Liam Pritchett – A planned five million-acre sugarcane megaproject in Indonesia's Papua province could threaten its uniquely biodiverse rainforest and the Indigenous Papuans who depend on it.

Jakarta (Agencies) – Only rockstars and presidents can usually fill the Gelora Bung Karno stadium, but on Thursday it was octogenarian Pope Francis who drew more than 80,000 fans to a Catholic Mass in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation.

Djibril Muhammad, Jakarta – The Central Jakarta Immigration Office has deported British nationals Benjamin James Lovell and Benjamin Thomas Sloan for participating in a demonstration by online motorcycle taxi drivers (ojek) in Jakarta.

Teguh Adi Prasetyo, Jakarta – The trial of alleged corruption at state-owned tin miner Timah resumed Thursday, with witness Ichwan Azwardi detailing how illegal mining within Timah's areas was hindered by protected officials, despite ongoing efforts to address the issue.

Jakarta – The Solidarity Action Committee for Munir (KASUM) is urging the government of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to immediately take responsibility for and solve the assassination of renowned human rights activist Munir Said Thalib.

Haryanti Puspa Sari, Bagus Santosa, Jakarta – Two British nationals, Benjamin James Lovell and Benjamin Thomas Sloan, were deported from Indonesia on Wednesday September 5 for violating immigration rules.

Fitri Ramadhani, Jayapura – Pope Francis' visit to Indonesia is expected to bring a fresh breeze to the land of Papua. Through his Papal encyclicals the Pope has made calls for environmental sustainability and respect for the dignity of fellow human beings.

Ato 'Lekinawa' da Costa – A Timorese scholar, Josh Trindade, currently pursuing a PhD at the Indigenous Knowledge Institute, Australia has issued a public demand for Pope Francis to apologize for the Catholic Church's historical and ongoing impact on Timorese culture and spirituality.

Maria Baru, Jayapura – West Papua National Committee (KNPB) General Chairperson Agus Kossay was released from the Class IIA Abepura Penitentiary (Lapas) in Jayapura city, Papua, on Tuesday September 3. He had been imprisoned for one year.

Bella Evanglista, Faisal Maliki Baskoro, Jakarta – Pope Francis, the leader of the global Catholic Church, arrived at Merdeka Palace on Wednesday morning to meet with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Nanda Perdana Putra, Jakarta – A protest action was held by a number of people across from the Vatican Embassy in ??South Jakarta shortly before Pope Francis returned from the Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta today, Wednesday September 4.

Alex Arifianto – On 28 July 2024 Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second largest Islamic organisation, officially announced that it would accept an offer of mining concessions from President Joko Widodo's government. This followed the decision of the nation's largest Islamic organisation, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which accepted their concession a month earlier.

Indonesian police have dismantled a baby trafficking ring in Depok, West Java, making eight arrests in a case that saw newborns being bought from parents via Facebook, before being resold in Bali for a higher price.

Georgina Giannopoulos – Despite consistent national efforts to close the gender gap in the Indonesian education system, pervasive patriarchal views – especially in more conservative regions – continue to contribute to girls' disadvantage in schools. The autonomy and isolation of particular regions complicate efforts to implement reforms at a local level.

Medan – A former regent in North Sumatra, who had been a corruption suspect since last month, was arrested after being nominated for reelection by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Duncan Graham – The paperwork signing late last month by Defence Minister Richard Marles and his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto in Magelang (Central Java) is being paraded as an extraordinary advance in relationships. It's not.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The Banda Aceh Police are investigating a grenade explosion in front of the house of Aceh gubernatorial candidate Bustami Hamzah in Syiah Kuala district, Banda Aceh city.

The city police's criminal investigation department head, Comr. Fadillah Aditya Pratama, said investigators had gathered evidence from the crime scene, including CCTV footage.

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – Nine out of 76 candidates in the running to become Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) members for the 2024-2029 period are politicians from political parties in the Onward Indonesia Coalition Plus (KIM Plus) supporting president-elect Prabowo Subianto.

Jakarta – Politics is the art of the possible, yet in the Jakarta gubernatorial election, political parties in both the ruling coalition and the opposition camps think it impossible to include former governor Anies Baswedan on the ballot in the Nov. 27 race.

Divya Karyza, Jakarta – A plan by India, the world's top buyer of vegetable oils, to increase its import tax on the commodity could hamper the growth of Indonesia's palm oil exports.

According to information published by Indonesia Defense on September 3, 2024, Indonesia's Defense Minister and newly elected President, Prabowo Subianto, is preparing to enhance the country's naval capabilities through the acquisition of new military assets from Europe. This plan was revealed by the Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff, Admiral Muhammad Ali.

Ali Mirin – Members of the Indonesian mobile police (Brimob) fatally shot Tobias Silak, a 24-year-old Papuan employed by the local election supervisory agency (Bawaslu) and seriously injured 17-year-old Papuan, Naro Dapla, in Dekai, Yahukimo District, West Papua, on August 20.

Antara, Jakarta – Investment Minister and Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Rosan Roeslani, announced that Indonesia's investment realization for the first half of 2024 reached Rp 829.9 trillion ($53.59 billion).

"As of the first semester of 2024, the realized investment stands at Rp 829.9 trillion," Rosan said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Feiral Rizky Batubara, Jakarta – The government launched an extensive program in 2007 to replace kerosene with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as the primary cooking fuel in homes.

Jakarta – Authorities have been ramping up mitigation measures against the spread of mpox after three suspected cases were reportedly found in Jakarta, with one case being closely monitored at a health facility and the other two undergoing self-isolation at home.

Antara, Jakarta – High living costs, traffic congestion, and parenting trauma are key contributors to mental health disorders in Jakarta, according to Samanta Elsener, a psychologist and board member of the Indonesian Psychological Association (Himpsi).

Vinnilya, Jakarta – The S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing in Indonesia dropped to 48.9 in August 2024, down from 49.3 in July, indicating the second consecutive month of contraction in factory activity. A reading below 50 signifies a contraction.

Andi Adam Faturahman, Jakarta – Ahmad Fathanah Haris, attorney for the CNN Indonesia Workers' Solidarity (SPCI), explained that employees faced layoffs after addressing the unilateral wage cuts by the media company.

Jakarta – The police continue to resort to brutality to silence demonstrators. This is a violation of human rights.

Dicky Kurniawan, Jakarta – Indonesian Investment Minister or Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Rosan Roeslani revealed the reason behind Tesla's decision not to invest in Indonesia.

He spilled that the primary factor is the country's continued reliance on fossil fuels for electricity generation.

Juan Ardya Guardiola, Jakarta – Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi is encouraging more Indonesians to embrace electric vehicles (EVs) in their lives as the country wishes to boost its e-mobility adoption.

Jakarta – Has our country become a dumping ground for others? While the question might sound a little harsh, some developments suggest that the answer may be even harsher.

Imports of clothing and other products – some legal, others not – have long been a problem for domestic industries that are struggling to compete with the low prices of foreign-made goods.

Made Supriatma – Less than two months before stepping down, the outgoing president of Indonesia's plans to hang onto power are at risk of unravelling. What is worse, his previously sky-high popularity is also starting to fray.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Multinational corporations are seeing dollar signs on President-Elect Prabowo Subianto's free meal program, according to a top brass at the Bank of America.

Yustinus Paat, Thomas Rizal, Jakarta – The 2024 East Java gubernatorial election is shaping up to be highly competitive, with strong female contenders including Khofifah Indar Parawansa, Tri Rismaharini, and Luluk Nur Hamidah.

Stefani Wijaya, Jakarta – Indonesia's counterterrorism unit Densus 88 spokesperson Aswin Siregar revealed that YLK, a suspected terrorist, had planned a terror attack against the Singapore Stock Exchange in 2014.

YLK was captured on August 21 in Mongolato Village, Telaga District, Gorontalo Province.

Yustinus Patris Paat, Jakarta – Saidiman Ahmad of Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) predicts a close race in the 2024 West Java gubernatorial election, emphasizing Dedi Mulyadi's lead in electability against PKS Chairman Ahmad Syaikhu's effective voter mobilization.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia has attracted potential investment deals worth around $52.9 million at the 2024 International Tourism Investment Forum (ITIF), the government announced on Monday.

Winda Nelfira, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia hopes that Pope Francis' visit to Indonesia on September 3-7 can be used as a momentum to urge the Indonesian government to resolve past gross human rights violations.

Putri Safira Pitaloka, Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – The recent discourse surrounding the formation of a new community organization or political party has become a public spotlight on social media.

Jakarta – Stuck in a Jakarta traffic jam? No worries, we have a carload of therapists and clerics who will stop by to ease your frustration during the interminable wait.

That is what Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Ridwan Kamil is promising voters in the Nov 27 regional election. He has also made fervent declarations in support of the local football team.

The Santos-led Bayu-Undan joint venture (JV) has agreed on the terms for a sale and purchase deed with TIMOR GAP, allowing the Timor-Leste state-owned company to join the Bayu-Undan upstream project.

TIMOR GAP will gain a 16% stake in the Bayu-Undan upstream project located in the Timor Sea. The transaction has an economic date of 1 July 2024.

Andreas Harsono – Pope Francis is in Indonesia as part of a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region. His visit comes as numerous discriminatory regulations in Indonesia target religious minorities around the country.

Jakarta – Ace Hardware is leaving Indonesia as of December 31, 2024, even though the presence of the U.S. appliance retail chain was just mentioned by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto as an indicator of national economic growth.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Tri Atmoko is a regular visitor to the mangrove forests of Balikpapan Bay on the east coast of Indonesian Borneo, where he studies proboscis monkeys, an endangered species best known for its comically large nose.

Pope Francis, 87, landed in Muslim-majority Indonesia on Tuesday for a visit dominated by inter-faith ties, at the start of an ambitious four-nation tour that will be the longest of his papacy.

Pope Francis' visit to Indonesia from 3 to 6 September 2024 should be a momentum to urge Indonesia to stop gross human rights violations and provide redress for past atrocities or injustices resulting from socially and environmentally unfriendly development policies, such as those in Papua and Rempang, Amnesty International Indonesia said today.

Sui-Lee Wee and Emma Bubola – The hallelujahs rang out on Sunday from a small hall on the outskirts of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. The sounds from the Christian service could be heard within the green and orange mosque across the way, as a group of young girls in hijabs walked by.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court's decision in August to lower the vote threshold for political parties to nominate gubernatorial candidates was intended to promote broader participation, enhancing the democratic process. The threshold was reduced from 25 percent of the vote to a range of 6.5 to 10 percent, depending on the province's population size.

Mutia Yuantisya, Jakarta – The Deputy Chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Nurul Ghufron mentioned that offshore countries are often used for financial crimes and money laundering, especially by corruptors.

Offshore countries offer relaxed regulations and asset protection that corruptors exploit to hide their criminal proceeds.