Marchio Irfan Gorbiano, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said on Friday he would not revoke the controversial amendment to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law and would instead accelerate the establishment of a team to supervise the country's antigraft agency.

Beritasatu, Jakarta – Religious Affairs Minister Fachrul Razi said although it was not illegal to wear the niqab, or full-face veil, in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, he would not accept it personally.

Fikri Arigi, Jakarta – Senior investigator of Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Novel Baswedan said he had predicted the police's failure to disclose the case of an acid attack against him. He reminded again the importance of the formation of the Joint Fact-Finding Team (TGPF).

Jakarta (Antara) – Activists from the Wildlife Crime Team (WCT) ask the Indonesian government to form a task force that focuses on handling conflicts between men and the Sumatran tigers in Riau Province. This year, there has been an escalation of conflicts.

Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – The central statistics agency, Statistics Indonesia or BPS, noted slowing production growths in large and medium manufacturing industries over the last two years. In Q3/2019, this production group only recorded a growth of 4.35 percent (yoy), down from 2018's 5.04 percent and 2017's 5.46 percent.

Racism by the ruling class through the security forces and reactionary civil militia groups against the Papuan people has triggered a fight back. The siege and attack on the Papuan student dormitory in the Central Java city of Surabaya on August 16 triggered a wave of anti-racist protests in Papua and across Indonesia.

The recent appointment of Religious Affairs Minister Fachrul Razi was mired in controversy, with religious organizations decrying the fact that the former military general, who never held a post in a religious office, was picked for the role.

Jakarta – Indonesia's environment ministry said on Thursday it would report countries to the Basel Convention, an international treaty on waste reduction, if they refused to accept waste shipments sent back to them by its authorities.

Lembar, Indonesia – Fifteen minutes into their first date, Indonesian teenager Helma Yani received a marriage proposal from a boy she had just met. He spirited her away to a relative's house and a month later, at age 17, they were married.

Jakarta – Newly-appointed Minister of Religious Affairs, Fachrul Razi, has strongly denied information suggesting that he issued a ban on women wearing a niqab in State Ministries. He also asserts that he is not studying the possibility to apply such regulation and will not ban the religious veil.

Primastuti Handayanim, Jakarta – Improving the state of national soccer is undoubtedly a tall order President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has entrusted to his Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali.

Gemma Holliani Cahya, Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan was apparently shocked to learn of the numbers in the capital's draft 2020 budget, which recently invited a chorus of public scrutiny for its massive budget allocation for stationary items.

Jakarta – State-owned electricity company PLN has agreed to provide enough electricity for the government's 10 priority tourist destinations and shore power connections in 11 seaports in the country.

Primus Dorimulu, Jakarta – The Indonesia Stock Exchange has seen the fastest growth in Asia over the past five years and gained 42 new listings so far this year, bringing the total to 656, its president said on Thursday.

The bourse has a target to attract 75 new listings in 2019 and there is still hope that it may achieve this in the remaining two months.

Heru Andriyanto & Lenny Tristia Tambun, Jakarta – The Jakarta provincial government has come under fire for ridiculous budget proposals, including Rp 82 billion ($5.8 million) for a specific brand of glue and Rp 5 billion for public influencers.

Ludhy Cahyana, Jakarta – Directorate General of Natural Resource and Ecosystem Conservation (KSDAE) of Environment and Forestry Ministry was set to open the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary II at Way Kambas National Park, East Lampung, in commemoration of World's Rhino Day.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – Religious Affairs Minister Fachrul Razi planned to hold a training for preachers in a bid to prevent the distribution of provocative teachings to the community through mosques or other places of worship.

Adam Prireza, Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) staffer of monitoring and documentation bureau, Rivanlee Anandar, pointed up the appointment of Police Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) head Comr. Gen. Idham Azis as National Police Chief.

Indonesia is set to expand its abusive blasphemy laws as part of an overhaul of the country's Criminal Code.

In September President Joko Widodo ordered parliament to postpone voting on the draft Criminal Code to allow more time for review. While that raised hopes the six new blasphemy provisions would be revised, it's clear the review won't include them.

Aaron Connelly, Evan A. Laksmana – In late May, riots raged in parts of Jakarta following the announcement that incumbent Indonesian President Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, had been reelected to a second five-year term by nearly 17 million votes.

Max Lane – In announcing his new cabinet on Oct 23, Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has underscored a desire for continuity, both for economic policy as well as political strategy.

Diana Mariska, Jakarta – Eight in 10 Indonesians are aware of the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle, while maintaining a small environmental footprint, according to a recent survey by Tetra Pak, a Sweden-based food processing and packaging solutions firm.

Nur Yasmin, Nusa Dua – Indonesia is taking steps to increase competitiveness and productivity in its palm oil industry, especially through boosting domestic consumption.

Jakarta – Defense Minister and Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto has rebuffed statements from his own party aides, who previously said he would not take his salary and would not use the official car he is entitled to as a minister.

Jakarta – A suggestion proposed by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's minister to ban the niqab in government offices has triggered mixed responses among officials and politicians amid the country's apparent fight against radicalism.

Jakarta – An official of Bandung regency in West Jakarta has urged civil servants in the regency administration to put up family portraits in their work space in a bid to lower the divorce rate among civil servants.

Carlos K.Y. Paath, Jakarta – Prabowo Subianto has denied reports that he would forgo his ministerial salary and decline the use of state facilities, including an official vehicle and residence.

Triyan Pangastuti, Jakarta – Foreign direct investment in Indonesia jumped 18 percent in the third quarter from the same period last year, marking a return of confidence as concerns over political uncertainty and policy discontinuity subsided following the re-election of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Diana Mariska, Jakarta – Most middle-class Indonesians still have a low level of financial literacy, security and inclusion compared with their peers in the Asia-Pacific region, a new study found.

Jakarta (The Jakarta Post) – Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto, who currently serves as the country's defence minister, is no longer barred from entering the United States, which in the past had denied entry to the former military general, a Gerindra executive has said.

James Guild – On 23 October, Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo announced the cabinet for his second term in office, after two days of theatrically staged visits to the presidential palace by high-profile political, military and business figures.

Jakarta – Indonesia is ready to establish a new province called South Papua in the country's easternmost territory, which is currently divided into the two provincial administrations of Papua and West Papua, a minister has said.

David Fickling – If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, what is Indonesia playing at?

Jakarta – Indonesia's state health insurer will raise regular customers' premiums starting 2020 to patch up deficits and the government will chip in to cover this year's $2.3 billion estimated cash shortfall, according to a government statement on Wednesday.

Jakarta – New words that might be more often seen on social media than in textbooks have been included in the Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language of the Language Center (KBBI).

An Instagram account concerning the Indonesian language, @membetulkan, posted on Tuesday that a number of slang words had been included into the Great Dictionary.

Jakarta – The Jakarta administration's 2020 budget draft has caused a stir among the public after it was revealed that it had allocated Rp 82.8 billion (US$5.9 million) to purchase multipurpose glue supposedly for schoolchildren.

Jakarta – A student discussion scrutinizing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration at Udayana University in Bali has been dispersed by the campus' authority on the grounds the event was held without a permit.

Beritasatu, Jakarta – A House of Representatives commission unanimously approved the appointment of Comr. Gen. Idham Azis as the new National Police Chief replacing Tito Karnavian during a hearing on Wednesday.

The approval will be brought to a plenary session for validation on Thursday.

Norman Harsono, Jakarta – Coordinating Maritime and Investment Minister Luhut Panjaitan has backed the decision to temporarily stop nickel ore exports amid violations of export quota.

Jakarta – Many of the ministers selected do not have the right competencies: key posts in the cabinet that should go have gone to technocrats were awarded to politicians or former members of the President's campaign team.

Lani Diana Wijaya, Jakarta – Workers from various organizations staged a demonstration before Jakarta City Hall in Central Jakarta today, Oct. 30. Apart from demanding a hike in the provincial minimum wage (UMP), the Indonesian Trade Unions Confederation (KSPI) president Said Iqbal said that the mass rejected the increase in BPJS Kesehatan premium.

Jakarta – Indonesian textile, garment and tire manufacturers are benefiting from the ongoing trade war between the United States and China, leading to optimism that Southeast Asia's largest economy may overcome global economic turbulence expected next year.

Jakarta – In a show of his care for Papua, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo visited the easternmost territory Monday for his first outing since assuming office for his second term on Oct. 20. He danced with native Papuans, opened a bridge and promised more infrastructure development to improve the wellbeing of the people there.

Anselmus Bata & Dina Manafe, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has issued a regulation that will double the premiums most Indonesian pay for the national health insurance scheme, or BPJS Kesehatan, from next year, as part of government efforts to rein in the scheme's ballooning deficit.

Wahyu Setiawan, Valda Kustarini, Jakarta – Amnesty International believes that resolving cases of human rights violations in Papua is more important than creating a new province. Amnesty Executive Director Usman Hamid says that this is not the right solution for Papua at the moment.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) has released a report which cites educational institutions as one of the main actors in the violation of freedom of expression. Campuses, for example, have prevented students from taking part in protest actions.

Ten people, including several teenagers, were killed in Indonesia's post-election riots, the human rights commission said Tuesday, as it accused police of beating up protesters.

Rangga Prakoso, Jakarta – Indonesian nickel producers agreed on Tuesday to immediately cease ore exports, causing a market shock, which pushed up global prices of the metal and boosted share prices of local producers.

Jakarta – Box office hit Joker appears to have inspired participants of yet another student protest in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), with a number of protesters taking to the streets with their faces painted like the iconic character played by Joaquin Phoenix in the movie.

Jakarta – The Southeast Sulawesi Police have taken disciplinary actions against six officers who carried firearms when they were sent to a rally on Sept. 26 in the provincial capital of Kendari, where two students died while participating in the protest.