Ian Lloyd Neubauer, Jakarta, Indonesia – Described by British prosecutors as "the worst-known sex offender in the country's history," Indonesian exchange student Reynhard Sinaga drugged and sexually assaulted nearly 200 men in Manchester over several years.
But Sinaga, who was sentenced to life earlier this month, is not the only one being punished for his crimes.
Asni Ovier, Jakarta – Indonesian film "Lima" has been invited to the 16th Kazan International Muslim Film Festival in the Russian Federation state of Tatarstan scheduled for September.
Film director Lola Amaria received the invitation from Tatarstan Culture Minister Irada Ayupova.
Jakarta – Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors plan to appeal a sentence handed down to graft convict and former United Development Party (PPP) chairman Muhammad "Romy" Romahurmuziy, deeming the punishment too light in comparison to the severity of his crimes.
Wulan Danoekoesoemo, Jakarta – Guess which Southeast Asian city has been ranked one of the most dangerous places for women?
According to the Thomson Reuters Foundation's 2017 poll, Jakarta makes the top 10 of this list, coming in at seventh most dangerous city in terms of the risk of sexual violence against women.
Abid A. Adonis – "We don't see these people as Muslim refugees. We consider them Muslim invaders," Viktor Orban, Hungarian Prime Minister.
If the aforementioned interview quote from Bild was well-known among Indonesians and wide-spread among bapak-bapak's Whatsapp groups, Viktor Orban would have been welcomed differently in his latest three days visit to Indonesia.
Budi Sutrisno, Jakarta – A video made by students of SD Samudrajaya 04 state elementary school in Samudrajaya village, Tarumajaya district, Bekasi regency, West Java, in which they publicly requested the help of officials to have their school repaired, has gone viral on social media.
James Massola and Karuni Rompies, Jakarta – The streaming company doesn't want to talk about it. The head of the fatwa board denies it. The mobile phone company is quibbling over it – even as the ministry confirms it.
And meanwhile, local users are infuriated by it.
Rizal Harahap, Pekanbaru – The Riau Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA Riau) is putting GPS collars on a herd of wild elephants in Riau for the first time in an effort to reduce conflict between animals and humans.
Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – State-owned port operator Pelindo I has denied selling illegal fuel to Singapore boats through ship-to-ship transfer in the waters off the coast of Nipah Island, Riau Islands.
Panca Nugraha, Mataram – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) is opposing the administration's plan to construct a cable car facility around Mount Rinjani on Lombok Island.
Jakarta – Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD plans to deport award-winning journalist Philip Jacobson, who allegedly violated his visa restrictions.
"I will contact the National Police and the Law and Human Rights Ministry's Immigration Directorate General to deport him as soon as possible," Mahfud said on Friday.
Riska Rahman, Jakarta – State-owned Bank Mandiri booked almost 10 percent profit growth in 2019, although the figure was lower than in 2018 due to slowing loan growth.
Jakarta – Muhammadiyah has declared electronic cigarettes and vaping as haram in a fatwa issued recently by the second biggest Muslim organization in the country.
The organization's central executive board's tarjih (lawmaking) and tadjid (reform) council outlined the fatwa in a decree on e-cigarettes issued on Jan. 14 in Yogyakarta.
Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has called on all ministers and state officials to be more careful about making statements in public.
Michael Koziol – The acting director of the War Memorial has promised its trouble-plagued official history of Australia's deployment to East Timor is back on track after an intervention from Foreign Minister Marise Payne.
Halida Bung, Jakarta – Acting spokesman of Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Ali Fikri said an issue on the obstruction of justice allegedly committed by Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly in the graft case of Harun Masiku needed to be explored.
Jakarta – Land and forest fires have hit at least seven areas in North Penajam Paser regency in East Kalimantan – the region that is to host part of Indonesia's new capital – over the past two days, according to local authorities.
Andita Rahma, Halida Bunga, Dio Suhenda, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) is pressing President Joko Widodo or Jokowi to remove Yasonna Laoly from his position as Minister of Law and Human Rights (Menkumham).
Jakarta – If only President Joko Widodo and the House of Representatives (DPR) had not blunted the spearhead of Indonesia's anti-corruption agency, this embarrassing drama would not have happened.
Kevin Ng – When I first saw AksiKamisan (Act of Thursday), it was quite surprising. How come a group of people, gathering around in front of the presidential palace every Thursday demanding clarity from the government on serious human rights violation cases? The attendees are the victim's families, students, and people who care about the truth.
Diana Mariska, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has decided to extend the service of anti-illegal fishing task force Satgas 115 following an evaluation by related ministries and state agencies.
Whisnu Bagus Prasetyo, Jakarta – Top executives from Americans technology giants Qualcomm and Amazon met with Minister of Communication and Information Technology Johnny G. Plate on Thursday to convey their interest in investing in Indonesia.
Marchio Irfan Gorbiano, Jakarta – Indonesia and Hungary have vowed to strengthen bilateral relations, particularly at the people-to-people level, as well as the two countries' economic ties following Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's meeting with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Thursday.
Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Surabaya – The head and all the staffers of community unit (RW) 03 at Bangkingan village in Surabaya, East Java made a public apology on Tuesday after issuing a circular that contained racist sentiments.
The circular issued on Jan. 12 went viral on social media on Tuesday and received a backlash from people condemning the racial statements.
Jakarta – Flooding has occurred in parts of Jakarta on as a result of heavy rain in the early hours of Friday morning, according to data from the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD).
The BPBD recorded 54 inundated areas across the capital, of which 28 are located in North Jakarta.
Norman Harsono, Jakarta – The government expects four smelters with a combined annual input capacity of 2.07 million tons and output capacity of 200,923 tons to begin operations this year.
Jakarta – A joint team of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police shot dead an apparent member of an Intan Jaya-based armed criminal group (KKB) for allegedly resisting arrest in Nabire regency, Papua on Monday. The deceased has been identified only as NM, 35.
Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The fires that raze vast swaths of Indonesian Borneo every year are having a lasting health impact on the region's critically endangered orangutans that threatens them with extinction, a new study has found.
Erin Cook – If 2019 was the Year of Living Excitedly, with the world's biggest-ever one-day polls returning President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to his post, 2020 will be the Year of Quietly Getting on With It. After securing a broad mandate, the government has virtually a clear path to institute reforms and launch its ambitious plan to move the seat of government to Kalimantan.
Antara, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the Attorney General's Office (AGO) have agreed to continue the legal process of one of Indonesia's worst human rights violations cases known as the first and the second Semanggi tragedies.
Jakarta – The Jakarta Police on Wednesday named an East Jakarta resident a suspect of hate speech after he threatened to expel "the Chinese" from the neighborhood.
The chairman of the Betawi Islam Movement (Goib), Andy M. Saleh, was arrested in his house in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta.
Police in Pringsewu regency in Lampung province recently arrested a 40-year-old man for raping his 15-year-old stepdaughter, with a neighbor also suspected of raping the underage girl on numerous occasions.
Agus Pabika, Jayapura – The Provincial Government of Papua would attempt to address problems facing the exodus students who continue to stay in Jayapura City, Papua.
Papua Provincial Secretary Herry Dosinaen told hundreds of exodus students who wish to meet Papua Governor Lukas Enembe in a meeting facilitated by the Papuan People's Assembly.
Marchio Irfan Gorbiano, Jakarta – The government is set to conduct a population census, which are done every 10 years, next month to update data on the country's demographics.
Apriadi Gunawan and Ardila Syakriah, Medan, North Sumatra – Many Indonesians are preparing to celebrate the Chinese New Year, which falls on Saturday, with religious rituals and festive attractions.
In Medan, North Sumatra, Buddhists are visiting temples to perform prayers for their ancestors ahead of the Chinese New Year, locally known as Imlek.
Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Friday questioned the secretary-general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Hasto Kristiyanto over an alleged bribery case that has implicated some of the party's members.
Dyaning Pangestika, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has listed 50 bills to be prioritized in the 2020 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) during its eighth plenary session on Wednesday.
Of the 50 priority bills, four are omnibus bills. Here is the list of the House's priority bills for 2020:
Fadli, Batam, Riau Islands – A religious studies teacher at SMKN 1 state vocational high school in Anambas regency, Riau Islands, is to be slapped with a warning letter after calling a female student lonte (prostitute), which led her to drop out of school as she was "traumatized" by the verbal abuse.
Apriadi Gunawan, Medan, North Sumatra – Hundreds of Batak people in North Sumatra have kick started a campaign to protest a proposed plan to cull domesticated pigs across the province following the sudden deaths of thousands of pigs from the recent African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in the region.
Jakarta – The government plans to relax environmental impact analysis (Amdal) requirements as it seeks to improve the country's ease of doing business, a minister has said.
Karina M. Tehusijarana, Jakarta – Halal makeup producer Wardah Cosmetics has issued a statement denying its involvement in an anti-feminist and anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) event.
Wardah's logo was used on a poster of an event held by Majelis Umat Rabbani Nur Islam [MURNI] at the Al-Mukhlishin Mosque with the theme 'The Danger of Feminism and LGBT'.
Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia (BI) has decided to hold its benchmark interest rate at 5 percent amid a plunge in loan growth and improvements in the global and domestic economy.
Jakarta – Cargill Indonesia, the local arm of the US agribusiness giant, has pointed to regulatory consistency as vital to attaining the desired impacts of the omnibus law, as legal uncertainty can hurt businesses.
Jakarta – The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has said that it is ready to issue a fatwa against popular streaming service Netflix should the platform be reported and found to have hosted "negative" content.
Jakarta – Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly has apologized for provoking the ire of Tanjung Priok residents in North Jakarta following his negative description of the area.
During a speech at Jatinegara Prison in East Jakarta on Jan. 16, the minister stated that Tanjung Priok was an example of a "slum" as well as the source of all sorts of crime due to poverty.
Jakarta – The Indonesian Ombudsman has formed a team to investigate the Financial Service Authority (OJK) amid growing complaints from the public against the financial watchdog's poor supervision, following revelations of a financial fiasco involving insurance companies Jiwasraya, Asabri and Bumiputera.
Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – The Finance Ministry is set to issue project-linked Sharia sovereign bonds (SBSN) this year to fund the development of 728 projects worth Rp 27.35 trillion (US$2 billion).
Emma Kluge – Activism and protests marked West Papua's 50th anniversary last year of the so-called Act of Free Choice, which formalised Indonesia's control over the territory, with the region's people once again demanding independence from Indonesia.
Indonesia ranks fifth in the world for stunting. In 2013, nine million children, a third of Indonesian children aged under five years, were stunted, meaning that they were too short for their age
Philip Jacobson has been detained since Tuesday, not long after he attended a community meeting between the provincial government and the Indigenous People's Alliance of the Archipelago – a community group with a long history of dispute ove