The top US and Chinese economic officials held "candid" talks on Thursday ahead of a meeting set for May between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping, with both sides raising complaints about the other's trade policies, the US Treasury and Chinese state media said.

Under a 2020 regulation, all electronic system providers (PSEs) must register in Indonesia for what the government called legal and user protection purposes before making their services available.

Brussels has blacklisted the Karimun oil terminal over its alleged use in Russian oil shipments but says EU sanctions create no obligations for non-EU entities operating outside the Union. 

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell closed out eight years as head of the US central bank on Wednesday with interest rates on hold, rising concern about inflation, and an announcement that he would stay on as a Fed governor for now to defend the agency's independence from Trump administration "battering."

Political analysts and regional experts said the move to leave the groups of oil-producing nations, announced on Tuesday, was more than just a dispute over OPEC oil output quotas that Gulf sources say Abu Dhabi sees as tilted against the UAE.

Brent oil futures soared another 7.6 percent to US$119.69, the highest price since the early days of the Ukraine war in 2022.

Protesters are set to demand an end to outsourcing and low wages, arguing that current employment practices leave workers in prolonged contractual uncertainty. President Prabowo Subianto is set to attend Jakarta's main Labor Day commemoration on Friday.

Transportation experts said the EV taxi stalling on the level crossing, which triggered the subsequent tragic events, may have been caused by various factors, including human error or activation of the vehicle’s safety system.  

Among the key downstream projects launched on Wednesday is the development of gasoline refinery facilities in Cilacap, Central Java, and Dumai, Riau, each with a processing capacity of 62,000 barrels per day (bpd).

The state-owned railway operator and state-owned electricity company are slated to begin work in May on a nationwide project to expand railway electrification, with routes extending from Jakarta to nearby Banten and West Java.  

The government has been scrambling since earlier this month to secure supplies of naphtha, a raw material used to produce plastic, from alternative sources such as African countries, India and the United States.

EU countries and European Parliament lawmakers failed to reach a deal on watered-down landmark artificial intelligence rules after 12 hours of negotiations on Tuesday and will resume talks next month.

With over 43 million merchants connected to the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) payment system as of January, digitalization now defines the identity of today's tech-savvy market traders, moving beyond large corporations.

Unwieldy terrain, unresolved land acquisition and operational limitations of village cooperatives threaten to slow down Indonesia's push to develop 100 gigawatts of solar power capacity in remote regions.

Euro zone bond yields hit multi-week highs on Tuesday after a survey showed euro zone consumers expecting higher inflation, prompting markets to raise the likelihood of a hike in interest rates by the European Central Bank in the coming months.

The company's key areas of focus in Indonesia include energy, resources, water and environment. 

The index has fallen 18.21 percent from its position at the start of the year, when the market closed on Tuesday, marking the steepest decline among Asian bourses.  

State logistics agency Perum Bulog has warned of limited availability of subsidized cooking oil Minyakita in several regions, citing a lack of fresh supply from producers as a key constraint in getting the product to traditional markets.    

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said tech giants Meta, Google and TikTok would be given a chance to strike content deals with local news publishers.

Compressed natural gas (CNG) feedstock, mainly methane and ethane, is more readily available domestically, potentially reducing reliance on costly imported fuels. 

Around Rp 1 trillion is set to be allocated this year for the national internship program, as the government aims to widen its reach.

Oil prices edged up and stocks wavered Tuesday as Donald Trump weighed an Iranian proposal that would reportedly re-open the Strait of Hormuz and end the eight-week-old war.

A proposal to impose a surface water tax (PAP) on oil palms at Rp 1,700 (10 US cents) per tree per month has sparked fierce opposition from smallholder farmers in Riau.

Up to 80 percent of Toba Pulp Lestari’s workforce of more than a thousand employees may be affected after the government revoked its forest concession permit over environmental violations.

The government believes it can push gross domestic product growth beyond the typical 5 percent rate in the second quarter despite unfavorable external conditions.

The EU unveiled in March new "Made in Europe" rules for companies trying to access public funds in strategic sectors including cars, green tech and steel, obliging firms to meet minimum thresholds for EU-made parts.

Bluebird CEO Adrianto Djokosoentono spoke to The Jakarta Post’s Ni Made Tasyarani about how the company is navigating headwinds over rising fuel costs while trying to preserve customers’ purchasing power.