Aisyah Llewellyn – Two weeks ago, this column discussed the Indonesian Supreme Court's decision to slash the sentences of four convicted murderers, including two police officers, after the defendants appealed their guilty verdicts following the slaying of a young police brigadier.

Antara, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo asked the Jakarta provincial government to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles or EV in a bid to reduce air pollution in the capital city.

Jakarta – A school on Indonesia's main island has partially shaved the heads of more than a dozen girls, its headmaster said Monday, after they were accused of wearing their Islamic hijab headscarves incorrectly.

BeritaSatu, Jakarta – Three low-ranking soldiers, including a member of the elite presidential security unit or Paspampres, have been apprehended for allegedly kidnapping a cosmetic and drug salesman and causing the victim to die from "excessive torture" during their ransom demand.

Jakarta – Indonesia's government has widened public access to a 7 million rupiah ($458.87) subsidy to buy an electric motorcycle after a lack of uptake due to limited eligibility, as it aims for long-term mass adoption of electric vehicles (EVs).

Sebastian Strangio – Myanmar's military government has ordered Timor-Leste's senior diplomat to leave the country in retaliation for a meeting that his government held with the opposition National Unity Government (NUG).

In spite of again being denied full membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has welcomed the call from the MSG Leaders' Summit in Port Vila last week for Indonesia to allow the long-awaited visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to West Papua.

BTV, Surabaya – An Indonesian couple was sentenced to jail on Tuesday for producing and profiting from a video depicting their sexual activities.

The Surabaya District Court found them guilty under the 2008 pornography law and the draconian Electronic Information and Transaction Law.

Timika, Jubi – The families of the murder and mutilation victims in Mimika Regency expressed their dissatisfaction with the decision made by the Appellate Judges Panel of the Surabaya High Military Court III, which reduced the sentence for Maj. Inf. Helmanto Fransiskus Dakhi, the defendant, from life imprisonment to 15 years in jail.

Akhmad Riyadh, Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) head of media information, Ali Fikri, confirmed that his agency conducted a search at the Mayor's Office of Bima, West Nusa Tenggara.

Jakarta – Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin appealed to the public to use masks to prevent respiratory diseases caused by air pollution.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Indonesia's deal with industrialized countries for the latter to channel $20 billion in funding to help speed up the former's energy transition is hitting a snag due to captive coal-fired power plants.

Indonesia is among the world's biggest consumers of coal, the single largest energy source of planet-heating carbon dioxide.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas told reporters on Tuesday that the government was still reviewing its plan to allow Indonesian Muslims to take the hajj pilgrimage only once in their lifetime.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said on Tuesday freedom of expression should not give someone a free pass to discriminate against others based on religion following multiple Quran-burning incidents in Europe.

Nirmala Maulana Achmad, Jakarta – The government is being asked to set history straight on incidents of past gross human rights violations by writing an official national history book.

Hariz Baharudin, Jakarta – Students in parts of the Indonesian capital will do their schooling from home, and more civil servants will also work remotely for a few days as the city hosts the 43rd Asean Summit and other related summits from Sept 2 to 7.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia should not rush into joining BRICS as there are still no clear economic benefits that come from being part of the group that encompasses Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, according to an expert.

Muhammad Ersan Pamungkas – The 1978 novel by Australian author Christopher Koch, titled The Year of Living Dangerously, set primarily in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, describes events leading up to the coup attempt by the now-defunct Communist Party of Indonesia on 30 September 1965 and the hazards in the city in those days given the socio-political conditions.

Jakarta – Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Adm. Yudo Margono has demanded that three soldiers, including one member of the Presidential Security Detail (Paspampres) accused of torturing and murdering a civilian in South Jakarta be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Yangon, Myanmar – Myanmar's junta on Sunday ordered the expulsion of Timor Leste's top diplomat in the country over a meeting his government held with a banned shadow administration.

The Southeast Asian nation has been locked in crisis since the military seized power in February 2021, ending a brief experiment with democracy and sparking violent clashes.

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Megawati Sukarnoputri, the chair of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the largest party in the coalition government, have sharp and probably irreconcilable differences in their approaches to the 2024 presidential race.

Yohana Belinda, Jakarta – The craft of winemaking has come a long way in Indonesia over the past decade, from humble beginnings in East Java's hip-hop community via burgeoning artisanal products to big operations. Bali plays a central role in the business today.

Jakarta – Local authorities have declared a state of emergency following a raging fire that has been burning at Sarimukti landfill in West Bandung regency, West Java, since last week.

Nina A. Loasana, Jakarta – Environmentalists have urged authorities to be consistent and thorough in taking legal action against people and businesses that contribute to Jakarta's air pollution, as the environment ministry moves to arrest suspects and close factories linked to the city's worsening air.

A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil, Jakarta – The Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten) is unfazed by Japan's releasing treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean on Thursday, as it has accepted that any residual tritium would become diluted on entering the open sea, with negligible impacts on distant shores.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The government is banking on the freshly launched light rail transit, popularly known as the LRT, to reduce the traffic in one of the world's most congested cities, Jakarta.

Daniel A. Fajri, Jakarta – The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) led by Benny Wenda presented a false report on the situation in Papua at the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Summit, forcing Indonesia to walk out of the forum.

Tempo.Co, Jakarta – Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud Md said at the inaugural meeting with political exiles in Diemen, the Netherlands, that the state will not apologize to the victims of the 1965-66 massacres.

Mutia Yuantisya, Jakarta – Jakarta Acting Governor Heru Budi Hartono stressed that Jakarta's Regional Budget or APBD was the lowest among other provinces in Java. He challenged those who said otherwise.

Doddy Morris, Port Vila – The controversial multimilion dollar funding that Indonesia is providing to Vanuatu comes in response to a request made by the Vanuatu government, says the Indonesian Ambassador of Indonesia to Vanuatu and Australia.

Jayapura, Jubi – Tropical glaciers in Papua are predicted to vanish within the next three years. The melting of the glacier on Puncak Jaya, the highest peak in Indonesia at 4,884 meters, is being accelerated by this year's El Nino phenomenon.

Jakarta (VNA) – The Indonesian government has lifted a moratorium on sending Indonesian citizens to the Middle East as domestic helpers but cautioned that those who take up offers of employment in the region must follow the proper procedures to ensure they are fully protected.

Grant Wyeth – Last week the 22nd Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Leaders' Summit was held in Port Vila, Vanuatu. The MSG is a regional body that includes Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea as well as the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), an alliance of pro-independence political parties in New Caledonia.

A one-year moratorium has been placed on Indonesia's application to join the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).

Prime Minister James Marape said this was so that Pacific Island Forum could address the West Papua issue and specifically human rights allegations in the province.

Wilda Hayatun Nufus, Jakarta – A former victim of human rights abuses, Sungkono has questioned President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's failure to apologise for the 1965 mass killings.

Agnes Valentina Christa, Jakarta – The Jakarta government is set to increase the electric bus fleet to 100 vehicles, which will be operated by the municipally-owned land transport company, TransJakarta. This move is part of an integrated initiative aimed at reducing vehicle emissions in the capital city.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government on Sunday urged Muslims to undertake the hajj pilgrimage only once in their lifetime due to the endless queue.

A West Papuan leader has condemned the Melanesian Spearhead Group for abandoning the West Papuan cause in favour of a "corrupt alliance" with Indonesia.

Jeffrey P Bomanak, chairman of the Free Papua Organisation (OPM), declared last week's MSG Leaders' Summit ruling on West Papua a "betrayal" of the Papuan people and called for the regional group to be dissolved.

Jakarta – Myanmar's military government has ordered East Timor's top diplomat to leave the country, the government of East Timor – a vocal critic of Myanmar's leadership – said in a statement condemning the rare action.

Singapore – More than 300 servicemen from the Singapore and Indonesian navies took part in a six-day bilateral military exercise in Batam and its surrounding waters.

Charmaine Jacob – Indonesia has ambitious plans to relocate its capital from Jakarta to Nusantara in East Kalimantan.

The move, expected to take place by 2045, is part of Indonesian President Joko Widodo's plan to distribute economic activity throughout the country and reduce the capital's population and traffic congestion.

Antara, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia (BI) recorded foreign capital outflows from the domestic financial market of Rp4.51 trillion in the period 21-24 August 2023.

Stephen Dziedzic and Birtles Bill – The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) had been pressing to gain full membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) – which includes Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea – in what would have given the organisation a rare diplomatic victory in its search for international recognition.

David Robie – The Melanesian Spearhead Group has thrown away a golden chance for achieving a historical step towards justice and peace in West Papua by lacking the courage to accept the main Papuan self-determination advocacy movement as full members.

Muhamad Aulia, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has revealed that it has found three more former corruption convicts that have been nominated as legislative candidates (caleg) in the 2024 elections. This brings the total so far to 15 candidates from an earlier total of 12.

M. Faiz Zaki, Jakarta – Deputy Traffic Director of Jakarta Metro Police Adj. Sr. Comr. Doni Hermawan said the number of motorized vehicles in the capital city reached 23 million as recorded by the police's Vehicle Document Registration Center (Samsat).

Antara, Jakarta – The Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Ministry's Directorate General of Housing said that the official residences of ministers in the new capital city of Nusantara are targeted to be occupiable and lived-in by mid-2024.

Muhammad Sidik Permana, Jakarta – The Bogor City Government announced a fine of Rp10 million for residents who burn trash in a bid to prevent air pollution in the city. The penalties are stipulated in the Regional Regulation (Perda) on Public Order.

Antara, Balikpapan – The Balikpapan Station of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) detected 25 hotspots in East Kalimantan Province on Friday, August 25, 2023. Related parties are advised to take immediate action to prevent the fire from spreading.

Mutia Yuantisya, Jakarta – The Jakarta Environment Agency is determined to force all industries in the capital to install scrubbers and a continuous emission monitoring system (CEMS) in an effort to curb air pollution.