Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – A group of supporters of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka are planning to establish a cyber team. Their aim is to counter the narrative regarding the free nutritious meal program (MBG) which they believe is being slandered on social media.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – Around Indonesian sixty women staged a symbolic picnic in front of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) building in Jakarta on Wednesday, October 15, 2025. They spread picnic mats and shared home-cooked meals of rice, meat, fruits, and vegetables, turning their lunch into a peaceful protest.

Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – Gerindra Party politician Habiburokhman claimed he has never encountered anyone who rejected the free nutritious meal or MBG program. He claimed that the individuals he met in his electoral district supported the Prabowo-led free meal project for school students.

Muhammad Farhan, Addin Anugrah Siwi, Jakarta – Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa clarified on Tuesday that the reported return of Rp 70 trillion ($4.2 billion) in unused funds by the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) for the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program did not come from the official state budget but from an additional funding proposal that was never approved.

Jakarta – Indonesian television network Trans7 has issued a public apology following widespread backlash over a broadcast about Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) that many viewers said insulted Muslim clerics and religious culture.

Addin Anugrah Siwi, Jakarta – The Finance Ministry announced on Tuesday that the government had rolled out Rp 192.2 trillion (approximately $11.6 billion) in energy subsidies and compensation as of early October this year.

Keith Anthony Fabro – Off the western coast of Sumatra, the Mentawai Islands rise from the Indian Ocean in a patchwork of emerald forests and winding rivers. The canopy shelters endemic macaques and gibbons, hornbills and orchids, while coastal villages still echo with rituals that tie people to the land and sea.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has found himself at the centre of global attention – and domestic debate – at the Gaza peace summit in Egypt, a high-level gathering aimed at ending hostilities and planning reconstruction in the war-torn enclave.

Jakarta – Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin on Wednesday held a meeting with senior politician and chairman of the NasDem Party Surya Paloh at the ministry's headquarters in Central Jakarta.

Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto has issued a new decree to restart international carbon emission trading after a four year hiatus.

The country issued carbon market rules in 2021 that focused on compliance carbon markets rather than transactions in voluntary markets.

Rebecca Tan and Winda Charmila – When President Donald Trump proclaimed an end to the war in Gaza on Monday, he was flanked by leaders from the Middle East and Europe as well as, at the corner of that historic stage in Egypt, a guest from elsewhere: Prabowo Subianto, the president of Indonesia.

Maretha Uli, Jakarta – The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has hired 5,000 professional chefs to train staff working at kitchens providing food under the free nutritious meal program, although experts have warned the move may not be a solution to the persistent food poisoning that has marred the program.

Jakarta – The government found traces of radioactivity at a clove farm in Sumatra, a government spokesperson said Tuesday, as Jakarta expanded an investigation launched after the US health authority detected Caesium-137 contamination of spices from the country.

Alif Ilham Fajriadi, Jakarta – Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) has imposed an administrative fine of Rp78,125,000 on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) for failing to remove pornographic content. Komdigi also noted it has issued three official reprimands to the platform, but has received no response from the platform owned by Elon Musk.

Prasakti Ramadhana (Dana) Fahadi, Angus Baranikow and Monica Winarnita – Various media outlets reported on how Indonesian diaspora members took part in protests against the Indonesian government that began at the end of August 2025.

Jonathan Yerushalmy – Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto has been heard on a hot mic asking Donald Trump if he can meet with the president's son Eric, as the leaders gathered in Egypt for a summit aimed at securing a lasting peace in Gaza.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – US President Donald Trump praised his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto for coming to the Egypt summit that saw the historic signing of a Gaza peace pact on Monday local time.

Anis Firmansah, Gresik, East Java – Indonesian authorities have seized more than 4,600 cubic meters of timber linked to an alleged illegal logging operation that caused widespread forest destruction in the Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra, officials said Tuesday.

Herman, Jakarta – Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita reaffirmed on Tuesday that all vehicles operating in Indonesia – including passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and mining trucks – must comply with the Euro 4 emission standard, in line with national environmental regulations.

Nandito Putra, Jakarta – Indonesian Minister of Industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, announced a new investment commitment of US$316.28 million (Rp5.25 trillion) from Chinese automaker Chery to strengthen Indonesia's battery-based automotive industry.

Jakarta – Almost all the bodies established after the 1998 Reformasi are still in existence. But almost all of them have lost their essence. Bodies established with the aim of correcting the bad practices of the past have lost their teeth in carrying out their functions.

Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – Jakarta Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) member Francine Widjojo stated that the trade in dog and cat meat in the capital city should be banned. Francine supports Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung Wibowo's plan to issue a gubernatorial regulation (Pergub) regarding the ban.

Dinda Shabrina, Jakarta – Indonesia's Deputy Chair of Commission X of the House of Representatives (DPR), Lalu Hadrian Irfani, supports Minister of Primary and Secondary Education (Mendikdasmen) Abdul Mu'ti's idea to manage the free nutritious meal program (MBG) through school kitchens.

Pribadi Wicaksono (Kontributor), Jakarta – Wildlife researcher and Professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Raden Wisnu Nurcahyo, urged the Indonesian central and regional governments to take serious action against a number of endangered wildlife.

Adhyasta Dirgantara, Robertus Belarminus, Jakarta – The Rose Team (Tim Mawar), which was a small team created by the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) Command Group IV in 1998, apparently still leaves traces to this day.

Jakarta – The statement by Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Minister Nusron Wahid that 474,000 hectares of land in South Papua that was released from forest classification as 'state land' and 'uninhabited' shows a mistaken and dangerous viewpoint. This statement appears to be reviving the terra nullius doctrine inherited from European colonialism.

Dian Rahma Fika, Jakarta – Indonesia's Minister of Religious Affairs, Nasaruddin Umar, has raised concerns over what he described as media exaggeration of sexual crimes in Islamic boarding schools (pesantren).

Alfida Rizky Febrianna, Ilham Oktafian, Jakarta – Muhammad Kerry Adrianto Riza, the son of fugitive oil magnate Mohammad Riza Chalid, went on trial Monday in a high-profile corruption case linked to alleged irregularities in crude oil and refinery product management at state energy firm Pertamina Patra Niaga.

Wahyu Sahala Tua, Jakarta – For the first time this year, no Chinese electric vehicle (EV) models appeared in Indonesia's top 10 best-selling cars in September, as the market was once again dominated by Japanese brands, particularly Toyota and Daihatsu.

Antara, Jakarta – The government has revoked the business permits of 2,039 kiosks, distributors, and retailers found guilty of violating subsidized fertilizer regulations, Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said on Monday. The move aims to protect farmers' interests nationwide.

Jakarta – The free nutritious meals program reminds us of Joseph Stalin's collectivization of agriculture in Ukraine during 1932 to 1933, when that nation was still part of the Soviet Union.

Novali Panji Nugroho, Jakarta – The Indonesian Army (TNI AD) will dispatch 26 soldiers to Singapore to participate in the Institutional Food Management Training at the Army Combat Service Command from October 13 to 18, 2025.

Purwanto Setiadi – There is a story about a bicycle that's inextricably linked to the image of Mohammad Hatta. This European-style bicycle, common during the colonial era, was never a status symbol in his hands. For Hatta – who later became Indonesia's first vice president – it represented his conscious choice to live modestly, to serve without excess.

Gembong Hanung and Maretha Uli, Jakarta – A recent string of radioactive contamination cases in several regions has prompted calls for greater oversight on imported scrap metal, a high-demand commodity with irradiated traces that may pollute the environment and harm the public.

On 27 August 2025, 22-year-old motorcycle taxi driver Maikel Welerubun was shot by security forces during a demonstration in Sorong City, Southwest Papua Province, protesting the transfer of four Papuan political prisoners from Sorong to Makassar.

Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – The Labor Party criticizes Indonesia's national internship program from the Ministry of Manpower. According to the President of the Labor Party, Said Iqbal, the program belittles workers who have completed their undergraduate education.

Indah Ayu Pujiastuti, Jakarta – Indonesia's tourism industry players have voiced frustration following the removal of the Indonesia Tourism Industry Association (GIPI), the country's umbrella organization for tourism associations, from the newly revised Tourism Law, passed by the House of Representatives (DPR) on October 2, 2025.

Sopian Hadi, Badung – Tears and solemn prayers filled Ground Zero Monument in Kuta on Sunday evening as hundreds gathered to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the 2002 Bali bombings, one of Indonesia's darkest chapters that claimed more than 200 lives.

A'an Suryana – The pesantren (Islamic boarding school) building that recently collapsed in Sidoarjo, East Java, killing at least 67 students, has exposed the lack of government oversight and the people's ignorance, especially in this particular pesantren community, of the need to construct buildings with proper engineering and government permits.

Timor-Leste is pushing to revive the Tasi Mane project, promising returns of up to US$52 billion by 2056 with development of the energy industry infrastructure, reports Portuguese news agency Lusa.

Jakarta – The government has nearly doubled a key allowance for its lawmakers, an official said on Monday, one month after canceling some of the benefits given to lawmakers in an effort to assuage public anger following a series of violent demonstrations.

Andi Adam Faturahman, Jakarta – Indonesian Deputy Health Minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono announced that Indonesia is still facing a shortage of medical and healthcare professionals. He mentioned that 4.6 percent of public health centers (puskesmas) in Indonesia do not have doctors.

Ervana Trikarinaputri, Jakarta – The Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI) reported that the number of children experienced food poisoning from the government's free nutritious meal project, also known as MBG, as of 12th October 2025, has reached 11,566 children.

Ilona Estherina, Jakarta – Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (OJK), in collaboration with the Task Force for the Eradication of Illegal Financial Activities, has shut down 1,556 illegal online lending platforms and 284 unauthorized investment schemes detected between January and September 30, 2025.

Agencies, Jakarta – The Israel Gymnastics Federation said it was appealing Indonesia's decision to block the country's gymnasts from competing in a world championship, calling the move by the world's largest Muslim-majority country "outrageous".

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia (BI) reported that foreign investors injected Rp 6.43 trillion ($389 million) into the country's financial markets between October 6 and 9, with most inflows channeled into government bonds (SBN).

Antara, Manokwari, West Papua – An Indonesian Army soldier was killed in an ambush by separatist rebels affiliated with the Free Papua Movement (OPM) in West Papua's North Moskona District, Teluk Bintuni Regency, on Saturday, military officials confirmed.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia has just secured $17.4 billion worth of investment commitments for its sustainability-related programs, some of which were expected to help put the sovereign fund Danantara's waste-to-energy plan into motion.

Addin Anugrah Siwi, Bogor, West Java – The Indonesian government is stepping up efforts to meet its 2025 tax revenue target of Rp 2,076.9 trillion ($125 billion) during the final three months of the year, as the fourth quarter traditionally accounts for the bulk of annual tax payments.

Dede Leni Mardianti, Jakarta – FIAN Indonesia, an Indonesia civil society organization advocating for the right to food and nutrition, has criticized the draft Presidential Regulation on the government's free nutritious meal program (MBG).

The group argued that the regulation fails to address fundamental problems in the government's flagship initiative.