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A coalition of non-governmental organizations says it received a warning from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to “readjust” some of their work, following a controversy over land rights along a railway line development. The NGO Forum said Monday it is preparing a response letter to the ministry, after it wrote a letter to the Asian Development Bank in 2010 warning of dangerous construction on a line slated for rehabilitation. The latest row between the NGO sector and the government comes amid increased warnings that the government is moving to curb the influence of the country’s burgeoning civil society

Phnom Penh officials met with representatives from the Beoung Kak lake area on Thursday, the first move toward dispensing land to some 800 families who had refused to make way for a massive development project. The city will provide around 12 hectares of land to the families to build houses, but they must build them to code and pay property taxes, Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema said

Phnom Penh authorities say they will not allow a union demonstration against rising prices of food, fuel and other living expenses. The newly established Cambodian National Confederation for Laborers Protection, had requested permission from the city to hold its march Sunday, but were told instead that only a maximum 200 people would be allowed to gather at the city’s Freedom Park. Chey Sovan, a vice president of the union, said they would bring 1,500 people to the park, although they would not march as planned

The countries of the lower Mekong River are moving toward greater integration, but Cambodia’s commerce minister said Thursday the country is ill prepared. Ministers from Burma, Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam met in Phnom Penh to discuss a second phase of economic cooperation under and Asian Development Bank program.

Authorities in Kampong Thom province say they are working to solve an ongoing land dispute with villagers there after a demonstration blocked a major roadway earlier this month. Kampong Thom Deputy Governor Out Sam Arn said the local government was measuring the land of about 200 families, following a massive demonstration that blocked National Road 6, a main tourist artery between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, for several hours. About 250 families are laying claim to some 800 hectares of land they say was taken by a private company in 2005.

Lake residents protesting over a Phnom Penh development delivered a letter to the US Embassy on Monday, asking for support in their ongoing dispute with the city and a development company. The Boeung Kak villagers are asking the city to grant them a portion of land on the development site, rather than take buyouts and be removed to a resettlement site outside the city

Three decades since the Khmer Rouge decimated Cambodia, killing up to a quarter of the population in pursuit of a communist utopia, the devastation to families is still being felt. As the four most senior surviving Khmer Rouge leaders go on trial in Phnom Penh, thousands of lower-level Khmer Rouge responsible for atrocities will never see justice