The night the lights went out

Underscoring Cambodia’s heavy dependence on imported electricity, the lights went out not just in Phnom Penh but across provinces nationwide on Thursday, an unprecedented blackout that Prime Minister Hun Sen said was caused by an electrical fault in neighbouring Vietnam.

Between about 10pm and 11pm, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Battambang, Preah Sihanouk and several other provinces lost power, just as revellers in the capital were enjoying the last hours of Water Festival.

Keep reading