Jokowi’s gross human rights settlement plan: Let bygones be bygones

Tragically, five decades have passed by, but many people in the country still glorify the atrocities and justify them as a tool to protect the country from the “latent danger” of communism.

3 years ago

Science & Tech

Spotify to cut 6% of workforce, some 600 employees: CEO

Swedish music streaming giant Spotify said Monday it was cutting six percent of its roughly 10,000 employees. ...

3 years ago

Markets

Singaporean start-ups, industries explore development opportunities in Nongsa Digital Park

In 2017, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo outlined his vision for Batam to serve as a “digital bridge” connecting Singapore to the digital economy of Indonesian cities. ...

3 years ago

The Latest

Workers walk past a steel structure at the construction site for the PT Freeport Indonesia smelter in Gresik, East Java, on Jan., 13, 2023.

Regulations premium

Copper export ban comes too early, mining firms warn

A plan to ban the export of copper concentrate starting June has sparked concern among businesses over the readiness of domestic industries to absorb the product.

3 years ago

Palestinian girl Farah Abu Al-Qomsan, 15, trains with her coach, Osama Ayoub, inside the first women's boxing center in Gaza City January 17, 2023

Community

First Boxing Club opens doors to women in Gaza

Six years ago, Ayoub, started with two girls. As more joined, they moved out of the garage and began training on the beach or in rented spaces before moving into the new club building.

3 years ago

Ready to serve: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, accompanied by Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, inspects the first batch of Reserve Component of the Indonesian Military (TNI) at the Special Forces Training and Education Center in Batujajar, near Bandung in West Java on Oct. 7, 2021. Jokowi also inaugurated the reserve unit.

Politics

BIN won't be under my authority: Prabowo

Prabowo said on Monday that he would only help coordinate the collection of intelligence information carried out by the relevant spy agencies.

3 years ago

Protective plants: A local resident takes part in the planting of mangrove seedlings in Marannu village in Maros regency, South Sulawesi on May 26, 2022.

Economy premium

Indonesia, WEF join hands to unlock blue carbon potential

Indonesia and the World Economic Forum (WEF) have signed a partnership to scale up the nation’s ocean ecosystem restoration and conservation efforts, in a bid to tap rapidly increasing demand for blue carbon credits and projects.

3 years ago

Students attend a class at a government high secondary school during a nationwide power outage in Rawalpindi on January 23, 2023. A massive power breakdown in Pakistan on January 23 affected most of the country's more than 220 million people, including in the mega cities of Karachi and Lahore.

Asia & Pacific

Pakistan hit by nationwide power outage

Local outages are common across Pakistan, and the national power system is a complex and delicate web where problems can quickly cascade.

3 years ago

A video of Russian President Vladimir Putin is projected on a screen at Moscow’s Red Square on Sept. 30, 2022 as he addresses a rally and concert marking the annexation of four Ukrainian regions occupied by Russian forces: Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

Europe

Kremlin won't say if Putin will seek re-election in 2024

Speculation has been growing in Russian media about Putin's plans for 2024, when a new election is due under Russia's constitutional rules.

3 years ago

Pilgrims circle the Kaaba and pray at the Grand Mosque as Saudi Arabia welcomes back worshippers for the 2022 haj season, after the kingdom barred foreign travelers over the last two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on July 1, 2022.

Society premium

Government looks to nearly double the price of this year's haj

The government’s plan to introduce a rise in the cost of haj for Indonesia's pilgrims this year has elicited a mixed response from observers, particularly since it surfaces at a time when Saudi authorities have instead lowered haj service prices.

3 years ago

A delivery rider for Meituan, one of China's biggest food delivery firms, heads out to make a delivery after picking it up at a restaurant in Beijing on April 27, 2021.

Tech premium

Food delivery firms begin pinching pennies: Report

A plunge in growth last year is compelling food delivery platforms in Southeast Asia to scrutinize their costs for the sake of profitability.

3 years ago

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks with media after Parliamentary church service in Canberra on July 26, 2022.

Asia & Pacific

Australia to speed up purchase of sea mines to shore up maritime defence

The so-called smart sea mines are designed to differentiate between military targets and other types of ships, a defence department spokesperson said in a statement.

3 years ago

A customer (right) buys fruit at a local market in Wuhan, in China's central Hubei province, on January 23, 2023.

Asia & Pacific premium

Wuhan turns page on Covid, three years on

Since Beijing ordered Wuhan sealed off in a bid to suffocate the outbreak in January 2020, Covid has devastated the planet, killing millions and plunging the global economy into turmoil.

3 years ago

People walk past an electric board showing Nikkei index at a business district in Tokyo, Japan December 20, 2022

Markets

Asian markets mixed in holiday-hit trade

Asian markets were mixed in holiday-thinned trade Monday, while the dollar dropped as investors lowered their expectations for US interest rate hikes.

3 years ago

In this file photo taken on January 25, 2019, the Egyptian Theatre marquee on Main Street is seen during the 2019 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

Entertainment

Iranian women take center stage at Sundance film festival

Movies by and about Iranian women took center stage at the Sundance film festival this weekend, as diaspora filmmakers reflected on female-led protests and the deadly challenges of censorship and resistance in their ancestral home.

3 years ago

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a press conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo as an extraordinary Diet session was closed on December 21, 2021.

Asia & Pacific

Kishida: it's 'now or never' to stop shrinking population

"Our nation is on the cusp of whether it can maintain its societal functions," Kishida said in a policy speech at the opening of this year's parliamentary session.

3 years ago

US dollar and euro banknotes are seen in this illustration photo taken on July 17, 2022.

Markets

Euro nears nine-month peak as ECB hawks let fly

The dollar was staring at a fourth straight session of losses against the euro on Monday as more hawkish comments on European interest rates contrasted with market pricing for a less aggressive Federal Reserve.

3 years ago

Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn hits a return against Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen during their men's singles final match of the Yonex Sunrise India Open 2023 in New Delhi on January 22, 2023.

Sports

Thailand's Vitidsarn stuns Axelsen to clinch India Open badminton title

In the women's singles, South Korea's An Se-young beat world number one Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in New Delhi to avenge her loss at the Malaysia Open final last week.

3 years ago

People near the site of a deadly shooting on January 22, 2023 in Monterey Park, California. 10 people were killed and 10 more were injured at a dance studio in Monterey Park near a Lunar New Year celebration on Saturday night.

Americas

California shooting suspect kills himself after Lunar New Year massacre

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said during a Sunday afternoon press conference the motive for the shooting was not known. He identified the suspect as Huu Can Tran, 72, who wielded a pistol with a high-capacity magazine.

3 years ago

Flatten the curve: PornHub encouraged people to stay home by giving away access to their premium services during the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic (Unsplash/Franco Alva).jpg

Culture premium

Can't stop: Indonesian porn hoarders and addicts try to break the habit

Porn hoarders talk about consuming large amounts of porn and why it is almost impossible to quit

3 years ago

United States President Joe Biden (left) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (center) walk with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (center) and other leaders through the Taman Hutan Raya Ngurah Rai Mangrove Forest on the sidelines of the Group of 20 Summit meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, on November 16, 2022.

Politics

President Jokowi's approval rating at all-time high: LSI

Figures released by pollster Lembaga Survei Indonesia (LSI) showed satisfaction with the president had risen consistently over recent months to reach 76.2 percent at the start of 2023.

3 years ago

A couple on a motorcycle drives past a mural in Yogyakarta. The mural demanded that the government and the House of Representatives resume deliberations on the long-stalled domestic worker protection bill.

Politics premium

Domestic worker protection bill earns Jokowi’s endorsement after 19 years in limbo

After nearly two decades languishing in the legislature, the domestic worker protection bill has been publicly endorsed by President Jokowi “Jokowi” Widodo, putting pressure on the House of Representatives to hasten its passage.

3 years ago

People perform the 'barongsai' (lion dance) ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Rabbit at Pondok Indah shopping mall in South Jakarta on Jan. 20, 2023.

Society premium

Chinese-Indonesians rejoice as Chinese New Year festivities return

Indonesians celebrating Chinese New Year have welcomed the return of festivities this year along with many of its traditional hallmarks, such as family gatherings and lion dances, as businesses reliant on the holiday have also begun to show signs of bouncing back from the pandemic.

3 years ago

The 606th kamisan action at the Aspiration Park in Monas, Central Jakarta on October 17, 2019. In this action, the masses urged President Jokowi to immediately issue the Perppu on KPK and thoroughly investigate the death of activist Walhi Golfrid Siregar in Medan.

Opinion

Analysis: Ghosts of victims of human rights violations still haunting Indonesia

The government has finally admitted that 12 incidents or tragedies that happened in the past amounted to gross violations of human rights, but short of offering an apology, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo last week expressed regret and promised restitutions for the victims.

3 years ago

Adding value: A nickel smelter operates at PT Virtue Dragon Nickel Industry (VDNI) in Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi, on Sept. 21. Indonesia has vowed to carry on its downstreaming program to add value to its nickel exports, despite its loss in a dispute over its ore-export ban heard at the World Trade Organization.

Academia premium

Indonesian economy remains resilient amid the global shocks

Holding more than a fifth of global nickel reserves and as the third-largest source of cobalt, Indonesia will be the world’s leading EV battery industry.

3 years ago

People walk past parked G20 Summit official electric vehicles (EVs) in Nusa Dua, Bali on Nov. 12, 2022. The proliferation of EVs alone will not solve people's overreliance on fossil fuels.

Academia premium

Are subsidies for private electric vehicles effective?

Subsidy policies that encourage EV use need to be integrated with policies to encourage the use of public transportation and non-motorized transportation, such as walking and cycling.

3 years ago

Saddil Ramdani (center) of Indonesia kicks the ball during the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 football match against Philippines at Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila on Jan. 2, 2023.

Academia premium

Overused plot will only kill Indonesian soccer at every rebirth

Indonesia, the biggest country in the region, has never won the AFF Cup tournament since its inception in 1996, as compared with Thailand (7 times), Singapore (4 times), Vietnam (twice) and Malaysia (once).

3 years ago