Indonesia cuts free school meals to tackle energy crisis

Today’s headlines: Kuwaiti oil tanker ablaze following Iranian attack off the coast of Dubai; Israel has approved the controversial law introducing the death penalty for Palestinian terrorism; human rights NGOs will appeal to the Supreme Court; New attacks by Pakistan in Afghanistan; The World Data Organisation has been established in Beijing to promote cooperation on the digital economy; The first Asian ‘song contest’ promoted by Eurovision will take place in Bangkok in November.

INDONESIA

From today, Indonesia will scale back its free school meals programme to cope with budgetary pressures caused by the war in the Middle East and soaring oil prices. The initiative, strongly backed by President Prabowo Subianto, provides meals to around 60 million children and to pregnant and breastfeeding women. Ministers and Prabowo have decided to reduce the programme from six to five days a week in primary and secondary schools. According to the government, the measure will save around 40 trillion rupiah (2.3 billion dollars, ed.).

WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST

A Kuwaiti oil tanker carrying millions of barrels caught fire after being struck by an Iranian drone whilst moored in Dubai: the 24 crew members are safe and the fire is reportedly under control. Overnight, further cross-border attacks were reported in Israel and Iran, with some areas of Tehran temporarily left without electricity. On the diplomatic front, contradictory reports are mounting: according to some rumours, US President Trump has told allies that he would be willing to end the war even without the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

PAKISTAN-AFGHANISTAN

Whilst Islamabad is engaged in mediation over the conflict in Iran, on the Afghan front its army has resumed its military campaign against the Taliban in full force following the truce declared for the Islamic festival of Eid al-Fitr. Sources in Kabul report a further 18 people killed or injured in the last few hours in bombings in Kunar province.

ISRAEL

The Knesset yesterday approved the controversial law introducing the death penalty for Palestinians in the West Bank convicted of carrying out deadly terrorist attacks. MPs voted 62 to 47 to make hanging the standard punishment for West Bank residents convicted of deadly terrorist acts by military courts. Although judges may opt for life imprisonment in the presence of vaguely defined ‘special circumstances’, the death penalty would otherwise be mandatory and carried out within 90 days of the verdict. The measure was strongly backed by the far-right Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir. Israeli human rights organisations have announced they will appeal to the Supreme Court, highlighting the discriminatory nature of the measure, which does not apply to Israeli citizens responsible for acts of terrorism.

CHINA

The World Data Organization (WDO), the first international organisation dedicated to data development and governance, was officially launched yesterday in Beijing. Based in the Chinese capital, it operates as a non-governmental platform for dialogue, regulation and global cooperation. Its mission is to bridge the digital divide, harness the value of data and support the digital economy. Data is crucial for tackling global challenges, but significant inequalities persist between countries. The WDO therefore aims to improve access, capacity and the benefits of digitalisation globally.

THAILAND

The Eurovision Song Contest will also launch an Asian edition of its show this year. Broadcasters from 10 countries in the region – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam – have already joined the initiative, but according to the contest’s website, others are set to follow. The countries will host their own national selections ahead of the final in Bangkok, which will be broadcast live on 14 November.

RUSSIA

Apple, at the request of the regulatory agency Roskomnadzor, has removed several popular VPN services from the Russian section of the Apple Store, including Streisand, V2Box, v2RayTun and Happ-Proxy Utility, which will continue to work for those who have downloaded them, but will no longer receive updates, as they provide “illegal content in Russia” and effectively allow users to bypass many blocks and bans on platforms deemed undesirable in Russia.

KAZAKHSTAN

Kazakhstan is using the Israeli-made Ufed (Universal Forensic Extraction Device) system to extract personal data from mobile devices, including call logs, messages, videos and photographs, as evidenced by the trial of activist Bagdat Togysbaev from the Turkestan region, who was arrested by the police for criticising the authorities, and the seizure of his social media data and chat messages whilst he was detained at the police station.

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