The 6 January insurrection at the United States (US) Capitol lacked the gravitas of the storming of the Winter Palace, that much is certain. Incited by President Donald Trump at a nearby rally, where he encouraged his supporters to march on the US Capitol, the mob did succeed in interrupting a joint session of Congress to confirm the Electoral College vote in favour of President-elect Joe Biden.

President Donald Trump pressured Georgia's top election official, a fellow Republican, in an extraordinary phone conversation to "find" enough votes to overturn Joe Biden's victory in the Southern state, United States (US) media reported Sunday.In the conversation with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Saturday, a recording of which was first obtained by The Washington Post, Trump warns Raffensperger that he and his general counsel could face "a big risk"

Tensions are rising around Thailand's pro-democracy protests, with police shooting six people last week and using tear gas and water cannon on the streets of Bangkok.As the Thai capital braces for the next major rally on Wednesday, let’s take a look at the forces in play and what might come next in a country with a long history of political unrest.Protesters Getting Tough After four months of rallies, sometimes involving tens of thousands of demonstrators, the mood is getting to

Five million young voters will be able to cast their ballots for the first time in Myanmar's election on Sunday – about 14 percent of the electorate.In a country that emerged less than a decade ago from near total isolation under military rule, the nation's youth defies easy classification. AFP spoke to a number of Myanmar's Generation Z about the challenges they face and what they hope the next government will bring.Rakhine AngerHistory student Wai Wai Tun, 19, can vo

Opinion polls in the United States (US) have long pointed to the strong possibility of a Democratic Party sweep in the election on 3 November, with Joe Biden winning the presidency and Democrats gaining control of the US Senate and holding on to the House of Representatives, putting an end to divided government. But if the election turns out to be mostly a referendum on US President Donald Trump, Democrats might win just the White House while failing to retake the Senate.

At certain moments in history – often after substantial social progress has discomfited certain segments of society – an individual appears on the political scene claiming to stand for something grand and new. Skilled in the arts of self-presentation and emotional manipulation, he (it is always a man) captures the hearts and minds of millions with his macho bluster. In due time, a personality cult forms around him.

There will be no Cambodian Spring anytime soon. This is the sobering reality to a question so tempting to ask – particularly in the shadow of what’s happening in Thailand and now in Lao PDR. So, why won’t a civil society uprising happen in Cambodia soon?

For China, at least, United States (US) President Donald Trump is the gift that keeps on giving.

Relentless gunfire, lynched bodies, frenzied mobs - the horrific violence Krisadang Nutcharut witnessed at Thammasat University more than 40 years ago propelled him into a legal career now spent defending Thailand's young pro-democracy activists.Like many survivors, he regards October 6, 1976, as one of the darkest days in his country's history, when security forces and royalist militias murdered dozens of youngsters in the middle of Bangkok."It wasn't an equal battle - it

China ramped up its rhetoric over Taiwan on Monday, describing any support for its independence as "doomed to fail", and threatened retaliation against United States (US) diplomatic visits to the island.Taiwan has been ruled separately from China since the end of a civil war in 1949, but Beijing considers the island part of its territory awaiting reunification.The island is a flashpoint with Washington, which promises military support to the elected government and has sent two envoy