Free meal beneficiaries: Children receive free nutritious meals on April 7 in Slipi, West Jakarta. The government has spent Rp 44 trillion (US$2.57 billion) on the program, reaching 61.62 million beneficiaries as of March 9 out of a total allocated budget of Rp 335 trillion for the program this year.`

BPOM yet to test free meals over budget limits

The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) admitted that it has yet to test food samples from the government’s free nutritious meal program, despite a growing number of reported food poisoning cases nationwide, citing budget constraints.

1 hour ago

Society premium

Immigration foils unauthorized haj attempt by 13 pilgrims

Last year, Indonesian immigration authorities prevented the departure of approximately 1,250 Indonesians who attempted to perform the pilgrimage through unauthorized channels.

9 hours ago

Society premium

Don’t rush to bring AI into classrooms: Deputy technology minister

Deputy Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Stella Christie said that early education could benefit from the fact that the human brain, even at the early stage of human growth, has a superior capability than even the most advanced form of artificial intelligence.

10 hours ago

The Latest

An activist puts up posters including one reading “Acknowledge the 1998 mass rapes“ on April 22 ahead of a press briefing at the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) office in Jakarta.

Politics premium

Fury as court dismisses 1998 mass rape lawsuit

The court’s dismissal of the case against Culture Minister Fadli Zon, which was done on procedural grounds, brings back a ‘very dark chapter’ for the victim's pursuit of justice and reinforces a culture of impunity, plaintiffs have said.

12 hours ago

Former vice president Jusuf Kalla (center) shakes hands with Christian delegate from the Malino I peace talks, Rinaldi Damanik (right) on Tuesday during a meeting with figures involved in the Malino I peace process for Poso and Malino II for Maluku in Jakarta. The meeting was held in an effort to ease tensions following a viral video clip of Kalla’s lecture at Gadjah Mada University (UGM), which was accused of blasphemy and led to police reports.

Politics premium

Peace figures reject blasphemy accusations against Jusuf Kalla

Figures behind the Malino I and Malino II Declaration have defended former vice president Jusuf Kalla, asserting that his recent lecture reflects historical realities of the Poso and Ambon conflicts and does not amount to blasphemy.

22 hours ago

Desperate search: A rescue team uses heavy machinery to search for people on March 9 following a landslide at Bantargebang landfill in Bekasi, West Java. A landslide at the country’s biggest landfill buried trucks and food stalls, killing four people, rescuers said on March 9 as they searched for at least five more reported missing.

Jakarta premium

Ex-Jakarta agency head faces charges in deadly landfill collapse

The Environment Ministry has named former Jakarta Environment Agency head Asep Kuswanto a suspect in a case pertaining to alleged waste management violations at Bantar Gebang landfill, which triggered a deadly landslide that killed seven people last month.

23 hours ago

Archipelago

Aceh journalist prosecuted in alleged media spending graft case

Kadri Amin, a journalist that leads online media Gumpalannews, was named a suspect in February after he was accused of securing a media advertising project from the Simelue administration without proper procurement procedures, allegedly causing state losses of Rp 697.5 million (US$40,658).

1 day ago