Indonesia Regional News: from Sumatra, Java, Bali, to Papua

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Jakarta Post
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Malaysia nabbed for smuggling etomidate vapes to Medan

The suspect, identified as FCB, has twice smuggled vapes containing etomidate from Malaysia to Medan before being arrested by the police. 

6 hours ago
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Australian man arrested for alleged public sex act in Bali

The arrest was made by a joint team of officers from Ngurah Rai Immigration Office and detectives from Badung Police for an indecent act in public. ...

8 hours ago
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Illegal logging persists in Riau as wildfires sweep province

The Riau Forest Rescue Network (Jikalahari) said its records showed that 66 percent of Riau’s natural forest had disappeared over the past 25 years, falling from 3.91 million hectares in 2000 to 1.31 million ha in 2025. ...

10 hours ago

The Latest

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Backlash after man jailed for reselling Starlink service on remote island

The suspension of the Starlink-based service following Yogi’s arrest had directly affected schools, teachers, students and digitally based micro, small and medium-sized businesses on North Pagai Island.

1 day ago
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Belgium to reactivate honorary consul in Medan

Belgium considered Medan's strategic potential, as one of Indonesia's international gateways and the largest city on Sumatra, in its plan to reactivate its honorary consul post there.

1 day ago
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Bali plays down Zika concerns after US issues travel health warning

The CDC has issued a Level 2 travel health notice for Zika in Bali, following reports of Zika cases among travelers returning from the island.

2 days ago
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Historic North Sumatra oil well proposed for national cultural heritage site

The historic Telaga Tunggal 1 oil well, Indonesia's first commercial oil well, started production in 1885 and operated until 2010 in Telaga Said village, Sei Lepan district, Langkat regency, North Sumatra. 

2 days ago
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NU congress begins in East Java to select new leaders

President Prabowo Subianto is scheduled to attend the opening ceremony on Thursday in Jombang, East Java.

2 days ago
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Prabowo visits NTT as quake death toll reaches 105

Prabowo's visit came as the death toll from the 7.7-magnitude earthquake on Aug. 15 rose to 105, with nearly 180,000 people still living in temporary shelters following relentless aftershocks across seven regencies on Flores Island.

2 days ago
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Rats, drought compound woes for Central Java farmers

Authorities said the surge in the rat population was partly driven by a prolonged dry season, which has allowed dense scrub to grow and provide shelter for the pests.

3 days ago
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Swiss man gets year in prison for Nyepi hate speech

The court handed down a slightly shorter sentence than the prosecution had demanded, noting some mitigating factors including the defendant's age and expression of remorse throughout the trial.

3 days ago
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Millions suffer respiratory illnesses as haze spreads nationwide

More than 3 million people in 37 cities and regencies nationwide have been directly exposed to smoke from wildfires, according to the Health Ministry, with affected regions noting a significant jump in respiratory cases since late July.

3 days ago
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Malaysia cloud-seeding assist tests Indonesia’s limits as haze crosses borders

Details on the cloud seeding operations, however, remained unclear on Tuesday, with TNI spokesperson Muhammad Nas saying the authority over such operations falls under the Transportation Ministry.

3 days ago
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Army readies Natuna composite battalion, Riau Islands Kodam

The chief of Kodam XIX overseeing Riau and the Riau Islands says that Gardapati, the Indonesian Army's only composite battalion, is ready to launch following an eight-year trial.

3 days ago
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Sasak hamlet blaze raises alarm over indigenous tourism

A massive fire has burned the popular tourist destination of Sade to the ground in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), leaving immeasurable cultural and personal loss in its wake.

4 days ago
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Prabowo shifts to leading Sumatra fire response

The President visited Riau on Monday to oversee firefighting efforts as blazes rage amid persisting dry conditions, just a day after officiating a meeting on the fire response in Kalimantan.

5 days ago
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Unsoed rector among suspects in admissions graft case

KPK previously arrested 14 people on Thursday evening during a sting operation, with 12 arrested in Purwokerto and two others arrested in Jakarta. 

5 days ago
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Govt cracks down on land burning in Kalimantan

Police have named 72 suspects in their crackdown on deliberate land burning after President Prabowo Subianto over the weekend ordered a rapid response to land fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra.

5 days ago
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Bromo fire extinguished, new hot spot emerges on Arjuna-Welirang slopes

The total affected area reached 1,121 hectares, with hot spots successfully controlled through ground sweeping and aerial water bombing using helicopters.

5 days ago
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KJRI Johor Bahru repatriates 307 Indonesians from Malaysia

This year, the consulate general has repatriated 3,920 Indonesians as of July while Program M has deported 3,558 Indonesians through the scheme as of mid-August.

6 days ago
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Kalimantan fires rage as response lags

Forest and land fires continue to spread across Kalimantan amid a prolonged dry season, with extensive land clearing through burning adding to the threat as the government’s weather modification efforts struggle to contain the intensifying blazes.

1 week ago
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NTT earthquake death toll rises to 83 as aftershocks hamper recovery

Wijayanto, director of BMKG’s Earthquake and Tsunami Center, said that the agency had recorded 4,258 aftershocks in the region as of Friday morning, with 31 having a magnitude of 5.0 or higher.

1 week ago
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Whirlwind damages dozens of houses, injures one in North Sumatra

The torrential rain and whirlwind that struck Medan underscore the increasingly uneven weather patterns across Indonesia, with some parts of the archipelago experiencing intense rainfall even as the dry season expands and intensifies elsewhere.

1 week ago
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Joint team foils effort to smuggle 2.6 tonnes of liquid ‘sabu’ off Bengkalis

Officers from the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), the Customs and Excise Directorate General and the Riau Islands Police intercepted the shipment on Monday at about 8:15 p.m. based on an intelligence information.

1 week ago
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Nine women, children allegedly held hostage by OPM in Central Papua

Nine women and children have reportedly been taken hostage by separatists from the Free Papua Movement (OPM) following an attack on an Indonesian Military (TNI) security post in Jila district, Mimika, Central Papua, that left one soldier and a civilian dead, authorities have claimed.

1 week ago
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Aid gaps persist as NTT quake displaces over 90,000

Many residents have chosen to remain in makeshift shelters rather than return home, not only because their houses were damaged but also because of fears triggered by the continuing tremors.

1 week ago
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Festivities and restraint as Indonesia marks 81 years of independence

From boat races and traditional cooking competitions to cracker-eating contests, Indonesians across the country took part in traditional games and festivities to mark the 81st anniversary of independence on Monday, while some communities have opted for more subdued celebrations following a series of natural disasters and amid continued economic pressures.

1 week ago
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Search extended for four missing after Lombok ferry fire

The KMP Mutiara Yasmin was travelling from Padangbai port in Bali to Lembar port on the neighbouring island of Lombok on Aug. 12 when a fire broke out roughly two hours after the ferry departed.

1 week ago
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10 foreigners arrested, Rp 7.79b seized as police raid Batam casino

Officers from the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) led a joint team in the raid on the gambling den at the Nine Stage Lounge and Bar at about 9:30 p.m. in Batam’s Nagoya Indah Shophouse Block B2 No. 9.

1 week ago
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Indonesia seizes 2.6 tonnes of meth in major bust

The National Narcotics Agency said it had received intelligence that a vessel sailing from Sarawak, Malaysia through the Andaman Sea may be carrying narcotics to Indonesia.

1 week ago

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