Story Archive
2009-06-24
From the lease of Hong Kong after the Opium War to the return of the city to China in July 1, 1997, this chronology examines the history of Hong Kong during the 99 years of British rule and the years after the handover.
2009-06-18
A Uyghur source reports that numerous Uyghur youths have been detained as part of a new “strike hard” campaign against ethnic separatism.
2009-06-16
On June 11, the World Health Organization raised the pandemic alert level of the H1N1 virus to level 6, officially declaring the disease a global pandemic. Asian governments are taking preventive measures and informing citizens. This interactive map will be continuously updated to follow the spread of the disease.
2009-06-16
East Asia is home to a vast and growing traffic in humans, most of them in the sex trade.
2009-06-09
Chen Guang was 17 and a soldier in 1989, when orders came down on June 3 to clear Tiananmen Square of student-led protesters, by force if necessary. Chen says he didn’t shoot anyone, but the crackdown has stayed with him—inspiring much of his painting since he graduated from the Chinese Academy of Fine Art in 1997. Photos of Chen Guang's oil paintings by the artist. Reporting by Li Ruoqing.
2009-06-03
Burmese migrants fleeing poverty and repression at home survive at the whim and mercy of the high seas, human traffickers, and officials who sometimes sell them for cash. Photo: RFA/Kyaw Min Htun.
2009-06-01
Tensions have surged since North Korea’s May 25 nuclear test, its second since 2006. Following is a timeline of Pyongyang’s nuclear program. Source: Reuters and AP
(Please click on the missiles to view the timeline.)
2009-06-01
Vulnerable, impoverished Burmese migrants are easy prey for human traffickers in Malaysia, but activists say U.S. attention to the issue could help bring about a crackdown.
2009-05-28
From the death of former Communist Party chief Hu Yaobang—accused of leniency toward China’s young protesters—to the lifting of martial law eight months later, see the events that shaped this key period in Chinese history, 20 years ago.
2009-05-28
A May 20 declaration of martial law failed to deter protesters, who managed to stop military trucks and speak with troops inside as they headed toward Tiananmen Square. Throughout all of this, Muriel Southerland kept taking pictures. Then, late on June 3, a deadly two-day crackdown began—leaving an untold number of dead and a government blackout on the incident in its wake.
2009-05-27
In May 1989, students went on hunger strike to urge the government toward a dialogue. During this time, Muriel Southerland photographed the hunger-striking students and their supporters
2009-05-27
In this video—never before released publicly—Muriel Southerland remembers life in Beijing during the historic events of May and June 1989.
2009-05-20
Kyaw Min Htun of RFA’s Burmese service first reported on the plight of trafficked Burmese nationals in Southeast Asia in 2007. He returned to Thailand and Malaysia in early 2009 and produced a series of 12 reports, excerpted here, on the trafficking of Burmese nationals into Malaysia. Photo: RFA/Kyaw Min Htun.
2009-05-15
From mid-April until the end of May 1989, Muriel Southerland went out each day to photograph the student protests at Tiananmen Square. The protests grew into a nationwide pro-democracy movement, with more than a million Beijing citizens surging into the streets at one point to support the students.
2009-05-15
Burma's opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate has fought for decades to bring democracy to her native Southeast Asian country.
2009-05-14
Pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be tried May 18 by the Burmese military junta for breaching the terms of her house arrest in an incident in which an American man swam across a lake adjacent to her home to meet with her. Video: AFP
2009-05-07
Despite heavy censorship, information about the events of May-June 1989 has made its way to a generation never intended to hear about it.
2009-05-05
Every April 30, overseas Vietnamese remember their exodus after the fall of Saigon. Many feared persecution after the communist North won the war.
2009-05-04
Former Khmer Rouge prison chief Duch denies killing several inmates with his own hands at his landmark international tribunal in Phnom Penh.
2009-05-01
Find out what is H1N1, what are the symptoms and what to do if you have them as well as how to prevent catching the flu.
2009-05-01
Take the quiz and test your knowledge about Influenza A H1N1 also known as “swine flu.”
2009-05-01
The World Health Organization raised its flu alert on April 29, signaling a H1N1 virus pandemic is "imminent" as a toddler in the United States became the first to die of the disease outside of Mexico. The flu so far has mostly affected North America, where authorities have taken measures to contain its spread.
2009-04-30
Psychological trauma can be read on Burmese orphans' faces, a year after cyclone Nargis took away their families and neighborhoods.
2009-04-30
North Korean women are bought and sold every day as "brides" in China, where they lack any legal protection and are often subject to abuse.
2009-04-17
Tyler Chapman, author of last year’s Reporter’s Notebooks, returned to Burma early in 2009 to write a sequel. While speaking with ordinary people, he was struck by the suspicion and fear they expressed—and by the arrogance of the country’s leaders.
2009-04-16
Denied citizenship in Burma, the Muslim Rohingya minority are a stateless people—and desperate enough for asylum to take their chances on the high seas. Photo courtesy of Thai Navy.
2009-04-14
A dispute over surrounding an ancient temple near the Thai-Cambodian border has prompted deadly firefights between troops twice since last October. Photos by Hang Sobratsavyouth and Uy Sophea/RFA
2009-04-14
The Thai government has now revoked all passports held by ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, after violent protests that paralyzed the Thai capital, Bangkok, and left two people dead and more than 100 injured. The city remains under tight security, as Thaksin—now the target of an arrest warrant—urges supporters to continue protests.
2009-04-14
Protesters clashed with Thai troops in Bangkok on Monday, two days after forcing the cancellation of an ASEAN summit in a southern resort. Here is a timeline tracing Thailand's recent political turmoil. Source: Reuters.
2009-04-10
North Korea celebrates a “successful satellite launch.” Despite worldwide concern, the U.N. fails to respond.
