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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Leonard AL Cahyoputra, Jakarta – Since the start of 2024, around 13,800 workers in the textile industry have been laid off. Experts foresee a second wave of mass layoffs due to a regulation easing the influx of imported goods.

Antara, Jakarta – The Industry Ministry has reached an agreement with four Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers – Neta, Wuling, Chery, and Sokon – to establish Indonesia as a hub for producing electric vehicles for export.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 – 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Riri Rahayu, Jakarta – Member of the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission V, Suryadi Jaya Purnama, urged the government to evaluate the new capital city of Nusantara (IKN) project in East Kalimantan as it has not yet drawn investment. He assessed that investors are reluctant to put funds because of several issues.

Antara, Jakarta – Minister of Public Works and Housing (PUPR) Basuki Hadimuljono invited Indonesian citizens in Uzbekistan to get involved in Nusantara Capital City (IKN) development.

Daniel A. Fajri, Jakarta – Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said there was no need for a new non-aligned movement, and the most important for Indonesia is taking concrete steps amid current geopolitical and economic rivalries.

Laila Afifa, Jakarta – The BPK found irregularities in gas sale transactions by PGN in 2017. This could be the way to investigate a number of other offenses.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Heavily polluted Indonesia is asking China to provide technical assistance and solar power industry investments, among other things, so people in the Southeast Asian country can breathe cleaner air.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – The surge in online gambling has raised significant concerns due to its adverse societal impacts. While the government is actively tackling the issue, two ministers have voiced different opinions on how to manage online gambling practices.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) says that Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia, who is also the head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), cannot just suddenly issue a mining permit to the Nahdlatul Ulama's Central Board (PBNU).

Max Lane – The Socialist Party of Timor (PST) evolved out of the national liberation struggle in Timor Leste in the 1970s. In the first stage of that struggle, socialist ideas circulated, originating from contact with Portugal, Brazil or the national liberation struggles in the Portuguese African colonies.

Ardito Ramadhan, Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) is urging President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to fully resolve the 2001 gross human rights (HAM) violations case in Wasior, Papua, which have been languishing for 23 years.

Hariz Baharudin, Jakarta – A familiar approach was floated by Indonesia when news broke about social platform X's decision to officially allow pornographic content: Ban and block it.

Alfida Rizky Febrianna, Jakarta – The Institute for Demographic and Poverty Studies (IDEAS) projects Indonesia's potential qurban economy for 2024 to reach Rp 28.2 trillion ($1.7 billion), generated from 2.16 million qurban participants.