Faisal Maliki Baskoro, Jakarta – The Indonesian stock market reached the Rp 12 trillion ($740.6 billion) milestone this week, with inflation remaining within Bank Indonesia's target.

Tagulandang, North Sulawesi (Agencies) – Antelmus Paulus, 67, is in despair after the eruption on Tuesday of Ruang volcano rendered his home on Tagulandang island uninhabitable and prompted authorities to evacuate more than 12,000 people.

Jakarta – If you were in Jakarta or elsewhere in the country in the past few weeks, it might have felt something like how Islam describes Judgement Day: as if the scorching sun were a mere hand's breadth from your head.

Jakarta – The government will permanently relocate almost 10,000 residents after a series of explosive eruptions of the Ruang volcano has raised concerns about the dangers of residing on the island in future, a minister said on Friday.

Antara, Jakarta – Astra International, the authorized distributor of Peugeot vehicles in Indonesia, has announced the discontinuation of Peugeot vehicle sales in the country after 52 years.

Jakarta – President-elect Prabowo Subianto intends to establish an elite club comprising the sitting president and living former presidents as a forum for exchanging views and ideas, his spokesman said on Friday.

Jakarta – When Prabowo Subianto takes office as Indonesia's eighth president in October, it may be worth restating this was made possible because of the free and fair democratic elections in February and that this would not have been possible without the free press playing its part.

Made Supriatma – Indonesia's Constitutional Court has dismissed a slew of lawsuits related to the country's elections in February. The ensuing calm only masks the intense horse-trading that is occurring behind the scenes.

Yerica Lai and Dio Suhenda, Jakarta – A disagreement has emerged in Prabowo Subianto's coalition after a member objected to the potential inclusion of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), a mid-size party in the legislature with a loyal supporter base, in the president-elect's incoming government.

Faisal Maliki Baskoro, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia (BI) has reported that inflation in April remained well within the central bank's target range, indicating the success of consistent monetary policy and close collaboration in inflation control between BI and both central and regional governments.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Chief Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said on Friday that he had told President-Elect Prabowo Subianto to avoid bringing "toxic people" into his incoming administration.

Amelia Rahima Sari, Jakarta – The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) urged the government to be careful in realizing the plan to establish a State Revenue Agency.

Monique Handa Shafira, Jakarta – The National Awakening Party (PKB) may nominate a candidate other than Anies Baswedan for the Jakarta gubernatorial election. This comes after Baswedan expressed his desire for a hiatus from politics following his loss in the presidential election.

Agnes Valentina Christa, Jakarta – Indonesia is grappling with a growing number of part-time teachers facing financial hardship, with calls for government intervention to address their plight.

Will Dunham, Jakarta – In June 2022, a male Sumatran orangutan named Rakus sustained a facial wound below the right eye, apparently during a fight with another male orangutan at the Suaq Balimbing research site, a protected rainforest area in South Aceh regency, Aceh. What Rakus did three days later really caught the attention of scientists.

jakarta – Less than half of inbound tourists to Indonesia's resort island of Bali have paid a new tourist tax of 150,000 rupiah (S$12.60) imposed since Feb 14, its tourism agency said.

Experts have attributed the lack of compliance with the new levy to insufficient checks and coordination among the authorities.

Jakarta – Like the tales of naughty boy Bart in the television serial The Simpsons, the 2024 elections ended in denial of blatant wrongdoing. The Constitutional Court refused to cancel the result of the election won by the pair of Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently gave Indonesia the roadmap that lays out the process that Jakarta has to go through before it can join the rich country club.

Anisa Fauziah, Jakarta – Despite major implications from the continued strengthening of the US dollar, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Friday that the Indonesian economy expanded by over 5 percent in the first quarter of the year.

Official data on first-quarter economic growth from the Central Statistics Agency has yet to be released.

Since the democratic transition that began in 1998, hundreds of independent media outlets have emerged, making Indonesia a pioneer in this domain in Southeast Asia. But they struggle to meet the needs of the 275 million Indonesians who are spread over 12,000 islands and speak more than 800 languages.

Laura Dobberstein – Indonesia has acquired spyware and surveillance technologies through a "murky network" that extends into Israel, Greece, Singapore and Malaysia for equipment sourcing, according to Amnesty International.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government has replaced imported COVID-19 vaccines with domestically produced ones that have lower chances of side effects, according to Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin.

Riri Rahayu, Jakarta – Deputy Head for Financing and Investment at the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) Authority Agung Wicaksono claims that investment opportunities in IKN are attracting European attention.

Monique Handa Shafira, Jakarta – The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded a total of 3,031,756 foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia in the first quarter of 2024.

According to Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, Acting Head of BPS, foreign tourist arrivals from January to March 2024 increased by 25.43 percent compared to the same period last year.

Ichsan Ali, Thomas Rizal, Andrea Arshirena Hosana, Jakarta – On the occasion of the 65th National Education Day (Hardiknas) on May 2, Deputy II of the Presidential Chief of Staff, Abetnego Tarigan, revealed that out of the total of 3 million teachers in Indonesia, only around 1.34 million or approximately 44.9 percent are certified.

Jakarta – The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said on Thursday that the rise in temperature affecting some cities in Indonesia was not part of a heat wave currently sweeping much of the Southeast Asian region.

Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, promotes Indonesia's Special Economic Zones to British investors, assuring them of certainty in doing business in Indonesia, the ministry said in a statement.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded a monthly inflation rate of 0.25 percent in April 2024, driven by rising transportation costs as millions of Indonesians embarked on the Eid exodus.

This rate was lower than the rates recorded in March 2024, which stood at 0.52 percent, and April 2023, which stood at 0.33 percent.

Jakarta –- The workers' security agency BPJS Ketenagakerjaan and the state-owned housing firm Perum Perumnas recently inked a memorandum of understanding.

Riri Rahayu, Jakarta – President Joko Widodo or Jokowi inaugurated the Tiu Suntuk Dam in West Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) on Thursday, May 2. Jokowi said the dam was built with a budget of Rp1.4 trillion.

A wide range of highly invasive spyware and surveillance products are being imported and deployed in Indonesia, Amnesty International's Security Lab said today, as it released a new report in collaboration with media partners Haaretz, Inside Story, Tempo, WAV research collective and Woz.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – President-elect Prabowo Subianto is not expected to implement significant changes in the cabinet structure, as his primary focus is on maintaining policy continuity from the Joko "Jokowi" Widodo government, according to a supporter group on Thursday.

Faisal Maliki Baskoro, Jakarta – The Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti) reported a significant surge in cryptocurrency transactions in Indonesia in March 2024. The transaction value soared to Rp103.58 trillion, a 207.5 percent increase compared to February 2024, which was Rp33.69 trillion.

Meirto Tangkepayung, Intan Jaya, Papua – The Papua Police have initiated the deployment of reinforcements to Intan Jaya regency in response to escalated attacks by rebel groups targeting both civilian and security installations over the past week.

Dio Suhenda, Jakarta – The Health Ministry, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), announced on Monday a new funding initiative that would pour in some US$5 million to help Indonesia build a more climate-resilient health system.

Jakarta – President-elect Prabowo Subianto has launched an early diplomacy offensive to lay out his foreign policy direction for the next five years after he takes over the country's top leadership position from Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in October.

Jakarta – Indonesia has rolled out spyware tools sourced from Israel, the European Union and Malaysia, raising concerns about privacy and freedom of expression in the country, Amnesty International said Thursday.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has repudiated a claim made by Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) chairman Kaesang Pangarep, his youngest son, that the outgoing executive will assist in the party's campaigning for the November regional elections.

A West Papuan resistance leader has condemned the United Nations role in allowing Indonesia to "integrate" the Melanesian Pacific region in what is claimed to be an "egregious act of inhumanity" on 1 May 1963.

Australia says it "unreservedly recognises Indonesia's territorial integrity and sovereignty over the Papua provinces" in response to a letter accusing it of betrayal, but it also "condemns violence".

The Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM) – Free Papua Movement – has laid into the US and Australian leaders.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government has set a target for the sales of battery-based electric cars to reach 50,000 units in 2024.

Jakarta – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has given some comments on Indonesia's economy as the country is undergoing a government transition from President Joko Widodo to President-elect Prabowo Subianto, at a recent press briefing on the Asia Pacific Department Regional Economic Outlook April 2024.

Antara, Jakarta – Acting Governor of the Bangka Belitung Islands, Syafrizal Zakaria Ali, stated that five smelters involved in the tin corruption case had laid off 1,000 of their workers.

Elisa Sekenyap, Jayapura – A peaceful demonstration by Papuan students in the Balinese provincial capital of Denpasar on Wednesday May 1 to commemorate the day Papua was annexed into the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) has been blocked and repressed by police.

Muhammad Aulia, Jakarta – An office building of the National Democratic Party (Nasdem) in Labuhanbatu regency, North Sumatra, has been demarcated by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) as part of the ongoing investigation against the local regent.

Chairul Fikri, Jakarta – Indonesian furniture exporters are setting their sights on capturing 1 percent of the market share, following a significant decline in exports last year.

Global furniture sales are estimated to have reached $729 billion last year, with a projected increase to $766 billion this year.

Divya Karyza, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has announced that the government will move forward with a plan to enable the export of solar power to Singapore.

Jakarta – The commemoration of the National Education Day (Hardiknas) this year was marked by a number of demonstrations by students and social organisations (ormas) in different parts of the country.

Antara, Jakarta – Several experts appeared in a public discussion held in Jakarta, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, as input for president-elect Prabowo Subianto in forming his cabinet.

Makassar – Police have broken up a demonstration by students commemorating National Education Day (Hardiknas) in front of the Alauddin State Islamic University (UIN) and Muhammadiyah University Makassar (Unismuh) campuses in Makassar, South Sulawesi. Dozens of students were arrested at the two locations.