Antara, Jakarta – The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) recorded 652 natural disasters that hit several parts of Indonesia in February 2020, left 123 people dead and two others missing.

Antara, Jakarta – The Pekanbaru Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Office (BMKG) detected 11 hotspots indicative of forest fires along the coastal areas of Riau Province on Saturday.

Stanley Widianto, Jakarta – Indonesia has the resources to cope with a coronavirus outbreak, the director of its leading infectious diseases hospital said, defending detection procedures in the Southeast Asian nation of more than 260 million, where no cases have been reported.

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – Back in the 80s, Mr Sahro would peddle his kue putu – steamed rice flour cake filled with palm sugar and served with coconut shavings – door to door.

He had to carry a makeshift steamer and a box of ingredients at opposite ends of a pole and walk from one neighbourhood to the next.

Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has issued a gubernatorial decree on increasing the capital's alertness in response to the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Gemma Holliani Cahya, Jakarta – A new report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) found that Islamic State (IS) supporters who were deported while trying to join the extremist group played a major role in radicalizing neighborhood religious study groups in West Sumatra.

Jakarta – The police have identified a National Nuclear Energy Agency (Batan) employee, identified as SM, as the owner of the illegally possessed radioactive substances recovered from a house in the Batan Indah housing complex in South Tangerang, Banten.

Antara, Jakarta – The 7th Indonesian Muslim Congress (KUII) has urged President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to dissolve the Agency for Pancasila Ideology Education (BPIP) on the grounds it is no longer needed.

Antara, Jakarta – Vice President Ma'ruf Amin drew attention to the threat posed by radicalism and Islamophobia that can spur sectarian conflict in a country for which the government has incessantly promoted social harmony among people.

Introduction

It has been more than two decades since a process of democratic reform was initiated in Indonesia under which the military stepped back from its political role. As part of the reforms, the military were gradually removed both from legislative posts that guaranteed it political representation and also posts in Indonesia's civilian bureaucracy.

Antara, Jakarta – The Joko Widodo (Jokowi) administration has outlined a reduction in the stunting and poverty rates as among the key targets for 2020 under its priority program to hone the quality of Indonesian human resources.

Antara, Jakarta – Papua Provincial Police Chief Inspector General Paulus Waterpauw has confirmed the death of a police officer in a shootout with armed criminal group (KKB) in Kali Kabur, around Arwanop, in Indonesia's easternmost province.

Andi Saputra, Jakarta – The Lokataru Foundation conducted a survey of students on their attitudes towards the policies of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on the Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation. The majority of respondents stated that they did not agree with the Omnibus Law because it is neo-New Order (Orba), authoritarian and repressive.

Diana Mariska, Jakarta – A national program to fill Indonesia's streets with more electric vehicles, or EVs, is still in its infancy, government officials have admitted, as regulations governing it continue to be chopped and changed.

Piter Lokon, Jayapura – Yalimo Students Association in Indonesia (HMKY) states their rejection towards the military plan to build new posts in Abenaho and Apahapsili subdistricts located in Yalimo Regency.

Imam B, Rahmad Nasution, Wamena, Papua – People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo said he urges the government and House of Representatives (DPR) to extend the special autonomy funds for Papua and West Papua Provinces, which will end in 2021.

Marchio Irfan Gorbiano, Jakarta – Former British prime minister Tony Blair has said he is confident Indonesia's new capital city will be a special place, describing the capital relocation plan as an outstanding vision for Indonesia as well as an inspiration for the whole world.

Arya Dipa, Bandung – The Philippine National Defense Department has expressed interest in buying combat vehicles from Indonesia's state-owned weapons manufacturer PT Pindad.

Budi Sutrisno, Jakarta – A recent study has identified Jakarta as among the world's major metropolitan areas on the brink of sinking as a result of rising sea levels and extreme weather caused by climate change.

Jakarta – The Bekasi administration in West Java has planned to reevaluate the building permits for malls, apartments and warehouses located in areas that were hit by floods on Tuesday.

The administration said a thorough reevaluation of such buildings would help to prevent flooding in the future.

Budi Sutrisno, Jakarta – New Zealand and Malaysian authorities reported on Friday that their latest patients infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus had been to Indonesia before getting sick in their respective countries.

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua remains hopeful it will be granted greater status in the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

The Movement has observer status in the MSG, whose full members are Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia's FLNKS group.

James Massola, Jakarta – Passengers on an Emirates Airlines flight from Dubai to Auckland, including a woman who was diagnosed with coronavirus on arrival in New Zealand, spent nearly two hours on the ground in transit in Bali's Denpasar airport.

Denpasar (AFP) – Hundreds of Chinese tourists on vacation in Bali are scrambling to avoid going home, fearing both infection from the deadly new coronavirus and Beijing's handling of the epidemic.

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Okay, here's the deal. If you believe in an interventionist God who cares about national boundaries and will answer your prayers to protect this country from a plague, that's your business.

Rikar Hussein, Ghita Intan, Washington/Jakarta – A recent decision by the government in Jakarta not to repatriate hundreds of its citizens suspected of membership in the Islamic State (IS) terror group has set off a debate over the fate of the Indonesians, with some experts warning it could become an international dilemma if their citizenship is revoked.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Java Jazz Festival has become an annual pilgrimage for many music fans in Indonesia, and not just for fans of jazz.

Held at the JIExpo Kemayoran in Central Jakarta on Feb. 28-March 1, Java Jazz 2020 attracted thousands of music enthusiasts both young and old.

Tara Marchelin, Jakarta – Several factors have contributed to the declining child marriage rate in Indonesia, but a lot more need to be done to enforce the law that protects girls from early marriage.

Jakarta – As SARS-Cov-2 swiftly spreads across the globe, infecting thousands of people from Singapore to Northern Ireland, Indonesian Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto, a devout Christian, attended a national Islamic conference on Wednesday to ask Muslim clerics to pray against the lethal virus.

Riza Roidila Mufti, Jakarta – The government will start blocking unregistered cell phones starting April 18 as it imposes the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) policy to curb the circulation of illegal phones. Blocked phones will not be able to connect to mobile networks.

Made Anthony Iswara, Jakarta – Indonesia has expressed interest in developing railway infrastructure in Bangladesh by joining a tender for the export of 1,050 train cars to the South Asian country.

James Massola – Indonesian authorities have defended their handling of the coronavirus epidemic after Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison cast significant doubt over Indonesia's claim to be free of the virus.

The country – home to about 270 million people – has tested just 136 people and all the results have been negative.

We can't think of anything worse than being told to enjoy a disaster, but one Jakarta official's insensitive statement about this week's floods in the capital proved to be asinine drivel given that he failed to grasp the concepts of fractions and percentages.

Gemma Holliani Cahya, Jakarta – Human rights activists and press organizations have lambasted the Supreme Court's new regulation that prohibits the taking of photographs or making sound and video recordings in courtrooms without proper permits, saying the provision will only benefit the judicial mafia and restrict court transparency.

While debate continues between the Indonesian Ministry of Health and researchers in Indonesia and internationally on Indonesia's capacity to detect and identify coronavirus infections, social media runs hot with various theories.

Jakarta – Recent flooding in Jakarta and its satellite cities has put the city's administration under public scrutiny again.

Social media was the main platform for people to voice their complaints, especially toward Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.

Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia (BI) has pumped Rp 87 trillion (US$6.2 billion) into the domestic bond markets so far this month as big sell-offs sent stock markets around the world into a tailspin amid fears over the global spread of the coronavirus.

Eisya A. Eloksari, Jakarta – Education institutions, food and beverage outlets and fast fashion retailers are gradually replacing department stores at Jakarta shopping malls as the emerging middle class increasingly looks for experience rather than tangible goods, a recent report suggests.

Beritasatu, Jakarta – The Indonesian government employs a transparent approach in containing the spread of the novel coronavirus and strictly follows World Health Organization procedures in treating suspected patients, a top health official said as foreign governments raised doubts about Indonesia's claim of zero local transmission case.

Riska Rahman, Jakarta – Indonesia's benchmark stock index plunged deeper on Friday, trading down more than 4 percent during the morning session and prompting the bourse operator to call for an emergency press briefing. The latest sell-off has been mainly blamed on the coronavirus spreading rapidly outside of China.

Ramadani Saputra, Jakarta – The hitherto headless Indonesian Archery Association (Perpani) is gearing up to accelerate Olympic preparations as it now has a new chief, Illiza Sa'aduddin Djamal, a lawmaker from the United Development Party. The previous chief, Kelik Wirawan had to leave the association for family reasons in December last year.

Jakarta – The Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) office in the East Java capital of Surabaya was besieged by scores of people wearing black safari suits from the mass organisation (ormas) Pancasila Youth (PP) and other affiliated groups.

Jakarta – Almost 1,700 Indonesian nationals have been stranded in a number of transit countries by Saudi Arabia's decision to temporarily ban all foreign umrah (minor haj) pilgrims from entering the country because of concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – Three trade union confederations have agreed to revive the Indonesian Trade Union Council (MPBI) to fight the Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation.

Marchio Irfan Gorbiano, Jakarta – The Indonesian government is involving three international consulting firms in developing the masterplan of the country's new capital city, which is to be located in East Kalimantan.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – A number of Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel armed with rifles, allegedly assaulted the Pahae Julu Police headquarters in North Tapanuli regency, North Sumatra, on Thursday afternoon, resulting in six police officers sustaining injuries.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – A court in Indonesia has ordered the government to publish detailed maps of oil palm plantations in the country's easternmost Papua region, an area increasingly targeted by the plantation and logging companies that have depleted much of the tropical rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo.

Jakarta – Our House of Representatives (DPR) members are truly hilarious. For the sake of "improving family resilience," five politicians from four parties proposed a bill. When the bill's articles triggered controversy, one of the five politicians claimed she has not read the draft bill.

Adam Prireza, Galuh Kurnia Ramadhani, Jakarta – The Police has revealed an illegal face mask production at a warehouse in North Jakarta on Thursday, February 27, 2020. The warehouse is located in the Central Cakung warehouse complex, Cilincing.

Adam Prireza, Taufiq Siddiq, Jakarta – The Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) faction member Justin Adrian Untayana, said that Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan seemed to see Jakarta's flooding as a political stage, questioning the latter's statement that he was focusing on handling the flood victims.