Page 9 - Indonesia

On southeast Asia trip, Japan's pragmatic new PM pushes Abe's vision

Japan's new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, left Sunday on his first overseas foray since taking over from his former boss Shinzo Abe last month, heading to Vietnam and Indonesia. The choice to visit Southeast Asia underscores Japan's efforts to counter Chinese influence and build stronger economic and defense ties in the region, much in line with Abe's vision of Free and Open Indo-Pacific" that he has pushed with Washington. ASEAN countries are our extremely important partners to achieving the 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' that Japan has been promoting, Suga told reporters before boarding his flight to Hanoi. As part of Indo-Pacific nations, Japan is committed to contribute to the region and I will clearly convey this to the people in and outside of our country." His trip also reflects pandemic realities. With the US tied up with the November 3 election, Suga was unable to head to Washington straight away for talks with Japan's most important ally after he replaced Abe, who resigned

Indonesia's state Islamic bank merger to form $15 billion mega entity

PT Bank Mandiri, PT Bank Negara Indonesia and PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia signed a conditional deal on Monday to combine their Shariah-compliant units

World Coronavirus Dispatch: Researchers working on inhaled vaccines

European leaders impose targeted curbs, Jakarta eases social distancing norms, why jokes at work make more sense than ever, and other pandemic-related news across the globe

Indonesia passes law to cut corporate tax, simplify labor rules

The bill's passage may help President Joko Widodo shore up an economy that's set to slip into another contraction this quarter

Indonesia: Authorities order people not wearing face masks to dig graves

Local authorities in East Java have come up with a unique punishment for people found violating norms to prevent the spread of Covid-19

From Asia to Africa, China promoting Covid-19 vaccine to rebuild vital ties

The ability to develop and deliver vaccines to poorer countries would also be a powerful signal of China's rise as a scientific leader in a new post-pandemic global order

As Indonesia coronavirus cases soar, medical workers bear the burden

Indonesia has seen by far the most fatalities among medical workers in the region, leading to concerns about the long-term impact on the nation's fragile healthcare system

6.2-magnitude earthquake jolts Indonesia, no casualties reported

An earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale jolted Indonesia on Tuesday, officials said, adding that there were no reports of any casualties or damages.

Earthquake of 6.7-magnitude strikes Indonesia; no tsunami trigered

An earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale struck Indonesia's North Sulawesi province, but did not trigger a tsunami, the country's meteorology and geophysics agency said

Almost 300 Rohingya found on beach in Indonesia's Aceh; evacuated by army

Almost 300 Rohingya Muslims were found on a beach in Indonesia's Aceh province on Monday and were evacuated by military, police and Red Cross volunteers, authorities said

Changes to Indonesia central bank law raise fears over independence

A panel of experts issued recommendations this week to revise the 1999 central bank Act to a Parliament panel.

Mutated coronavirus strain found in Indonesia as cases jump: Report

The strain, which the World Health Organization said was identified in February and has been circulating in Europe and the Americas, has also been found in neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia

Covid vaccine: Why public health interests may outweigh religious freedom

The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils also signalled its "profound concern" over the use of foetal tissue in vaccine development.

India to post strong GDP growth pick up in second half of 2020: Moody's

For 2021 year, Moody's has projected Indian economy to grow 6.9 per cent

Jefferies Financial reduces overweight stance on India and Indonesia

Interestingly, Jefferies now has a bigger OW on Pakistan. However, India's absolute weighting is still much higher. China currently is the biggest OW for Jefferies, followed by Taiwan

ByteDance censored anti-China content in Indonesia until mid-2020 -sources

BaBe said it disagreed with the claims and that it moderates content according to its community guidelines and in line with Indonesia's local laws

Sinovac launches Phase 3 trials for Covid-19 vaccine in Indonesia

Separately, Sinovac released details from mid-stage, or Phase 2, study in which it said the vaccine candidate appeared to be safe

Indonesia's economy contracts for the first time since 1999 in Q2

The economy had been expected to shrink 4.61%, according to a Reuters poll of economists, after growing by 2.97% year-on-year in the first quarter

'Invisible hands': How millions of domestic workers fare under Covid-19

Most domestic work is informal, leaving workers vulnerable, especially in times of crisis like Covid-19

World coronavirus dispatch: Fresh outbreak in Beijing gathering momentum

Hundreds of flights in and out of Beijing were cancelled on Wednesday as authorities stepped up measures to rein in a sudden outbreak of coronavirus in the Chinese capital