Dinda Shabrina, Jakarta – Indonesia's Association of Education and Teachers (P2G) has criticized the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) for issuing Circular Letter No. 5 of 2025, which provides incentives for teachers tasked with supervising the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program in schools.

Jakarta – When launched in January, the free nutritious meals (MBG) program was celebrated as a bold response to chronic malnutrition, a lifeline for the nation's poorest children and a cornerstone of the "Golden Indonesia Vision 2045."

Nandito Putra, Jakarta – The Malaysian government has reduced the price of RON 95 fuel from RM2.05 to RM1.99 per liter, equivalent to around Rp7,864 per liter. This price is effective from Tuesday, September 30, 2025.

Alfida Rizky Febrianna, Jakarta – More than 6,500 Indonesian students have fallen ill from suspected food poisoning linked to the government's flagship Free Nutritious Meal Program (MBG) between January and September, the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) told lawmakers on Wednesday.

Antara, Jakarta – Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said on Wednesday that his ministry has dispatched a team to investigate the alleged radioactive contamination of cloves flagged by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Amelia Rahima Sari, Jakarta – The Central Jakarta District Court has postponed the trial over a lawsuit concerning the August 2025 riotous demonstration after the defendants and their legal representatives failed to appear in court on Wednesday, October 1, 2025.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Indonesia is seeking to redraw the boundaries of a UNESCO World Heritage rainforest to pave the way for geothermal projects – part of its renewable energy push but a move environmentalists warn could devastate biodiversity and tarnish the country's green reputation.

On the morning of 16 September 2025, a racist slur allegedly directed at an Indigenous Papuan student at SMA Negeri 1 Yalimo in the town of Elelim, Yalimo Regency, Highlands Papua Province, triggered a schoolyard altercation.

Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto's promise to establish a fact-finding team to investigate the demonstrations in a number of regions has faded away to nothing. This cancellation will make it more difficult to investigate the involvement of those responsible for the mass violence at the end of August 2025.

Timor-Leste's economy will slow down and grow by an average of 3.7% in 2025, 2026 and 2027, compared to 4.1% in 2024, according to the World Bank's (WB) biannual economic report.

"That growth will be driven mainly by public investment in infrastructure, the expansion of the service sector and improvements in digital connectivity and transport," the WB said in the report.

Gatra Priyandita – In the morning of 1 October 1965, 37-year-old Eneng (not her real name) woke up in Bandung, about 200km from Jakarta, to an unexpected news broadcast via Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI): a group of people had taken measures to protect President Sukarno from a coup mounted by a "Council of Generals". Although unanticipated, the news relieved her.

Ichsan Ali, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto on Tuesday conferred Indonesia's highest civilian award, the Order of Distinguished Stars, on American billionaire and Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio at the State Palace in Jakarta.

Hans Makabori, Jayapura – The Jayapura City Municipal Police (Polresta) in Papua broke up a student demonstration at the gates of the Cenderawasih University (Uncen) Jayapura campus near the Waena 3 State Housing Company (Perumnas) in Heram district, Jayapura, on Tuesday September 30.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Yvonne Mengkawang recently denied that Indonesia was unconditionally warming up to Israel after President Prabowo Subianto appeared in Tel Aviv's electronic billboards.

Perdian Tumanan (The Conversation) – The death of 21-year-old online transportation service (ojol) driver Affan Kurniawan, who was crushed by a Barracuda armored police vehicle during a protest last month, invites comparison with George Floyd. The African American was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis in 2020, sparking global Black Lives Matter protests.

Dede Leni Mardianti, Jakarta – The National Nutrition Body (BGN) will provide incentives to teachers who assist in distributing the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program, a policy outlined in Circular Letter Number 5 of 2025 issued on Monday, September 28, 2025.

Chesa Andini Saputra, Jakarta – A growing number of Indonesia's Gen Z are reluctant to buy houses, citing financial unpreparedness, according to a survey by online platform Jakpat in January 2025. Out of 587 respondents, 36 percent said they preferred not to purchase property for now, underscoring the affordability gap for younger buyers.

M. Faiz Zaki, Jakarta – The Jakarta Environmental Office revealed that the domestic sector contributes as the biggest source of river pollution in the region. This mapping was carried out in collaboration with the Institute of Technology at the University of Indonesia (Universitas Indonesia, UI).

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesian sovereign fund Danantara has put its waste-to-energy plan into motion, a project that can have a price tag of around $180 million just to turn a thousand tons of garbage into electricity.

Daniel Ahmad Fajri, Jakarta – Two T-50i Golden Eagle fighter trainer aircraft, destined for the Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU), are scheduled to arrive in Indonesia in November 2025.

Erfan Maruf, Jakarta – The Public Works Ministry has set aside Rp 1.2 trillion ($71.6 million) for labor-intensive programs focused on small-scale road and bridge works across 1,059 sites nationwide.

Jakarta – When President Prabowo Subianto and the House of Representatives rushed the revision of the existing State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Law to provide a legal basis for the establishment of the state asset fund Danantara in February, it raised many eyebrows.

Radhiyya Indra, Jakarta – A recent wave of book confiscations during police crackdowns on alleged "provocateurs" behind nationwide protests has been met with sharp criticism from rights groups, who say the practice undermines freedom of expression.

Dede Leni Mardianti, Jakarta – Indonesia's Ombudsman has uncovered irregularities in the procurement of raw materials for the government's free nutritious meal program (MBG), including the alleged falsification of premium rice quality by a food supplier.

Michael G. Vann – Behind a low wall on a traffic-choked stretch of Denpasar's east side, a small courtyard insists that Bali's famous "paradise" has a history. And that history is troubled.

Maretha Uli, Jakarta – A new report has once again highlighted the heavy toll of Indonesia's nickel industry, where decades of poorly regulated extraction have scarred landscapes, choked coral reefs and eroded local livelihoods, while companies face little accountability.

Achmad Supriyadi, Sidoarjo, E – Java. Rescuers in East Java on Tuesday are racing to free dozens of students still trapped under the rubble of a collapsed prayer hall at Al Khoziny Islamic boarding school, where 38 people remain missing after the structure gave way during afternoon prayers.

Vedro Imanuel Girsang, Jakarta – Delpedro Marhaen and several fellow Indonesian activists have been held at the Jakarta Metro Police detention center for nearly a month after being named suspects in connection with alleged incitement during a series of demonstrations at the end of August 2025.

Hanin Marwah, Jakarta – The National Police Chief, General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, mentioned that a series of protests that led to riots at the end of August until early September 2025 resulted in significant losses. These losses include material and immaterial damages.

Akmalal Hamdhi, Jakarta – Indonesia's slow state budget absorption is raising concerns over its potential drag on economic growth, with economists warning that the government may miss its 5 percent growth target this year.

Yogyakarta – A student at the Yogyakarta State University (UNY) named Perdana Arie was reportedly arrested by the Yogyakarta Regional Police (Polda DIY) on suspicion of involvement in a demonstration at the end of August.

Daniel Ahmad Fajri, Jakarta – A billboard featuring a photo of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto alongside several heads of state has gone viral on social media. One of the posts, shared by the account @AbrahamShield25 on Sunday, September 29, 2025, gained widespread attention.

On the night of 3 September 2025, in the alley behind the Sagita Store in Entrop, Jayapura City, Papua Province, a shooting incident occurred involving Private (Pratu) Terian Barusa, 25, a member of the Military Police of Kodam XVII/Cenderawasih, and a civilian identified as Mr Obed Manaku.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – The Indonesian Ministry of Culture has encouraged the public to fly the national flag at half-mast on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, as part of the commemoration of Pancasila Sanctity Day on Wednesday, October 1, 2025.

Ilona Estherina, Jakarta – The Indonesian Economist Alliance (AEI) has called on the government to temporarily pause the free nutritious meal program (MBG) following recent mass poisoning incidents.

Despite these concerns, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto reaffirmed that the program will continue as planned.

Andreas Harsono – Tari Lang in her new memoir recalls the morning of October 1, 1965, when as a 14-year-old, she had watched Indonesian tanks and soldiers sweep into the elite neighborhood in Jakarta where she lived with her Indonesian father and British mother. When she ran to tell her parents, "[t]hey fell silent," she writes, "just looking at each other."

Jayapura – The Rome Agreement signed in Rome, the capital of Italy on 30 September, 1962 following the New York Agreement on August 15, 1962, was carried out without the involvement of a single representative of the Papuan people, even though the two agreements were related to the future of the people of West Papua.

Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition held a protest action on Tuesday September 30 to commemorate one month since the death of Affan Kurniawan, who was run over by a Metro Jaya Regional Police (Polda) paramilitary Mobile Brigade (Brimob) tactical vehicle

Syahriza Alkohir Anggoro – In 2022, the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted a new resolution laying the first groundwork toward a new legally binding international agreement to end plastic pollution.

Ni Komang Erviani, Denpasar – Bali health authorities have stepped up vigilance against rabies outbreak following reports that 15 climbers were bitten by a rabid dog along the Mt. Batukaru hiking trails in Pujungan village, Tabanan regency.

Theressia Sunday Silalahi, Jakarta – The Hajj and Umrah Ministry confirmed Tuesday that Indonesia's Hajj quota for 2026 will remain at 221,000 pilgrims, with 92 percent allocated for the regular Hajj and 8 percent for special fast-track Hajj programs.

Gita Putri Damayana – Since the large-scale anti-government protests of August 2025, indications of Indonesia's pivot toward a more autocratic regime have become more apparent.

Dian Rahma Fika, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto admitted there were flaws in the implementation of the government's free nutritious meal program (MBG) after more than 6,000 students reportedly suffered food poisoning from the meals provided.

Agencies, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto on Monday defended his ambitious plan to provide free meals for children after some 6,000 cases of food poisoning, saying the percentage of those affected was small and the programme was still finding its footing.

Dian Rahma Fika, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto reminisced about the moment about being teased by former U.S. President Donald Trump during his address at the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Ilona Estherina, Jakarta – Ten representatives from the Alliance of Indonesian Economists (AEI) met with Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto on Monday, September 29, 2025, calling on the government to temporarily suspend the free nutritious meal program (MBG).

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia is currently preparing a system that aims to make it as easy as possible for its companies to benefit from the preferential tariffs. The move came after Jakarta noticed that the tariff-cutting trade pacts that it had spent years negotiating remained underused.

Ervana Trikarinaputri, Jakarta – Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) is investigating potential human rights violations linked to the mass poisoning incidents in the government's free nutritious meal program, known as Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG).

Indonesia, West Papua – On 27 September 2025, military members (TNI) of the 123/Rajawali Task Force opened fire on civilians in the town of Agats, Asmat Regency, South Papua Province, following an altercation. Mr Irenius Bawataipot, 21, was fatally shot at close range, while at least four other civilians, including a minor, Erik Yakonias Amiyaram, were injured.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto expressed frustration over the management of state-owned enterprises (BUMN), criticizing directors and commissioners who grant themselves bonuses even when their companies are suffering losses.