JOKO WIDODO

President Joe Biden has announced five nominees to federal judgeships, including the first Muslim-American on any circuit court.

A new international report says the world is off track in its efforts to curb global warming in 41 of 42 important measurements and is even heading in the wrong direction in six crucial ways.

President Joe Biden and Indonesian President Joko Widodo have formalized closer ties between their countries at the White House.

An ethics council dismissed the chief justice of Indonesia’s top court from the post after finding him guilty of making last-minute changes to election candidacy requirements.

Indonesian soccer federation leader Erick Thohir says it now supports Saudi Arabia's bid to host the 2034 World Cup.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has inaugurated Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway, which begins its commercial operations on Monday, a key project under China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative that will drastically cut the travel time between two key cities.

Demand for critical minerals like nickel and cobalt is surging as climate change hastens a transition to renewable energy, boosting carbon emissions by miners and processors of such materials.

Chinese-owned app TikTok says it regrets the Indonesian government’s decision to ban e-commerce transactions on social media platforms and particularly the impact it would have on the millions of sellers who use TikTok Shop.

Myanmar won’t take over the rotating leadership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as scheduled in 2026, in the latest blow to efforts by its ruling generals to gain international recognition after violently seizing power in 2021.

Indonesia will welcome the leaders of fellow Asian countries with a captivating jungle scene of a two-story waterfall, chirping birds, wild orchids and even an orangutan in a tree.

Southeast Asian leaders led by Indonesian host President Joko Widodo are gathering in their final summit this year.

The White House says President Joe Biden will attend next month’s Group of 20 summit in New Delhi, India.

Indonesian authorities are blaming the dry season and and motorized vehicles as the main causes of air pollution in Jakarta, after a Swiss air quality technology company named the city as the most polluted in the world.

Years after groups call for shutdown of brutal Indonesian animal markets where dogs and cats are bludgeoned by thousands and blow-torched alive, their campaigns are beginning to pay off.

Leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy democracies are sitting down with a carefully chosen set of counterparts from other countries during their summit in Japan in an effort to expand the G7’s sway and to include voices from the so-called Global South.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has somberly acknowledged to fellow Southeast Asian leaders that no progress has been made to end the civil strife gripping Myanmar.

Southeast Asian leaders are condemning an armed attack on an aid convoy that the regional group arranged for displaced people in Myanmar.

Alarm over Myanmar’s deadly civil strife and China’s aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea will be under the spotlight this week when Southeast Asian leaders meet in Indonesia.

Southeast Asian leaders are meeting at a picturesque tourist destination with sun-splashed tropical islands to tackle regional crises.

An Indonesian court has acquitted two police officials charged with negligence leading to the deaths of 135 people in October when police fired tear gas inside a stadium, setting off a panicked run for the exits.

An Indonesian court has jailed a soccer club organizer and its chief of security on charges of negligence leading to the deaths of 135 people when police fired tear gas in a stadium, setting off a panicked run for the exits.

Indonesian government authorities unveiled the site of the country’s new capital this week, showing a preview of what progress has been made on the city’s construction.

Orange-red ground has been broken in the jungle of East Borneo, where the Indonesian government has begun construction of its new capital city.

Indonesian rescuers and firefighters are searching for three people who are still missing after a large fire spread from a fuel depot and killed at least 19 people.

Indonesian police have fired tear gas outside a soccer stadium to disperse fans who were trying to force their way into a match in Central Java province, months after the use of tear gas in another stadium caused one of the world’s worst sporting disasters.

An Indonesian court has begun the trial of five men charged with criminal negligence over the crowd surge at a soccer match that caused the deaths of 135 people.

Indonesia’s Parliament unanimously voted on Tuesday to ban sex outside of marriage and insulting the president and state institutions.

On the fourth day of an increasingly urgent search, Indonesian rescuers are narrowing their focus to a landslide where dozens are believed trapped after an earthquake killed at least 272 people.

Searchers in Indonesia have rescued a 6-year-old boy who was trapped for two days under the rubble of his house, which collapsed in an earthquake that killed at least 271 people.

The Hong Kong government says leader John Lee tested positive for the coronavirus after returning from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in Thailand.

China and India, after months of refusing to condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine, did not stand in the way of the release of a statement by the world’s leading economies that harshly criticized Moscow.

Indonesia has signed deals with international lenders and major economies that will bring billions of dollars in funding to help the country increase its use of renewable energy.

Leaders of the world's largest economies appear ready to send a strong message to Russia condemning its invasion of Ukraine.

President Joe Biden and other leaders of the Group of 20 top economies will have the chance to discuss the world’s most pressing problems at their summit in Bali, Indonesia.

Indonesia’s president is vowing not to let Southeast Asia become the front lines of a new Cold War amid increasing tensions between the United States and China.

A showdown between Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin isn’t happening, but the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and growing tensions between China and the West will be at the fore when leaders of the world’s biggest economies gather in tropical Bali this week.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is leaving his country’s COVID-19 bubble and venturing abroad next week into a dramatically changed world marked by rising confrontation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia next week, avoiding a possible confrontation with the United States and its allies over his war in Ukraine.

More than 400 people died in October in a series of crowd-related disasters in Asia.

The president of soccer’s world governing body has met with Indonesia’s president and pledged to help improve stadium safety to prevent a repeat of a tragedy in which police fired tear gas at a match, causing a crush that killed 132 people.

Indonesia’s leader has launched the country’s first home-grown COVID-19 shot.

Indonesia is preparing to start Southeast Asia’s first high-speed rail service that will cut travel time between two cities from the current three hours to about 40 minutes.

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo says the country won't face sanctions from soccer’s world governing body after the firing of tear gas inside a half-locked stadium caused a deadly crush.

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo says locked gates had contributed to the crush at the soccer stadium that left 131 dead and over 400 injured when police fired tear gas and set off a panicked run for the exits.

An Indonesian police chief and nine elite officers have been removed from their posts and 18 others are being investigated for responsibility in the firing of tear gas inside a soccer stadium that set off a stampede, killing at least 125 people.

Gaining the right to host next year’s Under-20 World Cup was a major milestone in Indonesia’s soccer development that raised hopes of a turnaround to long-standing problems that have blighted the sport in this country of 277 million people.

Violence, tear gas and a deadly crush that erupted following a domestic league soccer match Saturday night marked another tragedy in Indonesian football.

Fuel prices have increased by about 30% across Indonesia after the government reduced some of the costly subsidies that have kept inflation in Southeast Asia’s largest economy among the world’s lowest.

Deeply divided top diplomats from the world's richest and largest developing nations have failed to find common ground over Russia's war in Ukraine and its global impacts.

Foreign ministers from the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations are gathering in Indonesia’s resort island of Bali for talks bound to be dominated by the conflict in Ukraine despite an agenda focused on global cooperation and food and energy security.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is looking to move beyond regional issues.

Indonesia is lifting a monthlong ban on palm oil export, citing improvements in the supply and domestic price of bulk cooking oil.

Millions of Muslims in Indonesia have returned to celebrate Eid al-Fitr in full swing Monday after two years of subdued festivities due to pandemic restrictions and travel curbs.

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo has denied that his administration is attempting to delay the 2024 presidential elections after senior politicians including his close ally supported the idea of extending his stay in office beyond the two-term legal mandate.

An Indonesian appeals court has sentenced an Islamic boarding school principal to death for raping at least 13 students over five years and impregnating some of them.

Finance leaders of the world's biggest economies have called for a cautious and well coordinated approach to navigating recoveries from the pandemic.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo told financial leaders of the Group of 20 industrial economies that countries must avoid tensions and cooperate to support a recovery from the pandemic.

Indonesia is bracing for a third wave of COVID-19 infections as the highly transmissible omicron variant drives a surge in new cases.

Jakarta is congested, polluted, prone to earthquakes and rapidly sinking into the Java Sea.

Indonesia’s leader says the country holding the presidency of the Group of 20 biggest economies wants to strengthen global partnership to aid the economic recovery from COVID-19.

Indonesia has kicked off a COVID-19 booster campaign for the general public, prioritizing third shots for the elderly and people with compromised immune systems.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s visit to Myanmar to revive peace efforts after last year’s military takeover is provoking an angry backlash among critics, who say he is legitimizing the army’s seizure of power.

Indonesian authorities have raised the alert level for the highest volcano on Java island, saying Mount Semeru could blow up again after a sudden eruption earlier this month left 48 people dead and 36 missing in villages that were buried in layers of mud.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Indonesia to find a top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin already in Jakarta for security talks.

Rescuers are sifting through smoldering debris and thick mud in search of survivors a day after the highest volcano on Java island erupted with fury, killing at least 14 people with searing gas and ash.

President Joe Biden is taking a markedly more humble tone for a U.S. leader on climate change.

Indonesians are looking ahead warily toward the holiday travel season, anxious for crucial tourist spending but worried an influx of visitors could spread the coronavirus just as its pandemic situation seems to be subsiding.

The Indonesian resort island of Bali has reopened for international travelers to visit its shops and white-sand beaches after more than a year.

An Indonesian court has ruled that President Joko Widodo and six top officials have neglected citizens’ rights to clean air and has ordered them to improve the poor air quality in the capital.

Indonesia’s president has pledged to improve COVID-19 testing and treatment in an address marking the country’s independence.

Muslims across Indonesia are marking a grim Eid al-Adha festival for a second year as the country struggles to cope with a devastating new wave of coronavirus cases and the government has banned large gatherings and toughened travel restrictions.

After a slow vaccination rollout, Indonesia is now racing to inoculate as many people as possible as it battles an explosion of cases that have strained hospitals.

Thousands of Indonesians have lined up at a sports stadium to receive a COVID-19 vaccine dose in a one-day, mass vaccination event that’s part of a push to dramatically scale up the nation’s virus fight as hospitals fill with sick patients.

Muslims are celebrating Eid al-Fitr in a subdued mood for a second year as the COVID-19 pandemic again forces mosque closings and family separations on the holiday marking the end of Ramadan.

Workers in Indonesia have marked international labor day with significantly less attended marches due to coronavirus restrictions but thousands still vented their anger at a new law they say harms their rights and welfare.

Indonesia’s military has declared its missing submarine sunk and cracked open after finding items from the vessel over the past two days.

Southeast Asian leaders have demanded an immediate end to killings and the release of political detainees in Myanmar during an emergency summit in Jakarta with its top general and coup leader.

The oxygen supply for the 53 crew members of an Indonesian submarine missing in waters off Bali is believed to have run out early Saturday with no sign of the vessel.

Indonesian navy ships are searching for a submarine that likely sank too deep to retrieve, making survival chances for the 53 people on board slim.

The Twitter account of Britain’s royal family has featured a tribute Queen Elizabeth II gave to Prince Philip for the couple’s 50th wedding anniversary.

The death toll from mudslides in eastern Indonesia has risen to 140 with dozens still missing as rain continues to pound the region and hamper the search.

Police officers inspect the area near a church where an explosion went off in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Sunday, March 28, 2021. A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a packed Roman Catholic cathedral on Indonesia's Sulawesi island during a Palm Sunday Mass, wounding a number of people, police said. Police later said both attackers were killed instantly and evidence collected at the scene indicated one of the two was a woman. Indonesia has been battling militants since bombings on the resort island of Bali in 2002 killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. Indonesia has been on high alert since police in December arrested Jemaah Islamiyah leader Aris Sumarsono, also known as Zulkarnaen.

State railway employee load belongings after being evicted from their homes Saturday, March 20, 2021, in Mandalay, Myanmar. State railway workers in Mandalay have been threatened with eviction to force them to end their support for the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) against military rule. AdNumerous reports on social media, including videos, have shown security forces vandalizing cars parked on the street. It said security forces have reportedly occupied more than 60 schools and university campuses in 13 states and regions. Ad“Schools must be not used by security forces under any circumstances," it declared.

Police and military forces occupy a road block barricade in Yangon, Myanmar, Friday, March 19, 2021. “People are really looking for concerted international action in terms of sanctions. Getting Security Council approval for U.N. sanctions or peacekeepers will be an uphill struggle. That’s because it will require support or an abstention from China, a veto-wielding council member that calls itself a friend of Myanmar and has a policy opposing sanctions. Ad"The protests and the violence haven’t really spread in Rakhine as they have in the rest of the country," Kirkwood said.

(AP Photo)YANGON – Two more journalists were detained in Myanmar on Friday, part of the junta’s intensifying efforts to choke off information about resistance to last month’s coup. The journalists were covering legal proceedings against Win Htein, a detained senior official from the National League for Democracy, the party that ran the country before the takeover. AdAbout 40 journalists have been arrested since the Feb. 1 coup, with roughly half still in detention, including Thein Zaw of The Associated Press. “Indonesia urges that the use of violence in Myanmar be stopped immediately to avoid more victims. “Indonesia also urges dialogue and reconciliation to be carried out immediately to restore democracy, peace and stability in Myanmar."

Supporters give roses to police while four arrested activists make a court appearance in Mandalay, Myanmar, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (AP Photo)CAMEROON – Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pledged Friday that the United Nations will do everything it can to unite the international community and create conditions for the military coup in Myanmar to be reversed. It detained Suu Kyi, whose party swept that vote, and other lawmakers, activists, journalists and members of civil society. “Indonesia and Malaysia take the political situation in Myanmar seriously,” Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said after meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Jakarta. Guterres said the U.N. is also in contact with the 15-member Security Council, which is in charge of international peace and security.

Indonesia and Malaysia are the world’s largest exporters of palm oil, which plays an important role in their economic recovery. After meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, Indonesian President Joko Widodo told a joint news conference that Indonesia is fighting against palm oil discrimination. Ad“We are concerned over the current anti-palm oil campaign, especially in Europe, Australia and Oceanea,” Muhyiddin said. There are over 2.7 million palm oil smallholders in Indonesia and 600,000 in Malaysia. The Associated Press’ investigation reports late last year revealed that many palm oil companies in Indonesia and Malaysia exploit children in their plantations.

(AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)SEOUL – South Korea has reported 599 new coronavirus cases, the highest in 10 days, as health workers scramble to slow infections at religious facilities, which have been a major source throughout the pandemic. — Indonesian President Joko Widodo received the second dose of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday, two weeks after the first injection. — India has vaccinated 2 million health workers in less than two weeks and recorded 12,689 new cases. Myanmar health authorities on Tuesday announced 411 new coronavirus cases, bringing the confirmed total to 138,368. It has recorded 532,916 coronavirus cases, including 8,055 deaths.

(AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)JAKARTA – Indonesia’s confirmed coronavirus infections since the pandemic began crossed 1 million on Tuesday and hospitals in some hard-hit areas were near capacity. Indonesia’s Health Ministry announced that new daily infections rose by 13,094 on Tuesday to bring the country’s total to 1,012,350, the most in Southeast Asia. The total number of deaths reached 28,468. Jakarta continues to be hardest hit city in Indonesia, confirming more than 254,000 cases as of Tuesday, including 4,077 deaths. Health Ministry data showed hospital capacity nationwide was at about 70%.

In this photo released by the Indonesian Presidential Palace, President Joko Widodo, center, talks to an official as he inspects an earthquake-damaged government building, in Mamuju, West Sulawesi, Indonesia, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. Widodo visited the areas where a deadly earthquake left thousands of people homeless in an effort to reassure them the government's response is reaching those struggling after the quake. (Indonesian Presidential Palace via AP)MAMUJU – Relief workers struggled Tuesday to clear the rubble of collapsed buildings on an Indonesian island where a strong earthquake killed at least 90 people and left thousands homeless. Disaster Task Force Commander Firman Dahlan said at least 12,900 people are in shelters in Mamuju and the neighboring district of Majene in West Sulawesi. The quake and flood disasters followed a landslide in West Java on Jan. 9 that left 40 people buried in tons of mud.

Motorists make their way through a road affected by an earthquake-triggered landslide near Mamuju, West Sulawesi, Indonesia, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021. At least 415 houses in Majene were damaged and about 15,000 people were moved to shelters, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Raditya Jati. The quake set off landslides in three locations and blocked a main road connecting Mamuju to Majene. State-owned firm AirNav Indonesia, which oversees aircraft navigation, said the quake did not cause significant damage to the Mamuju airport runway or control tower. On Thursday, a magnitude 5.7 undersea quake hit the same region, damaging several homes but causing no apparent casualties.

A health worker prepares to give the COVID-19 vaccine to a government official in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. Indonesia started vaccinating health workers and public servants against COVID-19 on Thursday, a day after President Joko Widodo received the first shot of China's Sinovac Biotech vaccine. The Health Ministry is planning to vaccinate more than 1.3 million health workers and 17.4 million public officials in the first stage. “The pandemic is still going on and health care workers are the front-liners in caring for COVID-19 patients,” Deputy Health Minister Dante Saksono said. The first 25 health workers to get the jab were employees of Jakarta's Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital.

Another 16 cases were reported in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang and one in the northern province of Shanxi. The world’s fourth most populated country plans to vaccinate millions of health care workers and other other high-risk groups in the coming months. Health officials are still working to secure access to enough doses to protect around 67% of the population. — Japan expanded a coronavirus state of emergency to seven more prefectures Wednesday, affecting more than half the population amid a surge in infections across the country. Suga has been criticized as being to slow to act as the country’s coronavirus infections and deaths roughly doubled over the past month to about 300,000 and 4,100 respectively.

Indonesia’s vaccination program is the first large-scale use outside of China of the Sinovac Biotech Ltd. vaccine. Indonesia plans to vaccinate two-thirds of its population of about 270 million people — or just over 180 million people. Besides Indonesia, China and Bolivia have granted conditional use authorization for the Sinovac vaccine. Indonesia received its first shipment of the Sinovac vaccines on Dec. 6 and began distributing the doses around the country while awaiting emergency use authorization. It was cleared for that use based on clinical trial data and after the Indonesian Ulema Council declared the vaccine halal.

Indonesia's highest Islamic body has gave its religious approval to China's Sinovac vaccine, paving the way for its distribution in the world's most populous Muslim nation. The vaccine was cleared for emergency use after Indonesian authorities reviewed clinical trial data from Brazil, Turkey and Indonesia, which are all taking part in Phase III clinical trials of the vaccine. Indonesia conducted its own Phase III clinical trials of the vaccine with 1,620 volunteers. Griffith University epidemiologist Dr. Dicky Budiman said that many people have questioned and expressed doubt about the vaccine, as the data Indonesia used for emergency authorization is only preliminary. Authorities in China and Bolivia have both issued emergency authorization for the CoronaVac vaccine.

An investigator of Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee inspects parts of Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 that crashed in the waters off Java Island, at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Indonesian rescuers pulled out body parts, pieces of clothing and scraps of metal from the Java Sea early Sunday morning, a day after the Boeing 737-500 with dozens of people onboard crashed shortly after takeoff from Jakarta, officials said. Earlier Sunday, search and rescue operations resulted in parts of the plane being found in the sea at a depth of 23 meters (75 feet), leading rescuers to continue searching the area. “We are sure that is the point where the plane crashed.”He said the objects found included broken pieces of fuselage with aircraft registration parts. In December 2014, an AirAsia flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore plunged into the sea, killing 162 people.

The convicted firebrand cleric who inspired the Bali bombers and other violent extremists walked free from prison Friday after completing his sentence for funding the training of Islamic militants. (AP Photo/Aditya Irawan)JAKARTA – A firebrand cleric who inspired bombings in Bali and other attacks walked free from an Indonesian prison Friday after completing his sentence for funding the training of Islamic militants. He was convicted of funding the military-style camp to train Islamic militants and sentenced to 15 years in jail. Indonesian authorities had struggled to prove Bashir's involvement in the Bali bombings and fought multiple battles to uphold convictions on other charges. Upon release from prison in 2004, he was arrested and again charged with heading Jemaah Islamiyah as well as giving his blessing to the Bali bombings.

While the diplomats were there to finalize deals to ensure millions of doses reached Indonesian citizens, the clerics had a much different concern: Whether the COVID-19 vaccine was permissible for use under Islamic law. Spokespeople for Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca have said that pork products are not part of their COVID-19 vaccines. In Indonesia, the government has already said it will include the Muslim clerical body in the COVID-19 vaccine procurement and certification process. “Public communication regarding the halal status, price, quality and distribution must be well-prepared,” Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in October. The government has announced several COVID-19 vaccine procurement deals with the company totaling millions of doses.

(Siphiwe Sibeko/Pool via AP)BEIJING — China has reported new coronavirus cases in the cities of Shanghai and Tianjin as it seeks to prevent small outbreaks from becoming larger ones. ___RENO, Nevada — The head of the Nevada agency promoting business growth has urged companies to embrace new restrictions as coronavirus cases soar. Kentucky continued setting records with 2,135 new confirmed coronavirus cases reported, the state’s highest daily number on a Monday since the pandemic again. Gary Herbert on Monday relaxed restrictions on social gatherings ahead of Thanksgiving weekend as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to surge. Also on Monday, Spain’s 14-day cumulative number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population — a key metric in measuring the pandemic’s spread — has continued to fall.

JAKARTA – Tens of thousands of followers of a firebrand cleric joyfully welcomed him at an Indonesian airport on Tuesday as he returned home from a 3-year exile in Saudi Arabia after criminal charges including a pornography case were dropped. Police dropped both charges last year due to weak evidence, but authorities in Saudi Arabia had banned him from leaving the country without any explanation. “My return home today is to call on you and to invite all Indonesian Muslims to join in a moral revolution. He said the moral revolution should include fighting all kinds of injustice and corruption, and changing human nature from conducting bad deeds to good ones. Agus Maftuh Abegebriel, Indonesia's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said Shihab was given a visa to leave Saudi Arabia this month for Indonesian citizens who undergo a deportation process.