People with disabilities serve in the flag-hoisting squad during a ceremony to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Independence Day on Aug. 17, in Gorontalo, Gorontalo Province.

Why the Dutch have to recognize Indonesian independence from Aug. 17, 1945

The Dutch government-sponsored Indonesia investigation independence, decolonization, violence, and war in Indonesia, 1945-1950.

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Quality journalism is the only savior for news outlets

In the digital and AI age, news outlets in Indonesia, as elsewhere, may never regain their glory days of wealth and resources but, by focusing on quality, they can still be a source of reliable information essential to the good functioning of democracy. ...

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Climate resilience is a strategic investment

For emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), investing in resilience is not a luxury, it is an imperative. ...

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Protesters try to block a police water cannon vehicle during their demonstration on Aug. 25 demanding the dissolution of parliament on a street in front of the House of Representatives building in Jakarta.

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The Hunger Games in the making in Independence Month

Indonesia initiated sweeping reforms in 1998 not only because of high prices but because symbols of extravagance amid suffering made the pain unbearable.

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An adult lowland anoa (Bubalus depressicornis), an endangered species of buffalo endemic to Sulawesi, watches over her newborn calf at the Anoa Breeding Centre in Manado, North Sulawesi, in this file photo.

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Small islands offer safe havens for endangered species

Small islands can serve as natural refuges for their native biodiversity, provided their ecosystems remain undisturbed

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Palestinian women and girls elbow their way to receive cooked rice from a charity kitchen in Gaza City on Aug. 23, 2025. The United Nations officially declared a famine in Gaza on Aug. 22, blaming “systematic obstruction“ of aid by Israel during more than 22 months of war, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu swiftly dismissing the findings.

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Geneva Conventions at 76: Pushing back against erosion of humanity

Today’s crisis is not born of a lack of rules, but a lack of will to enforce them and to hold violators accountable.

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A vehicle rides past stacks of cargo containers at the Jakarta International Container Terminal on July 7 at the Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta.

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Indonesia-US trade agreement brings risks and rewards

Approximately 40 Indonesian export products face direct competition with US exports, particularly in labor-intensive sectors.

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President Prabowo Subianto delivers his annual State of the Nation address during the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) plenary meeting on Aug. 15 at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta, ahead of the country's 80th Independence Day.

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Fiscal space for investment shrinks in 2026 budget

The 2026 state budget proposal reveals a fiscal style built on obligations that, while reassuring today, may limit the government’s flexibility in shaping the future.

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United States President Donald Trump (right) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands on Feb. 13, 2025, during a joint press conference at the White House in Washington, DC.

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Trump's tariffs and India's economic future

In the long term, Trump’s tariffs are likely to propel India to rethink its strategic priorities toward a decision on whether to pursue economic openness or retreat into protectionist autarky as it redefines its place in the world.

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Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong waves to supporters of his People's Action Party (PAP) on May 3, 2025, as he arrives at the PAP’s election watch party.

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Wong’s ‘we first’ society: Bridging rhetoric and reality

As governments around the world are forced to reinvent themselves amid concurrent, complex waves of a changing geopolitical landscape, Singapore offers a social laboratory for observing potential shifts.

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A farmer tills a plot of land using a hand-held tractor on Nov. 6, 2024, in Lumajang, East Java.

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Family farmers must be more prosperous

Nearly half of Indonesia’s poor are farmers or those who work in agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries.

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The Indonesian Air Force' pilots and technicians pose in front of Indonesia's first Dassault Rafale B jet fighter at the Dassault production line in Merignac, near Bordeaux, France, in this undated picture released on Aug. 11. As many as four pilots and 12 technicians are taking courses in France on how to operate and maintain Rafale jet fighters.

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The hefty price of low-cost defense systems

While cost-effectiveness and price tags are essential indicators, the procurement of arms must always include performance, strategic effect and sustainability as key metrics when assessing new equipment or platforms.

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This photo taken on June 14, 2023, shows university graduates and youths attending a job fair in Yibin, in China's southwestern Sichuan province.

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The vicious cycle of China’s demographics

The root problem is the relatively small number of jobs in China that provide a comfortable middle-class lifestyle, and the large number of workers vying for them

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This undated handout photo shows two bulldozers and logs of various varieties and sizes seized by investigators with the Environment and Forestry Ministry's law enforcement division in an alleged illegal logging case in Sabuai village, Eastern Seram regency, Maluku.

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Genes and nation: Is Bhinneka Tunggal Ika becoming historical window-dressing?

If different ethnic groups in Indonesia have unique ancestries and histories, then policies that assume everyone is the same culturally, linguistically or medically are either tone-deaf and harmful.

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The SeaShark 800 sea drone, developed by Thunder Tiger company, demonstrates its capabilities on June 17 during an event held by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), at Suao Harbour, in Yilan, Taiwan.

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Defense tech revolution redefines future battlefield

Unmanned systems and the AI that increasingly operates them are redefining a defense sector more often known for huge delays and cost overruns.

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From trinity to today: Turning the page on nuclear testing

A return to nuclear testing would almost certainly spark a dangerous arms race, one that undermines the purposes for which the UN was founded.

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Attendants at a gas station owned by state-owned energy holding company Pertamina serve customers in Semarang, Central Java, on Feb. 27, 2025.

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The geopolitical realities of renewable energy

Recent global events have exposed the fragile balance between energy security and sustainability.

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Deputy Manpower Minister and graft suspect Immanuel Ebenezer (second right) walks to a prisoner transfer van on Aug. 22 at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) headquarters in Jakarta.

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'Serakahnomics' in action and corruption arrest politics

Noel's removal suggests a dual message: a warning to Prabowo’s own political circle, and a distancing move from his predecessor’s lingering influence.

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United States President Donald Trump looks on during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (not pictured) on July 28, 2025, at the Trump Turnberry golf resort in Scotland.

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Lies, damned lies and Trump's statistics

Data is foundational to good governance, but when the reliability of official figures comes under doubt, it has far-reaching consequences for economies and democracies across the world.

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Robotic arms made by Taiwanese company FANUC Corporation are displayed on Aug. 20 during the Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robot Show 2025 in Taipei.

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AI will replace most humans, but then what?

As robotics and artificial intelligence technology races ahead, it appears that human workers will be inevitably left not just behind, but also without jobs.

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Peru's President Dina Boluarte (left) and President Prabowo Subianto shake hands on Aug. 11 during a joint press conference following their meeting at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.

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Indonesia-Peru CEPA: Charting a new path across the Pacific

For Indonesia, Peru offers an important gateway to the Latin American market, particularly for tropical commodities such as coffee, spices and seafood.

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Children from diaspora families living in Pakistan perform on Aug. 17, 2025, during an event in Islamabad to mark Indonesia’s 80th Independence Day.

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The Indonesian diaspora and the question of nationalism

Whether among the diaspora or at home, nationalism is essentially a sense of belonging and ownership defined, in part, by shared ideals and values as well as a freedom to express individual conscience on the path to an Indonesia that is just, strong, sustainable and prosperous.

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Elevating ASEAN’s role in peace and prosperity

The ASEAN secretary-general needs to be vested with the capacity of a chief executive officer, allowing him or her to play a more strategic but tactical role in resolving regional issues.

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Sense of security: A man looks out from a shop as an armed police officer stands guard following a blast at a district police station, which suspectedly was a suicide bombing, in Bandung, on Dec. 7, 2022.

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AI and the evolution of terrorism tactics

With the help of chatbots or fabricated online personas, AI can generate personalized messages and simulate human interaction to influence and radicalize vulnerable individuals.

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Participants of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit pose for a photo on Sept. 16, 2022, before an extended-format meeting of heads of SCO member states in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

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Can the SCO reinvigorate multilateral trade amid tariff tensions?

The SCO is not simply giving a voice to the developing world—it is fast becoming a pivot point in the reorganization of global trade geography.

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Attendants take a selfie on Aug. 17 ahead of the annual flag-hoisting ceremony to commemorate the 80th Independence Day at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.

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Indonesia at 80: Getting China right in the rest of 2025

For Indonesia, the question now is not whether to engage with the world, but how to do so on its own terms.

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The smelter facility of PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI) in North Morowali, Central Sulawesi.

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Nickel downstreaming in Sulawesi, Indonesia’s fault lines

The recent earthquake in Poso should be read less as an isolated natural hazard than a stress test of the country’s current industrial model.

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People walk past a #COP29 sign on Nov. 21 during the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in the Azerbaijani capital Baku.

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The Global South must claim the climate mantle at COP30

As the West recedes in climate governance, it has left an opening for the Global South to step up its already growing efforts to take the lead, ensuring that the global agenda reflects its needs and priorities while holding the world accountable in protecting our planet.

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A seller promotes her product on Dec. 11, 2023, through a live streaming platform at Tanah Abang Market in Central Jakarta.

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Tightening digital tax rules in sweeping VAT overhaul

More than a bureaucratic adjustment, this overhaul signals a strategic realignment of Indonesia’s economic policy in the digital age.

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A technician walks on March 26, 2024, between solar panels that partially provide electrical power to the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta.

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How Muslims are powering environmental action across the world

In a time of mounting ecological challenges, all sources of wisdom are vital – including Islamic teachings that offer guidance for living in harmony with nature.

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