Indonesia

Government will not use "Isa Almasih" (The Messiah), Islamic name adopted from Arabic for Jesus Christ, to refer to Christian holidays and will replace it with "Yesus Kristus"; the nomenclature change was announced by the Ministry of Religious Affairs

US snacks and beverages giant PepsiCo will return to snack production in Indonesia two years after closing a joint venture in the country, starting construction of a new production plant in the city of Cikarang, West Java

After six finalists complained of sexual harassment at Miss Universe in Indonesia, the organization cut ties with a harsh statement

Over 34.000 hectares of land in Indonesia's new capital city Nusantara have been legally certified and handed over to the Nusantara Capital City Authority

The launch of a national cryptocurrency exchange is planned for August this year, pending approval from the Ministry of Commerce

The government will provide drinking water to the community as a preventive measure against the drought caused by the El Nino phenomenon; National Disaster Mitigation Agency has already mapped areas potentially prone to drought and forest fires

According to the head of the National Counter-Terrorism Agency, the number of terrorist attacks carried out in the country is showing a declining trend, thanks to "prevention and counter-terrorism countermeasures based on violence"

The Indonesian Furniture Industry and Handicrafts Association rejected the plan to facilitate the export of rattan and semi-finished logs because it is believed to kill the domestic furniture industry

A ban on climbing Bali's mountains is still under discussion, after Governor I Wayan Koster proposed a ban following several reports of misbehaviour at what are believed to be sacred sites

The Indonesian and US governments are seeking to build community resilience against extremism in Southeast Asia by hosting the 3rd ASEAN-US Regional Workshop on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism

Global banking giant HSBC predicts country's economy will be rather sluggish this year, with GDP growth below 5% during the current policy cycle