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Tag: Indonesia

  • Indonesia suspends TikTok’s operating licence for allegedly withholding data

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    Indonesia has suspended TikTok’s operational registration status in the country, alleging that the social media platform did not fully co-operate with a request to share its data during nationwide protests in August. In a , Alexander Sabar, an official from Indonesia’s digital and communications ministry, said TikTok had violated national laws by only providing partial data while the protests were ongoing between August 23 and 30.

    Sabar said TikTok was given until September 23 to hand over its data related to traffic, streaming and monetization, after it emerged that some accounts with links to online gambling may have profited from TikTok livestreams during the protests. All forms of gambling are illegal under Indonesian law. TikTok reportedly that it couldn’t provide all of the requested data due to internal policy. The app has now been temporarily suspended, although claims that TikTok remains accessible in the country for now.

    Anger about the state of Indonesia’s economy, widespread police brutality and a number of government policies sparked August’s violent protests. TikTok its live feature for a number of days during the unrest in an attempt to keep the platform a “safe and civil space.” The app has over 100 million users in the country.

    Sabar gave no indication as to how long the ban will last. As reported by , a spokesperson for TikTok said the company respects the laws of the countries it operates in, and added that it’s working with the digital ministry to find a resolution.

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    Matt Tate

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  • Factbox-What Do We Know About Indonesia’s Radioactive Contamination?

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    JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia has detected radioactive contamination at a sprawling industrial zone near the capital Jakarta, found to have high levels of Caesium-137 (Cs-137), a manmade radionuclide.

    Here are some facts about what we know so far:

    – In August, two sites were found to be contaminated with high levels of Cs-137. Indonesia’s environment minister now says the contamination was found in about 10 locations at the Modern Cikande Industrial Estate, host to various industries. 

    – Cs-137 is used in medical devices and gauges, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say. It is also one of the byproducts of nuclear fission processes in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons testing. Indonesia has no nuclear reactors or weapons.

    – The radiation reading in some locations in the Indonesian industrial estate is 1,000 microSievert (or one milliSiervert) per hour, the environment minister said. 

    – Sieverts, the units in which radiation is measured, quantify the amount of radiation absorbed by human tissues. People are exposed to natural radiation of 2 milliSievert to 3 milliSiervert per year.

    – Exposure to 100 mSv a year is a level at which any increase in cancer risk is clearly evident. A cumulative 1,000 milliSiervert (1 Sievert) would probably cause a fatal cancer many years later in five of every 100 persons exposed to it.

    – At least nine people have been treated for exposure to the contamination at the Indonesian industrial estate. It is unclear how long they were exposed and how much they absorbed while working or living in the vicinity of the highest levels.

    – Authorities believe the source of the contamination is a metal factory on the estate.

    – The estate was first investigated for contamination after a batch of shrimp exported from Indonesia to the United States was found by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in August to be contaminated with Cs-137. The shrimp was processed in the industrial estate. 

    – The FDA said the shrimp did not enter U.S. commerce. The level of Cs-137 detected in the shipment was about 68 Bq/kg, which is below the FDA’s derived intervention level for Cs-137. 

    – The FDA said the product would not pose an acute hazard to consumers, but issued an advisory against eating or selling shrimp imported by the company. It said avoiding products with such levels reduces exposure to low-level radiation that could have health impacts with continued exposure.

    – The Indonesian industrial estate is still operating, but is being closely monitored by authorities, who are taking decontamination steps. 

    – In a similar incident five years ago, the Indonesian nuclear agency detected Cs-137 contamination in January 2020, near a residential area in Serpong in the city of South Tangerang.

    (Reporting by Indonesia bureau; Editing by Martin Petty and Clarence Fernandez)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – Sept. 2025

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  • Ambulances Line up Near Collapsed Indonesian School Building as Search for Trapped Students Continues

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    SIDOARJO, Indonesia (Reuters) -More than 10 ambulances lined up near a collapsed Islamic school building in Indonesia’s East Java province on Friday as rescuers continued their search for nearly 60 students still trapped under the rubble, a Reuters witness said.

    The Al Khoziny school in the town of Sidoarjo collapsed on Monday, cratering upon hundreds of teenage students during afternoon prayer, its foundations unable to support ongoing construction work on its upper floors.

    The trapped students were mostly teenage boys from the ages of 13 to 19. Alongside the ambulances was a crane deployed to excavate some of the debris.

    By late Thursday, five had been confirmed dead and 30 people were in treatment in hospital, Indonesia’s disaster officials said.

    Rescuers found no signs of life on Thursday after digging through tunnels in the remains of the building, despite calling out the boys’ names and using sensors to detect any movement.

    Al Khoziny is an Islamic boarding school known locally as a pesantren.

    Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, has a total of about 42,000 pesantren, serving 7 million students, according to data from the country’s religious affairs ministry.

    (Reporting by Johan Purnomo in Sidoarjo and Stanley Widianto in Jakarta; Editing by David Stanway)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Rescuers Race to Free Boys Trapped in Collapsed Indonesian School

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    SIDOARJO, Indonesia—The teenage boys were bowing in prayer when the concrete above them came tumbling down. 

    Some 200 people, most of them boys between the ages 12 and 17, had crowded into the prayer hall on the ground floor of al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School on the Indonesian island of Java on Monday afternoon. That is when the school’s walls and ceilings caved in.

    Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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    Ramadani Saputra

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  • Indonesia school collapse kills at least 3, sparks race to find dozens of survivors under rubble

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    Sidoarjo, Indonesia — Indonesian rescue workers were racing against the clock Wednesday to try to find survivors from a school collapse in the province of East Java. At least 91 students were still unaccounted for, three were confirmed dead and about 100 others injured.

    The Islamic boarding school, which authorities said was undergoing an unauthorized expansion to add two new stories, collapsed during afternoon prayers on Monday, sending slabs of concrete and other heavy debris crashing onto the students below.

    Most rescues typically happen within 24 hours after such a disaster, with chances of survival decreasing each day after that, and more than 300 workers continued to work desperately at the scene to try and reach people still thought to be alive and trapped below.

    Rescuers search for survivors at a boarding school in Sidoarjo, in Indonesia’s East Java province, Oct. 1, 2025,  two days after the multi-story school building collapsed.

    Suryanto Suryanto/Anadolu/Getty


    “We hope that we can complete this operation soon,” Mohammad Syafii, head of Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, told reporters. “We are currently racing against time because it is possible that we can still save lives of those we have detected within the golden hours.”

    Of the approximately 100 injured, 26 were still hospitalized Wednesday and many were said to have suffered head injuries and broken bones, authorities said.

    Syafii’s agency said at least six children were believed to be alive under the rubble, but the search was complicated, with the slabs of concrete and other parts of the building remaining unstable. Heavy equipment was available but was not being used due to concerns it could cause further collapse.

    Rescuers have been running oxygen, water and food through narrow gaps in the rubble to those still trapped under the debris to keep them alive.

    Search teams have also used detectors and thermal drones to detect potential survivors who could be rescued.

    The structure fell on top of hundreds of people at about 2:30 p.m. local time on Monday in a prayer hall at the century-old al Khoziny Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, on the eastern side of Indonesia’s Java island.

    The students were mostly boys in grades seven to 12, between ages 12 and 18. Female students were praying in another part of the building and managed to escape, survivors said.

    Search and rescue operations ongoing after school building collapse in Indonesia

    Relatives of students look at a list of names on a board as search and rescue operations continue at a boarding school in Sidoarjo, in Indonesia’s East Java province, Oct. 1, 2025, after the multi-story school building collapsed.

    Suryanto Suryanto/Anadolu/Getty


    The prayer hall was two stories high but two more were being added without a permit, according to authorities. Police said the old building’s foundation was apparently unable to support two floors of concrete and collapsed during the pouring process.

    Authorities initially had said only 38 people were missing but revised that upward to 91 late Tuesday after consulting attendance lists and talking with families.

    “In the early stages there will inevitably be some confusion about the data,” said Suharyanto, the head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, who only goes by one name as is common in Indonesia. 

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  • Indonesia did not unveil new 300,000 rupiah banknote

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    False claims about bogus banknotes have inundated Indonesian social media for years, the latest of which shows a purported new 300,000 rupiah ($17) bill. Indonesia’s state-owned note printing company said they did not receive any order from Bank Indonesia to print banknotes in that denomination.

    “Appearance of a new 300,000 Indonesian rupiah banknote,” reads Indonesian-language text overlaid on a TikTok video on September 17, 2025.

    “Bank Indonesia officially issues 300,000 Indonesian rupiah banknotes, symbol of a new era of the rupiah. The 300,000 Indonesian rupiah banknote is an addition to the series of rupiah currently in circulation.”

    Screenshot of the false post taken on September 24, 2025 with a red X added by AFP

    The video features an image of a pink-coloured banknote, with a person’s face against a backdrop of plants and a farmer — resembling banknote designs in Indonesia (archived link).

    It goes on to show the reverse of the note bearing the number “80”, seemingly indicating that the note was released to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Indonesia’s independence (archived link).

    The same clip also spread elsewhere on Facebook.

    Some users appear to believe the clip shows genuine new banknotes issued by the country’s central bank, Bank Indonesia.

    “Makes payments easier,” said one user.

    “A sign of inflation,” wrote another.

    Adi Sunardi, head of corporate secretary of the Indonesian banknote printing company, PT Peruri, told AFP by phone on September 23 the claim is a “hoax”.

    He said the company “has never received any order from Bank Indonesia to print a 300,000 rupiah denomination”.

    The central bank also previously said in a TikTok post on June 20 that it had not issued a special banknote for the country’s 80th anniversary (archived link).

    In an Instagram post on August 23, Bank Indonesia warned against another hoax that similarly claimed it had issued new 250,000 rupiah banknotes (archived link).

    “The last official commemorative banknote issuance was for the 75th anniversary of Indonesian independence in 2020,” the post said.

    The central bank’s website shows it last revised the rupiah’s design in 2022 (archived link).

    AFP has previously debunked similar misinformation about new banknotes here and here.

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  • Indonesia Says It Is in Touch With Nuclear Watchdog, United States on Radioactive Shrimp

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    JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia is providing regular updates to the global nuclear watchdog and the United States regarding its probe into the detection of a radioactive element in a consignment of shrimp, Indonesian authorities said on Tuesday.

    Indonesia has been investigating traces of Caesium 137 found in a batch of shrimp shipped to the United States by a local company in August. Last week, the same contaminant was also found in a shipment of cloves, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.

    “Indonesia is in touch with the International Atomic Energy Agency and U.S. authorities and sharing findings of the task force,” Coordinating minister for food Zulkifli Hasan told journalists.

    The U.S. FDA’s website says Caesium 137 is a radionuclide present in the environment mainly as the result of nuclear testing or accidents such as Chernobyl and Fukushima.

    Indonesia does not possess nuclear weapons or nuclear power plants.

    Indonesia is also looking into the latest findings from the U.S. FDA regarding the clove exports, said Bara Hasibuan, another official from the ministry for food, speaking to journalists alongside Hasan.

    The agency has already barred the exporting company – PT Natural Java Spice – from sending spices to the United States.

    The comments followed a meeting to discuss the investigation into the shrimp contamination, chaired by Hasan.

    In connection with the contaminated shrimp, Indonesia has conducted further inspections and health checks in an industrial area found to have been exposed to radiation, Hasan said.

    Indonesia established the task force after the U.S. FDA issued an advisory to American consumers, distributors and sellers not to eat, sell or serve frozen shrimp imported by Indonesian company PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati.

    The task force found the contamination occurred only in Cikande, an industrial area located on the outskirts of Jakarta, Hasan said, adding that they will also probe staff at a scrap metal factory considered to be the source of the caesium.

    He did not elaborate on how the shrimp packages could have come into contact with the scrap metal factory.

    The task force also examined over 1,500 workers and community members in the area, and found no serious impact.

    “The government ensures that quality control mechanisms for fishery products remain in place and operate in accordance with national and international standards,” Hasan said.

    (Reporting by Dewi Kurniawati; Editing by Gibran Peshimam and David Stanway)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Indonesian President Defends Free Meals Programme After 6,000 Suffer Food Poisoning

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    JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Monday defended his ambitious plan to provide free meals for children after some 6,000 cases of food poisoning, saying the percentage of those affected was small and the programme was still finding its footing.

    The food poisonings have sparked a public outcry with TV channels broadcasting images of children being treated on hospital beds. Local non-profit organisations have called for the suspension of the programme.

    The multibillion dollar initiative, which also offers free meals for pregnant women, has rapidly expanded since its launch in January with around 30 million recipients to date. It aims to reach 83 million by the year’s end.

    “Yes, there were shortcomings, food poisoning. We counted all the meals served, the deviation, the deficiency, or error represents 0.00017%,” Prabowo said in a speech at a political party event.

    There have been some 70 separate incidents. Two-thirds of 6,000 people affected have been in incidents since August.

    Prabowo said the programme, which aims to prevent childhood stunting, has improved nutrition for many children, created jobs as well as opportunities for local farmers and fishermen to sell produce.

    “This doesn’t mean we’re satisfied. But a human endeavour of this magnitude has never been undertaken before, I think, in the history of the world. It took Brazil 11 years to reach 40 million recipients,” he said.

    After a cabinet meeting over the weekend to discuss ways to prevent food poisoning, Prabowo ordered each kitchen in the programme to be given rapid testing equipment to check food quality, a food tray steriliser, a water filter and CCTV connected to the central government for monitoring.

    The National Nutrition Agency said last week that of the 9,000 kitchens in the programme, 40 had been closed for not meeting standards.

    The programme has also raised concerns that it may not be fiscally sustainable. A budget of 335 trillion rupiah ($20 billion) has been allotted for next year, triple the estimated spending of 99 trillion rupiah for 2025.

    Underscoring the sensitivity of the issue, Prabowo’s office temporarily revoked a palace reporting credential for a reporter over the weekend after she asked Prabowo how he planned to deal with the food poisoning cases.

    ($1 = 16,675.0000 rupiah)

    (Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman; Writing by Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • After massive shrimp recalls, the FDA finds radioactive contamination in spices too

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    Federal regulators have detected possible radioactive contamination in a second food product sent to the U.S. from Indonesia, even as recalls of potentially tainted shrimp continue to grow. The discovery adds to questions about the source of the unusual problem.Related video above: FDA investigates radioactive contamination in Walmart shrimpU.S. Food and Drug Administration officials last week blocked import of all spices from PT Natural Java Spice of Indonesia after federal inspectors detected cesium 137 in a shipment of cloves sent to California.That follows the import alert imposed in August on the company PT Bahari Makmuri Sejati, or BMS foods, which sends millions of pounds of shrimp to the U.S. each year.Here’s what you need to know about potential cesium 137 contamination:What is cesium 137?Cesium 137 is a radioactive isotope created as a byproduct of nuclear reactions, including nuclear bombs, testing, reactor operations and accidents. It’s widespread around the world, with trace amounts found in the environment, including soil, food and air.What have U.S. officials found?U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials detected cesium 137 in shipping containers of shrimp sent by PT Bahari Makmur Sejati to several U.S. ports. CBP officials flagged the potential contamination to the FDA, which tested samples of the shrimp and detected cesium 137 in one sample of breaded shrimp.The company has sent about 84 million pounds (38 million kilograms) of shrimp to U.S. ports this year, according to data from Import Genius, a trade data analysis company. It supplies about 6% of foreign shrimp imported in the U.S.This month, FDA officials detected cesium 137 in one sample of cloves exported by PT Natural Java Spice, which sends spices to the U.S. and other countries. Records show the company sent about 440,000 pounds ( 200,000 kilograms) of cloves to the U.S. this year.What are the health risks?No food that triggered alerts or tested positive has been released for sale in the U.S., FDA officials emphasized.But hundreds of thousands of packages of imported frozen shrimp sold at Kroger and other grocery stores across the U.S. have been recalled because they may have been manufactured under conditions that allowed them to be contaminated, the agency said.Although the risk appears to be small, the foods could pose a “potential health concern” for people exposed to low levels of cesium 137 over time.The levels of contamination detected are far below the level that could trigger the need for health protections, but long-term exposure could raise the risk of certain cancers.Where did the contamination come from?It’s not clear whether there’s a common source of contamination for the shrimp and the spices. FDA and CBP officials said their investigations are continuing. The two processing facilities appear to be about 500 miles (800 kilometers) apart in Indonesia.Contaminated scrap metal or melted metal at an industrial site near the shrimp processing plant in Indonesia may be the source of the radioactive material, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Nuclear regulators in Indonesia said they detected the radioactive isotope at the site outside Jakarta.It’s possible that that type of contamination could come from recycling old medical equipment that contained cesium 137, according to Steve Biegalski, a nuclear medicine expert at the Georgia Institute of Technology.Contaminated transport containers or shipping methods, such as trucks, boats or shared materials could also be a source, he said.What should consumers do?For now, consumers should avoid eating or serving shrimp recalled for possible cesium 137 contamination, the FDA said.To date, four firms have issued recalls of shrimp since August, including those listed here.1. Aug. 21, 2025: Southwind Foods, LLC Recall2. Aug. 22, 2025: Beaver Street Fisheries, LLC Recall3. Aug. 27, 2025: AquaStar (USA) Corp Recall – Kroger Brand4. Aug. 28, 2025: AquaStar (USA) Corp Recall – Aqua Star Brand5. Aug. 29, 2025: Southwind Foods, LLC Recall – Expansion of original recall6. Sept. 19, 2025: AquaStar (USA) Corp Recall – Expansion of original recall7. Sept. 23, 2025: Southwind Foods, LLC Recall – Expansion of original recall8. Sept. 23, 2025: Lawrence Wholesale, LLC Recall – Kroger Brand

    Federal regulators have detected possible radioactive contamination in a second food product sent to the U.S. from Indonesia, even as recalls of potentially tainted shrimp continue to grow. The discovery adds to questions about the source of the unusual problem.

    Related video above: FDA investigates radioactive contamination in Walmart shrimp

    U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials last week blocked import of all spices from PT Natural Java Spice of Indonesia after federal inspectors detected cesium 137 in a shipment of cloves sent to California.

    That follows the import alert imposed in August on the company PT Bahari Makmuri Sejati, or BMS foods, which sends millions of pounds of shrimp to the U.S. each year.

    Here’s what you need to know about potential cesium 137 contamination:

    What is cesium 137?

    Cesium 137 is a radioactive isotope created as a byproduct of nuclear reactions, including nuclear bombs, testing, reactor operations and accidents. It’s widespread around the world, with trace amounts found in the environment, including soil, food and air.

    What have U.S. officials found?

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials detected cesium 137 in shipping containers of shrimp sent by PT Bahari Makmur Sejati to several U.S. ports. CBP officials flagged the potential contamination to the FDA, which tested samples of the shrimp and detected cesium 137 in one sample of breaded shrimp.

    The company has sent about 84 million pounds (38 million kilograms) of shrimp to U.S. ports this year, according to data from Import Genius, a trade data analysis company. It supplies about 6% of foreign shrimp imported in the U.S.

    This month, FDA officials detected cesium 137 in one sample of cloves exported by PT Natural Java Spice, which sends spices to the U.S. and other countries. Records show the company sent about 440,000 pounds ( 200,000 kilograms) of cloves to the U.S. this year.

    What are the health risks?

    No food that triggered alerts or tested positive has been released for sale in the U.S., FDA officials emphasized.

    But hundreds of thousands of packages of imported frozen shrimp sold at Kroger and other grocery stores across the U.S. have been recalled because they may have been manufactured under conditions that allowed them to be contaminated, the agency said.

    Although the risk appears to be small, the foods could pose a “potential health concern” for people exposed to low levels of cesium 137 over time.

    The levels of contamination detected are far below the level that could trigger the need for health protections, but long-term exposure could raise the risk of certain cancers.

    Where did the contamination come from?

    It’s not clear whether there’s a common source of contamination for the shrimp and the spices. FDA and CBP officials said their investigations are continuing. The two processing facilities appear to be about 500 miles (800 kilometers) apart in Indonesia.

    Contaminated scrap metal or melted metal at an industrial site near the shrimp processing plant in Indonesia may be the source of the radioactive material, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Nuclear regulators in Indonesia said they detected the radioactive isotope at the site outside Jakarta.

    It’s possible that that type of contamination could come from recycling old medical equipment that contained cesium 137, according to Steve Biegalski, a nuclear medicine expert at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

    Contaminated transport containers or shipping methods, such as trucks, boats or shared materials could also be a source, he said.

    What should consumers do?

    For now, consumers should avoid eating or serving shrimp recalled for possible cesium 137 contamination, the FDA said.

    To date, four firms have issued recalls of shrimp since August, including those listed here.

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  • Seized coral illegally smuggled from Indonesia finds new home at New York Aquarium

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    New York — They are animals without eyes or the ability to speak, but if the live corals at the New York Aquarium could talk, they would have quite a story.

    Aaron Brett, a coral expert with the aquarium, can tell their story for them.

    Earlier this year, somewhere in Indonesia, about 200 coral pieces were plucked from the water, packaged up, and sent by plane to the U.S., where they were discovered and seized in May by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, Brett explains.

    Trading in coral is highly restricted. According to the aquarium, the seized coral is protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international conservation agreement that targets the illegal wildlife trade.

    “They were probably going to pet shops,” Brett told CBS News. 

     According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, there are two dozen coral species that are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Of those, 22 are listed as threatened and two as endangered. 

    After being seized, federal authorities asked if the New York Aquarium could care for the corals, which were in poor health. In 2019, the aquarium also received confiscated coral from USFW. Brett describes the aquarium as a kind of “coral hospital.”

    “These animals were in transit for five days,” Brett said. “If there was no other public aquarium institution that could take them, they would die.”

    Aquarium staff took CBS News behind the scenes to the tank where they have been supporting their recovery.
     
    “A lot of them had lost a lot of their color, and they weren’t looking great,” Brett said.
     
    Since May, many of the corals have done so well that they have been moved to public display.

    “We have to be really careful,” said Cora Monroe, a senior aquarist, who helps the corals transition to bigger tanks. “…One of the main reasons why we have them here is to educate people. They are ambassadors for their species out in the wild.”

    Their unexpected journey is a way for visitors to see how the illegal wildlife trade threatens species and ecosystems around the globe. About 25% of marine life depends on coral reefs, according to the NOAA. 
     
    “The most important thing to know, is knowing where your animals are coming from,” Brett said. 

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  • Indonesia set for palm-oil boost in EU trade deal

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    The EU and Indonesia have concluded talks on a free-trade deal that includes zero tariffs on palm oil exports from the South East Asian country.

    The draft agreement, described by EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič as “a game-changer for both our economies”, removes Indonesia’s duties on certain EU agri-food products.

    EU farming lobby groups Copa and Cogeca welcomed the deal, which will head to the European Council and European Parliament for approval.

    However, the zero-tariff rate on Indonesian palm oil has attracted criticism in campaign circles.

    Under the agreement, palm oil from Indonesia will face zero tariffs within a defined quota. EU tariffs on all palm oil imports range up to 12.8%. Much of Indonesia’s palm oil shipments to the EU already face a 0% tariff, Just Food understands.

    The EU said the so-called Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, announced yesterday (23 September), includes a “protocol” on palm oil, “geared towards maximising the potential of CEPA to support trade in sustainable palm oil”.

    In a statement, the EU said: “It does so by establishing a platform for dialogue, including on regulatory developments of relevance for the palm oil sector, and creating a framework to work more closely together in areas of specific importance for the sustainability of palm oil production.”

    Reacting to the news of the agreement, Eddy Martono, chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI), said the deal was “good news” but he expressed concern about the EU’s planned deforestation regulations, or EUDR.

    “The IEU-CEPA is good news but if the EUDR cannot be fulfilled, then zero tariffs are useless. Our exports will still be hampered,” Martono said in a statement.

    In a separate announcement yesterday, the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said it would propose another delay to EUDR coming into force.

    The regulations were set be implemented in December after already being pushed back.

    Under EUDR, companies marketing products including cocoa, coffee and palm oil, as well as foods that contain the ingredients, in the EU will have to demonstrate their supply chains are free from deforestation-related impacts.

    EUDR, first announced in 2021, was originally due to be enforced on 30 December this year but the Commission faced pressure from parts of the food industry to extend the deadline. Brussels agreed to a one-year delay last December.

    IT problems have now led the Commission to put forward plans for another postponement of one year.

    Fern, an NGO working to protect forests and the rights of forest peoples, hit out at the deal between the EU and Indonesia and the prospect of another delay to EUDR.

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  • After India, OpenAI launches its affordable ChatGPT Go plan in Indonesia | TechCrunch

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    OpenAI is expanding its budget-friendly ChatGPT subscription plan beyond India. The company launched its sub-$5 ChatGPT Go paid plan for the country’s users last month and now is rolling out the same plan in Indonesia for Rp75,000 ($4.50) per month.

    The ChatGPT Go plan is a mid-tier subscription option that sits between OpenAI’s free version and its premium $20-per-month ChatGPT Plus plan. Users get 10 times higher usage limits than the free plan for sending questions or prompts, generating images, and uploading files. The plan also allows ChatGPT to remember previous conversations better, enabling more personalized responses over time, ChatGPT head Nick Turley said on X.

    Turley said that since the company launched the ChatGPT Go plan in India, paid subscribers have more than doubled.

    This move puts OpenAI in direct competition with Google, which launched its own similarly-priced AI Plus subscription plan in Indonesia earlier this month. Google’s AI Plus plan gives users access to its Gemini 2.5 Pro chatbot, along with creative tools for image and video creation like Flow, Whisk, and Veo 3 Fast. The plan also includes enhanced features for Google’s AI research assistant NotebookLM and integrates AI capabilities into Gmail, Docs, and Sheets, along with 200GB of cloud storage.

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  • Indonesia Removes 2.1M Illegal Online Gambling Items

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    Indonesia’s war on illegal gambling has continued with the removal of millions of online gambling-related pieces of digital media. The government emphasized that this action sought to shield the public rather than to limit freedom of expression.

    Indonesia Removed Millions of Pieces of Negative Content

    The Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) announced that it has removed a total of 2.8 million pieces of harmful online content between October 20, 2024, and September 16, 2025. The ministry added that a staggering 2.1 million of these items were related to online gambling.

    Alexander Sabar, the Komdigi’s director general of digital space monitoring, provided additional details on the banned pieces of media, saying that they included:

    • 1,932,131 website items
    • 97,779 pieces of content from file-sharing platforms
    • 94,004 from Meta apps
    • 35,093 from Google
    • 17,417 from X
    • 1,742 from Telegram
    • 1,001 from TikTok
    • 14 from Line
    • 3 from app stores

    Sabar emphasized that the astronomical figures highlight the real extent of digital threats that the Komdigi and Indonesia as a whole face.

    The Government Encouraged the Public to Report Negative Content

    Commenting further on the matter, Sabar emphasized that the Komdigi’s actions seek to protect the Indonesian public from digital harm and not to limit locals’ freedom of expression. He explained that the government wants to protect the public and create a clean and healthy digital sector that complies with local laws.

    Sabar encouraged Indonesians to play their part and report negative content whenever they spot it.

    In the meantime, Indonesia continues to work hard on reinforcing its protections against harmful content. To that end, the government continues to trial the Content Moderation Compliance System (SAMAN), which seeks to automate certain processes and improve Indonesia’s capabilities to tackle negative content. SAMAN’s trial will conclude in October.

    Indonesia Seized Gambling Funds

    In other news, Indonesia recently seized $9.5 million worth of funds associated with illegal gambling. This was a part of one of the biggest crackdowns on illicit gaming activities and a response to the persistent black market.

    Earlier, the Financial Services Authority ordered the suspension of 26,000 bank accounts believed to have ties to gambling.

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    Fiona Simmons

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  • Indonesia’s protests over the economy turn to police brutality

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    Protests in Indonesia sparked by economic hardship have elicited a heavy-handed response from police, triggering concerns that the Southeast Asian nation could be returning to its authoritarian past.

    As police trucks have been spray-painted with anti-law enforcement slogans, President Prabowo Subianto has denounced the demonstrations as “treason and terrorism” while seeking to assuage wide-ranging discontent.

    Thousands have taken to the streets in major cities in the last week, joined at times by rioters setting fire to government buildings and looters ransacking the homes of politicians. At least 10 people have died and hundreds have been injured in the ensuing unrest.

    On Wednesday, a coalition of student unions met with lawmakers and demanded an independent investigation into the police violence, portending further protests.

    Frustrations in the world’s third-largest democracy have been building since Prabowo, a former military general and businessman, took power last year, implementing austerity measures that have cut billions from public services such as healthcare and education.

    Many ordinary Indonesians criticize the government for primarily serving the interests of the wealthy elite even as youth unemployment soars and wages stagnate.

    The initial wave of demonstrations began Aug. 25, with thousands gathering outside the country’s parliament to decry one stark example of such inequality: a $3,000 housing allowance for lawmakers that was nearly 10 times the minimum wage in Jakarta.

    The discontent escalated into violence when a 21-year-old motorcycle taxi driver was fatally struck by an armored police vehicle speeding through the crowd.

    Prabowo and his police chief have apologized for the incident, and one of the officers involved in the crash has been fired.

    At a televised news conference, Prabowo stressed that the right to peaceful assembly should be protected but that “the state must step in to protect its citizens.”

    Neither these measures, nor the president’s promise to scale back the lawmakers’ perks, have quelled the outpouring of public anger, which has been met with a police response that human rights groups have decried as excessive.

    “Nobody should die while exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” said Montse Ferrer, Amnesty International’s regional research director for East and Southeast Asia.

    On Monday, the United Nations called for an investigation into the “alleged use of unnecessary or disproportionate force by security forces.”

    Since the demonstrations began, Indonesian police have used tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets against protesters, some of whom have lobbed back Molotov cocktails and rocks. Authorities have arrested over 3,000 people.

    Two deaths have been attributed to the police crackdown: a pedicab driver in the city of Solo who died last week while being treated for tear gas exposure, and a college student who died Sunday after apparently being beaten by police.

    Such incidents have resurfaced the Indonesian public’s festering distrust of the police force, said Jacqui Baker, a scholar of Indonesian security and policing at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia.

    “Ordinary people have long repeated a saying ‘report a chicken, lose a buffalo,’ meaning if you engage the police in routine law enforcement … you are likely to suffer more material loss than the original theft,” she said.

    In recent years, civic groups have accused police of dozens of extrajudicial killings and torture.

    Many of the country’s policing problems stem from a three-decade-long period of authoritarian rule under then-President Suharto that ended in 1998.

    With the police remaining wedded to political interests even after the country’s democratization, Baker said, the “historical sense of entitlement has generated a deeply corrupt, violent and predatory force that is widely hated by ordinary people.”

    President Prabowo himself is accused of human rights abuses, such as the abduction of dissidents, under Suharto’s rule. Critics say he is now pulling the country back into authoritarianism by expanding the military’s involvement in civilian institutions. Prabowo denies these claims.

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  • Indonesia Cracks Down on Illegal Gambling, Seizes $9.5M

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    Indonesia has seized $9.5 million worth of funds tied to illegal gambling operations, with authorities going after 811 separate bank accounts in what is one of the biggest operations conducted by authorities.

    Millions Seized from Gambling-Linked Accounts in Indonesia

    The latest move was launched by the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency and targeted accounts and individuals about whom police had “strong suspicion” of having been involved with illegal gambling, as confirmed by senior commissioner Fredy Saragih, who heads the Bareskrim’s cybercrime unit.

    This is one of the largest stings against online gambling operations in Indonesia. The country has draconian anti-gambling laws and has been enforcing them with unflagging commitment, despite persistence on the part of black-market operators.

    Indonesia has been proactive in tracking cybercrime and specifically offenses related to illegal gambling, with the country paying close attention to financial institutions. The Financial Services Authority issued an order earlier in August, ordering the suspension of 26,000 accounts that investigators deemed to be tied to gambling.

    The accounts in question are said to have handled around $61 million worth of gambling-related transactions. In July, authorities also blocked another 17,000 accounts, similarly tied to illegal gambling.

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    Jerome García

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  • Two gay men publicly caned in Indonesia after being caught kissing

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    Two men were publicly caned in Indonesia on Tuesday after being found to have engaged in sexual relations — despite not actually having sex.

    The men, ages 21 and 20, were caught kissing in a public restroom at the Taman Sari Park in June. Depsite only being seen hugging and kissing, a panel of judges at the Banda Aceh Sharia Court found that they violated the province’s laws against same-sex sexual relations, and sentenced them to be caned.

    The men’s sentence was carried out on Tuesday in a park in the province’s capital Banda Aceh. The two were caned 76 and 82 times, with the one accused of instigating the relationship receiving extra lashes, according to an Agence France-Presse reporter who was present.

    “This public flogging of two young men under Aceh’s Islamic Criminal Code for consensual sex is a disturbing act of state-sanctioned discrimination and cruelty,” Montse Ferrer, Amnesty International’s Regional Research Director, said in a statement. “This punishment is a horrifying reminder of the institutionalized stigma and abuse faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in Aceh. Intimate relationships between consenting adults should never be criminalized. Punishments such as flogging are cruel, inhuman and degrading and may amount to torture under international law.”

    Aceh is the only province out of 38 in Indonesia where same-sex sexual relations are criminalized. The 2001 Special Autonomy Law gave Aceh the independence to enforce Sharia law, which was used in 2014 to implement parts of the Islamic Criminal Code outlawing liwath (sodomy), musahaqah (lesbian), and zina (sex outside of marriage). Punishments for gay sex acts include up to 100 lashes and up to 100 months in prison.

    Sharia law also permits citizen’s arrests, allowing civilians to turn others over to authorities for investigation, as was the case with the men. The amount of lashes for each was reduced based on time spent in detention the past three months.

    The law was first used in 2017 against two men accused of having consensual sex. Several others have been sentenced to similar punishments since.

    “Indonesia, as a member of the UN Human Rights Council and a state party to the Convention Against Torture, must align its laws – including in Aceh – with its constitutional commitments to equality and non-discrimination,” Ferrer continued. “The criminalization of same-sex conduct and corporal punishment has no place in a just and humane society.”

    This article originally appeared on Advocate: Two gay men publicly caned in Indonesia after being caught kissing

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  • Pintarnya raises $16.7M to power jobs and financial services in Indonesia | TechCrunch

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    Pintarnya, an Indonesian employment platform that goes beyond job matching by offering financial services along with full-time and side-gig opportunities, said it has raised a $16.7 million Series A round.

    The funding was led by Square Peg with participation from existing investors Vertex Venture Southeast Asia & India and East Ventures.

    Ghirish Pokardas, Nelly Nurmalasari, and Henry Hendrawan founded Pintarnya in 2022 to tackle two of the biggest challenges Indonesians face daily: earning enough and borrowing responsibly.

    “Traditionally, mass workers in Indonesia find jobs offline through job fairs or word of mouth, with employers buried in paper applications and candidates rarely hearing back. For borrowing, their options are often limited to family/friend or predatory lenders with harsh collection practices,” Henry Hendrawan, co-founder of Pintarnya, told TechCrunch. “We digitize job matching with AI to make hiring faster and we provide workers with safer, healthier lending options — designed around what they can reasonably afford, rather than pushing them deeper into debt.”

    Around 59% of Indonesia’s 150 million workforce is employed in the informal sector, highlighting the difficulties these workers encounter in accessing formal financial services because they lack verifiable income and official employment documentation.

    Pintarnya tackles this challenge by partnering with asset-backed lenders to offer secured loans, using collateral such as gold, electronics, or vehicles, Hendrawan added.

    Since its seed funding in 2022, the platform currently serves over 10 million job seeker users and 40,000 employers nationwide. Its revenue has increased almost fivefold year-over-year and expects to reach break-even by the end of the year, Hendrawn noted. Pintarnya primarily serves users aged 21 to 40, most of whom have a high school education or a diploma below university level. The startup aims to focus on this underserved segment, given the large population of blue-collar and informal workers in Indonesia.

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    “Through the journey of building employment services, we discovered that our users needed more than just jobs — they needed access to financial services that traditional banks couldn’t provide,” said Hendrawan. “We digitize job matching with AI to make hiring faster and we provide workers with safer, healthier lending options — designed around what they can reasonably afford, rather than pushing them deeper into debt.”

    image credits: Pintarnya (Founders of Pintarnya Ghirish Pokardas, Nelly Nurmalasari, and Henry Hendrawan)

    While Indonesia already has job platforms like JobStreet, Kalibrr, and Glints, these primarily cater to white-collar roles, which represent only a small portion of the workforce, according to Hendrawan. Pintarnya’s platform is designed specifically for blue-collar workers, offering tailored experiences such as quick-apply options for walk-in interviews, affordable e-learning on relevant skills, in-app opportunities for supplemental income, and seamless connections to financial services like loans.

    The same trend is evident in Indonesia’s fintech sector, which similarly caters to white-collar or upper-middle-class consumers. Conventional credit scoring models for loans, which rely on steady monthly income and bank account activity, often leave blue-collar workers overlooked by existing fintech providers, Hendrawan explained.

    When asked about which fintech services are most in demand, Hendrawan mentioned, “Given their employment status, lending is the most in-demand financial service for Pintarnya’s users today. We are planning to ‘graduate’ them to micro-savings and investments down the road through innovative products with our partners.”

    The new funding will enable Pintarnya to strengthen its platform technology and broaden its financial service offerings through strategic partnerships. With most Indonesian workers employed in blue-collar and informal sectors, the co-founders see substantial growth opportunities in the local market. Leveraging their extensive experience in managing businesses across Southeast Asia, they are also open to exploring regional expansion when the timing is right.

    “Our vision is for Pintarnya to be the everyday companion that empowers Indonesians to not only make ends meet today, but also plan, grow, and upgrade their lives tomorrow … In five years, we see Pintarnya as the go-to super app for Indonesia’s workers, not just for earning income, but as a trusted partner throughout their life journey,” Hendrawan said. “We want to be the first stop when someone is looking for work, a place that helps them upgrade their skills, and a reliable guide as they make financial decisions.”

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    Kate Park

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  • German foreign minister sees Indonesia and Japan as key to business

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    Indonesia and Japan are key countries in Asia for the German economy, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Thursday at the end of a four-day inaugural visit to the two countries.

    “Indonesia is a good example of how we have markets around the world that we don’t really see,” the conservative politician said in Jakarta, after visiting a production facility belonging to German truck and bus manufacturer Daimler Truck.

    Wadephul said Indonesia, a country of more than 280 million people, is developing slowly but steadily.

    “We must finally recognize that there is a growing middle class and a growing number of consumers who are looking for new products and new ideas,” he added.

    “There is no single way to broaden your base or become independent, but rather many ways. And I believe that there are great opportunities in this region in particular.”

    Wadephul visits Daimler factory

    Earlier, Wadephul was briefed on the work at Daimler Truck’s production site in Cikarang, east of Jakarta, which opened in June. The company manufactures chassis for trucks and buses at the site.

    Around 200 employees assemble almost 200 chassis every month, on a site covering 130,000 square metres, for the Indonesian market and neighbouring regions.

    Daimler Truck has invested a total of €27 million ($31.4 million) in the new location. A special feature is the company’s own test track, which the minister took a look at.

    According to the German government, Daimler Truck is one of the few German companies that has its own production facilities in Indonesia, in addition to sales and training activities.

    Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul delivers a statement and takes questions from journalists at the end of his trip. Soeren Stache/dpa

    Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (L) and Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), stand next to each other before their meeting. Soeren Stache/dpa

    Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (L) and Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), stand next to each other before their meeting. Soeren Stache/dpa

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  • Environment solution: New metals refinery for nickel and cobalt opens in Ohio

    Environment solution: New metals refinery for nickel and cobalt opens in Ohio

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    In a step forward for efforts to acquire the metals crucial to addressing climate change, on Monday a new plant that can extract nickel and cobalt from scrap material opens in Fairfield, Ohio. The resulting metals will be used in new batteries and other clean energy markets.

    Extracting metals out of old material avoids the environmental damage of open pit mining and prevents the metals from ending up in the landfill. Many see this as the future, even if it takes decades to become reality.

    Climate change is largely caused by burning dirty fuels for two broad purposes: to make electricity and to move vehicles. Batteries can substitute for both much of the time, but this changeover is still in its infancy and the need for more minerals is great.

    The metals refining company Nth Cycle builds systems that yield nickel and cobalt from a form of shredded lithium ion batteries and nickel scrap from electric vehicles and consumer electronics. There are a growing number of companies, including Redwood Materials and Li-Cycle, that are expanding the young U.S. battery recycling industry.

    Currently, even when battery materials are collected for recycling in the U.S., they’re mostly shipped overseas to be refined. Building a traditional metals refinery in the U.S. could cost upward of $1 billion, but Nth Cycle uses a modular design it says is ideal because it can be added onto existing manufacturing facilities.

    “We have no refining capacity in the U.S. at all for these types of materials,” said Megan O’Connor, CEO of Nth Cycle. “We will be the first commercial cobalt nickel refinery in the U.S., which we’re very excited about.”

    Some experts heralded the development.

    “I think it’s very encouraging to hear the scaling has reached a stage where this is a possible revenue-making business,” said Shirley Meng, a professor at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering.

    Craig Arnold, engineering professor and university innovation officer at Princeton University, said this type of advancement is “huge” for the industry. “If we had a stronger domestic supply of these critical materials, it would absolutely benefit the battery industry,” he said.

    Right now the only U.S. source of nickel is the Eagle Mine in Michigan. Ore mined there is shipped internationally for refining.

    The demand for critical minerals for battery usage is surging as the world becomes more electrified. The need for nickel for electric vehicles grew nearly 30% in 2023 over the year before, according to the International Energy Agency. EV battery demand for cobalt increased 15% in the same period.

    Critical minerals are currently extracted from the Earth from mines in Australia, Indonesia, Congo and Brazil, among other countries. The supply chain is complex, involving an international matrix of labor rights concerns, tribal land conflicts and environmental damage. China is the dominant player in minerals crucial to the energy transition and also leads in battery recycling.

    The supply chain can be shaken by geopolitical conflict and also emits carbon emissions as materials are transported from country to country. This puts U.S. battery ambitions at risk, which is why experts say carrying out more of these processes domestically will make it easier to reach sustainability goals.

    The Inflation Reduction Act is incentivizing the expansion of the battery supply chain in the U.S. and Nth Cycle received $7.2 million under the law’s Advanced Energy Project Tax Credit (48C) program. The IRA also offers credits for EV’s containing battery materials and components from the U.S. or a country that has a free trade agreement with the U.S.

    ___

    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • Indonesia arrests a fugitive former Filipino town mayor wanted for illegal online gaming scams

    Indonesia arrests a fugitive former Filipino town mayor wanted for illegal online gaming scams

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    JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A dismissed town mayor who fled the Philippines after being accused of helping establish an illegal online gaming and scam center catering mostly to clients in China has been arrested near Indonesia’s capital, officials said Wednesday.

    Indonesian authorities arrested Alice Guo at a house in Jakarta’s satellite city of Tangerang just before midnight on Tuesday, according to Khrisna Murti, chief of the international division of the National Police.

    Guo was in custody and awaiting deportation to the Philippines, Murti said, adding that her arrest was the result of “cooperation between Indonesian and Filipino’s police.”

    Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. thanked the Indonesian authorities.

    “Let this serve as a warning to those who attempt to evade justice,” Marcos said and added that arrangements were being made to bring Guo back to the Philippines where she faces a slew of criminal charges.

    After Guo fled the Philippines in July, she was tracked in Malaysia and Singapore before turning up in Indonesia. Two companions, who reportedly slipped out of the Philippines with her without going through normal immigration and clearing procedures, were recently arrested in Indonesia.

    Guo ran as a Filipino candidate in 2022 elections and won as mayor of the rural town of Bamban in Tarlac province north of Manila. She was accused of helping establish a massive complex with several buildings near the town hall as a hub for an illegal online gambling and scam outfit that catered mostly to clients in China, where gambling is forbidden.

    A Senate committee ordered Guo arrested after she refused to appear in hearings looking into the illegal gambling business that flourished under Marcos’s predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who nurtured cozy ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping while often criticizing the United States and European countries.

    Guo has also been accused of concealing her Chinese nationality to run for public office, which is reserved for Filipino citizens only. At the time, a few senators suggested she may be working as a Chinese spy.

    Guo has denied any wrongdoing but was dismissed from her post for grave misconduct by the Ombudsman, an agency that investigates and prosecutes government officials accused of crimes, including graft and corruption.

    In July, Marcos ordered an immediate ban on widespread and mostly Chinese-run online gaming operations, accusing them of involvement in human trafficking, torture, kidnappings and murder.

    The crackdown on the Chinese-run online gambling outfits — estimated to number more than 400 across the Philippines and employing tens of thousands of Chinese and Southeast Asian nationals — was backed by Beijing.

    It resulted in the shutdown in the Philippines of sprawling complexes, where authorities suspect thousands of Chinese, Vietnamese and other nationals mostly from Southeast Asia have been illegally recruited and forced to work in dismal conditions.

    Philippine senators say the massive online gambling industry has flourished largely due to corruption in government regulatory agencies and big payoffs to officials.

    Indonesia and the Philippines signed an extradition agreement in 1976.

    ___

    Gomez reported from Manila, Philippines. Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

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