Triyan Pangastuti, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has kicked off deliberation of a bill that would expand the mandate of Bank Indonesia, the country's central bank, and return banking supervision to the monetary authority.

Primus Dorimulu, Bogor – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo gave a new timeline for the planned mass vaccination against coronavirus, saying on Monday millions of Indonesian citizens can receive the vaccine in January.

Heru Andriyanto, Bogor – Indonesia has a month left to turn things around after experiencing a 5.32 percent contraction in its economy in the second quarter due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo told all 34 governors in a video-teleconference on Tuesday.

Tri Indah Oktavianti, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court (MK) has said that deputy ministers cannot hold concurrent roles at state-owned and private firms, arguing that they should focus on their main duties in their respective ministerial offices.

Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – Indonesia's economy faces a "near-certain recession" in the third quarter this year, economists say, as a robust economic recovery will depend on whether the government can control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and stimulate people's purchasing power.

Indonesia must tighten policies on the advertisement, sale and taxation of tobacco to reduce child smoking, experts have said.

Timika – Operations have resumed at the world's biggest gold mine in Indonesia, the company that runs it said Saturday, after workers blocked access to the site in protest at being stopped from visiting their families over virus concerns.

Rizki Fachriansyah, Jakarta – The National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) had said that the use of the word anjay – a euphemistic form of the word anjing (dog), which is often used as a curse word – may be considered a form of criminal "verbal violence". The assertion went viral over the weekend, eliciting parodies and mockery from social media users.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Ombudsman has lambasted the government for prioritizing the economic recovery over public health in dealing with the double crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mardika Parama, Jakarta – High costs for logistics and electricity in Batam are burdensome for business, hampering the government's effort to attract investors to the free trade zone (FTZ) in Riau Islands, business players have said.

Rizki Fachriansyah and Apriadi Gunawan, Jakarta and Medan – It is known that 100 doctors have died from COVID-19 as the number of cases and fatalities across the archipelago continue to mount, according to the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI).

Nina A. Loasana, Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has claimed that the spread of COVID-19 in the capital city is under control despite a recent record spike in new confirmed cases, arguing that increased testing has contributed to the increase.

Budi Sutrisno, Jakarta – Several nationwide medical and health organizations have urged the Health Ministry to accelerate the revisions to Government Regulation (PP) No 109/2012 on the safety of addictive ingredients in tobacco products.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – The National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) Governor, retired military general Agus Widjojo, argues that the attack that targeted East Jakarta's Ciracas Police headquarters is the byproduct of a long-standing bitterness between the National Armed Forces (TNI) and National Police (Polri).

Bali's tourism players are exploring different opportunities to attract more visitors from other parts of Indonesia. In a bid to revive the local economy deeply battered by the pandemic, they are considering slashing prices of flight tickets, promoting hotel vouchers, and arranging promotional gatherings.

Exactly one month after Bali opened its doors to domestic tourism, the province today recorded its highest single-day spike of COVID-19 cases.

The Bali provincial government reported 129 additional coronavirus cases this afternoon, bringing the provincial tally to 5,207. This includes 705 active cases and 68 deaths.

A protest demanding an easing of a Covid-19 lockdown at the Grasberg gold and copper mine in Papua ended last Friday.

Mining operatons had been disrupted since last Monday after protestors blocked access to the mine in the Indonesian province.

Former air hostess Siwi Widi Purwanti has dropped the defamation charges against online whistleblower @digeeembok, who alleged that she is the mistress of a former airline executive in what was arguably the biggest corporate scandal in Indonesia last year.

Makassar, Jubi – Dandhy Dwi Laksono, a journalist who travelled around Indonesia in the Indonesia Biru Expedition in 2015, stated that the doctrine on the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia is Undisputed (NKRI Harga Mati) and nationalism had been instilled in the minds of the young generation from an early age.

Ghina Ghaliya, Jakarta – The House of Representatives plans to revise Law No. 16/2004 on the Attorney General's Office (AGO), which has been included in the 2020 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas).

Jakarta – Indonesia has witnessed 1,928 disasters in 2020 so far, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has reported.

"We had recorded a total of 1,928 disasters across the country as of Aug. 30," BNPB spokesman Raditya Jati said on Monday as reported by kompas.com.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The Covid-19 pandemic has encouraged people to increase the purchase of healthy products to boost their immunity against the disease.

According to Megawati Simanjuntak, a lecturer at the Family and Consumer Sciences Department at Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), health products such as nutritious food items are currently in high demand.

Sausan Atika, Jakarta – Data analysis and IT innovation have been central to Indonesia's COVID-19 response, with cities across the country looking to smart city solutions to help curb the outbreak. However, challenges remain.

Tim Majalah Tempo, Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – Political observer of Al Azhar University Ujang Komarudin lamented the government's alleged move of hiring buzzers, which he said could cause the country's democracy to be susceptible to deviations.

Tim Majalah Tempo, Jakarta – The Indonesian presidential palace – in Majalah Tempo's latest headline story – found a number of leads suspecting the involvement of buzzers that are believed to have been intentionally mobilized to reiterate several government agendas.

Wahyudi Akmaliah – Late last week, Indonesian social media users were shocked by the news that two TV stations in Hary Tanoesoedibjo's MNC Group, RCTI and iNews, were challenging the Broadcasting Law in the Constitutional Court.

Jakarta – The 212 Alumni Brotherhood (PA 212), which is part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) National Anti-Communist Alliance (ANAK), plans to hold joint screenings (nobar) of the film "Betrayal of the September 30 Movement/Indonesian Communist Party" (G30S/PKI). The screenings will be organised simultaneously around the country on September 30.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) is set to dismiss its personnel found to have been involved in a recent attack on the Ciracas Police station in East Jakarta, Army chief of staff Gen. Andika Perkasa has said.

Budi Sutrisno, Jakarta – House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani said the House and the government must immediately discuss the revision to Law No. 4/1984 on communicable disease outbreaks in order to improve the national health system amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Heru Andriyanto & Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – Indonesia has seen the toughest month yet in the coronavirus outbreak with daily cases passing the 3,000 mark for the first time and Jakarta also starting to report four-digit daily rises.

Southeast Asia's biggest country has a total of 174,796 cases, including 7,417 deaths, as of Monday.

Epidemiologists have raised concerns over the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, which has led to a crisis at health facilities following the country's consecutive long weekends that saw high mobility among the people.

Kiki Siregar, Jakarta: "Do you have land to sell?" That was the million-dollar question in Penajam Paser Utara and Kutai Kartanegara last year following President Joko Widodo's announcement that the country's capital would move from megacity Jakarta to the underdeveloped districts in East Kalimantan province.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto revealed that three TNI soldiers had admitted to having vandalized several vehicles during an attack on Ciracas police station in East Jakarta on early Saturday (August 29).

Jakarta has 4,456 hospital beds with 483 intensive care units (ICU) in 67 hospitals set aside for treating Covid-1

Bogor municipality in West Java has imposed a curfew to limit out-of-home activities at night after health authorities confirmed an increasing trend in COVID-19 cases across the city.

Malls will be required to close at 6 p.m. and people will be prohibited from conducting outdoor activities after 9 p.m.

Jakarta – The Jakarta administration reported 1,114 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the capital's highest one-day total so far.

In a statement released on Sunday afternoon, the administration said that most of the new infections were suspected to have occurred during the recent long weekends for Independence Day (Aug. 15 to 17) and Islamic New Year (Aug. 20 to 23).

Coordinating Legal, Political, and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD encouraged artists and cultural practitioners in the region to campaign for public adherence to health protocols during his visit to Yogyakarta on Saturday.

COVID-19 has not only strained the health of many survivors but also their relationships with friends and neighbors.

A 24-year-old survivor of the illness in Surabaya, East Java, who asked to be identified as Ayu said some of her colleagues greeted her coldly when she returned to work from a month of self-isolation and a hospital stay in late July.

Mong Palatino – On August 25, a petition was submitted to Timor-Leste's Minister for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers asking for the rejection of the proposal to restore criminal defamation in the country's penal laws.

Georgia Simcox For Mailonline – A mutated coronavirus strain which is said to be 10 times more infectious has been found in Indonesia as cases in the country surge.

Indonesia reported 2,858 new infections on Sunday, below the previous day's record of 3,308 but above the past month's daily average, data by the health ministry showed.

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – It was an hour past midnight on Sept. 9, 2019, when Joni, a teenage boy living in an orphanage, was awakened by what he described as a "painful feeling" on his genitals. When he opened his eyes, he beheld a nightmare.

Nivell Rayda, Beting, West Java – With a watchful eye, Sanusi scanned the water in front of him as he drove his wooden boat along an unnamed narrow offshoot of West Java's Citarum River.

The tide is low, revealing mangrove tree roots jutting out of the water, binding themselves to the loose and slowly eroding mud along the riverbank.

Jakarta – The Jakarta Red Cross has only about 20 percent of its usual stock of blood because of a decline in blood donations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jakarta Deputy Governor Riza Patria said the Red Cross was collecting between 100 and 200 bags of donated blood a day, a fraction of the pre-pandemic average of 1,000 bags a day.

Ghina Ghaliya, Jakarta – A coalition of civil society groups has called on the House of Representatives to repeal problematic articles in the revision to the Constitutional Court (MK) Law, alleging they contain conflicts of interest that can harm the Court's impartiality.

Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie, Jakarta – Indonesia has recorded another record daily high in confirmed COVID-19 cases with 3,308 new cases confirmed on Saturday, bringing the national tally to 169,195 confirmed cases.

Alya Nurbaiti, Jakarta – The Agriculture Ministry will revise a 2020 ministerial decree that lists marijuana as a "medicinal plant" under the ministry's supervision.

Signed on Feb. 3, the decree includes marijuana (Cannabis sativa) as one of 66 medicinal plants whose production is under the supervision of the ministry's horticulture directorate general.

Jakarta (Bloomberg) – Indonesia's efforts to revive the economy took a stumble as coronavirus outbreaks forced factories in one of its biggest manufacturing hubs to shut.

Ghina Ghaliya, Jakarta – The ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has recommended Vice President Ma'ruf Amin's grandson, Adly Fairuz, as a candidate for deputy regent in the upcoming regional elections in Karawang, West Java.

Margareth S. Aritonang and Evi Mariani, Jakarta/Depok/Bogor – A proverb says that it takes a village to raise a child but oftentimes, it takes only a person to ruin a child's life and in Depok, West Java, a whole community of powerful adults seems to have abandoned children who were allegedly molested in a locally run Catholic orphanage.

Imam Hamdi, Jakarta – The government was advised to implement partial lockdown in the regions with a high rate of Covid-19 transmission.

Senior Biostatistician, European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Uni Eropa, Bakhtiar Hasan, said based on his study, the countries that succeeded in containing the virus transmission were those that imposed a lockdown.