You’re reading an excerpt from the Today’s WorldView newsletter. Sign up to get the rest free, including news from around the globe and interesting ideas and opinions to know, sent to your inbox every weekday. What unfurls across Indonesia on election day is undeniably stunning. The spectacle spans three time zones and a length of … Read more
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Millions of Indonesians were choosing a new president Wednesday as the world’s third-largest democracy aspires to become a global economic powerhouse just over 25 years since emerging from a brutal authoritarian era. The incumbent Indonesian defense minister, who has been accused of human rights atrocities as an ex-general, and two former governors … Read more
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia, the world’s third-largest democracy, will open its polls on Wednesday to nearly 205 million eligible voters in presidential and legislative elections, the fifth since Southeast Asia’s largest economy began democratic reforms in 1998. The sprawling archipelago of 17,000 islands and more than 270 million people from about 1,300 ethnic groups is … Read more
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Joko Widodo’s phenomenal rise from a riverside slum, where he grew up, to the presidency of Indonesia spotlighted how far the world’s third-largest democracy had veered from a brutal authoritarian era a decade ago. With his second and final five-year term ending in October, Widodo — regarded by some as Asia’s Barack … Read more
TAIPEI, Taiwan — With fireworks, feasts and red envelopes stuffed with cash for the kids, numerous Asian nations and overseas communities have welcomed Saturday the Lunar New Year. It begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends 15 days later on the first full moon. The dates of the holiday vary … Read more
DAKAR, Senegal — Police made arrests and fired tear gas at opposition supporters during protests Sunday against the decision by President Macky Sall to postpone Senegal’s Feb. 25 elections as federal lawmakers prepared to debate a bill to formalize the postponement. Demonstrators rallied in the capital of Dakar after leading opposition figures and candidates in … Read more
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Tens of thousands of Indonesians flocked to presidential campaign rallies on Saturday to air their concerns over the state of democracy in the country. President Joko Widodo is facing mounting criticism over his lack of neutrality after he threw his support behind frontrunner Prabowo Subianto, who has picked Widodo’s son as his … Read more
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Salvadorans are headed out to vote Sunday in a presidential and legislative elections that’s largely about the tradeoff between security and democracy. With soaring approval ratings and virtually no competition, Nayib Bukele is almost certainly headed for a second term as president. El Salvador’s constitution prohibits reelection. Nonetheless, about eight … Read more
BERLIN — At least 150,000 people gathered in front of the German national parliament Saturday afternoon to protest against the far right, the latest in a string of large weekend demonstrations across Germany. The pro-democracy demonstrations started three weeks ago after the investigative journalists’ group Correctiv published an article saying that right-wing extremists had recently … Read more
Play video content Bill Maher is throwing in the towel on American democracy — or so it seems — and he makes a case. The ‘Real Time’ host served up a scary parallel between the U S of A and Brazil, both of which had insurrections over their respective presidential elections — the U.S. on … Read more