Temple of Preah Vihear

Brief Description Situated on the edge of a plateau that dominates the plain of Cambodia, the Temple of Preah Vihear is dedicated to Shiva. The Temple is composed of a series of sanctuaries linked by a system of pavements and staircases over an 800 metre long axis and dates back to the first half of the 11th century AD. Nevertheless, its complex history can be traced to the 9th century, when the hermitage was founded. This site is particularly well preserved, mainly due to its remote location. The site is exceptional for the quality of its...

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UNESCO to send mission to Preah Vihear

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today reiterated her call for calm and restraint around the Temple of Preah Vihear, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2008. A border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand caused several deaths and damage to the site in recent days. "I intend to send a mission to the area as soon as possible to assess the state of the temple," she said. "World Heritage sites are the heritage of all humanity and the international community has a special responsibility to safeguard them. This requires a collective effort that must be undertaken in a spirit of consultation and dialogue. Heritage should...

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Director-General expresses alarm over escalation of violence between Thailand and Cambodia

UNESCO Director- General Irina Bokova expressed her deep concern at the sudden escalation of tensions between Cambodia and Thailand on the issue of the Temple of Preah Vihear, inscribed on the World Heritage List. Reports indicate that troops on either side have exchanged fire resulting in the loss of life and also some damage to the temple. The Director-General expresses her distress at this sudden turn of events and calls upon both sides to exercise restraint for the sake of the preservation of the Temple of Preah Vihear and open direct channels of communication at the highest levels to defuse the tensi...

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UNESCO Special Envoy on Preah Vihear to meet with prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova's Special Envoy on the Preah Vihear Temple, Koïchiro Matsuura, will travel to Bangkok and Phnom Penh between 25 February and 1 March to discuss the safeguarding of the World Heritage site with the Thai and Cambodian prime ministers. Mr Matsuura, a former Director-General of UNESCO (1999-2009) and a former Chair of the World Heritage Committee (1999), will also examine with both sides ways of reducing tension and promoting dialogue around the preservation of the temple. Irina Bokova has voiced concern over clashes around the Temple in recent weeks, stressing that "the world's cultural heritage should...

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Wall St gains 1 percent on Greece optimism

1 of 1Full Size By Angela Moonimg alt="Traders listen to chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, make an address on a television screen as they work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York June 22, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson" border="0" src="http://af.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20110628&t=2&i=448364524&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=192&pl=155&r=2011-06-28T185311Z_01_AJOE75R1GGO00_RTROPTP_0_OZABS-MARKETS-USA-STOCKS-20110628" title="Traders listen to chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, make an address on a television screen as they work on the floor of the New York...

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Bank of America pays $8.5bn to settle sub-prime claims

Bank of America has agreed to pay $8.5bn (£5.3bn) to settle claims that the lender sold poor-quality mortgage-backed securities that went sour when the housing market collapsed. A group of 22 investors, including the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Pimco, and Blackrock, had demanded that the bank repurchase $47bbn in mortgages that its Countrywide unit sold to them in the form of bonds. They argued that Countrywide has enriched itself at the expense of investors by continuing to service bad loans while running up servicing fees. Brian Moynihan, chief executive of BoA, said in a statement: "This is another important step we are taking in the interest of our shareholders to minimize the impact of future economic uncertainty and put legacy issues behind us."...

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Kabul Bombing: Intercontinental Hotel Attacked by Bomber, Gunmen; Attackers Killed

Afghan commandos and international forces tonight regained control of a landmark hotel in Kabul four hours after it was stormed by insurgent gunmen and suicide bombers in one of the most significant attacks in Afghanistan in the past few years. Afghan Interior Minister Gen. Bismillah Khan Mohammadi said six attackers were dead, but it was possible there might still be another hiding in the hotel, where Afghan officials had gathered for a conference. At least one suicide bomber blew himself up at the hotel entrance and at least four explosions were heard during the gun battle between the insurgents and police and international forces....

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Casey Anthony Trial: George Anthony Says He Didn't Believe 'At That Time' His Daughter Killed Caylee

George Anthony gave some of the most damning testimony in the murder trial of his daughter today, saying that Casey Anthony was the last one to see Caylee alive. George Anthony also denied the defense's claim that he had sexually abused Casey Anthony when she was a girl. Casey Anthony is accused of murdering her daughter, 2-year-old Caylee, and could face the death penalty if convicted. Her defense team argues that the toddler accidentally drowned in the family pool and that George Anthony helped dispose of the body. They also claim that he sexually abused Casey Anthony and that she hid her daughter's death in the same manner that...

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Khmer Rouge Turned Cambodian Family Members Against One Another

June 28, 2011Daniel Schearf, VOA | Kampong Chhang, Cambodia Three decades since the Khmer Rouge decimated Cambodia, killing up to a quarter of the population in pursuit of a communist utopia, the devastation to families is still being felt. As the four most senior surviving Khmer Rouge leaders go on trial in Phnom Penh, thousands of lower-level Khmer Rouge responsible for atrocities will never see justice. Sometimes the victims and the accused are closer than they want to be.Kraing Leav village is a typical rural Cambodian community just a couple of hours drive from Phnom Penh.Everyone is somebody’s friend, neighbor, or relative.But during...

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In Hearing, Ieng Sary Defense Seeks His Release

Former Khmer Rouge foreign minister Ieng Sary (2nd row from front, L) and former social affairs minister Ieng Thirith (2nd row from front, 2nd R) sit at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on the outskirts of Phnom Penh June 27, 2011. (Photo: Reuters) Tuesday, 28 June 2011Reporters, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh“Pol Pot, Ieng Sary, Ta Mok and Nuon Chea should be punished heavily, because they ordered people killed.”Defense lawyers for Ieng Sary, the former Khmer Rouge foreign minister, said Tuesday he should be released from the UN-backed tribunal, claiming he was already tried for genocide under the Vietnamese...

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Dutch lawyers in Cambodia mega-trial

28 June 2011By Johan van der TolRadio Netherland WorldwideTwo Dutch lawyers are involved in the historic genocide trial which started in Cambodia this week. It centres around four leaders of the Khmer Rouge, the Communist movement which instigated a reign of terror in the latter half of the 1970s. The Dutch lawyers, together with a Cambodian colleague, are defending the regime's deputy leader, Nuon Chea, also known as Brother Number 2. They say obstruction by the Cambodian authorities has been their biggest problem.Victor Koppe and Michiel Pestman have been involved in a variety of international tribunals. But, Koppe says, this one...

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UNESCO Regrets Thailand Decision To Denounce World Heritage ConventionUNESCO Regrets Thailand Decision To Denounce World Heritage Convention

The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today voiced deep regret after Thailand announced it would denounce the global convention aimed at preserving humankind’s most outstanding shared cultural and natural heritage. A Thai Government minister said yesterday in Paris, where the UNESCO World Heritage Committee is currently meeting, that his country did not support the convention, the latest step in a row involving the Preah Vihear Temple, a World Heritage List site that was damaged during border clashes earlier this year between Thailand and Cambodia. UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova...

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Cambodia: First hearing ex-Khmer Rouge leaders' trial

A UN-backed tribunal in Cambodia is holding its first hearing in the trial of four former top Khmer Rouge leaders. The defendants include the "number two" in Pol Pot's regime, Nuon Chea. They face charges of genocide and crimes against humanity over the deaths of up to two million Cambodians in 1975-79. They all deny the accusations, and the trial is likely to last for years. Last July, former Khmer Rouge member Kaing Guek Eav, known as Comrade Duch, was jailed for 35 years. But because of time already served and compensation for a period of illegal detention, Duch - the former head of a notorious prison...

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Thai army chief Prayuth urges vote for 'good people'

By Rachel Harvey BBC News, BangkokThailand's powerful army chief has gone on state television to urge people to vote for what he called good people in the forthcoming general election. Recent polls have given the opposition, linked to the fugitive former leader, Thaksin Shinawatra, a slight lead. Mr Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and lives in self-imposed exile, but remains a hugely influential and divisive figure in Thai politics. The military has insisted it will stay out of politics. But the army chief's intervention is raising fresh questions about the military's true...

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Thai prime minister defends rise to power on Facebook

By Rachel Harvey BBC News, BangkokThailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has posted a vigorous defence of his rise to power on his personal website and Facebook page. The move comes in the middle of a hard-fought election campaign in which the ex-prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, is becoming a central issue. Mr Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and lives in exile to avoid a jail term for corruption. Thailand's recent turbulent history is resurfacing as the 3 July poll nears. The main opposition party, and its anti-government, red-shirted supporters have long been suspicious...

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Thailand's Pheu Thai complains of 'smear campaign'

By Rachel Harvey BBC News, BangkokThailand's main opposition party has filed a formal complaint against its main rival in the forthcoming election. The Pheu Thai party accuses the secretary general of the Democrat party of smearing the reputation of some of its most high profile candidates. They include the sister of the exiled fugitive former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, and leaders of last year's anti-government street protests. The row highlights key issues at the heart of the campaign. The allegations centre on remarks allegedly made by Suthep Thaugsuban, an outspoken figure...

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Thailand's PM Abhisit warns against Thaksin return

Thailand's prime minister has warned the country may face renewed political instability if former leader, Thaksin Shinawatra, returns from exile. Abhisit Vejjajiva told the BBC that the next government should not "put one man's interest before the country's. It brings instability." But in another BBC interview Mr Thaksin said he was useful to Thailand. Thais go to polls on 3 July in a contest that Mr Abhisit's Democrat Party admits it could lose. Since Mr Thaksin's ousting in a military coup five years ago, Thailand has been convulsed by political turbulence, largely focused around those who love him and...

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