Can Prabowo’s economic nationalism save Indonesia from potential MSCI downgrade?
In the wake of Indonesia’s worst stock-market rout since the 1998 Asian financial crisis, President Prabowo Subianto’s administration has turned to appeals to economic nationalism to shore up confidence, urging citizens to rally behind the country’s battered stock market. The government has promised reforms in response to warnings from global index provider MSCI that Indonesia could be downgraded from emerging-market to stand-alone-market status. But analysts say its patriotic appeals will do...
Indonesians turn to eco-art as haze sparks anger and diplomatic tension
As wildfires rage across Sumatra and Kalimantan, frustrated Indonesians are turning to performance art to call for greater government action and draw global attention to the destruction of both the country’s rainforests and rich cultural heritage. In South Sumatra, local art collective Jaga Api recently launched a project titled Tarian Kehancuran Budaya (the Dance of Cultural Destruction), using traditional performance to convey the human and environmental toll of the fires, as reported by The...
Safety of Australian women MPs in focus after man with nunchucks threatens staff
A man has been charged with threatening an Australian lawmaker’s staff with nunchucks, police said on Thursday, days after another legislator was critically injured when a man repeatedly hit her with a car. The incidents are heightening concerns about female politicians’ safety and raising concerns about security in a country where lawmakers are highly accessible to the public. Police say that a 56-year-old man entered Western Australian state government minister Hannah Beazley’s electorate...
Australia commits US$44 million to boost East Timor’s cyber, maritime security
Australia and East Timor signed a defence deal on Thursday to boost cyber and maritime security as Canberra seeks to curb China’s influence among its island neighbours. Australia is East Timor’s largest defence and security partner and the agreement will significantly increase defence exercises, Defence Minister Richard Marles told reporters. “This is a time to double down on friendship, to double down on family,” he said in East Timor’s capital Dili. Australia will provide A$62 million (US$44...
Censorship in Pakistan Goes From ‘Pleasant’ to ‘Unpleasant’
Authorities have directed satellite TV channels to refrain from broadcasting or providing live coverage of "unpleasant incidents," meaning shootings, blasts and terrorist attacks.
What Happened to Gwadar’s Rights Movement?
Haq Do Tehreek, the movement that once brought the world’s attention to Gwadar’s longstanding grievances, is a pale shadow of its former self.