The Finance Ministry sign is seen on Jusuf Anwar Building within the ministerial complex on Aug. 10, 2023, in Jakarta in this stock photo.

Finance ministers and the beautiful game

In soccer terms, finance ministers' strength lies in their ability to connect the lines, distribute the ball and ensure that the team moves in a coordinated way.

5 months ago

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What a mission-oriented approach to school meals could do

When designed properly, school meals represent a powerful opportunity to transform entire food systems, achieve zero hunger, drive economic growth and advance climate and environmental goals. ...

5 months ago

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Free meals program is feeding children, but also making them sick

When hundreds of children fall sick at once, families lose faith not only in the free meal program but in the state’s ability to safeguard their health ...

5 months ago

The Latest

Delegates talk on Sept. 9 at the stand of British defense contractors QinetiQ next to a Banshee target drone UAV at Swedish company Mildef's stand at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) fair at the ExCeL centre, in east London.

Academia

Faster, cheaper weapons for looming conflicts

Modern European states now believe they must rearm, both to keep Ukraine fighting and to prepare themselves for a potential wider looming conflict.

5 months ago

The floating panels of a solar power plant at Cirata Dam in Purwakarta regency, West Java, are seen from above on Sept. 26, 2023.

Academia

Why does Indonesia still rely on fossil fuel imports?

Geopolitical tensions should serve as a wake-up call to hasten the transition to renewable energy.

5 months ago

Figurines stand around an opened smartphone in a photo studio in Paris on July 23, 2021.

Academia

The architecture of trust in Indonesia’s digital dawn

Europe offers a useful model. GDPR is enforced by independent data protection authorities. NIS 2 relies on coordination and strict incident reporting. They stand side by side, reinforcing one another without undermining either.

5 months ago

A worker supervises loading and unloading services on March 28, 2023, at the Jakarta International Container Terminal in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta. According to a recent Statistics Indonesia (BPS) report, Indonesian exports grew 7.13 percent year-on-year in September 2024 to US$23.56 billion, the highest figure since December 2022.

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ASEAN strategic response to current geoeconomic shift

With many economies and sectors depending on the US market, the shock from tariff hike was immediate and has great potential impact on jobs.

5 months ago

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) shakes hands with then president-elect Prabowo Subianto on July 31, 2024, during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow.

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Letter to editor: Russian ambassador responds

Russian Ambassador Sergei Tolchenov defends the Indonesia-Russia extradition treaty, rejecting Western narratives on geopolitics, human rights and the Ukraine war while urging bilateral ties to be guided by national interests.

5 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto receives flowers from the Indonesian diaspora on Sept. 20, 2025, upon his arrival at his hotel in New York, the United States. Prabowo will deliver his speech at the United Nations General Assembly’s general debate on Sept. 23, 2025.

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Prabowo’s debut at the UN: Symbolism without substance?

President Prabowo Subianto must ensure that Indonesia’s calls for peace, whether in Palestine, Ukraine or elsewhere, are grounded in principle and respect for international law, not expedient shortcuts

5 months ago

United States President Donald Trump looks on during an event on Sept. 2 to announce that the US Space Force Command will move from Colorado to Alabama, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, the US.

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Lawless state capitalism is no answer to China's rise

Invoking national security and the competition with China, Donald Trump’s administration is pursuing increasingly anti-capitalist and legally dubious interventions into private industry, with potentially high costs for US dynamism.

5 months ago

The United States President Donald Trump attends a cabinet meeting with members of his administration in the White House in Washington, DC, on Aug. 26, 2025.

Academia

US foreign policy is restructuring the world order

Unlike when the US held unipolar power, times have changed as China and the BRICS countries have begun fashioning a non-militarized, multipolar world.

5 months ago

Female workers plant shallot bulbs at a farm in Kawatuna village, Palu, Central Sulawesi, on Aug. 8, 2024. The regional administration is encouraging farmers to plant shallots, as the food commands high prices in the domestic market.

Academia

How EUDR could leave Indonesian women farmers behind

Women farmers play a vital role in the country's food production and in the management of renewable natural resources on which Indonesia's food security depends.

5 months ago

This file photo shows French utility EDF's Penly Nuclear Power Plant on Dec. 9, 2022, in Petit-Caux, near Dieppe, France.

Academia

Between coal and atoms: Indonesia’s choice

The choice facing Southeast Asia’s largest nation is not only about energy but about credibility, confidence and its place in history.

5 months ago

BYD electric cars await export on April 18, 2024, at a port in Yantai, Shandong, China.

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What a China-EU climate deal could do for the world

Chinese green-tech leadership has created an opportunity that the world cannot afford to squander. Europe must work with China to realize that potential.

5 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto delivers his State of the Nation address on Aug. 15, 2025, during the annual People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) plenary meeting at the Senayan legislative complex in Central Jakarta.

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The words Prabowo needs to say at the UN

Prabowo can deliver the speech of his life, one that cuts through the noise and earns its place in history.

5 months ago

People wielding weapons looted from the Supreme Court take part in a demonstration in front of the top court in Kathmandu on Sept. 9, 2025, to protest the 19 people who were killed the previous day during anticorruption protests, initially triggered by the Nepali government’s ban on social media platforms.

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Nepal’s Gen Z revolt: The economic lesson for democracies

The violent protests in Nepal demonstrate that democracy and development are inherently intertwined, and that governments must balance the dual goal of economic growth and shared prosperity.

5 months ago

A sarcophagus depicting a purple cow is paraded on April 14, 2024,
in Ubud, Bali, during the cremation ceremony of Tjokorda Bagus Santaka, a member of the Ubud royal family who passed away in February 2024.

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Culture, not construction, drives tourism success

Modern tourists seek more than just a place to stay: they want stories and experiences.

5 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto (center) gives a salute after addressing newly elected regional leaders during the last day of a week-long retreat at the military academy in Magelang, Central Java, on Feb. 28, 2025.

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A call for a phased approach to fiscal decentralization

Lower government spending will reduce purchasing power, and increase unemployment and poverty.

5 months ago

Protesters are blocked by police with shields during a demonstration on Aug. 25 demanding the dissolution of the House of Representatives on a street in front of the Senayan Legislative Complex in Central Jakarta.

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High-cost, low-productivity legislature

Data shows that House 2024 budget reached $663 million, far higher than Vietnam’s or the Philippines’ legislatures, which each spend only $150–300 million annually.

5 months ago

Police fire tear gas to disperse demonstrators during a protest on Aug. 29 against the Mobile Brigade Corps (Brimbob), after the death of a motorbike taxi driver the previous night, in front of the governor's residence in Surabaya.

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Embers of trust: Social cohesion in a fractured Southeast Asia

Social cohesion forms a critical foundation for the capacity of communities to coexist and legitimizes governance through accountability. Yet across Southeast Asia, the fabric of social cohesion is demonstrably fraying and we must not look away.

5 months ago

Displaced Palestinians move with their belongings southwards on Sept. 16 on a road in the Nuseirat refugee camp area in the central Gaza Strip following renewed Israeli evacuation orders for Gaza City.

Academia

Doctors can’t stop a genocide, world leaders can

Every day in Gaza, children arrive at our clinics with blast injuries, infected wounds or signs of starvation. As doctors, we can try to treat their pain – but we cannot stop the bombs or lift the siege.

5 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto (right) inaugurates Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa (center) as finance minister at the State Palace in Jakarta on Sept. 8, 2025.

Academia

Purbayanomics and the Rp 200 trillion question

Stimulus drawn from reserves can jolt the economy today, but it also narrows Indonesia’s room for maneuver tomorrow.

5 months ago

Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel march outside the National Monument (Monas) complex on Sept. 2, amid widespread anti-government protests and rioting over issues such as extra pay for lawmakers and their housing allowances that resulted in riots which escalated after a motorcycle taxi (ojol) driver was killed by a police vehicle, in Jakarta.

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Back to barracks and back to basics: The only path to a professional TNI

TNI’s hard power consists of older platforms and has limitations in modern network-centric warfare, making it vulnerability to attacks from enemies with advanced cyber capabilities and more sophisticated air defense systems.

5 months ago

US President Donald Trump looks on during an event on Sept. 2 in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC to announce that the Space Force Command will move from the US state of Colorado to Alabama.

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Violence as policy in Trump's America

Trump has been signaling for a decade or so that political violence committed by his supporters is acceptable and might even be rewarded.

5 months ago

Muslim worshippers gather for prayers at the Grand Mosque complex in the holy city of Mecca on June 2, ahead of the annual haj.

Academia

Haj and umrah ministry: Caring for the faithful

The formation of a haj and umrah ministry reflects a domestic commitment to improving religious services and a broader diplomatic effort to elevate Indonesia’s role in global religious affairs.

5 months ago

Fireworks accompany the launch of the Indonesian Navy's newest warship, the KRI Bung Hatta corvette on Feb. 27 at PT Karimun Anugrah Sejati shipyard in Batam, Riau Islands. Navy chief of staff Adm. Muhammad Ali launched the second ship from the domestically built Bung Karno-class corvette.

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Under Prabowo, Indonesia’s Navy sets sail for bigger ambitions

Frigates equipped with long-range firepower and advanced sensors, alongside heavyweight corvettes are expected to spearhead Indonesia's blue-water fleet capable of sustained Indo-Pacific operations.

5 months ago