Eva Safitri, Jakarta – The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has released a survey on the perceptions of experts about the construction of the new capital city (IKN) in East Kalimantan. The result, as many as 58.8 percent are not convinced that the IKN will proceed in accordance with the government's target.

Lizzie Cernik – In the summer of 2010, Rainer was volunteering at an underground LGBTQ+ film festival in Jakarta. "I was born and raised in the city and had been part of the festival for a while," he says.

Jayapura, Jubi – Amnesty International Indonesia and Amnesty International Australia made a joint press release to respond to the police's action in dispersing a peaceful protest against the Papua expansion plan as well as Papua's Special Autonomy (Otsus) in Jayapura City on Friday, June 3, 2022.

Kate Lamb, Jakarta – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was in Indonesia on Monday to meet its President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and shore-up relations between the two neighbors, in his first bilateral visit since being elected last month.

Jayapura, Jubi – Spokesperson for the Papuan People's Petition (PRP) Jefri Wenda urges the Papuan Legislative Council (DPRP) and the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) to immediately address people's aspirations in rejecting the creation of new autonomous regions in Papua (Papua expansion) and Papua's Special Autonomy.

Francisca Christy Rosana, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investments Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan on Sunday made it clear that a special policy needs to be enacted to overcome the multiple issues that the Borobudur Temple management comes across too often; littering and vandalism.

Robert Law – Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong's visit to Indonesia is the first step in rebuilding a relationship that warrants more attention. The convention for new prime ministers to make an early visit to Indonesia is recognition of that country's importance to Australia across a range of political, security and economic issues.

Nina Nguyen – East Timor President Ramos-Horta has ruled out a security pact with China's ruling communist regime but defended his country's decision to sign a slew of deals across areas including agriculture and economic cooperation.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The Aceh Police have named former Bener Meriah regent Ahmadi as a suspect of wildlife crime involving the skin of a Sumatran tiger, and have detained him along with two other suspects.

The three suspects face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of Rp 100 million (US$6,928).

Katharine Murphy, Perth – Anthony Albanese had what officials characterised as a "warm and positive" conversation with the Timor-Leste prime minister, Taur Matan Ruak, en route to Jakarta on Sunday.

Jakarta – For the second time in less than three months, Indonesia will steal the show for motorsport enthusiasts around the world. On Saturday, Jakarta will host the Formula E race, the ninth stop of the season, at the newly built Jakarta International E-Prix Circuit in Ancol, North Jakarta, just near the city's most-prominent amusement park.

China's foreign minister signed a series of agreements in Timor-Leste on his final stop of a 10-day diplomatic blitz of the South Pacific on Friday, boosting ties between Beijing and Southeast Asia's youngest country.

Abdul Kadir, Suharto, Makassar, S Sulawesi – The South Sulawesi provincial government has launched the "South Sulawesi Free From Drugs, Find Drug-Free Sons-and Daughters-in Law" Movement as part of the drug eradication program.

Six defendants on trial for the attack on the Kisor Military Post in Maybrat Regency West Papua, were sentenced to between 18 and 20 years in prison on the 31 May.

Victoria Milko and Andi Jatmiko, Babahan, Indonesia – Tossing flowing crests back and forth, three snow-white Bali mynahs share a branch, squawking and looking around with the trademark blue patches around their eyes catching sunlight. Minutes later, four more join – a sight that would have been impossible in the wild two decades ago.

Herman, Jakarta – The National Development Planning Agency, or Bappenas, is proposing the phaseout of vehicles running on gasoline and diesel to pave way for the government's net zero emission target.

The sales of fossil fuel-powered vehicles must be discontinued completely by 2040, according to the proposal being drafted by Bappenas.

Vitorio Mantalean, Jakarta – The Papua Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) says that as of Friday evening, June 3, at least 20 people had been injured as a result of police violence in dealing with protest actions against the creation of new autonomous regions (DOB) in Papua and West Papua provinces.

Sorong Maichel (contributor), Sorong – Police were forced to break up a demonstration opposing the creation of new autonomous regions (DOB) in Papua which was held at the Sorong city Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) office in Sorong, West Papua, on Friday afternoon, June 3.

Hreeloita Dharma S, Suharto, Jakarta – COVID-19 full vaccination coverage among older adults in three provinces in Java is still lower than that of other provinces, a spokesman stated.

David Engel – By going to Jakarta so early in his prime ministership, Anthony Albanese is practising what he preached during the election campaign about the importance he intends attaching to Indonesia.

Riani Sanusi Putri, Jakarta – Environmental watchdog Greenpeace along with a number of civil organizations demanded transparency in the land-cultivation permits (HGU) in order to evaluate the upstream cooking oil industry. Greenpeace forest campaigner Sekar Banjaran Aji assessed that oil palm plantations in the archipelago are mostly controlled by oligarchs.

Jakarta – Two students were reportedly injured today when they were blocked by police during a long-march in the provincial capital of Jayapura opposing new autonomous regions (DOB) in Papua. The police meanwhile have denied this.

As high-tech as the electric race cars whizzing around Ancol's street track this weekend, organizers will also rely on scientific tools to predict the weather – unlike a certain other grand prix in Indonesia.

Tom Allard, Jakarta – Almost 2,500 mortar shells from Serbia bought for Indonesia's spy agency last year were converted to be air-dropped, and some were used in attacks on eight villages in Papua, according to a report from an arms monitoring group and photos provided to Reuters.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Jayapura City Police deployed its forces this morning to a number of locations where the Papuan People's Petition (PRP) mass protested on Friday, June 3, 2022, claiming to secure the action.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Byak'Si Community Movement has submitted to the Synod of the Evangelical Christian Church (GKI) Papua its aspiration to reject the Biak Spaceport development plan in Biak Numfor Regency on Monday, May 30, 2022.

Antara, Jakarta – The spokesman for the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, said the pandemic situation which is getting more controlled recently has led to rising economic growth.

Jakarta – The government is dousing the flame of reform by insisting on the appointment of active military and police officers as acting regional heads, who will assume the jobs until after the simultaneous regional elections in November 2024.

Jakarta – The country's peak Islamic body the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) and the leaders of Islamic ormas (social or mass organisations) have agreed to ask President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and the House of Representatives (DPR) to include Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) practices as criminal acts in the Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP).

For some in the field of medicine, TikTok fun trumps the Hippocratic Oath. A couple of medical workers in Indonesia found themselves facing serious public scrutiny for oversharing on TikTok after they exhibited or implied inappropriate behavior towards people under their care.

An Indonesian man has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for blasphemy towards the Hindu faith, after he was filmed kicking offerings on Mount Semeru in Lumajang, East Java.

The Lumajang District Court handed the sentence to Hadfana Firdaus on Tuesday. If he manages to pay a fine of IDR10 million (US$690), Hadfana will only have to serve 8 months behind bars.

Consensual same-sex relations between adults is not a crime in Indonesia, but calls from religious conservatives to make it so have alarmingly gotten louder.

On Tuesday, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) – the highest clerical body in the nation – held a meeting with leaders of major Islamic organizations in Jakarta in which they discussed the LGBT+ "problem."

Tatang Guritno, Jakarta – The ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) should open itself up to other political parties following the meeting between National Democrat (Nasdem) Party General Chairperson Surya Paloh and Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) Party General Chairperson Prabowo Subianto.

Yogyakarta, Jubi – The Makassar District Court on Tuesday, May 31, 2022, sentenced six defendants in the attack on the Kisor Military Post in Maybrat Regency, West Papua.

Jakarta – The May inflation in Indonesia has accelerated to the highest level since December 2017, as the celebrations for the Islamic holiday Idul Fitri push costs for consumers across the board, from food items to airplane tickets, the country's statistics agency said on Thursday.

Jayapura, Jubi TV – Coordinator of the Papua Peace Network (JDP) Pastor John Bunai says that reconciliation is an option for a Papuan recovery movement.

Previously, the late Pastor Neles Tebay has also called for dialogue to unravel the root causes of Papua's problems with Indonesia. But the voice for dialogue seems to keep ricocheting, never done properly.

Jakarta (Reuters) – Indonesia barred a group of its plantation workers from travelling to Malaysia because recruiters did not follow proper procedures and most of the workers did not have the right visa, the head of the country's migrant worker protection agency said.

Antara, Jakarta – The Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) estimated that 1.26 million hectares, or about 60 percent of the total forest area in Jambi, had been encroached upon or damaged over the last two decades.

Director of Walhi Jambi Abdullah stated on Tuesday that Jambi Province currently had only 840 thousand hectares of forest, with good tree cover.

Last week, Mongabay, BBC News and The Gecko Project released a joint investigation into a scheme that was intended to help lift millions of Indonesians out of poverty and cut them in on the spoils of the global palm oil boom, but has instead been plagued by allegations of exploitation and illegality.

Katharina Reny Lestari – Christians have urged the Indonesian army to take strict action against any group trying to sow discord and create divisions in society after a video of a large motorcycle rally by Muslim extremists calling for an Islamic caliphate went viral on social media.

Andi Ahmad S – The regent of Cianjur in West Java, Herman Suherman, claims to have received data on exactly which state civil servants (ASN) within the Cianjur regency government have deviant sexual relationships or like the same sex.

Craig Harris – My cell phone rang at 4 a.m. On the other end was Victor Yeimo calling from his hospital bed in Jayapura, the capital of West Papua.

Ahmad Rizky M Umar – On 23 May, Anthony Albanese was formally sworn in as the 31st prime minister of Australia.

Konradus Epa – Indonesian security forces shot dead a top separatist in a shootout in the predominantly Christian region of Papua.

Lerinus Murib, a member of the West Papua National Liberation Army and Free Papua Movement, was killed in a clash in Puncak district, on May 27, police spokesman Ahmad Mustofa Kamal said on May 31.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The first stage for the 2024 General Elections begins in less than a month, but the budget has not been disbursed yet.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, in a meeting with the General Elections Commission (KPU) at the Presidential Palace on Monday, May 30, ensured that the government will immediately disburse the budget based on the needs of each stage.

Jakarta (Bloomberg) – Once precious Covid-19 vaccines, now expired, will be destroyed to make way for routine children's immunisations in Indonesia as coronavirus worries ease.

"Our storage facilities are feeling the strain as they're filled with expired doses," Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in a Tuesday (May 31) briefing.

The rights of Indonesia's LGBT community are in the spotlight after a shock jock invited a married gay couple to his YouTube talk show, triggering backlash in the Muslim-majority nation and prompting one official to float a ban on homosexuality.

Vincent Fabian Thomas, Jakarta – The Industry Ministry has announced it would scrap the subsidy for bulk cooking oil, effective from Tuesday, leaving many producers unable to file a subsidy claim for selling the staple food below market prices.

Nur Janti, Jakarta – The government has come under increased pressure to involve indigenous Papuans in the policy-making processes that affect them and to accommodate their will as the state pushes to redistrict the resource-rich region and augment its security presence there.

Jakarta – It is heartening to see how Indonesia is moving to easing restrictions on dual citizenship, although how far reaching and how soon this will happen, we have to wait and see.