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Cambodian officials say they are prepared to comply with an international court order to demilitarize an area surrounding Preah Vihear temple, but not until third-party monitors arrive. The International Court of Justice in The Hague on Monday ordered troops from both sides to clear a provisional demilitarized zone around the temple, which has been at the heart of a deadly military standoff since July 2008. It also ordered that both sides allow observers to have access to that zone

Cambodia’s woodlands are seeing continued deforestation, despite a plan by the government to curb illegal logging, environmental groups say. Authorities say they have a plan to protect the forest, but non-governmental groups say the problem persists, including through an increase in land concessions, and massive illegal logging by the military. Cambodia has an official strategy to protect the forests over the next 18 years, including land management practices and tighter governmental controls over still exiting forests

The Foreign Ministry on Monday issued congratulations to Pheu Thai party of Thailand, after it won an overwhelming victory in elections Sunday. Foreign Minister Hor Namhong welcomed the party and its leader, Yingluck Shinawatra, who is the sister of Thaksin Shinawatra, the populist prime minister ousted in a 2006 coup.

The US wants to see a peaceful solution to the current border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, a senior US State Department official said Tuesday. Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, told a forum at the Center for International and Strategic Study in Washington, that the US also encourages more dialogue between the two sides, and Indonesia, which has acted as an interlocutor in the dispute since February. Campbell’s remarks were part of a renewed engagement effort by the US in Southeast Asia, including initiatives with Asean

The Sam Rainsy Party has sent a request to Prime Minister Hun Sen requesting that he cancel economic land concessions in Prey Lang forest, in the east of the country, where thousands are villagers say their livelihoods are under threat. Nine SRP parliamentarians singled out more than 6,000 hectares in a concession to a Vietnamese company, CRCK, among others, and suggested the forest be listed as a Unesco World Heritage site.

The Cambodian Mine Action Center has found more than 300 hectares of land peppered with cluster munitions, believed to be fired by Thailand during border fighting in February. Clearance of the unexploded ordnance could take up to a year or more, demining officials said, following an assessment of the area by CMAC and Norwegian People’s Aid. “We are searching for more areas affected with submunitions of cluster munitions,” CMAC Secretary-General Heng Ratana told VOA Khmer Wednesday.

Cambodia has called on the International Court of Justice to review a 1962 judgment over a disputed ancient Hindu temple along the Thai border. The move follows renewed fighting that broke an hours-old ceasefire. In a submission to the International Court of Justice, Cambodia calls for an interpretation a 50-year-old ruling that gave the 11th century temple to Cambodia