Ruth Dea Juwita and Radhiyya Indra, Jakarta – The government announced on Monday that a cyberattack using a new variant of ransomware was responsible for data disruptions at two temporary National Data Center (PDN) facilities last week that crippled immigration processing at airports and disrupted other public services, adding that the attackers had demanded US$8 million in ransom.

Jakarta – The ghost of the Asian financial crisis in 1997-1998 seems to be haunting Indonesia, as the rupiah depreciated to yet another new multiyear low. Our currency breached the Rp 16,500 mark per United States dollar in the past few days before cooling down to slightly below that level.

Radhiyya Indra, Jakarta – The government will not pay the US$8 million ransom demanded by attackers responsible for the ransomware attack at two temporary National Data Center (PDN) facilities since last week that disrupted public services.

Bill Birtles and Zevonia Vieriq – An Australian man has been sentenced to 11 years in jail in Timor Leste after he was convicted of abusing a girl under the age of 12.

Robert Trott, 76, was found guilty on two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor by a panel of judges at a court in the capital Dili.

Jakarta – Indonesia's economy is expected to steadily grow over the next two years on the back of domestic consumption and investment despite weak exports, a World Bank report said Monday.

Annisa Febiola, Jakarta – The rupiah is expected to depreciate further against the US dollar today, June 24, according to Laba Forexindo Berjangka director Ibrahim Assuaibi. In last Friday's trading, the rupiah closed at 16,450 per US dollar, down from 16,438 on Thursday, June 20, 2024.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – The government will allocate Rp 71 trillion ($4.33 billion) for President-elect Prabowo Subianto's free meals for students program in the 2025 Draft State Budget (RAPBN). This flagship program will be rolled out in stages and will not impact the 2025 deficit target.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo expressed his disappointment on Monday as Indonesian money flowed out of the country when Singapore became Taylor Swift's exclusive ASEAN stop for the Eras Tour.

Singapore had enjoyed the benefits of the six-day concert deal with Taylor Swift.

Maria Gabrielle, Jakarta – The President of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPN), Ristadi, announced that tens of thousands of textile and textile product (TPT) workers have been laid off this year, describing the situation as an emergency.

Yustinus Patris Paat, Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) made a surprise announcement on Sunday, nominating former chairman Mohamad Sohibul Iman as their candidate for the upcoming gubernatorial election in Jakarta.

Riri Rahayu, Jakarta – Floods have inundated at least 80 houses in Sepaku Village, Sepaku District, North Penajam Paser since late Sunday, June 23, around 23:00 local time, according to resident Arman Jais. The flooding in the new capital of Nusantara or IKN area worsened following heavy rains in the upstream area of the Sepaku River on Monday morning.

Tempo.Co, Jakarta – This year, the Annual Kartini Conference on Indonesian Feminisms will be held for the second time, the conference will be dubbed as "the 2nd Annual Kartini Conference on Indonesian Feminisms", or the 2024 KCIF.

Antara, Jakarta – Minister of Communication and Information Technology Budi Arie Setiadi has instructed all internet service providers (ISPs) to cut off network access suspected of facilitating online gambling, particularly links to and from Cambodia and Davao, Philippines.

"We are taking decisive steps to eliminate online gambling," Budi Arie said on Sunday.

Medikantyo Adhikresna, Jakarta – State Apparatus Minister Abdullah Azwar Anas said Monday that there should be more comprehensive measures against civil servants who were into online gambling.

Annisa Febiola, Jakarta – The rupiah is expected to depreciate further against the US dollar today, June 24, according to Laba Forexindo Berjangka director Ibrahim Assuaibi. In last Friday's trading, the rupiah closed at 16,450 per US dollar, down from 16,438 on Thursday, June 20, 2024.

Tempo.Co, Jakarta – A local music festival in West Java's Tangerang, called Lentera Festival, ended in chaos after the audience set fire to the venue on Sunday evening, June 23, 2024. The audience went rogue after the concert was canceled despite paying for Rp115,000 worth of tickets.

Irsyan Hasyim, Jakarta – The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) estimates wildfire has consumed 50 hectares of land in the Mount Batok area at Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS). Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information and Communication Center, Abdul Muhari, said the fire spread quickly in the dry land, exacerbated by the prolonged dry season.

Novali Panji Nugroho, Antara, Jakarta – The DPR Hajj Monitoring Team assessed that the Ministry of Religious Affairs breached the Hajj working committee's meeting results by diverting 10,000 additional quota for special Hajj pilgrims.

Jakarta – The initiative to offer members of the Indonesian diaspora a lifelong visa and other facilities normally given only to citizens shows that the government is starting to embrace them and to recognize their potential contribution to the nation, even when they no longer hold Indonesian citizenship.

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – President-elect Prabowo Subianto has come up with a few ideas about what Indonesia can do to help Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has been under siege by the Israeli military for over eight months.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – Finance Minister Sri Mulyani revealed Monday that Indonesia had amassed Rp 1,123.5 trillion (around $68.4 billion) in state revenue so far this year as of May 31.

This marks a 7.1 percent decline compared to the same period last year.

Yustinus Patris Paat, Jakarta – An Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) official announced on Sunday that the US mixed martial arts show Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is haram and urged the government to ban it from local TV networks.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia's Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi expressed optimism about the Naratetama VVIP Airport in Nusantara Capital City (IKN) being able to serve narrow-bodied aircraft starting on August 1, 2024.

The airport was built as a supporting infrastructure for the Nusantara Capital City in East Kalimantan.

Nivell Rayda, Bantul, Indonesia – Enclosed by weathered walls, time appears to stand still at an 80-year-old noodle factory in southern Java.

At one corner, a man guides an ox along a sunken circular path. Carrying a wooden beam on its shoulder, the ox slowly turns a one tonne millstone around a concrete basin filled to the brim with dried cassava.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry has released four rehabilitated orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) into the Gunung Batu Mesangat Protected Forest in East Kalimantan.

Achmad Supriyadi, Mojokerto, East Java – Indonesia's open unemployment rate has decreased to 4.8 percent from 7 percent over the past four years, Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah announced on Saturday.

Jakarta – Finance Minister Sri Mulyani has called for president-elect Prabowo Subianto to safeguard the state budget while planning upcoming programs.

Sri Mulyani said that budget calculations for the president-elect's programs had already begun, with discussions and preparations for the state budget underway.

Jakarta – Medan Mayor Bobby Nasution has revealed that his father-in-law, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, played a role in the 2024 North Sumatra gubernatorial election.

Jakarta – The Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy recorded 217 incidents involving 329 acts violating freedom of religion and belief (KBB) throughout 2023. This figure is a significant increase compared with the previous year which stood at 175 incidents with 333 violations.

Wahyu Sahala Tua, Jakarta – Thousands of BYD electric vehicles have finally arrived in Indonesia, marking its entry into the market dominated by Japanese, Korean, and European car manufacturers.

Rama Sukarta, Jakarta – The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has declared short selling as haram (forbidden under Islamic law). MUI's statement followed the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) announcement of short-selling regulations to be implemented in the second half of this year.

Antara, Jakarta – In response to long queues caused by immigration service disruptions due to a nationwide outage at the National Data Center (PDN) server since Thursday, 100 additional personnel have been deployed at immigration checkpoints (TPI) at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

Basten Gokkon, Jakarta – Indonesia's Bali island is shrinking at a faster rate than most coastal areas in the world due to human activities and wave circulation, according to a recently published study.

Amy Sood – Indonesia faces significant hurdles to realise its aim of becoming a major semiconductor player alongside Malaysia and Singapore as it does not have a coherent strategy to develop advanced chipmaking facilities, analysts say.

Kiki Siregar, Jakarta – She was born in Padang and grew up in Jakarta, but Ms Dewi Brewer, 53, has lived about half her life abroad, spending two decades in Singapore before moving to the United States about seven years ago.

The financial specialist became a US citizen last year and is a federal employee with the US government.

Jakarta – Indonesia is using a weather modification technique known as cloud seeding around the site of its future capital to reduce intense rains that have hampered construction of the new city, a weather agency official said on Friday.

Laila Afifa, Jakarta – The assault of invasive alien species on dozens of national parks in Indonesia must be taken seriously. These attacks must be prevented because these invasive species could seriously damage the ecosystem and result in major ecological and economic losses.

Jakarta – As Jakarta celebrates its 497th anniversary today, many believe it will be the city's last as the nation's capital, now that President Joko "Jokowi" has signed Law No. 2/2024 on the special region of Jakarta. Even acting governor Heru Budi Hartono says so.

Jakarta 00 President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has officially enacted Law Number 3 of 2024 concerning Villages. Among several policies outlined in the legislation, a key provision established by the government is the provision of social security protection for village chiefs, village officials, and members of the Village Consultative Board (BPD).

The documentary film "Those Who Are Never Lost" (Yang Tak Pernah Hilang) began screening at the Epicentrum 2 Cinema in Jakarta today, Saturday June 22. The film was conceived as a form of memorialisation and to support the struggle to #MelawanLupa (Fight Forgetting) the dark history of human rights violations in 1997-98.

Johnny Johan Sompotan, Jakarta – The management of Safari Park in Bogor, West Java, is tracking down a male visitor who drew outrage on the internet after he was caught on video feeding a hippo plastic waste.

Yustinus Patris Paat, Jakarta – After initially indicating he was open to becoming a running mate of Anies Baswedan in the Jakarta gubernatorial election, Kaesang Pangarep said on Friday that he and the former governor were unlikely allies due to their differences.

Timor-Leste will now issue entry visas at seven embassies in order to "simplify" the process and improve border control.

Max Walden – The world's largest single-day elections, held in February 2024, granted Prabowo Subianto his long-held dream of becoming Indonesian president.

Jakarta – In recent weeks, we have been alerted to a string of gambling-related suicides and other forms of deep distress resulting from the illegal practice, including the case of a woman who set fire to her own husband for gambling away their fortune.

Vinnilya, Jakarta – East Java should continue to boost both its manufacturing and agricultural sectors to unlock economic growth, according to its former vice governor Emil Dardak.

Emil, who was number two in power in the provincial government for the 2019-2024 term, said that the manufacturing sector was pivotal to East Java's economy.

Antara, Jakarta – Passport services have resumed at two Immigration Offices in South Sumatra after being temporarily halted on Thursday due to a nationwide outage at the National Data Center (PDN).

Muhammad Fakhruddin, Jakarta – President-elect Prabowo Subianto extended his warm birthday wishes to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on his 63rd birthday, Friday. Prabowo conveyed his greetings through his personal Instagram account @prabowo on Friday.

Tri Listiyarini, Jakarta – Indonesia's tuna exports reached $374 million between January and May 2024, marking a 4.3 percent increase compared to $359 million in the same period in 2023.

The share of tuna in total national fishery exports also grew from 16 percent in January-May 2023 to 16.4 percent in the same period this year.

Mita Amalia Hapsari, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo convened the Financial System Stability Committee (KSSK) at the Presidential Palace on Thursday to address the recent depreciation of the rupiah and current economic developments.

The KSSK expressed confidence that the rupiah would strengthen due to Indonesia's solid economic fundamentals.