Bella Evanglista, Faisal Maliki Baskoro, Jakarta – Pope Francis, the leader of the global Catholic Church, arrived at Merdeka Palace on Wednesday morning to meet with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – Nine out of 76 candidates in the running to become Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) members for the 2024-2029 period are politicians from political parties in the Onward Indonesia Coalition Plus (KIM Plus) supporting president-elect Prabowo Subianto.

Jakarta – Politics is the art of the possible, yet in the Jakarta gubernatorial election, political parties in both the ruling coalition and the opposition camps think it impossible to include former governor Anies Baswedan on the ballot in the Nov. 27 race.

Divya Karyza, Jakarta – A plan by India, the world's top buyer of vegetable oils, to increase its import tax on the commodity could hamper the growth of Indonesia's palm oil exports.

Feiral Rizky Batubara, Jakarta – The government launched an extensive program in 2007 to replace kerosene with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as the primary cooking fuel in homes.

Jakarta – Authorities have been ramping up mitigation measures against the spread of mpox after three suspected cases were reportedly found in Jakarta, with one case being closely monitored at a health facility and the other two undergoing self-isolation at home.

Antara, Jakarta – High living costs, traffic congestion, and parenting trauma are key contributors to mental health disorders in Jakarta, according to Samanta Elsener, a psychologist and board member of the Indonesian Psychological Association (Himpsi).

Vinnilya, Jakarta – The S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing in Indonesia dropped to 48.9 in August 2024, down from 49.3 in July, indicating the second consecutive month of contraction in factory activity. A reading below 50 signifies a contraction.

Antara, Jakarta – Investment Minister and Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Rosan Roeslani, announced that Indonesia's investment realization for the first half of 2024 reached Rp 829.9 trillion ($53.59 billion).

"As of the first semester of 2024, the realized investment stands at Rp 829.9 trillion," Rosan said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The Banda Aceh Police are investigating a grenade explosion in front of the house of Aceh gubernatorial candidate Bustami Hamzah in Syiah Kuala district, Banda Aceh city.

The city police's criminal investigation department head, Comr. Fadillah Aditya Pratama, said investigators had gathered evidence from the crime scene, including CCTV footage.

Juan Ardya Guardiola, Jakarta – Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi is encouraging more Indonesians to embrace electric vehicles (EVs) in their lives as the country wishes to boost its e-mobility adoption.

Duncan Graham – The paperwork signing late last month by Defence Minister Richard Marles and his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto in Magelang (Central Java) is being paraded as an extraordinary advance in relationships. It's not.

Dicky Kurniawan, Jakarta – Indonesian Investment Minister or Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Rosan Roeslani revealed the reason behind Tesla's decision not to invest in Indonesia.

He spilled that the primary factor is the country's continued reliance on fossil fuels for electricity generation.

Jakarta – The police continue to resort to brutality to silence demonstrators. This is a violation of human rights.

Andi Adam Faturahman, Jakarta – Ahmad Fathanah Haris, attorney for the CNN Indonesia Workers' Solidarity (SPCI), explained that employees faced layoffs after addressing the unilateral wage cuts by the media company.

Georgina Giannopoulos – Despite consistent national efforts to close the gender gap in the Indonesian education system, pervasive patriarchal views – especially in more conservative regions – continue to contribute to girls' disadvantage in schools. The autonomy and isolation of particular regions complicate efforts to implement reforms at a local level.

Winda Nelfira, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia hopes that Pope Francis' visit to Indonesia on September 3-7 can be used as a momentum to urge the Indonesian government to resolve past gross human rights violations.

Sui-Lee Wee and Emma Bubola – The hallelujahs rang out on Sunday from a small hall on the outskirts of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. The sounds from the Christian service could be heard within the green and orange mosque across the way, as a group of young girls in hijabs walked by.

Andreas Harsono – Pope Francis is in Indonesia as part of a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region. His visit comes as numerous discriminatory regulations in Indonesia target religious minorities around the country.

Jakarta – Ace Hardware is leaving Indonesia as of December 31, 2024, even though the presence of the U.S. appliance retail chain was just mentioned by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto as an indicator of national economic growth.

Pope Francis, 87, landed in Muslim-majority Indonesia on Tuesday for a visit dominated by inter-faith ties, at the start of an ambitious four-nation tour that will be the longest of his papacy.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Tri Atmoko is a regular visitor to the mangrove forests of Balikpapan Bay on the east coast of Indonesian Borneo, where he studies proboscis monkeys, an endangered species best known for its comically large nose.

Made Supriatma – Less than two months before stepping down, the outgoing president of Indonesia's plans to hang onto power are at risk of unravelling. What is worse, his previously sky-high popularity is also starting to fray.

The Santos-led Bayu-Undan joint venture (JV) has agreed on the terms for a sale and purchase deed with TIMOR GAP, allowing the Timor-Leste state-owned company to join the Bayu-Undan upstream project.

TIMOR GAP will gain a 16% stake in the Bayu-Undan upstream project located in the Timor Sea. The transaction has an economic date of 1 July 2024.

Jakarta – Stuck in a Jakarta traffic jam? No worries, we have a carload of therapists and clerics who will stop by to ease your frustration during the interminable wait.

That is what Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Ridwan Kamil is promising voters in the Nov 27 regional election. He has also made fervent declarations in support of the local football team.

Putri Safira Pitaloka, Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – The recent discourse surrounding the formation of a new community organization or political party has become a public spotlight on social media.

Jakarta – Has our country become a dumping ground for others? While the question might sound a little harsh, some developments suggest that the answer may be even harsher.

Imports of clothing and other products – some legal, others not – have long been a problem for domestic industries that are struggling to compete with the low prices of foreign-made goods.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Multinational corporations are seeing dollar signs on President-Elect Prabowo Subianto's free meal program, according to a top brass at the Bank of America.

Yustinus Paat, Thomas Rizal, Jakarta – The 2024 East Java gubernatorial election is shaping up to be highly competitive, with strong female contenders including Khofifah Indar Parawansa, Tri Rismaharini, and Luluk Nur Hamidah.

Stefani Wijaya, Jakarta – Indonesia's counterterrorism unit Densus 88 spokesperson Aswin Siregar revealed that YLK, a suspected terrorist, had planned a terror attack against the Singapore Stock Exchange in 2014.

YLK was captured on August 21 in Mongolato Village, Telaga District, Gorontalo Province.

Yustinus Patris Paat, Jakarta – Saidiman Ahmad of Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) predicts a close race in the 2024 West Java gubernatorial election, emphasizing Dedi Mulyadi's lead in electability against PKS Chairman Ahmad Syaikhu's effective voter mobilization.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia has attracted potential investment deals worth around $52.9 million at the 2024 International Tourism Investment Forum (ITIF), the government announced on Monday.

Pope Francis' visit to Indonesia from 3 to 6 September 2024 should be a momentum to urge Indonesia to stop gross human rights violations and provide redress for past atrocities or injustices resulting from socially and environmentally unfriendly development policies, such as those in Papua and Rempang, Amnesty International Indonesia said today.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court's decision in August to lower the vote threshold for political parties to nominate gubernatorial candidates was intended to promote broader participation, enhancing the democratic process. The threshold was reduced from 25 percent of the vote to a range of 6.5 to 10 percent, depending on the province's population size.

Mutia Yuantisya, Jakarta – The Deputy Chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Nurul Ghufron mentioned that offshore countries are often used for financial crimes and money laundering, especially by corruptors.

Offshore countries offer relaxed regulations and asset protection that corruptors exploit to hide their criminal proceeds.

Jakarta – The Constitutional Court ruling on the requirements for nominating candidates for regional heads restores the political rationality that had been hijacked by the parties. Democracy in Indonesia, which had been fading away for some time, is now shining a little brighter.

Moh. Khory Alfarizi, Jakarta – Greg Barton, Professor of Global Islamic Politics at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalization (ADI) in Melbourne, Australia, commented on the declaration of disbandment by terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiyah at the end of June, facilitated by the National Police's Special Anti-Terrorism Detachment 88 or Densus 88.

Feri Amsari – On 27 August 2024, former Constitutional Court Chief Justice Anwar Usman lodged an appeal against a Jakarta Administrative Court (PTUN) ruling (604/G/2023/PTUN.JKT) that cancelled ethical sanctions imposed on him by the Constitutional Court. He did so because it also denied his request to be reinstated as head of that court.

Mita Amalia Hapsari, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has ordered the postponement of the planned relocation of central government employees to the still-developing new capital, Nusantara, in East Kalimantan. The delay is to ensure that essential infrastructure is completed beforehand, an aide said on Tuesday.

Jakarta – The impending visit of Pope Francis to Indonesia this week could not be more timely, coming as it does after a tumultuous period during which the country's democracy again rose up against an attempt by those with power to bury it.

Han Revanda Putra, Jakarta – President-elect Prabowo Subianto announced plans to separate the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) into two distinct ministries: one dedicated to housing and another focused on infrastructure development.

Antara, Jakarta – The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recorded that as many as 8 cities or regencies in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) are facing drought emergencies during this dry season.

Ilona Estherina, Jakarta – Indonesia experienced a monthly deflation of 0.03 percent in August 2024, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS).

Pudji Ismartini, Deputy for Distribution and Services Statistics, reported a decrease in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from 106.09 in July 2024 to 106.06 in August 2024.

Rama Sukarta, Jakarta – The Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) confirmed that it is still investigating a gratification case involving five former employees who allegedly accepted bribes from companies during the initial public offering (IPO) process.

Ruth Dea Juwita, Jakarta – Indonesian unicorns, once thriving start-ups valued at over US$1 billion, seem to have lost their direction over the past few years with funding becoming increasingly difficult to find, while some have seen their market capitalization plummet years after going public.

Whisnu Bagus Prasetyo, Jakarta – Foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia reached 7.75 million from January to July 2024, a 20.75 percent increase from the same period last year, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo suffered his first major political defeat, just two months before he steps down, when a popular revolt denied him the chance to field his youngest son to run in the November polls to elect the leaders of regional governments.

Kate Hartcher – With rising consumer concerns for animal welfare worldwide, the poultry industry is starting to let their hens roam around in bigger spaces.

This shift from conventional battery cages to cage-free systems allow layer hens greater freedom of movement and a chance to engage in natural behaviours, from foraging to dust-bathing.

David da Costa – Today (September 2, 2024), around 12 p.m., Nelson Roldao, a Timorese human rights activist supporting the pro-West Papua movement, was arrested at Timor-Leste the Prezidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport in Dili, Timor-Leste, while accompanying West Papuan activist, who was traveling back to his home country.

Yogyakarta – A number of activists in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta have demanded and urged the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to immediately summon and question President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's youngest son Kaesang Pangarep.

The summons is intended to seek clarification from Pangarep regarding a private jet that he used to travel to the United States.