Boxes of illicit cigarettes are stacked in front of a customs patrol boat in an undisclosed location in Batam city, Riau Islands, in this undated picture released by Batam Customs and Excise Office. 11 out of 54 interdictions made in May consisted of cigarettes. `

Batam tax status entices cigarette smuggling into Indonesian customs area

Cigarettes produced in the Batam, Bintan and Karimun Free Trade Zone (FTZ) are not required to have a tobacco products excise (CHT) if consumed inside the FTZ, leading to much cheaper cigarette prices when compared to those produced inside the Indonesian customs area.

36 minutes ago

Jakarta premium

Jakarta's birthday gift to all, free public transportation, tourism spots

Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung has decided to offer free public transportation and tourism spots under its management to celebrate the city’s 499th anniversary for three days on Monday, and June 27 and 28 to all Indonesians, and not simply Jakarta residents.

52 minutes ago

Jakarta premium

As the capital approaches 500 years, Jakartans long for a seamless transit city

Jakarta remains marred by longstanding mobility problems, even as the capital turns 499 years old on Monday.

1 hour ago

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Illustration of police tape sealing a crime scene.

Archipelago premium

Active, retired Army soldiers among suspects in N. Sumatra death

Labuhanbatu Police have handed over the dossier of an active Indonesian Army personnel to the Military Police Sub-Detachment I/1-2 Rantauprapat.

1 hour ago

Society premium

Four Malaysians arrested over alleged abuse of Indonesian domestic workers

YY's complaint was followed by the emergence of a video that allegedly documented the abuse. Malaysian police said the footage, recorded on July 26 last year, showed a man and a woman repeatedly punching and slapping a domestic worker while another man and a woman verbally abused her.

1 day ago

A man runs carrying a boy on his back on Aug. 24, 2025, on a street during Car Free Day in Jakarta.

Jakarta premium

Fatality at Jakarta marathon raises concerns on safety, readiness

The death of a runner during a marathon event in Jakarta last week has raised concerns about participant preparedness and emergency medical response, as long-distance running continues to gain popularity in the capital.

1 day ago

Forest rangers and policemen pose on June 10, 2025, in front of a demolished illegal structure inside the Tesso Nilo National Park in Pelalawan regency, Riau. The personnel are part of the Garuda Task Force for Forest Enforcement to rehabilitate forest areas in Indonesia.

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Six settlers in Tesso Nilo National Park sentenced to six months in prison

The defendants allegedly dismantled posts and destroyed equipment and other property belonging to the Forest Enforcement Task Force (PKH) causing estimated state losses of around Rp 50 million.

1 day ago

Yellow wave: Students wear jackets in their school colors on June 12, 2026, as they take part in a massive street protest in Central Jakarta against government policies including fuel price hikes, the free nutritious meal program and the Indonesian Military’s expanded role in civilian affairs.

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Students rally to urge restoring civilian supremacy, stopping 'wasteful' spending

Topping the demands made by students across the archipelago are to stop the free meals and rural cooperatives programs, restore the TNI to its original defense function and to stabilize the national currency.

1 day ago

politics

House of Representatives deputy speakers Sufmi Dasco Ahmad (center) of the Gerindra Party and Saan Mustopa (right) of the NasDem Party address studnt protesters in front of the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta during a protest on June 19, 2026 against government policies, including state budget spending, fuel price hike, the free nutritious meal program and expanded military roles in civilian affairs.

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House leaders meet student protesters in rally against fuel prices, free meals

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Government to halt free meal scheme during holidays

The multi-billion dollar meal scheme is one of President Prabowo Subianto's signature policies, but has been widely criticised for its high costs, with hundreds demonstrating in Jakarta last week to call for it to be scrapped.

2 days ago

Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka (center) talks with student protesters after receiving them in a meeting at the Vice Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta on June 15, 2026. In the meeting, Gibran reportedly took notes of their concerns in a small notebook.

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Gibran’s outreach to student protesters prompts scrutiny over his political motives

In this file photo dated Oct. 10, 2025, stacks of cash totaling Rp 13 trillion (US$785 million) are displayed in the lobby of the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) in Jakarta during the handover of assets recovered from a corruption case involving crude palm oil export permits.

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AGO confiscates billions in assets, cash linked to fugitive convict Eddy Tansil

A woman uses a megaphone before a police line on June 12, 2026, during a student-led protest in Jakarta against the steep rise in nonsubsidized fuel prices and wasteful government spending, urging a halt to the costly free nutritious meal program.

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Student unions dissociate from BEM Bersatu after political ‘infiltration’ allegations

University students clash with police during a protest against government policies, including state budget spending, the free meals program and expanded military roles in civilian affairs, on June 15 in Jakarta.

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Growing discontent with policymaking keeps students on streets

Bung Karno University students shout slogans from atop a car mounted with bullhorns on June 5, 2026, during a protest march against wasteful government spending on Jl. Medan Merdeka near the Arjuna Wijaya Statue in Gambir, Central Jakarta.

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More student protests against costly programs, fuel price hikes

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Fatality at Jakarta marathon raises concerns on safety, readiness

A Transjabodetabek bus serving the Blok M-Soekarno Hatta International Airport route arrives at the airport train station on Tuesday in Tangerang, Banten. The Jakarta administration raised a plan to increase the fare for the Transjabodetabek bus service, especially routes with significantly higher operational costs.

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Commuters lament planned Transjabodetabek fare hike

The main gate of Jakarta State Polytechnic (PNJ) in Depok, West Java is seen in this photo taken on Aug. 21, 2025.

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Jakarta university weighs punishment after two men caught kissing

A large fire takes hold of a densely populated neighborhood in Jl. Kemayoran Gempol in Kebon Kosong subdistrict, Kemayoran district, Central Jakarta engulfed in fire on June 1, 2026. The Jakarta Fire and Rescue Agency deployed 33 fire trucks and more than 150 personnel to extinguish the fire.

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Central Jakarta fire destroys more than 300 homes

Metro Jaya Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Budi Hermanto (center), accompanied by Metro Jaya Police General Crimes Director Sr. Comr. Iman Imanuddin (second left), Metro Jaya Police Patrol Directorate chief Sr. Comr. Wahyu Dwi Ariwibowo (right), National Police Commission commissioner retired Insp. Gen. Ida Utari Purnamasasi (left) and Jakarta Military Command information chief Lt. Col. Noor Ishak, delivers a statement on May 22 during the disclosure of street crime cases involving aggravated theft, motor vehicle theft and violent theft at Metro Jaya Police headquarters in Jakarta. Metro Jaya Police and precinct police units uncovered 127 police reports related to street crimes between May 1 and May 22, and named 173 suspects.

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TNI defends role in anti-robbery raids amid rights concern

Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Budi Hermanto (center), accompanied by director for general crimes Sr. Comr. Iman Imanuddin (second left) and Jakarta Military Command (Kodam Jaya) spokesperson Lt. Col. Noor Ishak (second right), speaks during a press briefing about street crimes and violent robbery cases, at the Jakarta Police headquarters on May 22, 2026.

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Joint police, military crackdown on street robbers raises fear of extrajudicial killings

A Greater Jakarta Commuter train passes through the under-construction Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) railway station on Oct. 14, 2025, in North Jakarta. The station, located next to the stadium, will be directly connected with the 82,000-seat JIS.

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Jakarta to open railway station connected to Jakarta International Stadium

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Six settlers in Tesso Nilo National Park sentenced to six months in prison

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Students rally to urge restoring civilian supremacy, stopping 'wasteful' spending

Indonesian Military (TNI) chief of general staff Lt. Gen. Richard Taruli H. Tampubolon (second right) holds a sack of mineral black sand while Republic of Indonesia Fleet Command (Koarmada RI) Vice Adm. Denih Hendrata (second left) observes on May 26 at the Indonesian Navy’s Naval Command (Kodaeral) IV/Batam headquarters’ pier in Batam, Riau Islands. The Indonesian Navy intercepted on May 17 a tugboat and a barge carrying 25 containers of some 390 tonnes of raw minerals containing illegal rare earth metals and radioactive elements in Riau Islands waters.

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KSP summons all parties in alleged ilmenite, rare earth minerals smuggling

Suspect in the alleged corruption case involving the governance of the free nutritious meal program, Andri Mulyono (second left), walks toward a detention vehicle at the Attorney General’s Office in Jakarta, on June 12, 2026.

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AGO starts seizing electric motorcycles tied to free meals corruption case

Subsidy addicts: Motorists line up for subsidized RON-90 Pertalite fuel at a gas station in Bogor city, West Java on Aug. 9. The government has begun discussions on whether to increase the price of Pertalite soon.

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Protests erupt in North Sumatra amid subsidized fuel shortage

Former Pati regent Sudewo, center, walks after an examination at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) headquarters in Jakarta on Jan. 20, 2026. The KPK named Sudewo a suspect in an alleged corruption case involving extortion in the appointment of village officials, seizing evidence worth Rp 2.6 billion ($168,000).

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Graft trial of former Pati regent Sudewo starts in Semarang

The Amboyna tree (Pterocarpus indicus), where the Ara Hiwang Kayu inscriptions, dating back to around 901 AD, were discovered. The tree, located in the Arahiwang Arts and Cultural Center area in Borowetan Village, Banyuurip District, Purworejo Regency, Central Java, is considered one of the regency’s most important historical sites and is now at risk due to riverbank erosion along the nearby Bogowonto River.

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Riverbank erosion threatens 1,000-year-old historic site in Purworejo

society

Echa Wa’ode (center), an activist from LGBTQ rights organization Arus Pelangi, marches with other participants on March 8, 2025, during a protest organized by the Indonesian Women's Alliance (API) on the 50th International Women's Day demanding labor rights, gender equality and protections in Jakarta.

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Rights groups oppose calls to criminalize LGBTQ people

Women carry kitchen utensils and display posters, one of which reads “Life is already hard, taxes are used as they please,“ during a protest demanding the government review the free meal program, lower fuel prices, and open more job opportunities for women, in Jakarta on June 18, 2026. (Photo by BAY ISMOYO / AFP)

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Beneficiaries willing to forgo free meals to improve quality

Pilgrims walk to their gate on April 22 before heading to the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to perform the annual haj pilgrimage, at Juanda International Airport in Sidoarjo, East Java.

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Prabowo orders shorter wait times for Indonesian pilgrims

President Prabowo Subianto inspects the implementation of the free nutritious meal program on June 2 at State Junior High School (SMPN) 111 Jakarta.

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Pressure mounts to halt, review Prabowo’s free meals program

A farmer applies urea fertilizer to drought-affected rice plants in Handapherang village, Ciamis regency, West Java, on June 10, 2026. Prolonged dry conditions have left around 12 hectares of rice fields, planted between 14 days and one month ago, struggling for water as the dry season intensifies.

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Drought grips parts of Java as dry season intensifies

A woman prepares over-the-counter medicines and other health products on July 8, 2021, at a kiosk in Pramuka Market, East Jakarta.

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Rupiah slide drives up drug costs, burdening chronically ill patients

society

BGN to audit all free meals kitchens before new school year starts

Under its newly installed leadership, the BGN plans to audit all SPPG across the country before the new school year starts, focusing on quality as well as beneficiary data in a bid to improve the flagship feeding program.

5 days ago