A voter casts his ballot into a ballot box at a polling station during a revote on Dec. 3, 2024, for the 2024 simultaneous regional elections in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

Indonesians oppose indirect regional polls

Six of 10 Indonesians surveyed by the Indonesian Survey Circle disapprove of a proposal to scrap direct regional elections, with rejections consistent across regions, income levels and age groups.

1 month ago

Editorial premium

Sinking trust in tourism

As an archipelagic nation, Indonesia relies heavily on sea transport for visitors, yet enforcement of safety standards remains uneven. ...

1 month ago

Jakarta premium

Comedian Pandji Pragiwaksono faces police report over ‘provocative’ show

Prominent stand-up comedian Pandji Pragiwaksono has been reported to the Jakarta Police by groups identifying themselves as youth wings of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, Indonesia’s two largest Islamic organizations, over material in his comedy show that they claim is defamatory and potentially divisive. ...

1 month ago

The Latest

A student prays before lunch on Jan. 6, 2025, the first day of the government’s free nutritious meal program at State Senior High School 11 in East Jakarta.

Economy premium

Free meal program’s fiscal, monetary impact “limited”: INDEF

The Jakarta-based think tank found the program would lift GDP by just 0.15-0.17 percent at its peak in the early 2040s before the impact gradually wanes.

1 month ago

A huge wave crashes on the jetty of the harbor of Le Conquet, western France on January 8, 2026 as storm Goretti is announced to approach France's northern coasts.

Europe

Hundreds of thousands without power as Storm Goretti hits France, Britain

In France, some 380,000 households lost power, mostly in the Normandy region and in Brittany, the Enedis power provider said.

1 month ago

Turkish Airlines deploys the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner for Istanbul-Bali route.

Middle East and Africa

Turkish Airlines cancels Friday's Istanbul-Tehran flights

Five other flights operated by Iranian airlines have also been cancelled, according to the airport app, while seven others remain scheduled.

1 month ago

Fresh sanctions: Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with journalists on Thursday to comment on new United States sanctions targeting two major Russian oil producers, as well as other international issues, in Moscow.

Europe

Russia says it fired hypersonic missile at Ukraine

It is the second time that Russia has used the intermediate-range Oreshnik, a missile which President Vladimir Putin has boasted is impossible to intercept because of its reported velocity of more than 10 times the speed of sound.

1 month ago

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia waves before the Twilight Parade on Oct. 25, 2024, at Pancasila Field, Military Academy, Magelang, Central Java,

Economy premium

RI meets crude lifting target for first time in years, claims Bahlil

The Indonesian oil industry has met its crude lifting target set in the 2025 state budget, marking the first time the country managed to do so in almost a decade, while gas output failed to meet the goal.

1 month ago

Police officers stand next to tractors blocking a road near the Eiffel Tower, as French farmers protest against the government's handling of the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement and the handling of the lumpy skin disease outbreak, in Paris on Jan. 8, 2026. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Economy

Crunch time for EU's long-stalled Mercosur trade deal

The EU is expected Friday to give a long-delayed go ahead to a huge trade deal with South American bloc Mercosur championed by business groups but loathed by many European farmers.

1 month ago

People cross the Francisco de Paula Santander International Bridge on the border with Venezuela on Jan. 6, 2026, in Cucuta, Colombia.

Academia

Trump's Venezuela oil grab revives petrodollar debate

The United States’ moves against Venezuela and its leader could be part of Washington's broader efforts to maintain the greenback's global dominance.

1 month ago

A motorcyclist and his passenger drive past an empty shop-house on Jl. Gito Gati in Donorhajo village, Ngaglik district, of Yogyakarta’s Sleman regency on Jan. 6, 2026, the day after the Yogyakarta City Police raided the facility on suspicion it was being used as a base of operations for international scams.

Archipelago premium

Yogyakarta City Police raid international scam group's local base

A raid mounted by the Yogyakarta City Police on Monday has netted an unknown number of suspects linked to an alleged cyber scam center operating out of a shop-house in Sleman regency.

1 month ago

Quick Dispatch

YSF 2026 highlights AIESEC in Indonesia’s commitment to address global challenges

AIESEC in Indonesia has reaffirmed its commitment to tackle global issues through the perspectives of youths through the annual Youth Speak Forum (YSF), an initiative by AIESEC Global that aims to position the youth-run platform as a credible voice for youths across the globe.

19 hours ago

An employee (left, front) of the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) distributes information about the National Health Insurance (JKN) as part of the agency’s Mobile Customer Service initiative in Ternate, North Maluku, during Car Free Day on Aug. 10, 2025.

Academia

A year of historic global health milestones and challenges

Reflecting on last year's achievements and challenges in public health, ensuring a healthier world through universal coverage remains the overarching goal for 2026.

1 month ago

Weekend Five

Five films to start 2026 strong (and where to watch them)

From friendship to forgiveness, these films offer something steadier than escape as 2026 begins.

1 month ago

An electronic quotation board displays numbers of the Nikkei Stock Average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on Jan. 5, 2026.

Markets

Asian stocks rally ahead of US jobs, Supreme Court ruling

Asian markets rose Friday after a two-day stutter as traders look ahead to the release of crucial US jobs data and a possible Supreme Court ruling on Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs.

1 month ago

Personnel from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) escort Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (fourth right, in tan shirt) to an armored van on Jan. 5, 2026, at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in New York City.

Academia premium

Preventing further derailment of the international order

Given the overall deterioration of the international order and climate commitments we all witnessed last year, diplomatic actors across the globe, including Indonesia, must prevent further backsliding in both areas in 2026.

1 month ago

US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents stand guard at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 8, 2026.

Americas

US border agent shoots and wounds two people in Portland

"We understand the heightened emotion and tension many are feeling in the wake of the shooting in Minneapolis, but I am asking the community to remain calm as we work to learn more," Portland police chief Bob Day said in a statement.

1 month ago

A surfer rides a wave with the Chinese comprehensive supply ship Taihu (Hull 889) in the background in False Bay, close to Simon's Town, near Cape Town, on January 6, 2026.

Middle East and Africa

Chinese, Iranian warships in South Africa for exercises

The January 9-16 "Will for Peace" drill hosted by South Africa risks further straining its ties with the United States, which is in dispute with many of the countries taking part.

1 month ago

This satellite image taken by Himawari-8, a Japanese weather satellite, and provided by National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, shows cyclone Ilsa approaching Australia's west coast on April 13, 2023.

Society premium

BMKG warns of extreme weather after Cyclone Jenna forms

BMKG has previously noted that Indonesia is increasingly exposed to tropical cyclones forming in both the Indian and Pacific oceans.

1 month ago

Toughen up: United States President Donald Trump participates in a call with US service members on Thursday, Nov. 27, Thanksgiving Day, from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, the US.

Americas

Trump says 'my own morality' is only restraint on global power

Trump's comments to The New York Times came days after he launched a lightning operation to topple Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, and threatened a host of other countries plus the autonomous territory Greenland.

1 month ago

Greenpeace Indonesia activists protest on Nov. 18, 2025, in front of the Muara Karang gas-fired power plant in North Jakarta. The protest had been against the inconsistency of national energy policies, calling for an end to dependence on fossil fuels ahead of the COP30 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil.

Academia premium

The ocean has finally entered the global climate debate

The ocean increasingly suffers the effects of absorbing over 90 percent of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse-gases and about one-quarter of annual carbon dioxide emissions.

1 month ago

An official from Indonesia Safari Park (left) presents a video on Jan. 6, 2026, regarding the health and conditions of the 40-day panda cub at the safari park in Cisarua, Bogor regency, West Java.

Archipelago premium

China praises Indonesia on first ever panda cub’s birth

President Prabowo Subianto named the panda cub, a child of Cai To (male) and Hu Chun (female), Satria Wiratama, which means Virtuous Knight.

1 month ago

Bold operation: Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrives on Jan. 05, at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport as he heads toward the Daniel Patrick Manhattan United States Courthouse for an initial appearance to face US federal charges including narco-terrorism, conspiracy, drug trafficking, money laundering and others in New York City, the US.

Academia premium

Venezuela and the dangerous return of might makes right

Learning from the Venezuela invasion, Indonesia should continue to position itself as pro-law, pro-stability, pro-development and firmly opposed to military interventions, or worse, a new form of colonialism.

1 month ago

President Prabowo Subianto (left) looks on as United States President Donald Trump (center) addresses the press during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on Oct.13, 2025. Prabowo attended the summit and witnessed the signing of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas by guarantors Trump, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

Americas premium

No plan for Prabowo-Trump meeting yet as govt finalizes tariff deal

Hopes are high for a meeting between President Prabowo Subianto and United States President Donald Trump as representatives of both countries work to finalize a trade tariff agreement.

1 month ago

Workers leave a PT Sri Rejeki Isman (Sritex) factory, on Oct. 24, 2024, in Sukoharjo, Central Java.

Academia premium

Caught upstream: Saving Indonesia’s dying textile industry

For Indonesia, protectionism does not generate the jobs the country needs, while damaging the competitiveness of its exports.

1 month ago

A worker tidies up a stack of locally produced rice on May 30, 2024, at state food company Perum Bulog’s warehouse in Indramayu, West Java.

Regulations premium

Bulog’s expanding role puts private rice millers to the test

The government has unveiled plans for Bulog to build 100 post-harvest facilities, backed by Rp 5 trillion in state capital injections, aiming to ease chronic storage bottlenecks that have long limited the absorption of farmers’ harvests.

1 month ago

Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel attend a Christmas security briefing at the National Monument (Monas) complex in Jakarta on Dec. 24, 2025.

Politics premium

Plan to expand military role in counterterrorism draws flak

A draft Presidential Regulation (Perpres) lays out the military’s responsibilities in combating terrorism, including three roles for the Indonesian Military (TNI), which activists argue should be mainly carried out by civilian institutions such as the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT).

1 month ago

University students carry flags that read Indonesia Gelap (Dark Indonesia) on Sept. 1, 2025, during a demonstration in Yogyakarta.

Editorial premium

New criticism, old terror

We are again reminded that the space for government critics to express their opinions is shrinking, with a series of terror and intimidation.

1 month ago

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa's face is displayed on screen during his speech in the main hall of the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) building in Jakarta on Dec. 3, 2025.

Economy premium

Budget scrapes through 2025 with deficit just below legal cap

Last year’s fiscal deficit, or the amount by which state spending exceeded state revenue, was larger than planned at 2.92 percent of GDP, the finance minister revealed on Thursday.

1 month ago

Indigenous rights: Constitutional Court Chief Justice Suhartoyo ( center ) and Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra ( left ) conduct a ruling hearing on Thursday, October 16, at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta. The court ruled on 17 judicial review requests, including one requesting that indigenous communities should not need permits to farm in forests for noncommercial purposes.

Politics premium

TNI, police laws faced most legal challenges at Constitutional Court in 2025

The revised Indonesian Military (TNI) Law and the 2002 National Police Law were the most frequently challenged legislation at the Constitutional Court last year, the court has reported.

1 month ago

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