Ahmad Fikri (Kontributor) – The West Java Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) reported that dozens of houses, as well as educational and health facilities, were damaged in Karawang Regency due to a 4.9 magnitude earthquake in Bekasi, Indonesia, on Wednesday, August 20, 2025.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Thirteen organizations and businesses have launched the Indonesian Reuse Association, or AGUNI, a coalition dedicated to building a sustainable reuse system to curb the country's worsening waste crisis.

Muhammad Ghafur Fadillah, Jakarta – Bank Central Asia, Indonesia's largest private lender by market value, rejected allegations that its takeover by the Djarum Group two decades ago was engineered, as its shares came under pressure following a wave of speculation on social media.

Dio Suhenda, Jakarta – Concerns are mounting that President Prabowo Subianto's free nutritious meal program could overshadow meaningful improvements in education, as nearly half of the mandated 20 percent state budget allocation for education is set to be absorbed by the costly flagship initiative next year.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has launched its second humanitarian airdrop mission for the besieged residents of Gaza, delivering nearly 30 tonnes of aid to the Palestinian territory amid rising concerns over famine among the population there.

Novali Panji Nugroho, Jakarta – Tulus Abadi, the chair of the Indonesian Empowered Consumer Forum (FKBI), dismissed a remark by an Indonesian House member that proposes smoking cars on intercity trains. According to him, the proposal is absurd and ridiculous.

Eka Yudha Saputra – Indonesia's Maluku Police Region stated that approximately 557 local residents are still displaced due to clashes between residents in Hunuth Village, Teluk Ambon District, Ambon City, Maluku, which occurred on Tuesday, August 19, 2025.

Faisal Maliki Baskoro, Jakarta – Indonesia is aiming high, but the private sector is "cautiously optimistic."

Hafizh Wahyu Darmawan, Akhdi Martin Pratama, Jakarta – A number of protesters from the Student Movement with the People (Gemarak) began filing the area in front gate to the House of Representatives (DPR) building in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Thursday afternoon August 21.

Dandi Bajuddin, Jakarta – State-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) CEO Bobby Rasyidin said that the company will coordinate with the Investment Management Agency of Anagata Nusantara (BPI Danantara) to address the debt of PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC).

Dani Aswara, Jakarta – Indonesia Safety Journalists Committee (KKJ) strongly condemns the planned murder of journalists in Gaza by the Israeli military. The condemnation comes after an Israeli missile attack on Sunday, August 10, 2025, that hit the Al Jazeera press tent in front of the main gate of Al Shifa Hospital.

Jakarta – The first few months of office normally serve as a honeymoon between an elected leader and his or her people, with the former intensifying dialogue to absorb aspirations from the grassroots and win the hearts and minds of the electorate.

Mita Amalia Hapsari, Jakarta – Thousands of job seekers crowded the Jakarta International Velodrome this week as the city government staged Jobfest 2025, one of Indonesia's largest employment fairs, featuring 2,000 openings across multiple industries.

Anastasya Lavenia Yudi – The Forum Indonesia for Budget Transparency (Fitra) criticized the provision of a housing allowance amounting to Rp50 million per month for House of Representatives (DPR) members.

Washington – US health authorities announced Tuesday a recall of frozen shrimp potentially contaminated with radioactivity.

The seafood imported from a company in Indonesia has been marketed in 13 states by retail giant Walmart, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on its website.

Anastasya Lavenia Yudi, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia has decided to cut the benchmark interest rate, or BI Rate, to 5.00 percent. This decision was agreed upon during the Bank Indonesia Board of Governors Meeting held on August 19-20, 2025.

Yvette Tanamal, Jakarta – "If you run, you are shot. If you don't, you are beaten," a 20-year-old Acehnese man said about life in the region, as reported by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in 2003, two years after president Megawati Sukarnoputri declared martial law to maintain order in the province following years of failed peace negotiations.

Muhammad Aulia, Jakarta – The National Police said Wednesday that DNA testing has ruled out any biological link between former West Java governor Ridwan Kamil and a 3.5-year-old girl at the center of a defamation case.

Irfandi, Bone, S – Sulawesi. A protest against higher land and building taxes in Bone Regency, South Sulawesi, descended into chaos on Tuesday evening, leaving several people injured and forcing the local government to delay the policy.

Jakarta – Tropical wood demand from some of America's top RV brands is fuelling deforestation in Kalimantan, home to Asia's last great rainforest, according to a new investigation by environmental NGOs.

Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – Several regions in Indonesia have staged demonstrations protesting the hike in the Rural and Urban Land and Building Tax (PBB-P2). Residents urged their local governments, which hold the authority to set the rates, to cancel the increases.

Jakarta – The enduring maritime boundary dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia over the Ambalat block has resurfaced, this time with a twist.

Rather than reigniting legal tensions or public nationalist outrage, both governments have signaled a preference for joint development over a final, binding resolution.

Abi S. Nugroho – The government of Pati Regency, in the northeast of Central Java, has always been proud of the slogan Bumi Mina Tani – an identity that appears in government symbols, on monuments, and even in the speeches of officials. 'Mina' refers to fisheries, 'tani' to farming: 'Fishing and Farming Land'. Historically, these two sectors are the lifeblood of local people.

Jakarta – Amass protest against a property tax hike on Tuesday turned violent in Bone regency, South Sulawesi, leaving four Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) personnel and two police officers injured in the line of duty for crowd control.

Laurensia Yame is a mother of seven in her 50s who, with her Indigenous community, the Awyu, lives deep in the forests of South Papua Province, Indonesia. In late 2020, she heard from women traders that workers were surveying the community's forest for a company's commercial use, including Wagaban hamlet, where she farms.

Aimee Gabay, Karawang/Jakarta, Indonesia – At 55, Warno has spent the past quarter of a century making a living from a fish farm that he manages in Karawang district, in the Indonesian province of West Java. Here, in ponds spanning a combined 2 hectares (5 acres), he raises milkfish and shrimp, and grows seaweed.

Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – A journalist from CNN Indonesia, Zulkifli Natsir, was a victim of violence from authorities while covering a protest against a property tax hike in Bone Regency, South Sulawesi. The incident occurred on Tuesday, August 19, 2025.

The Timorese government announced the launch of formal negotiations with neighbouring Indonesia to delimit the maritime border between the two countries, reports Lusa.

Prisma Ardianto, Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Indonesia is stepping up efforts to widen its tax base and tap into the shadow economy as it seeks to raise Rp 2,357.7 trillion ($145.6 billion) in tax revenues by 2026. The target marks a 13.5 percent increase – or Rp 280.8 trillion – from projected 2025 collections of Rp 2,076.9 trillion.

Alfitria Nefi P, Jakarta – The Corps of Alumni of the Association of Indonesian Muslim Students (KAHMI), Textile Rayon, suspects that rising import quotas for yarn and fabric are causing layoffs and the closure of domestic textile factories.

Dinda Shabrina, Jakarta – Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf, or Gus Ipul, has uncovered significant issues within Indonesia's social welfare system, revealing that more than 2,000 social institutions are fictitious, existing in name only without any real activities.

Ema Ganivatu – In exile but unbroken, three West Papuan journalists are in Fiji calling on the Pacific to stand with them against Indonesia's ongoing media blackout and human rights abuses.

Andi Adam Faturahman, Jakarta – The West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Movement (TPNPB-OPM) has accused the Indonesian military (TNI) deployed in Yakuhimo regency of planting landmines to target the militias and individuals deemed affiliated with them.

Ilham Oktafian, Alfida Rizky Febrianna, Jakarta – Indonesia's parliament is facing criticism over a Rp 50 million ($3,067) monthly housing allowance for each lawmaker, with analysts calling it out of touch with the economic hardships faced by most citizens.

Ade Ridwan Yandwiputra, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) considered the housing allowance for parliament members as a form of budget extravagance, estimating the total cost at a staggering Rp1.74 trillion.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Asia Pulp & Paper, one of the world's biggest forestry groups, has effectively been given the green light to seek ethical certification from the Forest Stewardship Council a stamp of approval that it was stripped of 18 years ago for deforestation and other violations.

Adelia Anjani Putri – It seems like everyone is trying to leave. On social media, over office lunches, in group chats filled with job openings in Singapore and guides to Australia's working holiday visa, the idea of starting over somewhere else feels more urgent than ever.

Tyberius Seeto and Kayla Hill – On 17th August, Indonesia celebrated 80 years of independence, an end to a 350 year rule riddled with mass atrocities committed by the Dutch, as well as an eventual end to the Japanese empire during World War II.

Muhammad Ghafur Fadillah, Jakarta – Losses from scams and illegal financial activities in Indonesia have surged sharply, reaching Rp 4.6 trillion ($283 million) in just 10 months, authorities said Tuesday.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Indonesia's courts have ordered plantation companies to pay more than 21 trillion rupiah ($1.3 billion), an amount 28 times the environment ministry's entire annual budget, for forest and peatland fires – yet almost none of that has been collected.

Dede Leni Mardianti, Jakarta – The free nutritious meal program (MBG) is one of the initiatives funded through the health budget. The Ministry of Finance has allocated Rp24.7 trillion for MBG from the total health budget of Rp244 trillion.

Ruth Dea Juwita, Jakarta – Tumbling electric motorcycle sales in the first half of 2025 have left manufacturers with increasing inventories, prompting production cuts as the industry awaits clarity on government subsidies.

Associated Press, Jakarta – Two men held rubber bands at chest height while a woman hopped over them from side to side, earning cheers and applause from onlookers impressed by her leaps.

Singgih Wiryono, Ardito Ramadhan, Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has revealed that reports of violence against women throughout 2024 increased compared to the previous year.

Erfan Maruf, Jakarta – State-owned construction company Hutama Karya has completed construction of the 9.3-kilometer Section 3A of the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) toll road, linking Karangjoang to KKT Kariangau. The project is now undergoing a provisional handover process before entering an operational trial phase to strengthen access to Indonesia's future capital.

The Committee for the Safety of Journalists (KKJ) strongly condemns the Israeli military's continued premeditated killing of journalists in Gaza. The KKJ's stance was issued in response to the planned and flagrant murder of members of the Al Jazeera reporting team in Gaza.

Dian Rahma Fika, Jakarta – Deputy Speaker of Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) Adies Kadir said the Rp50 million monthly housing allowance for legislators is still reasonable.

He explained that rental prices around the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, start at Rp3 million per month.

Ervana Trikarinaputri, Jakarta – The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Ahmad Muzani has affirmed that there is no plan to change the presidential term limit. The Gerindra Party politician also stated that the rumors suggesting a change to the presidential term are not part of the discussions on the Basic Guidelines of State Policy (PPHN).

Addin Anugrah Siwi, Jakarta – Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (OJK) has shut down more than 1,800 unlicensed financial entities, including illegal online lenders and fraudulent investment schemes, as part of a nationwide crackdown on financial crimes.

Novali Panji Nugroho, Jakarta – Joko Widodo or Jokowi entrusted the Nusantara Capital, or IKN, a priority project of his presidency, to his successor, President Prabowo Subianto. However, there may be a difference in priorities between the two leaders regarding the development of IKN in Penajam Paser Utara, East Kalimantan.