Seeing Angkor from home

The ancient temples of Angkor have entered the digital age before most of modern Cambodia has.

From the intricate bas-reliefs at Angkor Wat to the watchful smiles of Bayon, more than 100 temples in the Angkor Archaeological Park have been digitised and mapped at a first-person perspective, meaning it’s now possible to roam the cradle of the Khmer Empire from your living room.

Since July, tech giant Google, in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and the APSARA Authority, has stitched together more than a million photos to create 90,000 panoramic images that allow a 360-degree virtual tour of Angkor.

Google funded the project – launched yesterday to a throng of international press – entirely on its own, but it is expected to be a boon for Cambodian tourism while creating a repository for Khmer culture and history.The imagery will also be available at the online Google Cultural Institute, where nearly 300 Angkor-related artefacts are already displayed.Google, which has also deployed its Street View cars to the streets of the Kingdom with an eye to adding more ground-level maps of Cambodia, remains better known for its search engine and other functional tools than its cultural contributions.

But Manik Gupta, who leads all of Google’s mapping efforts, says such cultural projects are not divorced from the company’s aim of “organising the world’s information” and then making it freely accessible.

“Obviously, everyone knows that Angkor is the eighth wonder of the world, [but] it’s hard to imagine the sheer beauty of this site and the cultural significance unless you actually go visit it, and for us … it’s [about] really helping Asia and the rest of the world bring their culture online – that is the reason we do this,” he said.The company has done similar projects at UNESCO World Heritage sites including the Taj Mahal in India, the Palace of Versailles in France, Pompeii in Italy and Mount Fuji in Japan, though the Angkor temples are the largest cultural artefacts that have been mapped in this way, the company says.Gupta admits that Cambodia’s low internet penetration – 2.7 million web users out of 14 million people as of 2012 – means the imagery will largely be accessed by foreign users, but says he hopes Cambodians will feel “proud they have these iconic temples available” to the world.

A Google Street View car, which will be used to photograph the streets of Cambodia, parked in front of Angkor Wat yesterday. Pha LinaThe imagery offers high-definition, close-up views of intricate carvings such as the celebrated Churning of the Sea of Milk bas-relief at Angkor Wat, which depicts Lord Vishnu coaxing demons and gods into churning the ocean to produce the elixir of immortality.

But it also provides a glimpse into the monuments’ more recent past. A piece of graffiti carved into a column at Angkor Wat by a French traveller marked “Le 8 Novembre 1885” was clearly visible during a digital tour.In order to capture temple interiors and exteriors where Street View cars can’t travel, a team of five Cambodians working for Google traversed the sites on foot, wearing camera-laden backpacks known as Trekkers. 

Weighing 18kg, with 15 camera lenses sitting well above the wearer’s head and shooting pictures every 2.5 seconds, it is these camera platforms that create the 360-degree panoramic views from every ledge, crevice and stairway of the centuries-old temples.Orm Rotha, a 34-year-old from Pailin, was one of those who spent months slowly walking around the temples with a Trekker, but he laughs away the idea that it was a physically gruelling job.

“I am very happy to work with Google and especially to bring the beautiful images of Cambodia, such as Angkor Wat, to the world to let them know better about what Cambodia [has to offer],” he says, standing at the foot of the temple, remaining enthusiastic after hours of helping curious journalists try on the gear.

“I never thought that our country will have these Street View images like in other countries . . . and I am so grateful and proud that I can bring the image of Cambodia to the world.”This imagery, while hopefully finally defeating the notion that Angkor encompasses only the single site of Angkor Wat, will also hopefully bump up tourist numbers, said Khoun Khun Neay, deputy director-general of the APSARA Authority.“The collection of images will show anyone with an internet connection the intricacy, beauty and sheer scale of the site, which measures more than 400 square kilometres,” he says.“This constitutes a tool for promotion of tourism. I suppose that people everywhere can [view this] virtually … and after that they would like to come to see [in person].

It’s a way for promotion of the site.”

A Google employee wearing a camera backpack walks around Angkor Wat Pha Lina

Skyrocketing numbers of tourists visiting the temples in recent years has led to concerns that the ancient monuments, particularly Angkor Wat, are being damaged.“Tourists coming more and more, of course this becomes a problem for us … but it’s a matter of management, and we are working on that,” Khun Neay says.“[But] let’s make a comparison, Pompeii in Italy, they receive regularly, every year, 10 million tourists [and] the site is very small in comparison with Angkor. Now we are 2.5 million [here], I think we have more room to take in more tourists.”

In a statement, Minister of Tourism Thong Khon praised the technology for allowing Cambodia to share its “breathtaking wonders” and said the virtual imagery would not only result in more tourists, but also tourists visiting more diverse areas.

Sun Chanthol, minister for commerce, said the project “will surely contribute to the growth of our tourism industry, an industry that is already driving significant economic growth and employment in Cambodia”.Amit Sood, director of the Google Cultural Institute, admits that a digital rendering of Angkor, no matter how high-definition or detailed, will never be able to match the real thing.

“Watching the sunset over Angkor Wat is a physical, beautiful, emotional experience that I don’t think can be replicated online. So if you ask me, ‘Hey, you’re doing all this, is this going to replicate the physical?’ I don’t think it can. It never will. These places have stood for hundreds of years … purely because the physical is critical.”

But to Sood, that doesn’t mean that culture should be excluded from those who can’t afford to make the trip.

“There are millions and millions of people who just don’t have access to any of this stuff, physically, either for financial reasons or just a lack of being able to travel to these locations. And those are the people that I’m very interested in connecting with this information.”Khun Neay, from the APSARA Authority, puts it more simply.“I think it’s important to let people have a choice … you know you see a picture of a lady, but if you meet her in person it’s a different feeling. We don’t fear that problem.”

Calls Grow for Release of Detained Chinese Lawyers

Authorities in the northeastern Chinese province of Heilongjiang are still holding three prominent rights lawyers who tried to secure the release of a client from an unofficial detention center, or "black jail," amid growing calls for their release.Rights lawyer Zhang Junjie was released last Thursday after being detained alongside fellow attorneys Jiang Tianyong, Tang Jitian and Wang Cheng on March 21.

Zhang later said he had been severely beaten by a state security police officer named Yu Wenbo during detention."Yu smacked me around the head seven or eight times," Zhang told rights activists after his release."The next thing I knew, he was hitting me in the head with a big half-full bottle of spring water."

"Then the man behind me got in the action. The two of them knocked me down and kicked and beat me for at least three minutes," he said in a statement translated into English by siweiluozi.net, the blog of Hong Kong-based rights researcher Joshua Rozenzweig.The other three lawyers received 15-day administrative detentions, and are feared to have also been subjected to torture, the overseas-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) group said in an emailed statement on Friday.Police have also detained a number of lawyers and rights activists who converged on Heilongjiang's Jiansanjiang city to protest their detention.

Linked detentions

According to CHRD, "at least 23" administrative detentions have been linked to the campaign for the lawyers' release.It cited the detention on March 29 of lawyer Wang Quanzhang, who was tied up, blindfolded and dragged to a police station from his hotel, where he was beaten by police officers.The group also named Wang Shensheng and Fu Yonggang as being among the group of subsequent detainees.

"Some [supporters] were verbally and physically assaulted during the police interrogation before being released," CHRD said.At least 10 campaigners remain behind bars, lawyers acting for Jiang, Tang and Wang told RFA on Thursday.

CHRD called on the Chinese government to investigate the reported cases of violence, arbitrary detention, and threats against  individuals and hold the perpetrators criminally accountable.It said the group of four lawyers had been working to free a client from a "black jail" commonly used to detain and torture members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, which has been designated an "evil cult" by the ruling Chinese Communist Party.Jiang, Tang and Wang had are serving their administrative detentions for "using cult activities to disturb social order" and are feared to have also been subjected to torture, the group said.

Requests for meetings

Meanwhile, lawyers Chen Jiangang, Wang Xing and Xie Yang said they had received no official response to their requests for meetings with the three attorneys who remain in the Qixing Detention Center in Jiansanjiang.Chen, Wang and Xie said they had tried on Thursday to make an official application for a meeting with the detained lawyers, but had met with stonewalling from staff inside, who declined to accept their application with the words, "the boss isn't here."

"They told us their boss wasn't there, and refused to respond to our application," Wang told RFA's Mandarin Service."The intersection outside the detention center is being guarded, and there were people watching us all the way there," he said, adding that around a dozen rights lawyers were already en route to Jiansanjiang to join the campaign.He said "more than 10" rights activists were still being held for their part in it, however.Later on Thursday, the lawyers tried to lodge a complaint with the city's prosecution authorities.

"We went to the procuratorate to complain, in particular about the right to meet with our clients," Xie said. "This was aimed at the Qixing Detention Center."The lawyers' prolonged detention has sparked widespread fears for their safety, following Zhang's account of his treatment.In Hong Kong, a group of rights activists and lawyers protested outside Beijing's representative office in the territory on Wednesday, carrying banners and shouting slogans calling for their release.

Cambodian Court Denies Bail to Two Activists Detained in Strike Crackdown

A court in Cambodia on Friday denied bail to two activists detained in connection with a deadly crackdown by security forces during a worker strike four months ago, saying the pair posed a threat to public security despite being charged with minor crimes.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court refused to grant bail to Vorn Pao, president of the Independent and Democracy of Informal Economic Association (IDEA), and worker rights activist Sokun Sambathpisith citing concerns that the two “might compromise security and social order” if released.

The court also referenced a prison report which alleged that Vorn Pao’s health was normal and he did not require bail on medical grounds, despite his wife’s claims that he is suffering from cancer and is in urgent need of treatment.

Neither of the men was present at the hearing, which was heavily guarded by security personnel amid a protest by some 100 activists and supporters calling for their release outside of the courtroom.Vorn Pao’s lawyer Kim Socheat told RFA’s Khmer Service that the judges had claimed his client might provoke social unrest if released on bail and cited claims by prison guards that the activist is of sound health.“These are the two reasons that they decided to keep Vorn Pao in jail,” he said.

Speaking to the crowd of supporters after the court’s decision, Vorn Pao’s wife Prak Sovannary explained that her husband is suffering from cancer and needs to be treated at a medical facility in Thailand.“This is very unjust for my husband, he is really sick,” she said.“We have hospital documents from Thailand showing that he has cancer. He needs to be treated but the judge said his health is normal.”

Sokun Sambathpisith’s father Youm Sothun told supporters that his son had been working for a local nongovernmental organization that supports worker rights and was sent to monitor the January demonstration calling for an increase in minimum wages when he was “attacked” by police and arrested.“My son didn’t incite any demonstration—he was only an observer,” he said, adding that police had broken Sokun Sambathpisith’s arms and fingers during the struggle.

Group of 21

The two men are part of a group of 21 arrested after a Jan. 3 shootout by security forces during a strike by garment workers demanding higher minimum wages in a crackdown that left five people dead and several others wounded.They are accused of causing intentional violence and damage to property and face up to up to five years’ imprisonment, as well as fines from U.S. $1,000 to $2,500.All 21 had been denied bail on similar grounds of posing a threat to public security in February, despite a deluge of appeals from local and international groups for their release.

Two others arrested with the 21 were discharged from detention following a closed-door hearing earlier that month, though authorities gave no reason for their release.Am Sam Ath, senior investigator with local rights watchdog Licadho, said that all of the 21 men still in detention should qualify for bail because the charges against them are minor.

“Those accused of minor crimes can be released on bail,” he said. Rights groups have also said court decisions to deny the men bail were the result of political interference aimed at curbing dissent.

The detainees, some of whom have staged a hunger strike, are being held in a remote high-security facility in Kampong Cham province—Correctional Center 3 (CC3), which rights groups have labeled “among the harshest prisons in Cambodia.” Upon their arrest, the detainees were held incommunicado and denied access to medical treatment for several days, rights groups have said.

Afghans set to vote in historic presidential election

A massive security operation is under way to thwart the Taliban which has vowed to disrupt the election.Eight candidates are vying to succeed Hamid Karzai, who is barred by the constitution from seeking a third consecutive term as president.The poll has already been overshadowed by the shooting of two journalists.

Award-winning German photographer Anja Niedringhaus was killed and veteran Canadian reporter Kathy Gannon was injured when a police commander opened fire on their car in the eastern town of Khost on Friday. They had both worked for Associated Press for many years.It was the latest in a string of deadly attacks that have marred the lead-up to the election.FrontrunnersThe biggest military operation since the fall of the Taliban in 2001 has been rolled out for Saturday's election, says the BBC's David Loyn in Kabul.Traffic was prevented from entering the Afghan capital from midday on Friday, with police checkpoints erected at every junction.

All 400,000 of the country's police and soldiers have been deployed to provide security for voters attending the polling stations, officials said.International observers are increasingly optimistic that both the tight security and a number of new guarantees against fraud will make this a fairer election than Afghanistan has seen before, our correspondent says.

Afghans have been barred from sending text messages until Saturday evening to prevent the service from being used for last-minute campaigning.But there are still concerns about ballot stuffing and ghost polling stations as well as the fact that the number of election cards in circulation appears to be vastly more than the number of registered voters.

There are eight candidates for president, but three are considered frontrunners - former foreign ministers Abdullah Abdullah and Zalmai Rassoul, and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai. Dr Abdullah has fought a polished campaign, Dr Ghani has strong support among the new urban youth vote and Dr Rassoul is believed to favoured by Hamid Karzai, our correspondent says.

However, no candidate is expected to secure more than the 50% of the vote needed to be the outright winner, which means there is likely to be a second round run-off on 28 May.

Strong resolveAnja Niedringhaus and Kathy Gannon had been travelling in a convoy with election workers - protected by Afghan security forces - delivering ballots in Khost province when they came under attack.An eyewitness said they were in their own car, waiting to move on from a heavily-guarded compound, when a police commander opened fire on them.

Video of the scene of the attack shows bullet holes in the doors of the car

Ms Niedringhaus, 48, a German photojournalist who was part of a team that won the Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the war in Iraq, was killed instantly.

Canadian-born Kathy Gannon, 60, who had been the AP's bureau chief in Afghanistan for many years and is currently a special correspondent for the region, was shot twice and had surgery. She is said to be in a stable condition.The Afghan interior ministry said it would thoroughly investigate the circumstances of the shooting, but suggested it may have been a case of mistaken identity.The base - close to the border with Pakistan - had been under sustained attack from insurgents for the past 48 hours, spokesman Sidiq Siddiqi said.The run-up to the historic poll has been the bloodiest since the fall of the Taliban, says the BBC's Lyse Doucet.

The heavily-guarded interior ministry, the main compound of the Independent Election Commission and the popular five-star Serena Hotel have all been attacked.

But, says our correspondent, the violence seems to have strengthened the resolve of Afghans to carry on with the election.A poll conducted by the Free and Fair Election Foundation found that more than 75% respondents planned to vote, even though faith in the electoral process was said to be decreasing.

Security forces are a visible presence on the streets of Kabul amid a fear of Taliban attacks on election day

Election staff have had an armed guard as they distributed ballot boxes to polling stations around the country

Associated Press journalists Anja Niedringhaus (left) and Kathy Gannon were accompanying election workers in Khost when they came under attack

Anja Niedringhaus died instantly and Kathy Gannon was badly wounded when their car was attacked by a police unit commander.

VN, Malaysia aim for greater co-operation

 Vietnamese and Malaysian leaders have vowed to raise their trade turnover to US$11 billion by 2015 by encouraging and facilitating businesses to enhance mutual trade and investment.The pledge was made by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his visiting Malaysian counterpart, Najib Tun Razak, during their talks held in Ha Noi yesterday.In 2013, the two countries enjoyed a 67 per cent year-on-year increase in trade. Malaysia ranks eighth among foreign investors in Viet Nam, with 451 projects and over $10 billion in registered capital.The two leaders were pleased with the status of rice trading noted in the recent years. As of now, 60 per cent of Malaysian rice imports come from Viet Nam.

They agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on rice trading soon, while accelerating cooperation in other fields such as labour, agriculture, oil and gas, education, and law.The Vietnamese leader hailed Malaysia as one of Viet Nam's leading partners in terms of labour, as over 80,000 Vietnamese workers are working in the country.They agreed to assign relevant agencies to revise the 2003 MoU on the recruitment of Vietnamese workers to reduce labour disputes and ensure that the legitimate rights of the workers are protected.During their talks, Dung took the opportunity to re-convey his deepest condolences to PM Najib, the Malaysian government, people and, most importantly, the families of passengers who were onboard the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

For his part, Najib expressed sincere gratitude and appreciation for Viet Nam's efforts in searching for the missing plane.At the talks, the two leaders lauded the defence and security ties between Viet Nam and Malaysia and agreed to accelerate the signing of documents establishing joint patrols, a hotline between their navies, and an MoU on co-operation in transnational crime fighting.The Malaysian leader avowed that his country would soon take a decision on the Vietnamese fishermen being detained in Malaysia.

The leaders agreed on holding the fifth session of the Viet Nam-Malaysia Joint Committee on economics and science and technology in Malaysia to realise the signing of the agreements.

In addition, they discussed international and regional issues of common concern, pledging to continue close collaboration at forums, as well as cooperation with other ASEAN countries for building a strong and united ASEAN Community by 2015 and a vision beyond 2015.Regarding the East Sea, the leaders stressed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, freedom, security, and safety of navigation and aviation in the East Sea.

They emphasised that they supported ASEAN's stance manifested in the organisation's six-principle declaration on the East Sea, settling disputes through peaceful means, respecting international law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, fully and strictly implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and looking toward the early conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

They also pledged further partnership to promote the organisation's central role in issues on regional peace and security, including the East Sea issue.With regard to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, they vowed to closely work and support each other to speed up the finalisation of negotiations.The two PMs agreed to collaborate in order to take bilateral relations to greater heights - a Strategic Partnership for the benefit of their people, and to achieve peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.The two sides affirmed that they would assign their foreign ministries in collaboration with other relevant ministries to discuss the detailed content of the strategic partnership to submit to the government leaders in the coming time.

Najib invited Dung to visit Malaysia, and the later gladly accepted the invitation and assigned the Foreign Ministry the task of arranging an appropriate time for the visit.They witnessed the signing of an MoU on agricultural co-operation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Malaysian Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry.Also yesterday, the visiting Malaysian PM met with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV) Nguyen Phu Trong and President Truong Tan Sang.Receiving the Malaysian PM, Party leader Trong remarked that the two countries should strengthen their allround cooperation. 

He stressed that Viet Nam and Malaysia should focus on fostering partnership in promising areas of trade, investment, agriculture, labour, education, culture, tourism, and people-to-people contact, as well as in the ASEAN framework and regional and international forums.Viet Nam always welcomed Malaysian businesses and would create conducive conditions for them to invest in the country, he noted. 

The Party leader proposed that CPV and United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) Party, which was headed by Najib, continue to strengthen their ties by increasing the number of high-level meetings, delegation exchanges, and sharing of experiences in party building At another reception, President Sang expressed his condolences to the Malaysian government and families of the passengers on the missing Malaysian Flight MH370, saying he was hopeful that Malaysia secures the necessary answers to initiate the healing process.He welcomed the agreements reached between PM Najib and his Vietnamese counterpart.He agreed in principle with the Malaysian PM's proposal to establish a bilateral strategic partnership, emphasising that ensuring solidarity in the ASEAN Community must be a critical component of any agreement. 

To achieve the target, Viet Nam should enhance cooperation with Malaysia, particularly in the exchange of high-ranking delegations, to reach a common consensus quickly, Sang pointed out.

In addition, co-ordination in security, defence, energy, oil and gas, and fisheries should be promoted, thereby helping to remove obstacles for better realising outstanding commitments, he added.

According to the President, Najib's current visit will start a new chapter in the relationship between the two sides. He suggested that the two sides discuss a method of coordinating on issues of the East Sea and Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Joint statement

Viet Nam and Malaysia issued a joint statement on the occasion of Prime Minister Najib Tun Abdul Razak's visit to Viet Nam, reaffirming the commitment to intensify the comprehensive partnership in all areas toward the establishment of a strategic partnership.Both sides agreed to intensify defence and security co-operation, including the proposal to establish a Joint Committee on bilateral defence relations, which is in line with the Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Defence Cooperation signed in August 2008.Prime Minister Dung reiterated Viet Nam's commitment to do its best to co-ordinate with and support Malaysia's ASEAN Chairmanship in 2015. 

The two leaders exchanged views on the recent developments in the East Sea and reaffirmed the importance of upholding ASEAN's unity and centrality in maintaining peace, stability, maritime security, and freedom of navigation in and over flight above the East Sea. — VNS

3 get death sentence in India gang rapes

 Three men were sentenced to death Friday for the gang rapes of two women in the Indian city of Mumbai last year, public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said.The men -- Vijay Jadhav, Mohammad Qasim and Salim Ansari -- were sentenced to die under an amended Indian law that sets death as the maximum sentence if convicted of more than one sexual assault, according to Nikam. The three were found guilty of gang-raping a telephone operator a month before attacking a photojournalist in a deserted Mumbai mill in August.

Five people, including a young boy, were involved in the photojournalist rape case, Nikam said. One of them has been sentenced to life in prison, while the youngest is facing a trial before a juvenile justice board. Those convicted can appeal their sentences to a higher court.Violent crimes against women have been in the spotlight in India since a 23-year-old woman was raped and beaten by several men on a bus in December 2012.The victim later died in a Singapore hospital. The shocking attack provoked outrage across India, leading to calls for improved safety and treatment of women.

Since then, the Indian media have intensified their focus on rape cases. Attacks against foreign women have also been reported.The 2012 case prompted lawmakers to change statutes to fast-track the arrest and questioning of anyone implicated in a rape.