Khmer Rouge tribunal International Co-Prosecutor Nicholas Koumjian and his deputy, William Smith, during closing statements in Case 002/02 last week at the ECCC. ECCC There was "no proof of genocide" committed during the Khmer Rouge regime, lawyers for former leader Khieu Samphan said yesterday, while blaming the invading Vietnamese for wielding the loaded term as a political tool, in the final day of defence statements in Case 002/02.

Cambodian activists fighting plans to transform Phnom Penh's largest lake into a luxury development made a tactical decision when they took to the streets - put women on the frontline to show a "gentle" face and prevent violence. The women of Boeung Kak Lake, once home to a thriving community, have been kicked, manhandled, threatened and jailed, one of many land battles globally where women are bearing the brunt of the crackdown on protesters.

Prime Minister Hun Sen walks across the Cambodia-Vietnam border yesterday to mark the 40th anniversary of his defection from the Khmer Rouge in an event held in Tbong Khmum province. Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday used the 40th anniversary of his defection from the Khmer Rouge to re-enact his crossing into Vietnam, justify his decision to join the brewing plot by Cambodia's historical enemy to overthrow Pol Pot's bloody regime and warn his present-day enemies to "prepare their coffins".

National flags and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations logo are on display ahead of an ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Nov. 18, 2015. Countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will be a wellspring of opportunity for the United States because of growth in the region's digital economy and its young population, researchers say.

The months-old blob seen above is an Asian giant softshell turtle. Scientists long thought this species was extinct in the Cambodian portion of the Mekong River - until they discovered some stragglers in the early 2000s.

The rapid expansion of pepper cultivation in Cambodia coincides with the spice's plummeting world prices, creating concerns that the glut of pepper ripening on vines across the Kingdom could further erode next season's market prices and push the sector toward a collapse. Hean Vanhan, undersecretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, said large-scale planting in recent years, encouraged by the soaring prices, has significantly boosted Cambodia's pepper production.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Wednesday warned the opponents against any attempt to topple the government through "color revolution," saying that it would not be tolerated, China's Xinhua news agency reported. "The armed forces must be ready to crack down on any movement that aims to topple the government and to damage the nation," he said during a visit to southeastern Tboung Khmum province.

The estimated 1.8 million eligible voters who did not register to vote during last year's mass enrollment will from September be given their final chance to register before the July 2018 national election, with monitors yesterday urging migrant workers to return and enroll.

One of the victims, Thavery* , stands with her family members outside Kampong Chhnang Provincial Court yesterday after the trial. After more than four years of relentless campaigning to bring an abusive teacher to justice, a group of Kampong Chhnang students were vindicated yesterday as the Provincial Court found the educator guilty of sexually abusing four girls and sentenced him in absentia to five years in prison.

The government has started stripping members of the Khmer National United Party of their state positions, as part of what KNUP officials have said is an effort to pressure them to abandon their leader, Nhek Bun Chhay, a former top military commander, and join the ruling Cambodian People's Party. According to separate royal decrees signed by King Norodom Sihamoni last week, five members of the minor party have been ousted from the government positions they gained in 2013 while members of royalist party Funcinpec, from which the KNUP split last year.

The International Finance Corp., a member of the World Bank Group, has partnered with AMRU Rice, a rice export company in Cambodia, to launch a joint advisory project in Phnom Penh. As part of the partnership, the IFC will support AMRU Rice over a three-year period to implement the developed Sustainable Rice Platform standards and practices in the company's supply chain.

The Ministry of Defence yesterday screened photographs of Prime Minister Hun Sen's personal journey as it announced its intention to incorporate Hun Sen's much-touted 'Win-Win Policy' and other achievements into the school curriculum. Students at schools in Cambodia will learn about the life, achievements and leadership of Prime Minister Hun Sen under a proposal by the Defence Ministry to change the nation's curriculum and introduce the ruling party's fiercely contested historical narrative into textbooks.

Rodrigo Duterte has been quite the maverick President, but has he delivered on his election promises? Mong Palentino, a former member of the Philippine House of Representatives, assesses his performance. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte attends the opening plenary of the World Economic Forum on ASEAN in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng chairs the opening ceremony of a training seminar on minimum wage policy yesterday in Phnom Penh. FACEBOOK Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng announced yesterday that this year's round of garment sector minimum wage negotiations would begin in July, with unionists cautiously optimistic that next year's national elections could benefit their cause despite calls from Sam Heng not to "politicise" the process.

Born in Battambang in 1971, he left the country as a teenager with his family. They came to the United States as refugees.

THAILAND is preparing to sign a tripartite electricity-trading agreement with two neighbouring countries at the upcoming Asean Ministers of Energy Meeting. Energy Ministry permanent secretary Areepong Bhoocha-Oom said the agreement would pave the way for the Laos-Thailand-Malaysia electricity deal, enabling the Asean Power Grid to materialise.

The next Senate elections will be held on January 14, according to a directive issued on Friday and ordered by Prime Minister Hun Sen, who noted earlier this month that his party's performance at the June 4 commune elections means it will almost definitely win the chamber. "Prime Minister Hun Sen has decided to take Sunday, January 14, 2018, for the indirect elections to select the fourth mandate of the Senate," the document from the Council of Ministers says.