Phnom Penh  - Cambodia has concerns that Thailand's turbulent internal political problems make it unable to effectively work as the new chair of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Prime Minister Hun Sen said Monday.

Hun Sen told reporters after a meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte that ongoing political instability in Thailand was a negative and it should consider volunteering giving up the chair temporarily after taking over in July from Singapore.

Phnom Penh  - A jubilant Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told reporters Monday that he had received a firm undertaking from visiting US Deputy Secretary of State John Negraponte that the US had agreed to fund a trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders.

The announcement ended the first full day of high-level meetings between Negraponte and Cambodian government officials.

"This official visit has strengthened bilateral relations ... I have been informed by the US government that it has agreed to provide assistance to the trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders, but the amount it has pledged will be revealed tomorrow," Hun Sen said.

Phnom Penh - Last week, Cambodia said it was content to be patient with Thailand over disputed border areas, but claims Thai troops had moved into a third border temple area over the weekend have freshly irked Cambodia, the government said Monday.

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said by telephone that claims Thai troops had moved into an area close to Ta Krabey temple, close to the Ta Moan temple complex which is also in dispute, had angered the government and Cambodia was preparing to appeal to a "third international party" to intervene.

Phnom Penh - Often armed with little more than a sprig of mistletoe and some magic words to ward off lightning, superstitious Cambodian farmers annually venture into flat, flooded rice paddies to work, and each year dozens get struck dead, officials said Monday.

The problem is so bad that for the past two years at least, lightning has killed far more Cambodians than landmines, despite it remaining one of the most heavily mined nations in the world.

Phnom Penh - US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte flew into the northern Cambodian tourist hub of Siem Reap in a relaxed start to his three-day official visit, touring the ancient temples of Angkor Wat, local officials said on Sunday.

Negroponte arrived in Cambodia from neighbouring Vietnam for a visit which will include meetings with Prime Minister Hun Sen and an array of ministers including Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.

Phnom Penh - Snips and snails and puppy dog tails used to be jokingly referred to as the stuff little boys were made of, but with inflation running at 22 per cent, some Cambodians say that for them, these are increasingly constituting the basics of a meal.

In fact the only animals which may find themselves somewhat safer are more traditional staples like cattle and buffalos, as farmers increasingly turn to them over petrol-fuelled machinery for field work.