Stefanno Sulaiman, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto sacked Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa after he clashed with a top ministry official who served on Prabowo's former special forces team, three government sources said.

Irma puts on her heavy rubber boots as she prepares for a volunteer firefighting shift in her village of Sungai Putri, on the Indonesian side of Borneo island.

Dressed in full safety gear she heads into fire zones on her motorbike, the air thick with toxic smoke.

Sentani, Jubi – Jayapura Police said 78 students were detained while they were preparing to take part in a demonstration against the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program in Sentani, the capital of Jayapura Regency in Papua province, on Tuesday (15 September 2026). The students were registered and later released.

When it comes to regulating cigarettes, the Indonesian government lacks a consistent perspective. Scientifically, cigarettes have been proven to trigger various diseases and drain the budget of the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan).

Jayapura, Jubi – The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) has claimed responsibility for the shooting that killed a driver, Aris Sanda, on the Wamena-Nduga road in Papua Highlands province.

The incident occurred near Lake Habema in Jayawijaya Regency on Tuesday (15/9/2026). The victim was found dead inside his burnt vehicle on Wednesday (16/9/2026).

On 15 September 2026, Indonesian police arbitrarily detained school pupils and university students, used excessive force to disperse peaceful demonstrations, and obstructed access to legal assistance during protests against the Free Nutritious Meals Programme (Makan Bergizi Gratis, MBG) in Jayapura City and Jayapura Regency, Papua province.

Ahmad Syarif – In 2018, the West Papua Liberation Army declared open war on the Indonesian military. Since then, at least 100 Indonesian military and security personnel have died, alongside hundreds of civilian casualties, and hundreds more on the rebel side.

Novali Panji Nugroho, Jakarta – Secretary General of the Gerindra Party Sugiono claims that his party and coalition partners have unanimously agreed on a proposed parliamentary threshold of 5 percent to be discussed in the revision of the General Election Law.

Manokwari, Jubi – Two palm oil companies involved in National Strategic Projects (PSN), Genting Oil Kasuri Pte. Ltd (GOKPL) and PT Prabu Alaska, have been accused of dumping waste and clearing endemic Papuan trees in the Sumuri District of Teluk Bintuni Regency, West Papua province.

Raya Aulia Jenar, Jakarta – Human and Nature for a Sustainable Indonesia (Madani Berkelanjutan) Foundation evaluates forest fires as a real risk that could disrupt the sustainability of carbon projects in Indonesia, including projects whose credits have been issued and sold in the market.

Erfan Maruf, Jakarta – Agriculture Minister and National Food Agency chief Amran Sulaiman has flagged 25 fortified rice brands for allegedly failing to meet the nutritional standards stated on their labels.

Amran said laboratory tests found that the nutritional content of the products did not match their claims of being fortified rice.

Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto once again reshuffled his cabinet on Monday, September 14, 2026, replacing Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa with Deputy Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara.

Antara, Jakarta – Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf urged residents and key stakeholders to remain vigilant of potential disasters during heavy rains, as floods and landslides have begun to strike the central region of Aceh again.

Penajam Paser, Indonesia – Indonesia's escalating wildfire crisis has reached the outskirts of Nusantara, the new capital city under construction as the world's fourth-most-populous country seeks to transplant its political heartland from a flood plain in Java to the island of Borneo.

Singgih Wiryono, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid is calling for an investigation into the accident involving the passenger ship KMP Virgo Transport 8 in the waters off South Kalimantan on Sunday September 13.

Sorong, Jubi – Moi Indigenous youth blocked several government offices in Sorong Regency, Southwest Papua Province, on Monday (14/9/2026), as a form of protest against development and investment policies and National Strategic Projects (PSN) that they say are increasingly threatening the land, forests and livelihoods of the Moi Indigenous community.

Max Lane – As a lecturer at the University of Sydney in 2008, I taught a course, "An Introduction to Asia." Its perspective was historical, and given the Western-centrism of history education in the West, it was clear that the relationship between the West and Asia, especially the colonial era, became a topic of discussion at the beginning of the curriculum.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – Indonesia's external debt edged up to $454.8 billion in July 2026 from $454.5 billion a month earlier, while increasing 4.9% year on year, Bank Indonesia said Tuesday.

The country's external debt was equivalent to 30.7% of gross domestic product (GDP), with long-term borrowing continuing to account for the majority of the total.

Ruth Dea Juwita, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto ousted Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa in a latest cabinet reshuffle on Monday and appointed Deputy Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara as his replacement, putting a familiar hand as the government faces mounting pressure to balance ambitious growth plans with tighter fiscal space.

Two years after the country was put on notice by the international Permanent People's Tribunal (PPT) for its abuses of the environment and indigenous communities of West Papua, and one year after being inundated by mass protests, Prabowo's regime has proceeded to double down on forcing through his agenda.

Stefanno Sulaiman and Gayatri Suroyo, Jakarta – Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, who was sacked as finance minister this week, said on Tuesday he was upset to be removed from his job, but was half expecting the decision.

Imam Suhartadi, Jakarta – Indonesia has identified around 400,000 invalid records among 5.7 million prospective Hajj pilgrims currently on the national waiting list, a finding that could significantly reduce the number of people in line and shorten waiting times, a senior official said Monday.

Andrew Mathieson – Melanesian leaders are stepping up pressure on Jakarta to facilitate a United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights visit to West Papua.

There has also been a call to consider scrapping Indonesia's associate membership in the regional bloc of the Melanesian Spearhead Group entirely.

Alfy Ifthikhar – Indonesia's Climate Change Management Bill, known as the RUU Pengendalian Perubahan Iklim (PPI), has been suspended at the harmonization stage in the House of Representatives, Indonesia's lower house of parliament, since Wednesday, February 4, 2026, after one parliamentary commission proposed folding it into a revision of the country's 2009 environmental law rather

Yerica Lai, Jakarta – The next presidential election may still be three years away, but several potential contenders have already begun making early moves as President Prabowo Subianto 's approval ratings slide and criticism of his government mounts.

Jayapura, Jubi – Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) says 109 people have been killed or injured in violence and armed conflict across Papua in 2026.

Antara, Makassar – The South Sulawesi provincial government has introduced an odd-even license plate system for purchases of subsidized Pertalite gasoline and diesel at fuel stations across the province, in a weeklong measure aimed at reducing long vehicle lines and traffic congestion.

President Prabowo Subianto attended the 2026 BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India, on September 12-13 with a message of resilience, sustainability and inclusive global growth. At the forum, Prabowo emphasised the importance of turning vulnerability into strength and strengthening food and energy security.

Agencies, Jakarta – More than 600 rescuers were searching for 129 people still missing after a passenger ship capsized in the Java Sea on the weekend, an official said on Monday, with the death toll steady at six.

Ni Komang Erviani, Jakarta – An Australian arrested for a public act of indecency, identified only as BA, was deported to Brisbane, Australia, on Tuesday evening. The 28-year-old man has also been banned from re-entering Indonesia for 10 years.

Yvette Tanamal, Jakarta – Spreading forest and peatland fires in Indonesia have caused people to fall sick, as haze from hundreds of thousands of burned lands across the country worsen air quality in many regions and trigger respiratory infections among people.

Martin Bagya Kertiyasa, Theressia Silalahi, Jakarta – Newly appointed Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara said President Prabowo Subianto has instructed him to protect the health and credibility of Indonesia's state finances so the state budget can continue to support the government's priority programs.

Alfy Ifthikhar – More than 300 delegates from Indonesia and across the Asia-Pacific region gathered at The Westin Resort Nusa Dua in Bali on September 8 and 9, 2026 for the Indonesia Carbon and Biodiversity Summit, a forum bringing together policymakers, investors, project developers, carbon buyers, standards bodies, civil society organizations and industry players in the carbon and

Lee Jay – Oppression in West Papua continues, decade after decade, while the international community repeatedly demonstrates the limits of its commitment to human rights when strategic interests are involved.

Mochammad Iqbal Maulud – Students from various universities affiliated with the West Java chapter of the All-Indonesia Student Executive Board (BEM SI) staged a protest titled "Indonesia in a State of Emergency" (Indonesia Gawat Darurat) on Friday September 11.

What is the point of building food security if the way to achieve it makes a region increasingly vulnerable to disaster? The question has become more relevant after forest and land fires hit the government's food self-sufficiency project area in Merauke, South Papua.

Faisal Maliki Baskoro, Jakarta – Indonesian stocks declined for a second straight week, with the benchmark index and market capitalization falling as higher oil prices and foreign selling weighed on investor sentiment.

Antara, Jakarta – A landslide occurred at an illegal gold mining site in Dongi Dongi Village, Poso Regency, Central Sulawesi, on Friday, September 11, striking several miners.

Jayapura, Jubi – Violence will not solve the problems facing Papua, Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) Papua office has said following the shooting deaths of three civil servants in Jayawijaya.

On 28 July 2026, police officers apprehended approximately 31 members of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) near the Old Market traffic lights on Jalan Pasar Lama Yahim, Sentani, Jayapura Regency, Papua Province, while they were distributing leaflets for a nationwide protest planned for 3 August 2026.

Anwar Siswadi, Jakarta – Over one hundred students from several universities in Bandung took to the streets to stage the #Indonesia Gawat Darurat (#EmergencyIndonesia) protest on Friday afternoon, September 11, 2026. The demonstration took place in the middle of the Dago-Cikapayang intersection, directly under the Pasteur-Surapati (Paspati) overpass.

Jayapura, Jubi – A coalition of legal and human rights groups in Papua has called on Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to order the National Police chief to investigate a series of alleged terror attacks targeting human rights workers, journalists and the Papua office of Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights, known as Komnas HAM.

Dini Suciatiningrum, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia strongly condemns the military education and training (diklat) program policy for citizens and students arrested following the August 27 protests in Jakarta.

Almost all institutions established as part of the mandate of the 1998 Reformasi Movement have strayed from their original ideals. The Judicial Commission is no exception.

On 1 September 2026, security forces carried out an operation in the Kali Biru residential area around the former Election Commission Office (KPU), Dekai District, Yahukimo Regency, Papua Highlands Province. Local human rights defenders reported that six civilians were reportedly arrested and taken to the Yahukimo Police Station.

On 9 September 2026, an unidentified person threw a glass bottle containing an unknown liquid and an apparent wick into the compound of the Papua Regional Office of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) in Dok V Bawah, North Jayapura District, Jayapura City, Papua Province.

Andi Adam Faturahman, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) met with Presidential Chief of Staff Dudung Abdurachman at the Bina Graha KSP Building in Jakarta on Thursday, September 10, 2026.

Jayapura, Jubi – The West Papua National Liberation Army's (TPNPB) Ndugama-Derakma regional command has claimed responsibility for a shooting that killed three civil servants in Jayawijaya Regency, in Indonesia's Highland Papua province.

Basten Gokkon – Indonesia's critically endangered Javan rhinos appear to be safe despite an ongoing eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau near their last remaining habitat, conservation authorities said.

Jayanty Nada Shofa & Ria Fortuna Wijaya, Jakarta – High maintenance costs and a shoestring budget have made Indonesia's fight against disasters more challenging, according to analysts.