Bangkok - A retired career diplomat was appointed Thai foreign minister Saturday in time to lead fresh talks with Cambodia over a bitter border dispute.

Tej Bunnag is widely considered a "professional choice" following the resignation of his successor Noppadon Pattama earlier this month, according to local reports.

Noppadon, the former lawyer for controversial former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, became tripped up by appearing to give ground to Cambodia in exchange, it is rumoured, favours for his old boss.

Phnom Penh - Threats, intimidation and unequal media access had hurt the Cambodian opposition, New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a press release Saturday, a day before national elections.

"The near-monopoly on broadcast media for the ruling Cambodian People's Party's (CPP), bias within the electoral apparatus, and harassment, intimidation, and coerced defections of opposition party members undermines the credibility of the elections," it said.

Bangkok - Thailand and Cambodia are to hold talks next week in Cambodia to try to defuse an escalating row over joint claims to land adjoining an ancient Hindu temple on their border, government officials confirmed Friday.

Joint talks between the two countries' foreign ministers are scheduled Monday in Siem Reap, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat confirmed.

It remained to be seen who would head the team for Thailand, which is currently without a foreign minister.

Phnom Penh - Cambodian sex workers prayed for divine intervention at the ancient temple of Angkor Wat to draw attention to their objections to new laws they said equate sex work with trafficking, local media reported Friday.

The English-language Mekong Times daily pictured a group of more than 20 sex workers brandishing Barbie dolls and lotuses in prayer at the temple in Siem Reap province, more than 300 kilometres north-west of Phnom Penh.

The group chose Angkor, the largest religious monument in the world, "because we want the spirit of our ancestors ... to make our leaders and local and foreign tourists listen to our voices," the paper quoted Soo Sitheavy, one of the organizers, as saying.

Phnom Penh - Spectacular rallies by the main Cambodian political parties Friday marked the last official day of campaigning ahead of the weekend's national elections.

The National Election Committee has declared a media backout on politics from Friday night until the polls close at 3 pm Sunday. Cambodians have all day Sunday to vote for 123 seats across the country after a month of official campaigning.

Hundreds of floats waving flags and playing party slogans from loudspeakers held up traffic in the capital as the 11 competing parties made the most of their last chance to get their message across to an estimated 8 million voters.

Phnom Penh - The Thai embassy in Cambodia called Thai nationals for a meeting Thursday to advise on options in case they require evacuation after upcoming national elections, a Thai business representative and Cambodian officials said.

A representative from the Thai Business Association of Cambodia who declined to be named said the Thai embassy had called a meeting Thursday in Phnom Penh to discuss emergency options for Thai citizens in case of problems after national elections scheduled for Sunday.

However, she said most Thai businesses were so far not affected by cross-border tensions and continued business as usual. Cambodian government officials said they were aware of the meeting and stressed it was routine consular protocol.