Suherdjoko, Semarang – People traveling to their hometowns for Idul Fitri during mudik (exodus) this year are expected to use a total of 27.32 million private cars and 25.13 million motorcycles, according to a study by the Transportation Policy Agency.

Separately, the government projects that 123.8 million people will travel for mudik.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo wants the trade deal between Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to be ratified by the end of 2023, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi.

Ade Irma Junida, Nabil Ihsan, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan is seeking to heighten control on the tourism sector on Bali Island to reorient Bali's tourism development from mass tourism to quality tourism.

Andi Firdaus, Fadhli Ruhman, Jakarta – At least 13 existing health laws will be affected by the 2023 Health Bill, the Health Minister's health law expert staff Sundoyo said during an FMB9 Dialogue themed "Indonesian Health Service Transformation: Health Bill" on Monday.

Nazarudin Latif and Pizaro Gozali Idrus – Two prominent human rights activists were in court on Monday to face charges of defamation and slander brought by a senior minister in a case civil society groups denounced as a blow to free speech in Indonesia.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Regional Coordinator of the Kemah Injil Indonesia Church (GKII), Hans Wakerkwa, said that in late March to early April there were a number of house burnings and arrests of civilians in the pursuit of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) by the Indonesian Military (TNI) and Police in Puncak Regency, Central Papua Province.

Jayapura, Jubi – The peaceful expression of Papuan students in Bali has again been repressed. On April 1, the Papuan Student Alliance of the Bali City Committee (AMP KK) who was going to take to the street was blocked by a mass organization. Protesters were thrown stones and several people injured.

Jakarta – Supporters of rights activists Haris Azhar and Fatia Maulidiyanti packed the East Jakarta District Court parking area on Monday April 3.

Scores of people are expected to attend to watch the proceedings of the first hearing in a case of defamation against the activists brought by Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

Singgih Wiryono, Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition says that the criminalisation of two human rights defenders – Lokataru Foundation for Human Rights Executive Director Azhar Haris and Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Coordinator Fatia Maulidiyanti – represent a serious threat to democracy and civil freedoms.

Wallace Woon, Singapore – Eggs from Indonesia will soon occupy local supermarket shelves after the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) approved the import of eggs from the country to the Republic.

The addition of Indonesia brings the number of Singapore's egg exporters to 18, up from just 12 in 2019, SFA said, with eggs from Brunei approved for import in December 2022.

Jakarta – The United Nations (UN) has highlighted the trial of human rights activists Haris Azhar and Fatia Maulidiyanti who have been indicted on charges of tarnishing the good name of Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Marves) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

BTV, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, detained former high-ranking tax official Rafael Alun Trisambodo on Monday for allegedly colluding with a tax consultant firm to enrich himself in a serious conflict of interest while he was still working at the Finance Ministry's taxation directorate.

The Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) in Bali City held a rally on April the first, calling on the Indonesian government to hold a referendum for self-determination for the Papuan people. The theme of the rally was, "Democracy and Human Rights Die, Papuan People Suffocate"

Jayapura, Jubi – The Jayapura District Court on Friday, March 31, 2023, held another trial against International Spokesperson of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) Viktor Yeimo. In the hearing, Yiemo's criminal expert witness Amira Paripurna said that anti-racism protests and referendum demands were not treason.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) in Bali City on Saturday, April 1, 2023, failed to hold a peaceful protest after it was blocked and attacked by the Patriot Garuda Nusantara (PGN) mass organization. The PGN held them in the campus area of Udayana University.

Chris Barrett and Karuni Rompies, Singapore – In a meeting room in Bali's upmarket Nusa Dua district last November, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and China's Xi Jinping sat down and cast their eyes towards a television screen.

Jimly Asshiddiqie – A Constitutional Court judge was dismissed and replaced by order of the House of Representatives (DPR) and the president in highly controversial circumstances last year. Legal scholars deemed the dismissal of Justice Aswanto and his replacement by Justice Guntur Hamzah to be improper, as it was not made on the basis of Law No.

Jakarta – Foreign visitors to Indonesia in February were down 4.62 per cent from the previous month, data from the statistics bureau showed on Monday.

The Southeast Asian country recorded 701,930 tourist arrivals in February, the lowest level since December.

Tim Lindsey and Simon Butt, Melbourne – A decade ago, Joko Widodo (Jokowi) was an outsider candidate whose carefully cultivated "everyman" persona swept him into Indonesia's presidential office. To get there, he had to overcome opposition from many rich and powerful figures.

The Australia West Papua Association has condemned an Indonesian crackdown on a peaceful Papua self-determination rally in Bali at the weekend after a militant nationalist group targeted the Papuan students.

Jakarta – The government has decided to maintain the health emergency status of the COVID-19 pandemic at least until May 2023.

Yohana Belinda, Jakarta – According to the Cambridge dictionary, flexing is "a way to exhibit excessive pride in one's achievements or possessions, especially in a manner likely to irritate others."

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – Indonesia lost its right to host the soccer U-20 World Cup tournament less than two months before kick-off because of a domestic controversy about the participation of Israel, with which it is has no diplomatic ties.

Yvette Tanamal, Jakarta – The public's consistently strong stance against Israel, as evidenced by the recent removal of Indonesia as host of the U-20 FIFA World Cup, was an indication that a formal tie between the two states was a nearly impossible prospect, experts have said.

Jakarta – Indonesia will never be a great soccer nation because our government and politicians say so. We could be one, and there are strong aspirations among the people to see Indonesia alongside the world's best like Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Italy. We are not short of talent, not with a population of 280 million people, the world's fourth most populous country.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Golkar Party politician Dito Ariotedjo on Monday took his oath as the new sports and youth affairs minister, replacing Zainudin Amali.

This makes the 32-year-old Dito the youngest minister in President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's Onward Indonesia cabinet. Education Minister Nadiem Makarim (38) previously held the youngest cabinet minister title.

The Working Group for the Safety of Papuan Land Journalists was launched on April 1 in Jayapura, the capital of Papua province, involving journalist organizations, indigenous people and Church organizations.

Aryo Mahendro, Denpasar – The Bali Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) has slammed the attitude of the police for allowing a clash to occur between the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) Bali and the social organisation (ormas) the Nusantara Garuda Patriots (PGN) Bali.

LBH Bali lawyer Rezky Pratiwi said that allowing the clash to occur was a human rights violation.

Antara, Jakarta – Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture has urged parents to complete their children's basic immunization to create a quality generation.

Parents should check their infants' immunization records, Sustainable Development Expert Staff at the Ministry Agus Suprapto said on Sunday.

Riani Sanusi Putri, Jakarta – Statistics Indonesia (BPS) reported that all 90 consumer-price-index (IHK) cities posted inflation in March 2023 on an annual basis or year on year (yoy). Pudji Ismartini, Deputy for Distribution and Services Statistics, said that 60 cities experienced inflation higher than national inflation yoy.

Investor Daily, Jakarta – Indonesia's footwear export is forecast to drop between 35 and 40 percent from $7.74 billion in 2022 to $4.64 billion this year, according to the Indonesian Footwear Association (Aprisindo).

Orders from main export destinations, such the US and Europe, have already been witnessing a sharp decline since early 2023.

BeritaSatu, Jakarta – Rights activists Haris Azhar and Fatia Maulidiyanti stood trial on Monday on defamation charges brought by Chief Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan who was angered by a video content alleging his business deal behind military operations in Papua.

Dhaka – Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi yesterday expected that Bangladesh and Indonesia would be able to ink a bilateral preferential trade agreement soon.

Munshi expressed his optimism at a meeting with Indonesian Ambassador to Bangladesh Heru Hartanto Subolo at the commerce ministry.

BTV, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo held a meeting with the leaders of political parties grouping in the pro-government coalition on Sunday but Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri became a notable absentee.

I Dewa Gede Rastana, Denpasar – A clash broke out between the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) Bali committee, which was intending to hold a demonstration articulating the issue of human rights, and the social organisation the Bali Nusantara Garuda Patriots (PGN) on Saturday April 1.

Jakarta – An explosion at a refinery owned by a Pertamina PT unit in western Indonesia injured nine people, the state energy firm said on Sunday, adding to two dozen deaths from two other fires over the past month.

Stanley Widianto – Indonesian property firm PT MNC Land launched on Friday a 1,040 hectare (2,570 acre) tourism complex on Java island, where former U.S. President Donald Trump's company will operate a hotel and a golf course.

Philip Cass – Words matter when telling the story of West Papua's continuing struggle for independence.

Recently, New Zealand media carried reports of the kidnapping of a New Zealand pilot by a militant West Papuan group allied to the independence struggle.

Aisyah Llewellyn – Football-loving Indonesians have been left reeling after their country was stripped of the right to host the under-20 World Cup football tournament by the sport's governing body FIFA following local objections to an Israeli team's participation.

Jakarta – Public furor over the spat between the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK), the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), and the Finance Ministry after the disclosure of 300 reports on suspicious financial transactions allegedly involving Rp 349 trillion (US$23 billion) should be a blessing in disguise to jolt the people on how Byzantine money launder

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Disgraced tax official Rafael Alun Trisambodo, who two weeks ago was fired amid the ongoing graft investigation against him, has claimed that he kept huge cash in safe deposit boxes in an attempt to hide it from his own family members.

The money was not reported in his public filing and tax returns.

Antara, Jakarta – Bogor Deputy Mayor Dedie Abdul Rachim, asked the public to wear masks and keep their distance in public spaces because there are indications of rising COVID-19 cases during Ramadan.

BeritaSatu, Jakarta – Public attention is now on Finance Ministry Secretary-General Heru Pambudi after his name was mentioned during a heated House of Representatives hearing earlier this week discussing alleged massive money laundering activities involving ministry officials.

Mitra Tarigan, Jakarta – Indonesia is still in an ongoing war with Tuberculosis (TB). The Health Ministry in tandem with all healthcare workers detected more than 700,000 cases of the disease throughout 2022. This is the highest number since TB is included in the national priority program.

Ade Ridwan Yandwiputra, Jakarta – The National Food Agency (Bapanas) increased the Government Purchase Price (HPP) for grain and rice at the farmers' and mill levels.

The HPP is regulated in the agency's regulation (Perbadan) No. 6 of 2023 concerning the government purchasing prices and price deduction of grain and rice.

Amelia Rahima Sari, Jakarta – Indonesian Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno estimated that the state may suffer losses reaching Rp3.7 trillion from the cancellation of the U-20 World Cup in Bali.

"The impact [loss] reached Rp3.7 trillion. That's the minimum, and this is a very big loss," said Sandiaga in a written statement on Friday, March 31, 2023.

Antara, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Saturday met with the Indonesian U-20 squad whose hope to play on the world stage was shattered after the country's dream to host the U-20 FIFA World Cup ended in a fiasco.

Riani Sanusi Putri, Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition, which comprises several human rights watchdogs, responded to the alleged violence and oppression law enforcers enacted against demonstrations that recently protested the passing of the Job Creation Law.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Thursday named Rafael Alun Trisambodo as a suspect of gratification after the former Finance Ministry's tax office official is believed to have received kickbacks in the form of money for over 12 years starting in 2011.

Michael Taylor, Kuala Lumpur – With the world's largest reserves of nickel, used extensively in making batteries, Indonesia is aiming to become an electric vehicle powerhouse, not least by courting Tesla CEO Elon Musk.