Life

Putting people at the heart of the story.

Life • STORY OF THE DAY • 5 days ago • 8 min read

Cambodian music Music of the spirits

By Emily Howe • 5 days ago
For millennia, Cambodia's pleng arak musicians have summoned up the Kingdom's countless spirits through their songs. But with more and more Cambodians turning to doctors instead of deities, will the country's sacred spirit musicians fall silent?

Life • STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 25, 2019 • 12 min read

Land rights Cambodia for sale

By Cathy Scott-Clark, Adrian Levy and Peter Harris • Jun 25, 2019
From our print archive: In the 18 months leading up to 2008, almost half of Cambodia had been leased to foreign speculators – and many who fled the Khmer Rouge are homeless once more

Life • STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 21, 2019 • 12 min read

Rohingya crisis No justice in Rakhine

By Robin Spiess • Jun 21, 2019
As the Rohingya humanitarian crisis rages on in Myanmar, new reports shed light on the UN's failures in the country and the continued unlikelihood of repatriation

Life • STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 18, 2019 • 9 min read

Poverty in the Philippines Duterte’s other war

By Thomas Brent • Jun 18, 2019
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's drug crackdown has often been slammed as a war on the nation's poor. But a new anti-poverty law is turning that narrative on its head

Life • Jun 17, 2019 • 7 min read
Buddhism

Dead monk walking

From our print archive: Every year, a much-loved abbot is raised from his glass casket, brushed down and paraded before an adoring crowd
By Tom Vater

Life • Jun 10, 2019 • 15 min read
Mental health

The fallen

For some Singaporeans with mental health issues, mandatory military service can be an isolating and traumatic experience – and one which can leave them at serious risk of self-harm
By Thomas Brent

Life • Jun 06, 2019 • 14 min read
Sexual abuse

Under the world’s mirror

Facing discrimination for gender, disability and poverty, Cambodia’s women and girls with disabilities are among the most vulnerable to sexual abuse and violence
By Thomas Brent and Kong Meta

Life • May 20, 2019 • 9 min read
Rappler

In the face of power

Maria Ressa, co-founder and CEO of the Philippines-based news website Rappler, is changing Southeast Asia’s media industry for a digital age
By Miguel Miranda

Life • Apr 04, 2019 • 7 min read
Religion

How Sharia came to Brunei

Brunei has become the first country in Southeast Asia to fully implement Sharia criminal law on a national level, imposing brutal punishments for adultery and same-sex relations
By Thomas Brent

Life • Mar 21, 2019 • 8 min read
Special educational needs

Invisible children

Children with difficulties or disabilities have long been overlooked or excluded from Cambodia’s education system – that could change with the opening of the country’s first school dedicated to their learning
By Claire Baker-Munton

Life • Mar 08, 2019 • 14 min read
Women's rights

A cut, unseen

Despite Singapore’s reputation as a modern hub of progress and prosperity, female genital mutilation and cutting remains widespread among the city-state’s Malay Muslim community
By Robin Spiess

Life • Feb 27, 2019 • 6 min read
Whatever happened to…

The Amish tuk tuk drivers of Siem Reap?

Back in 2011, a reporter from the Phnom Penh Post was visiting Siem Reap when something strange caught his eye: two white guys driving tuk tuks. We tracked down the boys from Coshocton, Ohio, to see what they’ve been up to since
By Tom O'Connell