The National Election Com­mittee decided Saturday to stick to the July 26 date for national elections, although it will ask the cabinet today for a three-week delay in the start of voter registration, NEC President Chheng Phon said Saturday.

The military situation may be tense, but Khmer Rouge radio was loose last week, broadcasting a fictional account of a telephone conversation between Second Prime Minister Hun Sen and a military commander.

As killings go in Cambodia, the reports of the death of Ngoun Hoeung were almost depressingly typical: a dispute over land. A drunken village chief. Four assailants, three AK-47s and five shots.

The timing of Pol Pot’s death late Wednesday raised the suspicions of diplomats and military analysts, with some believing the infamous guerrilla was murdered to ensure he never testified be­fore an international tribunal.

Hours before Pol Pot died, a top Khmer Rouge commander contacted the government trying to make a deal to hand over the man accused of crimes against humanity, senior military officials confirmed Thursday.

The foreign ministers of Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines are due to fly to Siem Reap this weekend to meet with King Norodom Sihanouk, a Thai diplomat confirmed Thursday.

For almost as long as Tay Mon can remember, the name Pol Pot has brought unbidden images of hunger and horror. 

The most valuable trees in re­mote Virachey National Park in northeast Cambodia are being selectively cut by armed illegal loggers and transported to Viet­nam, environmental officials said.

The Ministry of Culture is building a $1.6 million performing arts and administrative complex with help from the Japanese government, Minister of Culture Nouth Narang said.

Senior military commanders claimed late Tuesday that RCAF-aligned troops have overrun the mountaintop base of troops loyal to Khmer Rouge leader Ta Mok and have pinned the remaining rebels against the Thai border.

anlong veng – As the government flag fluttered over this longtime Khmer Rouge stronghold Monday, soldiers milled about the veranda of rebel leader Ta Mok’s house and looked north toward the mountainous border where remaining hard-liners are believed to be sheltering.

Lengthy delays for duty-free goods to be cleared by customs have prompted the head of the UN Development Program to ask the government to investigate the problem.

When the Theravada, or god of the new year, enters the heavens each year, Cambodians usually greet him with a hundred-or-so gun salute.

The Committee for Free and Fair Elections called Monday for a review of the heads of six Provincial Election Com­missions, saying the commissions appear to be slanted toward the CPP and provincial governors.

tumnab dach, Preah Vihear province – Military officials Sun­day investigated conflicting re­ports about the capture of Khmer Rouge leader Ta Mok, while government forces said they were closing in on the few remaining hard-liners in the Anlong Veng area.

A senior Industry Ministry official said Sunday that current wages for factory workers are reasonable and that opposition lead­er Sam Rainsy was just “making problems” with calls for a 50 per­cent raise in the minimum wage.

At least two Funcinpec ministers who returned from self-imposed exile have not been allowed to take up their jobs de­spite government promises they would be reinstated, officials confirmed.

King Norodom Sihanouk re­turned home Saturday after a three-month absence from Cam­bodia’s tumultuous political scene.

kompong cham town – Out­spoken dissident Sam Rainsy said Saturday that he would use his new offices in Kompong Cham as a launch pad to win seats in the National Assembly.

The State Secretariat for Civil Av­iation and the Council of Min­isters have said Vietnam Airlines cannot have a daily flight from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City, an aviation official said Thursday.