The result of the general election held in Cambodia over the weekend might allow Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Cambodian People’s Party to retain their grip on power for another term. But the slim margin of their victory indicates a number of possibilities for the future.First of all, and most important, Cambodian voters have proved that elections are the most legitimate method of assigning power to the people whom they want to run the country. Before the election there was widespread criticism

Japan’s Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki visited China on Monday and Tuesday, which was widely interpreted by Japanese and Western media as a sign of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s willingness to try and sweeten the soured ties with China.However, the triumph of the hawkish Abe in the upper house election has caused anxiety in East Asia, as he has made it clear he wants to revise the country’s pacifist constitution and bolster Japan’s military. Many Japanese politicians are expecting him to visi

Iran will inaugurate its seventh president on Aug. 4. Hassan Rouhani assumes power at a time when the Islamic Republic is confronting international isolation and simmering domestic discontent. He has already changed the tone of the regime, promising moderation and a fresh look at Iran’s many quandaries. The temptation to embrace an Iranian politician who speaks the language of pragmatism may prove irresistible. However, as Rouhani settles into office, it is best to hold back and see how much aut

What does Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig have in common with Egyptian generalissimo Abdel-fatah al-Sissi? Nothing ― except for the inclination to declare a state of exception and throw the rule book out the window. Reports that Selig might summarily suspend the New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez by invoking his “right to take action against a player to preserve the integrity of the game” are important to no one except baseball fans, of course. The general’s decision to oust elected P

Last year a military jury convicted Air Force Lt. Col. James Wilkerson of aggravated sexual assault against a civilian woman who worked at his air base in Aviano, Italy. He was sentenced to spend a year in confinement and be expelled from the military. But then his commander decided to toss out the verdict and keep Wilkerson.The trial was irrelevant. A convicted rapist was back in the good graces of the U.S. Air Force. And the victim? “I was assaulted. I reported it. I endured the public humilia

How about a cheat sheet that you can carry around during the summer cookout season to help you strike up conversations with friends about some topics worth worrying about? While people have been contemplating the possibility of New York City being run by mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner, whose underwear seems to be engaged in an ongoing quick-draw contest with his cell phone camera, there are far more formidable threats worth your concern:1) The Taliban is back, baby ― and it’s like they never l

“This is a great time to be a white-collar criminal.”An assistant U.S. attorney I know startled me with this remark in 2002. The bulk of her FBI investigators, she explained, had been pulled off to work on terrorism, which left traditional crime investigations sorely understaffed.Little has changed since then. For more than a decade, the U.S. government has been focused on one type of threat above all others: terrorism. This obsession has not only been used to justify an erosion of Americans’ pr

Auditors seeking to head off a Chinese crash are rushing to scrutinize the debt-swollen books of the country’s local governments. Economists are poring over statistics, bond spreads, electricity gauges and stock valuations. They might all have more luck if they got their noses out of the books and looked up. On July 20, the Broad Group broke ground on Sky City on the outskirts of the south-central city of Changsha. The skyscraper will rise 838 meters (2,749 feet) into the heavens to become the w

On the face of it, Prince William’s decision to take two weeks of job-protected, paid statutory paternity leave is absurd. The heir to the British throne can live without the approximately $206 a week in taxpayer funds that men in the U.K. are entitled to receive if they take time off to welcome a baby. But as a symbolic gesture, the prince’s choice is, as the Brits would say, brilliant. For in William’s subtle, necessarily apolitical, good-guy way, he has issued the boldest possible statement o

In the demilitarized zone dividing North and South Korea, SGR-1 robots are on patrol, equipped with cameras and radar to detect intruders as well as speakers to warn them off. If that fails, they also carry machine guns and grenade launchers. In the U.S., the Home Exploring Robotic Butler can retrieve a book from a shelf, a meal from a microwave or a drink from the kitchen. It can even separate an Oreo cookie. In Japan, a seal-like robot called Paro provides companionship for seniors ― and seems