Dealing with fake news is a balancing act. On the one hand, fake news can be a serious problem as seen currently amid the COVID-19 pandemic where harmful misinformation about the virus has been spreading like wildfire. On the other hand, there’s the question of limiting the freedom of the press and hampering its ability to play watchdog.Member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have gained notoriety for their lack of press freedom over the years.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the way people live their lives. The deadly outbreak which has infected over 4.5 million people worldwide has prompted governments to impose citywide lockdowns and travel curbs.

A powerful typhoon hit the central Philippines Thursday, forcing a complicated and risky evacuation for tens of thousands of people, many of them heading to cramped shelters without proper safety gear to guard against the coronavirus.Typhoon Vongfong sheared roofs from houses, uprooted coconut trees and dumped heavy rain as it made landfall on the island of Samar, sending locals to emergency shelters.Because of the twin threat of the storm and the virus, evacuation centres in the central Phil

Environmentalists have criticised Lao PDR for pressing ahead with plans for another "destructive dam" on the Mekong River, a waterway already strangled by hydropower schemes.The flow of the Mekong, Southeast Asia's longest river, is interrupted by a cascade of dams in China - where it is called the Lancang.Two downstream dams - the Xayaburi and Don Sahong - have been built in Lao PDR, which wants to construct seven more as it strives to live up to its billing as the "Batte

The new coronavirus which emerged just a few months ago in Wuhan, China has infected over 4.2 million people today. Before the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that the disease would be called COVID-19 – many people, authorities and even the media associated the virus with Wuhan and with China.

Once upon a time if you wanted to get ahead, you got a hat.Now if you want step outside your front door, you need a mask.In a matter of weeks, the coronavirus has upended the Western wardrobe and challenged its deepest codes about freedom, comfort and self-expression.From being a curious oddity seen only on Asian tourists, masks have suddenly become as essential as socks - a signal of civic virtue and a passport to many public spaces denied to the bare faced."When you wear one you are sa

Over the years, there have been more girls attending schools and completing their studies with many focusing on their careers and a bright future. Girls are also leading global movements on issues ranging from climate change and poverty to gender-based violence and child marriages, proving themselves to be unstoppable. In Lao PDR, youths below the age of 25 make up more than half of the country’s population.

Filipina weightlifting star Hidilyn Diaz noticed live-streamed concerts were collecting money for coronavirus relief and was struck by inspiration: why not raise funds with an online workout?Since then the Olympic silver-medallist – and strong contender for her country's first Games gold –has made enough money to buy food packs for hundreds of hard-hit families in the Philippines.Diaz has done it all from Malaysia, where she was training to qualify for the now-postponed Tokyo Olympics wh