Antara, Jakarta – Led by Commission IV Chairman Budhy Setiawan and Vice Chairman Budisatrio Djiwandono, a delegation from the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) visited Stockholm, Sweden, from May 19-22 to lay the groundwork for Indonesia's free lunch program.

Sevianto Pakiding, Meirto Tangkepayung, Paniai – An armed criminal group (KKB) member by the name of Basoka Lawiya, also known as Masyarakat Kogoya, was killed in a shootout with joint military and police personnel in East Paniai District, Paniai Regency, Central Papua, on Wednesday.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on May 8 signed a presidential regulation (Perpres) that aims to revamp the national health security system to promote equality, only to confront tough challenges from those who have paid higher premiums.

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's ambition to relocate the national capital to Nusantara in East Kalimantan as his signature legacy will hinge on his success in holding a ceremony to mark Indonesia's independence anniversary on Aug. 17 in the new city.

Jakarta – Environmental group Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam) has criticized Space-X founder Elon Musk's proposal for solving the world's water crisis through desalination powered by solar energy, saying that the plan would only lead to more intensive mining activities.

Jakarta – Authorities in Aceh are planning to launch raids on restaurants in the province to seize food containing marijuana, as the conservative Muslim region is set to host the country's largest sports event, the National Games (PON), in September.

A New Zealand solidarity action group has called on the New Zealand government to back indigenous independence calls in the Pacific and press both France to grant Kanaks sovereignty and Indonesia to end its rule in West Papua.

Basten Gokkon, Jakarta – An Indonesian court has overturned the sentence of environmental activist Daniel Frits Maurits Tangkilisan on widely criticized hate speech charges for highlighting the damaged caused by illegal shrimp farms in a protected marine park.

On May 1, the labour movement and the Indonesian public received some shocking news or reports about a recent maneuver by the Labour Party leadership.

I Wayan Sui Suadnyana, Denpasar – The Balinese music group Navicula has cancelled a planned performance at the Water Vaganza event, part of the 10th World Water Forum (WWF) being held in Bali, over the intimidation and forced closure of the People's Water Forum (PWF).

Wildan Pratama – The wave of protest and opposition against revisions to the Broadcasting Law (RUU Penyiaran) have begun to mushroom. This time it came from social organisations consisting of journalists, students, content creators and human rights activists in the East Java capital of Surabaya.

Hendro Dahlan Situmorang, Alfida Rizky Febrianna, Jakarta – Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah has addressed the ongoing debate about the impact of "too many holidays" on Indonesia's competitiveness and workforce productivity.

Antara, Agam – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo affirmed that his relationship with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) remains positive, even as some of his family members leave the party.

Zhulfakar, Jakarta – The government's policy of granting additional days off to civil servants during major national holidays is unfair to private sector workers who do not receive the same privilege, according to a business chamber executive.

Irfan Maulana, Jakarta – Critics have slammed Indonesia's outgoing government over a plan to hand out mining permits revoked from companies to religious organizations – not on the basis of the latter's mining competence, but simply because they played an important role in the country's independence struggle nearly 80 years ago.

Yustinus Patris Paat, Jakarta – Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim plans to cancel "irrational hikes" in tuition fees (UKT) at several state universities (PTN). Nadiem stressed that tuition fee hikes must be reasonable, considering each student's economic circumstances.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has asked Elon Musk to expand his investment in Indonesia after the tech tycoon launched his Starlink satellite internet service for the nation's health sector over the weekend.

Jakarta – Ahmad Syauqi, the son of outgoing Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, has announced his bid for the Banten gubernatorial election after securing political backing from the National Awakening Party (PKB).

Jakarta – We are saddened by the flash floods and lahars (a mixture of water and volcanic rock fragments) that hit a number of regions surrounding Mount Marapi in West Sumatra on May 11, leaving more than 60 people dead and 14 others missing. Some natural disasters are unpredictable, but losses of life are preventable with well-prepared mitigation and alert systems.

Yohana Belinda, Jakarta – Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan has pitched Bali as an alternative hub for wealthy individuals of the region from where to run their family's business affairs, pitting the island against the popular locations of Hong Kong and Singapore.The number of Singapore-registered family offices, which manage tens of billions of

Dio Suhenda and Ni Komang Erviani, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has called on the international community to strengthen its commitment and formulate real actions for inclusive and sustainable water management, as Indonesia kicks off the 10th World Water Forum in Bali.

Alifia Sekar, Jakarta – The Jakarta administration is making another bid to crack down on the never-ending practice of informal parking attendants at convenience stores, but the underlying cause of the city's high unemployment rate is adding complexity to the issue.

Jayapura, Papua – The Jayapura/1701 Military Command (Kodim) is building a comfortable public toilet in Naira Village, located 133 km from Jayapura, Papua Province's capital, to help locals lead a clean and healthy lifestyle, a military officer stated.

Jakarta – The Denpasar Democracy Forum has condemned the Balinese regional police for allowing the People's Water Forum (PWF) in Bali to be forcibly closed down by an ormas (social or mass organisation).

Bali – The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) has condemned the repressive actions and the forced closure of the People's Water Forum (PWF) in Bali. The PWF activities were held to coincide with the 10th World Water Forum (WWF) attended by world leaders in Bali.

Novianti Setuningsih, Jakarta – Amnesty International Executive Director Usman Hamid says the ideals fought for related to civil freedoms have in fact been reversed on the 26th anniversary of the reformasi – the political reform process that began in 1998.

Novianti Setuningsih, Jakarta – Commemorating 26 years of reformasi – the political reform process that began in 1998 – the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) says that much of the agenda and ideals of reformasi have been betrayed.

Jakarta – The recent disaster in West Sumatra shows how the greed of the regional government has sacrificed the environment and cost people's lives.

Marina Welker – When I walked my seven-year-old twins to their school in the East Java city of Malang, we sometimes made a game of counting the cigarette ads we passed during our ten-minute journey. The day in 2016 when we tallied fifty-eight one way, they would have passed over a hundred cigarette ads round trip.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Briantama Asmara first visited the village of Kais in Indonesian Papua, on the island of New Guinea, in 2017 as an university researcher. The village lies two time zones away from Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, but it takes a four-hour flight, followed by a four-hour car ride and a three-hour boat trip to get there.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia is hoping that New Zealand drop the lawsuit over food import restrictions, arguing that Jakarta had already made adjustments according to what the international trade body had asked for.

Jayapura – The West Papua National Committee (KNPB), based on its organisational mechanisms, held its 6th Leadership Meeting (Rapim) at Port Numbay in Jayapura, Papua, between May 13 and 15.

Bali – Indonesian Civil Society Organizations would like to express our deepest regret and concern in regards to the repressive acts carried out by Patriot Garuda Nusantara (PGN) mass organisation to the People Water Forum (PWF) participants and committees.

A. B. Abrams – Indonesian Ambassador to Russia Jose Tavares confirmed last week that a $1.14 billion contract signed for the acquisition of 11 Su-35S fighter aircraft from Russia remains in force, in spite of widespread unconfirmed reports and speculation since early 2019 that it had been terminated due to threats of sanctions by the United States Treasury Department.

Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform is asking the House of Representatives (DPR) to cancel deliberations on revisions to Law Number 34/2004 on the Indonesian Military (TNI).

Burhanuddin Muhtadi and Kennedy Muslim – The victory of the Prabowo-Gibran team in Indonesia's 2024 presidential elections was due to Jokowi's high approval rating and support from young voters. The Bansos social assistance scheme also maintained support for Jokowi which in turn boosted support for Prabowo-Gibran indirectly.

Introduction

Ade Ridwan Yandwiputra, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) recorded 791 corruption cases with 1,695 suspects throughout 2023. An ICW researcher Diky Anandya said the number had increased significantly compared to the previous year, during which there were only 579 cases and 1,396 suspects.

Ni Kadek Trisna, Cintya Dewi, I Anisa Febiola, Jakarta – The government has decided to postpone the deadline for mandatory halal certification for MSMEs. Originally set for October 17, 2024, the deadline has now been changed to 2026.

Alfi Dinilhaq, Bali – Starlink internet service is now available in Indonesia following its official launch by Elon Musk in Bali on Sunday.

The Indonesian government hopes that Starlink's presence will enhance internet accessibility across the world's largest archipelago and reduce the number of internet black spots in remote areas.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo formally introduced Prabowo Subianto as his successor on Monday, during the opening ceremony of the 10th World Water Forum in Bali.

Yustinus Patris Paat, Jakarta – The Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) is considering nominating musician Ahmad Dhani for the mayoral election in Surabaya after he was recently elected as a member of the House of Representatives.

Dhani garnered more than 134,000 votes in the East Java electoral districts of Surabaya and Sidoarjo to win the House seat.

Simon Butt – During an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha last week, Indonesia's president-elect, Prabowo Subianto, was asked to respond to concerns that democracy would further regress under his presidency. According to a Jakarta Post report, Prabowo responded: "Where are the concerns about democracy?

Chandni Vatvani, Jakarta – For Indonesian fisherman Samsi, getting clean water to wash up after a long day of work is not that simple.

"Getting clean water is really difficult. When I first installed a pump, the water didn't come out," said the 63-year-old, who lives in the densely populated sub-district Kalibaru in North Jakarta's coastal Cilincing area.

Panji Satrio, Medan – Bobby Nasution, the son-in-law of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, officially joined the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) on Monday, further deepening the feud between the president's family and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Jakarta – Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said on Sunday that he had made an offer to Elon Musk for SpaceX to launch its rockets from Biak, Papua, where the government plans to build the country's first space station.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – The government aims to achieve economic growth between 5.1 percent and 5.5 percent in 2025, focusing on sustainable inflation, the development of the electric vehicle industry, digitalization, and climate change initiatives through green economy and energy policies. Indonesia had set a

Jakarta – The leadership of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has decided not to invite outgoing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Ma'ruf Amin to the party's national meeting next week.

Denpasar, Bali – Elon Musk and Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin launched SpaceX's satellite internet service for the nation's health sector on Sunday, aiming to improve access in remote parts of the sprawling archipelago.

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – President-elect Prabowo Subianto is pushing for a big government for when he takes over the helm in October, but it is not so much because he has ambitious big programs to run, but more because he needs to parcel out cabinet posts to political parties, individuals and institutions that helped him win the February election.

Nur Janti, Jakarta – As a nation, Indonesia is a vast archipelagic region with a wealth of history and traditions, reaching far back into the era of antiquity.