The economic rise of Asia has been fueled in part by a 19th Century approach to industrialization, with coal-fired power plants going up almost weekly in China. This has pushed China into position to pass the United States as the world's biggest total emitter of greenhouse gases.

However, climate change may well strip Asia of any economic gains it makes, claims a new report.

From the BBC:

The leader of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge was a patriot who staunchly defended social justice, the regime's former head of state has said (about Pol Pot).

In a new book, Khieu Samphan says there was never a policy to starve people and no order to carry out mass killings.

Prosecutors are studying the book to determine what defence Khieu Samphan may take if he is ever charged.

Some estimates say up to 2.5 million people died during the Khmer Rouge reign from 1975 to 1979.

Khieu Samphan is one of the few surviving senior figures of the regime.

Four of his colleagues have been charged by a UN-backed genocide tribunal and Khieu Samphan, 76, is expected to be added.

Then I guess the people behind this are either horribly mistaken or deliberately lying their faces off.

Update

On Nov. 19, Cambodian police arrested Khieu Samphan and charged him with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Here's a BBC backgrounder on the Khmer Rouge. Here's another on some key KR figures.