Norodom Sihamoni

Standing before golden statues of his ancestors and blessed by monks whose chants filled a hall in the Royal Palace, former ballet dancer Norodom Sihamoni took the throne Friday, succeeding his father. Sihamoni, who has no political experience and is little known in his home country, was enthroned in an elaborate ceremony that included the blowing of conch shells and traditional music played with drums and gongs.

NEW DELHI -- Thousands of people lined the streets of Cambodia's capital Friday for the funeral of King Norodom Sihanouk, a controversial monarch who helped build the young nation after French rule before cozying up to the homicidal Khmer Rouge regime. Sihanouk's embalmed body, which has been lying in state in Phnom Penh awaiting an auspicious date since his October death at age 89, was carried to the sounds of a 101-gun salute from the royal palace to an ornate funeral pyre in a city park specially constructed for the occasion.

NEW DELHI -- Thousands of people lined the streets of Cambodia's capital Friday for the funeral of King Norodom Sihanouk, a controversial monarch who helped build the young nation after French rule before cozying up to the homicidal Khmer Rouge regime. Sihanouk's embalmed body, which has been lying in state in Phnom Penh awaiting an auspicious date since his October death at age 89, was carried to the sounds of a 101-gun salute from the royal palace to an ornate funeral pyre in a city park specially constructed for the occasion.

Standing before golden statues of his ancestors and blessed by monks whose chants filled a hall in the Royal Palace, former ballet dancer Norodom Sihamoni took the throne Friday, succeeding his father. Sihamoni, who has no political experience and is little known in his home country, was enthroned in an elaborate ceremony that included the blowing of conch shells and traditional music played with drums and gongs.

Prince Norodom Sihamoni was named Cambodia's king Thursday, succeeding his father, Norodom Sihanouk, who last week announced his abdication because of ill health. Sihamoni, a former ballet dancer and cultural ambassador who has spent much of his life abroad, was approved by a nine-member Throne Council, said a statement signed by the panel's chairman and acting head of state, Chea Sim.

CAMBODIA Thousands of Cambodians in Phnom Penh jubilantly welcomed their new king, Norodom Sihamoni, on his return from China. He was accompanied by his ailing father, Norodom Sihanouk, who abdicated this month. Sihanouk, 81, had spent most of the last nine months in China for medical treatment and in self-imposed exile to protest bickering among his country's political leaders. The king has ceremonial duties but little real power.

Family ties between Angelina Jolie and her son, Maddox, just got a little tighter. A royal decree approving Cambodian citizenship for Jolie, star of the "Tomb Raider" films, was signed by King Norodom Sihamoni on July 31, Sok Sam Oeun, an official of the Council of Ministers, said Friday. Sok Sam Oeun said he was working through Jolie's contacts in Cambodia to notify the 30-year-old actress of her new citizenship.

Is the regime of Kim Jong Il the cruelest the world has seen since Adolf Hitler's in Germany or Josef Stalin's in the Soviet Union? For all the world has heard about North Korea and its people's suffering, the answer is no. The dubious distinction of cruelest probably belongs to Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. They took over Cambodia in 1975 and ruled from the once-tranquil capital of Phnom Penh until December 1978, when Vietnamese communist troops drove them out. About 2 million people are estimated to have died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, from disease, starvation, executions and torture.

Former King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia, an unpredictable and crafty political survivor whose fortunes were entwined with U.S. military involvement in Indochina, died Monday of natural causes in Beijing, where he had undergone medical treatment, Chinese state media reported. He was 89. Sihanouk had various forms of cancer, diabetes and hypertension and had sought medical care in China since 2004, when he abdicated in favor of his son due to old age and health problems. He died two weeks short of his 90th birthday.

Prince Norodom Sihamoni was named Cambodia's king Thursday, succeeding his father, Norodom Sihanouk, who last week announced his abdication because of ill health. Sihamoni, a former ballet dancer and cultural ambassador who has spent much of his life abroad, was approved by a nine-member Throne Council, said a statement signed by the panel's chairman and acting head of state, Chea Sim.