Beritasatu, Jakarta – Former ruling party Golkar is set for a heated chairmanship election as two of its strong men prepare to face each other in a national congress in December.

Bambang Soesatyo, the speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the country's highest law-making body, has openly declared his bid for the party's top post.

Lenny Tristia Tambun, Jakarta – The Indonesian capital should consider canceling its Formula E Championship next year as the city is still running a budget deficit and many of its residents still lack access to basic necessities, politicians from the Indonesian Solidarity Party, or PSI, said.

Sausan Atika, Jakarta – After more than two years hoping for the resolution of his assault case, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan faces another hurdle. He has been accused of faking the acid attack against him.

Ardila Syakriah, Jakarta – Indonesia has witnessed a decline in internet freedom over the past year, largely as a result of on-and-off restricted access to social media and manipulation of content for political gain during the April elections, according to Freedom House's latest report.

Jakarta – Members of Jakarta Legislative Council (DPRD) Commission B overseeing finance have asked that their names be engraved on a monument after the second phase of the MRT concludes.

Jakarta – Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita has announced that projects funded by the state budget will be obliged to purchase and use only locally made hoes in an attempt to boost the local industry.

"The quality of locally produced [hoes] is good, and they are ready to use," Agus said on Thursday.

Sausan Atika, Jakarta – Netizens are having a good laugh at a social media post showing an engineer apparently buying goods while stopping the train at a railway crossing.

The footage, posted on Thursday evening by Twitter account @Chamberafli, shows motorcyclists waiting for the stationary train to move and the crossing gate to open.

Jakarta – Hundreds of high school students staged a rally at a soccer field on Jl. Muhammad Toha in Parung Panjang, Bogor regency, West Java, on Wednesday.

Students from SMA 1 Parung Panjang state senior high school, along with their teachers, demanded authorities take real action to address the reckless behavior of truck drivers that use the road.

Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has criticised remarks by the new Attorney General ST Burhanuddin when he explained the obstacles to resolving cases of past human rights (HAM) violations to the House of Representatives' (DPR) Commission III on Thursday November 7.

Karlis Salna – Indonesia is Southeast Asia's biggest economy, with one of the biggest labor pools in the world. But it punches beneath its weight when it comes to attracting foreign investment.

Ross Tapsell, ANU – Prior to the election period between September 2018 and April 2019, SAFENET documented 22 cases of charges under UU ITE.

Ibnu Nadzir, Sari Seftiani and Yogi Setya Permana – Hoaxes and misinformation have been widely blamed for Indonesia's violent unrest this year in the wake of its presidential elections. Indonesian politicians made reference to a "fire hose of falsehoods" in explaining the riots that broke out in September.

Jakarta – A man was arrested for a crime he did not commit in Cengkareng, West Jakarta and the incident was recorded by a CCTV camera, the footage of which went viral on social media.

Indonesia's new Tourism and Creative Economy Minister looks set on developing the country's halal tourism, explaining this week that top destinations such as Bali will undergo changes to accommodate more Muslim tourists.

Richard C. Paddock, Muara, Indonesia – Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, seem an unlikely place for a party dedicated to all things pig.

Benny Mawel, Jayapura – Papuan People's Assembly chairman Timotius Murib said on Wednesday that the assembly had rejected the government's plan to create two more provinces in the country's easternmost region.

Jakarta (Antara) – Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo has deemed it 'haram' for seven state-run hospitals in his province to reject patients who seek medical care.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The East Java High Court has commuted musician Ahmad Dhani Prasetyo's prison sentence for violating Indonesia's draconian internet law to a six-month probation in a verdict published earlier this week.

Nur Yasmin, Jakarta – The Ministry of Trade announced its policy priorities for the next five years, focusing on concluding international trade agreements and increasing exports.

Jakarta – Amid tension between two ruling coalition members, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the NasDem Party, PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri is slated to attend the opening of NasDem's national congress on Friday in Jakarta.

Jakarta – The government plans to provide subsidies for the third class service of national health insurance (JKN) following widespread criticism the recently announced premium hikes would disproportionately affect low-income participants.

Marchio Irfan Gorbiano, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo bestowed the title of national hero posthumously on six prominent figures on Friday in recognition of their contribution to the country during the fight for independence.

Jakarta – The next section of the MRT Jakarta, which will span 8.3 kilometers from the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle to Kota in West Jakarta, will have seven underground stations at Sarinah, Monas, Harmoni, Sawah Besar and Mangga Besar in Central Jakarta and Glodok and Kota in West Jakarta.

Dias Prasongko, Jakarta (Bisnis) – Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo said that he would beef up insulation and quarantine following the alleged outbreak of African swine fever and hog cholera in several regions. According to him, circular letters have been sent to regional heads in regencies an provinces.

Moale James, Pacific Media Watch – "West Papuans are being denied their basic human rights... Human beings have a right to freedom. Freedom to be treated fairly like a human being. Freedom to be respected. To have your own dignity and pride. This is being taken away from West Papuans."

Jakarta – The plan to divide the province of Papua by establishing a new province in the southern part proves the inability of the central government to understand the roots of the problem there. This policy might satisfy a small number of the elite in Papua, but it will clearly do nothing to address the grievances felt by most of the people of Papua for years.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – Head of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI), Asfinawati, deemed that the police report filed by PDIP Party member Dewi Tanjung against Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan is baseless and dubious.

Fikri Arigi, Jakarta – The Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) said the police cannot follow up on PDIP politician Dewi Tanjung's report. Dewi reported Novel Baswedan to the Jakarta Police, accusing the KPK investigator of fabricating the attack against him.

Aditya L. Djono, Jakarta – Indonesia's current account deficit narrowed in the third quarter this year thanks to an improving oil and gas trade balance and less pressure to repatriate dividends and loan payments abroad.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – Attorney General ST Burhanuddin visited the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building in Kuningan, South Jakarta this morning, November 8. He did not say much to reporters when asked what he was doing there.

Karana Ww, Jakarta – House of Representatives (DPR) Commission IV Deputy Dedi Mulyadi strongly urges the government, in this case, the Environment and Forestry Ministry (KLHK), to guarantee customary forests in Indonesia with legal assurance.

He sees that corporates are able to easily obtain land areas while at the same time evicting the land of native people.

Galuh Putri Riyanto, Jakarta – Financial technology company Amartha Mikro Fintek (Amartha) held a study dubbed 'The impact of financial technology on the empowerment of village women'.

The study found, among others, that most of the women living in villages have zero access to the internet.

Jakarta (Antara) – Supreme Court (MA) panel of judges on October 30, 2019, rejected the appeal of palm oil firm PT Waringin Agro Jaya (PT WAJ) and ordered the company to pay for compensation regarding the restoration process amounting to Rp466,468,991.700.

Jakarta – Indonesia should prioritise locally produced goods over imports in order to boost the domestic economy, President Joko Widodo said on Wednesday (Nov 6).

Sausan Atika, Jakarta – Former agriculture minister has filed a civil lawsuit with the South Jakarta District Court against Tempo weekly magazine over an investigative report it published in September on the ministry's efforts in making the country self-sufficient in sugar.

Norman Harsono, Jakarta – State-owned energy company Pertamina booked US$753 million in net profits during the January-Sept period this year.

The company's net profits are 14 percent higher than the $660 million booked in the first six months of the year.

Jakarta – A police officer, identified only as AM, has been named a suspect in the deaths of two students that occurred during a violent protest in Kendari, North Sulawesi, in which a pregnant woman was also injured.

Marchio Irfan Gorbiano, Jakarta – Indonesia's foreign exchange (forex) reserves rose to US$126.7 billion in October, the highest level in 20 months, driven by the government's global bonds issuance and forex records from the oil and gas sector, Bank Indonesia (BI) announced on Thursday.

Jakarta – The Gowa Police in South Sulawesi have declared a man a suspect of money-laundering and spreading heretical teachings after he claimed to be a prophet and mahaguru (grand master).

The man, identified as Puang Lalang, reportedly established the Tarekat Tajul Khalwatiyah Syekh Yusuf cult.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) is set to established new military bases in North Penajam Paser regency in East Kalimantan, where the new capital will be located.

Jakarta – In an effort to boost the spirit of nationalism, Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharani has asked people to play patriotic anthems for 10 days in the lead up to National Heroes Day.

Surabaya, known as the city of heroes, has strong historical ties with Heroes Day, which falls on Nov. 10.

Imam Hamdi, Jakarta – The Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (FITRA) found another set of questionable budget allocation plans inside Jakarta's 2020 budget draft in the form of grass shears purchase folio books and table tennis.

Ivany Atina Arbi, Jakarta – Schools are supposed to be the safest places for children after their own homes, but this was not the case for 8-year-old Irza Almira, who died on Tuesday morning after a school roof collapsed in Pasuruan, East Java.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) is set to see the return of a deputy commander now that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has decided to bring back the position after around two decades of the position's removal.

Papua New Guinea Opposition leader Belden Namah has called on Prime Minister James Marape to take Indonesian atrocities in Papua and repeated border violations to the United Nations and make them international incidents requiring international conflict resolution mechanisms.

Stanley Widianto, Gayatri Suroyo, Jakarta – He was once a boy scout and member of a patriotic flag-raising team in high school.

But with student protests sweeping Jakarta and other cities in recent months in some of the worst civil unrest to hit Indonesia in decades, Manik Marganamahendra has emerged as an anti-establishment icon.

Jakarta – The latest assessment conducted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Food Research Institute (IFPRI) with support from the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) has found that 22 million people in the country suffered from chronic hunger between 2016 and 2018.

Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – Online streaming services such as US-based Netflix and Malaysia-based Iflix are contributing to the country's sluggish economic growth as investment in intellectual property comes under pressure, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) has warned.

Jakarta – Activists grouped under the National Movement to Safeguard Ulema Fatwas (GNPF) are set to return to the streets for a "reunion" marking the 2016 anti-Ahok rally in Jakarta next month.

A woman in the Indonesian city of Palembang has been arrested on suspicion of infanticide, in which the victim is her own newborn baby.

The suspect, identified as 36-year-old Sutina, was a babysitter who worked at the residence of South Sumatra's former vice governor Ishak Mekki.