Since the Coronavirus outbreak began in earnest early last month, Indonesia has spent Rp 777.59 billion, or $50 million, on imported medical supplies. More imports are now being planned as the number of cases continues to grow. The outbreak-related imports are dominated by face masks, which have totaled 17.1 million units, the director-general of Customs and Excise, Heru Pambudi, said …

Following the central government imposes a ban against homecoming traveling, or called “mudik”, state-owned railway operator PT KAI overseeing the operation area 1 in Jakarta will stop all departures and arrivals in both of their long-distance and local trains. It will be starting on Friday, April 24, in an attempt to break the coronavirus chain. “The long-distance train services that …

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered massive layoffs globally, hammering industries, particularly in the tourism sector, and forcing closures of schools, hotels, restaurants, amusement centers, and factories, and people to stay home. No exception, Indonesia has also been affected,  where the government has projected unemployment in Indonesia to rise by five million in the face of the economic pressure …

In effort to handle impact due to coronavirus, the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) announced that it is currently offering public mental health consultations. This program will be launched to help people overcome the uncertain developments amidst the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It considers as crucial as physical health services, especially in the midst of daily activities confined in the house due …

For the past three months since Covid19 started outbreaking in Thailand, the Prayut Chan-o-cha administration has adjusted its handling of the pandemic. For the first 58 days, Gen Prayut continued to behave like a busboy in a local restaurant, trying to do everything from welcoming guests to serving food and cleaning tables. In a major shift of his leadership style, …

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has finally decided and officially barred – after much criticism – all citizens from traveling to their hometowns or mudik during the Eid al-Fitr celebrations in a bid to curb the COVID-19 outbreak which has recorded 6,760 positive cases in Indonesia “At today’s meeting, I decided that the ban will be applied on the ‘mudik’ (Eid …

Covid-19 pandemic has affected to almost all aspects of the lives of the Indonesia’s population. One of them is crimes, especially after the Justice and Human Rights Ministry released more than 38,000 prisoners this month to prevent the virus outbreaks inside Indonesia’s overcrowded jails. Therefore, the National Police will carry out more street patrols and raids in anticipation of rising …

PETALING JAYA – Deputy Rural Development Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Mohamad said photographs being circulated on the internet of a gathering with him holding a cake while being surrounded by a group of people was unplanned and not meant to violate the movement control order (MCO). Abdul Rahman claimed was not planned and he would’ve been rude to turn them …

The Thai Trade Centre (TTC) in Hong Kong said the price of Thai jasmine rice in the city has risen after people began hoarding supplies, while the import of Thai rice to Hong Kong rose by 2 to 3 tonnes in the first quarter of the year. Chanunpat Pisanapipong, executive director of TTC in Hong Kong, said the pandemic and …

We are living in an era in which intersecting problems are being lifted to a global scale, with unprecedented levels of inequality, environmental destruction and climate destabilization, as well as new spikes in populism, conflict, economic insecurity and increasing threats to public health. Both of these are crises that slowly tip the balance, question our business-as-usual economic paradigm of the …