Jakarta – The secretary general of the Pramuka Market Pharmacy Traders Association (HPFPP), Yoyon, says that there are manipulations by a cartel related to the price hike and scarcity of facemasks at the Pramuka Market in Matraman, Jakarta. The cartel is taking advantage of the Corona virus scare.

Theresia Sufa, Bogor – Suzethe Margareth, a schizophrenic woman who was charged with blasphemy last year, walked free on Wednesday after a panel of the judges at the Cibinong District Court in Bogor, West Java, absolved her of all charges because of her mental health.

Jakarta – Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini has revealed that she was the one who reported Zikria Dzatil, a homemaker who was arrested for calling Risma a "female frog" in a Facebook post.

"I'm the one who reported her, personally. I signed the report myself," she said on Wednesday as quoted by kompas.com.

Norman Harsono, Jakarta – State-owned oil company Pertamina closed 2019 with a net profit of US$2.1 billion (Rp 28.8 trillion), down 16 percent from $2.5 billion the previous year on the back of weakening commodity prices.

Jakarta – The Bali provincial administration has rejected Timor Leste's request to put 17 of its citizens who are due to be repatriated from China due to the novel coronavirus outbreak into quarantine on the island.

The decision to reject the request was made during a meeting held by the administration on Monday.

Jakarta – The Constitutional Court is questioning why the House of Representatives gave the bill to reform the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which was widely opposed by the public, a reading-speed record in September.

Jakarta – Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto has been reported to the police by a former business partner over allegations of fraud and embezzlement of Rp 500 billion (US$36.3 million).

Lawyer Husdi Herman said his client Yulius Isyudianto reported Agus to the police on Jan. 8 because Yulius had not received settlement money he claimed had been promised by Agus in 2014.

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Surabaya, East Java – Zikria Dzatil – a homemaker and mother of three in Bogor, West Java – had not thought much of a Facebook status she casually posted almost a month ago, in which she lobbed an ad hominem at Tri "Risma" Rismaharini, the mayor of Surabaya in East Java.

Jakarta – East Kalimantan Governor Isran Noor has called on the central government to be more mindful of the lush forests covering parts of the province as Jakarta moves forward with its long-term plan to relocate the country's capital city to the region.

Norman Harsono, Jakarta – Indonesia's largest fuel retailer has lowered the price of its Pertamax and Pertamax Turbo gasoline brands for the second time this year to promote the consumption of nonsubsidized fuels.

Jakarta – The Health Ministry says a shortage of face masks in most cities in Indonesia was triggered by a hoax, instead of concerns over the coronavirus spread.

The ministry was convinced that the hoax made people panic, causing the uncontrolled buying of face masks. Some even turned to hoarding.

Jakarta – Following the outbreak of the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Wuhan, China, hoaxes and conspiracy theories about the novel virus have widely spread online over the past two weeks.

Made Anthony Iswara, Jakarta – Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan has shared a story of his enlightenment that maybe Indonesia, after all, needs to have nuclear power.

Jakarta – Many of the oft-overlooked homeless population across the country struggle to secure decent accommodation and are forced to brave the streets, but few are willing to take things to the extreme that La Udu has done.

Rizal Harahap, Pekanbaru – The management of Kasang Kulim Pekanbaru Zoo in Riau is being investigated over allegations of negligence after one of two leopard cubs sent by the Riau Police to the zoo died on Friday.

The police had confiscated the cubs as evidence in a suspected illegal wildlife smuggling case and placed them at the zoo for safekeeping in December.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) finally declared the coronavirus outbreak a public-health emergency of international concern on 30 January. The Chinese government has put at least 20 cities in lockdown, restricting the movement of more than 50 million people.

A female flogging squad has enraged Indonesian activists. Authorities in the province say more women are committing "moral" offenses, which are punishable in Islamic-conservative Aceh province by whipping or caning.

Ade Mardiyati – One afternoon in May 1998, Eddy Tjondronimpuno Tambuang was at work when he heard that riots were erupting across Jakarta.

Angela Flassy, Jayapura – Tri Susanti a.k.a Mak Susi gets twelve months sentence on Wednesday (29/1/2019). The public prosecutor from Surabaya District Prosecutors Office charges her with Article 14 verse (1) and (2) in conjunction with Article 15 Law No.1 of 1946 of the Criminal Law Code.

M Yusuf Manurung, Jakarta – The name of the person who reported a case of treason to police following a Papuan demonstration in Central Jakarta on August 28, 2019 was revealed during a court hearing yesterday. The person was the Red-and-White Militia (LMP) General Chairperson Adek Erfil Manurung.

Yulia Savitri, Palembang – Indonesian university students who returned from China amid the coronavirus outbreak thought they could rest easy once they arrived in South Sumatra on Saturday.

Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – Indonesia's Directorate General of Customs and Excise and the Singapore Police Coast Guard signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday to increase maritime observation on the sea borders between the two countries and stop illegal activities by organized criminals who are thought to have been funding terror groups in the area.

Lenny Tristia Tambun, Bogor, West Java – Indonesia and Singapore have updated their 29-year old bilateral tax treaty, lowering the tax rate on royalties and net income of companies operating in both countries.

Nur Yasmin, Ridho Syukra, Jakarta – The Indonesian Palm Oil Association, or Gapki, said on Monday that Indonesia is likely to use up 8.3 million tons of palm oil to meet domestic demand for biodiesel this year, raising concerns there won't be enough palm oil left to export.

Asip Hasani and Aman Rochman, Jombang, East Java – Thousands of Pesantren Tebuireng santri (Islamic boarding school students) and national figures have bid farewell to prominent cleric Salahuddin "Gus Sholah" Wahid, the younger brother of former President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, in a funeral within the school compound in Jombang, East Java.

M Yusuf Manurung, Jakarta – East Jakarta Metropolitan District Police Chief Senior Commissioner Ardian Rishadi was presented as a witness by the prosecution at the trial of six Papua activists charged with treason at the Central Jakarta District Court on Monday February 3.

Rhett A. Butler – Tommy Apriando, an esteemed investigative journalist and chairperson of the Yogyakarta branch of Indonesia's Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), died Sunday at the age of 30 after being hospitalized for complications from diabetes.

Dili – East Timor Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak on behalf of the government and the people of his country offer condolences and sympathy to James Dunn's Family.

"I would like to extend our deepest condolences and sympathies to the family for losing a loved one, Mr. James Dunn, who was also a brother and a hero to Timor-Leste," said PM Taur Matan Ruak in a press release.

Friski Riana, Jakarta – Majalah Tempo won the 2019 Adinegoro Award for the category of in-depth reporting for a print mass media. Specifically, the article that won one of Indonesia's highest award for a work of journalism was entitled Hanya Api Semata Api in the magazine's September 23 edition.

Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – Indonesia recorded annual inflation of 2.68 percent in January in applying a new formula for calculating its consumer price index (CPI), Statistics Indonesia (BPS) announced on Monday.

The new formula uses 2018 as the base year of the CPI instead of 2012, as well as a new consumption pattern.

Jakarta – Salahuddin "Gus Sholah" Wahid, a renowned Muslim figure and luminary of the country's largest Islamic group, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), passed away on Sunday evening. He was 77 years old, and is survived by his wife and three children.

Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – A total of 16.1 million foreign tourists visited Indonesia throughout 2019, falling short of the government's target of attracting 20 million tourists, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) announced on Monday, warning that the coronavirus outbreak could cloud the outlook this year.

Gayatri Suroyo and Fransiska Nangoy, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia intervened in spot foreign currency trading as well as domestic non-deliverable forward and bond markets on Monday to stabilize the rupiah, an official said, as the currency fell 0.5 percent to the weakest since mid-January.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has issued a presidential regulation (Perpres) turning the Hindu Dharma State Institute (IHDN) in Denpasar, Bali into the country's first Hindu state university.

Yulia Savitri, Palembang, South Sumatra – Youths in South Sumatra are encouraged to participate in the restoration of degraded forests and land through data crowdsourcing platforms.

RESTORE+ project manager Hidayah Hamzah said such data crowdsourcing used an app available for download called Urundata.

Benny Mawel, Jayapura – During a meeting about the fate of Papuan migrant students after last year's racial abuse incidents in East Java, the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) asked Jember Regent Faida to ensure the safety of the Papuan students in her regency.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government has decided to wage a war against misinformation about China's deadly coronavirus on social media, as dozens of hoaxes about the new virus have been circulating online over the past two weeks.

Joe Cochrane – Indonesia's arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of an American environmental journalist earlier this month, for the "crime" of attending a public legislative hearing on indigenous land rights in Borneo, would be considered uncalled for, in democratic countries, at least.

Cat MacLennan – In 1994, New Zealand sent a cross-party delegation of five MPs to Timor-Leste on a fact-finding mission. It made a real difference, and could do again for West Papuans, writes Cat McLennan.

Ronny Kareni, Canberra – The year 2020 dawns with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's continued blatant avoidance of human rights violations and willful ignorance of West Papuans' right to self-determination.

Tim Lindsey, Tim Mann – Indonesia's booming economy has been growing between 5% and 6% for years and its GDP (PPP) is well ahead of Australia's. A G20 member, it is proud of its new status as an emerging middle-class country, with PricewaterhouseCoopers predicting it will be among the world's top five economies by 2050.

Jakarta – The world's top palm oil producer Indonesia exported a record 36.18 million tonnes of palm oil and its products, including biodiesel and oleochemical last year, data from the Indonesia Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) showed on Monday.

Jakarta – Deputy Trade Minister Jerry Sambuaga joined delegates from the European Union and other countries at a World Trade Organization (WTO) consultation on Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland, to comply with the dispute settlement regarding the EU's objection to a number of Indonesia's coal and mineral policies.

A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil, Apriza Pinandita and Fadli, Jakarta – After repatriating 238 citizens from Wuhan and other cities in China, the Indonesian government declared on Sunday that it would ban all travel to and from China to prevent the spread of a deadly and highly contagious novel coronavirus.

Jakarta – Salahuddin Wahid, a key figure in Indonesia's largest Muslim group Nahdlatul Ulama, passed away during treatment at a Jakarta hospital on Sunday evening. He was 77.

Antara, Jakarta – The National Anti-Narcotics Agency (BNN) has firmly rejected a suggestion raised by a lawmaker of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) to export cannabis, currently categorized as type 1 narcotics.

Jakarta – Activists are calling on President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to withdraw troops from the conflict-prone Nduga, Papua, and take a humanitarian approach instead.

Theresia Sufa, Bogor, West Java – A joint operation involving 700 security personnel was held over the weekend to close down 23 holes from illegal gold mining activities within the area of Mount Pongkor in Bogor regency, West Java.

Jakarta – A contest to save a wild crocodile that has been living with a used motorcycle tire around its neck for years has been cancelled after the Central Sulawesi Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA Central Sulawesi) failed to gain any interest from the community.

Tara Marchelin, Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – All 238 Indonesian citizens who had just returned from the Chinese province of Hubei, the center of the coronavirus outbreak, are in good condition but will continue to be quarantined at a military base on Natuna Island for at least two weeks, Health Ministry officials said on Monday.