Rendy Pahrun Wadipalapa – The background manoeuvring by various parties in Jakarta's 2024 gubernatorial elections foreshadows similarly complex play with 2029's presidential race in mind. For some players, today's loss might be tomorrow's gain.

Irsyan Hasyim, Jakarta – The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) reported that floods hit four villages in Dolok Masihul District, Serdang Bedagai Regency, North Sumatra, on Tuesday morning, January 7, 2025, at 03:30 WIB (Western Indonesian Time).

Alfi Dinilhaq, Jakarta – A senior government official on Wednesday urged Chinese carmaker Chery to build its own manufacturing facility in Indonesia and increase the use of locally-produced components to strengthen its presence in the country.

Muhammad Aulia Rahman, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Wednesday detained Antonius Kosasih, the former CEO of state pension fund manager Taspen, over allegations of fraudulent investments that caused significant financial losses to the state.

Basudiwa Supraja, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto is planning to make surprise inspections to make sure that his flagship free nutritious meal program is going well, according to a senior government official.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Trade Minister Budi Santoso recently revealed that he was open to revising the controversial ministerial policy that had eased import curbs, but any regulatory changes would depend on the evaluations.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia is currently in talks to strike a possible military technology transfer deal with Japan.

Jihan Ristiyanti, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia considers the shooting that killed a car rental boss in the rest area of Tangerang toll road last week by members of the Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) to be a violation of human rights.

Dinda Shabrina, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia is urging military justice reform and a serious evaluation of the use of firearms by members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police (Polri). The demand was conveyed following the shooting of a car rental boss involving members of the Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) in early 2025.

Eka Yudha Saputra, Jakarta – The Presidential Communications Office Head, Hasan Nasbi, admitted that some regions are still utilizing President Prabowo Subianto's personal funds to support the recently launched free nutritious meal program.

Cantika.com, Jakarta – The HMPV virus or Human Metapneumovirus, which recently broke out in China, has reportedly been found in Indonesia. All cases found involved children. In response to this, Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin asked the public not to panic, because HMPV is not a new virus and is already known in the medical world.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The Indonesian company responsible for the largest amount of deforestation, PT Mayawana Persada, has largely ceased clearing peatlands in the western part of Borneo. However, it has shifted focus to planting acacia trees on previously cleared peatlands, defying a government directive to halt activities and rehabilitate degraded land.

Indonesia, West Papua – On 1 November 2024, the Supreme Court of Indonesia rejected the cassation appeal filed by Mr Hendrikus Franky Woro, an environmental advocate and member of the indigenous Awyu tribe, regarding the environmental feasibility permit granted to PT Indo Asiana Lestari (IAL).

Shela Octavia, Dani Prabowo, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid says that security forces and law enforcement officials who are negligent resulting in the death of civilians must face criminal punishments, not just ethical sanctions.

Agencies, Jakarta – Brazil's government said in a statement on Monday that Indonesia is formally joining BRICS as a full member, further expanding the group of major emerging economies that also includes Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Fidelis Eka Satriastanti – During the G20 Summit in Rio De Janeiro in November, Indonesia's new president, Prabowo Subianto, issued a bold statement: Indonesia will retire all coal-fired power plants within the next 15 years and build over 75 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2040.

Jamaah, Ahmad Hisyam Nugroho, Jember – At least 763 cows in Jember Regency, East Java, have been infected with foot and mouth disease (FMD), resulting in 61 deaths over the past few months, according to the local Food Security and Livestock Department.

Nicholas Ryan Aditya, Dani Prabowo, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military Headquarters (Mabes TNI) has deployed soldiers from 351 District Military Commands (Kodim), 14 main Navy bases (Lantamal) and 41 Airforce bases (Lanud) to support the government's free nutritious meals (MBG) program.

It appears that a panel of judges played Santa Claus prior to Christmas by handing out gifts in the form of light sentences to defendants in a high-profile corruption case involving state-owned tin miner PT Timah.

Jakarta – The official website belonging to the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) was hacked and the home page changed to a display of an online gambling site on Monday January 6.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia is aiming to record nearly $294.5 billion in exports this year to catapult the country's economy towards 8 percent growth as targeted by President Prabowo Subianto.

Alfida Rizki Febrianna, Jakarta – The government spent Rp 43.4 trillion ($2.69 billion) from the State Budget in 2024 for the development of Indonesia's future capital, Nusantara, accounting for 97.3 percent of the Rp 44.5 trillion ceiling.

Novali Panji Nugroho, Jakarta – Chair of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) Muhammad Isnur responded to the alleged digital attack or doxing targeting one of the researchers from Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW).

Paul Gregoire – United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) provisional government interim president Benny Wenda has warned that since Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto took office in October, he has been proven right in having remarked, after the politician's last February election, that his coming marks the return of "the ghost of Suharto" – the brutal dictator who ruled

Jakarta – Indonesia's unaudited budget deficit for 2024 was smaller than the government's earlier estimate, official data showed on Monday, providing a buffer for fiscal needs in 2025 after authorities cancelled a planned tax hike.

Banda Aceh – More than 260 Rohingya refugees, including women and children, arrived in Aceh after floating at sea for days, an official said Monday.

The mostly Muslim ethnic Rohingya are heavily persecuted in Myanmar and thousands risk their lives each year on long and dangerous sea journeys to reach Malaysia or Indonesia.

Jakarta – Indonesia launched an ambitious $4.3 billion free-meal program on Monday to combat stunted growth due to malnutrition, a key election promise of President Prabowo Subianto.

Prabowo has pledged to provide nutritious meals free to tens of millions of schoolchildren and pregnant women, saying it would improve their quality of life and boost economic growth.

Jakarta – Following the tradition of his predecessor Retno LP Marsudi, who issued an annual press statement every January, Foreign Minister Sugiono is also scheduled to meet with the press on Thursday. As the 100-day honeymoon period of President Prabowo Subianto ends in just two weeks, the new minister should use the opportunity to lay down his programs at least for 2025.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The government must make sure that the vendors in charge of making the meals for Indonesia's historic school feeding program get paid for their services, according to an expert.

Han Revanda, Jakarta – Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said that Apple Inc.'s investment commitment of US$1 billion, equivalent to Rp16.14 trillion (at an exchange rate of Rp16,146.25 per US dollar), is still relatively small compared to the tech giant's total sales within Indonesia, which he estimated at around Rp32 trillion.

Havana, Cuba – Jose Ramos Horta, President of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste, sent his Cuban counterpart, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, a congratulatory message on the occasion of the 66th anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution.

President Prabowo Subianto's ambitious multi-billion dollar programme to provide free meals to more than a quarter of his people was officially underway on Monday, officials said, with 570,000 mouths to feed on its opening day.

Indonesia's top court has upheld a law requiring citizens to follow a religion before the state system can recognize their marriages and other family records and issue them personal identity cards.

The Constitutional Court asserted this legal provision while rejecting a petition seeking judicial review of a law that required citizens to follow a religion.

Jakarta – Police are still investigating alleged lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activities in the Permata Hijau area of North Grogol Village, Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, which were shut down by local residents on New Year's Eve.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has reduced the proposed Hajj pilgrimage cost to Rp 89.7 million ($5,537) per person, down from the initial proposal of Rp 93.4 million.

The reduction comes in response to a directive from President Prabowo Subianto to ease the financial burden on Indonesian Muslims seeking to fulfill this religious obligation.

Roy Adriansyah, Jakarta – The Bunker Bar, located in the Permata Hijau shopping district in South Jakarta's Kebayoran Lama area, has been permanently closed following a New Year's Eve raid led by local residents on Jan. 1.

Ilham Oktafian, Widy Wicaksono, Jakarta/Semarang – The Indonesian National Police (Polri) revealed that a hotel in Semarang, Central Java, was built using funds linked to money laundering from online gambling activities. The hotel is reportedly managed by an individual connected to illegal online gambling syndicates.

Thomas Rizal, Andi Maulana, Jakarta – Indonesia will officially launch its first nationwide free meal program on Monday, aimed at providing nutritious meals to school-aged children, expectant mothers, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers. The initiative, introduced by President Prabowo Subianto, is a historic step toward combating malnutrition and fostering healthier generations.

Bandung – The West Java branch of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) has expressed strong criticism of the governor's recent decision to implement sectoral minimum wage increases, arguing that it was based on flawed considerations and could deter investors from Indonesia's most populous province.

Antara, Jakarta – Armed Forces Commander General Agus Subiyanto has named Air Vice-Marshal Mohammad Syafii as the new head of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) in a recent wave of top-level military rotations.

Han Revanda, Jakarta - Professor of Bogor Agricultural University or IPB University in Indonesia, Dwi Andreas Santosa, criticized the Prabowo Subianto government's food self-sufficiency target as still unclear. According to him, there are various definitions of food self-sufficiency.

Nandito Putra, Jakarta - Imparsial Director Ardi Manto Putra demanded that the legal process against the Indonesian TNI Navy members suspected of being involved in the shooting at KM 45 of the Tangerang-Merak Toll Road be transparent.

M. Raihan Muzzaki, Amirullah, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid says the ruling by the Constitutional Court (MK) requiring Indonesian people to have a religion is a digression.

Jakarta – A New Year gift came from the Constitutional Court on Thursday as it, on the 33rd time of asking, finally accepted the argument that every political party should stand an equal chance of nominating a presidential candidate.

Jakarta – The West Sumatra (Sumbar) Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) is currently studying a plan to draft a regional regulation (Perda) to eradicate social diseases in the Minang area, especially lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT).

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo opened the first trading day of 2016 at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) on Monday as the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) dropped 0.25 percent to 4,581 as investors remain in wait-and-see mode with regard to economic policies.

Zhulfakar, Jakarta – The House of Representatives' (DPR) Commission VIII criticized the government's proposed 2025 Hajj pilgrimage cost (BPIH), which is only slightly lower than the previous year's figure. The Religious Affairs Ministry has proposed the 2025 BPIH at Rp 93,389,684 ($5,756), a decrease of just Rp 20,600 ($1.3) compared to 2024.

Jakarta – For the first time in history, Indonesia's subsidized fertilizer distribution started on time, precisely on Jan. 1.

This long-awaited timeliness has enabled farmers to get better access to subsidized fertilizers to better prepare for the planting season, according to the state-owned company Pupuk Indonesia.

Jakarta – A recent series of acid attacks in the country has highlighted the lack of regulation on the sale of corrosive chemicals in the country, making it easy for offenders to obtain the hazardous compounds.

Deni Ghifari, Jakarta – Inflation in Indonesia has dropped to the lowest year-end rate ever recorded by the country's statistics agency since it began tracking consumer prices more than 60 years ago.