Ade Ridwan Yandwiputra, Jakarta – The government has inked an MoU between Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif and the Second Minister for Trade and Industry of Singapore Tan See Leng in Jakarta. The MoU concerned the plan for new renewable electrical energy export to Singapore.

Antara, Jakarta – Vice Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning and Vice Head of National Agrarian Agency Raja Juli Antoni ensured that no discrimination will take place in the houses of worship certification process.

"Any place of worship of any God will be certified without discrimination in any way," he said in Jakarta today.

Riani Sanusi Putri, Jakarta – The head of the advocacy department at the Palm Oil Farmers Union (SPKS) Marselinus Andy criticized the government's plan of bleaching or pardoning the 3.3 million hectares of illegal plantation. Andy believed that this policy was not transparent.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Critics have questioned the Indonesian government's priorities as it prepares to evict longtime residents of a small island to make way for a $25 billion development that includes a solar panel factory and a tourism resort.

Jayapura – West Papua National Committee (KNPB) spokesperson Ones Suhuniap is asking Jayapura city police chief (Kapolresta) Senior Commissioner Victor Makbun to stop creating a commotion in the media about a planned thanksgiving meeting to welcome the release of Victor Yeimo.

Mohamad Said, Nusantara, East Kalimantan – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo confirmed on Thursday that his youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep, has officially become a member of the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI).

Mohamad Said, Nusantara, East Kalimantan – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Thursday laid the foundation stone for the first-ever hotel in the future national capital, Nusantara, located in East Kalimantan.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia has just inked a global pact in which it pledges to protect marine biodiversity in the international high seas, which makes up almost two-thirds of the ocean, according to Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

Jakarta – BP Berau Ltd (bp) and Kilang Pertamina Internasional, the subsidiary of the state-owned oil and gas firm, recently agreed to launch a study to assess the possibility of injecting carbon dioxide in Tangguh.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Putting a price on carbon, among others by imposing taxes, can put Indonesia on track toward its 2030 emission reduction goal, according to climate policy researcher Gilang Hardadi.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – As of August 31, the state budget has achieved a surplus of Rp 147.2 trillion ($9.6 billion), equivalent to 0.7 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati announced on Wednesday.

Febry Andrean Amoga, Batam – Indonesian authorities, in collaboration with China's law enforcement agencies, on Wednesday deported 153 Chinese nationals using three chartered aircraft from Batam Island. The deportations are related to allegations of involvement in romance scams.

The two year prison sentence handed down against a TikTok influencer who goes by the name Lina Mukherjee, after she was charged with blasphemy over the content of a video in which she ate pork after expressing the phrase "Bismillah" (in the Name of Allah), has triggered a variety of reactions in cyberspace.

Adi Warsono, Jakarta – Directorate General of Human Settlements of the PUPR Ministry recorded that PAM (Water Utility Company) water service only reached 26% of Bekasi residents.

"Quality wise, only 4.18% of the water received by PAM customers in Bekasi is in top quality," said Human Settlements DG Diana Kusumastuti in Bekasi last Monday.

Riri Rahayu, Jakarta – The Legal and Policy Studies Manager of the Indonesian Forum for Living Environment (Walhi) Satrio Manggala criticizes the national strategic project of Rempang Eco-City for its potential environmental impacts.

Mita Amalia Hapsari & Fito Erlangga, Jakarta – Traders at Jakarta's Tanah Abang Market – Southeast Asia's largest textile wholesale center – recently reported a 50 percent drop in turnover amid the live-shopping-with-celebs trend on online platforms such as TikTok.

Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – The Indonesian Police's Task Force for Human Trafficking Crimes (TPPO) revealed that 2,693 people had become victims of human trafficking crimes between June 5, 2023, which was when the task force was formed, and September 19, 2023.

Jayapura, Jubi – The dean of the Faculty of Social Science at Okmin University of Papua, Octaviaen Gerald Bidana said Papua's New Autonomous Region (DOB) established by the Central Government was a deliberate strategy aimed at sidelining the Indigenous Papuan population. This strategy involves the establishment of entry points for large-scale transmigration programs.

Jayapura, Jubi – On Monday, September 18, 2023, at around 2:30 p.m. Papua time, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) targeted one market and seven kiosks owned by residents in Serambakon District, Bintang Mountains Regency, Mountainous Papua Province.

Jakarta – An Indonesian court sentenced a woman to two years in prison this week for violating the country's blasphemy law after she posted a video on social media site TikTok in which she said a Muslim prayer before eating pork.

Indonesia is the largest Muslim-majority nation in the world and pork is considered 'haram,' or not permissible, under Islam.

Police in Indonesia's Christian-majority East Nusa Tenggara province have charged a Catholic man under the country's controversial Information and Electronic Transactions law for defaming a local official.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Attorney General's Office has launched a corruption investigation into the country's palm oil fund agency, which oversees the collection and distribution of export levies on the commodity.

Jakarta – Several cities in Central and West Java have been struggling to put out fires engulfing their landfills, with fires triggered by the hot temperature of this year's prolonged, El Nino-induced dry season.

Jakarta – President Joko Widodo has denied allegations widely discussed on social media that a minister resorted to violence during a policy dispute in a Cabinet meeting.

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – The government, in an attempt to rein in rising rice prices, has employed various instruments such as social assistance (Bansos) programs and market operations to flood the market with rice from the national reserves.

Aditya Hadi, Jakarta – The government will permit the use of state funds as a loan guarantee to sustain the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway (HSR) project, a decision that has been criticized for putting a heavy burden on the taxpayer.

Jakarta – Starlink, the global satellite internet provider owned by American business magnate Elon Musk, has established a company in Indonesia. However, a senior official revealed on Wednesday that the company's workforce does not include local employees.

Bandung, Indonesia – Indonesia's outgoing President Joko Widodo said South-east Asia's largest economy will be able to attain its fastest expansion in three decades under its next leader, who will build on the reforms he is trying to cement.

Yohanes Maharso Joharsoyo, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, said the Rempang residents are generally willing to be relocated. He made the statement in response to the conflict over land acquisition for the Rempang Eco City project on Rempang Island, Batam.

Devayani Sathyan – Bank Indonesia (BI) will keep its key interest rate unchanged at 5.75% on Thursday and for the rest of the year to maintain the stability of the rupiah currency, similar to most of its Asian peers, as inflation continues to ease, a Reuters poll found.

Batam, Riau Islands – Militaries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations began their first-ever joint exercises on Tuesday in Indonesia, with a Myanmar representative present despite the bloc's ban on its junta leaders.

Jakarta – The rise of electric vehicles (EVs) has triggered a global race for critical minerals. The rush to secure critical minerals has created partnerships between minerals-producing and EV-producing countries.

Divya Karyza, Jakarta – Indonesia may see its nickel reserves depleted in less than two decades as a result of high annual production amid increased demand from smelting facilities, a senior minister has warned.

Jakarta – An Indonesian minister on Monday said the country is committed to developing the resource-rich island of Rempang, south of Batam, into an industrial park, following clashes between villagers and the police over a relocation plan.

Ilham Oktafian & Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Several women, including social media personalities, attended questioning at the Jakarta Police headquarters on Tuesday to undergo interrogation for their alleged roles in the illegal production and streaming of pornographic videos.

Riani Sanusi Putri, Jakarta – The Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) urged the investors in Rempang Eco-City to identify and assess the human rights impact of the city development, including the actual and potential harm. ELSAM believed that the impact study needs to be articulated throughout the investment life cycle.

Adi Warsono, Jakarta – Nur Hidayati, a resident of Bulak Perwira, North Bekasi allegedly contracted skin disease after using PAM (Water Utility Company) water provided by regional public company Tirta Patriot.

Over the past few days, the water distributed by the company was polluted by industrial waste. The polluted water looked dark and emanated an unpleasant smell.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – A Democratic Party executive said on Tuesday that the party has relinquished its ambition to nominate Chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono as a vice-presidential candidate, following its decision to join a new coalition.

Paulus Bagus Sugiyono, Neo Hui Yun Rebecca – There is already an existing solution to some of Jakarta's urban pollution woes, but this requires the present government to more seriously revive and maintain the city's much-needed green spaces.

Daniel A. Fajri, Ahmad Fikri, Bandung – Indonesian President Joko Widodo or Jokowi hoped that the country's defense industry would be among the top 50 global defense companies by 2025.

He highlighted the rapid development of the industry when he visited state-owned arms manufacturer PT Pindad in Bandung City, West Java, on Tuesday, September 19, 2023.

Adam Bobbette – It is well known that Scots played crucial roles maintaining the British empire. This extended even to Java. The British ruled there for a short time from 1811-1816. The invasion of Java was arranged by Lord Minto of Roxburghshire, then Governor-General of India. Minto wanted the Dutch colonies in the Netherlands East Indies for the British empire.

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – Winning votes in East Java, among other key provinces, will be a deciding factor in the upcoming presidential election, as it was in the last two races. Because the province is a stronghold of Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).

Jayapura, Jubi – On Friday, September 15, 2023, Papua Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Ignatius Benny Ady Prabowo reported five bodies were discovered following what was claimed to be an exchange of gunfire between the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) on Thursday. Police found two magazines and four bullets at the same location.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Papua Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua) has asserted that the government bears the responsibility for safeguarding the human rights of the numerous displaced people and children in Yahukimo Regency, Mountainous Papua Province.

Catholic students in Indonesia are helping villagers affected by a state-sponsored geothermal project in Christian-majority Flores Island to improve their livelihoods.

Jakarta – After a long period without much progress, it now looks as though Indonesia is ready to move forward with plans to export solar power to neighboring Singapore.

Dio Suhenda and Fadli, Jakarta – Several cabinet members and high-ranking police officers visited Rempang island and neighboring Batam in the Riau archipelago over the weekend, as the government looks to ensure the continuation of the Rempang Eco-City project despite mounting resistance from locals.

Moh Said, Jakarta – Presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo now has four potential candidates to choose from as his running mate for the February election after the establishment of three competing coalitions was completed, his campaign team announced on Monday.

Mita Amalia Hapsari & Antara, Jakarta – The tickets to go on Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train trial runs are selling like hotcakes.

Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), the consortium that runs the project, is allowing Indonesians to go on free test rides in phases.

Antara, Jakarta – The provincial government of Jakarta conducted a trial run for account-based ticketing (ABT) through the Jaklingko application for Transjakarta, MRT, and LRT Jakarta two weeks ago.