Last month, Mr Widodo chose conservative Muslim cleric Maruf Amin as his presidential running mate, ahead of an election that was shaping up to be fought on religious grounds. But, as the rupiah edges to lows not seen since the 1998 Indonesian currency collapse, which led to the fall of the Suharto regime, Widodo’s pick for vice president is now… Read more »
The Trump administration is considering sanctions against Chinese senior officials and companies to punish Beijing’s detention of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Uighurs and other minority Muslims in large internment camps, according to current and former American officials. The economic penalties would be one of the first times the Trump administration has taken action against China because of human rights violations…. Read more »
China holds one million Uighur Muslims in concentration camps The world’s next major human disaster is in the making in China. This time, we should act before it’s too late. by Khaled A Beydoun 12 hours ago Uighur Muslim worshipers attend an early afternoon prayer session at the Kashgar Idgah mosque in Xinjiang province. Photo taken August 5, 2008 [Nir… Read more »
Indonesia’s presidential election next year will be a rematch of the contentious 2014 contest, and analysts fear it will see a return of the smear campaigns and appeals to sectarian intolerance that marred that vote. On Friday, President Joko Widodo and his 2014 opponent, the former army general Prabowo Subianto, both filed paperwork declaring their intent to run in the… Read more »
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – A Singapore court ordered the return to Malaysia of about S$15.3 million ($11.1 million), just a small portion of total seized in the city state as part of a probe into transactions linked to scandal-hit state fund 1MDB, lawyers for the fund and the Malaysian government said on Monday. Singapore is among at least six countries… Read more »
MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has offered to send troops to Jordan to help combat Islamist militants, after agreeing to deepen military cooperation with the Middle Eastern nation to fight extremism. Both countries have been battling Islamic State’s influence, with Jordan playing a key role in an international coalition, and the Philippines on alert after a five-month occupation… Read more »
The Perils of Journalism in Myanmar The jailing of Reuters’ Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo dampens the promise of media reform in Aung San Suu Kyi’s Myanmar. 09 Sep 2018 12:31 GMT Media, Myanmar, Rohingya, Human Rights, Asia Pacific Press freedom in Myanmar took a hard hit last week with the sentencing of two Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who had been investigating a massacre… Read more »
Myanmar leader Suu Kyi defends journalists’ imprisonment Imprisonment not linked to freedom of press as reporters broke Official Secrets Act, says Nobel Peace Prize winner. 10 hours ago The journalists’ imprisonment has prompted support, including a call for their release by US Vice President Pence [Vincent Yu/AP] MORE ON MYANMAR Myanmar leader Suu Kyi defends journalists’ imprisonmenttoday Cambodia’s Hun Sen tells… Read more »
(Reuters) – Indonesian and South Korean companies agreed to pursue $6.2 billion worth of deals at a bilateral business forum in Seoul attended by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, authorities in Jakarta announced on Tuesday. Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) said in a statement that 15 memorandums of understanding (MOU) and six investment commitments were signed on Monday, including some announced… Read more »
The United States and China escalated their acrimonious trade war on Thursday, implementing punitive 25 percent tariffs on $16 billion worth of each other’s goods. The latest round brings to $50 billion the value of imports subjected to tariffs on either side since early July, and more are in the pipeline, adding to risks for global economic growth. China‘s Commerce… Read more »