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US federal employees have begun a fundraising campaign for 2011, in a drive to collect money for local and international organizations. The Combined Federal Campaign is undertaken each year and allows US government employees to deduct money from their incomes to go toward thousands of different organizations, including charities and NGOs. “I donate to a lot of humane societies: Crime Solvers organization, the Red Cross,” said Brandon Garner, an administrative assistant at the Broadcasting Board of Governors, a US agency that oversees VOA.

Police and human rights groups say violent crime has spiked in the period since severe flooding began in August, as criminals take advantage of a distracted security force. The capital and many other places across the country have been inundated in recent weeks

Judges at the Khmer Rouge tribunal have determined that an appeal over the continued investigation of a controversial case at the UN-backed court can be made public.

Senior United Nations officials say countries of the Greater Mekong Sub-region including Thailand, Cambodia and Laos are failing to apply existing laws aimed at combating human trafficking.  The conclusions come as a U.N.

Defense teams for three of four jailed Khmer Rouge leaders facing trial at the UN-backed tribunal argued Wednesday that a 10-year statute of limitations under previous Cambodian law precluded their clients from trial.

UN rights envoy Surya Subedi expressed concern for Cambodia’s human rights situation, especially for the judiciary and a “narrowing of space” for expression. Ending a 10-day tour on Thursday ahead of a report the UN Human Rights Council, The UN’s special rapporteur for human rights said he was “particularly concerned…by the use of the crime of incitement against human rights defenders.” Subedi’s findings echoed concerns local groups have voiced in recent years, especially with the jailing of rights workers and journalists under criminal laws. Subedi told reporters Thursday a functioning democracy required an effective opposition.

Police and rights groups said Monday the country needs a new plan for moral values, as the number of reported rapes, including of underage girls, climbed again in 2010. Adhoc recorded 501 rapes last year, including 76 where the victims were under the age of 10 and 33 where the victims were younger than 5 years old. Nearly three quarters of all the rapes involved girls under the age of 18