Dozens of Cambodian researchers tap away at keyboards in a nondescript house-turned-office in downtown Phnom Penh, their humming efficiency giving no hint of the grim task at hand. While the rocky road to establishing a UN-backed trial of surviving leaders from the genocidal Khmer Rouge has grabbed the headlines, the Documentation Centre of Cambodia has…
Read moreCambodia lurches towards political resolution but uncertainties remain
After months of inertia following inconclusive elections last year, Cambodia’s political parties jumped into action last week and finally seem poised to form a working government, analysts said. The exact shape it will take however remains uncertain, they warn, with the three parties winning seats in last July’s elections in this young Southeast Asian democracy…
Read moreThai premier’s credibility dented by bird flu screw up””
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s credibility has taken a severe beating over the bird flu crisis, with allegations that his government covered up the outbreak of the lethal disease in Thailand for weeks. After repeatedly denying that the illness killing millions of chickens in Thailand since November was avian influenza, the government on January 23 finally…
Read moreThailand’s poultry industry faces devastation as bird flu reported
Thailand’s first reported case of the bird flu sweeping through parts of Asia stands to devastate the region’s largest poultry export industry. Up to six million chickens have been culled in Thailand since last November, when the government said that an outbreak of what it described as "fowl cholera and bronchitis" had hit several central…
Read moreViolence in Thailand’s south more serious than in past: analysts
A series of bloody attacks in Thailand’s Muslim-majority south represents a marked departure from previous violence and could spell a political crisis for the government, analysts said Tuesday. Four soldiers were killed on Sunday during a brazen arms heist by dozens of assailants in Narathiwat province as 18 schools were set ablaze, while two bomb…
Read moreThailand prepares for avalanche of speed pills after drugs war
CHIANG RAI, Thailand – Thailand’s army is bracing for an influx of millions of speed pills which were buried by traffickers along the border with Myanmar at the height of a drugs crackdown this year. Lieutenant Colonel Jeerapan Khrutthalai, assistant deputy director of intelligence for Thailand’s Third Army which is responsible for patrolling the rugged…
Read moreModerate Thai Muslims shocked at arrest of Hambali in their midst
AYUTTHAYA, Thailand – Thai Muslims in this ancient former capital expressed shock Friday at the arrest of terror chief Hambali in their midst, and said they were not interested in his radical form of Islam. The historic city in Thailand’s central region is home to some 50,000 Muslims, one of the biggest communities in the…
Read moreMyanmar’s ethnic minorities under the spotlight as UN envoy visits
As UN envoy Razali Ismail prepares to make another visit to Myanmar Friday, his first since Aung San Suu Kyi’s release from house arrest in May, ethnic minority groups are hoping the diplomat will this time secure a breakthrough for their cause. Myanmar’s minorities are not involved in the ongoing national reconciliation talks between democracy…
Read moreCambodians poised to head to polls
PHNOM PENH – Cambodians head to general elections Sunday with Prime Minister Hun Sen favoured to retain leadership for another five-year term despite rival politicians running vigorous campaigns in a bid to oust the strongman. Colourful and noisy rallies attended by thousands have been peacefully staged in the poll run-up, with election monitors assessing an…
Read moreCambodian parties scramble ahead of polls but ruling party rests easy
PHNOM PENH – At Cambodia’s ramshackle opposition headquarters, party workers scramble to wrap up their month-long election campaign, in marked contrast to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), whose offices remain quiet. Most of the fifteen full-time workers in the cabinet office of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), along with a half-dozen party faithful…
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