Fifty to 100 armed men looted and attacked a northwest village near the Thai border late Thurs­day night, killing five people, including two deminers and two children, officials said. 

srei kmornh village, Takeo pro­vince – Long Thornh would give his life for the CPP, but it hasn’t done much for him lately.

A Place People Rarely Go, Soam Commune Wide Open in Politics, Trickery.

pang pong village, Takeo province – Ieng Siem removed his old Funcinpec signboard last July when 20 vigilantes came looking for him after the ouster of co-premier Prince Noro­dom Ranariddh.

It’s a half a world away, but many Cam­bodian fans say they are rooting for South American teams in this year’s World Cup action.

Two international groups have charged that the nation’s electoral process is so flawed that free and fair elections are impossible—with only six weeks left before the polls.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has signed a $335,000 grant to help Cambodia improve agricultural techniques to ensure a secure food supply.

The publisher of Koh San­tepheap (Island of Peace) newspaper, who was shot twice in the chest last week, has gone to Thai­land for further medical checks, his daughter said Thurs­day.

A collapsed railway bridge in Kampot town has been re-op­ened, but other bridges are in dan­ger of similar cave-ins, ac­cording to Cambodia’s National Railway director.

Political tension is rising in Prey Veng province after the mur­der of two people with connections to Funcinpec, and 15 families have fled their homes, the Provincial Governor Tep Nan­­nory said Thursday.

The governor also labeled the murders political executions, citing interviews with villagers in the area who knew the victims and witnessed the murders.

“We haven’t been sleeping very well these days,” said Tep Nan­nory, a Funcinpec member. “We’re afraid we might be murdered very soon if we do not take care of ourselves.”

Two people with connections to Funcinpec were dragged from their Kompong Trabek district homes and assassinated by un­identified men, police and Fun­cinpec officials have confirmed.

Funcinpec officials say Phun Phoun, 32, was a Funcinpec mem­ber active at the grassroots level, while police officials say he switched to the Reastr Niyum Party three days before his murder. And Neang Mom Yang, 39, was the wife of the party’s second deputy district representative, officials say.

At least 15 families with connections to Funcinpec have moved from their village homes to sleep in the party’s Kompong Trabek district office, fearing they may be killed if they stay in their villages.

“The Funcinpec members in Prey Veng are scared and are laying low for a while,” Tep Nannory said. “Up till now, we haven’t received any information about the murderers. Who are they? Where are they? What do their faces look like?”

The Ministry of Interior is asking the same question.

“I have ordered provincial po­lice to report any new information to me as soon as they get it,” Gen­eral Mao Chandara said Thurs­day. “Hopefully they have found some new news about that by now.”

Prey Veng police officials could not be reached for comment. Mao Chandara said Wednesday it is too early to judge the motive for the killings. Early police findings point to robbery and personal revenge, he said.

Tep Nannory said he accompanied human rights workers to the district Wednesday to interview 80 villagers. Residents told him that neither victim had conflicts with anybody, he said.

“The killers just asked for valuables but did not take any, including the watch on [Phun Phoun’s] hand,” he said. “This means it is a case of a political killing.”

A supporter of opposition politician Sam Rainsy was killed in Prey Veng in late January, prompt­ing the arrest of suspects who alleged that Ourn Phourng was killed out of revenge for events dating back nearly 20 years.

The Sunday killings follow the May release of a UN report alleging the political execution of more than 80 people since July, most of whom were Funcinpec supporters.

Understaffed and slightly be­hind schedule, the National Elec­tion Committee Computer Cen­ter is working around the clock to produce the final list of voters be­fore the July 26 elections, the center’s director said.

Heated debate broke out be­tween political party leaders and National Election Committee officials Thursday as they hammered out a format for roundtable discussions to be televised during the electoral campaign.

The Phnom Penh Municipality on Wednesday turned down a request from Sam Rainsy to hold a controversial demonstration, and passed the problem on to the National Assembly and the Na­tional Election Committee.

A Cambodian forestry company is set to export about $50 million worth of illegal logs into Thailand via Laos, the environmental watch­dog Global Witness char­ged on Thursday.

Seven Petroleum Authority of Thailand gas stations may soon re-open, now that the Cambodian government has rescinded an order banning the company from importing oil through its facilities at Ream Naval Base. 

In remote northeastern Cam­bodia last month, health workers pricked fingers, took blood samples, tested for malaria and prescribed medicines for a village—all while sitting cross-legged in the back of a dusty pickup truck.

Six people were killed Monday night when lightning struck their boat near the Cambodia-Japan Friend­ship Bridge, according to police and eye witnesses.

kompong speu town – A prosecutor said Wednesday it would be un­reasonable to expect him to charge Second Prime Minister Hun Sen with the murder of three high-ranking Funcinpec military officials based on evidence submitted so far.

Representatives from Cambo­dia attended a two-day conference in Bangkok last weekend to discuss ways to implement last year’s treaty to ban land mines, according to participants.

Media watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres has protested media regulations proposed by the National Election Committee, saying they contravene international agreements on human rights.

A Funcinpec activist and the wife of a party official were slain Sunday in separate attacks in Prey Veng province, party members and government officials said Wednesday.