Antara, Jakarta – The prevalence of smoking among 10-18-year-olds in Indonesia has decreased to 7.4 percent in 2023, according to the Indonesian Health Survey (SKI) 2023, down from 9.1 percent recorded in the 2018 Basic Health Research (Riskesdas).

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) hopes Indonesia will not rush to secure a full membership into the rich country club.

Indonesia officially became a candidate member to the OECD earlier this month.

Ibnu Malikh, Serang – Hundreds of vehicles belonging to the Banten provincial government, worth Rp 25.5 billion ($1.6 million), have been unaccounted for, according to a recent finding by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).

State auditors revealed that local government officials couldn't trace the whereabouts of these cars after the 2023 audit on government assets.

Denpasar – Journalists and journalist organisations in a number of regions, including in Surabaya and Bali, have continued to speak out against revisions to the Broadcasting Law that they say will curb press freedom.

Stefani Wijaya, Jakarta – Attorney General Sanitiar Burhanuddin revealed that the alleged corruption case involving tin commodity trading licenses at state-owned tin miner Timah between 2015 and 2022 resulted in state losses amounting to Rp 300 trillion ($19.35 billion), exceeding the previous estimate of Rp 271 trillion.

The arrest of Peni Petrus Pekei, also known as Petrus Pekei, by the Cartenz Peace Operation Task Force Cartenz and the Dogiyai Police on 17 May 2024, has sparked controversy in Paniai, Central Papua.

Stefani Wijaya, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office confirmed on Wednesday that a member of the police's counterterrorism squad, Detachment 88, has been arrested for allegedly spying on its top prosecutor.

Gufron Gozali and Muhammad Rayhan Faqih Syahfa – After numerous breakthrough contracts with various military equipment suppliers to strengthen up its armaments, Indonesia is currently eying the ANKA, Chinese CH-4, and Bayraktar MALE drone. For a country as big as Indonesia, it only has 6 UCAVs in its 51st Air Force Squadron's storage, all Chinese CH-4B MALE.

Irsyan Hasyim, Jakarta – A lecturer at the University of Indonesia (UI) Environmental Studies Mochamad Adhiraga Pratama said Jakarta's 2023 environmental management performance report showed pressure on the water quality sector.

Jakarta – The price of garlic continues to soar as a result of a shortage of supplies. This is further evidence of the problems caused by the import quota system.

Muhammad Aulia, Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) plans an appeal against the recent acquittal of Supreme Court Justice Gazalba Saleh which dealt the commission a third defeat against the same defendant.

Jakarta – Indonesia's antitrust agency said Monday it was probing local units of e-commerce giants Shopee and Lazada for potential breaches of anticompetition rules.

The agency said it was closely watching PT Shopee Internasional Indonesia and PT Ecart Webportal Indonesia, the domestic units of Shopee and Lazada, respectively.

Jakarta – It is fallacy that Indonesia could reap some windfall from the escalating United States-China trade war. The spat between the world's two largest economies is bad news for us, plain and simple.

Deni Ghifari, Jakarta – Alocal company belonging to a Chinese conglomerate is to build a cement factory in South Aceh regency, despite a nationwide moratorium in place since 2020.

Antara, Jakarta – Hanny Nilasari, the General Secretary of the Indonesian Association of Dermatologists and Venereologists (Perdoski), highlighted the high demand for skincare products containing whitening agents in Indonesia.

Thresa Sandra Desfika, Jakarta. Agoes Projosasmito, 68, has made his way into the top five of Indonesia's richest individuals, according to Forbes' Real-Time Billionaires List. The surge in Agoes' wealth is attributed to the strong performance of shares in his company, Amman Mineral Internasional (AMMN).

Bella Evanglista, Jakarta – In his inaugural address, the Chairman of Gerakan Pemuda (GP) Ansor, Addin Jauharuddin, issued a strong statement pledging to defend President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and his family against any harm.

Antara, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo acknowledged the public's concerns regarding the 3 percent salary deduction for the Housing Savings Fund (Tapera) contributions.

"It's normal for people to have concerns about a new policy, calculating whether they can afford it or if it's burdensome," President Jokowi said in Jakarta, on Monday.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The government has spent Rp 4.8 trillion or approximately $298.3 million in the construction of Indonesia's new capital Nusantara as of April 30, according to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani.

Irsyan Hasyim (Contributor), Jakarta – Flooding occurred in Taliabu Island Regency, North Maluku Province, following heavy rains on May 16 at 02:00 local time. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported that more than 600 people or 155 families were affected by the disaster as of Monday, May 27.

Martha Warta Silaban, Jakarta – Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) Doni P. Joewono said that Indonesia is still a global market for halal products, with import value greater than export value.

Ilona Estherina, Jakarta – Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani explained that the State Budget (APBN) in April 2024 experienced a surplus worth Rp75.7 trillion or equal to 0.33 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, according to her, state revenue has declined to Rp924.9 trillion.

Annisa Febiola, Jakarta – Member of the Ombudsman Indonesia, Yeka Hendra Fatika, revealed that the potential loss from oil palm maladministration complaints from 2021 to now is worth Rp524.71 billion.

Nida Sahara, Jakarta – The Financial Services Authority (OJK) revealed that the total value of assets in Sharia-based financial businesses stood at approximately Rp 2,500 trillion ($155 billion) last year.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Calls are mounting for global financiers to cut ties with Adaro, one of Indonesia's biggest coal companies, as the miner shows no sign of moving away from the fossil fuel despite its net-zero pledge.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance (KASBI) has criticised the government's plan to require workers aged 20 years and over to participate in the Public Housing Savings Program (Tapera) and have 2.5 percent of their wages deducted for the program.

Michelle Anindya, Denpasar – Hours after the polls closed in Indonesia's massive election this year, several polling staff took to social media to complain that a new app they were using for counting and tabulating votes was malfunctioning. The app was reading numbers on the result sheets wrong, the officials said, posting screenshots of several glaring errors.

Indonesian police have rejected accusations of a political cover-up over the murder of a couple following the arrest of the suspected mastermind who was on the run for eight years.

The August 2016 deaths of Vina Dewi Arsita and her boyfriend Eky sparked renewed intrigue after Vina: Sebelum 7 Hari (Vina: Before 7 Days), a film based on the incident, was released on May 8.

Indigenous activists from the Indonesian province of West Papua have held traditional ceremonies outside the country's Supreme Court in Jakarta calling for their traditional land and forests to be protected from palm oil plantations.

Amy Sood – Stevanus was 16 at the time, and like many Indonesian youngsters, loved playing football and listening to music with his friends. He was also a curious teenager, so when he heard that there was some trouble at a nearby shopping centre in East Jakarta, he rushed to take a look.

A 26-year-old Indonesian man was shocked to discover just 12 days into his marriage that his wife, whom he had been dating for over a year, was actually a man attempting to scam him out of money.

The revelation shocked the Chinese internet, with many observers left astounded that the couple had dated in person for a year before getting married in April.

Brandon Michael Sideleau – What's the connection between your smartphone and crocodile attacks? It's quite straightforward.

Indonesia, West Papua – Reports received indicate that four students were injured by the police and one was arrested during a horizontal tribal conflict in Nabire, Papua Tengah Province on 27 April 2024.

Indonesia, West Papua – Intensified armed clashes between Indonesian security forces and members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) in the Paniai since early May 2024 reportedly resulted in the temporary closure of the only general hospital in the regency.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has defended its move to deploy members of the military police to guard the headquarters of the Attorney General's Office (AGO) and provide security protection for a number of prosecutors following an alleged move from members of the National Police Anti-Terror Unit Densus 88 to spy on the agency's top prosecutors.

Jakarta – A volcano in North Maluku spewed a six-kilometre cloud of ash into the sky on Monday in the latest of nearly 100 eruptions since early this year.

The fresh eruption at Mount Ibu on Halmahera island occurred at 03:30 am local time (1830 GMT Sunday), and sent sand falling onto surrounding areas, according to authorities.

Jakarta – Democracy cannot function properly without a credible opposition, and the last decade has offered a clear example of what happens when a presidential administration remains largely unchecked by forces outside the ruling group.

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – The House of Representatives plans to accelerate the law-making process of several controversial bills during the lame-duck period before its term ends on Oct. 1.

Dio Suhenda, Jakarta – Following a string of tragic accidents involving chartered tour buses, the government screened the road-readiness of buses over the Waisak extended holiday in an attempt to improve what experts deem as lackluster supervision of transportation providers.

Aditya Hadi, Jakarta – Publicly listed telco firm Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison will launch a large language model (LLM) for the Indonesian language called Garuda in July, according to the company on Tuesday.

The model will allow artificial intelligence technology, such as ChatGPT, to understand interactions in the local language, the company said.

Jakarta – The Job Creation Law adopts a so-called "trust but verify" approach when it comes to the issuance of business permits, according to the policy's task force.

Jakarta – A number of journalists and media activists calling themselves the "Coalition of Journalists, Student Press and Pro-Democracy Organisations Rejecting the Broadcasting Bill" held a demonstration in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) building in Jakarta on Monday May 27.

Amelia Rahima Sari, Jakarta – A political communication observer from Esa Unggul University, M. Jamiluddin Ritonga, said the Broadcasting Bill must be rejected if it deviates from the principle of press freedom.

"Indonesia must not regress to the dark ages where the ruling regime castrated press freedom," he said in his official statement on Monday, May 27, 2024.

Nabiila Azzahra A. (Reuters), Jakarta – The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday, May 26, 2024, announced Indonesia's support for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision which ordered Israel to halt its military operations in Rafah, southern Gaza.

Defara Dhanya Paramitha, Jakarta – Press organizations, student presses, and pro-democracy organizations took to the streets to protest the revision of the Broadcasting Law or the broadcasting bill in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) building in Senayan, Jakarta, Monday, May 27, 2024.

Whisnu Bagus Prasetyo, Jakarta – A leopard and a black panther were spotted roaming Mount Gede Pangrango National Park (TNGGP) in Cianjur, West Java, as captured by surveillance cameras (CCTV). Hikers are advised not to leave food scraps to prevent these protected animals from approaching the hiking trails.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo told his ministers on Monday to stop coming up with new apps in a bid to cut the bureaucratic red tape and put the brakes on further spending for the platform rollouts.

Antara, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said on Monday that he had met with the attorney general and the National Police chief to get clarification of reports that a top prosecutor had allegedly been stalked by members of the police's counterterrorism squad, Detachment 88.

Mita Amalia Hapsari, Jakarta – The Indonesian government will introduce an integrated app for citizens to access its services, a senior official said on Monday.

Called INA Digital, the super app is being developed by 400 local digital talents under a project named GovTech Indonesia, according to State-Owned Enterprise Minister Erick Thohir.

Bella Evanglista, Jakarta – Education Minister Nadiem Makarim announced on Monday that the planned tuition fee hikes for state universities have been canceled nationwide.

His remarks came after a closed-door meeting with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, following mounting public protests about the rising costs in state universities.