JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Thousands of Indonesian and American troops began a two-week joint military exercise on Monday that Washington said aims to advance “regional cooperation in support of a free and open” Asia-Pacific region. The US and its Asian allies have expressed growing concern about China’s increasing assertiveness in the Pacific, but Washington said the drills were not aimed at any country even though they would be significantly larger than previous exercises. At least […]
Tag: Indonesia
Nine dead after ferry sinks in Indonesia
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — At least nine bodies have been found after a ferry sank off the coast of an Indonesian island due to bad weather, a search and rescue official said Thursday. The KM Cahaya Arafah capsized in waters off Indonesia’s Ternate island on Monday evening, prompting a search and rescue operation for 13 missing people. Rescuers found four bodies on Wednesday evening and five bodies on the fourth day of the search, the […]
Indonesian islanders sue cement giant Holcim over climate damage
ZURICH, Switzerland (AFP) — Residents of Pulau Pari, an Indonesian island threatened by rising sea levels, are suing cement giant Holcim over its carbon dioxide emissions, a Swiss charity said on Tuesday. “Holcim… bears a significant share of the responsibility for the climate crisis as well as for the situation on… Pari,” Yvan Maillard Ardenti, climate expert at Swiss Church Aid (HEKS), said on the charity’s website. The complaint was lodged on Monday with […]
Indonesia urges end to Ukraine war at G20 meeting with Russia
BALI, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia called Friday for an end to the war in Ukraine as it led a Group of 20 meeting attended by Russia’s foreign minister. “It is our responsibility to end the war sooner than later and settle our differences at the negotiating table, not the battlefield,” Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said at the opening of the meeting in Bali. She said that the world was just recovering from the Covid-19 […]
Indonesian president delivers Zelensky’s message to Putin
MOSCOW, June 30, 2022 (AFP) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in Moscow on Thursday he delivered a message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Putin hosted Widodo more than four months into Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, as Russia seeks to pivot toward Asia and Africa following the onset of unprecedented Western sanctions. Indonesia holds the rotating presidency of the G20 this year and is preparing to host a summit […]
Indonesian president to visit Kyiv, Moscow this month: minister
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesian President and G20 chair Joko Widodo will visit the leaders of Ukraine and Russia this month to discuss the economic and humanitarian fallout of Moscow’s invasion, his foreign minister said on Wednesday. The summit of the Group of 20 major economies — which will be held on the Indonesian island of Bali in November — has been shrouded in controversy thanks to Jakarta’s decision to invite Russia despite alleged war […]
Japanese fugitive wanted for Covid relief fraud held in Indonesia
Indonesian police have arrested a fugitive accused of masterminding a lucrative scheme in his native Japan to defraud a government fund offering Covid-19 relief subsidies, officials said Wednesday. Mitsuhiro Taniguchi, 47, was arrested in Lampung province in the south of Sumatra island late Tuesday and flown to the capital Jakarta, national police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo told journalists. The Japanese national and several associates are accused of submitting false applications to claim 960 million yen ($7.2 […]
New Australia PM, Indonesia president ride bikes as diplomatic wheels turn
Australia’s new prime minister and Indonesia’s president rode bamboo bicycles together on Monday as they held talks to boost ties, as Canberra embarks on a diplomatic charm offensive aimed at countering China’s growing assertiveness in the region. Anthony Albanese hailed relations with Indonesia and vowed to strengthen them on his first bilateral trip since being elected last month, heading to Southeast Asia’s biggest economy in what has become a traditional tour for new Australian premiers. […]
31 rescued, 11 still missing after Indonesia ferry sinks
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Thirty-one people have been rescued and 11 are still missing after a ferry ran out of fuel and sank in bad weather off the coast of Indonesia, an official said Monday. Local tugboats and fishermen brought many of the survivors ashore after the KM Ladang Pertiwi sank while sailing through the Makassar strait in South Sulawesi province on Thursday. “Until now 31 people have been rescued alive and we are […]
US unveils Asia-Pacific trade framework
https://youtu.be/9bx5onRYzx0 US President Joe Biden launched a new Asia-Pacific trade initiative Monday in Tokyo, with 13 countries including India and Japan signed up. Biden formally unveiled the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, or IPEF, on his second day in Japan, where he held talks with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ahead of a regional Quad summit on Tuesday. Unlike traditional trade blocs, there is no plan for IPEF members to negotiate tariffs and ease market […]
Indonesia to lift ban on palm oil exports from Monday, relieving pressure on global vegetable oil market
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia will lift its ban on palm oil exports next week, President Joko Widodo said Thursday, relieving pressure on the global vegetable oil market after prices spiked because of the suspension and the war in Ukraine. The archipelago nation issued the ban last month to secure supplies of the commodity, used in a range of goods from chocolate spreads to cosmetics, in the face of a domestic shortage. “Based on […]
Mystery liver disease kills three children in Indonesia
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Three children in Indonesia have died from a mysterious liver disease, the country’s health ministry said, raising to at least four the global death toll of a fatal ailment puzzling doctors from the US to Asia. This severe strain of acute hepatitis has been identified in nearly 230 children in 20 countries, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, raising concerns of the disease’s “unknown origin”. The symptoms afflicting the children […]





