A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil, Jakarta – The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) and the Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Pers) have condemned the police for appointing a former journalist as a sub-precinct police chief in Blora, Central Java, and noted how it shows police infiltration to the press institution.

Nesa Aqila, Jakarta – Acting Director General of Laws and Regulations of the Law and Human Rights Ministry (Kemenkumham) Dhahana Putra ensured that there is no overlapping rule between the new criminal code (KUHP) and other laws.

Jakarta – Indonesia is set to raise mandatory biodiesel blending to 35 per cent starting January 1, 2023, to reduce fuel imports amid high global energy prices and to shift to cleaner energy, the energy ministry said on Friday.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Indonesian political parties tend to focus heavily on promotional gimmicks in their attempt to differ themselves from others and attract extra attention from voters rather than serious campaigns and policies to assert what they really stand for, renowned political analyst Yunarto Wijaya said on Thursday.

Prakoso Permono and A'an Suryana, Jakarta – The latest terrorist attack in Bandung on Dec. 7 should give cause for concern for at least two reasons. Not only was it the 14th suicide bombing to have rocked the country since the Bali bombing in 2002 that killed 202 people.

Joniansyah, Tangerang – The Manpower Ministry together with Soekarno-Hatta Airport Immigration and Airport Police managed to thwart the illegal dispatch of 63 potential female workers to the Middle East. Deputy Minister of Manpower Afiansyah Noor said they were allegedly illegal Indonesian migrant workers (PMI).

Wike D. Herlinda, Jakarta – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a US$93 million loan to advance shrimp farming for smallholders in seven provinces in Indonesia.

Nur Janti, Jakarta – A fire broke out on Thursday afternoon in one of the buildings at the Home Ministry in Central Jakarta. No one was reported either injured or killed in the incident.

The fire started at around 4:15 p.m., allegedly caused by the faulty outdoor unit of an air conditioner.

Nur Janti, Jakarta – The government has claimed that it has committed to human rights-violation resolution by pushing a tribunal over the "Bloody Paniai" case despite lack of evidence.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Papua Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua) calls on all conflicting parties in the armed conflict in Papua, including the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Police, and the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), to protect all civilians in the conflict area as obliged in the 1949 Geneva Convention.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Papua Police has named Kalenak Murib, a member of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), a suspect in the shooting of a bank employee named Darius Julius Yumame (32) at Sinak market, Puncak Regency, Central Papua Province on Tuesday, December 13, 2022.

Jakarta – The Padoe indigenous community that resides in the East Luwu Regency, South Sulawesi, remains apprehensive as the concession permit for a local nickel mining company continues to expand. Reports suggest their indigenous land plots are being claimed by the mining firm.

Fiona Gruber – Journalists' lives are often peripatetic, and few more so than foreign correspondent Jill Jolliffe, whose career included covering war in Angola, investigating secret Nazi gold in Portugal and documenting the sex-slave trade in Europe.

Didit Hariyadi (Contributor), Jakarta – Despite widespread rejection and a poor reaction from the international community, the Indonesian government and the House of Representatives (DPR) finally passed the new Criminal Code (KUHP) on Tuesday, December 6. House members claimed that the bill had been disseminated to the public and received their input.

Bisnis, Jakarta – The rupiah was corrected further down against the US dollar in Thursday's trade, December 15, 2022. The rupiah closed 0.17 percent down to trade for 15,619 per US dollar as the greenback index gained 0.22 following The Fed's announcement of another 50-bps interest rate hike.

Katharina Reny Lestari – Prosecutors in Indonesia have demanded an 18-month jail term and a 300-million-rupiah (US$19,355) fine for a former sports and youth minister accused of insulting Buddhism.

Stevani Wijaya, Jakarta – The National Police said Friday they will deploy up to 166,000 personnel across the country for the annual security assignment called Operation Candle during the year-end holiday season.

The mission will last for nearly two weeks from December 22-January 3, the busy holiday travel season involving an estimated 44 million holidaymakers.

Wayne Palmer – In August 2022, there were 104,230 foreign workers in Indonesia. But foreign participation in Indonesia's labour market is frequently susceptible to nationalist backlash.

Grace Sihombing and Claire Jiao – Indonesia's parliament passed a law tasking the central bank to directly finance the budget in times of crisis, just as it had been doing since the pandemic, as part of a broader revamp of financial sector rules.

Grace Sihombing and Eko Listiyorini – Indonesia is finalizing subsidies for electric vehicle purchases to boost local adoption and bring in more investments.

The government plans to give subsidies of up to 80 million rupiah ($5,130) for each purchase of an electric car made onshore, Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang said in a statement late Wednesday.

Jakarta – Indonesia's parliament passed into law a bilateral extradition agreement with Singapore on Thursday, in a move Jakarta expects to help authorities bring to justice people accused of stashing offshore billions of dollars of state money in the city-state.

Sydney Allen – Indonesia's parliament unanimously passed revisions to its penal code (RKUHP) on December 6, 2022, which many activists are calling draconian and undemocratic.

Chris Barrett, Karuni Rompies and Amilia Rosa, Singapore/Jakarta – The Indonesian government has cancelled a company's licence to develop an untouched coral atoll that was to be the subject of a high-profile and controversial auction run out of New York.

Jakarta – Last week's acquittal of Maj. (ret) Isak Sattu of all charges in the December 2014 fatal shooting of civilians in the Papuan regency of Paniai came as no surprise.

Jakarta – Indonesia's parliament on Thursday voted to approve financial legislation that widens the central bank's mandate to include supporting sustainable economic growth and formalize its debt monetization operations.

Dio Suhenda, Jakarta – The government has halted a deal to lease out development rights for more than 100 islands in eastern Indonesia following a backlash over their listing in the catalog of auction house Sotheby's.

Jayapura, Jubi – Roy Marthen Howai, one of the suspects in the murder and mutilation of four Nduga residents in Mimika, testified in a trial held at the Jayapura Military Court III-19 on Wednesday, December 14, 2022. Roy's testimony revealed many things, including the fact that two victims tried to escape and Roy's involvement in the mutilation of the four bodies.

Fadhil Haidar Sulaeman, Jakarta – Both the government and business players are preparing to embrace two major holidays, Christmas and New Year, which it is hoped will be catalysts in spurring domestic spending on leisure activities that will boost the tourism recovery.

Ronald Tundang, Jakarta – Indonesia successfully hosted the Indonesia-Pacific Forum for Development in Bali last week. Pacific countries were the focus of the forum, which resulted in the Bali Message for Development Cooperation in the Pacific.

Jakarta – Indonesia recorded a surplus of $5.16 billion in its international trade in November to extend a run of surpluses to the 31st consecutive month, the Central Statistics Agency, or BPS, announced on Thursday.

The latest monthly figure brings the overall international trade surplus to top $50 billion year to date.

Aliyyu Medyati/Magang_Merdeka, Jakarta – The commissioner of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), Alimatul Qibtiyah, stated that solving a sexual harassment case cannot be done in an amicable approach, such as what happened at the Gunadarma University case.

Kadek Melda Luxiana, Jakarta – The sole defendant in the Paniai gross human rights violation case trial being heard in the Makassar District Court in South Sulawesi, retired Infantry Major Isak Sattu, has been found not guilty.

Yudono Yanuar (Free Malaysia Today), Jakarta – Former Prime Minister of Malaysia Dr. Mahathir Mohamad praised Indonesia's political stability that it could beat the neighboring country in attracting foreign investors. He also lauded Indonesian President Jokowi for successfully leading the country since winning the 2014 election.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo told the recent European Union-ASEAN Summit that no one should dictate over others as the two trading blocs marked their 45th year of partnership.

Whisnu Bagus Prasetya, Jakarta – Indonesia's external debt stood at $390.2 billion as of October, down slightly by 7.6 percent from the same month last year, Bank Indonesia reported on Thursday.

The October foreign debt is also $5 billion lower than the amount in September.

Henry Jom – East Timorese President Jose Ramos Horta has urged Australian PM Anthony Albanese to publicly support the development of a gas pipeline in the Timor Sea following Woodside Energy's new position on the project.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – General Election Commission (KPU) Chairman Hasyim Asyari on Thursday indicated that he won't be so rigid about political parties seeking publicity before the campaign season for the 2024 general elections begins.

Ryan Dagur – The Catholic Church joined tourist operators in Indonesia's Catholic-majority Flores Island to welcome a government decision to revoke a drastic increase in ticket prices to enter the famed Komodo national park.

The decision came months after tourism operators on the island protested the hike calling it unfair to the local community and businesses.

Vitorio Mantalean, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) has officially declared that 17 political parties will contest the 2024 legislative and presidential elections based on the results of a provincial level verification and recapitulation which was conducted on Wednesday December 14.

Yamin Kogoya – "We are part of them and they are part of us," declared politician Augustine Rapa, founder and president of the PNG Liberal Democratic Party, on the 61st anniversary of the struggle for West Papuan independence earlier this month.

Jayapura, Jubi – Head of Sinak District Petrus Kogoya informed about a shooting allegedly carried out by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) led by Kalenak Murib against an employee of the Sinak Branch Office of the Papua Regional Development Bank (BPD) named Darius Yumame. The victim died of a gunshot wound to the head.

Jayapura, Jubi – Spokesperson for the Papua Peace Network (JDP) Cristian Yan Warinussy said he was concerned about the arson of 53 kiosks in Waghete Market, Deiyai Regency, Central Papua Province on Monday, December 12, 2022. He hopes that residents will not be easily provoked by unclear issues.

Reza Agustian, Jakarta – Protesters from the Labour Party and other trade unions held a demonstration near the Arjuna Wijaya or Horse Statue in Central Jakarta on Thursday December 15.

Based on Kompas.com's observations at around 12.40 pm, the workers began arriving at the Horse Statue after holding a long march from the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.

Jakarta – The Bandung Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) has revealed that scores of demonstrators protesting against the recently enacted Criminal Code (KUHP) in the West Java provincial capital of Bandung were arrested by police on Thursday afternoon, December 15.

Tri S, Kenzu, Manokwari, West Papua – West Papua needs more forest rangers due to its expansive forest area, reaching 8.39 million hectares, while currently, the number of forest rangers reaches only 98.

Alfitria Nefi Pratiwi, Jakarta – Indonesia's Law and Human Rights Minister Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej stated that the ministry along with the Foreign Affairs Ministry has introduced the country's new criminal code to the foreign press, especially related to the article on cohabitation.

Febriyan, Jakarta – The Indonesian government through the Government Regulation in lieu of the General Election Law or Perppu Pemilu increased the number of seats for the House of Representatives (DPR) from 575 to 580. The change was because of the four new provinces.

Nesa Aqila, Jakarta – The Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD acknowledged the public discourse regarding alleged high-ranking law enforcers who actively protect illegal mining corporations.

Faisal Maliki Baskoro, Thresa Sandra Desfika, Jakarta – The latest round of layoffs has hit the Indonesian startup industry with JD.ID, the local arm of Chinese JD.com, confirmed that around 30 percent of its employees, or 200 people, have been let go, the company said on Tuesday.

Trisnadi and Niniek Karmini, Tenggulun – Umar Patek – the Indonesian militant who was paroled last week after serving about half of his original 20-year prison sentence for making the explosives used in the 2002 Bali bombings – has apologised to victims' families.