Muhammad Fakhruddin, Jakarta – The leaders of the Golkar Party planned for a meeting on Tuesday to appoint an acting chairman succeeding Airlangga Hartarto who abruptly announced his resignation on Sunday.

Dili – President Droupadi Murmu announced during her address in Timor-Leste on Saturday that India will soon open an embassy in the country as part of the growing India-Timor-Leste friendship.

President Murmu arrived in Timor Leste on Saturday, after concluding her visits to Fiji and New Zealand, in the third leg of her three-nation tour.

Richaldo Hariandja – A black double-cabin, four-wheel-drive pickup truck stopped in front of a fresh fish store in Kampung Baru, Mangkupadi village, in North Kalimantan, and three Chinese nationals and one Indonesian exited the vehicle. They went inside and spent more than 30 minutes inspecting and selecting fish before leaving.

Yustinus Patris Paat, Jakarta – Airlangga Hartarto announced his resignation as chairman of the Golkar Party on Sunday, emphasizing the party's significant achievements under his leadership.

Yustinus Patris Paat, Jakarta – Airlangga Hartarto unexpectedly announced his resignation as chairman of the Golkar Party on Sunday, citing his decision as a measure to maintain the party's unity.

Novali Panji Nugroho, Jakarta – Airlangga Hartarto announced his resignation as Chair of the Golkar Party. In a video statement delivered by Airlangga, the decision to resign has been made since Saturday, August 10, 2024.

Antara, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has announced a potential bonus of Rp6 billion for each gold medalist at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

"The bonus for a gold medal could range from Rp5 billion to Rp6 billion, with the possibility of an increase," stated Yohan, an expert staff member at the Youth and Sports Ministry, during a Jakarta press conference on Friday.

The spotlight is again on West Papua following the killing of New Zealand pilot Glen Conning. His sad and untimely death came just as there was renewed hope that his fellow New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens might finally be released by the armed resistance fighters who have held him since February 2023.

Jakarta – The Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy supports the removal of a recommendation from the Forum for Religious Harmony (FKUB) in order to establish a house of worship in Indonesia.

Setara Institute Executive Director Halili Hasan said that it is better if the licensing process for establishing houses of worship is simplified.

Antara, Jakarta – Head of the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN), Hasto Wardoyo, said that the abortion provisions for victims of rape and sexual harassment are aimed to maintain their mental health.

The provisions are based on Government Regulation (PP) Number 28 of 2024.

Faisal Maliki Baskoro, Canberra – Australia and Indonesia advanced their electric vehicle (EV) partnership during the first Senior Officials' Meeting under the Electric Vehicle Collaboration Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Canberra on Friday.

Fuad Iqbal Abdullah, Vinnilya, Dayat, Jakarta/Balikpapan – Thousands of Jakarta residents gathered eagerly to witness the historic journey of the replica of Indonesia's national flag, which began its journey from the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta to Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta.

Jakarta – The government just enacted a new rule that makes it easier for women to get safe abortions in cases of rape or medical emergency. This is part of a larger health reform that was introduced last year to improve women's reproductive health and reduce maternal deaths.

Australia is poised to sign a new upgraded defence pact with Indonesia by the end of this month as the federal government prepares to welcome the incoming Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to Canberra.

Yanuar Nugroho – A recent ransomware attack on Indonesia's public services revealed weaknesses that the country can ill afford to ignore if it wishes to fully participate in the digital century.

Jakarta – In response to rising religious intolerance in Indonesia, 20 local communities from across the country have launched the #Friendship4Peace campaign through the Campaign #ForABetterWorld app.

The campaign, which aims to support freedom of religion and faith, is done in collaboration with PeaceGeneration Indonesia, a social enterprise focusing on peace education.

Jakarta – Tensions between the nation's largest Muslim organization, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), and its de facto political vehicle, the National Awakening Party (PKB) have reached new heights after the Islamic party reported its ex-secretary-general, Lukman Edy, to the police.

Jakarta – If political parties were corporations, it may be time to red-flag their maneuvers ahead of November's regional head elections.

While it is not yet official, the alliances they are forming to nominate their chosen candidates in some key regions have become so large that they are blocking opportunities for other candidates to run.

Jakarta – The National Health Insurance scheme, better known by its acronym JKN, has reached a coverage of 98.19 percent of the total population, according to BPJS Kesehatan.

Suci Sekarwati, Jakarta – Australia launched a new five-year Development Partnership Plan (DPP) with Indonesia on Thursday, August 8, 2024. The plan aims to support Indonesia's development goals and continue the strong institutional and people-to-people links between Australia and Indonesia.

Jakarta – The response to the Covid-19 pandemic led to a relaxation in regulations and procedures, at the same time as an increase in autocracy. There were plenty of opportunities for corruption.

David Camroux and Mahrus Harnadi – On 7 January 2024, the second debate in the presidential election campaign in Indonesia was held. The debate's theme was Indonesia's position in international affairs and involved three candidates – front-runner and ultimate victor, Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo.

Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has issued a decree banning six people who are under investigation in relation to a corruption case at state-owned telecommunications firm PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) from traveling abroad.

Daniel A. Fajri, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo stressed that climate issues need to be a shared concern. He highlighted the mining sector as one of the primary causes of environmental damage. If environmental protection is neglected, it will have the most impact on life quality, leading to issues such as disease, drought, and food shortages.

Monique Handa Shafira, Jakarta – The Communication and Information Technology Ministry reported that 90 percent of government services disrupted by the June 20 data breach at the Temporary National Data Center (PDNS) 2 in Surabaya have been restored, though some data recovery efforts are ongoing.

Jakarta – A Regional Representatives Council (DPD) member form Aceh, Sudirman Haji Uma, has written to Jakarta Metro Jaya Regional Police Chief (Kapolda) Inspector General Karyoto requesting that a transgender beauty contest held recently at a hotel in Central Jakarta be investigated.

Julia Bergin with wires – Armed independence groups, treacherous terrain, wild weather, and airstrips that make Nepal's notorious Lukla airport look like "child's play" are just some of the dangers that pilots face flying in West Papua.

Antara, Jakarta – More investors will break ground on their respective projects in the new capital Nusantara next week, according to the Public Works Ministry.

This will mark the seventh groundbreaking phase. The vice presidential palace is also among the projects that will begin construction next week.

Mita Amalia Hapsari, Jakarta – The Golkar Party has announced its plan to nominate former West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil (RK) as its candidate for the Jakarta gubernatorial election and is now focusing on selecting a suitable running mate.

Yustinus Patris Paat, Jakarta – Ahmad Doli Kurnia, Deputy Chairman of the Golkar Party, revealed that the party is evaluating potential candidates for the vice gubernatorial role to partner with the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party's Dedi Mulyadi in the 2024 West Java gubernatorial race.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesian consumers are becoming slightly more upbeat about the country's overall economic conditions as of July after months of weaker optimism, according to Bank Indonesia.

Alfida Rizky Febrianna, Jakarta – The Economic and Social Research Institute (LPEM) at the University of Indonesia's Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB UI) has reported a troubling decline in Indonesia's middle class, attributed to decreasing purchasing power.

Heru Andriyanto, Tangerang – The Indonesian government is collaborating with pharmaceutical companies to increase the production of essential drug materials domestically, aiming to reduce reliance on imports and ensure stable local supplies, an official said recently.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has extended safeguard tariffs on imports of textiles, carpets, and other fabric coverings for another three years in a bid to protect and enhance the competitiveness of the domestic textile industry.

Jakarta – The body of AM, a 13-year-old boy who was allegedly beaten to death by police officers in early June in Padang, West Sumatra, will be exhumed on Thursday, following the issuance of a permit from the police earlier this week.

Nur Janti, Jakarta – The Jakarta chapter of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI Jakarta) condemned the alleged intimidation of a Tempo journalist and weekly podcast host in Jakarta and urged the police to prosecute the perpetrators.

Divya Karyza, Jakarta – Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan says a task force working to root out illegal imports has found that many foreign nationals are acting as distributors and have access to local warehouses for storing goods brought into the country.

Jakarta – In politics, apologies are a cheap commodity. Politicians apologize all the time.

Not all apologies are the same and some apologies are definitely and substantively better than others. Some enter the history books while others are quickly forgotten.

Jakarta – Former Indonesian president Megawati Soekarnoputri has warned that allowing a president to serve three terms could damage the country, in comments that potentially referred to outgoing president Joko Widodo.

Antonio da Costa, Dili – Rights groups are questioning Timor-Leste, an impoverished Asian nation, for allocating US$12 million for Pope Francis' visit next month, including US$1 million to build an altar for a papal Mass.

Church sources said some 700,000 Catholics, primarily from the nation's 1.3 million-strong Catholic majority, are expected to attend the Sept. 10 Mass.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The Indonesian government is working on improving and synchronizing its forest and supply chain data to comply with increasingly strict sustainability standards and requirements in markets where it exports to, including the European Union.

Victor Mambor and Pizaro Gozali Idrus, Jayapura and Jakarta – Indonesian human rights groups have called for an independent investigation into the death of a New Zealand helicopter pilot in a remote part of Papua province earlier this week.

Jakarta – If the breakdown in relations between Megawati Soekarnoputri and her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) with President Joko Widodo had happened a long time ago, perhaps the democratic retreat could have been avoided.

Han Revanda Putra, Jakarta – Spokesperson for Indonesia's Industry Ministry Febri Hendri Antoni Arif suspected that the pile-up of 26,415 containers stuck at Tanjung Priok and Tanjung Perak Ports was caused by the relaxation of import document regulations stated in the Trade Minister's Regulation (Permendag) No. 3 of 2024.

Irsyan Hasyim (Contributor), Jakarta – The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) stated that 99 percent of forest and land fires, or Karhutla, in Indonesia are caused by human activities.

Sarjan Lahay, Gorontalo, Indonesia – A palm oil industry body and a state-owned company are proposing a vast new palm oil plan encompassing around 1 million hectares (nearly 2.5 million acres) of new plantations across the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

Fito Akhmad Erlangga, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo welcomed credentials from ten newly appointed ambassadors from friendly nations at the Merdeka Palace on Thursday.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi highlighted Indonesia's strong ties with 10 countries and affirmed Indonesia's commitment to boosting bilateral cooperation with trade partners.

Yustinus Patris Paat, Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) on Thursday urged Anies Baswedan to promptly announce former party chairman Sohibul Iman as his running mate, warning that failure to do so could lead to the withdrawal of the party's support for his re-election bid as Jakarta governor.

Victor Yeimo – The killing of New Zealand helicopter pilot Glen Malcolm Conning in Alama Village, Mimika, Papua, on Monday August 5 brings back memories of the tragic story of this village in 1996.

Tria Sutrisna, Ihsanuddin, Jakarta – The families of activists abducted in 1997-98 are suffering from trauma after meeting with senior officials from president elect Prabowo Subianto's Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) on Sunday April 4.