World Affairs

ABC Radio Australia reports that Cambodia has signed an international deal aimed at beefing up border security and stop the country being the weakest link in Southeast Asia's fight against terrorism. Britian is putting US$1 towards the three-year project.

Meanwhile Channel NewsAsia reveals that Cambodia is one of 16 countries to sign a pact to combat piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia.

And Vietnam News Agency (VNA) tells that Health officials of Cambodia are engaging in talks with those of Laos and Vietnam to discuss ways to jointly monitor potential outbreak of infectious diseases in any one of their countries.

He [one Veitnamese health official] emphasised the need for close coordination of all countries around the world in general and the Mekong basin countries in particular in monitoring and preventing infectious diseases.

And the Philippine Daily Inquirer carried as story explaining that U.S. diplomat Joseph Mussomeli had been the subject of some controversy prior to being named as the new envoy to Cambodia.

[The current charge d'affaires at the US Embassy in Manila,] Mussomeli is packing his bags weeks after the Philippine government admonished him for the "Afghanistan" remark, which he made in an Australian TV interview on April 5.