Washington/Jakarta – Indonesia and the United States have elevated their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, following a bilateral meeting on Monday between President Joe Biden and his Indonesian counterpart, Mr Joko Widodo.

Jayapura, Jubi – Students and indigenous advocates protested at the Southwest Papua Forestry Office in Jayapura's Kilo 7 on Monday (13/11/2023), pleading to the Indonesian Minister of Environment and Forestry to revoke the licenses issued to PT Mancaraya Agro Mandiri and PT Hutan Hijau Papua Barat for forest exploitation.

Nabire, Jubi – Teachers and students from the Titigi Catholic Education and School Foundation Elementary (SD YPPK Titigi) protested at the Intan Jaya Regent's Office in Sugapa, the capital of Intan Jaya, Central Papua Province, on Tuesday (14/11/2023).

Tenggara Strategics – The plan to extend the Whoosh! high-speed rail (HSR) to Surabaya is entering its early stages. The route extension, which currently only connects Jakarta and Bandung, is necessary to increase the high-speed public transport utilization from its current state.

Nathanael Sumaktoyo – On 25 October Prabowo Subianto registered his candidacy for Indonesia's 2024 presidential election. This declaration itself carried little surprise.

Jakarta – Southeast Asian defence ministers meet in Indonesia alongside key players in the Indo-Pacific this week, with the ASEAN bloc set to reinforce a message of centrality as major powers jostle for influence in the region.

Nuri Yatul Hikmah, Jakarta – Ahead of a concert by British band Coldplay in Jakarta, a clash broke out between police and protesters from the 1511 Anti-LGBT National Movement (Geranati LGBT).

The clash occurred at the u-turn in front of the Mulia Hotel in the direction of Jalan Asia Afrika in Senayan, Jakarta, on the afternoon of Wednesday November 15.

About 20 percent of young people in Timor-Leste do not study or work due to lack of education, limitations in healthcare provision and ineffective social protection, according to a report from the World Bank (WB).

Ade Irma J, Resinta Sulistiyandari, Jakarta – Israel's aggression on Palestine did not have a significant impact on Indonesian trade, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS).

BPS' Deputy for Distribution and Service Statistics, Pudji Ismartini, stated that this was due to the small percentage of export and import activity from both Israel and Palestine to Indonesia.

Amy Heppy, Jakarta – The Indonesian Retailers Association (Aprindo) commented on the recent demand for a boycott of products linked to Israel in the wake of the Israeli attacks on Palestine. Aprindo's chair Roy Nicholas Mandey said that people have the right to choose what goods to buy according to their needs.

North Sumatra police arrested two siblings allegedly involved in the illegal trade of Sumatran tiger pelts and pangolin scales at a hotel in Padang Sidimpuan city, North Sumatra, last weekend.

North Sumatra police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Hadi Wahyudi said the suspects, identified as Martua Simarmata, 44, and Daud Yusuf Simarmata, 41, are residents of Padang Sidimpuan city.

Yustinus Paat & Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – All three presidential candidates shared messages of unity and peace on Tuesday evening as they gathered in a ceremony packed with their supporters to draw ballot numbers at the General Election Commission (KPU) building in Jakarta.

Jakarta – Two Jakarta-based human rights activists were indicted Monday by the public prosecutor, which sought years-long sentences for both in a defamation case brought against them by a top minister.

Human rights groups have criticised the government for what they say is an increasing crackdown on rights defenders, particularly against critics of the government.

Jakarta – Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto on Monday criticized the European Union over its ban on palm oil imports and said Europeans during colonial times were also guilty of deforestation.

The EU in April passed a law which would ban imports of commodities linked to forest destruction, including palm oil of which Indonesia is the world's biggest producer.

Ihsanuddin, Jakarta – The advocacy team for democracy says it regrets the sentences demanded by the public prosecutor (JPU) against former Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Fatia Maulidiyanti and the founder of the Lokataru Human Rights Foundation Haris Azhar in a case of alleged defamation against Coordinating Maritime and Investment Minst

Jakarta – After several reviews between 2020 and June this year Indonesia was admitted late last month into membership of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental organization that was established to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

Washington – US President Joe Biden celebrated a "new era" in the relationship between the United States and Indonesia as he met with Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo at the White House on Monday, formalizing closer ties with the world's third-largest democracy and a heavyweight player in Southeast Asia.

Kukuh S. Wibowo, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) member Mochammad Afifuddin mentioned that the commission deployed 74 personnel to safeguard the three pairs of presidential-vice presidential candidates ahead of the 2024 general elections.

Sydney – At Australia's largest university, Monash, an estimated 9,000 Australians started undergraduate studies in 2023. Yet fewer than 20 of these chose to study Bahasa Indonesia – the language of the country's largest neighbour.

The startlingly low intake at the university is part of a worrying trend that has played out across Australia at universities and schools.

Daniel A. Fajri, Jakarta – Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto has been outspoken about his stance on the European Union. He argued that present conditions have changed, and Western countries is no longer in control.

Jakarta – The Blitar government – alongside the General Election Commission (KPU) and the Elections Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) – signed Monday a series of agreements related to the election grants.

Jakarta – About one hundred Rohingya landed in Indonesia's Aceh province on Tuesday, the chief of a local fishing community said, the latest batch of people to have fled Myanmar by boat this year.

Dewa Ketut S W, Resinta Sulistiyandari, Badung, Bali – The Transportation Ministry offers opportunities for the private sector to manage government-run ports to reduce the state budget burden.

Divya Karyza, Jakarta – Indonesia's early coal retirement program has received paltry funding in the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), which experts say indicates how hard it is to persuade donors and financial heavyweights to back the program.

Jayapura, Jubi – Head of the Komnas HAM Papua Frits Ramandei confirms his party would pursue justice in the murder case of two women, identified as IS and AK, in Yahukimo Regency, Mountainous Papua Province.

Jakarta – Prosecutors on Monday recommended four years of imprisonment for Haris Azhar and three and a half years for fellow rights activist Fatia Maulidyanti in a defamation trial initiated by Chief Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

Nina A. Loasana, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Edward "Eddy" Omar Sharif Hiariej as a suspect in a bribery case pertaining to an ownership dispute of a nickel mining company in South Sulawesi.

Jakarta – The New Order regime has only been gone for a quarter century and with Indonesia preparing for another general election next year, we have every reason to believe that everything is moving in the right direction.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Former Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri has criticized a recent decision by the Constitutional Court, founded during her term in 2003, which cleared the way for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's son to become a running mate for a rival presidential candidate.

Defara Dhanya, Aisyah Amira Wakang, Antara, Jakarta – The National Strategic Food Prices Information Center from Bank Indonesia recorded that chili prices in Indonesia have skyrocketed.

Yohana Belinda, Jakarta – While the government has pledged to crack down on low-value imported goods, The Jakarta Post encountered no problems purchasing shoes for less than US$4 a pair from e-commerce platforms.

Theresia Silalahi, Jakarta – In a unanimous decision, representatives of all political parties in the House of Representatives Defense Commission on Monday approved the nomination of General Agus Subiyanto as the new Commander of the Armed Forces.

Novianti Setuningsih, Jakarta – Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) General Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri and National Democrat Party (Nasdem) General Chairperson Surya Paloh have expressed concerns ahead of the 2024 general elections.

Han Revanda Putra, Jakarta – The Secretary of Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming's National Campaign Team (TKN) Nusron Wahid responded to the abuse of power allegation. The allegation arose due to suspected police involvement in the running candidate's billboard installment.

Jakarta – Indonesia's central bank expects headline inflation to accelerate to 3.2 per cent next year due to higher global food and energy prices, its governor said on Monday, vowing to manage rising costs.

Perry Warjiyo made the remarks in a parliamentary hearing discussing the central bank's budget for 2024.

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – The increasingly estranged relationship between President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the largest party in his coalition government, in the run up to the February general election will likely undermine the way he governs the country for the remaining 11 months of his term.

Eko Listiyorini – Indonesia will limit ground water use to conserve water supply and halt land subsidence that already plagues its capital Jakarta.

Jakarta – The National Food Agency (Bapanas) is expecting a two-month delay in next year's harvest due to an extended drought nationwide caused by El Nino, with a projection that the earliest harvest will occur in May.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto has no plan to change the direction of Indonesia's economic diplomacy that puts emphasis on driving the domestic processing of its natural resources.

Prabowo on Monday took the floor to lay out his foreign policy strategies if he got elected as president.

Ade Ridwan Yandwiputra, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission or KPK announced that it had arrested Acting Regent of Sorong Yen Piet Mosso and four regional officials in a sting operation.

Jakarta – Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto has opened up a wide lead over his closest rival in a new opinion poll, despite controversy over his decision to pick outgoing leader Joko Widodo's son as his running mate.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – The General Election Commission (KPU) on Monday announced that all three presidential candidates and their running mates, including the 36-year-old son of President Joko Widodo, have fulfilled the administrative requirements to participate in the February election.

Rafi Adis Subarna – Indonesia has long been wooing Tesla to open its production facilities at home but the investment plan realization has yet to be fruitful. Back-and-forth negotiations have been run over the past few years and the results remain to be seen.

Ahmad Faiz Ibnu Sani, Jakarta – The peaceful rally to defend Palestine will be held again in Indonesia in the City of Bekasi on Sunday morning, November 12, 2023, starting from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., or during the car-free day (CFD).

Jakarta – After being held in Jakarta, Defend Palestine actions have also taken place in Bekasi, West Java. Although being held on Car Free Day (CFD), the action proceeded in an orderly fashion with tens of thousands filling Jalan Ahmad Yani in Bekasi city on Sunday November 12.

Andi F, Tegar Nurfitra, Jakarta – Israel's ongoing atrocities against the people of Palestine constitute a grave violation against international law and values of humanity, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) affirmed during a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Faisal Maliki Baskoro, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo appealed for Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) members to unite and take a leading role in resolving the situation in Gaza. Jokowi also urged for an immediate ceasefire, rejecting Israel's self-defense justification and labeling it as collective punishment.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia once again urged for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, while stressing that Israel's barbaric actions are not an act of self-defense.

Jakarta – Tens of thousands of people poured onto Jalan Gubernur Suryo in front of the State Grahadi Building in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya on Sunday November 12 to hold a Defend Palestine action and condemn Israeli colonial aggression in the Gaza Strip.

Jakarta – A number of religious figures and prominent human rights activists have called for dialogue to end violence in Papua, where incidents of violence continue as a result of conflict between armed separatist groups and the military and police.