In The News

Massive Floods: Jakarta Post

Kharishar Kahfi January 3, 2020
Jakarta, home for more than 9 million people, is prone to flooding with two-fifths of the city under sea level. The city with 13 rivers is increasingly swampy and rapidly sinking. Extreme rainfall with the start of 2020 is described as the worst in a decade, causing severe flooding. Indonesia’s weather agency, BMKG, suggested more than 370 millimeters, or about 15 inches, of rain fell in a...

US Kills Iranian Commander: Washington Post

Louisa Loveluck January 3, 2020
The United States used a drone to kill a group of Iranian commanders in Baghdad, including Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, a powerful and popular leader of the elite Qud Force. “After a week in which frictions between the two countries had sparked a siege of Baghdad's U.S. Embassy by supporters of an Iranian-backed militia, Thursday's airstrike appeared to be aimed at crippling a force that...

Indifference to Muslim Woes: Financial Times

Edward Luce January 2, 2020
The world’s western leaders would express outrage if China detailed a million Christians or if India pointedly excluded refugees who identify as Christians. About 1.8 billion people, a quarter of the world’s population, are Muslim. “By downplaying much larger-scale violations against Muslims, [western leaders] jeopardise what remains of the west’s human rights credibility,” argues Edward Luce for...

Young Urge Climate Action: Sydney Morning Herald

Alexandra Smith January 2, 2020
Fire conditions in Australia are horrific, and the rest of the world questions a strategy that relies on a largely volunteer firefighting force and poor examples of leadership, allowing a massive fireworks display to welcome the New Year. More than 12 million acres have burned. Tens of thousands have evacuated, hundreds of homes destroyed, and roads are closed with infrastructure under threat....

US Embassy in Iraq as Target of Anger: NPR

Larry Kaplow January 1, 2020
Supporters of an Iraqi militia surrounded the US Embassy in Baghdad and breached a gatehouse. The United States held off the group with teargas and blames neighboring Iran for the unrest. After a rocket attack killed a US contractor, the United States responded with airstrikes on five compounds in Syria and Iraq held by the Kataib Hezbollah militia, reports Larry Kaplow for NPR. “U.S. officials...

Norms for Cyberspace Stability: Project Syndicate

Joseph S. Nye Jr. December 30, 2019
The internet is vital communications infrastructure. The Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace with experts from 16 nations met over three years to consider security challenges, rules and norms for information technology. The aim: encourage safe, secure use of cyber services, manage change in peaceful and organized ways, resolve disputes and reduce tensions while relying on...

Indonesia, EU and Palm Oil: Jakarta Post

Made Anthony Iswara December 29, 2019
The European Union labeles some palm oil as unsustainable, responsible for high rates of deforestation. Indonesia has filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization over EU renewable energy policy. The European Union plans to phase out use of biofuels by 2030, and Indonesia officials express concern that EU policy could “tarnish the image of palm oil products in global trade.” The EU insists...