President Prabowo Subianto thanked on Thursday Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) for their support of his administration, saying the country’s largest Islamic organization played a significant role in maintaining the nation’s unity and stability.

The former cooperatives minister has backtracked remarks he made at a forum organized by the pro-Jokowi group Projo, which he cofounded, suggesting that the next regime change might arrive sooner than 2029.

Hundreds of protesters from Pati, Central Java, pressed the House of Representatives on Thursday to pass the long-delayed asset forfeiture bill to eradicate corruption, as thousands gathered the Senayan Legislative Complex to voice broader frustration over the country’s worsening economic conditions.

The plan to revise the 1999 Forestry Law may fail to address decades-long poor governance in the sector that has resulted in wildfires in large parts of Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua throughout this year’s dry season, civil groups say.

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.

Since early Thursday, authorities have implemented traffic diversions around areas expected to be crowded with protesters. Police blocked several roads in the capital, including both lanes of Jl. Gatot Subroto from the Senayan Park area to the front of the legislative complex.

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. 

West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi has found himself at the center of fresh scrutiny over his political future after speculation emerged that he may leave President Prabowo Subianto’s Gerindra Party to join the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI).

Former foreign minister Retno LP Marsudi, who currently is the UN secretary-general’s special envoy on water, has received an award from SUAR, a business news site established a year ago, in the first edition of SUAR Prize.

Hundreds of people from Pati, Central Java, are set to stage a protest at the House of Representatives in Jakarta on Thursday to demand the swift passage of an asset forfeiture bill and stronger anticorruption efforts from authorities.

In a statement issued late on Tuesday, the Transportation Ministry’s civil aviation director general, Lukman Laisa, said his office had not received a flight clearance request for Malaysian aircraft to carry out a waterbombing mission in areas hit by wildfires.

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

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.

In Jakarta, children pay the price as outdoor playgrounds become dangerously hot during the day due to the lack of cover from heat. Experts urge rethinking of design and materials to keep youngsters safe.

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.

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.

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.

Civil groups said the timing of Bank Mandiri’s freezing of a protest coordinator’s account raised concerns that banking powers were being used to restrict citizens’ right to protest.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Bank Mandiri’s freezing of a protest coordinator’s account has drawn strong criticism from civil society groups, which have warned the move restricts civic freedoms and could erode public trust in the state-owned lender.

Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) is slated to hold a leadership contest to pick its next chair in its upcoming national congress (Muktamar) in Jombang, East Java in late August.

As urban air pollution continues to travel across Greater Jakarta, threatening public health and burdening the economy, authorities in the region are facing greater pressure to establish an integrated framework to tackle mounting borderless pollutants.

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

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.