M Julnis Firmansyah, Jakarta – A spokesman for the COVID-19 Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, confirmed that the enforcement of the public activity restrictions or PPKM policy is still in effect today, May 9, 2022, as referred to the Home Affairs Ministerial Instructions No. 22/2022 and No. 23/2022.

Yudha Baskoro, Jakarta – Dust and coal ash are polluting the low-cost apartment complex of Rusunawa Marunda in Cilincing, North Jakarta.

Jakarta – The Humanitarian Coalition for Papua is urging the authorities to immediately and fully investigate an attack on the Papua Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) offices in Jayapura. According to the Coalition, police must also take steps to anticipate and prevent similar attacks from taking place.

Stephanie Sinclair, Daniel Fitzgerald and Amy Phillips – The Australian government has offered Indonesia financial support to secure a vaccine to contain an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia recently announced that it so far had detected 15 cases of acute hepatitis.

"There are 15 cases [of acute hepatitis] in Indonesia," Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told a press briefing on Monday.

A popular Joe Rogan-esque podcast in Indonesia is facing backlash and calls for boycott from the country's conservatives over a recent episode featuring a gay married couple.

The Ukraine military offensive and the economic sanctions against Russia are putting Indonesian manufacturers in a tight spot, as increasing import costs eat into profit margins. Economists are saying it will only be a matter of time before firms pass on costs to customers.

Zacharias Wuragil, Jakarta – Two regions in Indonesia in the first seven days of May recorded the highest air temperatures that measuring up to 36.1 degrees celsius, which the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) says explains the searing heat felt by a number of people the past few days.

Antara, Jakarta – Civil servants are allowed to work from home this whole week to help ease traffic congestion as millions of people are returning to the capital city from their hometowns after Idul Fitri, the biggest holiday season for Indonesian Muslims.

For nearly 60 years, West Papua, a region in the easternmost stretches of the Indonesian archipelago, has been engaged in one of the longest-running independence struggles of any region in the world against occupying Indonesia. Despite the longevity of the independence campaign, it has often escaped the notice of international outlets and Western audiences.

Aisyah Llewellyn, Medan, Indonesia – Indonesia is coming under growing international pressure over its ban on palm oil exports amid soaring food prices worldwide.

Antara, Jakarta – Statistics Indonesia recorded a 5.01 percent growth in Indonesia's first-quarter economy (YoY) which is said to be attributed to recovering economic activities post Covid-19 pandemic. Statistic Indonesia head Margo Yuwono also mentioned the low base effect.

Vento Saudale & Heru Andriyanto, Bogor – Police have confiscated an ambulance used to transport a dozen people to the Puncak resort area in Bogor and another car modified to look like an ambulance to beat traffic in the same area, an officer said on Sunday.

Jakarta – Bank Rakyat Indonesia, or BRI, the country's second-largest lender by asset, said its loan disbursement to the small and medium business, or SME, a segment in the first quarter this year had exceeded the level at the beginning of the pandemic Covid-19.

Jakarta – The next governors of Jakarta and the city's residents bear the responsibility to preserve and maximize the use of the newly built Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) in North Jakarta, which was constructed for the well-being of the people. It often happens that new leaders abandon or neglect the works of their predecessors for no reason.

Konradus Epa – Police in West Java province of Indonesia have charged a man with blasphemy for trampling on a Quran and hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims.

Cepdika Eka Rismana, 25, a resident of Sukabumi city in West Java, was arrested at a restaurant in the city on May 5, police said. He was then charged with blasphemy.

Ryan Dagur – Timor-Leste's government has launched a national program to combat endemic malnutrition that afflicts nearly half of children under five in the Catholic-majority nation.

Ni Komang Erviani, Denpasar – Bali Governor I Wayan Koster has reiterated that the province will not tolerate any foreign nationals who do not respect the local culture as authorities deported on Friday night a Russian couple caught in a viral video, which shows one of the pair posing naked by a sacred tree at a temple compound.

Yance Agapa, Paniai – Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid is asking the government to halt the planned gold mine at Wabu Block in Intan Jaya regency, until there is agreement from the Papua indigenous people in the area.

Beritasatu, Jakarta – At least 476 people were killed in traffic accidents during the last week of Ramadan and the following three days when Indonesian Muslims celebrated their biggest holiday of Idul Fitri, according to data from state-owned insurance company Jasa Raharja.

Katharina Reny Lestari – More than 1,600 Indonesia Catholics from 70 countries will participate in the first virtual Easter celebration to be organized by five Catholic groups.

Jakarta – Accompanied by his only son, fashion designer Didit Hediprasetyo, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, who also chairs the country's third-largest party, Gerindra, visited Indonesia's two most powerful figures, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in Yogyakarta and former president and chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Megawati Soekarnoputri, in Ja

Aisyah Llewellyn, Medan, Indonesia – Lampang has been a miner at a community gold mine in Indonesia's East Kalimantan for more than 30 years. Even still, he does not like to talk openly about his work.

Jayapura, Jubi – Indonesian President Joko Widodo or Jokowi is urged to immediately follow up on the recommendations of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) in 2017 and 2018 regarding the rights fulfillment of 8,300 laid-off workers of PT Freeport Indonesia.

Muhammad Aulia, Jakarta – Four members of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's cabinet will likely run in the 2024 election as either presidential candidates or running mates and it's safe to say that they are part of the country's small group of wealthiest individuals.

Mutia Yuantisya, Jakarta – President of the Labour Party Said Iqbal, said that around 100 thousand laborers will hold a rally in front of the Hosue of Representatives building as a commemoration of International Labour Day or May Day on May 14, 2022. In the rally, laborers will make 16 demands.

Ardito Ramadhan, Jakarta – Paramadina University political observer Ahmad Khoirul Umam says that the Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) General Chairperson and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto's goodwill safari (safari silaturahmi) on Idul Fitri 1443 H this year was ridden with political nuance.

Mike Foley – An outbreak of the highly infectious foot and mouth disease has been reported in Indonesia's East Java, posing a potential multibillion-dollar threat to the Australian livestock industry's disease-free status.

Bengaluru – Indonesia's annual economic growth likely remained steady in the first quarter as commodities exports partly offset weak consumer spending due to mobility curbs imposed to stop the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, a Reuters poll found.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – An independent initiative in Indonesia has mapped Indigenous lands covering an area half the size of Germany since it began in 2010, nearly a third of it in the past six months alone.

Dina Septiani (360info), Surabaya – A social media cyber war raged throughout Indonesia's past two presidential elections. The effects are still being felt by journalists years later – online discussions have been skewed to give the impression of a majority view, and those who disagree stay quiet.

Neo Chai Chin, Natuna, Indonesia – The risks are "very high" whenever Natuna fisherman Indra goes to sea. Waves can reach up to eight metres during the monsoon, and he remembers his boat once nearly capsizing during a "terrifying" storm.

But for him, the sea is life. "I love being at sea," said the 40-year-old, who goes by one name.

Kornelius Purba – Indonesian policymakers, from the highest to the lowest rung ladder, need to read and discuss with open minds an article that appeared in The Conversation titled "Despite its Pacific 'step-up', Australia is still not listening to the region, new research shows". Published on Feb.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan is one of few names the National Democratic Party, or Nasdem, considers nominating for the 2024 presidential elections, a party executive said on Thursday.

Ryan Dagur – Timor-Leste's president-elect Jose Ramos-Horta held meetings with Catholic leaders, including the Vatican envoy, to discuss government and church cooperation in addressing poor education, one of the most pressing problems in the Catholic-majority country.

Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – A few more suspected cases of acute hepatitis among children have been reported in Indonesia after the deaths of three paediatric patients allegedly caused by the unknown liver ailment that has affected children across the globe, the country's Health Ministry said on Thursday (May 5).

Masduki (360info), Yogyakarta – In the pre-digital autocratic era, Indonesian state officials controlled the media through direct censorship, advertising and strict media policies. The government could control the media by selectively deploying its annual advertising budget.

Parker Novak – The results of Timor-Leste's 19 April presidential run-off were unsurprising, with challenger Jose Ramos-Horta besting the incumbent, Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres, by a 24 per cent margin. As the dust settles in advance of Horta's inauguration on 20 May, the key takeaways from the election are clear.

What happens next is anything but.

Konradus Epa – Papuan students have called on the Indonesian government to arrest military commanders involved in human rights violations in the country's restive easternmost region.

Aimee Gabay – "When I was a kid, it was easy to find and catch fish and to see hatchlings of turtles walking around the beach on my way to school," says Matla'ah, a resident of Gili Indah village on Gili Trawangan, a sun-kissed island popular with divers between the better-known Indonesian islands of Bali and Lombok.

Jakarta – Indonesia's manufacturing sector expansion has accelerated in April thanks to improving economic activities that spur employment and purchasing activity, according to the latest S&P Global Purchasing Manager Index, or PMI, data.

Tonggo Simangunsong – The sun was still about half an hour from rising when the sound of dangdut music broke the morning silence in the eucalyptus plantation barracks. The workers woke up from their sleep, rushing to get ready.

Houston/Melbourne – East Timor's national oil company wants to start producing natural gas from its Greater Sunrise fields by 2028 or 2030, the company's head said on Tuesday in Houston, hoping to develop the offshore project that has been stuck in limbo for decades.

Jayapura – Data shows that the expansion of a region is highly dependent on the increase in Locally Generated Income (PAD), whose main components are regional taxes and levies.

Fitri Bintang Timur and Jovita Komala – In February 2022, Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto signed agreements with France to purchase 42 Dassault Rafale fighter jets and two Scorpene-class submarines. Soon after, the United States conditionally approved the sale of 36 F-15EX fighter jets.

Herlambang P. Wiratraman (360info), Yogyakarta – Digital authoritarianism is becoming entrenched in Indonesia. New media laws offered the promise of protection, but online attacks have only increased in recent years.

Catholic-majority Timor-Leste has moved forward with the adoption of two international treaties aimed at ensuring the rights of disabled people.

Ahalla Tsauro and Firmanda Taufiq – The neo-FPI, the latest reincarnation of the Islamic Defenders Front, has sought to make a clean break from its controversial predecessor. Indonesians should take it with a dollop of salt.

Claire Jiao – Indonesia's wealth fund may not reach its $200 billion goal in the time frame set out by the country's president, as it aims to ensure sufficient returns for the state before making investments, according to its chief executive officer.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Lawmakers in Indonesia are pressing the government to uncover the true scale of illegal oil palm plantations in the country, following the revelation that the state missed out on more than $3 billion in taxes from these operations last year alone.