Islam
Indonesia's Danantara buys 4.4 hectares in Makkah for a "Hajj Village"
The land in Thakher will hold hotels, lodging and support services; CEO Rosan Roeslani says the goal is a groundbreaking or start of construction in December.
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Indonesia
EnvironmentWildfire smoke killed an estimated 3,560 people in Indonesia in September, says CREA
The Helsinki-based CREA estimates 57.8 million Indonesians breathed unhealthy to hazardous air in September. PM2.5 in Kalimantan was 24 times the WHO annual limit.
LivestockAustralian live cattle exports down 23.5% as Indonesia's price caps bite
Beef Central's October South-East Asia report finds Australian feeder cattle priced close to slaughter cattle in Indonesia and Vietnam, exports for January to September down 23.5 per cent, and herds shrinking in Bali, Vietnam and China.
AgribusinessIndonesia moves palm oil exports to state-owned traders from January 2027
Under trade regulation No. 16/2026, only state export enterprises with a permit may ship crude and refined palm oil from 1 January; private firms must join the cooking-oil obligation or hand over rights.
CropsCocoa's worst may be past, Barry Callebaut says, but Indonesia's farmers must find it worth growing
Barry Callebaut's Asia Pacific cocoa chief Angela Gubser says volatility will persist, high prices have not always reached farmers, and cocoa in Indonesia now competes with durian, rice and oil palm.
IslamJakarta's An-Nur floating mosque opens at Ancol, room for 900 worshippers
Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung has opened the An-Nur floating mosque at the Ancol tourist complex, designed by architect Andra Matin, with space for 900 people to pray at once in 2,241 square metres.
LivestockAustralian live cattle exports drop 35% in September, Darwin prices hold before Ramadan
Australia shipped 46,765 live cattle in September, down from 71,711 in August, but Darwin feeder steers still fetch about 450c/kg as Indonesian feedlots prepare to fill pens for Ramadan in February 2027.
HealthAncient teeth suggest people chewed areca nut 25,000 years ago
Grooves and traces of arecoline in the teeth of two hunter-gatherers from Sulawesi, Indonesia, suggest areca nut chewing began long before farming, a study in Science Advances reports.
Livestock
Indonesia's new Halal certification rules for imported beef start on 18 October
From 18 October all food exporters to Indonesia, including Australian boxed beef shippers, must meet the Halal Product Assurance Law's certification rules; live cattle exports are not affected.
IslamIndonesia's average Hajj wait falls to 14 years after data clean-up
Indonesia's Hajj and Umrah ministry says the national average wait to perform Hajj is now 14 years, after checking some 5.7 million registrations and removing about 400,000 invalid records.
IslamHalal industry now accounts for half of Indonesia's non-oil manufacturing output
In the first half of 2026 Indonesia's halal industry contributed $61.60 billion to non-oil-and-gas manufacturing, 50.55 per cent of the sector's output; halal exports were about $35.72 billion.
Environment
Where the Critically Endangered Sumatran Tiger Has Its Last Refuge
Indonesia is now the only country where the critically endangered Sumatran tiger survives, and Kerinci Seblat National Park is one of its last strongholds.
CropsIndonesia's Embassy Offers to Help Chapainawabganj Export Mangoes
Indonesia's embassy will give full support if Chapainawabganj growers want to send mangoes to Indonesia, and will also help with mango processing, the country's ambassador said on a visit to the district on 1 July 2025.