Today's Top 3 News: Prabowo Extends Eid Greetings to Leaders of Muslim Countries

8 hours ago 16

March 23, 2026 | 06:08 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tempo English compiled the top 3 news on Saturday, March 21, 2026. Here are the highlights: Prabowo Extends Eid Greetings to Leaders of Muslim Countries; Prabowo Pushes 8% Economic Growth with Free Meals, Housing Programs; and Fact Check: Hotel Fire Near Masjid al-Haram Not Linked to Iran-Israel War.

The following is the list of the top 3 news on Tempo English today:

1. Prabowo Extends Eid Greetings to Leaders of Muslim Countries

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto extended his Eid al-Fitr greetings to several Muslim leaders in the celebration of 1447 Hijriah. Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya stated that Prabowo had contacted four heads of state in the past few days.

They were President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoan, Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, King of Jordan, Abdullah II, and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman.

"President Prabowo conducted a virtual meet-up through a phone call," said Teddy in a written statement on Sunday, March 22, 2026.

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2. Prabowo Pushes 8% Economic Growth with Free Meals, Housing Programs

Under the administration of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, the government is targeting 8 percent economic growth through job creation and various strategic programs, ranging from free nutritious meals (MBG) to public housing construction.

Quoting the Indonesian Government Communications Agency in Jakarta on Sunday, the MBG program is considered to have a significant impact on job creation, citing Antara. The program aims to build around 30 thousand kitchens, each of which will employ 50 people. Thus, the program could potentially absorb around 1.5 million workers.

"That's already 1.5 million," said Prabowo. Additionally, each kitchen will involve a food vendor supply chain, expecting to employ an additional 1.5 million people.

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3. Fact Check: Hotel Fire Near Masjid al-Haram Not Linked to Iran-Israel War

A video showing a building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, engulfed in flames, circulated on X [archive], Facebook, and Instagram on March 14, 2026. Smoke could be seen rising between the buildings surrounding Masjid al-Haram and the Zamzam Tower.

The uploader claimed that the fires affected a shawarma restaurant and the Mira Ajyad Hotel. According to Iranian intelligence, the fires were part of an Israeli “false flag” operation against the world's largest places of worship. A false flag operation involves a covert attack followed by the scapegoating of another party.

As of now, the 21-minute video has been viewed over 314,000 times, liked by more than 2,000 people, and shared by over 500 accounts. But is it true that the fire in the Masjid al-Haram area was caused by the Iran-Israel conflict?

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