Mao Sreypich
Flowers on sale on Valentine's day in Phnom Penh. (Keat Soriththeavy/VOD)

Updated: Caution Spreads as Covid-19 Tops 500 Daily Cases

Daily Covid-19 cases hit 500 on Monday as Phnom Penh officials set off to remind restaurants to keep up health precautions on Valentine’s Day evening. No significant changes in health measures have been announced so far.

An online cosmetics seller’s page on Facebook. (VOD)

Warnings Multiply Alongside Burgeoning Online Cosmetics Trade

The sale of cosmetics is booming online. But the Health Ministry is routinely alerting the public of the risks of unregistered products that have not been tested for their toxicity, while medical professionals warn of long-term risks.

Roast pork ahead of the Lunar New Year in 2022. (Mao Sreypich/VOD)

Vendors See Lunar New Year Rebound

After two years of the pandemic, Phnom Penh residents were back celebrating the Chinese Spring Festival ahead of the Lunar New Year.

Farms on flooded forest areas in Kampong Chhnang province in January 2022. (Kuoy Langdy/VOD)

How Cambodia’s Protected ‘Flooded Forests’ All but Disappeared

On paper, the protected biosphere reserve around Tonle Sap lake is a flooded forest. But across vast tracts in Kampong Chhnang, there are only rice fields or uncultivated wetlands, bare of any substantial trees. Decades of encroachment have only accelerated in recent years.

The ruling CPP’s congress on December 24, 2021, with Hun Manet second from right. (Sar Kheng’s Facebook page)

Updated: CPP Congress Picks Hun Manet as Next ‘Unity’ PM Candidate

Prime Minister Hun Sen’s eldest son and deputy military commander will be the ruling Cambodian People’s Party’s next prime ministerial candidate when his father decides to relinquish power, the party decided on Friday, according to the Information Ministry.

Most of the forests surrounding the Tonle Sap lake are dry in December, although a few are still flooded, as seen on December 17, 2019 in Siem Reap province's Treay village. (Roun Ry)

After Two Weeks, 20,000 Ha of Flooded Forests Recovered

Following Prime Minister Hun Sen’s command two weeks ago to stop the Tonle Sap’s destruction, provincial governors say they have retaken thousands of hectares of protected flooded forests but are still working on investigating perpetrators.