A small army of "hoax busters" in Indonesia is trying to hold the line against a swarm of fake news that threatens to sway millions of voters as the world's third-biggest democracy heads to the polls.While many countries fret about the explosion of online falsehoods, observers say Indonesia's enormous social media audience – and low levels of digital literacy – make its 17 April polls particularly vulnerable.A whopping 130 million people – about half the population – spend

Tears stream down Lilis Hastirini's mascara-smudged face after she waited hours to snap a selfie with Indonesia's president, only to be thwarted by a crush of other female fans with the same idea.It is a take-no-prisoners battle on the election trail in this selfie-mad nation, where few shots count more than a close up with "everyman" leader Joko Widodo, a former furniture salesman who rose from a riverside slum to high office.Hastirini was among some 10,000 other desperat

Tech giants have reacted with horror after Singapore proposed laws against "fake news" allowing authorities to order the removal of content and impose hefty fines, in what critics say is an assault on free speech.The government unveiled a bill last week containing tough measures, including powers for ministers to order social media sites like Facebook to put warnings next to posts authorities believe to be false and in extreme cases take them down.If an action is deemed malicious an

Indonesia’s elections are right around the corner and many observers are looking to the country’s youth. Comprising a significant portion of the population, whether or not the youth are voters, votes will go towards determining their future. Indonesia, unlike some other ASEAN-member countries, belongs to its youth. According to Syafiq Hasyim, a visiting fellow at the Indonesia Programme of the S.

Thailand’s military establishment is intensifying attacks on a young political party that surged in March’s general election and whose 40-year-old leader is the newest symbol of opposition to the junta.The party, Future Forward, won about 18 percent of votes and is a key part of a coalition trying to prevent the junta’s proxies from forming the next government.

Prime Minister Theresa May has asked the European Union (EU) to delay Brexit until 30 June, setting up a battle with the bloc ahead of a key summit next week.May wants an extension to 30 June and aims to avoid holding European elections next month, which would be politically toxic at home. It’ll be up to the EU to decide on her request next week, and she’s likely to be rebuffed.

Thailand's Election Commission said Friday that scores of candidates who were tipped to secure elected seats in last month's contentious polls are under investigation and could be disqualified, in a move that could shift yet-to-be-released final results.The commission has come under fire for bungling ballot counts and delaying official results following the much-anticipated 24 March election, the first since a 2014 military coup. The election has pitted the junta-backed Pal

During its campaigning before the 14th general election (GE14) in Malaysia, the Alliance of Hope (Pakatan Harapan) declared in its manifesto that the coalition would recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) qualification if they were elected into power. Almost a year has passed since coming into power, but that promise has yet to be fulfilled by the new government.

Papua was formerly a Dutch-controlled colony and had since been annexed by Indonesia in 1963.

For Siti Mutmainah, a government cash handout of 800,000 rupiah (US$56) every quarter has turned her family’s life around, putting health care and education for her two children well within her reach.Mutmainah’s family is one of the 10 million households – or just over 15 percent of the country –benefiting from Indonesia’s ‘family hope program’, known as PKH, first introduced in 2007 to end the cycle of poverty among the country’s most vulnerable.President Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, almost