Antara, Jakarta – Prosecutors have charged a father and his son, the caretakers of an Islamic boarding school (pesantren), with sexually abusing students. The father is charged with 10 years in prison, his son with 11 years, and both are required to pay a fine of Rp 100 million, which can be replaced by an additional six months in prison.

Ilona Estherina, Jakarta – An economist from the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), Eko Listyanto, asks President-elect Prabowo Subianto to shelve various policies burdening the middle class.

Yogi Eka Sahputra, Jakarta – The Batam Authority (BP Batam) has once again delayed the planned relocation of hundreds of families residing on Rempang Island, Batam City, Riau Islands Province. Initially scheduled for September 1, 2024, the relocation of 189 families has been postponed to September 25.

Rights activists have criticized the Timor-Leste government for arresting activists who expressed solidarity with West Papuans' independence struggle during Pope Francis' visit.

Police arrested physically disabled Nelson Barros Pereira Xavier on Sept. 10, a day after Pope Francis arrived in the national capital for a three-day visit.

Rebecca Ratcliffe and agencies – Indonesia will suspend the construction of new hotels in some areas of Bali, amid fears about overdevelopment of one of its most famous tourist destinations.

Tourism has rebounded in Bali after the Covid pandemic, but there is growing concern about the strain visitors are placing on local infrastructure, the environment, and culture.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – Prabowo Subianto's free nutritious meal initiative aims to benefit 15 million students across Indonesia starting January 2025, with the National Nutrition Agency overseeing the program's implementation.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – The State Finance Accountability Committee (BAKN) of the House of Representatives (DPR) has proposed an excise on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) at 2.5 percent starting in 2025, with a gradual increase to a maximum of 20 percent.

Zhulfakar, Jakarta – Over the past decade, Indonesia has dramatically increased its internet penetration from 34.9 percent to 79.5 percent, now reaching around 221 million people, according to Fadhilah Mathar, Director of the Telecommunication and Information Accessibility Agency (BAKTI) at the Ministry of Communication and Informatics.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – In a plenary session on Tuesday, the House of Representatives rejected all nine candidates for Supreme Court justices and three candidates for Human Rights Tribunal judges proposed by the Judicial Commission, the body responsible for overseeing the judiciary.

Alfi Dinilhaq, Jakarta – Indonesia's automotive industry is showing signs of recovery. Data from the Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries (Gaikindo) in August 2024 revealed national car wholesales (factory to dealer) reached 76,304 units, a 2.8 percent increase month-on-month (MoM) from 74,229 units in July.

Juan Ardya Guardiola, Jakarta – State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir and Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi have officially inaugurated Angkasa Pura Indonesia, known as InJourney Airports, following the merger of state airport operators Angkasa Pura I and Angkasa Pura II. This merger is expected to enhance the global competitiveness of Indonesian airports.

Nusa Dua, Indonesia – Indonesia is still waiting for cheaper financing to hasten early retirement of coal-fired power plants under a pact with the rich nations of the G7 grouping, senior government officials said on Monday, in the transition to cleaner electricity.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – Guntur Soekarnoputra, the eldest son of Indonesia's founding father Soekarno, has called on the government to restore his father's reputation, which was tarnished by accusations of supporting the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and betraying the nation. Guntur emphasized that these claims were unfounded and never proven.

Divya Karyza, Jakarta – The government has reiterated that it will pursue the energy transition at its own pace and in ways that match the country's economic goals and fiscal ability, stressing that the strategies of advanced economies will not work for developing countries.

Nina A. Loasana, Jakarta – The Finance Ministry has proposed changing the mandatory education budget from 20 percent of state expenditure to 20 percent of state revenue, raising concerns among experts that the new mechanism would cut funding overall for solving the perennial problems plaguing national education system.

Jakarta – Think before you post: This piece of advice has been repeated by the Communications and Information Ministry to urge people to be careful when posting on social media because of the legal and social repercussions.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and defense minister Prabowo Subianto have gone to great lengths these past weeks to publicly dismiss rumors of a growing rift between them ahead of the Oct. 20 transfer of power.

Dili – When Pope Francis becomes the first pontiff to visit Timor Leste, he will confront a clergy beset by child abuse scandals that have been largely ignored by the deeply Catholic country's freedom heroes.

Jakarta – Outgoing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is scheduled to spend the remainder of his term in office in the country's future new capital in Nusantara, in the jungles of East Kalimantan.

After a decade in power, Joko Widodo leaves Indonesia a changed country – one that has benefited from healthy economic growth and has greater international standing.

Ilham Oktafian, Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – Marimutu Sinivasan, a prominent debtor in the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI) scandal, was arrested by immigration officials on Sunday as he attempted to flee to Kuching, Malaysia.

Denny Armandhanu, Jakarta – Several newly inaugurated Indonesian lawmakers have resorted to pawning their appointment letters (SKs) in exchange for bank loans, to relieve some of the high costs of political campaigning for the regional elections.

Jakarta – Indonesia's tourist resort island of Bali has proposed a ban lasting a year or two on the construction of hotels, villas and nightclubs in some areas, as it grapples with the problem of over-development of land, its governor told media.

David Fogarty and Linda Yulisman, Singapore/Jakarta – If there is one thing that worries Indonesia's neighbours, it is choking haze. The felling of forests and slash-and-burn agriculture are often associated with fires and the toxic clouds of smoke that envelop swathes of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei.

Shannon Brincat – Timor-Leste has had much to celebrate recently. August 30 marked 25 years since the Popular Consultation – or "The Referendum", as many call it – when more than 98% of the population braced themselves against brutal repression to vote for their freedom.

Dili – Pope Francis arrived on Sept 9 in Timor-Leste – a predominantly Catholic nation in South-east Asia – for a three-day visit that will include an open-air celebration of mass, which the Vatican says may include more than half the population of 1.3 million.

Niniek Karmini – East Timor has been criticised for the cost of Pope Francis' historic visit. The Pope made the visit to one of the world's youngest and poorest countries to the tune of 12 million dollars (#9.1 million), drawing rebuke from activists and human rights organisations.

Ian Wilson – Recent student-led demonstrations throughout Indonesia show that popular support for democracy remains high. This support is not necessarily shared, however, by political parties who are collaborating in an increasingly cartel-like fashion to shrink electoral competition.

Tria Sutrisna, Ihsanuddin, Jakarta – The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has officially revoked Provisional People's Consultative Assembly Decree (TAP MPRS) Number 33/1967 on the Revocation of Executive Powers from President Sukarno, Indonesia's founding president.

Jayapura – The arrival of Pope Francis in Dili, the capital of East Timor, on the afternoon of Monday September 9, was welcomed by the Catholic community. The flag of the struggle of the West Papuan nation, the Morning Star flag, was also flown in Dili.

The Morning Star flag was raised by a West Papuan solidarity group in East Timor.

Antara, Jakarta – A number of high schools in Jakarta are set to take part in the trial test of President-Elect Prabowo Subianto's policy of the free nutritious school meal next week.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia is set to establish the Nuclear Energy Program Implementation Organization (NEPIO) this year, a key step in its nuclear energy strategy that includes plans for domestic uranium production. This initiative will be officially announced to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna next week.

Zhulfakar, Jakarta – Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Pramono Anung has announced plans to extend the contract duration for the city's Orange Troops (PPSU) from one year to three years and to double the incentives for neighborhood and community leaders (RT/RW).

Jakarta – The state-owned Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) is planning to use facial recognition technology to identify millions of its policyholders and to prevent fraud in the National Health Insurance (JKN) system.

Ato 'Lekinawa' da Costa, Dili, Timor-Leste – A solidarity group for the independence of West Papua raised West Papuan flag during Pope Francis' visit to Timor-Leste.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) expresses concern following the recent arrest of journalist Antonieta Kartono Martins, who was covering the eviction of street vendors in Timor-Leste's capital. This obstruction of journalism in a country widely regarded as a regional model of press freedom sends a troubling signal.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Residents of Indonesia's South Sumatra province have filed a lawsuit against three pulpwood companies for a toxic haze that they blame on repeated burning in their concessions.

Irsyan Hasyim, Jakarta – The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) reported a coastal flooding in Medan City, North Sumatra on Saturday, September 7, 2024, due to heavy rainfall that coincided with high tide.

Antara, Jakarta – Ten medical workers from three branches of the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) have entered Rafah, Gaza Strip, Palestine, to treat refugees and victims of Israeli strikes at the field hospital operated by the Uni Arab Emirates.

Han Revanda Putra, Jakarta – The Indonesian Ceramic Industry Association (Asaki) has written to the Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, on Friday, September 6, 2024. They urged the State Treasurer to issue a Ministerial Regulation concerning the anti-dumping import duties (BMAD) on imported ceramic tile from China.

Antara, Jakarta – Banyumas Regency, Central Java, was struck by severe floods and landslides on Sunday night, September 8, 2024. The Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) is currently responding to the disaster, which was caused by extreme weather conditions characterized by prolonged heavy rainfall.

Mita Amalia Hapsari, Jakarta – Indonesia has already done a significant portion of the construction work for the airport in Indonesia's new capital Nusantara in East Kalimantan and everything is on track for the project to finish by Dec. 31, according to Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi.

Mita Amalia Hapsari, Jakarta – Gubernatorial candidate Ridwan Kamil and his running mate Suswono have pledged to prioritize the revitalization of Jakarta's slum areas if they win the upcoming November election.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia announced Monday that people had become more confident in the country's economy, thus maintaining the trend of growing consumer optimism.

Niniek Karmini, Dili, East Timor – East Timor pulled out all stops for Pope Francis' historic visit to one of the world's youngest and poorest countries to the tune of $12 million, drawing rebuke from activists and human rights organizations in a nation where almost half the population lives in poverty.

Dili – When Pope Francis touches down in the Timor-Leste capital of Dili this week, he will be landing in a totally different nation to the one visited by his predecessor.

Lillian Rangiah – Twenty-five years since Timor Leste voted to end more than two decades of Indonesian occupation, Lurdes Pires is still haunted by the memory of what came next.

"When I left, Dili was on fire," she said. "I went back ... and the whole place smelled of death – rotten flesh, rotten blood."

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Bekasi, Indonesia – Former senior leaders of the now-defunct terror group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) held a gathering in Bekasi, a satellite town of Jakarta on Sept 8, urging former comrades to stand down, turn themselves in and to contribute to peace and economic development in Indonesia.

Widy Wicaksono, Semarang – Andika Perkasa is projected to secure a decisive victory in the upcoming Central Java gubernatorial election, according to a recent survey by the Indonesian Election Study Institute (LKPI).

This survey marks the first since candidates officially registered with the General Election Commission late last month.

Amy Sood – When Joko Widodo was first elected a decade ago, he was hailed as a "New Hope" while gracing the cover of Time magazine, reflecting the widespread belief that he would root out government corruption and curb elite dominance as Indonesia's president.