Jakarta – The government has established a special team to identify and evaluate regulations that hinder investment growth, a senior official announced on Wednesday.

Han Revanda, Jakarta – House of Representatives Commission IV Chairperson Siti Hediati Hariyadi, better known as Titiek Soeharto, has raised concerns over last year's imported rice stockpiled in a Bulog warehouse in Yogyakarta, stating that it is now unfit for consumption due to pest infestation.

Antara, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto has proposed amending the 2004 law on the Indonesian military to allow active-duty officers to serve in certain government positions that are currently reserved exclusively for civilians, an aide said on Tuesday.

Muhammad Aulia Rahman, Jakarta – A series of high-profile corruption cases in Indonesia has reignited calls for the death penalty for corrupt officials, with supporters arguing it would deter future crimes and curb rising corruption levels.

Alfitria Nefi P, Jakarta – The Directorate General of Corrections confirmed that dozens of inmates escaped from the Class II B Correctional Institution in Kutacane, Southeast Aceh, on Monday, March 10, 2025. Following the incident, the prison is now under control, with security reinforced by the police, military, and local authorities.

Celvin Moniaga Sipahutar, Jakarta – A group of environmental activists called the Pandawara Group visited the Presidential Palace in Jakarta to meet with President Prabowo Subianto on Tuesday.

Portugal's National Energy and Geology Laboratory (known by its Portuguese initials LNEG) is cooperating with its local counterpart in Timor-Leste to assess the mineral potential of the Southeast Asian country, the Lusa news agency reports.

Jakarta – With its many exciting subplots, the current investigation by the Attorney General's Office into the oil imports corruption was like a soap opera. People's emotions were stirred because the AGO said that the losses to the state amounted to a staggering Rp193.7 trillion in 2023 alone, and the case dated back to 2018.

Jauhari Mahardhika, Jakarta – Capital outflows from Indonesia's equity market accelerated as foreign investors extended their selling spree, dragging the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) further into the red. Shares of state lender Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BBRI) and tech company GoTo Gojek Tokopedia (GOTO) bore the brunt of the sell-off.

Vedro Imanuel Girsang, Jakarta – Indonesia's Human Rights Minister, Natalius Pigai, responded to findings from The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which reported a decline in Indonesia's Democracy Index. He emphasized that the EIU's assessment reflects governance under former President Joko Widodo, not the current administration of President Prabowo Subianto.

Annisa Febiola, Jakarta – Thomas Trikasih Lembong, also known as Tom Lembong, has objected to the public prosecutor's (JPU) response to his exception plea. He pointed out inconsistencies in the timeline between the indictment and the investigation order (sprindik) in the alleged sugar import corruption case against him.

Jakarta – Women workers from a variety of sectors have come together to urge the government to implement stronger legal protections against oppression, discrimination and violence in conjunction with International Women's Day on March 8.

Agencies, Jakarta – The United Nations' migration agency has reinstated its humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugees in Indonesia, its chief of mission in Jakarta told Reuters on Tuesday.

Chief of mission, Jeff Labovitz, said there is no current planned reduction in services.

Zhulfakar, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) officially transferred 221,000 hectares of seized palm plantations to the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry on Monday, following their recovery from a major corruption scandal.

Jakarta – Indonesia and Vietnam agreed on Monday to upgrade ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership as the Southeast Asian allies' leaders met in Jakarta to mark 70 years of diplomatic relations.

Vietnamese Communist Party general secretary To Lam held talks with President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta to boost economic and defence cooperation.

Jakarta – Indonesia's car sales in February rose 2.2 per cent year-on-year, the first growth recorded since June 2023, data from the country's car association showed on Tuesday, amid growing adoption of electric vehicles (EV) driven mostly by Chinese brands.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – A survey by the central bank shows that Indonesians are losing confidence in the country's overall economic conditions.

Jaya Barends, Gebe Island, Indonesia – Abdul Manan Magtiblo watched the excavator dump a piece of Gebe Island into the back of a truck. Barely a thicket remained on the buzz-cut upland above Umera village as the vehicle drove off to the nearby port.

"That's the PT Bartra Putra Mulia [BPM] nickel mine," Manan, the village chief, told Mongabay Indonesia.

Ricki Putra Harahap, Jakarta – The Indonesian government plans to construct oil refineries with a capacity of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) each in multiple locations, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia announced on Monday.

Stefani Wijaya, Jakarta – The National Police have arrested a factory manager and confiscated hundreds of cartons and crates of Minyakita cooking oil during a raid at a packaging facility in Depok, a senior officer said on Tuesday.

Jakarta – Indonesia's government on Tuesday introduced in a parliamentary committee a watered-down version of contentious legislation that would enable President Prabowo Subianto to appoint military personnel to civilian posts, officials said.

Medan – Acourt in North Sumatra sentenced a transgender woman to more than two years in prison Monday for a remark online about Jesus' hair, a local official said, in a case condemned by rights groups as excessive.

Intan Setiawanty, Jakarta – The National Police Commission (Kompolnas) is urging the Indonesian National Police (Polri) to accelerate both criminal and ethical proceedings against Ngada Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Pol. (AKBP) Fajar Widhyadharma Lukman Sumaatmaja, who is under investigation for alleged drug abuse and sexual abuse against three minors.

Indonesia, West Papua – On Sunday morning, 9 March 2025, two indigenous Papuans using customary clothes attended the worship at the cathedral in Merauke. Upon their arrival around 7:15 a.m., they were approached by a woman who identified herself as the head of security for the cathedral parish, as well as a member of the Merauke Police.

Vedro Imanuel Girsang, Jakarta – Minister of Human Rights Natalius Pigai downplays concerns over the resurgence of militarism and authoritarianism in Prabowo Subianto's government, calling them mere imagination. He believes such assumptions stem from lingering memories of the New Order era.

BeritaSatu, Jakarta – Indonesian Armed Forces Commander General Agus Subiyanto reiterated on Monday that active military officers occupying civilian positions must resign or take early retirement from the military.

Aditya Hadi, Jakarta – New Chinese carmakers have expanded into Indonesia over the past three years. By offering affordable yet feature-packed electric vehicles (EVs), they have begun to chip away at the dominant role of Japanese and South Korean brands in Indonesia's auto market.

Stefano Sulaiman, Jakarta – Waiting to break their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, clerics in the Indonesian town of Majalengka gathered for an unusual briefing on the subject of inflation, led by the country's central bank.

Karina Maharani Tehusijarana – "When you see the problems, you run to the problems, you face the problems, you overcome the problems."

These are the platitudes President Prabowo Subianto offered the editors-in-chief of the nation's leading news publications in response to the #KaburAjaDulu (#JustRunAwayFirst) hashtag that has gone viral across the country in recent weeks.

Rajendra Jadhav, Bernadette Christina and Ashley Tang

Rajendra Jadhav, Bernadette Christina and Ashley Tang, Kuala Lumpur/Jakarta – Prices of cooking oil could be buoyed up for years by stagnating production and a biodiesel push in top producer Indonesia that are making traditionally cheap palm oil costlier, eliminating an advantage that also curbed prices of rival oils.

Jayapura – The Women's and People's Resistance Alliance, which is made of activists from the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP), the Malang Student Struggle Centre for National Liberation (Pembebasan) and the Malang Kamisan (Thursday) Action, held a peaceful demonstration to commemorate International Women's Day (IWD) on Saturday March 8.

Dede Leni Mardianti, Jakarta – Singapore-based airline Calypte Holding Pte. Ltd., through its subsidiary PT Indonesia Airlines Group (INA), has officially received approval to operate as of March 7, 2025.

Chairul Fikri, Jakarta – American pop icon Lady Gaga is set to perform in Singapore in May 2025 as part of her world tour promoting her latest album, Mayhem.

The Bad Romance singer announced on Instagram on Monday that she will hold a four-day concert at the National Stadium on May 18, 19, 21, and 24.

Celvin Moniaga Sipahutar, Jakarta – The Indonesian government is set to launch 50 community schools with a total budget of up to Rp 5 trillion ($306 million), aiming to provide free education for children from poor families.

Alfitria Nefi P, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) assesses that there are imperfections in the Free Nutritious Meal program (MGB) that have the potential to open the floodgates for fraud in its implementation.

Juan Ardya Guardiola, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto's goal of setting up tens of thousands of village-level cooperatives aims to stabilize food prices by cutting the middlemen out in its distribution, according to Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman.

Hendrik Khoirul Muhid, Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has drawn attention for inviting a number of domestic tycoons to the State Palace in Jakarta on Thursday, March 6, 2025.

Jakarta – Indonesia is rightfully concerned about the domestic textile industry. The bankruptcy of Central Java-based garment maker PT Sri Rejeki Isman, better known as Sritex, is a particularly large case in point for a much wider problem.

Celvin Moniaga Sipahutar, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto is urging ride-hailing companies such as Gojek and Grab to give their drivers the much-awaited Eid bonuses.

Iim Halimatusa'diyah and Panarat Anamwathana – Compared to young people in other Southeast Asian countries, Thai and Indonesian undergraduates are the most wary of potential military influence over their countries' politics and their own lives.

Aep, Bandung – Former West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil confirmed that his residence was searched by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in connection with an alleged markup in advertising funds at Bank Jabar Banten (BJB).

The Vatican has appointed an Augustinian priest, known as a human rights activist, as bishop of a diocese in Indonesia's conflict-ridden Christian-majority Papua region.

Father Bernardus Bowitwos Baru, 56, was named the new bishop of Timika Diocese in Papua on March 8.

Heru Yustanto, Jakarta – The central government has shut down four villas in the Puncak resort area of Bogor, West Java, for violating land use regulations and occupying protected forest areas.

The following is a translation of a speech given by Sunarno, the president of the Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance (KASBI), at a meeting of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) Presidential Council in Hanoi, Vietnam, on March 4-5, 2025.

Greetings to all comrades.

Responding to the 2-year-and-10-month prison sentence for hate speech against Christianity handed to a trans woman, Ratu Thalisa, in Indonesia's North Sumatra Province over comments made on her TikTok channel, Amnesty International Indonesia's Executive Director Usman Hamid said:

M. Rizki Yusrial, Jakarta – The Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) has issued a circular letter addressing budget efficiency for 2025 and the effectiveness of its operations. Signed by Secretary General Kamaruddin Amin, the letter instructs Kemenag employees to work from home (WFH) every Friday.

Novali Panji Nugroho, Jakarta – Spokesperson of the West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Movement or TPNPB-OPM, Sebby Sambom, said that their group buys weapons through the black market.

Yovanda Noni, East Kutai – The sound of coal mining machinery echoes along the Bengalon-Muara Wahau main road in East Kutai Regency, East Kalimantan. Few trees remain, providing limited shade for the workers.

Despite being rained on since mid-day, protesters from various different civil society organisations continued hold an action commemorating International Women's Day (IWD) 2025 at the zero kilometre point in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta on Saturday March 8.

Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – The Central Leadership of Muhammadiyah urges Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to assert the national strategic project (PSN), that is the Rempang Eco City project, not to be continued by his government. Previously, Prabowo issued the latest PSN list through Presidential Regulation Number 12 of 2025 which was issued on February 10, 2025.