World leaders brought international attention to Cambodia last week and Hun Sen certainly made the most of it

Prime Minister Hun Sen requested the closure of the UN human rights office in Cambodia because other countries in the world don’t have human rights offices, and Cambodia doesn’t want this office either.”

- Khieu Kanharith talking about Hun Sen’s request to the UN that they remove Christophe Peschoux from his role at their office for human rights in Cambodia. The government later retracted part of the quote from Kanharith, explaining that they still want Peschoux out, but haven’t ruled on the fate of the office.

[Hun Sen] proposed the removal of Mr Christophe Peschoux, because Mr Peschoux is not a UN official working on human rights issues with the government, but is a spokesman for the opposition party,”

- Hor Namhong commenting on the same request made to Ban-ki Moon by Hun Sen during their meeting on Wednesday of last week.

Before the meeting, the Thai media repeatedly published news that Abhisit would raise the issue of Arisman and the … Red Shirts with Hun Sen. But when meeting with Samdech Hun Sen, Abhisit did not raise even a word about these issues – Samdech raised the matter.”

- Hor Namhong speaking to the press about the much anticipated meeting between the Thai and Cambodian heads of state on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit.

Quote of the week

The court will try the four senior leaders successfully and then finish with Case 002.”

- The Prime Minister speaking about the current case against four senior Khmer Rouge leaders at the KRT and his dissaproval of any further action from the court upon its conclusion

Big Stories

THE death toll from severe floods in Thailand has risen to 100, including at least three foreigners, although the waters have receded in some areas, officials said on Saturday.

Six more people have died in the disaster, which began on Oct 10, the Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand said in its daily update.

Authorities said that while 22 of Thailand’s 76 provinces were still flooded, the waters have receded in 16 others.

The authorities estimate that about five million people have been affected, with homes submerged and farmland or cattle destroyed, mostly in central and eastern areas, although life is slowly returning to normal for some. AFP

UNITED States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday that Washington would dispatch a “team of experts” to resolve the long-standing issue of the Kingdom’s Lon Nol-era debt to the US as she completed her two-day visit to Cambodia.

Following a meeting with Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, America’s top diplomat said the debt required “immediate attention”, and that she would move the issue “up the ladder of priorities” for Washington.

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A NORTHERN Chinese city has come up with an innovative way to encourage residents to keep the streets clean – it is paying 5 fen (just under US$0.01) for every used cigarette butt they pick up.

Authorities in Shaanxi province’s Xianyang city launched the campaign in September, and so far enthusiastic residents have handed over 7 million butts, the official China Daily said.

In return, the local government has paid out 100,000 yuan (US$15,000) for 2 million of the butts and still owes for the remaining 5 million.

“We started the drive as part of an effort to make our city more clean and civilised, increase public environmental awareness and warn against the dangers of smoking,” said Hou Xi’an, deputy head of the office overseeing the campaign.

One person reportedly handed over 7,500 cigarette butts all at once – worth 375 yuan.

However, some people are cheating by rooting around internet cafes, restaurants and even dustbins to collect butts and get a reward, according to some media reports.

Still, the campaign appears to be working. AFP