven-year jail sentence he had been given over a Facebook posting, in a conciliatory sign from Prime Minister Hun Sen towards his opponents.
— Business Insider

Garment exports to slow
Cambodia’s garment and footwear exports will likely see a slower percentage of growth this year at around 5 percent, compared with 7 percent in 2016, a trend that industry insiders dismissed as not being indicative of an overall decline or linked to the current political situation.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Cambodia’s King Sihamoni OKs Divisive Laws to Reallocate Opposition Parliamentary Seats
Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni has approved a set of controversial amendments to the country’s electoral law, paving the way for the dissolution of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) and the reallocation of its parliamentary seats to government-aligned parties.
— Radio Free Asia

Cambodia Daily brings out online-only platform
On its Facebook page, the Daily announced the re-opening as “a digital only, non-commercial publication based off shore”. Several items – including an aggregated news round-up and a “Timeline of Ongoing Descent” – were posted to the Daily website yesterday.
— The Phnom Penh Post

UN extolls power of tech in goals to development
Private-sector investment into technology can help developing countries meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), representatives said yesterday at a conference, sparking debate on how Cambodian entrepreneurs can incorporate humanitarian goals into core business operations.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Opposition councillor arrested after posting Facebook live dismissing PM’s defection offer
An opposition Pailin commune councillor was arrested on Tuesday shortly after he posted a video on social media rejecting Prime Minister Hun Sen’s offer to CNRP officials to jump ship and join the CPP in anticipation of the party’s potential dissolution.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Migrant workers struggling to sign up to vote
Even though the maths student traded his studies in Cambodia for an electronics factory in Malaysia three years ago in hopes of earning more money, he always planned to return to vote.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Competition: win a stay at a boutique hotel in rural Cambodia
Dezeen has teamed up with Design Hotels to give away a five-night stay for two at Phum Baitang – a luxury Cambodian holiday resort designed like a traditional village.
— Dezeen

Planned Mega-Dam Threatens Fish Populations and Food Security in Cambodia
Auntie Punleu has spent most of her life on Koh Dambang, an island set in the middle of the Mekong River in Cambodia. A small, grandmotherly woman, she paints an idyllic picture of life there.
— EcoWatch

From Bhutan to Cambodia, early warning saves lives in floods
Floods in Cambodia in 2011 and 2013 killed more than 400 people, displaced tens of thousands, and destroyed crops, livestock and homes.
— Reuters

Feature photo World Bank Photo Collection/Chhor Sokunthea
Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

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.