The recruiter promised the workers they would get 110 ringgit (US$26.85) per day for renovating two houses but the wages have never been paid.

The death toll in the Sumatra floods and landslides has reached over 1,000 people over the weekend, as regional governments in the northwestern part of the island extend their emergency status and evacuees demand the central government to do more to help.

Authorities have blamed the scale of devastation in northern Sumatra partly on uncontrolled logging. 

During a raid on Dec. 4, police seized a dark blue pickup truck labeled "Bang Bus" that reportedly had been untaxed since 2023 and had allegedly been illegally repainted from white to blue without re-registration.

More than 1,130 tonnes of contaminated scrap metal were stored at the steel melting plant PT Peter Metal Technology (PMT) after the government detected widespread radioactive pollution in the area and carried out decontamination measures.

The lack of privacy poses serious difficulties for women, especially breastfeeding mothers, while access to menstrual supplies remains one of the biggest challenges of the crisis.

Despite being in effect for nearly a decade, chemical castration remains a rare sentence, even for offenders who qualify under the law.

The government has begun rebuilding the Al Khoziny Islamic boarding school (pesantren) in Sidoarjo, East Java, even as public criticism mounts over the use of state funds to reconstruct the privately run institution, whose prayer hall collapsed in late September, killing more than 60 students.

The Communications and Digital Ministry is preparing a ministerial regulation that would stipulate detailed provisions on punishments for tech companies found violating a prohibition on social media for children.

A recently-signed National Police chief internal decree paves the way for active officers to sit in civilian positions in 17 ministries and state institutions without resigning or retiring from the force, despite a recent Constitutional Court ruling banning them from doing so.

So far, the Indonesian Air Force has deployed 23 transport aircraft and helicopters to help aid distribution in areas affected by natural disasters in the northern part of Sumatra.

The President said he hoped conditions would stabilize soon so children could return to school, while reminding local people to protect the environment and avoid deforestation.

“Elephants are a protected species. Involving them in heavy post-disaster work puts their safety at risk. Deploying elephants also contradicts conservation principles, which place animal welfare as a priority,” Daniel Johan, a member of House of Representatives Commission IV overseeing agriculture, forestry and fisheries, said.

A proposal to make the coalition supporting President Prabowo Subianto’s administration permanent has backfired on Golkar Party, with coalition members calling it inappropriate while thousands of people are still displaced after deadly floods wreaked havoc on Sumatra.

The Jakarta Legal Aid Institute said the crash was not merely an accident, nor an event that can be attributed to individual error. It reflects chaotic and unprofessional program management that neglects public safety, especially the safety of children.

 The suspects promised victims a job in France at a cost of US$5,000.

Yogyakarta provided Rp 1 billion each to the three affected provinces in the northern part of Sumatra.

For a fee, packages containing used clothing can be taken by passengers as carry on luggage or registered as checked baggage.

Around 90 percent of 13,000 hectares of natural forests cleared by activities from the pulpwood industry were found in Kalimantan, according to a new report issued by environmental groups, raising alarms of looming ecological crisis that may hit the island in the coming years.

Several parts of a concrete seawall in Muara Baru, North Jakarta that are leaking, which has led to tidal flooding in dozens of neighborhood units (RT) as well as in a city amusement park.

TNI’s role in Papua is not limited to security but also covers social communication, support for public service and contribution to regional development acceleration, a flag officer said.

A vehicle reportedly belonging to the government’s free nutritious meals program lost control and rammed through the school’s gate, despite the gate being closed, before entering the school yard where dozens of students and staff were assembled for a literacy activity.

When handling the nationwide anti-government protests in August, the police used a variant of tear gas grenade that contains explosive charges, which is banned in police crowd control in several countries.

Competing claims over who holds legitimate authority in the country’s most influential Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), have thrown the organization into turmoil after its supreme council appointed an acting chairman, a move that was opposed by current chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf.

Authorities are struggling to restore power in northern Sumatra, particularly in Aceh, after widespread floods and landslides last month, triggered by a rare cyclone and exacerbated by environmental destruction, with felled trees sweeping away villages, causing massive damage and hampering recovery.

The government assessed that there were relations between activities of the three companies with natural disasters affecting several regions in North Sumatra.

According to preliminary police information, the fire is suspected to have been triggered by a drone battery that exploded on the ground floor, although investigators from the National Police’s Forensic Laboratory (Puslabfor Bareskrim) are still working to determine the definitive cause.