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This handout image provided by Nournews agency shows the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Shamkhani (right) shaking hands with the Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party Wang Yi (center) during a meeting with Saudi Arabia's National Security adviser and Minister of State Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban (left) in Beijing on March 10, 2023. Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore ties and to reopen respective diplomatic missions after talks in China, state media in both countries reported on March 10, 2023, seven years after relations were severed.

Editorial

China the peacemaker?

In the same week that the US financial authorities had again to fend off a potential crisis from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and reports that tension has risen between President Biden and Ukraine's President Volodymir Zelensky, especially over the sabotage of the Nord Stream II pipeline, China scored a massive political victory in the Middle East.

2 years ago

Editorial

Combatting money laundering

The Finance Ministry’s inspectorate general and tax intelligence division hardly played a part in the disclosure of corruption cases involving ministry officials so far. ...

2 years ago

Editorial

Welcoming Israeli soccer team

The upcoming arrival of Israel has ignited a furor in the country, but as a good host Indonesia should not mix sports with politics. ...

2 years ago

The Latest

Kevin Aluwi (left), Patrick Cao (second left), Andre Soelistyo (second right) and William Tanuwijaya at GoTo’s Listing Day Ceremony at the Indonesia Stock Exchange on April 11 in Jakarta.

Editorial

Time to make profit

The real battle for GoTo has just begun. Amid turbulent global markets and the cooling hype on Southeast Asia’s tech sector, GoTo is expected to have different strategies and show greater resilience in the bourse.

3 years ago

Internally displaced people arrive at a centre for the displaced persons in Zaporizhzhia, some 200 kilometres (124 miles) northwest of Mariupol on April 6, 2022. NATO chief said that, after withdrawing most of its troops from northern Ukraine, Russia aims to capture the

Editorial

Peaceful message of Easter

Whether or not his call falls on deaf ears, the pope is representing the world’s hopes and optimism that peace will prevail.

3 years ago

The main meeting room for the Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in Jakarta on Feb. 16.

Editorial

Come, recover together

The proposition of inviting Ukraine to the G20 Summit looks to be the best compromise Indonesia can offer to appease the West.

3 years ago

Police fire tear gas at students during a rally against moves to extend the presidential mandate in Jakarta on April 11.

Editorial

Hail to the students

Our history shows students have repeatedly taken to the street to speak up against injustices and the regression of democracy when the prevailing mechanism through the legislatures did not work.

3 years ago

Demanding an end: Adrian Jonathan Pasaribu and his fellow cinephile friends founded sexual violence reporting channel, SGHT ('Sinematic Gak Harus Toxic'/Cinematic Should Not Be Toxic) in 2019. (Facebook/Courtesy of Adrian Jonathan Pasaribu) *CHECK FOR ITALICS FOR PRINT*

Editorial

Ending sexual violence

Despite its drawbacks of not defining rape and regulating for coerced abortions, at least now we have legislation that specifically deals with sexual violence.

3 years ago

Documentary of war: A serviceman films a destroyed Russian tank and armored vehicles amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine in Bucha, Kiev, Ukraine, April 2.

Editorial

Ukraine - humanitarian and human tragedy

Economic sanctions against Russia imposed by the United States and its NATO allies have not forced Moscow rethink its Ukraine policy.

3 years ago

Health matters: Medical workers vaccinate workers of a factory in Cikarang, West Java, against COVID-19 on March 9, 2022. A total of 5,000 booster vaccines were administered that day.

Editorial

No booster, no ‘mudik’

People’s enthusiasm to get a booster shot, however, may enable more island-to-island travel, which could in turn increase virus transmission.

3 years ago

Travellers queue for self check-in before departure at Changi International Airport in Singapore on April 1, 2022, as Singapore reopened its land and air borders to travellers fully vaccinated against the Covid-19 coronavirus.

Editorial

Why we must act now to keep humans and the planet healthy

Globally, two-thirds of exposure to outdoor air pollution results from the burning of the same fossil fuels that are driving climate change, which between 2030 and 2050 is expected to cause an additional 250 000 deaths annually.

3 years ago

This Handout photo made available by Greenpeace shows one of their activists holding an anti-war placard as they float in the water in front of the supertanker Pertamina Prime off the coast of Denmark on March 31, 2022, blocking the transshipment of a Russian oil shipment between two ships.

Editorial

Living with more costly fuel

Most analysts and multilateral-development agencies have suggested that the government expand well-targeted cash-transfer social-assistance programs to protect low-income people.

3 years ago

Editorial

Malay for ASEAN

Article 34 of the ASEAN Charters rules English as the working language for the diverse grouping.

3 years ago

Motorcycles line up for Pertamax fuel oil in this undated photograph.

Editorial

Living with inflation

Households will have to accept higher prices for as long as the Ukraine war drags on.

3 years ago

Migrant workers sit on board a boat during a rescue operation in the waters off North Sumatra, where two people died and 26 others went missing after a ferry carrying dozens of migrants sank off the coast of Indonesia on March 19.

Editorial

Protecting our migrants

In a system that favors employers, recruiters and policymakers, Indonesian migrant workers have found themselves highly vulnerable to labor abuses.

3 years ago

Editorial

A humble Ramadan

This Ramadan will be one the most expensive fasting months in recent memory.

3 years ago

Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing (right) talks with Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn (left), the ASEAN special envoy to Myanmar, in Naypyidaw on March 21.

Editorial

Kick out Myanmar’s junta

Myanmar’s membership in ASEAN should be suspended until the military gives back the power it robbed from the country’s democratically elected government last year.

3 years ago

Russian joint venture Vietsovpetro oil rigs are seen at Bạch Hổ oil field in Vietnam.

Editorial

Russian oil roulette

For Indonesia to turn to Russian oil now risks the wrath of the West.

3 years ago

United States President Joe Biden attends the virtual US-ASEAN Summit on Oct. 26, 2021 from the South Court Auditorium of the White House in Washington, DC.

Editorial

A welcome delay

The postponment of a special summit between Biden and ASEAN leaders is actually a blessing in disguise, considering the US' policy stance as regards the current geopolitical climate in Southeast Asia and Europe.

3 years ago

Two miners pan for gold along a stream near Korowai, Papua, on July 7, 2020 . Illegal mining has soared in the region in despite hazards including the risk of arrest and health damage from toxic mercury used at many makeshift mining sites.

Editorial

No mercy for mercury

Indonesia has a moral obligation to ensure that the Bali Declaration will be able to spur stronger international cooperation in the fight against illegal mercury trade.

3 years ago

Officials inspect the main venue of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central governors meeting during preparations in Jakarta on Feb. 17.

Editorial

G20 presidency: Firm but calm

Due to the tricky nature of the matter, President Jokowi has to make sure that all official statements and information related to the G20 summit from the host should come from a single agency or ministry.

3 years ago

Hot wheels: Police officers inspect luxury cars seized from online investment scam suspect Doni Salmanan at the premises of the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta on March 14, 2022.

Editorial

Probing the crazy rich

The moral outcry from the crazy rich story is the reason why the police started investigations only recently despite the binary investment trading having run since 2019.

3 years ago

Constitutional Court Chief Justice Anwar Usman reads out the court's decision regarding a dispute over the results of the presidential election on June 27, 2019.

Editorial

Marriage of convenience

Anwar must be able to prove that he will not be blinded by his marriage, and his integrity will be reflected in his and the court’s decisions.

3 years ago

Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan speaks on Nov. 18, 2021 at the Indonesian Army Command and General Staff College (Seskoad) in Bandung, West Java.

Editorial

Defending civic space

It is time for civil society to stand up, once again, to reject the prevailing top-down use of laws and law enforcement to deter free speech and reclaim our democratic achievements.

3 years ago

Former Timor Leste president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate José Ramos-Horta (center) gets a traditional welcome in Dili on Jan. 23, 2022 after officially announcing he will run for office again in the upcoming presidential election.

Editorial

Timor Leste’s politics

It is understandable that since Timor Leste’s independence in 2002, Ramos-Horta and freedom hero Xanana Gusmao have dominated the country’s politics.

3 years ago

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo looks on at sunrise after spending the night at a campsite in Penajam Paser Utara, East Kalimantan, on March 15, where the government intends to build a new capital city to replace Jakarta.

Editorial

Show us the data

Political elites seem to have totally ignored public opinion surveys, which consistently debunk their claims of popular support for a presidential term extension.

3 years ago

Travelers walk through the international arrivals hall at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali, on Feb. 16, 2022, after a Singapore Airlines flight arrived following a nearly two-year break due to COVID-19.

Editorial

Bali reopens

Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno announced that Bali had achieved herd immunity based on serology tests conducted by the Health Ministry and the Home Ministry.

3 years ago

MotoGP riders are flagged off by Indonesia's President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (left) at the start of a motorcycle parade in downtown Jakarta on March 16, 2022, ahead of this weekend's MotoGP Indonesia Grand Prix.

Editorial

Full speed at Mandalika

The weekend’s crowd-puller will be a testament to the country’s ability to organize a high-level international showcase, while handling the virus spread.

3 years ago

President Joko Jokowi” Widodo (center) pours water brought by Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan (right), as East Kalimantan Governor Isran Noor (third left) looks on, during a Kendi Nusantara ritual at the site for Indonesia's new capital city Nusantara in Sepaku district, North Penajam Paser, East Kalimantan, on Monday. As part of the ritual, President Jokowi collected soil and water from 34 provinces, which were brought by governors attending the ceremony.

Editorial

Theater state

It all started with the name for the new capital, Nusantara, a moniker that — though derived from Sanskrit — is still perceived as being too “Java-centric”.

3 years ago

Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg (right) chats with Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati (left) during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors’ meeting in Jakarta on Feb. 17.

Editorial

Peace on the G20 agenda

The impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are bound to haunt discussions of global health, a sustainable energy transition and digital transformation, the three areas that Indonesia has prioritized for its Group of 20 presidency this year.

3 years ago

Oily business: Basic commodity sellers line up to purchase cooking oil during a market operation at Karangampel traditional market in Indramayu regency, West Java, on Feb. 23. Cooking oil is sold at Rp 11,700 (81 US cent) per kilogram.

Editorial

Cooking oil price still high

Whatever new policy measure President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will take within the next few days, it should include the assignment of a special agency to manage the DMO and fixed ceiling prices.

3 years ago

Yoon Suk-yeol of the opposition People Power Party gestures during a campaign rally on March 8, 2022 in Seoul, the day before he won the South Korean presidential election.

Editorial

South Korea’s incoming president

Policy continuity is of paramount importance as president-elect Yoon gears up take the helm of one of Indonesia's most important trade partners and a key player in security and stability in the Asia-Pacific.

3 years ago

High value: These eight tech companies are among Indonesia's most valuable unicorns. E-commerce platform Bukalapak went public last year to become the first unicorn listed on the stock market, followed by GoTo, the merger of ride-hailing company Gojek and e-commerce giant Tokopedia.

Editorial

Fast, but not hungry

A landmark World Bank report in 2018 estimated that Indonesia would face a shortfall of 9 million skilled and semi-skilled IT workers from 2015 to 2030.

3 years ago

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