A health worker takes the blood pressure of a woman on June 3, 2020, at Puskesmas (community health center) Citeureup in Bogor regency, West Java.

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What Beijing’s new claims over a disputed coral reef mean

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Containers are stacked on May 22, 2024, at Tanjung Perak Port in Semarang, Central Java.

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The hidden obstacle: Logistics for 8 percent growth

Indonesia's logistics costs currently stand at a staggering 14.3 percent of its GDP, which is equal to around Rp 3 quadrillion (US$189 billion), virtually as much as our current annual national budget.

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Foreign Minister Sugiono arrives at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on Oct. 24, 2024.

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Between OECD and BRICS: Indonesia's ‘bebas-aktif’ conundrum

Indonesia's ambition to join both blocs could provide opportunities for the nation but may also undermine its interests.

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'Weapon of the weak': Delegates talk in front of flags representing the member states during the opening session of the Third South Summit of the Group of 77 and China (G77+China) in Kampala on Jan. 21.

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Is the G77 the future of multilateralism?

In today’s shifting geopolitical landscape, few multilateral alliances are as steadfast, or as essential, as the Group of 77.

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A police official looks on between national flags on Oct. 9, 2024, during the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits in Vientiane.

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ASEAN in the global economy: A half-century journey

As Southeast Asia gains prominence in the global economic landscape, recent developments underscore its growing influence.

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'No threat': Police detain a woman (center) outside the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court in Hong Kong on Nov. 19.

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How China misses great chances to prove its great status

China misses two opportunities to show that its grand rhetoric about being a force for good for the whole of humanity is truly matched with actions.

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Fragile economy: United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech during a press conference at 10 Downing street in central London on August 1.

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Trump tariffs could upend Brexit calculus

If US president-elect Donald Trump means what he says about slapping 10-20 percent tariffs on all goods imported into the US, the UK’s fragile economy could take a big hit.

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A person receives a message from the Financial Services Authority (OJK) on Sept. 10, 2023, asking Indonesian citizens to be wary of online lending platforms.

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From promise to peril: Tackling the rise of illegal P2P lending in Indonesia

These illicit operations are not only predatory, but they also threaten to destabilize Indonesia’s budding financial system.

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Shipping containers are stacked on April 12, 2024, at a port in Lianyungang, in eastern China's Jiangsu province.

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Asia in denial

Asians are making every effort to wish away problems at home and abroad.

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A flag is left at the event held by Democratic presidential nominee United States Vice President Kamala Harris during Election Night, at Howard University, in Washington, DC, Nov. 6, 2024.

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The Democrats' only option

The tragedy is that Americans seem to have voted for mere disruption more than anything else.

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Commander of Main Navy Base 5, First Adm. Arya Delano (front row from left), Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Sergey Tolchenov, COTG Capt. Aleksei Antsiferov and Russian Military Attache to Indonesia Col. Maxim Lukianov walk together after the Russian fleet arrived at the North Jamrud pier of Tanjung Perak Port for a five-day joint military exercise between Indonesia and Russia, in Surabaya, East Java, on Nov. 3.

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Letter to the editor: Russian ambassador responds

We would like to note that Russia does not threaten anyone with nuclear weapons, and any statements to the contrary are nothing more than anti-Russian propaganda.

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United States president-elect Donald Trump gestures as he meets with House of Representatives Republicans on Capitol Hill in Washington DC on Nov. 13, 2024.

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A better alternative to Trump's tariffs

Even if Trump halved his proposed tariffs, they would still have devastating consequences.

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Former trade minister Thomas Lembong (center) wears a detainee jacket after the Attorney General's Office (AGO) named him a suspect in a corruption case on Oct. 29, 2024.

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Legal uncertainty: What can we learn from the sugar import case?

What Thomas Lembong did during his time as trade minister was routine as a policy maker.

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A subsidized housing complex is seen on Aug. 1, 2024, at Puuwatu district in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi.

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Government’s housing target calls for paradigm shift

Providing financing subsidies is not the only form of intervention that can be carried out by the government.

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United States President-elect Donald Trump arrives on Nov. 13, 2024, prior to meeting with President Joe Biden and members of Congress in Washington, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, the US.

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Human progress in the Trump era

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has set its Doomsday Clock at 90 seconds to midnight, indicating that humanity is now closer to annihilation than ever before.

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Participants listen to speeches during the United Nations climate change conference (COP29) in Baku on Nov. 13, 2024.

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Expensive climate policy is dead, and it could be an immense opportunity

We need a different game plan, and the decisive election of Donald Trump may upend sanctimonious climate summits. Therein lies an opportunity for the world.

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Danantara head Muliaman D. Hadad delivers a speech at an event in Jakarta in an undated photo.

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Danantara: An SOE superholding à la Temasek?

Can Danantara truly be structured and operated in the same way as Temasek?

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Still looming large: Former German chancellor Angela Merkel gestures after receiving the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Foundation in Yamoussoukro on February 8, 2023.

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To implement vital social and economic reforms, Germany must break with Merkel

The music has stopped, and everyone is caught in a suspenseful yet completely predictable silence, as the once-roaring economy slows to a cautious hum.

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A visitor takes a look at shoes on display in the Grand Indonesia shopping mall on Aug. 29.

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12% VAT: A Fiscal solution or an economic burden on the middle class?

The policy is considered ill-timed, given that the purchasing power of the people is already on the decline.

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Fishermen unload their catch on July 15, 2024 at Nizam Zachman fishing port in Penjaringan, North Jakarta.

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Beyond the catch: How fish can fuel a healthier Indonesia

High fish consumption alongside malnutrition points to significant gaps in dietary intake and highlights the urgent need for policies that promote nutrition-focused blue food systems.

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Workers in wooden boats clean up plastic waste floating on the surface of the Citarum River on June 12, 2024, in Batujajar, West Bandung regency, West Java.

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From COP16 to INC5: Will ASEAN champion the fight against plastic pollution?

Will ASEAN maintain its proactive momentum from COP16, leveraging the opportunity to lead on public interest and regional welfare, or remain overshadowed on the global stage?

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Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta is shrouded in haze from pollution on June 15, 2024.

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Global warming and the tragedy of the commons

Global warming, a critical challenge of our time, presents a compelling case of the tragedy of the commons.

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The United Nations Security Council votes on a resolution allowing Palestinian UN membership on April 18, 2024, at the UN headquarters in New York during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.

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Multilateralism or bust

In today’s global landscape, the cardinal rule seems to be: With enough power, governments can get away with murder.

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Global forum: (Left to right, first row) President Prabowo Subianto, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum attend the opening session of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Nov. 18.

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Is Beijing undermining Indonesia’s free and active foreign policy?

It is no exaggeration to conclude that by signing the joint statement, on paper Jakarta has signed up to Chinese-style modernization and Beijing’s foreign policy ambitions, while disregarding its own.

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Former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (center), alongside Central Java gubernatorial candidate pair Ahmad Luthfi (right) and Taj Yasin (left), distributes T-shirts during a campaign parade on Jl. Tegal-Purwokerto, Central Java, on Nov. 16, 2024.

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This week's regional polls are a referendum on Jokowi. The outcome may surprise him

For decades, it has been part of Indonesia’s political tradition that former presidents have mostly gone off into the sunset, retiring from politics completely.

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Ukrainian servicemen operate an armoured military vehicle in the Sumy region, near the border with Russia, on Aug. 13, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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Should Ukraine have nuclear weapons?

With some of those around Donald Trump already accusing Joe Biden of taking a dangerous step toward a new world war, is it fair to say that Ukraine went too far?

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