The head of the Rokan Hilir Police Water and Air Unit, Adj. Comr. Charisma Fajar Angkasa Putra, said local fishermen discovered the bodies at multiple locations between Nov. 7 and early December.

Detectives spent a week navigating rivers and thick forests to reach the location.

The aid, donated by Acehnese communities living in Malaysia, remains stranded in Malaysia due to administrative hurdles and because the disaster has not been declared a national emergency, according to Aceh administration spokesperson Teuku Kamaruzzaman.

A webinar on methanol poisoning involving experts from the WHO and other health professionals last week has pointed to an urgency for emergency planning to reduce illness and related risks in Indonesia, including ensuring the availability of antidotes.

Several regions in southern Indonesia are bracing for potential floods, landslides and extreme weather following the discovery of a new cyclone seed that has already affected Bali and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), heightening urgency for disaster preparedness.

The recent “soft launch” of a contentious government-commissioned history book has drawn sharp criticism from historians and rights activists over its secrecy and perceived efforts to shape Indonesia’s historical narrative.

A fire tore through Jakarta’s largest wholesale market, Kramat Jati, in East Jakarta, on Monday morning, destroying hundreds of stalls and prompting Governor Pramono Anung to order a thorough investigation amid renewed scrutiny of the capital’s fire-safety standards.

Chairing the United Nations Human Rights Council would help Indonesia to initiate new international conventions linking human rights with issues such as corruption, the environment and electoral rights, said Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai.

Six police officers have been named suspects for assaulting two debt collectors to death in Kalibata area in South Jakarta last week, a fatal incident that reportedly triggered retaliatory mob violence on a nearby small market, inflicting financial losses on vendors.

The recruiter promised the workers they would get 110 ringgit (US$26.85) per day for renovating two houses but the wages have never been paid.

The death toll in the Sumatra floods and landslides has reached over 1,000 people over the weekend, as regional governments in the northwestern part of the island extend their emergency status and evacuees demand the central government to do more to help.

Authorities have blamed the scale of devastation in northern Sumatra partly on uncontrolled logging. 

During a raid on Dec. 4, police seized a dark blue pickup truck labeled "Bang Bus" that reportedly had been untaxed since 2023 and had allegedly been illegally repainted from white to blue without re-registration.

More than 1,130 tonnes of contaminated scrap metal were stored at the steel melting plant PT Peter Metal Technology (PMT) after the government detected widespread radioactive pollution in the area and carried out decontamination measures.

The lack of privacy poses serious difficulties for women, especially breastfeeding mothers, while access to menstrual supplies remains one of the biggest challenges of the crisis.

Despite being in effect for nearly a decade, chemical castration remains a rare sentence, even for offenders who qualify under the law.

The government has begun rebuilding the Al Khoziny Islamic boarding school (pesantren) in Sidoarjo, East Java, even as public criticism mounts over the use of state funds to reconstruct the privately run institution, whose prayer hall collapsed in late September, killing more than 60 students.

The Communications and Digital Ministry is preparing a ministerial regulation that would stipulate detailed provisions on punishments for tech companies found violating a prohibition on social media for children.

A recently-signed National Police chief internal decree paves the way for active officers to sit in civilian positions in 17 ministries and state institutions without resigning or retiring from the force, despite a recent Constitutional Court ruling banning them from doing so.

So far, the Indonesian Air Force has deployed 23 transport aircraft and helicopters to help aid distribution in areas affected by natural disasters in the northern part of Sumatra.

The President said he hoped conditions would stabilize soon so children could return to school, while reminding local people to protect the environment and avoid deforestation.

“Elephants are a protected species. Involving them in heavy post-disaster work puts their safety at risk. Deploying elephants also contradicts conservation principles, which place animal welfare as a priority,” Daniel Johan, a member of House of Representatives Commission IV overseeing agriculture, forestry and fisheries, said.

A proposal to make the coalition supporting President Prabowo Subianto’s administration permanent has backfired on Golkar Party, with coalition members calling it inappropriate while thousands of people are still displaced after deadly floods wreaked havoc on Sumatra.

The Jakarta Legal Aid Institute said the crash was not merely an accident, nor an event that can be attributed to individual error. It reflects chaotic and unprofessional program management that neglects public safety, especially the safety of children.

 The suspects promised victims a job in France at a cost of US$5,000.

Yogyakarta provided Rp 1 billion each to the three affected provinces in the northern part of Sumatra.

For a fee, packages containing used clothing can be taken by passengers as carry on luggage or registered as checked baggage.