The National Police have arrested two Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel allegedly in possession of 40,000 ecstasy pills and 75 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine smuggled from abroad in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra.

Brig. Gen. Ahmad Ramadhan, head of the public information bureau for the National Police, said authorities were coordinating with the counter-terrorism unit to investigate the incident, which killed the suspected attacker and one police officer.

The source of the explosion was not immediately clear.

To avoid a repeat of the elections in 2019, when nearly 900 volunteers died from overwork or health complications related to their duties, the KPU has put an age cap for election organizers and embarked on a campaign to recruit younger volunteers for 2024.

The House has passed a revised Criminal Code that seems to contradict the government’s stated aim that revising the KUHP was a “historic effort to decolonize” provisions inherited from Dutch rule.

The quake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres and is not expected to trigger a tsunami, it added.

Home Minister Tito Karnavian has extended the lowest level of the country’s four-tiered COVID-19 public activity restrictions (PPKM) nationwide until Jan. 9.

Lawmakers passed a revised Criminal Code on Tuesday morning that critics say dilutes antigraft rules and civil liberties, after insisting that they had taken public opinion into account despite civil society protests to the contrary.

Among the most controversial revisions to the code are articles that would penalise sex outside of marriage with up to one year in jail andprohibit cohabitation between unmarried couples. Insulting the president and spreading views counter to the secular national ideology, the Pancasila, will also be outlawed.

Soccer league matches were resumed behind closed doors on Monday, two months after the country was rocked by one of the world's worst stadium disasters.

Lawmakers are pressing ahead with plans to pass a revised Criminal Code on Tuesday that would dilute antigraft rules and civil liberties, insisting that they have taken public opinion into account despite civil society protests to the contrary.

More than 2,400 villagers have now fled their homes and taken shelter in 11 evacuation centres after the highest mountain in Java erupted early morning Sunday.

The provincial search and rescue agency deployed teams to the worst-affected areas near Mount Semeru to assess damage, with low rainfall giving some reprieve, Tholib Vatelehan, a Basarnas spokesperson, told Reuters.

The health minister appears to have backtracked on last month's comment about a special policy for wealthy subscribers, clarifying that the national healthcare agency will continue to provide basic health services under a standardized “universal” scheme that will eliminate the current three-tier health insurance.

The legislature has unanimously approved the President's pick for the top military chief, who has said he will work to realize Jokowi's vision of turning the country into a "global maritime fulcrum".

The latest Criminal Code bill still contains provisions that could be used to curtail civil liberties and should not be passed into law yet, critics say, as the House of Representatives and the government aim to approve the legislation within the next few days.

Locals fled on motorbikes sometimes three at a time as a mushroom cloud of ash approached and monsoon rains lashed the area in East Java.

Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency, BNPB, warned residents not to conduct any activities within 5 km (3 miles) of the eruption centre and to stay 500 metres (1,500 feet) from riversides due to risks of lava flow.

The quake has no tsunami potential, the agency said. It was felt in capital Jakarta, around 200 km from the epicentre.

"Be very careful. The 2024 general election will be organized while the global economic situation is clouded by uncertainty. We need to have the same concern about it," Jokowi said in a speech delivered for the national gathering of poll workers organized by the General Election Commission (KPU).

Batam city in Riau Islands has seen a decrease in numbers of HIV/AIDS cases in the past few years, but same-sex partners still make up the majority of cases.

North Sumatra Police will soon hand the dossier of a man accused of controlling an illegal online gambling ring based in the province to the provincial state prosecutors’ office for trial in Medan.

Indonesia has seen a spike in cases of acute kidney injury since August, with the deaths of at least 199 people, mostly children, prompting a probe and ban on some liquid medicine sales.

The National Police issued a regulation on policing sports events earlier this month to prevent any recurrence of the fatal Kanjuruhan Stadium stampede, but critics are wary of lessons not learned.

The results of the study track with previous reports and findings from concerned civil society groups and democracy activists that recorded an increase in attacks against critics of the government.

The victims succumbed to their injuries inside two cages on the property of a local politician in North Sumatra province, in the latest case of modern slavery.

Indonesian Military (TNI) chief nominee Adm. Yudo Margono, who is set to face questioning from lawmakers during a confirmation hearing next week, will face a mountain of challenges to begin realizing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s vision of the Global Maritime Fulcrum, analysts said.