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Spotify’s data grab moves listeners to the music

The power of platforms to suggest content we may like is a boon for convenience, but secrecy around data collection raises troubling questions.

3 years ago

Academia

Climate change: More disasters or more data?

You would think that the UN would know better especially when its top bureaucrats are using language that sounds like Armageddon is here. ...

3 years ago

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No rice, no bread, no peace: Food security is a national security

The big question is whether the shortfall of rice that needs to come from Thailand and Vietnam will be available next year or not. ...

3 years ago

The Latest

United States President Joe Biden (center) and ASEAN leaders pose for a group photo on May 12, 2022 during the US-ASEAN Special Summit on the White House South Lawn in Washington, D.C.

Academia

ASEAN-US: On the same page, but not in the same boat on Indo-Pacific

While the US and ASEAN share many commonalities in their views on the Indo-Pacific, where they differ is in their stance and approach to China.

3 years ago

'Tears of the Sirens', to be found in the largest polluted area of the Northern Pacific Ocean, each year at least eight million tons of plastic are thrown into the oceans, here is what many fish sorts mistake for plankton. Finally this is what also enters into the human food cycle.

Academia

Time to stop the decline of the ocean’s health

We currently dump 11 million metric tons of plastic into the ocean each year and are projected to double that figure by 2030, tripling it by 2050.

3 years ago

Strong contributions: People with disabilities work at a cloth mask factory in Meruya, West Jakarta, on April 17, 2020. The 2016 Law on People with Disabilities requires companies to reserve 1 percent of work positions for people with disabilities.

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Job opportunities for disabled people: A mission impossible?

The manpower minister said 5,825 people with disabilities were currently employed in the public and private sectors, out of a total of 16.5 million people with disabilities.

3 years ago

US Vice President Kamala Harris is joined by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as she delivers opening remarks during a plenary meeting with Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders in the Loy Henderson Room at the State Department on May 13, 2022 in Washington, DC. Focusing on trade, human rights and climate change, Harris addressed the ASEAN leaders during a two day summit in Washington.

Academia

ASEAN the key ground of competition in US-China's Indo-Pacific strategies

The war in Ukraine has expanded the US definition of the Indo-Pacific strategy and economic framework, and that it is utilizing the war to strengthen the window period for US-European relations.

3 years ago

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G20: Indonesia’s stand on cross-border data flow

Overutilized data might trigger data hacking, hence data privacy can be threatened, and partner countries might “close” the data flow border, rendering data monetization from foreign companies out of the equation.

3 years ago

Heads of delegates prepare for a meeting on the last day of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Jakarta on Feb. 18.

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Why Indonesia should not fail its G20 presidency

During Indonesia's G20 presidency, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo will make sure the pandemic is addressed, the economy recovers and the world is well-prepared for future pandemics.

3 years ago

President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo meets with Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk in Texas on May 14.

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Meeting Biden and Musk of equal importance to Jokowi

For Jokowi, the outcome of the special summit is acceptable, because the Joint Vision Statement issued after the meeting did not explicitly criticize China in the South China Sea and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

3 years ago

Minding my own business: Women package crackers made of betel leaf as part of their small business in Neglasari subdistrict, Tangerang, Banten, on Monday. Women Empowerment and Child Protection Minister I Gusti Ayu Bintang Darmawati has called for more support for women running micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).

Academia

Optimizing Indonesia’s G20 presidency to boost the MSME sector’s growth

In mid-2021, McKinsey wrote that if Indonesia can quickly return to pre-pandemic growth rates, the country may become the world’s seventh-largest economy by 2030, from its 16th position in 2019.

3 years ago

Sports time: Boys play cricket in front of a school that was damaged during the conflict between the Taliban and Afghanistan's former ruling government, in Kandahar on May 12, 2022.

Academia

Of smokes and mirror: Pakistan’s flawed Afghan ambitions

The rise of a so-called friendly regime in Afghanistan is being viewed as a strategic accomplishment by the Pakistani deep state.

3 years ago

A man uses his laptop to watch a video of a wild elephant on TikTok on Feb. 11, 2022 in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

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Social media algorithm, the enemy of creators

The constantly changing algorithms on the social media landscape has made it more difficult for older creators to keep up and for new creators to build their audience.

3 years ago

Children’s rights: Cipinang Besar Utara subdistrict chief Sri Sundari speaks about child marriage prevention at the Cipinang, East Jakarta, child-friendly public space on Monday.

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Schooling and sex education can help reduce high child marriage rates

Child marriage is a key cause of teenage pregnancy, with its concomitant higher risks of pregnancy and birth complications, including giving birth to premature or underweight babies.

3 years ago

Giving a boost: A resident receives an AstraZeneca booster vaccine dose during a mass inoculation program organized by the Semarang Police in the Simpang Lima neighborhood of the Central Java provincial capital on Thursday.

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Administer any booster available to avoid hospitalization, deaths

The effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination typically decreases within six months of the administration of the second dose.

3 years ago

This screengrab of handout video made available on the United Nations' YouTube channel shows Myanmar's ambassador to the UN Kyaw Moe Tun making a three-finger salute as he addresses an informal meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on February 26, 2021 in New York.

Academia

A strong US-ASEAN partnership starts with Myanmar

The US should take a page from the smart playbook it has deployed against Russia for its war of aggression in Ukraine by doubling down on punishing sanctions, and include the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE).

3 years ago

No to plastics: Local people line up to weigh their plastic waste during the launch of the #GILAsSAMPAH anti-plastic waste movement in Jerman Beach in Badung, Bali, on April 17. The initiative was part of the Indonesia International Waste Expo.

Academia

We need to uplift the forgotten women behind Asia's plastic waste recycling systems

The pandemic has been shown to especially disproportionately affect women globally, since it has significantly increased the burden of unpaid care.

3 years ago

A woman buys vegetables at a stall in a traditional market in Jakarta.

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Global geopolitical pressure and Indonesia's economic shield

The key to keeping Indonesia's economy resilient amid this year’s geopolitical tensions is its management of the pandemic.

3 years ago

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian (center) and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell (second left) attend the Indo-Pacific Ministerial Cooperation Forum on Feb. 22, 2022 as part of the French Presidency of the EU Council in Paris, France.

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Macron's EU proposal: A potential mechanism for Southeast Asia?

Macron’s proposal for a looser European entity could very well be applied in Southeast Asia to coexist alongside ASEAN.

3 years ago

Fruitful enterprise: A worker arranges oil palm fruit at a collection center in Kutamakmur, Aceh, on Nov. 7, 2021. As supplies of vegetable oil have been disrupted by the Ukrainian war, a number of European countries have shifted to palm oil.

Academia

The soaring price of cooking oil is unforgivable for ordinary Indonesians

People find it difficult to forgive President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo for his failure to bring down the price despite his bold decision to ban exports of palm oil until domestic supply is secured at an affordable price.

3 years ago

The US and China account for more than 94 percent of funding for AI startups over the past five years, and half of the world’s hyperscale data centers.

Academia

Developing economies risk exclusion as 'age of AI' dawns

Artificial intelligence is set to be a multi-trillion dollar industry by 2030, but developing economies risk falling behind unless changes are made.

3 years ago

On patrol: A China Coast Guard vessel patrols at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on April 5, 2017.

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South China Sea: Common home and shared future

China and ASEAN members could set up a joint committee and cooperate with other NGOs to provide sustained support for regional cooperation on ocean governance.

3 years ago

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (front right) inspects troops during a ceremony marking the 74th anniversary of the Indonesian Military (TNI) at Halim air force base in Jakarta on Oct. 5, 2019.

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Jokowi’s governing algorithm, a playbook for the next president

With such an overwhelming coalition, Jokowi maintains a relatively stable balance in the executive and the House of Representatives to enact his priorities on infrastructure and pandemic recovery and to direct the delivery of policies.

3 years ago

Workers transfer harvested palm fruits onto a transport truck to be processed into crude palm oil (CPO) at an oil palm plantation in Pekanbaru, Riau, on April 23.

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Electronic invoicing is key to breaking the palm oil price mystery

In fact, millions of farmers, who account for almost 40 percent of the country’s 16 million hectares of oil palm plantations, have been complaining about the steep decline in the price of their fresh fruit bunches as big companies that control the refining industry hesitated to increase stocks.

3 years ago

The youngest son of former Indonesian president Soeharto, Hutomo “Tommy” Mandala Putra (center), attends the opening of the Berkarya Party national meeting in Surakarta, Central Java on March 10, 2018, where he was voted chairman. Unlike the Philippines’ Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who is set to follow in his dictator father’s footsteps in becoming president, Tommy has not been as successful in restoring the Soeharto clan image to the glory days of the New Order era.

Academia

After Philippines, Indonesia too is ripe for return to authoritarianism

Dynasty politics may be stronger in the Philippines than in Indonesia; however, Indonesian family dynasties still work with powerful oligarchs in ruling the nation.

3 years ago

A stock image shows a female mosquito of the Anopheles genus, which transmits malarial parasitic species.

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Innovation, collaboration key to achieving zero malaria by 2030

The COVID-19 pandemic may have initially disrupted the country's malaria elimination drive, but it has also created new opportunities for strategizing and innovating to achieve its 2030 zero-malaria goal.

3 years ago

The United States’ crude oil tanker, 'Kriti Breeze', passes through the Suez Canal on Feb. 15, 2022 in Egypt.

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War in Ukraine risks disrupting Asia’s decarbonization efforts

Countries need to redesign their energy transition to stay on top of their climate goals amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and resulting energy crisis.

3 years ago

Women activists from various organizations held a long march in the Thamrin area, Central Jakarta, on March 8, 2020. They demanded that the government resolve cases of violence against women; cancel draft laws that were discriminatory, not gender-related, and violated rights; and pass bills on eliminating sexual violence.

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What do feminists do during Ramadan?

In Indonesia, it is precisely the collaboration between secular and Muslim feminists that has greatly contributed to the success of the women’s movement in Indonesia.

3 years ago