Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – The government is set to implement a 12 percent value-added tax (VAT) next year, marking a 1 percentage point increase from the current VAT rate. This adjustment is in accordance with the law on the harmonization of taxation regulations issued in 2022, a senior official said on Friday.

Annisa Febiola, Jakarta – The People's Coalition for Fisheries Justice (Kiara) and the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) say that the marine areas in East Java is threatened after the passing of the Regional Regulation on the Regional Spatial Plan for East Java Province No. 10/2023.

Daniel A. Fajri, Jakarta – President Joko Widodo or Jokowi inaugurated road construction and repair on 33 roads across East Java province, totaling 275 kilometers, with a substantial budget of Rp925 billion.

Indira Zahra Aridati and Melinda Martinus – Last month, Indonesia held its presidential and general elections, in one of the busiest election years alongside more than 60 other countries. In spite of warnings of electoral violations committed by the incumbent leading up to the election, voting day unfolded peacefully.

Yvette Tanamal, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has heralded a fresh agreement on electric vehicle (EV) collaboration with Indonesia's southern neighbor Australia, while attempting to entice Canberra in his other legacy project, building the new capital city Nusantara.

Jakarta – The Labour Movement with the People (GEBRAK) alliance held a demonstration next to the Arjuna Wiwaha or Horse Statue in Central Jakarta on Friday afternoon, March 8, during which hundreds of women workers conveyed their aspirations on International Women's Day (IWD).

Ricky Juliansyah, Jakarta – Indonesian former Vice President Jusuf Kalla or JK said that the 2024 elections are considered by many to be non-transparent. In fact, he considered this election to be the worst in the history of Indonesian democracy.

The Timor-Leste non-governmental organisation Mahein Foundation on Thursday alerted the government to the public's discontent with the lack of "seriousness and urgency" in improving people's living conditions since it took office.

Novali Panji Nugroho, Jakarta – Presidential candidate number two Prabowo Subianto believed that in less than five years Indonesia will be able to become an exporter and gain food independence.

Responding to Prabowo's optimism, an agricultural observer from the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE), Eliza Mardian, believed that the approach is an incorrect one.

Antara, Jakarta – Train operator KAI Commuter affirms the security of its C-Access ticketing and train schedule application for users following a security breach.

Zikrullah Shubhy, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) searched the residence of Hanan Supangkat, a businessman and key witness in the case involving former Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo (SYL). The search took place at Intercon housing complex in Kembangan, West Jakarta on Wednesday night.

Jakarta – Five Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers have been named suspects in an attack on a police station in Jayawijaya, Papua Highlands.

As part of the investigation, the Region XVII/Cendrawasih Military Police have examined 21 TNI soldiers suspected of being connected to the attack.

Dio Suhenda, Jakarta – House of Representatives members marked their return from recess on Tuesday with some factions calling for the House to open an inquiry into reports of irregularities and fraud that allegedly marred last month's election.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) proposed a number of Indonesian economic and social development figures to receive the Nobel Prize for their contribution to the development of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector when opening the BRI Microfinance Outlook 2024 agenda in Jakarta, Thursday, Antara news agency reported.

Anwar Siswadi (contributor), Jakarta – Extreme weather resulted in flooding and landslides in four regions of West Java on Tuesday, March 5. They were Cirebon, Majalengka, Sumedang, and Bandung regencies.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Two major palm oil companies recently exited a committee that helps identify forest areas for protection, bringing the total number of firms quitting the framework since 2000 to four.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Mumbai – Bank Indonesia (BI) continues to reduce its dependence on the US dollar (de-dollarization) by forging a partnership with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Both central banks have agreed to promote the use of local currencies in transactions.

Savero Aristia Wienanto, Jakarta – Dida Gardera, deputy for food and agribusiness coordination at the Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs, said that the funding for Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka's free lunch program was in the study stage. Funding sources for free lunches come from a variety of options, including the redirection of energy subsidies.

Dani Prabowo, Jakarta – As many as 48 civil society organisations sent a subpoena to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo regarding alleged fraud in the 2024 elections.

Jakarta – The campaign teams of two 2024 presidential candidates have protested the recent decision of the General Elections Commission (KPU) to stop displaying the preliminary vote tally and associated infographics online, saying it will harm election monitoring efforts and could increase the likelihood of foul play in the official manual count.

Antara, Jakarta – The Indonesian Health Ministry drew attention to the fact that around one million Indonesians were still infected with various neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

The ministry's Director General of Public Health, Maria Endang Sumiwi, made the remark at the commemoration of World NTDs Day in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The US Trade and Development Agency, also known as USTDA, announced Thursday a grant worth over $2 million to help Indonesia make its future capital Nusantara a smart city.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – The presidential campaign of Ganjar Pranowo and his running mate Mohammad Mahfud MD raised Rp 506.89 billion ($32.5 million) and spent roughly the same amount until election day, the General Election Commission (KPU) announced on Thursday.

Jakarta – Defense Minister, and the country's presumptive next president, Prabowo Subianto, on Tuesday described the country's democracy as tiring, very costly and "very messy", but said his people should be proud of a recent election that unofficial vote counts show he won.

Faisal Maliki Baskoro, Jakarta – Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves stood at $144.0 billion (Rp 2.255 trillion) at the end of February 2024, maintaining robust levels despite a slight 0.76 percent decline from the January 2024 position of $145.1 billion.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – Indonesia is setting its sights on an annual economic growth rate of at least 6 percent to elevate itself to the status of a high-income nation, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Jakarta – Protesters calling themselves the People's Justice Movement demonstrated in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) building in Jakarta on Thursday March 7 demanding that the House use its right of inquiry into election fraud.

Mutia Yuantisya, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has determined the suspects of corruption in the procurement of equipment for the official residences of the House of Representatives' (DPR) General Secretariat member. The KPK has not yet released their names to the public."I don't know who the suspects are, but we have banned them (from going abroad).

Erin Cook – On 14 February 2024, in Jakarta's old Chinatown district of Glodok, a chain-smoking gentleman with a nephew studying in Melbourne gave me his shorthand view of that day's election. "In Indonesia," he began, before an exhale of kretek fumes, "we always know who is going to win before the vote."

David Hutt – For months leading up to Indonesia's presidential elections in February, and in the weeks since, a good number of talking heads have been trying to parse whether President-elect Prabowo Subianto's victory would signal a decline in Indonesia's democracy or a victory for pluralism – or whether things would remain pretty much the same as before.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The Nusantara authority body said Thursday that civil servants would not need to worry about moving to the yet-to-be-built capital city as it would have all the facilities they need.

Aseanty Pahlevi, Gelam Island, Indonesia – Not long ago, Suparyanto discovered that his family home on a small island off the west coast of Borneo was to become a quartz mine.

"I have never signed a land certificate or given power of attorney to anyone to manage my land on Gelam Island," Suparyanto told Mongabay Indonesia.

Vadhel Andika Raksayudha, Cianjur – Four villagers died due to suspected underground gas poisoning in Cianjur regency, West Java, on Wednesday.

The tragedy began when Hada, 38, a resident of Gasol village in the Cugenang District, attempted to repair an underground water pump at his home.

VOA, Reuters, Jakarta – The White House said it looks forward to working with the incoming Indonesian administration but stopped short of congratulating Prabowo Subianto on his apparent victory in Indonesia's presidential election last month.

Hanaa Septiana, Jakarta – Immigration Office Class I Special TPI Surabaya said that there are already seven foreign nationals who obtain Golden Visas in East Java with the purpose of investment. The number is expected to continue to grow.

Dio Suhenda, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) has stopped publicly presenting the preliminary vote tally for the 2024 general election and associated graphics on its online platform the Tabulation Information System (Sirekap) following weeks of complaints from political parties and observers about the application's shortcomings and errors.

Tina Susilawati, Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has released its annual report in which it noted that there were 401,975 cases of violence against women throughout 2023.

Suryadi, Pekanbaru, Indonesia – Emergency workers and community firefighters battled isolated fires in Sumatra's Riau province in late February as the onset of the region's first dry season of 2024 sparked wildfires in some peatland areas.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – In its pursuit of becoming a high-income country by 2045, the government sets a target to elevate the middle-class population to 80 percent, up from the current 20 percent.

Antara, Jakarta – Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas said Wednesday he is anticipating varying dates for the start of Ramadan between the official government stipulation and declarations by different Muslim organizations.

Basten Gokkon, Jakarta – Indonesia is developing a satellite constellation to beef up monitoring of its marine and fisheries resources with the maiden launch of a nanosatellite scheduled this July.

Antara, Jakarta – The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) recorded that 166 Indonesian citizens (WNI) are currently facing the threat of death penalty abroad.

Jakarta – The Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) program in Indonesia seems to be sweet on the lips but sticks in the throat.

Antara, Jakarta – The Foreign Affairs Ministry has noted a substantial rise in the number of Indonesian citizens participating in Cambodia's online gambling sector.

Jakarta – The sudden increase in votes gained by the tiny Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) during the ongoing real count of the 2024 general election results has sparked protests and suspicion from the public.

Yohanes Maharso Joharsoyo, Jakarta – The Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) headquarters plans to add 22 more military commands across the country. The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) believed this notion based on no urgency and will strengthen the militarization in Indonesia, as well as a burden to the state budget.

Jayapura, Jubi – Numbuk Telenggen, the commander of the Third Defense Command of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) in Ilaga stated that they will not remain silent following the security forces' action of apprehending Komputer Tabuni, also known as Alenus Tabuni.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo recently told Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that it would be best for Indonesia to collaborate with Australia on nickel rather than having the two countries compete with one another.

Jakarta – Gender roles in Indonesia are unique. While women are expected to take on domestic responsibilities, they can also work and study as they please.

Unsurprisingly, statistics show the female labor participation rate in Indonesia as among one of the highest in the world.

Antara, Jakarta – Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto said that Indonesia, as a member of the G20, a gathering of many of the world's largest economies, must not let its people live miserably.

"In the northern coast of Java, the northern coast of Jakarta, there are people who live knee-deep in water," he said, Tuesday. "I'm committed to tackling this issue."