New Indonesian president swears in country’s largest cabinet since 1966

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Updated 21 October 2024
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New Indonesian president swears in country’s largest cabinet since 1966

New Indonesian president swears in country’s largest cabinet since 1966
  • President Prabowo Subianto’s new cabinet comprises 109 members
  • Subianto is eager to play role in Mideast, Muslim world, analyst says

Jakarta: Indonesia’s new President Prabowo Subianto swore in on Monday the country’s largest cabinet in decades, with over 100 ministers and deputies that included key economic officials under predecessor Joko Widodo.

Subianto publicly announced the lineup late on Sunday and named it the “Red and White Cabinet,” referring to the colors of the Indonesian flag.

He was sworn in as the country’s eighth president earlier in the morning with Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as his vice president.

The new cabinet comprises 48 ministers, 56 deputy ministers and five heads of agencies, making it the largest since 1966, when Indonesia’s first President Sukarno formed a lineup of 132 ministerial officials, which was dismissed a month later.

“The cabinet is a combination of professionals with Prabowo’s supporters, and I think Prabowo appointed many of his supporters and inner circles in the cabinet. So that’s why the cabinet is huge,” Dr. Ahmad Rizky Mardhatillah Umar, an Indonesian political researcher at the UK’s Aberystwyth University, told Arab News.

Umar said he expects Prabowo to focus on foreign affairs during his presidency, citing the appointment of Sugiono, a former member of the Indonesian army’s special forces and part of the new leader’s inner circle, as foreign minister.

Sugiono will serve in the role with three deputies: Anis Matta, Arrmanatha Nasir and Arif Havas.

Matta, who was the former leader of the Islamic party PKS and current chairman of the Indonesian Gelora Party, is expected to focus on Indonesia’s engagement with Muslim countries, particularly in the Middle East, according to local media reports.

“Prabowo would focus on foreign affairs while delegating many of his domestic affairs to many key ministries, and especially to the vice president,” Umar said.

“He is eager to play a role in the Middle East and the Muslim world. Anis Matta, with his extensive networks with Islamic movements in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, could help him to achieve this objective.”

Several key ministers from Widodo’s administration were also reappointed to the new cabinet, including Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Airlangga Hartarto, the chief economic affairs minister.

Widodo and his cabinet presided over a strong track record on economic growth of about 5 percent every year, except during the COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.

Subianto, who promised to accelerate economic growth to 8 percent during his election campaign, looks set to build on that trajectory.

Indrawati’s reappointment makes her the first person to hold the finance ministry under three different presidents. The 62-year-old previously served as the executive director of the International Monetary Fund and managing director of the World Bank.

She is also expected to oversee Subianto’s other ambitious programs, including an increase in defense spending, hikes in civil servants’ salaries and a program to give free meals for 83 million children.

But some tension is expected within the new cabinet, especially in the early days.

“Given that the cabinet also comprise many of Prabowo’s allies and supporting parties, we could expect that it might be highly dynamic and (filled with) internal politics,” said Umar.


Trump meets Starmer and disagrees with Netanyahu’s claim of no starvation in Gaza

Trump meets Starmer and disagrees with Netanyahu’s claim of no starvation in Gaza
Updated 24 sec ago
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Trump meets Starmer and disagrees with Netanyahu’s claim of no starvation in Gaza

Trump meets Starmer and disagrees with Netanyahu’s claim of no starvation in Gaza
  • Trump said he disagreed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement that there was no starvation in Gaza
  • Gaza’s Health Ministry said Monday that 14 Palestinians including two children have died of malnutrition-related causes in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours
Israeli strikes killed at least 34 Palestinians before US President Donald Trump met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday in Scotland, where they confirmed plans to discuss Gaza.
A day after Israel eased aid restrictions due to a worsening humanitarian crisis, Trump said he disagreed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement that there was no starvation in Gaza.
Israel on Sunday announced a pause in military operations in certain areas for 10 hours daily to improve aid flow. Alongside the measures, military operations continued. Israel had no immediate comment about the latest strikes, which occurred outside the declared time frame for the pause between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Aid agencies welcomed the new measures but say they are insufficient. Images of emaciated children have sparked global outrage. Most of Gaza’s population now relies on aid and accessing food has become increasingly dangerous.
Starmer’s spokesman, Dave Pares, said Britain supports Trump’s efforts to reach a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, and the plan aims “to turn a ceasefire into lasting peace.”
The plan was discussed by Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday. Starmer will discuss it with allies “including the US and Arab states” and at an emergency meeting of his Cabinet later this week, Pares said.
Details of the plan have not been made public.
Fourteen Palestinians have died of malnutrition-related causes in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, the territory’s Health Ministry said on Monday.
They include two children, bringing the total deaths among children from causes related to malnutrition in Gaza to 88 since the war started on Oct. 7, 2023, the ministry said In a statement.
The ministry said 59 Palestinian adults also have died of malnutrition-related causes across Gaza since the start of July, when it began counting deaths among adults.

French PM slams EU-US trade deal as ‘submission’

French PM slams EU-US trade deal as ‘submission’
Updated 28 July 2025
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French PM slams EU-US trade deal as ‘submission’

French PM slams EU-US trade deal as ‘submission’
  • French President Emmanuel Macron did not immediately react Monday to the high-stakes agreement, which drew wider criticism across much of the French political spectrum

PARIS: French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Monday slammed a weekend trade deal between the United States and the European Union as a “dark day” and tantamount to “submission,” as other politicians poured vitriol on the deal.

“It is a dark day when an alliance of free peoples, united to affirm their values and defend their interests, resorts to submission,” said Bayrou in a post on X of the accord thrashed out Sunday.

US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen struck the deal, which fixed a baseline tariff of 15 percent on EU exports to the US.

French President Emmanuel Macron did not immediately react Monday to the high-stakes agreement, which drew wider criticism across much of the French political spectrum

Stock markets rose in Europe and Asia on hopes the agreement can avert a potentially damaging trade war.

But many French politicians were not convinced.

“Ursula von der Leyen accepted yesterday the commercial surrender of Europe, to the detriment of our exporters, farmers, and industrialists,” Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right National Rally, wrote on X.

The day before, Bardella’s party colleague and three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen had criticized the deal as “a political, economic and moral fiasco.”

“This is a defeat for the European Commission, which failed to create the power dynamics needed properly to defend European interests,” said Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade, a Macron ally in parliament and president of the National Assembly’s European Affairs Committee.

Anglade blasted what he said was a “signal of weakness” sent “to our competitors (and) we must fight to reverse the situation.”

A Bayrou ally in his Democratic Movement, lawmaker Philippe Latombe, said on X he “deeply regrets” a deal which “while it certainly avoids a trade war, comes at the cost of culpable subservience, a mortgage on our future, and the sacrifice of entire sectors of our sovereignty. It’s a bad deal, except for Trump.”

On Sunday, the Socialist Party said the EU appeared cast as a US “vassal” while far-left France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said France’s choice was one of “non-submission to the (US) Empire and non-alignment.”

The French finance ministry told AFP Finance Minister Eric Lombard and Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot would Wednesday discuss “consequences” of the deal with major French economic players.


Palau lawmakers reject US request to accept third country refugees

Palau lawmakers reject US request to accept third country refugees
Updated 28 July 2025
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Palau lawmakers reject US request to accept third country refugees

Palau lawmakers reject US request to accept third country refugees
  • Palau, with a population of 17,000, has a compact of free association with the United States providing economic assistance in return for allowing the US military access to its territory
  • A letter signed by Senate President Hokkon Boules and House of Delegates speaker Gibson Kanai said the congress strongly supports Palau’s partnership with the US, but “cannot accept this specific proposal”

SYDNEY: The national congress of Palau has said it “cannot accept” a United States proposal for the Pacific Islands nation to accept asylum seekers from third countries, as its president holds annual funding talks in Washington.

Palau’s national congress wrote to President Surangel Whipps Jr. earlier this month urging him to reject the request by the Trump Administration.

A letter signed by Senate President Hokkon Boules and House of Delegates speaker Gibson Kanai, viewed by Reuters, said the congress strongly supports Palau’s partnership with the United States, but “cannot accept this specific proposal.”

Palau, with a population of 17,000, has a compact of free association with the United States providing economic assistance in return for allowing the US military access to its territory.

“We advise against proceeding further on this matter only because of the practical issues that the introduction of refugees would raise in our society,” said the letter, dated July 21.

Whipps Jr. briefed Palau’s national congress and council of chiefs about the request on July 18, the Palau president’s office said in a statement at the time.

The proposed agreement gave Palau the right to accept or decline each individual referred by the US, the office said.

The US Ambassador to Palau, Joel Ehrendreich told the meeting Palau would not be a processing center like Nauru under Australia’s offshore asylum policy, but would be considered a “safe third country,” and financial assistance would be offered, Palau’s Island Times reported.

Whipps Jr. is in Washington for annual talks about economic assistance, his office said.

“We anticipate there will be additional discussion held with local leadership,” a spokeswoman told Reuters.

Palau was one of the few states to avoid any US tariffs in April.

On July 15, the United States said a deportation flight from the US carrying immigrants from different countries landed in Eswatini in southern Africa, a move that followed the US Supreme Court lifting limits on the Trump Administration’s policy to deport migrants to third countries.

Palau is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.

A spokeswoman for the US Embassy in Palau said it had no comment on the letter.

Human rights advocates have raised due process and other concerns over Trump’s immigration policies that his administration has cast as measures aimed at improving domestic security.


Bangladesh proposes hosting Saudi production hub to expand partnership

Bangladesh proposes hosting Saudi production hub to expand partnership
Updated 28 July 2025
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Bangladesh proposes hosting Saudi production hub to expand partnership

Bangladesh proposes hosting Saudi production hub to expand partnership
  • Saudi crown prince invites Prof. Yunus to attend Future Investment Initiative Forum in Riyadh
  • Bangladesh requests support in health education for skills development in healthcare sector

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Prof. Muhammad Yunus has proposed establishing Saudi Arabia’s production sector in Bangladesh, his office said, following a meeting with the Kingdom’s newly appointed envoy to Dhaka.

Dr. Abdullah bin Abiyah presented his credentials as Saudi ambassador to Bangladesh earlier this month. He paid a visit to Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna on Sunday.

Yunus, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who heads Bangladesh’s interim government, “proposed that Saudi Arabia could consider establishing its production sector in Bangladesh by utilizing Bangladesh’s geostrategic location, cheap labor, and the country’s resources,” the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing said in a statement.

Azad Majumder, Yunus’ deputy press secretary who was present during the meeting, told Arab News that the move would be beneficial for both countries as it would “create employment opportunities for the Bangladeshi youth and offer Saudi Arabia an opportunity to obtain essential goods at a better price.”

The Saudi market is already familiar with Bangladeshi workers as some 3 million of them live in the Kingdom. They are the largest expat group in the Kingdom and the biggest Bangladeshi community outside Bangladesh.

Many have been employed in the construction sector but increasingly also in professions requiring high skills. In 2023, Saudi Arabia launched the Workers’ Recruitment and Skill Verification Program in Bangladesh, aiming to advance the professional competence of employees in the Kingdom’s labor market.

Yunus discussed with the Saudi envoy the prospect of increased investment in health education to support skills development in Bangladesh’s healthcare sector.

“It would also benefit the Kingdom, given the growing demand for medical professionals in Saudi Arabia. In recent years, Bangladesh has sent a number of healthcare workers there,” Majumder said.

“A number of issues concerning the bilateral relationship between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia were discussed during the meeting. Prof. Yunus expressed his hope that the Saudi-Bangladesh relationship will reach new heights during Ambassador Abiyah’s tenure and pledged full support from his government to achieve this goal.”

The ambassador delivered an invitation letter from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for Yunus to attend the Future Investment Initiative Forum in Riyadh in October.

Often dubbed “Davos in the Desert,” the forum is an annual international investment and innovation conference that gathers global leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, and innovators.


China to offer childcare subsidies in bid to boost birth rate

China to offer childcare subsidies in bid to boost birth rate
Updated 28 July 2025
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China to offer childcare subsidies in bid to boost birth rate

China to offer childcare subsidies in bid to boost birth rate
  • China's population has declined for three consecutive years, with United Nations demography models predicting it could fall from 1.4 billion today to 800 million by 2100
  • According to Beijing state media, China’s government will offer subsidies to parents to the tune of $500 per child under the age of three per year

BEIJING: China’s government will offer subsidies to parents to the tune of $500 per child under the age of three per year, Beijing’s state media said Monday, as the world’s second most populous nation faces a looming demographic crisis.

The country’s population has declined for three consecutive years, with United Nations demography models predicting it could fall from 1.4 billion today to 800 million by 2100.

The nationwide subsidies apply retroactively from January 1, Beijing’s state broadcaster CCTV said, citing a decision by the ruling Communist Party and the State Council, China’s cabinet.

“This is a major nationwide policy aimed at improving public wellbeing,” CCTV said.

“It provides direct cash subsidies to families across the country, helping to reduce the burden of raising children,” it added.

There were just 9.54 million births in China last year, half the number than in 2016, the year it ended its one-child policy, which was in place for more than three decades.

The population declined by 1.39 million last year, and China lost its crown as the world’s most populous country to India in 2023.

Marriage rates are also at record low levels, with many young couples put off having babies by high child-rearing costs and career concerns.



Analysts warned that the subsidies alone would not reverse China’s population decline, nor boost its long-standing domestic spending slump.

“The sums involved are too small to have a near-term impact on the birth rate or consumption,” Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics, said.

“But the policy does mark a major milestone in terms of direct handouts to households and could lay the groundwork for more fiscal transfers in future.”

Many local governments have already rolled out subsidies to encourage childbirth.

In March, Hohhot, the capital of China’s northern Inner Mongolia region, began offering residents up to 100,000 yuan ($14,000) per newborn for couples with three or more children, while first and second children will be eligible for 10,000 and 50,000 yuan subsidies.

In Shenyang, in northeastern Liaoning province, local authorities give families who have a third child 500 yuan per month until the child turns three.

Hangzhou, in eastern Zhejiang province, offers a one-time payment of 25,000 yuan to couples who have a third child.

More than 20 provincial-level administrations in the country now offer childcare subsidies, according to official data.

Premier Li Qiang vowed to provide childcare subsidies during the government’s annual work report in March.

China’s shrinking population is also aging fast, sparking worries about the future of the country’s pension system.

There were nearly 310 million people aged 60 and over in 2024.