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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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).

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Advocacy and Justice Action Campaign (AKSI) community admits that it is disappointed by an Agriculture Ministry (Kepmentan) decision to revise a 2020 ministerial decree that lists marijuana as a medicinal plant.

Aristyo Darmawan – At the inauguration of the new chief of Indonesia's Maritime Security Agency (BAKAMLA) in February 2020, Indonesian President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo expressed hope 'that BAKAMLA will be the embryo of an Indonesian coast guard', with a long-term view to BAKLAMA having overarching authority over maritime security.

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.

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.

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.

Jakarta – The government plans to provide military education for university students. It is claimed this will increase their love for the country.

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.

Antara, Bayu Marhaenjati, Jakarta – A police office in Ciracas, East Jakarta came under attack by more than 100 people early on Saturday and investigation revealed that a soldier was responsible for the vandalism.

It was the second time in recent years the Ciracas police office was vandalized by soldiers.

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 – Pandu Riono found himself a target of a cyber-attack following his criticism towards the government for the latter's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Twitter account belonging to the epidemiologist with the faculty of public health, University of Indonesia, was hacked last Wednesday, August 19.

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.

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.

Ardito Ramadhan, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) is concerned that revisions to the Constitutional Court Law (UU MK) are being used as a tool for political barter by the government and the House of Representatives (DPR).

Agustinus Beo Da Cost, Jakarta – Workers at Indonesia's Grasberg gold and copper mine on Friday ended a protest demanding an easing of a coronavirus lockdown at the mine operated by a local unit of Freeport-McMoran Inc, a workers' representative and the company said.

Nina A. Loasana, Jakarta – Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim has denied that the emergence of new COVID-19 clusters at schools is a result of schools reopening. He claimed that many teachers tested positive for COVID-19 even before the reopening.

Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie, Jakarta – The Communications and Information Ministry has urged the public not to accuse the government of being behind a recent string of digital attacks against vocal critics, adding that the perpetrators may intend to pit the government against the public.

Ghina Ghaliya, Jakarta – Health authorities confirmed 3,003 new COVID-19 cases in Indonesia on Friday, bringing the official nationwide count to 165,887.

It was the second day in a row for Indonesia to record its highest daily COVID-19 increase. The previous highest daily toll was recorded on Thursday with 2,719 cases confirmed.

James Massola and Karuni Rompies – Indonesia has reported 3,003 coronavirus infections, a single-day record for Australia's near-neighbour.

COVID-19 infection rates have been steadily rising, day-on-day for months in Indonesia as the national government implemented a limited lock down which was quickly wound back.

Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – The government will start to disburse Rp 2.4 million (US$163) in cash aid for workers starting on Thursday as part of its latest measure to boost spending reeling from COVID-19, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has announced.

The pandemic has lowered the income of all kinds of businesses, from small to medium-sized to large, he said.

Imam Hamdi, Jakarta – Epidemiologist at the University of Indonesia, Syahrizal Syarif, reminded the Jakarta government to seriously mitigate the Covid-19 pandemic in the capital city. He said the increasing spread of the new coronavirus potentially caused a crisis in health facilities.

Alya Nurbaiti, Jakarta – Multiple stakeholders have agreed that collaboration to provide reliable vocational training to produce a skilled workforce is needed more than ever if Indonesia wants to reach its goal of becoming a developed country with an annual income of Rp 320 million (US$21,813) per capita in 2045.

Riska Rahman, Jakarta – State-owned cement producer PT Semen Indonesia expects domestic cement demand to contract by 13 to 15 percent this year.

Mardika Parama, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo officially inaugurated Yogyakarta International Airport (YIA) in Kulon Progo regency on Friday, several months after its full operation began in March.

Dzulfiqar Fathur Rahman, Jakarta – The government has spent Rp 183.5 trillion (US$12.6 billion), 26.4 percent, of the total budget for the COVID-19 response, mostly to fund social assistance programs.

Given that we're still in the middle of a pandemic, you must always obey health protocols – even when it's your big day.

A groom from Randugong village of East Java's Pasuruan regency had to suffer the consequences of not wearing a face mask during his wedding on Wednesday night.

Ahmad Faiz, Jakarta – Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet) executive director Damar Juniarto on Thursday's virtual discussion with Tempo highlighted the existence of a systematic and directed series of cyberattacks against journalists, academics, and activists who are included in the "high-risk" group.

Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie, Jakarta – The Jakarta administration is extending the transitional period of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) for another 14 days, beginning Friday to Sept. 10.

Jakarta – The Bogor administration in West Java plans to provide free WiFi across the city to support students and teachers practicing long-distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Budi Irawanto – The short film Tilik (Ladies on Top), directed by young filmmaker Wahyu Agung Prasetya, has become a social media sensation in Indonesia.

It was uploaded to YouTube on 17 August 2020. Since then it has earned more than 16 million views and generated mixed reactions among netizens.

Alya Nurbaiti, Jakarta – Giring Ganesha, the acting chairman of the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), who recently declared his intention to run in the 2024 presidential race, says he has plans to make the most of Indonesia's demographic bonus to boost the economy.

Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie, Jakarta – The Jakarta Post has won the 2020 Public Service Journalism Award from the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) for the #NamaBaikKampus (#CampusReputation) collaboration.