Phnom Penh  - A Cambodian father and mechanic learned the hard way not to inflate children when he inserted an air hose designed to fill car tires into his 5-year-old son's anus and blew him up, local media reported Thursday.

The Khmer-language Rasmei Kampuchea daily reported Try Sienghym was "playing" with his son Sok Sambo when the incident took place.

The paper said the child's stomach became distended and his concerned mother rushed him to hospital, where he remains in a stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery.

Phnom Penh  - A US man was in a critical but stable condition after suffering an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at one of Cambodia's famous military shooting ranges, police said

Phnom Penh  - As the price of crocodiles for commercial use plummets locally, a Cambodian company has sought out an alternative market niche - mail-order pet crocs.

The hybrid saltwater Siamese crocodiles might not make loving pets, but they do possess lovable qualities, Crocodiles Cambodia insisted on its website.

For 2,355 dollars, the company mails 18 eggs and an incubator wrapped in brown paper and said more than 90 per cent of its shipments make it through customs around the world.

Phnom Penh  - State-owned Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp has formally committed to invest 4.5 million dollars in a joint venture in Cambodia with the Australian gold-exploration company So

Phnom Penh  - The Cambodian government on Monday confiscated the Cambodia Daily newspaper from news-stands over a supplement called The Burma Daily, the Information Ministry and the newspaper's pub