Economy
Sand-dredging machinery on the Tonle Bassac river in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district on December 18, 2020. (Tran Techseng/VOD)

New Sand Dredging Begins Along Tonle Bassac River in Phnom Penh

A new sand dredging operation has commenced on the Tonle Bassac river in Phnom Penh within the past month, a local official said, with more than 90 companies now dredging rivers and streams in the country, according to the Mines and Energy Ministry.

Ream National Park (Wikimedia Commons)

Tracts of National Park, Disputed Area Privatized in Preah Sihanouk

The government has granted nearly 200 hectares of Ream National Park and flooded forest land that a local official said was disputed in Preah Sihanouk province’s Prey Nob district to companies and private individuals, to the surprise of two commune officials.

A pipe used to transport dredged sand near the Bassac river and Chak Angre Krom pagoda on December 16, 2020. (Tran Technseng/VOD)

Dredged Sand Floods Pagoda Dining Hall After Pipe ‘Explodes’

A pipe installed under a Phnom Penh pagoda burst on Tuesday while moving dredged sand from barges on the Tonle Bassac river to landfill on Choeng Ek lake, with a pagoda representative saying City Hall had pushed for the pipe to pass through their grounds despite their reluctance.

Former Macau crime boss Wan Kuok Koi, also known as “Broken Tooth,” (center) at a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur in July 2018 marking the establishment of the World Hongmen History and Culture Association headquarters, in a screenshot from a promotional video.

US Sanctions Ex-Macau Triad Boss With Business in Cambodia

The U.S. has announced sanctions against a former Macau crime boss who two years ago launched an association headquarters in Cambodia linked to a cryptocurrency and Belt and Road Initiative-related security business at a ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam An and military police chief Sao Sokha.