Indonesia’s Ministry of Health said on Thursday that nearly 30 million people have taken part in the government’s Free Health Check (CKG) program since its launch in February 2025.
Media update
As a child growing up in Sydney, Lee – an acclaimed chef and James Beard award-winning cookbook author – was mesmerised by her Indonesian grandmother preparing traditional dishes, watching her ‘Popo’ grind ingredients into a paste for gado gado sauce, observing the steam rising from a bubbling pot of babi kecap on the stove.
In a massive move for Bali, which continues to attract record numbers of tourists, its governor has now moved to ban all new commercial construction on agricultural land.
Indonesia has responded to the arrest of two Australian citizens accused of trying to arm Papuan separatist fighters, warning that it would not tolerate threats to its territorial integrity and calling for closer coordination with Canberra to investigate cross-border arms networks.
The Indonesia Investment Authority is prioritising digital infrastructure, healthcare and renewables as the sovereign wealth fund seeks foreign partners and supports the nation’s economic development, its chief investment officer told Reuters.
Indonesia still relies heavily on imported crude oil and natural gas. In 2024, Indonesia spent US$36.28 billion on imported crude oil and natural gas — leaving it highly vulnerable to sudden price hikes caused by war or trade tariffs.
Authorities have issued a measles alert for Sydney after a traveller returning from Indonesia visited several locations while infectious. Alerts have also been issued for people who were on Virgin Australia flight VA572 from Perth to Sydney on September 12, the Domestic terminal at Sydney that morning, and VA505 from Sydney to the Gold Coast.
The two sides also explored potential areas for further cooperation, including logistics, military medicine, search and rescue operations, and UN peacekeeping. Both nations reaffirmed their commitment to coordinating closely with and supporting each other in international forums, particularly within the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus).
Indonesia on Monday announced a new economic stimulus package worth 16.23 trillion rupiah ($989 million), including food assistance and an infrastructure building programme that could provide temporary work for more than 600,000 people.
In 2024, Indonesia’s government signed Regulation Number 81 to push this diversification of food commodities in rural areas, which requires state agencies to support locally appropriate crops like cassava and sorghum.
Djamari Chaniago was appointed as Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs while Erick Thohir was made the country’s sports minister. The two positions were left vacant when Prabowo reshuffled his Cabinet on Sep 8 that came on the heels of deadly protests last month.
Timor Leste’s position as a “launchpad” to markets in Indonesia and northern Australia makes it an attractive destination for Malaysian investors, training institutions and media organisations, said Malaysian ambassador to Timor-Leste Datuk Amarjit Singh.
India’s actions were disturbingly clear. But what is happening with Indonesia in its relationship with China? Is our near neighbour — along with numerous other ASEAN countries — being pushed by Trump into much closer ties with China and other BRIC countries, including Russia?
The EU and Indonesia have concluded talks on a trade deal and plan to sign it next week as they accelerate efforts to reduce their dependence on China and the US. European trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič is scheduled to travel to Indonesia to ink the agreement on September 23, according to officials in Brussels and Jakarta.
Two men have been charged after a two-year counter-terrorism investigation allegedly linked them to the trafficking of firearms and military-grade equipment from Australia to a violent paramilitary group in Indonesia.
The centrepiece of a programme to provide free meals to 83 million children and expectant mothers, the plan calls for importing a million dairy cows over five years, at a cost of nearly $3 billion, to lift the size of the country’s dairy herd more than four-fold from 220,000 now.
