The National Assembly will be taking applications over the next week for its three representatives to the Constitutional Council, parliamentary staff said Monday.

Revered works of Cambodian art were welcomed back to the National Museum on Monday after a 20-month international tour.

Leaders in the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Pailin have de­nied that the government signed a deal in January allowing them to export $60 million of wood.

The defection of a one-time high-ranking Khmer Rouge commander last month has raised the ire of researchers who say there is overwhelming evidence he committed crimes against hu­manity.

Khmer Rouge hard-liners continued to grapple with defectors and government troops for control of the Anlong Veng area over the weekend as both sides claim­ed gains in key villages in the last rebel stronghold.

sisophon, Banteay Meanchey – Ieng Mouly and his Buddhist Liberal Party kicked off their campaign in the northwest last week with a pledge to explain why former members of the resistance work with rather than against the Phnom Penh government.

Petroleum giant Caltex Cam­bodia will today in Sihanoukville inaugurate its $8 million oil terminal, the company’s single-largest investment in the nation.

The Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia notified members last week they must follow the nation’s labor law and give workers paid vacations, garment factory owners said Sun­day.

The return of deposed first prime minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh has prompted a number of defectors from Funcinpec to rejoin the party under his leadership, according to the prince and senior aides.

Passengers and aviation ex­perts said Sunday the RCAF helicopter that crash-landed near the historic Preah Vihear temple last week was dangerously overloaded.

svay chek district, Banteay Meanchey province – Sixteen villagers collecting firewood and herding cattle last Friday near the remote northwestern hamlet of Doun Nouy were abducted by 10 resistance soldiers and held for ransom, military and police officials said.

In the aftermath of Wednes­day’s politically charged street fight, Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng warned of  more violence.

Sihanoukville port chief Lou Kimchhun said this week that a Malaysian company is considering a $15 million investment to improve cargo handling.

The British financial institution Standard Chartered is considering expanding its Phnom Penh representative office into a full-fledged branch, a bank representative confirmed Thursday.

poipet, Banteay Meanchey – Since opening as a permanent international border cross­ing in February, this town has boomed.

Deposed first prime minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh said Wednesday he and other opposition parties will decide by the end of the month whether they will take part in the forthcoming election, Reuters reported.

preah vihear temple, Preah Vihear – As the military plots to ensnare him and rank-and-file defections further reduce his stra­tegic options, Ta Mok may be the source of his own undoing.

siem reap – Provincial police on Tuesday accused resistance soldiers of burning down six houses late Monday night in Kompong Th’kao village, 54 km northwest of here.

BA fire destroyed 40 squatter homes, and a nearby tobacco factory nearly went up in smoke in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district on Thursday morning, police officials said.

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