Indonesia is emerging as a new operational hub for transnational online gambling and cyber scam syndicates, according to the National Police, as a crackdown on scam centers in mainland Southeast Asia pushes some criminal networks to seek new locations.

The eruptions involved Mount Semeru in East Java, Mount Ili Lewotolok in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and Mount Ibu in North Maluku.

Children accounted for around 20 percent of all wildfire-related respiratory illnesses as 12.5 million people in seven provinces were affected by the widespread forest and land fire, according to the Health Ministry.

The Indonesian Immigration Directorate General also decided to ban the Australian, identified as BA, from entering Indonesia for 10 years.

The search for five journalists and three boat crew members who went missing near Mount Anak Krakatau entered its fourth day on Friday, with authorities expanding the search area to include nearby islands within the volcano’s restricted zone.

The decision to place students in a military environment has raised concerns among civil society groups, who described it as part of the growing trend toward the “remilitarization” of civilian space.

The court also sentenced each firm with a Rp 1 billion (US$56,447) fine after finding them guilty of receiving benefits from the corruption case surrounding two venture capital arms of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to the agricultural tech start-up.

Currently there are seven piers on each side of the crossing but more piers are needed to ease traffic to and from Bali, especially large trucks. 

Fires have been blazing across vast stretches of forest and peatland throughout the country, causing hazardous emissions to surge, particularly in the hardest-hit provinces on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan.

In Central Kalimantan, prolonged drought has dried up parts of the Barito River, one of the longest and largest rivers in the Kalimantan region, bringing river transportation to a standstill.

The Communications and Digital Ministry is pushing Meta to fully comply with the country’s Child Protection in Digital Space Regulation, known as PP TUNAS, following a landmark ruling in the United States that found the company’s child safety measures lacking.

The next presidential election may still be three years away, but several potential contenders have already begun making early moves as President Prabowo Subianto’s approval ratings slide and criticism of his government mounts.

The coalition, which includes the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) and Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), urged the government to halt the program’s expansion and immediately undertake comprehensive reforms.

The Karo Health Agency said six students remained hospitalized as of early September. Among them was 16-year-old Febiola Purba, who developed memory loss, suffered multiple seizures and had difficulty speaking after falling ill.

The Health Ministry’s Healing119 consultation service has received as many as 600 contacts a day since February, up from an average of 350 to 400 daily last year.

The NTT administration will strengthen monitoring and protection efforts not only centralized evacuation shelters but also communal shelters and independent evacuation sites.

Police have prevented a group of 10 Meranti Islands residents from departing on tourist visas for migrant jobs in Malaysia and arrested their "agent" on various charges.

When institutions do not have strong systems to uphold integrity, the gap can undermine a culture of speaking up against wrongdoing and erode trust in integrity mechanisms, according to a survey.

Studies have found fires burning inside company concessions since 2006, highlighting persistent negligence and raising concerns over potential wrongdoing by local and foreign investors in Indonesian plantations.  

Recent remarks by Democratic Party chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono highlighting the limits of power have fueled speculation that he is already laying the groundwork for the next general election, potentially testing the cohesion of President Prabowo Subianto’s ruling coalition.

Despite the arrests, questions remain over whether authorities are targeting only those who physically set the fires or are also pursuing those who may have benefited from them.

The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) brought its Lampung office into the operation after search mapping indicated that the vessel could have drifted into waters under its jurisdiction.

The contraband was found in four packages wrapped in black plastic covers, each containing 60 vape cartridges.

The group set out on a speedboat from an area west of Jakarta on Monday afternoon, but the crew lost contact with the boat owner soon after departure, according to Basarnas.

The fire was first reported at around 12:30 a.m. and quickly spread through the market, engulfing several shophouses. It burned for more than three hours and destroyed at least 49 kiosks and shophouses despite efforts by firefighters.

Flying to Vladivostok at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin was part of President Prabowo Subianto’s effort to address domestic issues, according to Government Communications Agency (Bakom) head Muhammad Qodari.

Simultaneous volcano eruptions and a string of other disasters have put the government’s mitigation efforts under renewed scrutiny, as questions mount over whether Indonesia has invested enough in prevention despite its long history of natural disasters.