Indonesia’s recent row with neighboring countries over transboundary haze caused by local fires is fueling concerns that the government is wielding nationalist sentiment to deflect criticism of its response to the crisis.

The government has ordered regional administrations to establish their own task forces to inspect free meals kitchens and promised incentives for complying regions, which critics warn will only shift oversight responsibilities to regions already under tight fiscal constraints.

The antigraft body issued a new warrant in October for an investigation into alleged irregularities and bribery pertaining to cigarette excise, with the commission’s spokesperson saying investigators may summon related parties for questioning as the probe goes.

Light to heavy rains have recently fallen in Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and South Sumatra, encouraged by its cloud seeding operations, said Indonesia's climatology agency.

Syabilla Rizkia Putri Raharja, 22, a finswimmer representing Jepara regency, died on Sunday after collapsing near the finish of the women’s 3,000-meter open-water finswimming event while Ayudiah Rivana Tridiandinita, 19, a pencak silat athlete representing Semarang city, died early Wednesday after undergoing surgery for a finger injury sustained during a match.

High school students across the country began taking the academic competency test (TKA) on Monday. But in Central Kalimantan, one of the provinces hardest hit by forest and peatland fires this year, students will have to wait until next month to sit the exam because of deteriorating air quality.

Students and civil society groups across Indonesia took to the streets once again on Wednesday to demand the government’s accountability over the persistent forest and peatland fires, while decrying what they say is a shrinking civic space under President Prabowo Subianto’s administration.

The West Sumatra project is part of a broader plan by KAI to develop a trans-Sumatra railway network connecting Banda Aceh, at Sumatra Island’s northern tip, with Bandar Lampung in the south.

Worsened by the El Niño weather pattern that leaves peatland vulnerable to fires, Indonesia has been faced with its worst forest fires and resulting haze in 11 years, increasing respiratory illnesses and polluting the air of neighbouring countries Malaysia and Singapore.

Fuel shortages have been reported in several parts of Indonesia since the start of the year, triggering queues stretching for kilometers and disrupting residents' daily activities.

Tapanuli orangutans in North Sumatra face increasing threats as their habitat gets fragmented by forest-encroaching business activities, while Bornean orangutans in Kalimantan are choked by haze-causing forest and peatland fires.

The awards are given to individuals, teams or institutions in Southeast Asia who have shown outstanding achievements in engineering with huge impacts for the public, industry and sustainability development in ASEAN.

The House of Representatives presses ahead with the asset forfeiture bill during recess, as it seeks to pass the long-delayed bill into law by mid-December amid growing public pressure and concerns of transparency in its process.

The government is reviewing possible revisions to the anticorruption law to improve legal certainty and the investment climate, with possible changes focusing on clarifying the definition of state financial losses and specifying corruption offences.

Each administrative team was assigned a monthly profit target of US$7,800, while individual workers earned between $1,200 and $1,600 a month.

The Jakarta city administration has extended its use of the overcapacity Bantar Gebang landfill in neighboring Bekasi, West Java, for another five years, as the capital still struggles to contain its mounting waste crisis amid uncertainty over planned waste-to-energy (WtE) projects.

More than 300,000 people in seven provinces were laid low by respiratory tract infections from August to October, according to Indonesia's health ministry.

Officers from Naval Regional Command (Kodaeral) IV/Batam and BAIS’ foreigner surveillance task force conducted the enforcement operation on Lumba Island, Kasu subdistrict, Belakang Padang district, Batam city on Tuesday.

The Mongolian-flagged tanker MT Global 168 departed from Pasir Gudang in Johor state, Malaysia, to a ship-to-ship transfer location in the Andaman Sea, off Trang province, Thailand. 

Based on data from Wonosobo Police, the total area affected by fire reached some 306 hectares, with firefighters managed to extinguish fires on 104 hectares of affected land.

The government missed the deadline to form a committee that will vet new election organizers and supervisors, raising concerns over compliance with the law and the transparency of the selection process.

The Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) seizure of hundreds of millions of rupiah linked to property developer Summarecon and gang leader Rosario “Hercules” de Marshal has renewed concerns over mass organizations’ role in land disputes and the corruption risks posed by informal power networks.

Jakarta’s plan to give its historic Kota Tua district a European-inspired makeover has won cautious support from longtime vendors, who welcome more tourists but want assurances that they will still have a place in the district’s future.

The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) seeks discussions with other political parties in the House of Representatives on the appropriate follow-up to address Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s legitimacy as Vice President, following a court ruling that raised questions over his educational qualifications.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) is still mulling over the technical assistance on offer from Singapore and Malaysia to put out the fires, with cooperation to be focused on closing gaps from existing efforts.

An annual international index on countries’ adherence to the rule of law found Indonesia scoring lower this year compared to 2025, with the country scoring lowest in criminal justice, absence of corruption and fundamental rights.

A proposal to narrow the legal definition of corruption has prompted concerns of weakening anticorruption campaigns.