World News by Wild Rose

Dressed in his trademark white shirt and traditional Sundanese headcloth, West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi stood near the barren slopes of Mount Wayang. Announcing a new initiative to pay hundreds of local farmers to replant its forests and shield the region from flooding, he delivered a line perfectly pitched for the cameras tracking his every step. “I am a leader who does not want obedience caused by poverty,” he declared on September 26. “I want obedience caused by prosperity.” It is this...

Indonesia’s former top graft prosecutor went on trial Wednesday on charges of extortion and money laundering in a case that burst into public view after police raids in and around Jakarta in July uncovered millions of dollars in gold and cash.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto formed his first Presidential Advisory Council on Friday, bringing 26 people — including billionaires, retired generals and religious leaders — into his widening circle of aides nearly two years into office.

Indonesia’s new police chief faces a difficult task to balance growing public demands for accountability and independence as the force seeks to repair its image following a series of scandals in recent years. Even as Suyudi Ario Seto, 53, replaced Listyo Sigit Prabowo on Thursday, the government is weighing recommendations to reform the powerful institution, including changes to its work culture and limits on police officers holding public positions outside the force. In addition to appointing...

Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto replaced ⁠his foreign minister with a career diplomat on Thursday, in his second change to a top post in his cabinet in less than three weeks. Prabowo ‌in a cabinet reshuffle named as foreign minister, the ministry’s former permanent representative to the United Nations in New York, with the outgoing Sugiono appointed Human Development minister. The appointment of Nasir, who was Sugiono’s deputy, is expected ⁠to mark a shake-up at the ministry. It comes...

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr is weighing an absolute pardon for Mary Jane Veloso, a former death row inmate detained since her 2010 conviction for drug trafficking in Indonesia. “The Office of the President is seriously considering granting an absolute pardon to Mary Jane Veloso on humanitarian grounds in support of the government’s commitment to protecting Filipino migrant workers,” lawmaker Albert Garcia said on Wednesday, as quoted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “There will be...

Indonesia will form a new body to oversee land reform and settle related conflicts in a bid to address longstanding problems that have plagued plantations, mines, farmers and indigenous communities.

Indonesia’s bid for another term on the United Nations’ premier security body stands a good chance of success given Jakarta’s growing global engagement, analysts say, but its balancing act between competing powers could complicate efforts to speak for the Global South. Jakarta’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it would launch its campaign this week for a fifth term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2029–2030. The ministry said it was seeking the seat to...

A former Australian official’s use of a hypothetical “aggressive Indonesia” to make the case for Aukus at a public inquiry has been called “clumsy diplomacy” by analysts, who say the comments risk reviving old suspicions as Jakarta and Canberra try to strengthen security ties. Michael Pezzullo, a former deputy secretary of strategy in Australia’s defence department, made the remarks in testimony on September 2 to the Aukus Public Inquiry, an independent, crowdfunded review of the trilateral...

Japan’s proposed port upgrades in Indonesia’s Natuna Islands reflect Tokyo’s push to bolster South China Sea security without building an overt military footprint. However, analysts stress that the move does not mean Jakarta is siding with Japan in its efforts to contain Beijing. Japan, which earlier this year eased its restrictions on lethal weapons exports, is ramping up security cooperation with Indonesia – a crucial bellwether for Southeast Asia. The expanding partnership includes joint...