Marian Faa, Dili – When 63-year-old Armanda Ferriera talks about her country's struggle for independence, tears spill from her eyes.

She wipes them away forcefully, as if trying to erase the painful memories they hold – these tears are angry tears.

Chris Barrett, Maubisse, Timor-Leste – In the cool air of Timor-Leste's central highlands, Xanana Gusmao takes to a makeshift stage before hundreds of devotees in a park across from the local Catholic church.

Aisyah Llewellyn, Medan, Indonesia – In a TikTok clip posted on March 9, Indonesian influencer Lina Luftiawati, who uses the stage name Lina Mukherjee, sits in front of a plate of rice, vegetables, and a slab of crispy pork skin.

Melissa Conley Tyler and Andrea Fahey – Sunday May 21 is election day in Timor-Leste, when voters decide on 65 members of parliament to represent them.

Jayapura, Jubi – In a public lecture organized by the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) and the Amnesty International Chapter of Cenderawasih University on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, KontraS coordinator Fatia Maulidiyanti said civil liberties in Papua had worsened due to the deployment of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and Police.

Fadli, Batam – The Agricultural Quarantine Agency has limited the local supply of pigs following a finding of the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus in Batam. Pig exports to Singapore from Batam are temporarily suspended.

Office head Aris Hadiyono said the limitation was intended to control the spread of the ASF virus, even though it is not contagious to humans.

Ruth Dea Juwita, Jakarta – Indonesia's vast maritime territory should play a greater role in spurring the country's economy, says a government agency tasked with drawing up long-term plans for national development.

Dicky Kurniawan, Jakarta – Statistics Indonesia (BPS) released data on the total number of motorized vehicles in the country in 2019-2021. The data shows an increase in the vehicle population every year.

Dicky Kurniawan, Jakarta – Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko disclosed a number of problems that complicate the distribution of electric vehicle subsidies in Indonesia. He emphasized that simplification in the policies is a necessity.

Basten Gokkon, Jakarta – Indonesia has put nearly a tenth of its national waters, the sixth-largest maritime jurisdiction of any country, under some form of protection. But poor management means these protected areas haven't been to achieve their biodiversity conservation goals, a new study says.

Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – Survey institute Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC), issued its latest survey on how the public views the government's performance. The survey was conducted from April 30 to May 7, 2023. One of the intriguing aspects is that the majority, or 81.7 percent of respondents, approved of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's overall leadership.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Chief Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD will temporarily take over Communications Minister Johnny G Plate's post after the latter got detained for graft.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – National Democratic Party (Nasdem) Chairman Surya Paloh said Wednesday a major corruption scandal that sees Information Technology Minister Johnny Plate as a key suspect could affect the party's performance in the general elections next year.

Johnny is also Nasdem's secretary-general.

Fana Suparman, Jakarta – Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny Plate goes down in history by becoming the first active minister to be named a corruption suspect by the Attorney General's Office.

Jakarta – Indonesia Ulama Council (MUI) Deputy Chairperson Marsudi Suhud is reminding all citizens who have the right to vote and not to "golput" or abstain from voting in the 2024 presidential and legislative elections.

According to Suhud, voting for a leader is also part of Islamic religious teachings.

Investor Daily, Jakarta – State-owned telecom giant Telkomsel recently announced it would finish upgrading the 3G base transceiver stations (BTS) for the faster 4G networks in 31 cities/regencies by the end of this month.

Endang Nurdin, Indonesia – Eleven Indonesian villagers from Aceh province have reached a confidential financial settlement with oil giant ExxonMobil.

The villagers have been at the centre of a two-decade long legal battle over alleged human rights abuses. They say they endured torture, sexual assault, and beatings by Indonesian soldiers contracted by ExxonMobil.

Bambang Soesatyo, the Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), has been pushing for regulations that would allow civilians to own and carry guns for self-defense.

He claims that there is often confusion and misinterpretation among the police and civilian gun owners about when they can use their firearms.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Yahukimo Police on Tuesday met with several community leaders to explain about the apprehension of 22 people during a raid at the Obio Complex in Dekai District, the capital of Yahukimo Regency, Mountainous Papua Province.

Trisha Husada & Silvano Hajid Maulana – The future of Indonesia's only Islamic community centre for transgender women is in jeopardy after its leader, Shinta Ratri, died in February – and the government says it cannot support it.

Free Papua Organisation (OPM) leader Jeffrey Bomanak has appealed to US President Joe Biden for a "proactive role" in ending Indonesia's "unlawful military occupation and annexation" of West Papua.

He claims this illegal occupation led to the subsequent US "foreign policy failure" in protecting six decades of crimes against humanity.

Jayapura, Jubi – In a recent online discussion on "Status and Trends of Freedom of Expression, Assembly, and Digital Rights in West Papua", Esther Haluk, a women's rights activist from GARDA Papua, expressed her concerns about the declining state of freedom of speech in Papua.

Deni Ghifari, Jakarta – Indonesian exports plummeted last month, yet the country maintained its trade surplus because imports dropped even further, as a feeble global economy takes its toll on the exchange of goods and services.

Fikri Harish, Jakarta - When the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) suddenly announced its decision to nominate Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo as its presidential candidate on Kartini Day, many of the President's loyal supporters were jubilant.

Muhammad Aulia, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office said on Wednesday the ongoing corruption investigation against Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate is purely an act of law enforcement to protect the national interest and keep state assets from being stolen.

Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Wednesday announced the disbursement of Rp800 billion sourced from the central government to repair damaged roads and highways in the North Sumatran province. This is the same amount the central government handed to Lampung.

Mutia Yuantisya, Jakarta – Acting Governor of Jakarta Heru Budi Hartono stated that the government is preparing Jakarta to be a global business city after it will no longer hold the status of the capital city.

Antara, Jakarta – Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA) Minister I Gusti Ayu Bintang Darmawati on Tuesday reiterated the importance of women building their awareness on digital technology in the era of globalization.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia and the European Union are aiming to wrap up the negotiations on their trade pact by the end of 2023, a Trade Ministry official said on Wednesday.

Joniansyah, Jakarta – The Migrant Worker Protection Agency (BP2MI) and Soekarno-Hatta Airport Immigration Office prevented the departure of 10 illegal migrant workers to Saudi Arabia.

Women from several regions in West Java was about to depart for Saudi Arabia using their umrah visa. "The method was to use umrah visa," said BP2MI Secretary Rinardi on Tuesday, May 16, 2023.

Daniel A. Fajri, Jakarta – Political observer Rocky Gerung argued that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo should avoid from endorsing a certain presidential candidate for the upcoming 2024 presidential election in order to prevent unfair competition among presidential candidates.

Eka Yudha Saputra, Bandung – The National Police's Security Preservation Agency (Baharkam) Chief Commissioner General Fadil Imran announced that the police program at the neighborhood unit level dubbed 'Polisi RW' will become a national program aimed at anticipating crime in society.

Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo was tight-lipped when asked about the polemic surrounding the amendment of the Indonesian Armed Forces Law (UU TNI).

Some consider the revision a controversial move as there are Articles overseeing the addition of civilian posts for the military to the addition of military functions in the security sector.

Riani Sanusi Putri, Jakarta – Minister of National Development Planning or Bappenas Head Suharso Monoarfa emphasized that the government needs to formulate a new family planning (KB) policy since population growth continues to slow down.

Andra Nasrie – Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI), the largest Islamic bank in Indonesia, was reportedly hit by a ransomware attack that disrupted its services for several days. The hacker group LockBit claimed responsibility for the attack and reportedly released a massive trove of customer data today after the bank refused to pay their ransom of US$20 million.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The National Development Planning Agency, or Bappenas, on Tuesday predicted that Indonesia's population could reach 324 million people in 2045. Bappenas said it had made three scenarios for the projections of Indonesia's population growth.

Jakarta – The life sentence recently handed down to a two-star police general for drug trafficking less than three months after another inspector general received the death penalty for premeditated murder can be viewed from two different angles.

New York, United States – ExxonMobil settled Monday a long-running lawsuit brought by Aceh villagers who alleged human rights violations by Indonesian military officials providing security to the oil giant.

The two sides agreed to resolve "all matters," said a joint filing from the opposing counsel that did not disclose terms of the agreement.

Danusha Jayawardana – An estimated 640 million girls and women in the world today were married in childhood, according to UNICEF. The prevalence has slightly declined: with one in five young women aged 20 to 24 years being married as children, down from nearly one in four 10 years ago.

A. Asnawi, Pasuruan, Indonesia – Indonesia is one of the world's largest producers of food commodities, but until recently this archipelago of 270 million people produced relatively little avocado. Julianto Effendi is among a growing number of farmers trying to change that.

The cameras aren't enough – the Jakarta Metro Police is reinstating manual ticketing just seven months after going all but digital in traffic law enforcement.

The National Police has issued a new directive for manual ticketing in the capital amid a purported increase in traffic violations in areas not covered by Electronic Traffic Law Enforcement (E-TLE) cameras.

Merauke, Jubi – The residents of Zenegi Village, a village located in Merauke's Animha District in South Papua, consider the presence of Selaras Inti Semesta Ltd. (SIS), a subsidiary of the Medco Group engaged in plantation, for approximately 15 years has not yielded any positive outcomes for the local community.

Amy Heppy, Jakarta – Jakarta Education Agency Acting Head Syaefuloh Hidayat stated that the agency will revoke the Jakarta Smart Card (KJP) of students who are caught smoking cigarettes.

The program, Syaefuloh explained, is aimed at assisting underprivileged students to meet their school needs, such as books, bags, shoes, and transportation.

Hanifah Dwijayanti, Jakarta – Indonesia saw a year-on-year (YoY) decline in imports in April 2023 to US$15.35 billion, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) reported. The figure was down 25.45 percent compared to March 2023 (month-to-month) and 22.32 percent year-on-year.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has revealed that land concessions for nickel mining in Indonesia reached 1,037,435.22 hectares in 2022.

Walhi campaign division head Puspa Dewy said that of this total, 765,237.07 hectares are located in forest areas.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Foreign investors will likely be in a wait-and-see mode leading up to the elections, and then go into full force once they get a better picture of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's successor, a recent study finds.

An Indonesian Catholic lawmaker has called on the army chief to explain the alleged sales of arms and ammunition to rebel groups by military forces in the restive Christian-majority Papua region.

Stefanno Sulaiman and Fransiska Nangoy, Jakarta – Indonesia's April trade surplus came in slightly bigger than expected, even as exports and imports plunged amid declining prices of its main commodities like palm oil, coal and nickel.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Golkar Party sent a signal on Sunday that party chairman Airlangga Hartarto will contest the 2024 presidential election despite its failure to reach the threshold of 20 percent of House of Representatives seats to put a candidate on the ballot on its own.

Phnom Penh – Indonesian President Joko (Jokowi) Widodo has expressed his desire for Indonesia to play a role in the development of Cambodia's infrastructure, as part of its commitment to strengthening bilateral ties and cooperation between the two countries.