Widespread complaints of prospective voters being turned away from registration centers forced the National Election Committee to issue strict orders Wednesday that no one with proper identification be prevented from registering.

Phnom Penh Chamber of Com­merce Chairman Teng Bunma on Monday called for the expansion of the chamber’s board from 24 to 36 members in a bid to further economic development.

he newest lottery game in town involves two things not in the vocabulary of many Cambo­dians: Liechtenstein and the Internet.

Malaria came into the international viewfinder last week as world leaders answered a call from the new director of the World Health Organization to fight the mosquito-borne disease.

The Ministry of Information on Wednesday disputed the opposition National United Front’s contention that media access is lacking in the run-up to national elections.

o bai tap, Siem Reap province -Thol Ny sat under a blue tarp Wednesday morning with her six children and pondered her family’s future.

A meeting of the Supreme Council of Magistracy, scheduled to appoint the last three members of the Constitutional Council on Wednesday, has been postponed until today, reportedly due to the ill health of the council’s president, Chea Sim.

For the first time since the early 1980s, no official gathering took place to mark the May 20 “Day of Hate,” a yearly reminder of the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge regime during the 1970s.

When well-protected business tycoons Teng Bunma and Mong Reththy are afraid of the current social climate, you know you’ve got some problems.

The governor of Ratanakkiri province said Tuesday he is using a list of names of eligible voters obtained from census officials—a direct violation of a royal decree assuring the head count’s confidentiality.

It should be a backpacker’s de­light: traveling overland from Bangkok to northeastern Thai­land, crossing the Cambodian border at Banteay Mean­chey, and ending up at Siem Reap’s ancient wonder of Angkor Wat.

The resistance is ready to send another team to Phnom Penh this week to discuss troop reintegration, but the absence of a key negotiator could delay the talks further, officials said Tuesday.

Diplomats in Phnom Penh re­acted cautiously Tuesday to the National United Front’s declaration of a boycott of July 26 elections, saying they were uncertain how it would impact international support for the polls.

Outspoken parliamentarian Son Chhay (BLDP) said Tuesday he is concerned about a threat on his life published last week in a local newspaper and is considering legal action.

Ouk Vithun, the secretary of state for the Justice Ministry, said Tuesday that if routine government procedure had been followed, he would have been ap­pointed acting justice minister during Chem Snguon’s absence.

The last three members of the Constitutional Council are expected to be appointed today, establishing the nation’s long-awaited highest legal body, which critics say has been unfairly weighted in favor of the CPP.

Koh Kong province has agreed to buy $5.2 million worth of electricity from Thailand, the first-ever deal of its kind between Cambo­dia and its western neighbor, officials say.

As voter registration began Monday, the opposition National United Front declared a boycott of the July 26 national elections, saying the polls cannot be free and fair.

banlung, Ratanakkiri province -This northeastern town may be one of the few places in the world where residents translate rain into kilowatt hours.

Five Red Cross trucks on Mon­day returned the first of thousands of displaced Khmer Rouge defectors back to Anlong Veng, an aid official said.