Jakarta – Indonesia reported a trade surplus of $2.9 billion for August, marking the 52nd consecutive month of surplus, up from the $2.04 billion surplus in July, the Central Statistics Agency announced on Tuesday.

The trade surplus streak, which began in May 2020, continued despite the August figure being $220 million lower than the same period last year.

Whisnu Bagus Prasetyo, Jakarta – The government will raise the tax on private house construction from 2.2 percent to 2.4 percent starting next year, a Finance Ministry advisor announced on Tuesday.

The tax applies to the construction of houses with a minimum size of 200 square meters, said Yustinus Prastowo.

Thomas Rizal, Jakarta – Almost everyone in Indonesia has their eyes glued on the upcoming election that will decide who will lead the country's largest city Jakarta for the next five years.

Jakarta – If Prabowo Subianto had said that he would not intervene in the regional head elections before Constitutional Court ruling No. 70/2024, he might have been referred to as a statesman.

M. Raihan Muzzaki, Jakarta – The Indonesian government led by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has faced sharp criticism for reopening sea sand export permits, despite concerns about the activity's environmental impact.

Arie Firdaus and Tria Dianti, Jakarta – While appearing at the anti-corruption agency Tuesday, the Indonesian president's youngest son denied allegations of misconduct for using a private jet to fly to the U.S, saying he had "hitched a ride" on a friend's plane.

Surabaya – Dozens of residents in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya held a declaration in front of the Surabaya Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) building on Tuesday September 17 supporting the empty ballot box in the 2024 Surabaya mayoral election (Pilwalkot),

Whisnu Bagus Prasetyo, Tangerang – Chief Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan recently met with two of the world's wealthiest families in Bali to discuss plans for establishing family offices in Indonesia – the meetings were part of a government effort to attract foreign wealth and bolster the national economy.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has pledged to evaluate the 21st National Games (PON) organization in Aceh and North Sumatra following widespread complaints over poor and incomplete infrastructure.

Rezwan – On February 14, 2024, the Indonesian general elections took place, marked by a high voter turnout.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reports that Indonesia has imported 3.05 million tons of rice, worth $1.91 billion, from January to August 2024 – this represents a 121.34 percent increase in rice imports compared to the same period last year, contributing 1.5 percent to the country's non-oil and gas imports.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The United Kingdom agreed to help Indonesia embrace sustainable development in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on Tuesday.

Antara, Jakarta – Air quality in Jakarta on Monday morning, September 16, 2024, fell into the unhealthy category. As reported by Antara, with air conditions like this, Jakarta is ranked second as the city with the worst air in the world.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – The Golkar Party is expecting to have a bigger number of cabinet members under the Prabowo Subianto presidency than in the current government.

Annisa Febiola, Jakarta – Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Ridwan Kamil aims to reduce Jakarta's air pollution in five years, if he is elected to lead. He said efforts to tackle pollution must be multidimensional.

"In five years, air pollution in Jakarta should be reduced," he said when met at Ganara Art Space, FX Sudirman, Central Jakarta on Sunday, September 15, 2024.

Teguh Adi Prasetyo, Mita Amalia Hapsari, Jakarta – The power struggle within the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) escalated on Monday as both the newly-appointed chairman and the incumbent, who refuses to recognize the sudden leadership change, sought intervention from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Heru Yustanto, Jakarta – A 56-year-old woman died while returning from a tourist resort in Bogor, West Java, after the bus carrying her group became stuck in heavy traffic on Sunday evening.

Jakarta – For decades, Indonesia's protected wildlife such as songbirds and orang utans have been traded illegally and even smuggled out of the country, to the detriment of the species.

Michael Rose – On Tuesday afternoon last week, around half the population of Timor-Leste, at least 600,000 people, attended a mass held by Pope Francis in Dili.

Zulkifli Mangkau, Pohuwato, Indonesia – Lukman Ahmad managed in the end to drag himself down from the slopes of Mount Pani toward the southern coast of Indonesia's Pohuwato district. When he staggered back into Botubilotahu village, the 56-year-old was gaunt and reeling.

Jakarta – The Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) will have limited representation in the upcoming cabinet, despite its chairman, Prabowo Subianto, set to assume the presidency next month with full authority to appoint new ministers, a senior party executive revealed on Monday.

Alfida Rizky Febrianna, Jakarta – As Prabowo Subianto prepares to assume the presidency next month, he faces a critical decision in selecting a finance minister, a position crucial to steering Indonesia out of its persistent middle-income trap, analysts said on Monday.

Antara, Jakarta – The 5th President of Indonesia, Megawati Soekarnoputri, introduced the ideology of Pancasila to the public of St. Petersburg, Russia and Samarkand, Azerbaijan.

Arif Ferdianto, Jakarta – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) believes that the government's decision to reopen the tap of sand sea mining will bring with it financial losses for the state.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia's West Kalimantan Provincial Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) revealed that from January 1 to August 30, 2024, land and forest fires have burned an area of 13,057.7 hectares in 13 districts/cities.

Jakarta – Indonesia must be delighted that during his three-day visit last week, Pope Francis lauded the interfaith harmony it has endeavored to preserve since independence, as evident in Jakarta Cathedral and Istiqlal Mosque's decades-long coexistence, not to mention Terowongan Silaturahmi (Tunnel of Kinship), built in 2020-2021 to allow easier access between the two houses of wors

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – The government's plan to differentiate the pricings of Commuter Line (KRL) tickets based on commuters' identity card numbers (NIK) has sparked widespread public outcry.

Panji Satrio, Jakarta – A viral video on social media recently exposed inadequate and poorly nutritious meals provided to athletes at the 21st National Sports Week (PON) in Aceh and North Sumatra, sparking widespread criticism.

Stefanno Sulaiman and Gayatri Suroyo, Jakarta – President-elect Prabowo Subianto plans to launch a green economy fund by selling carbon emission credits from projects such as rainforest preservation, aiming to raise US$65 billion by 2028, an adviser told Reuters.

Sella Rizky Deviani, Jakarta – After initially considering extending Heru Budi Hartono's term as acting governor, the Jakarta Legislative Council has decided to propose three new candidates to replace him. The new acting governor will serve until an elected leader is inaugurated in late December.

Nazarudin Latif, Jakarta – Triana Rahmawati, a mother of two, lost her publishing job in Jakarta earlier this year, forcing her family to cut back on spending drastically.

Rafi Adis Subarna – Indonesia has emerged as the leading force in the nickel industry, holding over half of the global market share in 2023.

Sella Rizky Deviani, Nusantara – President-Elect Prabowo Subianto pledged to continue the construction of Indonesia's new capital, Nusantara, during an emotional cabinet meeting on Friday.

Heru Andriyanto, Monique Handa Shafira, Jakarta – Renowned business executive Anindya Bakrie was appointed chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) on Saturday, sparking immediate opposition from the current chairman, Arsjad Rasjid, who has refused to step down.

Ilona Estherina, Jakarta – The Directorate General of Taxes at the Indonesian Ministry of Finance recorded tax revenues from the digital economy sector reaching Rp27.85 trillion from 2022 to the end of August 2024.

Muhammad Aulia, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is investigating allegations of corruption related to the use of corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds from Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Financial Services Authority (OJK).

Dani Rahma Fika, Jakarta – The Purwakarta District Court sentenced Opan Sopandi, the defendant of sexual abuse against children case, to 20 years in prison. Opan, who worked as a religious tutor, was found guilty of sexually abusing 15 children in Purwakarta, West Java.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government will review the plan for National Identification Number or NIK-based subsidized tickets for the KRL commuter line. Minister of Transportation, Budi Karya Sumadi, said on Friday, September 6, that the ministry will soon hold a meeting to discuss the NIK-based Greater Jakarta KRL subsidy scheme.

Han Revanda Putra, Jakarta – The Indonesian Manpower Ministry has responded to Singapore's recent ratification of a law governing informal workers, including online ojek drivers.

Han Revanda Putra, Jakarta – State Logistics Agency (Bulog) has announced that it will continue to import rice to support the Free Nutritious Meal program initiated by President-elect Prabowo Subianto. Bulog has already imported 2.4 million tons of rice this year, out of a total target of 3.6 million tons.

Indah Ayu Pujiastuti, Jakarta – Local petrochemical businesses are urging the government to reimpose the 2023 Trade Ministry Regulation 36 on Import to save the domestic industry – be it in the upstream or downstream sectors.

Indah Ayu Pujiastuti, Jakarta – According to Ahmad Heri Firdaus, a trade researcher at think-tank Indef, the government needs to be more selective when imposing import duty policies for plastic raw materials as Indonesia relaxes imports restrictions.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is letting his ministers come up with new regulations as long as these rules can lead to a more effective government transition.

Jakarta – A proposal to replace cow's milk with "fish milk" in Indonesia's upcoming free meals programme for students has fed online debate among Indonesians and caused a stink with some nutrition experts.

Nusantara – Indonesia's President Joko Widodo ordered his Cabinet to maintain stability and avoid implementing any abrupt policy changes ahead of the leadership transition in October.

West Papuan independence advocate Octo Mote is in Aotearoa to win support for independence for West Papua, which has been ruled by Indonesia for over 60 years.

Mote is the vice-president of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), and is being hosted in New Zealand by the Green Party, which Mote said had always been a hero for West Papua.

Jakarta – The 2024 National Games (PON), cohosted by Aceh and North Sumatra, have so far been a remarkable display of Indonesia's sporting talent.

With around 13,000 athletes participating in 65 sports, the event showcases the depth of talent and potential that the nation has.

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) sprang a surprise in the final hours of candidate registration for the Jakarta gubernatorial election, choosing Pramono Anung over heavy favorites Anies Baswedan and Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama.

Jakarta – A business jet became the first jet aircraft carrying passengers to land at the airport in the future capital Nusantara in East Kalimantan on Thursday.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi and Agrarian and Spatial Planning Deputy Minister Raja Juli Antoni and their entourage were the first passengers to land at the airport.

Yulia Savitri, Palembang – Marda Ellius is always stressed out and worried about her and her children's health whenever flames engulfs a forest located near her house in Bangsal village, Ogan Komering Ilir regency, South Sumatra.