Political parties are gearing up for November's gubernatorial race as they look for possible contenders that can taken on Medan Mayor Bobby Nasution, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's son-in-law.

A series of hydrometeorological disasters has hit Java Island in recent days, killing dozens of people and displacing thousands more as extreme weather continues to sweep across the country.

Authorities last Thursday rescued 69 Rohingya refugees found after clinging to the hull of their overturned vessel for more than a day. Six others were rescued by fishermen a day earlier.

Authorities in Badung, Bali, are investigating a fire that broke out in part of the province’s largest penitentiary Kerobokan on Tuesday afternoon, no casualties were reported in the incident.

Cibenda village in West Java became inundated just before midnight on March 24 after hours of torrential rain when many villagers were asleep.

This year, Mount Ibu has been recorded erupting 47 times.

The graphic footage that circulated on social media in recent days, showed several people assaulting a man in the eastern region, with his hands tied in a water-filled steel drum.

The footage, which showed a Papuan man in a barrel of bloodied water being cut with a blade, has sparked outcry on Indonesian social media. Papua Military Commander officer Maj. Gen. Izak Pangemanan confirmed it was authentic and the incident had taken place in February.

The mostly Muslim ethnic Rohingya are heavily persecuted in Myanmar, and thousands risk their lives each year on long and expensive sea journeys, often in flimsy boats, to try to reach Malaysia or Indonesia.

The bodies of three Rohingya refugees whose boat capsized off the coast of West Aceh have been found over the weekend, while dozens of others remain missing.

Activists and the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) have condemned the alleged torture of a Papuan man in the country’s restive easternmost region by plainclothes men suspected of being members of the Indonesian Military (TNI).

From mid-November to late January, 1,752 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, landed in the Indonesian provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra, according to the UNHCR.

Friday's announcement comes a day after authorities staged a dramatic rescue of 69 Rohingya who had been adrift at sea for weeks before the boat capsized, with many found clinging to the hull of the overturned vessel. 

The epicentre was located 132 km north of Tuban in East Java province, BMKG said.

The United Nations' refugee agency (UNHCR) estimates about 2,000 Rohingya have reached Indonesia since last October, among droves of the persecuted religious minority in Myanmar who fled to Indonesia over the past year, mostly to Aceh. 

Indonesia has a mammoth marine waste problem, ranking as one of the world's biggest contributors of plastic pollution and marine debris.

Teluk, located in Banten on the western edge of Java island, has one of the country's dirtiest beaches as villagers said that heavy rain has led to stronger tides, bringing more trash to shore.

The Iskandar Muda Military Command (Kodam) overseeing Aceh province is investigating allegations that an Indonesian Military (TNI) soldier and one civilian accomplice assaulted two local civilians, leaving them in critical condition.

Authorities in Demak and Kudus are rerouting traffic and assisting thousands of residents who have been affected by massive flooding over the weekend, while the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) has reported that the disaster has affected more than a quarter of a million people in at least 10 regencies in the province.

As human-tiger conflict in Sumatra escalates into clashes between villagers and authorities, environmentalists are urging the government to take human-wildlife conflict prevention and resolution more seriously.

The city of Semarang in Central Java has been inundated following torrential rain on Wednesday and Thursday.

BMKG chair Dwikorita Karnawati said in a press briefing on Thursday that cities worst affected by flooding in the northern part of Central Java like Pekalongan, Semarang and Demak, also experienced severe cases of land subsidence.

Last year's dry season was the most severe since 2019 due to an El Nino weather phenomenon that lasted longer than usual, bringing a drought that hurt crops and exacerbated forest fires. 

Three crew members are missing after fishing vessel KM Sweet sank en route to Ambon city from Banda Neira Island. Five others were rescued on Wednesday.

Four people were attacked while farming inside the protected reserves of a national park in Lampung Province in recent weeks and officials vowed to capture the big cats responsible.

At least two people have died and hundreds have been displaced by severe flooding in several regions of Central Java and East Java, in the latest string of hydrometeorological disasters triggered by extreme weather.

The body of a 60-year-old man was evacuated from a trail on Mount Agung after it was found on Tuesday.

Large areas of Indonesia are prone to flooding and landslides during the wet season which starts around November.

The Defense Ministry reported that it has successfully harvested corn from nine hectares of food estate in Central Kalimantan.

The North Sumatra High Prosecutor's Office alleges the corruption has caused Rp 24 billion (US$1.54 million) in state losses.