Spinning the myth of a 16th-century king as elections loom in Cambodia
The former capital of the 16th century Cambodian King Sdech Kan is a sleepy place, filled with birdsong and that particular air of shabby mysticism that seems to surround pagodas in rural parts of Cambodia.
With connectivity boom, Cambodia’s political battles shift online
PHNOM PENH — In September 2015, a Facebook page bearing the name of Prime Minister Hun Sen notched up its millionth “like.”
New charges against opposition leader maintain political stalemate
PHNOM PENH — Cambodia’s beleaguered opposition leader Sam Rainsy faces fresh legal troubles after a court summoned him for questioning on possible charges of being an accomplice to “forgery and incitement.”
Hope and fear in Kachin State as vote draws near
MYITKYINA, Myanmar — Four years after being driven away by the military, Dagaw Hpung is finally letting himself dream of going home.
Satire, Myanmar-style: Political cartoonists test limits of newfound freedom
YANGON—With a few deft strokes of Beruma’s pen, a jowly likeness appears on the blank page: a caricature of Senior Gen. Than Shwe, Myanmar’s former dictator.
Aung San Suu Kyi courts ethnic vote
Ahead of the official campaign period for Myanmar’s Nov. 8 election, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi paid a visit to this township in rural Shan State, where she delivered a speech from the back of a truck beneath a huge red banner and a portrait of her father, the independence hero General Aung San.
Khmer Rouge’s ‘first lady,’ charged with genocide, dies at 83
Ieng Thirith, the highest-ranking woman in the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, has died in Cambodia after a long illness, according to a United Nations-backed tribunal that is trying former regime leaders in Phnom Penh.
China stirs up ghosts of Khmer Rouge airport project
The military airport outside this river town in central Cambodia sprawls out in eerie silence, its vast concrete runway untroubled by any sign of aircraft.
Opposition boycotts parliament as Hun Sen moves to regulate NGOs
PHNOM PENH — The ruling Cambodian People’s Party forced a contentious law regulating the country’s large nongovernmental sector through parliament on Monday, amid widespread opposition and fears that the new bill will be used to stifle dissent and muzzle critics of the government.
Myanmar’s Internet innovators emerge amid connectivity boom
YANGON — It says a lot about Myanmar’s tech scene that one of its pioneers is still in his 20s. Htoo Myint Naung was just 18 in 2004, when he built his country’s first mobile phone app — a simple program for sending text messages in the Burmese language.
Death of ruling party veteran boosts authority of Hun Sen
PHNOM PENH — The recent death of Chea Sim, a key figure in Cambodia’s politics since the fall of the communist Khmer Rouge regime in 1979, has put a spotlight on the future of Prime Minister Hun Sen, his long-time ally and one of the world’s longest serving national leaders.
Myanmar’s hard-line monk looms as key political player
Myanmar’s most notorious monk is clearly enjoying the attention. In the hall where Ashin Wirathu presides, an entire wall is given over to newspaper clippings and large photographs of himself in various poses.
