Jakarta – Every year, Indonesia contends with one of the most complex logistical feats in the world: the haj. Home to approximately 231 million Muslims, the country regularly sends the biggest groups of citizens to Islam's holiest sites in Saudi Arabia.

Nina A. Loasana, Jakarta – Indonesia may lose thousands of hospital beds once standardized inpatient care for National Health Insurance (JKN) policyholders goes into full effect starting next year, raising concerns over longer hospital admission waiting times for millions of patients.

Yerica Lai, Jakarta – Outgoing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's reported plan for cabinet reshuffle, one that might see his former party the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), ousted, is unlikely to happen as analysts warn it would destabilize the transition to his successor's incoming government.

Antara, AP, Jakarta – The Indonesian government explained its decision to abstain from signing a document calling for the territorial integrity of Ukraine to be the basis of any agreement to end the ongoing war, citing Russia's absence from the Swiss conference.

Teguh Adi Prasetyo, Jakarta – Public policy analyst Trubus Radiansyah recently advised the government against launching new strategic policies as the end of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's term is close approaching.

According to Trubus, it is best for the current government to now focus on finishing the existing tasks at hand.

Chandra Adi Nurwidya, Yogyakarta – Ganjar Pranowo, the former presidential candidate of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), has commented on the potential candidacy of Anies Baswedan in his party's deliberations for the Jakarta Gubernatorial Election.

Hendro D Situmorang, Jakarta – Ahmad Doli Kurnia, the deputy chairman of the Golkar Party, recently said the existing cabinet would remain united until the end of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's term.

The reason? Jokowi's ministers were often seen accompanying the president whenever the latter made business trips around the Indonesian archipelago, according to Ahmad Doli.

Antara, Jakarta – Economist Gunawan Benjamin said recently that the Kualanamu International Airport could provide a major impetus to North Sumatra's economic growth.

Tri Listiyarini, Jakarta – The Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry (KKP) is proactively addressing the anti-dumping case affecting Indonesian frozen shrimp export to the United States (US).

To mitigate the impact, the ministry is diversifying export markets to several potential countries, including China, Japan, Australia, and South Korea.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – Some top government officials are split over how much Indonesia should set its state budget deficit for next year, although senior minister Airlangga Hartarto said Monday that the House of Representatives was still discussing the exact cap.

Djibril Muhammad, Timika, Papua – An army deserter who became a mercenary for a rebel group in Papua has been shot to death during a recent security operation, authorities said on Monday.

Denis Murib was killed after a joint operation of the military and the police raided a rebel stronghold in the Papua regency of Paniai.

Vinnilya Huanggrio, Jakarta – Members of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's cabinet are anticipating a smooth transition of power five months into his retirement, a senior minister said on Monday.

Ikhsan Reliubun, Jakarta – Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association or PHRI in Bali, I Gusti Ngurah Rai Suryawijaya, urged the local government to carry out strict supervision of foreign investors entering the resort island.

Alif Ilham Fajriadi, Jakarta – The East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) volcano, Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, erupted again on Tuesday, June 18 at 07:46 local time, spewing a 700-meter-high column of ash from the summit. The seismograph recorded that it had a maximum amplitude of 37 millimeters in 4 minutes and 7 seconds.

Jakarta – President Jokowi is plotting for his youngest son to run for the deputy governor of Jakarta. This is a repeat of the presidential election.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – A project to revive zebra shark numbers in Indonesia's Raja Ampat archipelago has welcomed the successful hatching of 24 pups so far this year, including five most recently in April.

Jakarta – Indonesia's President Joko Widodo plans to speed up the installation of water pumps across the country to protect food crops from the impact of extreme weather.

Mr Widodo urged the government to get 20,000 water pumps in place and use water more efficiently to safeguard the country's food security in the face of climate change.

Duncan Graham – At the end of 2023, there were three clear signs that Indonesia's new capital city project on Borneo island – personally driven by President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo – was not going well.

Rizky Ramadhan, Jakarta – Vice President Ma'ruf Amin praised non-Muslim communities for participating in Eid al-Adha celebrations by donating sacrificial animals on Monday.

Antara, Jakarta – Chief Cultural Affairs Minister Muhadjir Effendy has clarified his statement regarding the provision of social assistance (bansos) to online gambling victims.

Muhadjir emphasized that the recipients of the social assistance will be the family members of the victims, not the perpetrators.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – The Ombudsman of South Sumatra Province has discovered alleged fraud in the merit-based selection process for new student admissions (PPDB) for high schools (SMA) in 2024.

M. Adrian, the Head of the South Sumatra Ombudsman, reported that dozens of prospective students who should have been accepted were instead rejected by schools.

Eka Yudha Saputra, Ikhsan Reliubun (Antara), Jakarta – The idea of providing social assistance to victims of online gambling was initially proposed by Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture, Muhadjir Effendy. He stated that the ministry has been offering considerable advocacy to online gambling victims.

Pribadi, Sukma Kanthi Nurani, Jakarta – Several ministries and agencies have requested additional budgets for 2025, including costs for relocating to the new capital city, Nusantara (IKN). Who are they?

Cabinet Secretariat

Antara, Jakarta – Mount Marapi in West Sumatra erupted again on Sunday night, June 16, 2024. The eruption, recorded at 7:29 PM local time, produced the strongest tremors of any eruption so far this June.

"Yes, this is the strongest eruption this month," said Ahmad Rifandi, a volcano monitoring officer at Mount Marapi in Bukittinggi, on Sunday night.

Stefanno Sulaiman and Stanley Widianto, Jakarta – The government has shut down more than 2 million websites offering illegal online gambling services, the communications minister said on Friday, saying the activity was "sucking the people's blood dry".

Fitria Chusna Farisa, Jakarta – Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SafeNET) Executive Director Nenden Sekar Arum believes that blocking the social media platform X (Twitter) is not the solution to stopping the spread of pornographic content in Indonesia.

Jakarta – Plastic waste produced during Eid al-Adha could reach around 608 tons, most of which is contributed by single-use plastic bags in the distribution of sacrificial meat, according to an official at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

Antara, Jakarta – The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) has blocked 5,000 bank accounts, both individual and group, linked to online gambling cases.

Public relations group coordinator for PPATK, Natsir Kongah, said on Saturday, June 15, 2024, that he could not confirm the exact value of transactions made via the bank accounts.

Antara, Palu, Central Sulawesi – The Central Sulawesi Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) has reported that floods have left 171 houses inundated in Banggai Laut District as of Thursday, June 13, 2024.

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Jakarta – Former presidential candidate Anies Baswedan has secured the backing of leaders from Indonesia's largest party in Parliament, sources say, in a major boost for his chances at the local government elections in November.

Antara, Jakarta – The Katedral Church in Jakarta has donated a sacrificial cow to the nearby Istiqlal Mosque ahead of Eid al-Adha, one of the most important Muslim holidays, also known as the Feast of the Sacrifice, which falls on Monday.

Jakarta – The State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry might be onto something with its trial of a four-day workweek, set to begin on Monday.

Vinnilya, Jakarta – The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) has reported the capture of 80 vessels involved in illegal fishing, both domestic and foreign, in the first half of 2024.

Monique Handa Shafira, Jakarta – The upstream oil and gas regulator SKK Migas revealed that Indonesia hosted two of last year's largest global natural gas discoveries, highlighting its significant role in the energy transition.

Hendro Dahlan Situmorang, Jakarta – Hundreds of prospective Hajj pilgrims from Sidrap Regency, South Sulawesi faced a disappointing setback as they were denied entry to Saudi Arabia recently.

Andrea Arshirena Hosana, Jakarta – A public policy expert warned on Saturday that conflicting policies among ministers could derail President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's attempt to achieve key targets in his final year in office.

Jayapura – On June 14 the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) held a candlelight vigil in memory of the shooting and death of KNPB General Chairperson Musa Mako Tabuni at the site of the shooting at the Waena III State Housing Company (Perumnas) in Jayapura city.

Alfian Al-Ayubby – On 13 June 2024, a nickel smelting furnace at the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) in Central Sulawesi caught fire and exploded, sending two workers to hospital.

Amy Sood – Have a huge following on social media? In Indonesia, that might mean you are eligible for one of the many beasiswa influencer (influencer scholarships) now being touted by a number of private universities across the country.

Faris Mokhtar and Grace Sihombing – Indonesia's President-elect Prabowo Subianto plans to fund his spending promises by steadily increasing the debt ratio to its highest in two decades.

Duncan Graham – The pundits are already in a tizz: What'll happen to defence, AUKUS, trade and other relationships should Trump win in November? More pressing and certain is how we'll cope when Indonesia's President-elect Prabowo Subianto takes office in October.

Jakarta – Gone is the much-vaunted idea of the "military returning to the barracks" that filled the public discourse back in late 1990s in the wake of the Reform movement that put an end to the New Order.

Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) is gearing up to hold revotes or vote recounts in over 20 regions across the country following a series of Constitutional Court rulings that annulled a variety of results of the February legislative elections.

Jakarta – The Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry has highlighted the importance of digital literacy in preventing online sexual exploitation of women and children.

Nina A. Loasana, Jakarta – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has committed to helping Indonesia improve its capacity to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis, as the country sees more and more natural disasters triggered by global warming.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – The Indonesian rupiah weakened against the US dollar, reaching Rp 16,400 on Friday, its lowest point since the pandemic era in April 2020. Despite this decline, Bank Indonesia (BI) believes the rupiah's performance remains relatively strong compared to other countries.

Alfi Dinilhaq, Jakarta – Chinese tech giant Bytedance is planning to lay off 450 employees in Indonesia as it restructures operations after merging its e-commerce unit TikTok Shop with Tokopedia, owned by local tech conglomerate GoTo Gojek Tokopedia. The layoffs represent 9 percent of Bytedance's workforce in Indonesia.

Wahroni, Tangerang – The monthly number of foreigners being deported from Indonesia has increased by 94 percent so far this year compared to last year's figures, a senior official said on Thursday.

Antara, Jakarta – Jakarta's air quality has deteriorated to unhealthy levels, ranking as the second worst in the world. Residents are advised to wear masks when outdoors.