As reading enthusiasm rises, bookstores are turning into the city’s community-driven third spaces.

Iran's official IRNA news agency said 1,045 military personnel and civilians have been killed since the war began. The country is effectively cut off from the rest of the world, with the internet operating at around one percent of capacity.

The breakthrough tennis player, who has put Indonesia back on the women's pro circuit map, appears to be taking a grounded approach to her second year in WTA Tour, balancing experience and enjoyment as she builds her career, one tournament at a time.

Ships operated by state-owned energy firm Pertamina with a combined capacity of about 450,000 deadweight tonnes are stuck in ports as the US-Israeli war against Iran disrupts navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Transformation Partnerships for Indonesia’s Clean Energy Transition report was prepared by Synergy Policies and the Foreign Ministry’s Foreign Policy Strategy Agency over 11 months to examine how foreign policy could aid Indonesia’s shift to clean energy.

"The escalating crisis in the Middle East is significantly worsening the global economic and security environment," President Lee Jae Myung said.

Muslims in Bali can celebrate takbiran with restrictions as Nyepi, the Hindu Day of Silence, coincides on the same day, reflecting the island’s long-standing tradition of interfaith respect and harmony.

Countries have rushed to evacuate their citizens from the Middle East this week after US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and sparked a regional war.

Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez defiantly repeated calls of "no to the war" on Wednesday after the weekend US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered the regional conflict, in his latest policy clash with Trump.

Asia sources 60 percent of its oil from the Middle East, leaving the region vulnerable to the disruptions. Refiners in Indonesia and Japan are sourcing more oil from the US to replace the shortfall. India will consider buying more from Russia, sources at two companies have said.

Security analysts and regional military attaches are watching China's budget closely as it scrambles to modernise the military by 2035, while stepping up deployments across East Asia and purging the top brass to tackle graft.

The request, the day before the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, is the latest example of Washington's push for more access to the materials used widely in warfare.

Taken together, that makes GCC producers a core component of Western supply of a metal used across a wide spectrum of industries from automotive and construction to packaging.

Workers' associations have urged action to address the issue of “disguised employment” faced by some gig workers in Indonesia, while a government official says a dedicated bill to regulate the growing gig economy is underway.

While the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation remains a global gold standard for diplomacy, ASEAN must bridge the gap between its aspirational principles and the political will required to actually use them.

Asian equities jumped Thursday after a three-day rout sparked by the Middle East war, but concerns about an extended conflict helped oil extend gains, while analysts warned of more volatility ahead.

The more realistic question is whether Indonesia can help slow the climb, widening the space for restraint before escalation crosses a dangerous threshold.

Cross-border data flows raise the question whether the authority that sustains safety and soundness remains fully enforceable once the relevant information is placed in another jurisdiction. 

China set its economic growth target for 2026 at 4.5%-5%, a slight downgrade from the 5% pace achieved last year, which leaves room for greater, albeit not decisive, efforts to curb industrial overcapacity and rebalance the economy.

Off Sri Lanka, an Iranian ship that had been on a friendly visit to India was suddenly sunk by a US submarine, the first such torpedoing since World War II. The attack killed at least 87 people, Sri Lankan officials said, with 61 remaining missing. 

The relevant question is no longer whether Indonesia should have signed the ART. It is what Indonesia does with the leverage it still holds.

As global trade deals collide with Middle East volatility, Indonesia faces a "policy dilemma" where sacrificing short-term growth may be the only way to save long-term stability.

The import bribery case implicating three customs officials has entered a new phase with the discovery of several safe houses in Jakarta, where investigators found a stash of money amounting to billions of rupiah. The emergence of what appears to be a sophisticated bribery network not only further erodes institutional credibility but also raises a deeper question: Can corruption at the Customs Office truly be eradicated?

The quasi-opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has stepped up criticism of government programs and policy decisions, including questioning President Prabowo Subianto’s silence on the escalating Middle East crisis, signaling a shift toward a more assertive counterbalance in the absence of strong legislative opposition.

In a briefing with the country’s top political figures, President Prabowo called for ‘national elite solidarity’ against impacts of the United States-Israel war on Iran.

As the Middle East teeters on the verge of a wider conflict, Jakarta must move beyond intensive monitoring and honor its constitutional mandate to protect its citizens residing in the region.

Civil society and industry groups warn that the agreement on reciprocal trade (ART) could weaken local control over Indonesian data, erode publisher rights and tilt the digital economy further toward US tech giants.