Last week, ASEAN convened an emergency foreign ministers’ meeting to discuss the situation in Myanmar, ahead of the ASEAN Summit in Bali in a few weeks. What is the latest state of play and why has ASEAN failed to make progress in resolving the crisis? We get an update on the situation from Hunter Marston, researcher with the Australian National University.

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Beijing has been making economic inroads across the world, and it has also been quietly increasing its media presence in parallel. Freedom House documents the development of China’s media influence in a report published last month. Dr Benjamin Loh of Taylor's University shares findings from the report.

Read the full report at freedomhouse.org.

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UK media coverage of the Queen's death and state funeral focused on the narrative of national mourning. But is this an accurate reflection of the diverse views held by the British population on the monarchy? Marcus Ryder from the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity discusses the implications of an absence of media diversity on complex national issues.

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On Friday 24 September, Umno President Dato’ Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was acquitted of all charges in the foreign visa corruption trial by the Shah Alam High Court. Malay Mail journalist Kenneth Tee breaks down the facts of the case and the events on the day.

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In the run up to Malaysia Day this year, we saw headlines regarding a push for Sabah and Sarawak to be given 35% representation in the Dewan Rakyat. The Special Council on MA63 endorsed this proposal recently, paving the way for the East Malaysian states to gain up to 78 seats in the lower house. Will this ensure greater political representation for East Malaysia in our parliamentary democracy? Political scientist Dr. Wong Chin Huat weighs in.

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The next Malaysian general elections will see over 1 million new voters aged between 18 to 21. How susceptible are youth voters to political disinformation? What policy measures should be taken to safeguard electoral integrity against the negative effects of such campaigns? We discuss these issues with James Gomez of the Asia Centre, which recently produced a study on youth and disinformation in collaboration with Google.

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Malaysia's public broadcaster, RTM was modeled after the BBC - but many gaps remain between the international standards of public service media and what's provided in the country. We discuss the development of Malaysian public media and why reforms are necessary with Prof. Zaharom Nain of the University of Nottingham Malaysia.

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Last week the Federal Court dismissed the appeal of former Prime Minister Dato' Sri Najib Razak, upholding his conviction and sentence in the SRC International trial. We speak to SCMP correspondent Hadi Azmi about his observations during the trial as well as the ramifications of the court decision for Najib Razak and UMNO.

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The Indonesian province of West Papua straddles two worlds: geographically, it’s located within the Pacific Islands, and connected to the country of Papua New Guinea. Politically however, it’s governed by Indonesia, and tensions have long simmered between Jakarta and a restive independence movement. New Zealand journalist Johnny Blades walks us through the history, politics and socio-economic issues at play in West Papua.

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The aftermath of top US lawmaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan earlier this month continues to reverberate in US-China geopolitics. But what’s the public discourse in Taiwan on the hot button issues of independence and sovereignty? We speak to Paul Huang, Research Fellow at the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation for insight.

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