Lawmakers on Thursday ap­pro­ved legislation creating the Con­sti­tutional Council, the body charged with ensuring the constitutionality of all laws and settling disputed election results.

The US House of Represent­a­tives on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a resolution that recommends continuing to deny all US aid to the Cambodian government if elections scheduled for July are not deemed free and fair.

Reaction around Phnom Penh to the verdict against deposed first prime minister Prince Nor­odom Ranariddh was mixed Thursday, with Cambodians on both sides sounding off.

As a dozen foreigners gathered around the Venerable Maha Gho­sananda on Monday as part of their training for the seventh Pilgrimage of Peace, the 68-year-old spiritual leader passed on some wisdom for their journey, which begins Friday.

A Japanese plan for the return of deposed prime minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh looked to be in tatters Wednesday after the Phnom Penh Military Court handed down a 30-year jail sentence and demanded more than a total of $56 million in compensation. The prince and three top aides were convicted of charges of conspiring with the outlawed Khmer Rouge to overthrow the government.

About 60 percent of in-patients at military hospitals and infirmaries are suffering from mala­ria, according to a report from the health department of the Min­istry of Defense.

Union leaders warned Wednes­day of potential violence at Parnas Cambodia Garments factory if workers’ demands were not met by today.

Three robbery suspects were gunned down by police near Olympic Stadium early Wednes­day, just a day after municipal officials made plans to crack down on the city’s crime problem.

A top municipal official has removed the Flying Tigers, a two-year-old anti-crime force, from Phnom Penh’s streets amid a dispute over the group’s future.

Secretary of State for Interior Kieng Vang left Cambodia for the US on Tuesday, two weeks after unidentified gunmen assassinated his cousin on a Phnom Penh street, officials and acquaintances confirmed.

The country’s top election official on Wednesday said that securing foreign aid for the polls still should be Cam­bodia’s first priority. The comments came a day after it was revealed the two prime ministers have moved to­ward obtaining private funding to stage national elections.

The Norodoms are not a family known for their luck with Cam­bodia’s judiciary.

Prince Norodom Chakrapong, Prince Norodom Sirivudh, and most recently, deposed first prime minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh, have in the past four years all been dealt heavy jail terms on a variety of charges related to national security.

The Phnom Penh Military Court on Tuesday opened the trial of deposed first prime minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh and three top aides on charges that they conspired with outlawed Khmer Rouge hard-liners to topple the coalition government.

The China Hong Kong and Macau Business Association of Cambodia will kick off tonight at the Cambodiana Hotel.

Tourism’s down. Foreign in­vestment’s down. But Phnom Penh’s riverfront keeps growing.

In the last six months, eight restaurants catering to foreigners opened on Sisowath Quay, as small investors gamble on the outcome of July’s election.

Cambodia’s judiciary is biased and unfair, lawmaker Kem Sokha told the National Assembly on Tuesday, amid angry scenes with Justice Minister Chem Snguon over the courts’ independence.

Top RCAF commanders said Tuesday that reports of a mass defection of anti-government fighters and their families were premature, and that negotiations for the return of about 100 people were still happening.

After a cursory look into the fi­nances of Royal Air Cambodge, the Council of Ministers has or­dered a broader investigation, se­nior government officials said Monday.

The new governor of the Na­tional Bank of Cambodia will inherit a legacy of financial scandals from his predecessor, Thor Peng Leath, who officially re­signed from the post last week, observers and officials say.

The second trial of deposed first prime minister Prince Nor­o­dom will open today, with the prosecution expected to focus on proving that the prince conspired to overthrow the coalition government with the help of Khmer Rouge hard-liners.