Bags of rice are seen piled up at 'Koike rice shop' in Tokyo on Feb. 14, 2025. The Japanese government said it will release its stockpile of rice, the nation's cherished staple food, reserved for emergency use in response to soaring prices.

Food cartels threaten Prabowo's goal of food self-sufficiency

For years, a network of traders, importers, corrupt officials and political brokers have manipulated the supply and price of staple foods like rice, sugar, garlic, beef and cooking oil.

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How AI can revolutionize asset seizure, the fight against graft

The use of AI in asset forfeiture is already a reality in countries where advanced analytics are used to identify high-risk transactions and complex criminal networks. ...

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Can China rewrite the rules of global governance?

The SCO summit at Tianjin, China, followed by a military parade in Beijing, signal China's effort to contest the erratic policies of the Trump administration and change the global and regional orders. ...

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Women attend a mass prayer on Aug. 14, 2025, at Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in provincial capital Banda Aceh to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Aceh peace agreement.

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Aceh’s waqf experiment: When an age-old tradition powers a new economy

Aceh's unique cultural identity and administrative status makes it fertile ground for trialing waqf-based development initiatives that could provide a contemporary model for Islamic economies worldwide.

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A health worker measures the height of a women participating in the free birthday health screening program at a community health center (Puskesmas) in Serang, Banten, on May 15, 2025.

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Ovarian cancer, a silent and stealthy threat to women

Unlike breast and cervical cancer, no routine and simple screening tests can help patients detect ovarian cancer.

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

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Did Prabowo’s fiscal vision leave people behind?

For a leader democratically elected by the people and with historic legislative support, it is ironic that President Prabowo Subianto finds himself on the line in less than a year of his tenure.

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President Prabowo Subianto (left front row) stands next to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President China Xi Jinping during a military parade on Sept. 3 at Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

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Honoring history, cherishing peace and creating a brighter future for humanity

History serves both as the best textbook and dose of sobriety.

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Demonstrators hold illustrations of Affan Kurniawan during a protest in front of the Surabaya Police headquarters in East Java on Aug. 30, 2025, two days after the ‘ojol’ (motorcycle transportation) driver was killed when he was run over by a tactical vehicle of the Jakarta Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob).

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UNGA: Human rights and Prabowo's political test

Following the mass demontrations earlier this month and its devastating toll, the government needs to take proactive steps toward accountability, or the President's appearance at the UN General Assembly next week could be met with a negative response over Indonesia's pattern of state impunity.

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Newly appointed Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa waves to journalists following his inauguration on Sept. 8 at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta.

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Sri Mulyani vs Purbaya: Balancing speed with discipline

To translate fiscal policy into soccer terms, former finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati played defense while her predecessor Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa prefers offensive play.

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How Europe’s deforestation law could change global coffee trade

On the ground, the rule change could transform how coffee is grown, traded and sold.

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(Source: Henry Cruz and Lili Vallejo, 2023, ‘The Prioritization of External Security as a Means of Guaranteeing Multidimensional Security and Economic Growth’)

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The world is back to the 1930s war economy

The United Nations has issued a five-point agenda in an attempt to redefine security but the bottom line is that war is profitable and it is the same old battle of short-term vs. long-term gains, pitted against the very survival of our species.

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Residents wade through floodwaters in their neighbourhood following heavy rainfall on Sept. 10 in Denpasar, Bali.

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Rivers, rituals and rubbish: Can Bali stay beautiful?

Can ecotourism be part of the fix? Yes, if Bali uses the legal framework, community willpower, and tourism revenue.

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A female student holds a poster listing demands during a protest on Sept. 9 in front of the Senayan Legislative Complex in Central Jakarta. The action was carried out to advocate for the 17+8 people’s demands.

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Inequality and the demand for emancipatory democracy

This striking disparity renders democracy meaningless. On one hand, people have the right to vote, on the other, they are trapped in an increasingly alienating economic and political system.

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Former members of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) perform ‘asar’ (afternoon prayer) on Dec. 21, 2024, during an event to declare the terrorist group’s disbandment held in the convention hall at Tirtonadi bus terminal in Surakarta, Central Java.

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When minors become targets of violent extremist groups

Radicalization in the digital age doesn't fit neatly into a prescribed box of right-wing extremism, and protecting minors vulnerable to online influences begins with offline efforts at home to reach out, connect and listen to the multitude of mixed issues at the root of adolescent angst.

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Old and new: Former finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati (left) and her successor Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa greet journalists on Sept. 9 after a ceremony to mark the transfer of authority in Jakarta.

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Cabinet reshuffle: Prabowo’s move to realize 8% growth target?

Purbaya’s appointment is to address public frustration with Indonesia's economic conditions, particularly regarding tax increases, unemployment and layoffs, issues that Sri Mulyani failed to resolve.

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Participants carry the flags of Palestine (left) and Indonesia on July 27, 2025, during a pro-Palestine rally held by civic organizations and the Banda Aceh administration in Banda Aceh, Aceh.

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R2P without consistency is complicity

Indonesia has been consistent and steadfast in its efforts to support the Palestine cause by ultimately ensuring that it remains an international agenda and highlighting its multidimensionality, especially with regard to the UN principle of the Responsibility to Protect.

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University students hold a poster at a rally on Sept. 4 outside the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta that reads #WargaJagaWarga (Citizens guarding citizens) and a picture depicting Affan Kurniawan, a 21-year-old motorcycle ride-hailing driver who was run over and killed on Aug. 28 by a police armored vehicle during protests over lawmakers' lavish pay and allowances.

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Digital sovereignty or digital chaos? Lessons from the unrest

Digital amplification forces us to confront an uncomfortable truth about freedom of expression in the internet age.

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A resident harvests okra pods on April 9 from a crop on a communal patch of land where villagers from Milore village grow food crops due to its proximity to a nearby dam in Kilifi County, Kenya.

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Fighting poverty must not stop

Combating poverty is not just a moral imperative, it is also crucial for economic stability, conflict prevention and long-term development.

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European Union flags flutter on Sept. 12, 2024 in Frankfurt, Germany.

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Europe could escape the bond ‘doom loop’, US not so much

Unlike European countries, the US appears to have no interest in decreasing its deficits.

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Deadly Nepal protests reflect Gen Z activism across Asia

Nepal's so-called Gen Z protests, which resemble similar youth-led protests in the region, have managed to create a historic opportunity for their active participation in charting the country's future course in governance, though this presents new challenges that require a whole other set of skills and experiences.

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Street food carts are seen under a railway bridge after the rain on Feb. 5, 2024, in Jakarta.

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Cracking the shadow economy to meet 2026 revenue goals

The World Bank has estimated that Indonesia’s underground economy, a vast, hidden reservoir flowing beneath the surface, accounts for around 22 percent of GDP.

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

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New finance minister: A fresh hope or silent menace for the economy

The new finance minister should advise the President against pursuing priority programs that risk widening the fiscal deficit, and instead focus on strategic steps in the short and medium term.

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Burden sharing: A short-term remedy, a long-term risk for BI

What does the policy mean for the future of Indonesia’s monetary credibility and institutions?

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An Israeli police patrol boat moves near the aid sailboat Madleen as it is moored at the southern port of Ashdod on June 10, 2025 after being intercepted the previous day by Israeli forces.

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Indonesia’s Gaza flotilla and the law of naval blockade

Under blockade law, Israel has the right to intercept neutral merchant vessels attempting to breach the blockade and may lawfully use force, even to the point of destroying the vessels if they resist capture.

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Students display posters with a tweet of President Prabowo Subianto reading “Rallies are part of democracy guaranteed by law“ during a protest against a revision to the Indonesian Military (TNI) Law in Surabaya, East Java, on March 24, 2025.

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AI governance: Harnessing potential without losing control

Democratization through AI may be inevitable, but it could still be interesting to observe how one-party regimes may evolve and open up space for participation in political spaces through AI.

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An Asia far beyond China

The most populous continent in the world goes beyond China and even Japan.

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SEAblings: When sending food turns into a gesture of solidarity among Southeast Asians

At least three factors underpin the emergence of this phenomenon: Grab’s platform features, a shared sense of fate and the socio-cultural fabric of Southeast Asia.

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The thousands of steps of Arfak Mountains women

The "mamas" of the Arfak Mountains are not merely housewives; they are the hardworking breadwinners who determine the course of life for their community.

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University students from the Indonesian Student Executive Board Alliance (SOBSI) scatter flower petals on Sept. 4 during a demonstration to reiterate the “17+8 People’s Demands”, a platform of short-term and long-term reform demands raised during recent protests in front of the House of Representatives complex in Central Jakarta.

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Hashtags hurt, hashtags heal too

The arrests of activists, the influence of algorithms and the surge of public frustration reveal how social media is actively fueling Indonesia’s ongoing democratic reckoning.

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