Phnom Penh - The top UN official in Cambodia on the government Tuesday to step up efforts to halt what he described as a "widening gap" between the rich and the poor.

UN resident coordinator Douglas Broderick said recent economic growth had brought "much hope and optimism" to all Cambodians, but added that prosperity was "not evenly spread."

Phnom Penh - A former leader of Cambodia's genocidal Khmer Rogue regime told a war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh Thursday he could not understand why he was facing charges of crimes against humanity, saying he had "always acted in the best interests of the Cambodian people."

Khieu Samphan said in his closing statement to a heated pre-trial hearing of the UN-backed Khmer Rogue Tribunal he was innocent of all charges and there was insufficient evidence to support his detention.

Phnom Penh - Germany's ambassador to Cambodia on Wednesday called on the Cambodian government to step up measures against human trafficking to combat exploitation of the country's poorest citizens.

Ambassador Frank Marcus Mann said at a press conference in Phnom Penh the German government supported Cambodian efforts to curb the growing number of people being trafficked in the country and urged the government to adopt new anti-abduction laws.

"Because Cambodia is a signatory to international conventions to fight abduction we want to see Cambodia's parliament take action and pass new anti-abduction laws," he said.

Phnom Penh - Cambodia's annual Water Festival, or Bon Um Tuk, began in the capital Phnom Penh on Tuesday amid fears for a boat racer who went missing the previous day during training session for the traditional regatta.

The Cambodia Daily newspaper reported 38-year-old Sin Sang from Pursat province in the country's west fell from his team's race boat 50 metres from the shore of Tonle Sap river on Monday.

Phnom Penh - The Cambodian government on Monday launched an investigation into a helicopter crash that killed the country's controversial chief of police and three others on Sunday night.

Hok Lundy, a close ally of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, died along with deputy army commander Sok Sa Em and two pilots when their helicopter crashed en route to the police chief's home province of Svay Rieng near the Vietnamese border.

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said an investigation into the incident had begun but declined to provide any further details.

"We are unable to provide specific details until the investigation is completed," he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.