Sumalata, Indonesia – Following encounters while diving, Gusnar Ismail has long turned to the morning glory plants growing on sandbanks here on the north of Indonesia's Sulawesi Island.
"When I get stung or stabbed by an animal in the sea, I'll go straight away to look for batata to use as medicine," Gusnar told Mongabay Indonesia on March 14.
Ilona Estherina, Jakarta – The World Bank has lowered its 2026 economic growth forecast for Indonesia to 4.7 percent, down from its previous projection of 4.8 percent issued in October 2025, citing rising oil prices and heightened investor caution in global financial markets.
Papuan Journalist Mr Mis Murib, affiliated with the Nadi Papua Media, was reportedly subjected to intimidation following the publication of an investigative report on illegal gold mining activities in the Siriwo upstream area, Nabire Regency.
Dian Rahma Fika Alnina, Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto delivered a briefing to the Red and White Cabinet at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday, April 8th, 2026. The Chair of the Gerindra Party opened his speech at the working meeting event by discussing the government's achievements.
Riani Sanusi Putri, Jakarta – The Directorate General of Immigration has handed over three Australian nationals to the Indonesian Prosecutor's Office following an illegal entry case involving a private aircraft. The suspects, identified by their initials ZA, DTL, and the pilot JVD, will undergo the judicial process after their investigation files were declared complete (P21).
Antara, Jakarta – Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has pushed back against the World Bank's decision to lower Indonesia's 2026 economic growth forecast from 4.8 percent to 4.7 percent, saying the institution's assessment does not fully capture the government's strategy to support the economy.
Tempo, Jakarta – Indonesia's Deputy Head of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Sonny Harry Budi Utomo Harmadi stated that national sugar production has increased while consumption has decreased. He mentioned that this reflects improvements in food security as well as a shift in the consumption patterns of the population towards a healthier direction.
Ervana Trikarinaputri, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto said Indonesia aims to begin mass production of electric sedans by 2028 as part of the government's broader push to develop the country's domestic electric vehicle industry.
JG, Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia has deployed army personnel to support the nationwide distribution of imported pickup trucks from India to rural cooperatives, as the government accelerates a large-scale logistics program aimed at boosting village economies.
Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia's Hajj waiting list has stretched to as long as 26 years for the regular pilgrimage program, with demand far outpacing the annual quota allocated by Saudi Arabia, a senior official said on Thursday.
DW (Deutsche Welle), Jakarta – Jakarta, October 1965. After a failed coup attempt, the Indonesian army and its allies killed, tortured and imprisoned hundreds of thousands of Indonesians they suspected to be communists, many of them of Chinese descent.
Budiman, Ahmad Hisyam Nugroho, Jakarta – Surging soybean and packaging costs are squeezing Indonesia's small-scale tempe producers, forcing them to shrink product sizes and switch to traditional wrapping just to stay afloat.
Eka Yudha Saputra, Jakarta – Indonesian activist Andrie Yunus, deputy coordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), has called on civil society groups to submit amicus curiae, or friend-of-the-court briefs, in the judicial review of Indonesia's revised Military Law at the Constitutional Court.
Christine Cabasset, Eric Frecon – Australia and its partners need to monitor the developments in China's engagement with Timor-Leste carefully. Canberra should also, ideally, implement proactive initiatives to strengthen its own relationship with Dili.
Aida Ulim, Jayapura – The West Papua Independent Student Forum, along with several students in Jayapura City, Papua, staged a protest against the management of natural resources in Papua, which they say has failed to deliver justice for Indigenous communities and their future.
Jakarta – East Jakarta officials are in the hot seat after a public maintenance worker falsely claimed that a resident's complaint had been resolved by responding with an AI-generated image.
On 12 March 2026, Indonesian security forces arbitrarily apprehended Mr Oksal Kobak, 28, Mr Yos Payage, 36, Mr Simion Payage, 29, Mr Menase Heluka, and Mr Oser Kobak at the Old Sentani Market in Jayapura Regency, Papua Province. The arrests were reportedly carried out without the presentation of warrants, and some individuals were subsequently designated as suspects.
Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid has criticised the seven-month prison sentence handed down against Wawan Hermawan, the administrator of the @bekasi_menggugat account, for inciting the August 2025 protests.
Hamid said that Hermawan's actions in simply reposting content on social media should not be the basis for a legal problem.
On 22 March 2026 at approximately 5:00 pm, military members and Marine Corps personnel reportedly detained seven Papuan civilians, primarily pupils, in the Sinak District, Puncak Regency, Central Papua province.
Akmalal Hamdhi, Jakarta – Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves declined by $3.7 billion to $148.2 billion at the end of March 2026, as the central bank stepped up efforts to stabilize the rupiah and met external debt obligations.
On 10 March 2026, Members of the Indonesian Marine Corps arbitrarily detained indigenous gold panner, Mr Anton Payage, at the Marine Corps post on Seradala Road near the Nami River gold panning site in Dekai District, Yahukimo Regency, Papua Highlands Province. Mr Payage was apprehended while travelling to a traditional gold panning location.
Bandung, West Java – Indonesian prosecutors on April 7 charged 19 people accused of sending infants to cities across the country and overseas, including to Singapore, in what the authorities described as one of Indonesia's largest trafficking cases in recent years.
The Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, Xanana Gusmao, has acknowledged that the government may be compelled to curtail the country's electricity provision during overnight periods should hostilities in the Middle East persist.
Nina A. Loasana, Jakarta – The landslide at the Bantar Gebang landfill in Bekasi, West Java, last month did more than claim seven lives; it triggered a cascading waste crisis across Jakarta.
Aida Ulim, Jayapura – The West Papua Independent Student Forum (FIM-WP) City Leadership Committee (KPK) in Sentani has expressed its rejection of the presence of PT Freeport Indonesia, while calling for the Papuan people to be granted the right to self-determination.
Giri Ahmad Taufik – Picture a local thug in any Indonesian major city getting on an angkot (public transport minivan) to make the driver buy a bottle of water they neither need nor want. A transaction takes place. But it's hardly a business deal. It's coercion disguised as trade. The driver pays the thug not for the water but simply to avoid trouble.
Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition Against Impunity announced that the State Administrative Court (PTUN) in Jakarta will deliver its verdict on the lawsuit against Minister of Culture Fadli Zon for denying the May 1998 mass rape case.
Daniel Winarta, the coalition's legal representative, said the decision is scheduled for April 21, 2026.
Anastasya Lavenia Yudi, Jakarta – Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (OJK) recorded that outstanding financing, or public debt, on online lending platforms reached Rp100.69 trillion in February 2026.
Erfan Maruf, Jakarta – The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has procured 25,000 electric motorbikes to support the nationwide rollout of its free nutritious meal program, its chief Dadan Hindayana confirmed on Tuesday.
Gembong Hanung, Jakarta – Indonesia has seen its highest level of forest loss in almost a decade in 2025, the first full year under President Prabowo Subianto whose administration has been expanding large-scale food and energy estates in critical deforested islands, according to a new report from Auriga Nusantara.
Jakarta – At least 72 children from four different schools in Duren Sawit, East Jakarta have shown symptoms of food poisoning after consuming school lunches prepared under the government's free nutritious meal program last week, prompting the shutdown of the participating kitchen due to failure to meet food safety standards.
Joniansyah, Jakarta – InJourney Airports, the operator of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, apologized on Tuesday after part of the roof at Boarding Lounge Gate 7 in Terminal 3 collapsed during heavy rain, in an incident that was widely circulated on social media.
Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – It costs more money to fly to other Indonesian cities from Jakarta compared to other ASEAN nations, and the freshly announced airfare hike caps are expected to create another turbulence on domestic tourism.
Ria Fortuna Wijaya, Leonard AL Cahyoputra, Jakarta – Indonesia's plan to introduce B50 biodiesel in the second half of 2026 is increasingly constrained by a basic issue: palm oil supply may not be sufficient to meet surging domestic demand without crowding out exports.
Nandito Putra, Jakarta – Indonesia's coal production is nearing the 600 million tons quota, but the country is not shutting down the chance to raise production volumes as commodity prices fluctuate, said Tri Winarno, the Energy Ministry's Mineral and Coal director general.
Dani Aswara, Jakarta – Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, Usman Hamid, has criticized Indonesia's military justice system, saying it continues to serve as a political instrument that protects authorities rather than acting as an independent law enforcement body.
Vedro Imanuel Girsang, Jakarta – Indonesian activist Andrie Yunus, deputy coordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), has rejected the military-led investigation into the acid attack against him, declaring that he has no confidence in the process.
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Jakarta – Until recently, Ms Dini Khairani topped up her fuel only once every two weeks, waiting until her tank neared empty.
Now, the Jakarta resident refuels every two to three days – and rarely lets the gauge fall far below from full.
Nandito Putra, Jakarta – The textile and textile product (TPT) industry is under heavy pressure following a sharp increase in raw material prices. This is due to the conflict in the Middle East, which has pushed the price of global oil to around US$110 per barrel.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) can no longer claim to be a balancing force. In reality, despite claiming to be outside the ruling government, this party is clearly playing a "two-track" political game. This indecisive political stance prevents PDI-P from strengthening the checks and balances mechanism, which has lately become increasingly weak.
Jayapura – The Papuan people's demand for PT Freeport to be closed down is considered reasonable, given the lack of involvement of customary landowners in the initial licensing process and the hidden interests of global capitalism that sacrifice the rights of the Papuan people.
Jakarta – Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Deputy Coordinator for External Affairs, Andrie Yunus, has written a letter urging civil society to push for the formation of a Joint Fact-Finding Team (TGPF) to investigate the acid attack against him.
Antara, Jakarta – The Aceh Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBA) reported that Central Aceh Regency has once again been struck by flash floods, causing two emergency bridges to collapse and leaving several villages stranded.
Indah Ayu Pujiastuti, Maria Gabrielle Putrinda, Achmat Ikhsan, Tri Listiyarini, Jakarta – Indonesia is holding food prices steady despite a 40-60% surge in plastic packaging costs, while stepping up oversight on crude palm oil (CPO) to keep domestic supply intact.
Andi Adam Faturahman, Jakarta – The Journalist Safety Committee (KKJ) has condemned Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) for requesting the restriction of access to Magdalene's news content on the social media platform Instagram.
Deni Ghifari, Jakarta – The government says prices of subsidized gasoline and diesel will stay fixed even if global oil prices remain elevated, while airlines will be allowed to lift airfares, but without excessively hurting consumers.
Addin Anugrah Siwi, Jakarta – Indonesia recorded a state budget deficit of Rp 240.1 trillion ($14 billion) in the first quarter of 2026, equivalent to 0.93% of gross domestic product (GDP), Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said on Monday.
The government and the House of Representatives have agreed to cap the full-year 2026 budget deficit at no more than 3% of GDP.
Makassar – Hundreds of students from various organisations in Makassar, South Sulawesi (Sulsel), held a solidarity action in support of activist and acid attack victim Andrie Yunus. They demanded the immediate arrest of the intellectual masterminds behind the case.
Harso Kurniawan, Jakarta – Rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are beginning to affect Indonesia's petrochemical industry, which remains heavily dependent on imported feedstocks.
Alfitria Nefi Pratiwi, Jakarta – Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has argued that the inflation rate for March 2026 should ideally be recorded at 2.51 percent annually, a figure lower than the official data provided by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).