Second Prime Minister Hun Sen refused to say on Sunday whether he believed Pol Pot was dead. Instead, he said the most important issue was whether the Khmer Rouge would continue to survive as a political force.

A series of alleged hijackings of Thai trawlers by Cambodian troops has spurred a pledge by a Thai regional governor to protest  to Cambodian officials, The Bang­kok Post reported Thurs­day.

A human rights group has condemned the execution earlier this month of a Kandal-province man whom the group says allegedly was tied to a flagpole and gunned down by local police.

As an international rights group condemned the Saturday grenade attack on a Son Sann party activist, Takeo authorities continued to insist the crime was not politically motivated.

A visiting US tour operator said Wednesday that Cambodia has the potential to become a popular tourist destination for Americans if political stability is achieved.

The National United Front has set a deadline of May 18 for the government to meet four conditions it says are necessary for free and fair elections.

The National Election Com­mittee is still waiting for a transfer of $1 million from the Ministry of Finance so it can meet its July payroll today, an NEC official said Tuesday.

A Phnom Penh merchant explained Wednesday how she parlayed a loan worth $22 into one worth $270 as well as a prosperous fruit and cashew nut business.

Investment will thrive in a nation free of red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy, First Prime Minister Ung Huot told a gathering of foreign investors and diplomats Wednesday.

Opposition parliamentarians began a boycott Wednesday aimed at shutting down the National Assembly until the government agrees to negotiations on upcoming elections, lawmakers said.

In his first public appearance in nearly two months, Second Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday hailed the collapse of the Khmer Rouge and issued a veiled rebuke to Prince Norodom Ranariddh, the rival prime minister ousted from power last year.

The government will set up an administrative system at Anlong Veng similar to those in place at the prominent former rebel zones of Pailin and Malai, top government officials said Wednesday.

Unions aligned with opposition leader Sam Rainsy and businessman Ted Ngoy have been authorized to hold simultaneous rallies at Olympic Stadium on Fri­day, raising security concerns among organizers.

The government quietly privatized Kampuchea Airlines last month, ending its eight-month joint venture with controversial Thai businessman Udom Tantiprasongchai.

Eleven workers were detained by police Tuesday after more than 1,000 striking factory workers scuffled with police, witnesses and police said.

In his first public appearance in nearly two months, Second Prime Minister Hun Sen this morning will tout the successes of a government policy that has brought the Khmer Rouge movement to its knees, officials said Tuesday.

A tripartite round-table in Bangkok on Monday agreed to proceed with the repatriation of 600 people, the first group from refugee camps in the Thai province of Trat.

Eight union representatives handing out leaflets in front of a garment factory on Sunday were detained and questioned by police, according to a union spokesman.

His larynx was sliced open by shrapnel and he could barely talk, but wounded Son Sann Party activist Khieu Rama was still able to write Monday.

Gem- and timber-rich Pailin is getting help from a South Korean construction company to rebuild the dilapidated road through the town, a Pailin official said Mon­day.