News stories by Kris Janssens

PHNOM PENH, Jun 28 (IPS) - Modernity is arriving rapidly in Cambodia, observes journalist Kris Janssens (48), who has lived and worked in the country since 2016. The predominantly young population is eager to move forward, embracing technology over traditional agriculture or fishing. Can Cambodians unite their country's authentic soul with their aspirations for progress?

HO CHI MINH CITY, Apr 03 (IPS) - In recent months, several European representatives embarked on trade missions to Vietnam. German President Steinmeier visited Hanoi in January. The Netherlands sent Prime Minister Mark Rutte, with the Dutch royal couple, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, soon to follow suit. Notably, the Netherlands stands as the most significant European investor in Vietnam.

KAMPONG KHLEANG, Cambodia, Feb 21 (IPS) - Living in a floating village means embracing the rhythm of the ever-changing water. As I stroll through Kampong Khleang, flanked by wooden stilt houses lining sandy streets, I witness daily life unfolding.  Alongside staircases, people prepare meals or run their little shops.

RATANAKIRI PROVINCE, Cambodia, Jan 18 (IPS) - “What on earth are you going to do in Tropeang Krohom?” The driver of the minivan turns his head and gives me a puzzled look. Few passengers want to be dropped off in a settlement between two provincial towns.

PHNOM PENH, Aug 21 (IPS) - Three notable events have boosted the democratic process in Southeast Asia in recent decades. The fall of the Marcos regime in 1986, the Reformasi that shifted Indonesian politics in the late 1990s, and Aung San Suu Kyi's victory over the military junta in Myanmar. However, today Marcos' son is president of the Philippines, Indonesian presidential candidates want to centralize power again, and Myanmar is embroiled in an armed conflict.

What is going on in the region, and what does this mean for democracy?

PHNOM PENH, Aug 17 (IPS) - Democracy is declining in Southeast Asia. The Cambodian prime minister will hand over his office to his son later this month, after rigged elections. Meanwhile, Thailand's largest political party is kept from power.

PHNOM PENH, Oct 28 (IPS) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen walks into a diplomatic minefield these days. He supports UN resolutions against Putin but does not want to jeopardize the long-standing friendship with Russia. At the same time, he tries to be less dependent on the West, both economically and politically.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Jan 08 (IPS) - Forty years ago, on the 7th of January 1979, the Vietnamese army overthrew the Khmer Rouge regime. Between April 1975 and January 1979 about 1,5 to 2 million Cambodians died, a quarter of the population. The anniversary is not actually celebrated. After all these years, talking about the Khmer Rouge is still controversial. This is partly because the genocide came ‘from within'. Almost every family has a feud that goes back to this dark history in the seventies.

SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia, Sep 19 (IPS) - Kris Janssens is a Belgian reporter based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. His goal is to tell extraordinary stories about ordinary people throughout Southeast Asia.The new Macau. That's what the Cambodian coastal city Sihanoukville is called nowadays. Chinese investors are building casinos there on a massive scale.

The southern port city lies on the new Silk Road (the so called 'One Belt, One Road') and is therefore interesting for China.

The Cambodian government is happy to accept the money. And Beijing never asks difficult questions.