Facebook's plan to hire professional journalists instead of relying solely on algorithms to deliver news is a positive step but is unlikely to shake up an embattled media industry, analysts say.The social media giant said Tuesday it would build a small team of journalists to select the top national news of the day "to ensure we're highlighting the right stories."It comes as the US media landscape is plagued by job losses and newspaper closures, with organizations trying to

His weathered face breaks out in a big grin as Keman explains how sifting through rubbish paid for his children's education, one of many in his Indonesian hometown basking in a waste-picking boom.Governments around the world are grappling with how to tackle the scourge of single-use plastic, but for the people of Bangun, trash equals cash. Around two-thirds of the town's residents eke out a living sorting and selling discarded plastic bottles, wrappers and cups back to loca

More than 2,300 endangered tigers have been killed and illegally trafficked since the turn of the century, according to a report published Tuesday, urging more action to protect the giant cats.With an average of more than 120 illegally trafficked tigers seized each year - which amounts to over two each week - since year 2000, conservation group Traffic warned there was little sign of respite for the species.

Singapore needs at least US$72 billion to build defences against rising sea levels, its leader said Sunday as the low-lying city-state gears up against the impact of climate changePrime Minister Lee Hsien Loong described climate change as "one of the gravest challenges facing humankind" and said the Southeast Asian country is already feeling the impact through a hotter weather and heavier rainstorms.He devoted a large portion of a major policy speech late Sunday – which included ini

The fashion industry’s desire to be on-trend drives its business operations by reducing collection periods and accelerating inventory turns. But high levels of consumption also mean a high level of waste.

As he tears off a leg of a charcoal-grilled rat at a roadside stall in western Cambodia, Yit Sarin hails the simple joy of rodent and rice washed down with beer."It's delicious," he says of the snack.Barbecued field rats are not everybody's idea of a tasty treat, but in Cambodia's rural Battambang province they are popular as a quick – and cheap – snack, with small skewered ones going for US$0.25 each while larger rodents can cost US$1.25.Rats were commonly eaten in t

Earlier this month, the Indonesian National Police revealed that there were 236 cases of child sexual assault that occurred from January to May this year.

Time is running out for Jakarta. One of the fastest-sinking cities on earth, environmental experts warn that one third of it could be submerged by 2050 if current rates continue.Decades of uncontrolled and excessive depletion of groundwater reserves, rising sea-levels, and increasingly volatile weather patterns mean swathes of it have already started to disappear.Existing environmental measures have had little impact, so authorities are taking drastic action: the nation will have a n

The lack of transparency surrounding plans to construct dams on the Tanintharyi River in southern Myanmar, and the impact it will have on the livelihoods of the Karen – the area’s indigenous people – is set to add more tension to an area already filled with strife.While there are 18 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) for dams on the Tanintharyi River – one of southern Myanmar’s largest free-flowing waterways – local communities have received no information on their location, size or status ac

ASEAN countries have collectively achieved remarkable economic growth, however, when it comes to fertility rates, the region has been drifting. The total fertility rate (TFR) of Southeast Asia has dropped from 5.5 in 1970 down to 2.11 in 2017. Half of the region is already facing a ‘baby bust’, where there are insufficient children to maintain the population size.