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01/02/2005:

"Cambodia Saved from Tsunami by Astrologer - Sihanouk"

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Former Cambodian king Norodom Sihanouk says an astrologer warned him that an ``ultra-catastrophic cataclysm'' would strike, but that his country would be spared if proper rituals were conducted.

``My wife and I decided to spend several thousand dollars to organize these ceremonies so our country and our people could be spared such a catastrophe,'' Sihanouk, who abdicated last year, wrote on his Web site at www.sihanouknorodom.info.

Cambodia was unscathed by the 10-meter (30-foot) tsunami waves generated by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake under the sea off Indonesia's Sumatra island on Dec.26. The waves rolled through the Indian Ocean, devastating coastal communities and killing more than 126,000 people.

Sihanouk offered his deepest condolences to the families of the dead and said he would give ``a very humble and extremely modest'' contribution of $15,000 to international relief efforts for each of the stricken countries.
Full Article: nytimes.com