Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen

Southeast Asian leaders are to urge developed nations to make deeper cuts in carbon emissions, underscoring the rift between rich and poor countries on climate measures, it emerged Thursday. In a draft joint statement seen by AFP, heads of state from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said rich countries had a "historical responsibility" to act as well as the economic power to do so. The document, to be endorsed at a summit that begins Friday in the Thai resort of Hua Hin, pledges support for a December meeting in Copenhagen at which 192 countries will attempt to hammer out a new ... Read Full Story

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday urged rich countries to take more responsibility for causing climate change, saying poorer nations were the ones to suffer the fall-out. "All of us poor countries do not cause climate change. (We) would like rich countries to take a bit more responsibility than before," Hun Sen said, branding it a "sin". Hun Sen made his remarks at the first national forum to promote understanding of climate change in Cambodia, ahead of a key global summit on the issue this December in Copenhagen, Denmark. He said it was difficult to expect a deal at the UN climate conference ... Read Full Story

Cambodia's foreign currency reserves have topped the 2.5 billion dollar mark despite forecasts that the country's economy will contract this year, the premier said Thursday. Hun Sen revealed in a speech that the country has increased its international reserves by 21.48 percent since the end of last year, when they stood at just over two billion US dollars. "Despite receiving the impact of the global economic and financial crisis, we can ensure international reserves will continue increasing remarkably," he said. "As of the end of August 2009, calculated international reserves had reached 2,522 million US dollars," he added, in the speech marking 30 years ... Read Full Story

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen renewed his criticism of the country's U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal Monday, warning that arresting more suspects could spark civil war. Hun Sen spoke in response to last week's ruling by the tribunal allowing prosecutors to pursue further arrests. The matter had been in contention because the Cambodian co-prosecutor opposed the idea, while his international counterpart supported it. The tribunal is seeking justice for the estimated 1.7 million people who died in Cambodia from execution, overwork, disease and malnutrition as a result of the communist regime's radical policies while in power between 1975-79. Critics allege that Hun Sen has sought ... Read Full Story

Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court announced Wednesday that it would investigate more suspects from the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, blamed for the deaths of up to two million people. "The international prosecutor is authorised to make an introductory submission to co-investigating judges to open additional judicial investigations," court spokesman Lars Olsen told AFP. Based on the investigations, the tribunal will have to decide whether to prosecute these suspects, a move that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has strongly opposed on the grounds that it would spark civil war. The tribunal was created in 2006 to try leading members of the 1975-1979 regime and five ... Read Full Story