The facts of Duch's capture are well documented. He was "discovered" living in north-western Cambodia by photographer Nic Dunlop, he was interviewed by Dunlop and Nate Thayer and shortly after their story was published, he was arrested by the Cambodian military.
While the ECCC examines the legal ramifications of the detention that followed that arrest, Nic Dunlop, who started the whole process, looks at the philosophical questions the trial gives rise to.
You don't meet a "founding father" everyday - but I got lucky, and met one from Phnom Penh's nascent restaurant industry. Determined to make Metro Café a success, Aussie owner - Tom - is golden. Recognizing a void of restaurants outside backpacker joints or traditional Khmer, the former chef has identified a niche.
Metro's swanky yet hospitable atmosphere allows an eclectic crowd to enjoy one thing they share - a taste for modern cosmopolitan class. If trends exist for imitation, I hope Metro is no exception.
Legal terms I've come across.
Amicus Curiae.
Amicus curiae (plural amici curiae) is a legal Latin phrase, literally translated as "friend of the court", that refers to someone, not a party to a case, who volunteers to offer information on a point of law or some other aspect of the case to assist the court in deciding a matter before it.
-Wikipaedia
Despite what my European and Aussie friends think, some people do appreciate a tinge of the American dining experience - and K-West is such a place. I mean, who is going to turn down a banana split when faced with one?
Lucky for my Aussie dining partner, K-West, pleasantly situated on the heavily trafficked corner of Sisowath Quay, does not pigeon-hole itself. It symbolizes a new Phnom Penh. A mixture of French, Khmer, and American cuisine, it capitalizes on layers of history. Feel like wonton soup followed by steak tartar and a brownie sundae? You got it.
As the afternoon draws on, just before the traffic on the Japanese Bridge reaches its crazy peak, the sun starts to throw long shadows from a grove of sugar palms and boys begin to bring their cattle back from an afternoon grazing to wash and drink at the edge of the wetlands.
It is more than 30 years since the story was last told of the Bayon, the enigmatic state temple of Jayavarman VII, the greatest king of ancient Angkor. Recently, researchers from several disciplines have again been probing the mysteries of this extraordinary monument and its giant face towers. Under an eminent editorial team, Bayon: New Perspectives brings together for the first time leading scholars whose findings and insights challenge, not always in consensus, many of the earlier interpretations of the Bayon's art, architecture and inscriptions.
With the appeal of Tuol Sleng chief Comrade Duch against his pre-trial detention the ECCC is underway, which meant Phnom Penh was again home, very temporarily, to some of the world's media. The Associated Press (AP) was in town, supplying satellite feeds to news channels such as Al Jazeera, and CNN flew Australian reporter Hugh Rimington in to report from the courthouse and interview Tuol Sleng torture centre survivor Chim Mey.
This new work, by a Khmer American woman born in April 1975, just as her country was plunged into the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime, is not another first person narrative of the events of that time. Rather, it is a narrative of a personal journey exploring the legacy of being ethnic Cambodian in the aftermath of Pol Pot, of living with the stories of war that live as a "disorderly chaos churning in my head." Ms. Phim is not the daughter of urban elites banished to the countryside as "new" people, as all of those to publish first person accounts have been to date.
Freebird is an old name in Phnom Penh. If you can get a copy of an old guide book, it will probably be described as "American-style bar with large injections of Australia and New Zealand." Or something very similar. Since its "re-launch" on Independence Day, 2005, the reviews tend to emphasise the "American-ness".
In 2005 the Freebird Bar and Grill was awarded "Best Restaurant" in Phnom Penh. A year later, after the categories were modified to separate bars and restaurants, Freebird was awarded "Best Value for Money".
Life starts early on the Tonle Sap. With the first glimmers of light creeping over the horizon come the first sounds of distant diesel engines coughing and spluttering their way towards Sisowath Quay. Eerie silhouettes emerge from the darkness to reveal small fishing vessels of the simplest construction. The engine cuts out and the boat glides towards the riverbank.