Categories
This Happened

New Emperor To Musical Legend — On This Day In History Nov. 12

The closing of the U.S. busiest immigrant processing station, the crowning of a new emperor in Japan and the birthday of the “Godfather of Grunge.”

Categories
This Happened

This Happened — October 25: Mount Merapi Eruption

Updated Oct. 25, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. On this day in 2010, Mount Merapi in Indonesia began a month-long series of violent eruptions that killed 353 people and caused the evacuation of another 350,000 people What caused the violent eruptions of Mount Merupi in 2010? The eruptions of Mount Merapi in 2010 were primarily driven […]

Categories
This Happened

This Happened — August 17: Indonesian Independence

Updated August 17, 2024 at 11:50 a.m. Indonesia declared its independence on this day in 1945. Who declared Indonesia’s independence? Indonesia’s independence from Dutch Colonial rule was declared by Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta, who were the leaders of the Indonesian nationalist movement at the time. Did the declaration lead to immediate independence? While the declaration […]

Categories
Economy Geopolitics

Why Trade With China Weakens Mercosur — And How South Americans Only Make It Worse

Asia and above all China, have shown how the size of a market can drive state relations, and nowhere is this truer than in the Mercosur bloc’s increasing dependence on Asian exports. But regional integration in South America is stalling, as Argentina and Brazil are in another nasty spat.

Categories
Economy

More Bans On Foreigners Buying Real Estate — But Will That Fix The Housing Crisis?

Canada has become the most recent country to impose restrictions on non-residents buying real estate, arguing that wealthy investors from other countries are pricing out would-be local homeowners. But is singling out foreigners the best way to face a troubled housing market?

Categories
Food / Travel Society

Shish Kebab: Back To The Source Of Turkey’s Best-Known Culinary Export

Shish kebab is the heart of Turkish cuisine. Similar ways of cooking meat exist throughout the world, with differing methods in the East and the West, but Turkey’s classic recipe is what makes culinary expert Oğul Türkkan remember his childhood.

Categories
Geopolitics

Indonesian Elections: The Dark Reality Behind Subianto’s “Cute Grandpa” Memes

Prabowo Subianto’s campaign team has heavily promoted him as a baby-faced cute grandpa on the internet, overshadowing the former army general’s dark authoritarian past and potential intent to dismantle Indonesia’s fragile democratic system.

Categories
Society

Did They Just Cancel A Spice? Amsterdam Changes Name Of “Nutmeg Street” For Crop’s Colonial Past

Over the past few years, a growing awareness of the colonial histories of individuals or racist connotations of certain names has led to renamed landmarks and torn down statues. But in the Netherlands, activists may be taking the process to a whole new terrain: products.

Categories
Geopolitics Society

That Eternal Scourge Of Ethnic Conflict: Where It Comes From, How To End It

Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are only the most recent and glaring conflicts that are driven, at least in part, by extreme animosity fueled by ethnic and national identity. For independent Russian website Important Stories, Vsevolod Bederson looks at what we can learn from other ethnic conflicts, what has worked, and what has not, when it comes to extinguishing animosity and violence.

Categories
This Happened

This Happened — October 12: Bali Nightclub Bombings

The Bali nightclub bombings happened on this day in 2002. What were the Bali nightclub bombings? The Bali nightclub bombings were a series of terrorist attacks that targeted popular nightclubs in the resort area of Kuta and resulted in a significant loss of life and extensive damage. There were two main bombs involved in the […]

Categories
Economy Food / Travel

How Asia’s High-End Demand Fuels South American Coffee Exports

Amid post-pandemic trade distortions and changing consumer habits, Latin American countries seeking to boost coffee exports should eye a growing specialty market in prosperous Asian countries.

Categories
In The News

Pandora Papers, Japan’s New PM, Spicy Medicine Nobel

? Bom dia!* Welcome to Monday, where the financial secrets of the rich and powerful are exposed in a massive data leak, the two Koreas get on the phone for the first time in months, Japan has a new prime minister and there’s a spicy Nobel prize winner for medicine. For Paris-based daily Les Echos, […]

Categories
In The News

How Far The No-Vaxxers Will Go To Dodge Vaccine Mandates

Countries are rolling out increasingly aggressive campaigns in an international effort to vaccinate the world out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two weeks ago, Italy became the first European country to make COVID-19 health passes mandatory for all workers, while others, including the U.S, France and Hungary, have mandated vaccination for federal workers or healthcare staff. […]

Categories
In The News

Role Model No More: Why COVID Is Spreading In Asia

Asia was considered a role model in the fight against the pandemic. But now COVID-19 numbers are rising, forcing lockdowns just as the U.S. and Europe regain their freedom thanks in large part to high vaccination rates.

Categories
In The News

Regional Immunity? Why Asia Has Avoided The Worst Of COVID-19

East Asia is home to 30% of the world’s population but has recorded only 2.4% of the COVID-19 global death toll. Scientists are looking at possible immunity from past epidemics or even genetics.

Categories
In The News

The Latest: Peru’s New President, Broken Olympics Bubble, Steamrolled Bitcoin

Welcome to Tuesday, where Peru’s contested election finally gets a winner, the Olympics bubble system is broken and another billionaire is blasting off for space. German daily Die Welt also explains why Asian countries, which were previously considered successful COVID tamers, are now struggling with new waves of infections. • Pedro Castillo declared winner of […]

Categories
In The News

The Latest: Myanmar Toll Tops 500, Suez Unstuck, Mafia Fail

Merhaba!* Welcome to Tuesday, where the death toll among pro-democracy protesters tops 500 in Myanmar, Suez Canal gets unstuck at last, and a mafioso’s love of food (and tattoos) is his downfall. Le Monde also reports from Belarus, where Lukashenko’s regime is doing everything it can to avoid new mass protests.*Turkish • Myanmar protests top […]

Categories
blog Food / Travel

It’s A Water Buffalo’s Life

On the unpaved roads of inland Indonesia, this worker was relying on the strength of his water buffalo to bring building materials to a construction site. A couple of days later on the same trip, I would get to see some even less fortunate bovines, in an indigenous Toraja village.

Categories
blog Food / Travel

Unidentified Frying Object

When it comes to international cuisine, I must confess that I’m not that much of an aventurier. Amid the street markets of Indonesia, like elsewhere, I would much rather take pictures of unidentified, deep-fried delicacies than take an actual bite …

Categories
blog Food / Travel

Music Soothes The Sulawesi

This concert, courtesy of the Toraja people, provided a welcome balance to our day: My wife and I had just witnessed a traditional burial, in this village of southern Sulawesi — and it featured the pretty gruesome slaughtering of a water buffalo.

Categories
In The News

What Lies Beyond The Indonesian Gate

Cross this gate and you’ll step into the land of the Toraja, in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi region. Keep your eyes peeled: from traditional Batak houses to spooky funeral rites and even a buffalo sacrifice — in the home to the Toraja ethnic group, I hardly had time to breathe between two shots!

Categories
In The News

A Balinese Basket Riddle

Can you guess what is traditionally kept under these woven bamboo baskets, on the Indonesian island of Bali? I’ll give you a hint: In French, they go “Cocorico“!

Categories
In The News

Indonesian Shade

These are the Indonesian guards of His Majesty’s Kraton Guard Regiment, keeping an eye on the Royal Palace of Yogyakarta. But unlike some of their counterparts I chanced upon across the globe, they weren’t that imperturbable: The fellow on the right gave me a long, hard sideward glance as I took his picture.

Categories
In The News

When Suharto Came Knocking, Revisiting Indonesia’s Darkest Day

Sept. 30, 1965, is a night that changed Indonesia forever. The events of that night led to Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno, being ousted from office, as military General Suharto assumed control of government — Suharto went on to rule the country for 32 years, until 1998. In Central Java, Indonesia, KBR journalist Muhamad Ridlo spoke with a man who was at the heart of the action that night, and who says a fake version of events has been remembered in Indonesia. JAVA — The man in front of me is tall and thin. He’s 77 years old, with a vivid […]

Categories
In The News

Tip Of The Balinese Hat

Conical hats are not limited to China. In Indonesia, where they are called caping, they protect workers from the sun — and make colorful souvenirs in the stalls of Bali“s markets.

Categories
In The News

Indonesia ‘Deradicalization’: Turning Terrorists Into Business Owners

JAKARTA — While Western countries grapple with the question of what to do with militants returning after fighting alongside the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Indonesia has launched a deradicalization program that helps former fighters open their own businesses, according to the Indonesian magazine Tempo. The program aims to help returning militants and their […]

Categories
In The News

Islamic School Break

These veiled girls enjoying recess greeted us as we passed by their Islamic boarding school in the capital of the world’s biggest Muslim nation.

Categories
In The News

View From A Batak Backyard

It’s sometimes easy to forget that the Batak houses of Indonesia’s North Sumatra are not there only for the tourists’ viewing pleasure — people actually live in them. All you need to do is take a little walk around the impressive facades to get a glimpse of the Batak’s way of life.

Categories
In The News

Headbangers In Hijabs: Meet Muslim Teen Girl Metal Band

In Indonesia, the heavy metal band Voice of Baceprot is turning and banging heads. But critics say this is not what Muslim girls should be doing.

Categories
In The News

Female Motorcycle Taxi Drivers Crank Up Business In Jakarta

Ride hailing apps are revving up motorcycle taxi use in Indonesia’s congested capital, and a handful of enterprising women are challenging an otherwise male-dominated domain.

Categories
In The News

Selling With A Smile

Of the many vendors at the numerous markets I’ve visited through the years, the women selling herbs in Jakarta were probably the ones with the biggest smiles. See more slides from My Grand-Père’s World.

Categories
In The News

Plastic Trees

The sap harvested from these Pará rubber trees on the Indonesian island of Java coagulates in the yellow collection cups, and voilà, here’s your rubber latex. Or as we say in France, caoutchouc ! See more slides from My Grand-Père’s World.

Categories
In The News

Indonesian Hercules

Sunda Kelapa, the old port of Jakarta, was the perfect place to snap some portraits of Indonesian stevedores at work. Balance is everything. See more slides from My Grand-Père’s World.

Categories
Food / Travel Society

Inside Indonesian Kitchens, A Story About The Archipelago

From the rich peanut sauce of gado-gado to the spicy tang of the fried rice nasi goreng, Indonesian cuisine is known for its intense flavors and lavish use of spices.

Categories
In The News

Jakarta’s Sick Lack Palliative Care, One NGO Offers Relief

JAKARTA — Yanti, 93, lives in a tiny room along with three other family members in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. She’s unable to move or get up so she lies on a bed that dominates the cramped space. The air is thick with the stench of stale urine. Yanti tells me she can’t pass a bowel movement. She says she’s constantly urinating. She lies on a layer of opened diapers. She grabs the flesh on my arm, which suddenly feels more chubby and elastic than ever before in her bony hand covered in thin, papery skin. Palliative care is […]

Categories
In The News

Inside Indonesia’s Only Province With Sharia Law

BANDA ACEH — The cafe is packed with men sitting in front of their third cup of coffee. They chat and smoke kreteks — a type of local clove cigarettes. The lighthearted mood is suddenly interrupted by the sound of the café’s metal shutters being slid downward. The conversation dies, the expressions grow frightened. The […]

Categories
In The News

Balance And The Beast

This Batak woman, in a Toraja village of Indonesia, was balancing a rice bowl on her head during the traditional dance performance. A beautiful moment, followed by the not-so-beautiful moment of the ritual slaughter of the unsuspecting water buffalo in the background.

Categories
In The News

Indonesia’s War On Poachers Hooks Legal Fish Business Too

JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has been waging a war on illegal fishing since the election two years ago of President Joko Widodo, who’d vowed to curtail poaching when he was running for office. But the crackdown on poachers has damaged legal fishermen as well, leading to a fall in fish exports, fewer jobs, and […]

Categories
Society

An Indonesian Village Where Farmers Are Still Guided By The Stars

For decades the village of Cirompang in West Java has been self-sufficient when it comes to food. Residents rely on ancestral wisdom to grow and harvest rice.

Categories
blog

Southeastern Smile

There’s something striking about Southeast Asian countries: More than any of the countless other places where I’ve pulled out my camera, people like this rickshaw driver on the Indonesian island of Java, would naturally just smile back at me.

Exit mobile version