Boyolali, Central Java – President Joko Widodo had an intimate moment with Governor Ganjar Pranowo of Central Java during his official trip to the province on Monday.

Herman, Jakarta – Japanese auto giant Honda Motor Co. is preparing two models of electric motorbikes for the Indonesian market where the government is pushing for vehicle electrification and offering generous incentives for owners of emission-free vehicles.

Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – The Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) urged the government to stop the discussion on the Health Bill and seriously consider the massive rejection of the bill voiced by doctors, health workers, and medical students.

M Julnis Firmansyah, Jakarta – The electability of Indonesia's major political party PDIP experienced a nosedive right after FIFA revoked Indonesia's status to host the U-20 World Cup, according to the latest Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) poll held from March 31 to April 4.

Jayapura, Jubi – A total of 13 West Papua National Committee (KNPB) Sentani activists were arrested by police at the Sentani Old Market in Jayapura Regency on Saturday, April 8, 2023, while distributing leaflets calling for the people to join a protest demanding the release of KPNB activist charged for alleged treason, Viktor Yeimo.

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – Pro-government political parties are making a move to build a grand alliance for the 2024 presidential election, which, if materialized, will turn the race into a three-way tie as has been widely predicted.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The Indigenous Peoples' Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), the main advocacy group for Indigenous communities in Indonesia, has won a 2023 Skoll Award for Social Innovation.

Since its establishment in 1999, AMAN has been advocating for Indigenous rights to prevent communities from having their lands stolen.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The property, real estate, and building construction sectors contributed 14.63 percent to the national gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022, according to a study by the research institute LPEM of the University of Indonesia's Economic and Business Faculty.

We may have our differences when it comes to the pronunciation of QRIS, but hopefully we can all agree that using the electronic transaction tool to steal from a mosque is an abomination.

Riri Rahayu, Jakarta – The government is targeting an annual production of shrimp of up to 2 million tons starting in 2024.

BeritaSatu, Jakarta – Former Democratic Party Chairman Anas Urbaningrum is set to get out of prison on Tuesday after serving his time for graft conviction and a colleague said he will deliver a speech directed to former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, better known as SBY.

Singgih Wiryono, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia is urging the police to release 76 Papuan activists that were arrested for distributing leaflets calling for the release of Victor Yeimo, who is currently on trial for treason.

Amnesty International Executive Director Usman Hamid said all of the activists should be released without exception.

It came a decade-and-a-half too late, by Bogor Mayor Bima Arya's own admission, but the Taman Yasmin Indonesia Christian Church (GKI Yasmin) congregation now finally, officially have a house of worship to call their own.

Jayapura, Jubi – Secretary of the Papua Provincial Health Office Aaron Rumainum said the number of specialists in Papua Province was sufficient but their distribution to nine regencies and cities across Papua was not equal.

Raul Dancel, Singapore – Some ice cream after a meal of instant noodles is always welcome, but mashed up and served together?

That is exactly what an Indonesian food manufacturing giant has done, topping a cone of ice cream with a sprinkling of its best-selling Indomie instant noodle.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Chief Investment Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said on Monday that Indonesia had been negotiating with China to lower the loan interest rate to cover the cost overrun of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train project.

Stefanno Sulaiman, Jakarta – Indonesia will propose a free trade agreement for some minerals shipped to the United States so that companies in the electric vehicle battery supply chain operating in the country can benefit from U.S. tax credits, a senior minister said on Monday.

Basten Gokkon, Balikpapan/Jakarta – A clearing for the ramp to a new toll road in the Indonesian Bornean city of Balikpapan gapes open on the side of a paved highway as big trucks rumble past.

Antara, Jakarta – Amidst celebrating the 77th-anniversary commemoration of the Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU), House of Representatives (DPR) speaker Puan Maharani on Sunday said she will back the move to modernize the country's primary weapons system (Alutsista).

Jakarta – It is of great concern that the state of civic space in Indonesia continues to deteriorate under the President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo administration. Indonesia may never aspire to become a liberal democracy, but the growing onslaught on our civil liberties is just inexcusable.

Chris Fitzgerald – Last month, the Indonesian government made a firm commitment to the United Nations to improve the human-rights situation in the country.

This comes as the UN Human Rights Council adopted Indonesia's Fourth Cycle Universal Periodic Review Report at its meeting in Geneva on March 27.

Phillip Mehrtens – The authorities in Indonesia's Papua region say the search for a New Zealand pilot taken hostage by the West Papua Liberation Movement has been extended.

Philip Mehrtens, a pilot for Susi Airlines, was taken hostage in the remote Nduga district on 7 February.

BTV, Jakarta – A Jakarta judge on Monday found a 15-year-old girl guilty of becoming complicit in the brutal attack of a teenage boy by Mario Dandy Satriyo and sentenced her to three and a half years in juvenile prison.

The attack on Feb. 19 left the victim David Ozora in a coma for weeks after he was punched and kicked in the head by Mario.

Antara, Jakarta – The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has captured six fishing vessels – flying the Philippines and Vietnam flags – that have allegedly committed illegal fishing over the North Natuna Sea and Sulawesi waters.

Dio Suhenda, Jakarta – The government is urging holidaymakers to start traveling to their hometowns earlier in hopes of avoiding widespread traffic congestion during the upcoming Idul Fitri holiday, which is expected to be the biggest mudik (exodus) season since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – More than three-quarters of Indonesians are satisfied with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's job performance rating, the highest number of approval since 2015, according to a new survey published on Sunday.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta. Dream Theater has invited avid rock fan President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to attend their upcoming concert in Jakarta.

Liam Gammon – If you enjoy watching opposing teams fight each other to a scoreless draw, soccer's the sport for you. Failing that, Indonesian politics can often give the same effect.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) Chairman Prabowo Subianto demonstrated yet again that he is the central figure in the current movement to build the so-called grand coalition for the 2024 presidential election, as he received a visit from National Mandate Party (PAN) Chairman Zulkilfi Hasan on Saturday.

Jakarta – Few would doubt, even among Christians, that Easter is less merry compared with Christmas. For businesspeople, too, the Easter holiday offers fewer opportunities to sell their products than during Christmas, the festivities for which begin at the start of December or even earlier.

Richaldo Hariandja, Balikpapan, Indonesia – As the small red car came to a halt, the window slid down and a hand emerged, tossing some yellow crackers on the ground. Seconds later, a group of southern pig-tailed macaques, a monkey species native to the island of Borneo, swarmed the area and devoured the food in an instant.

Nur Rofiah – In Islam, clergymen interpret how marriage is done, sometimes allowing child brides. Clergywomen want substantive justice to stop the practice.

In a country of religious people, religious interpretation is a double-edged sword. It can be a spiritual force to eradicate injustice but is often misused to legitimize it.

Muhammad Aulia, Jakarta – Meranti Islands Regent Muhammad Ali is accused of illegally collecting Rp 26 billion ($1.7 million) in cash from his own subordinates and a travel company for his personal interests, including his gubernatorial aspiration for the 2024 election.

Chloe Whelan – Shocking footage has emerged of "trash tsunamis" flowing down waterways in Indonesia as plastic waste piles up in the tourist hotspot.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – Separatist group Free Papua Movement or OPM asked to have a peaceful negotiation with the Indonesian government, the Military (TNI), and the police concerning the hostage of Philip Mark Merthens, a pilot for Susi Air. They asked the TNI and the police to stop military operations to rescue to New Zealand man.

Jakarta – The results of Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy research reveal that the city of Cilegon in Banten province occupies the 94th position or the lowest ranking in the 2022 City Tolerance Index with a score of 3.227. First place or the most tolerant city was secured by Singkawang, West Kalimantan, with a score of 6.583.

Makassar – A demonstration by Papuan students commemorating 56 years of PT Freeport Indonesia in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar on April 7 was broken up by the Indonesian Muslim Brigade (BMI) and a biker gang as the protesters were marching towards the Mandala Monument.

Jakarta – Development fund allocated for Indonesia's soccer association is being frozen by FIFA after the country was stripped as hosts of this year's Under-20 World Cup, soccer's governing body said on Thursday.

Firdaus Cahyadi – "In Indonesia, now, wherever you look there is corruption," the country's Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security, Mohammad Mahfud Mahmodin (Mahfud MD), said in Kompas recently.

Fadli, Batam – Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD is questioning the National Police over their handling of a human trafficking case in Riau Islands province in which they have yet to detain any suspects.

Mahfud said he was appalled that the two suspects who had been named still remained free.

Muhammad Aulia, Jakarta – The regent of oil-rich Meranti lslands Regency who has controversially threatened to "take up arms" in protest of disproportionate revenue sharing with the central government has been arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission or KPK.

Adhyasta Dirgantara, Jakarta – Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) Advisory Board Chairperson Badaruddin Andi Picunang says that his party has "acquired" the Berkarya Party (Working Party) regional leadership board (DPW) offices in Jakarta.

Herman, Jakarta – The Transport Ministry is telling airlines, particularly those who serve domestic routes, to make their economy-class tickets cheaper as the Eid holiday exodus is approaching.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – World football governing body FIFA handed an administrative sanction to Indonesia after the country was stripped of the right to host the U-20 World Cup just a month before the tournament begins due to local opposition to Israel's participation.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Finance Minister Sri Mulyani recently revealed that the government has prepared a generous outlay of up to Rp 695.3 trillion ($46.5 billion) on the education sector for next year, reaching a historic high.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The Finance Ministry is planning to earmark up to Rp 200.8 trillion ($13.4 billion) for the 2024 healthcare budget, as the government gets increasingly concerned about Indonesia's stunting prevalence and high tuberculosis incidence.

Jakarta – Initial public offerings (IPOs) by two nickel companies on the Indonesia Stock Exchange show unmistakably that the government's downstream industry push has come a long way.

Aryo Putranto Saptohutomo, Jakarta – Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) Deputy Chairperson Ardi Manto Adiputra is concerned that the formation of new regional military commands (Kodam) in every province, including the new autonomous regions (DOB) in Papua, will be prone to politicisation.

Jakarta – Indonesia, the world's biggest palm oil biodiesel user, is now working to introduce bioethanol mandates for gasoline to further cut fuel imports and carbon emissions, but it will first have to secure more bio feedstock and solve thorny technical problems.

Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in a press statement on Thursday elaborated on the government's reasoning behind the decision to import 2 million tons of rice grains until the end of this year.