Thailand dismisses Cambodian PM border ultimatum

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai soldiers will not leave a disputed stretch of the border with Cambodia despite an ultimatum from Phnom Penh for them to withdraw by midday (0500 GMT) on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat said. "We are in our homeland. How can they expect us to leave our home?" he said in reply to a question from a reporter. In a speech to an economic conference in Phnom Penh, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen repeated the deadline for Thai forces to pull back from the area near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, but did not say what consequences would follow. "We will not let the Thais stand on our land," he said, adding that Cambodian soldiers,... [read full story]