Apriadi Gunawan and Ruslan Sangadji, Medan and Palu – Two men who were shot dead on Saturday in Deli Serdang regency, North Sumatra, were allegedly the assemblers of a bomb that recently exploded at the Medan Police headquarters.

Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto has met United States Defense Secretary Mark Thomas Esper in Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday, on the sidelines of the 6th Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, Ministers Meeting.

Jakarta (Antara) – The Ministry of Transportation of the Republic of Indonesia has signed two international agreements on air transportation during a series of meetings in Hanoi, Vietnam, Friday. The meetings were the 48th ASEAN Senior Transport Official Meeting (STOM), the 25th ASEAN Transport Ministers (ATM) Meeting and the ASEAN-Dialog Partners Meeting.

Ian Ahong – November 17 is the commemoration of International Student Day. This commemoration does not automatically emerge from nothing but has a history of struggle against tyrannical power.

Yulida Medistiara, Jakarta – The Nusantara Traditional Community Alliance (AMAN) has criticised the government's plan for couples to take pre-marital lessons on family life and children's welfare before they can get married. AMAN believes that it will be difficult for traditional communities to qualify for this.

Jakarta – Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) has found scores of violations against freedom of religion and worship (KBB) or intolerance in Indonesia over the last year.

Imparsial Program Coordinator Ardimanto Adiputra said that the violations against freedom of religion and worship occurred in a variety of forms.

Dave McRae and Robertus Robet – When Indonesian President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo triggered mass protests in September over his support for regressive amendments to the Criminal Code and the founding statute of Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), he beat a hasty retreat.

Jakarta – The 2019 selection of candidate state civil servants (CPNS) has created a polemic related to a special requirement which is being applied by the Attorney General's Office (AGO) that applicants not have a deviant sexual orientation.

Ed Davies, Stanley Widianto, Jakarta – Indonesia aims to bring in a new law to protect personal data by next year as it follows in the footsteps of Southeast Asian neighbors such as Singapore and also the European Union, the country's new communications minister told Reuters.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The Medan State Administrative Court (PTUN) has rejected a lawsuit against the rector of North Sumatra University (USU) filed by students working with the Suara USU student website who had been fired from the editorial board for publishing a short story touching on lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender (LBGT) issues.

Jakarta – The poor performance of the government in collecting tax revenues is inseparably linked to the weak economy. The government needs to immediately evaluate the effectiveness of its fiscal policy in driving the domestic economy to avoid adverse effects at a time when the global recession is the recession is worsening.

Jakarta (Antara) – President Joko "Jokowi " Widodo targeted to extend the Sumatra toll road construction to reach the Aceh Province as the land acquisition process for the mega project in Aceh is 52 percent complete.

The latest update on the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road is that the entire sections of the toll road will be completely connected by 2024.

Noory Okthariza – Recent protests and riots in Papua and West Papua have reinvigorated the question of how capable the Indonesian government is of addressing problems in the east of the country.

Apriadi Gunawan, Deli Serdang, North Sumatra – Two suspected terrorists were shot dead while one member of the National Police's Densus 88 counterterrorism squad was injured in an exchange of gunfire in Datar city, Hamparan Perak district, Deli Serdang regency in North Sumatra on Saturday.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The Social Media Week (SMW) event in Jakarta has remarkably accomplished its mission on inspiring social media users to create positively impactful online stories.

Creating content on social media such as posts or videos may be simply at the tap of a fingertip. However, many still struggle in creating a positively influential content.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Media magnate and top politician Surya Paloh said he was open to the possibility of amending the 1945 Constitution that limits presidential terms to two periods, so that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo can be elected for a third time.

Diana Mariska, Bali – The government remains strongly committed to the agenda for more startups in the country by establishing a new directorate as the breeding ground for hundreds of applicants, Research and Technology Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said on Friday.

Gardi Gazarin & Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – Police anti-terrorism squad Detachment 88 has arrested several people with alleged links to a terror network, including an employee of state-owned company Krakatau Steel in Banten and a teacher in Cianjur, West Java.

Jakarta (DPA) – The governor of an Indonesian province that is home to the famed Komodo dragon said poor tourists are not welcome there, local media reported on Friday (Nov 15).

East Nusa Tenggara Governor Victor Laiskodat said his province was on the list of Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2020 and therefore should be a premium destination.

Whisnu Bagus Prasetyo, Jakarta – Indonesia's trade balance was back in the black in October as imports declined at a faster rate than exports, the Central Statistics Agency, or BPS, announced on Friday.

Fadli, Batam – Maritime and Fisheries Affairs Minister Edhy Prabowo seems to have decided not to continue former minister Susi Pudjiastuti's tough stance against illegal fishing, as he said he will no longer continue his predecessor's signature ship-sinking policy.

Jakarta – A 7.1-magnitude earthquake that jolted areas in North Maluku and North Sulawesi was followed by dozens of aftershocks within approximately nine hours after the mainshock on late Thursday evening, a government agency has reported.

Devina Heriyanto and Prima Wirayani, Jakarta – Indonesia's rank has fallen in the 2019 Expat Explorer to 31st out of 33 countries, whereas it ranked 13th out of 31 countries last year.

Riza Roidila Mufti, Jakarta – The cycle of poverty has demonstrated its effects on Indonesian children as a recent study shows that kids who are raised in poor families are likely to earn less as adults compared to their higher income counterparts.

The former spy who revealed an Australian bugging scandal in East Timor will face a plea hearing in April. The man known only as Witness K is expected to plead guilty at the start of the three-day hearing.

Thomas Paterson – Three days after being inaugurated as the president of Indonesia for a second five-year term, Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo announced his new cabinet. The appointment of former general and leader of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), Prabowo Subianto, as the new defence minister could spell further trouble for Indonesian democracy.

Friski Riana, Jakarta – Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko suggested every household in Indonesia to breed chickens as part of the stunting prevention program. The chickens are expected to lay eggs, which later can be consumed by children in the family.

Jakarta – As a former Indonesian Military (TNI) general, defence minister Prabowo Subianto should have known that today's warfare is no longer fought on beaches, in trenches or in jungles.

Jakarta – At least two people were injured and some churches and homes damaged after a powerful earthquake struck eastern Indonesia, although residents who had fled to high ground fearing a tsunami had started returning, the disaster agency said on Friday.

Peter Beaumont – Plastic waste exports to south-east Asia have been implicated in extreme levels of toxins entering the human food chain in Indonesia.

A new study that sampled chicken eggs around sites in the country where plastic waste accumulates identified alarming levels of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls long recognised as extremely injurious to human health.

Michael Standaert – Recent dry-season fires that raged across Indonesia in September and October have taken a toll on forests, even in protected areas. Fires were particularly destructive in southern Sumatra, burning around 8 percent of Sembilang National Park, according to satellite data and local observers.

A widely publicized shooting case in West Java's Majalengka regency saw a twist in which the shooter may end up reporting the victim to the police.

It appears that the shooting of a contractor by a civil servant in the Majalengka regency of West Java, which occurred on Sunday night, might get even more twisted.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) announced its willingness to assist President Jokowi's attempt to abolish "law mafia" within Indonesia's bureaucracy system.

"I might argue that this is a major issue," said KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah in Jakarta on Wednesday, November 13, 2019.

Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said he would send military cadets to study in Malaysia. He conveyed the plan during a bilateral meeting with his Malaysian counterpart Mohamad bin Sabu in Malaysia, Thursday, November 14.

Muhammad Hendartyo, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia (BI) noted the state's foreign debt at the end of the Q3/2019 was US$395.6 billion; comprising of US$197.1 billion government and central bank's debts and US$198.5 billion by the private sector, including SOEs.

Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) has opened up possibilities to endorse President Jokowi's eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming, in the 2020 Solo Mayoral Election.

PKS secretary-general Mustafa Kamal said that his party encouraged every nation's child having the capacity and potential to be a leader.

Jakarta (Antara) – Greater Jakarta Transportation Agency (BPTJ) said that the electronic road pricing will be imposed in the city's border areas in 2020.

Jakarta – The Bekasi city administration's decision to give a mandate to thugs disguising as mass organizations to collect parking fees at minimarkets, simply makes no sense. As well as not being effective in contributing to regional coffers, this practice nurtures thuggery and worries the public.

Jakarta – Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) Executive Board Chairperson for Regional Affairs, Tifatul Sembiring, has warned the newly formed People's Wave Party (Gelora) not to poach members from other political parties.

Sembiring made the statement after the formation of the Gelora Party which was initiated by former PKS leaders Anis Matta and Fahri Hamzah.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – The Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) criticized President Jokowi's recent speech that called for the prevention against acts of corruption in front of a room filled with regional heads at Sentul, Bogor, on Wednesday, November 13, 2019. The antigraft watchdog asserted that preventive measures are not the main task of law enforcers.

Lenny Tristia Tambun, Jakarta – The city administration plans a regulation that will ban electric scooter use on the streets, sidewalks, and pedestrian bridges early next year, an official said.

Made Anthony Iswara, Jakarta – January to October domestic car sales have declined by about 11.7 percent from the same period last year, according to data from the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo) compiled by diversified conglomerate Astra International.

Jakarta – Forget conventional campaign events: Candidates running for village chief in Rembun village in Pekalongan, Central Java, have opted for door prizes to attract votes.

Dian Kurniati, Jakarta – The Presidential Palace has confirmed that it plans to revive the law on a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR) which was annulled by the Constitutional Court in 2006.

Yudha Baskoro – Indonesia's amputee football team, the Garuda INAF, has been training hard for the Amputee Football Asian Championship in Kuala Lumpur in February next year, its last stop before the World Cup.The Garuda INAF team first trained together in March last year.

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Surabaya – Muslims are allowed to use the greetings of other religions in order to preserve unity between Indonesians, according to Syaftudin Syarif, the secretary-general of the East Java branch of Nahdlatul Ulama Muslim (PWNU), on Tuesday.

Faisal Maliki Baskoro, Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo gave his blessing on Thursday to former Jakarta governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama to return to public service as an executive at an as yet unnamed state-owned enterprise.

Marchio Irfan Gorbiano, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo told security forces and regional heads not to underestimate signs of public discontent in a speech to members of the Regional Leadership Communication Forum (Forkopimda) at the Sentul International Convention Center, Bogor, West Java, on Wednesday.

Jakarta – A teacher in the rural area of Mappi, Papua, has written an open letter to Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim asking him to pay more attention to the quality of school facilities in the village where she teaches.

Carlos Ky Paath, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has asked regional governments to stop issuing too many local regulations and told his ministries to cull at least ten regulations before issuing a new one to cut bureaucratic red tapes and improve the country's competitiveness.