M Julnis Firmansyah, Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo held a mass zikr for the country's 78th independence day in the courtyard of Jakarta Merdeka Palace on Tuesday evening, August 1, 2023. Nearly all ministers of the Onward Cabinet attended the event. Vice President Ma'ruf Amin was also present.

M Julnis Firmansyah, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo stated that 96 percent of Indonesian people have faith in God. He made the statement during his speech at the national mass zikr for the country's 78th independence day in the courtyard of Jakarta Merdeka Palace on Tuesday evening, August 1, 2023.

A'an Suryana – An Islamic boarding school and its principal are embroiled once again in controversy. This time, maybe the public's complaints will bite – but for how long?

Jakarta – Civil society organisations active in the field of humanitarianism, the law and human rights have criticised the use of criminalisation as a method to silence government critics and activists.

Extreme drought that destroyed crops triggered a food crisis in Indonesia's Christian-majority conflict-ridden Papua region, leaving at least six people dead and thousands starving, an official said.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia on Wednesday persuaded Switzerland, a member of the European Free Trade Association or EFTA, to get the group into recognizing the country's sustainability certification scheme for palm oil called the ISPO.

Dio Suhenda, Jakarta – The government is planning to stick with its controversial zoning system for state school enrollment, arguing that it remains key to addressing Indonesia's long-standing education disparities, despite a recent string of complaints from parents that the policy is susceptible to cheating and bribery.

Thresa Sandra Desfika, Jakarta – Garuda Indonesia (GIAA), the state-owned airline, announced on Tuesday that it has conducted trials of aviation fuel with a biofuel mix on a jet engine used in Boeing 737-800NG aircraft.

Jakarta – The government will this week send aid to remote areas of the eastern Papua, where thousands are facing hunger brought on by drought, the chief of national disaster agency said on Monday.

Deni Ghifari, Jakarta – The government has highlighted longstanding tax incentives and other policies that seek to lighten the burden on exporters that keep their earnings in country, as it prepares to require high-value exporters to maintain foreign exchange deposits at home.

Jakarta – It is the year of more heat and less rain, more wildfires and less water. Welcome to a scorching dry season!

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo recently told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to invest in Indonesia's durian plantations as Beijing's imports of the exotic fruit amounted to billions of dollars.

Agnes Valentina Christa, Jakarta – The Military Police Headquarters, or Puspom, has confirmed the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK)'s decision to name two active high-ranking military officers as suspects in a graft scandal at the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas).

Antara, Jakarta – Statistics Indonesia, or BPS, released the Development of the July 2023 Consumer Price Index on Tuesday, August 1. The central statistics agency noted that annual inflation in July 2023 stood at 3.08 percent with a Consumer Price Index (CPI) score of 115.24 percent, up from the previous month's 111.80.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Indonesia's highest court has upheld a $61 million fine against an oil palm company over massive fires on its plantation that razed an area seven times the size of New York City's Central Park.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Dogiyai Police is currently conducting an investigation into the recent burning incidents that took place on Monday, July 31, 2023. The affected structures include the offices of the National Unity and Politics Agency and the Dogiyai Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Office in Central Papua Province.

Amelia Rahima Sari and Riani Sanusi Putri, Jakarta – The Indonesian Traditional Market Traders Association (Ikappi) reported that the price of chicken eggs remains high and even reaches Rp32,000 per kilogram.

Moh Khory Alfarizi and Riri Rahayu, Jakarta – Charter airline Susi Air owner Susi Pudjiastuti responded to public concerns about domestic flight ticket prices being more pricey than international ones. "Because the economies of scale are not enough. Why???

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia is mulling cutting down on its dairy imports from Europe as the over-controlling European Union (EU) retaliates against Jakarta's appeal over a nickel lawsuit at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Jakarta – Indonesia has bought 12 new drones from Turkish Aerospace worth $300 million, the Defense Ministry said on Tuesday, the latest in a series of purchases aimed at modernising the country's ageing military equipment.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Sibolga District Court in North Sumatra has acquitted Siska Telaumbanua of stabbing her then boyfriend in February.

Presiding judge Grace Martha Situmorang rejected on Wednesday the demand for three years and six months in prison submitted by prosecutors against the 28-year-old defendant.

Theo Kelen, Rabin Yarangga, Dominggus A Mampioper, Angela Flassy, Timika – Since 1972, PT Freeport Indonesia's mining operations in Mimika, Central Papua have transformed mountains into giant ravines, pulverizing mineral-rich rocks and depositing the resulting waste, known as tailings, into rivers.

Mita Amalia Hapsari, Jakarta – Panji Gumilang, the founder and leader of Al Zaytun Islamic Boarding School, was named a blasphemy suspect on Tuesday following reports that the school has taught students against basic Islamic teachings.

Rangga Prakoso, Jakarta – The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has assured that it will not impose a supply cap on subsidized liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), stating that the supply is sufficient until the end of the year. While there have been reports of shortages in some areas for the 3-kg cylinder LPG, the ministry attributed this to distribution challenges.

Yitno Suprapto, Sarolangun, Indonesia – On a night in early July, Solikin was awake chasing elephants past sunrise. The animals had entered the community's oil palm fields and raised hell, mashing hundreds of young palm stems to a pulp.

Banyumas – Eight people trapped in an illegal gold mine on the Indonesian island of Java are feared dead, a local rescue official said Sunday, as search efforts entered a fifth day with little progress.

Unlicensed mines – many with disregard for basic safety measures – are common across the mineral-rich Southeast Asian archipelago and accidents are frequent.

Lauren Ong and Calvin Yang, Dili, Timor-Leste – Singapore-owned businesses are investing millions of dollars in Timor-Leste's leisure and hospitality sectors.

These include five-star hotels, serviced apartments and an entertainment centre, which are among some of the biggest investments in the country so far.

Sydney – Indonesia has paused live cattle imports from four Australian facilities after lumpy skin disease was detected in a small number of cattle some time after arrival, the Australian government said.

Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – Indonesia's healthcare reforms are set to attract foreign doctors to practise in the country, but patients say they will continue seeking treatment abroad unless overall health facilities improve.

Indonesia has stepped up its campaign of repression against West Papuans peacefully rallying for full membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), says a Papuan advocacy leader.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has not yet signed the planned presidential regulation on media sustainability, and it will only take effect later this year once he does, but it has already created controversy.

Tatang Guritno, Jakarta – A Kompas Research and Development (Litbang Kompas) survey in July shows that the majority of respondents do not agree with extending village heads' terms in office to nine years.

Tria Dianti, Jakarta – Indonesia's leader ordered the military Monday to escort food deliveries into the rebellious Papua region, where thousands face starvation amid extreme weather conditions that have led to severe food shortages.

Muhammad Aulia, Jakarta – Asep Guntur Rahayu, the investigation chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), has filed a resignation following a recent raid that led to two high-ranking military officers at the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) being named graft suspects.

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – Airlangga Hartarto's position as the chairman of the Golkar Party is currently treading precarious ground due to what is considered to be his lack of party leadership and maneuvering towards opposition presidential candidate Anies Baswedan.

Len Garae – "As Christians, the people of Vanuatu love the people of Indonesia but the people hate the killings of Melanesian people of West Papua by Indonesian people".

Muhammad Aulia, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, confirmed on Saturday that it has handed over the graft case against two high-ranking military officers assigned at the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) to the Indonesian Military (TNI).

Antara, Jakarta – The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) on Thursday detected 74 hotspots of wildfires in several areas of East Kalimantan province amid the ongoing dry season, an official said.

Jakarta – Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) has strongly criticised the position taken by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) which has apologised to the TNI (Indonesian military) for declaring two military officers suspects in a bribery case at the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas).

BeritaSatu, Jakarta – Presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo and potential rival Prabowo Subianto were seen attending an event in Jakarta on Saturday, both coincidentally wearing checkered shirts.

Ganjar said that they didn't plan to attend the education seminar as speakers together, and the matching shirts were just a coincidence.

Jakarta – Three Bali immigration officers have been arrested for their alleged role in an illegal organ trafficking syndicate that brought dozens of victims to Cambodia to sell their kidneys, Indonesian police said on Saturday.

Jakarta – Marriage between people of different faiths has become more difficult, if not impossible, following a Supreme Court circular letter telling district courts to stop giving legitimacy to these unions. These marriages will no longer be recognized by the state and this also raises questions about the status of their children.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The police-led human trafficking task force has already saved thousands of victims in almost two months since its establishment, according to an officer.

Tika Ayu, Jakarta – Puan Maharani, the chairperson of the central executive board of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), revealed that her party would announce the running mate for its presidential nominee, Ganjar Pranowo, on November 4, 2023.

Ichsan Ali, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, admitted on Friday that its investigators breached the criminal procedure code when arresting National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) Head Henri Alfiandi and his subordinate – both are active military officers.

A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil, Jakarta – The Thousand Islands regency has launched a bid, backed by city councilors, to take over four artificial islands left behind after a troubled project, in hopes of accelerating the development of Jakarta's only island administration.

GJ Burchall – The first of many things that strike you at polling places in Timor-Leste is the total lack of assaults on voters by how-to-vote card boosters – the sort that swarm all over Australian voters like demented, malaria-lugging mosquitos.

Party flags, banners and shills must keep at a respectful 25-metre distance. Ditto the automatic weapons.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The Indonesian government plans this year to recognize community claims to ancestral forests in the Sumatran province of Aceh for the first time in history.

Pribadi Wicaksono, Jakarta – The trash piles crisis in Yogyakarta shows no sign of ceasing. Until Thursday, July 27, 2023, the trash piles broaden in several tourist routes and destinations. The cause of this crisis was the closing of the landfill (TPA) in Piyungan due to overload.

Ayu Cipta, Jakarta – Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Hamonangan Laoly attended Civilizational Perspectives on Human Dignity conference organized by the International Center for Law and Religion Studies of Brigham Young University in cooperation with Notre Dame Law School and Oxford University.