As Friday prayers wrap up at Suada mosque, worshippers turn their attention outside where Fakhry Affan steers a drone high above, snapping pictures of the building tucked in a corner of Indonesia's Sulawesi island.

Indonesia's controversial Information and Electronic Transactions Act (UU ITE) is so far-reaching in its application that one ongoing lawsuit is serving as a reminder not to publicly call out people who owe you money online.

Jakarta – The United Kingdom has reiterated its commitment to continue defense cooperation with Indonesia, particularly in the maritime sector, UK Minister for Asia and the Pacific Heather Wheeler said on Wednesday.

Diana Mariska, Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission, or Komnas HAM, has sent an official letter to the mayor of Depok, one of Jakarta's satellite cities located south of the capital, asking him to cancel a plan for a raid on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the area.

Bisnis, Jakarta – The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced that Indonesia's poverty rate up to September 2019 reached 9.22 percent. This is a 0.19 percentage point reduction from March of the same year and slightly dropped 0.44 percent point compared to September 2018.

Jakarta – It's only fitting we give full respect to the investigators of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) who made a tenacious effort to apprehend the Secretary-General of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Hasto Kristiyanto.In the face of waning public faith in the KPK, they bravely fought against all manner of pressure to unearth the case of suspected

Beritasatu, Jakarta – Indonesia's poverty rate was down to 9.22 percent according to the latest survey in September 2019, the government announced on Wednesday. Surveys on poverty are conducted twice a year, in March and September.

Herman, Jakarta – Indonesia's trade deficit narrowed to $3.2 billion last year as consumers and producers took a punt on a brake on imports, the Central Statistics Agency, or BPS, reported on Wednesday.

Antara, Jakarta – Traffic flow on Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat bound for Istana Merdeka is smooth and orderly, despite the protest held by online ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers. The protesters are part of the Ojol Nusantara Bergerak organization.

Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said on Wednesday he expected the government to complete three much-anticipated omnibus bills by next week.

"I have asked for a final draft of the bills this week," the president said in Jakarta after a meeting to discuss the omnibus bills for job creation and taxation.

Jakarta – Newly appointed Financial Services Authority (OJK) ex-officio commissioner Suahasil Nazara says he aims to strengthen the agency's supervision of both the banking and nonbanking financial sectors to better detect potential threats.

Diana Mariska, Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission, or Komnas HAM, has thrown their support behind Sudarto, a rights activist from cross-community study center Pusaka Foundation, who is facing criminal charges for posting on social media about the ban to celebrate Christmas in two districts in West Sumatra last year.

Jakarta – Labor and student groups continue to demonstrate against the government's omnibus bill on job creation. They say they have been excluded and are seeking involvement in the creation of a regulation that, as it stands, is expected to change Indonesia's labor market to be more flexible and attractive for investors.

Marchio Irfan Gorbiano, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia (BI) is expected to continue with its dovish monetary policy this year to encourage Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth amid low inflation and easing external pressures, economists have said.

Jakarta – Totok Santosa Hadiningrat, a resident of Purworejo in Central Java, has declared himself king of Keraton Agung Sejagat (The World Empire), which he claims to be the "mother of all states."

Totok invited reporters to a building in Pogung village, Bayan district, Purworejo regency, on Sunday to announce the new kingdom's existence.

Sarah Yuniarni, Jakarta – The capital market in Indonesia is at an interesting crossroads. On one hand, a host of companies are queuing up to tap the stock markets against a backdrop of strong macroeconomic fundamentals, while on the other, some are adopting a 'wait-and-see' policy before taking the plunge.

Rina Chandran, Bangkok – More than 200 Jakarta residents have filed a lawsuit against the governor of Indonesia's capital as they seek to hold authorities responsible over their inaction during some of the deadliest flooding in years, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said.

A supervisor for the Indonesian Scouts Movement (Pramuka) in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta has apologized for allegedly teaching small children a bigoted chant, footage of which went viral in the country this week.

An online campaign aiming to sway public opinion against Netflix in Indonesia has not yielded its desired outcome, as netizens in the country defended the streaming giant in numbers against attempts at justifying its partial censorship.

Badung, Bali – A villa in Bali which provides special services for gays located on Drona Lane in Seminyak, Badung, has created an uproar. There are four villas which allegedly provide special services for gays.

Stanley Widianto, Jakarta – Indonesia's human rights commission on Tuesday condemned plans by a mayor to launch raids targeting the LGBT community in his city after a local man was convicted in Britain of sexually assaulting 48 men.

Krithika Varagur, Jakarta – The mayor in the home city of an Indonesian man described as Britain's "most prolific rapist" has ordered raids to uncover members of the LGBT community, prompting fears of a growing homophobic backlash across the country.

Nur Yasmin, Jakarta – New film "Anak Garuda," or "Children of Garuda," produced by the Selamat Pagi Indonesia School in Batu, East Java, has transformed the heartbreaking stories of young people living in poverty into a tale to inspire others like them to dream big.

A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil, Jakarta – Jakarta is a concrete jungle with almost 90 percent of its area built over, leaving only 10 percent for green space, a leading cause of flooding in the capital. While the blame is often put on skyscrapers and business districts, residential areas are not entirely free from the problem.

Jakarta – The widespread flooding that hit Greater Jakarta on the first day of 2020 has led to a shouting match between those protesting Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan over his administration's handling of the natural disaster and his own supporters.

Jakarta – Amnesty International is urging the Depok municipal government to immediately revoke a call for raids on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) groups in Depok city. Amnesty International Indonesia Director Usman Hamid says the move to conduct raids on LGBT groups is ruthless, inhuman and demeans their dignity as human beings.

Abusive laws proposed, minorities face persistent harassment

Jakarta – Indonesia faced serious threats to human rights in 2019 stemming from proposed laws restricting basic freedoms and deteriorating protections for marginalized groups, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2020.

Muhammad Hendartyo, Jakarta – In an official bilateral state visit to France's Ministry of Armed Forces, the Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto asserts that it acts as a means to strengthen the defense partnership between both states and also improve Indonesia's defense industry.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) spokesman Ali Fikri strongly denies allegations stating that its sting operation (OTT) had been compromised prior to the arrest of the General Elections Commission (KPU) commissioner Wahyu Setiawan.

Antara, Jakarta – Minister of Environment and Forestry (LHK) Siti Nurbaya has stated that a rehabilitation of around 800,000 hectares (ha) of land is needed to help to lower the increasing temperature, as stipulated in the contribution target of the Paris Agreements.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – Abraham Samad, former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman, said that investigators only had a few hours after a sting operation to conduct a search. Samad said that swift action is vital to prevent evidence from being lost.

Evarianus S, Rahmad Nasution, Timika, Papua – Papua Police Chief Inspector General Paulus Waterpauw warned his men against getting involved in arms trafficking activities with the armed criminal groups in Papua Province and said he would take stern action against them.

Tarcisius Kabutaulaka – In July 2019, at the inaugural Indonesian Exposition held in Auckland, New Zealand, Indonesia launched its 'Pacific Elevation', laying claim to a Pacific islands identity and touting its elevated engagement with the region.

Jeffrey Hutton, Jakarta – Victims of the recent floods in the Indonesian capital are preparing a class action suit against regional governments, alleging that officials failed to adequately protect the public from flooding caused by a torrential downpour over the New Year, media reports said.

Yohanes Sulaiman – Indonesia has been sending mixed signals in responding to China's breach of its exclusive economic zone around the Natuna Islands, near the South China Sea.

The Natuna sea is within 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) of Indonesia's coastline, making it part of Indonesia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Jakarta – The police are reinforcing five newly formed regional police units in five regencies of the restive Papua province, which has been rocked by unrest over the past few months.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has asked Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed to join the steering committee of Indonesia's planned new capital city.

The President made the request at a bilateral meeting during his working trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday night.

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – Heavy rain over the weekend has caused flooding in four regencies and one municipality in South Sulawesi, with at least one fatality.

The disaster comes less than two weeks after the widespread flooding that hit Greater Jakarta and Banten on New Year's Day.

Jakarta – People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo has called on the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) to conduct a large-scale audit on every state-owned insurance and pension fund firm in the country.

The move is expected to map out a more feasible investment scheme and prevent liquidity issues.

Riska Rahman, Jakarta – State-owned insurance company Asuransi Sosial Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia (Asabri) has been implicated in a corruption case after its stock portfolio plunged, prompting scrutiny from high-ranking officials.

Lani Diana Wijaya, Jakarta – A volunteer activist for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo Kris Cantra, has announced that President Jokowi's supporters will hold a demonstration in front of the City Hall, Central Jakarta, on January 14, 2020. Kris stated that the demonstration will demand current Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, to step down from his position.

Andita Rahma, Jakarta – The Indonesian National Police (Polri) arrested the hacker who managed to alter the website of the Central Jakarta District Court and the Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Brimob).

Budi Sutrisno, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo took his huge vision for Indonesia's new capital to the stage in Abu Dhabi on Monday as he invited nations and businesses from around the world to invest in the country's soon-to-be-built administrative hub, which will replace Jakarta.

Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – Judges at the Central Jakarta District Court postponed a court session during a trial for six Papuan rights activists accused of treason on Monday since two of the defendants, both originally from Papua, chose to wear the "koteka," or traditional penis gourds, inside the courtroom.

Jakarta – The panel of judges at the Central Jakarta District Court has postponed a hearing scheduled to hear a rebottle by the prosecution against a demurrer by the lawyers representing Surya Anta and five other Papua activists indicted on charges of treason and criminal conspiracy.

Muhajir, Jakarta – Hundreds of workers from the Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance Confederation (KASBI) held a protest action in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) in Jakarta coinciding with the end of the parliament's recess period on Monday January 13.

They gathered to convey their opposition to the Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation or RUU Cilaka.

Akbar Ridwan – Demonstrators from the Workers Movement with the People (Gebrak) held a protest action in front of the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta on Monday. During the demonstration, the workers conveyed their opposition to the Omnibus Law on Job Creation which is currently being pushed through by the government.

Fikri Arigi, Jakarta – The 2020 simultaneous regional head election (Pilkada) is set to be amped up by candidates from President Joko Widodo's (Jokowi) family.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM) commissioner Beka Ulung Hapsara, criticized the regulation issued by Depok Mayor Mohammad Idris who ordered raids against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Beka considered the policy to bediscriminative.

Bambang Noroyono, Jakarta – The level of violence against journalists has remained high throughout 2019. The Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Pers) revealed that it recorded 85 cases of violence against media workers in 2019. LBH Pers Director Ade Wahyudin says that these cases have claimed as many as 79 victims.