Jakarta – Indonesia is on course to ship $29.8 billion worth of steel exports this year, or about 19 times it was when the world's major nickel ore producer banned the export of the ore critical for steelmaking seven years ago, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said in his annual state of the nation address on Tuesday.

Irfan Kamil, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has criticised President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo State of the Nation Address at the 2022 annual session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) on the issue of eradicating corruption.

Jakarta – The Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy says that the presidential decree or Keppres on the formation of a team for the non-judicial resolution of past gross human rights violations, which was signed recently by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, will reinforce impunity and absolve perpetrators of past human rights violations.

Primus Dorimulu & Aditya L Djono, Jakarta – The government is now focusing on developing telecommunications infrastructure as speeding up its pace becomes a prerequisite for digital acceleration, according to Communications and Informatics Minister Johnny G Plate.

Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) Executive Director Gufron Mabruri hopes that the government will immediately investigate and solve the case of alleged human rights violations in the assassination of renowned human rights defender Munir Said Thalib.

Vitorio Mantalean. Jakarta – The General Election Commission (KPU) officially closed registrations for political parties wanting to take part in the 2024 elections on Sunday August 14 at 11.59 pm, having opened registrations on Monday August 1.

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Jakarta – Indonesia has deployed more than 20 helicopters to six fire-prone provinces in Sumatra and Kalimantan as a pre-emptive measure, after small-scale forest and plantation fires appeared in the past week.

A Papuan student advocacy group has called for the establishment of a future Aotearoa New Zealand scholarship for West Papuans to replace a controversial Indonesian-funded programme that left many students stranded this year with incomplete studies.

Yamin Kogoya – Sixty years ago today – on 15 August 1962 – the fate of a newly born nation-state West Papua was stolen by men in New York. The infamous event is known as "The New York Agreement", a deal between the Netherlands and Indonesia over West Papua's sovereignty.

Jakarta (Reuters) – Indonesia's windfall export earnings thanks to high commodity prices may start dwindling, its statistics bureau warned on Monday, despite the country booking a larger-than-expected surplus in July.

Jayapura, Jubi – Researcher from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Cahyo Pamungkas said that in order to resolve with dignity the prolonged conflict in Papua, the solution was no other than through dialogue, not even the regional expansion into new provinces.

Jayapura, Jubi – Director of the Papua Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua) Emanuel Gobay said that the trial of "Bloody Paniai" human rights violations ignored the rule of law.

Lenny Tristia Tambun, Jakarta – A businessman in the center of what is arguably Indonesia's biggest corruption scandal arrived at Soekarno-Hatta Airport after a flight from Taiwan on Monday to turn himself in to prosecutors after he was named a suspect in the case.

Jakarta – Indonesia has received an award from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for its achievement in reaching rice self-sufficiency and for improving its food security system.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The registration period for political party candidates participating in the 2024 General Election has ended on Sunday, August 14. Of the 43 national parties that have Political Party Information System (Sipol) accounts, three parties did not register within the deadline from August 1-14 August.

Hendartyo Hanggi, Jakarta – Indonesia's foreign debt by the end of the second quarter (Q2) amounted to 403 US dollars, which is a reduction compared to the previous quarter which logged 412.6 US dollars.

Riani Sanusi Putri, Jakarta – Center of Economics and Law Studies (Celios) director Bhima Yudhistira on Sunday believes the rising prices of food have reached the worrying level of volatile food inflation, as he noted the inflation of this commodity up until July 2022 on a year-on-year basis reached 11 percent.

Jakarta – Indonesian authorities should immediately drop politically motivated treason charges and release Papuans detained for the peaceful exercise of their rights in the Papua and West Papua provinces, Human Rights Watch said today.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Indonesian internet users reacted with rage to a video showing a female employee of retail company Alfamart forced to apologize to a woman who was previously caught red-handed stealing chocolate candies at one of the company's shops.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The Central Statistics Agency or BPS announced on Monday that international trade booked a surplus of $4.23 billion in July, marking the 27th consecutive month that the country's exports outweighed its imports since May 2020.

Ardito Ramadhan, Jakarta – The results of a Kompas survey on August 9-11 shows that the majority of respondents believe that the ideals of independence of advancing public welfare have not yet been realised.

Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – Indonesia's second-largest party Gerindra and largest Islamic party National Awakening Party (PKB) declared a political alliance on Saturday (Aug 13), the second such coalition formed for the 2024 election.

Antara, Jakarta – The quality and appeal of child-friendly broadcast programs in Indonesia are improving with an increase in their advertising revenue, deputy chairperson of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) Mulyo Hadi Purnomo has said.

Singapore – Timor-Leste's president Jose Ramos-Horta recently declared his hope that his country would become the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) eleventh member in 2023 when Indonesia chairs the regional grouping.

Emily Dugan – Indonesian labourers picking berries on a farm that supplies Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Tesco say they have been saddled with debts of up to #5,000 by unlicensed foreign brokers to work in Britain for a single season.

Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has formed an ad hoc team to investigate gross human rights violations in the case of the 2004 assassination of renowned human rights activist Munir Said Thalib.

Lenny Tristia Tambun, Jakarta – The government is considering raising the prices of subsidized fuel products to ease pressures on the state budget after it revealed that the cost to keep fuels and electricity affordable may exceed the ceiling budget of Rp 502 trillion ($34 billion).

Kyle Delbyck – Journalist Muhammad Asrul is awaiting word from Indonesia's Supreme Court about whether he will spend further time behind bars for reporting on corruption issues. The decision will have a profound impact not only on his life but also on press freedom in Indonesia.

Jakarta (Reuters) – Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, a former special forces general, on Friday (Aug 12) accepted his party's nomination to run in the 2024 presidential election.

jakarta (bloomberg) – Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto will run for the presidency in 2024, hoping the third time's a charm as he tops popularity surveys on the back of his strongman image and support from the majority Muslim population.

Jakarta – The public has to take full advantage of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's call for more discussions over the controversial draft of the new Criminal Code. While the government appears to be focusing on 14 issues, we should also look beyond the contentious provisions as this plural nation deserves a penal code that really upholds justice for all.

Yerica Lai, Jakarta – Defense Minister and Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto has formally announced his intention to run for president in 2024 as the sole candidate of the country's second-largest political party.

Lenny Tristia Tambun, Jakarta – Prabowo Subianto has been assured a place in the 2024 presidential election after his Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) party established a coalition with the National Awakening Party (PKB) to meet the 20 percent threshold for an eligible candidate on Saturday.

Jakarta – A district head in the province of Central Java was arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, on Thursday evening.

Mukti Agung Wibowo, the head of the Pemalang district, was interrogated at the KPK headquarters in South Jakarta along with 22 other people, according to Detik news website.

Bisnis.Com, Jakarta – An economist from the Institute for Development of Economic and Finance (Indef) Nailul Huda predicted that the increase in online ojek fares will trigger high inflation.

Hendartyo Hanggi, Jakarta – Minister of Investment and Head of the Investment Coordinating Board Bahlil Lahadalia, revoked 2,065 Mining Business Licenses (IUP). The number represents 98.4 percent of the 2,078 IUP target.

M Julnis Firmansyah, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo did not deny rumors stating that he had given his blessing to two renowned politicians, Ganjar Pranowo and Prabowo Subianto, to run for the 2024 presidential election.

Eka Yudha Saputra, Jakarta – The National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) announced that former police internal affairs chief Ferdy Sambo had confessed to being the main actor in the murder of his own Aide, Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat or Brigadier J.

Maria Fransisca Lahur, Jakarta – World Elephant Day is commemorated worldwide on August 12, which celebrates the relationship between elephants and humans throughout the history of civilization. In Asia, elephants have lived in parallel with humans for more than 4,000 years. Its existence is highly respected and associated with various cultural and spiritual customs.

Andreas Harsono – Indonesia's toxic blasphemy law has claimed another victim, this time a former government minister over a social media post deemed insulting to Buddhists.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Rohingya refugees in Medan, North Sumatra, are struggling to access child health services amid a lack of resources, forcing many to treat sick children at refugee shelters without professional support.

Sari Oktafiana, Jakarta – Late last month, a high school teacher in the Indonesian province of Yogyakarta reportedly forced a female Muslim student to wear the hijab – veils worn by Muslim women – causing her to become anxious and depressed.

As a response, the province's government recently suspended the school's principal and three teachers involved in the incident.

Theresia Sufa, Bogor– Bima Arya, mayor of Bogor, West Java, said that the administration's move to ban single-use plastic bags in traditional markets faced challenges in its public reception.

Jayapura – In the follow-up trial of the alleged treason at the Jayapura District Court on Thursday, August 11, 2022, Public Prosecutor Achmad Kobarubun demanded that the seven Morning Star flag raisers be sentenced to one year in prison respectively.

Jakarta, Jubi – The chief editor of Jubi who is also the former chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Jayapura, Victor Mambor, received the Udin Award at the 28th anniversary of the AJI.

Jayapura, Jubi – Director of the Papua Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua) Emanuel Gobay asked the Papua Legislative Council (DPRP) to immediately fulfill its promise to form a special committee to resolve the dispute between gold and copper mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia and its former workers.

Fieni Aprilia, Cot Girek, Indonesia – Nestled between a vast palm oil plantation and the Sumatran rainforest is Alue Buloh, a hamlet in Cot Girek village, North Aceh district. To reach it, one must hike several kilometers down a mud and gravel road lined by land clearings and abandoned huts.

Ryan Dagur – Timor-Leste's Baucau Diocese has apologized for the controversial decision by a local parish to impose a heavy fee for issuing baptismal certificates.

We have some of the alleged actors and perps, but without a doubt, motive remains the biggest question surrounding the murder of police brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat – unfortunately, it seems like we won't be getting answers anytime soon.

Jakarta – The government's spending on fuel subsidies is ballooning due to higher-than-expected global oil prices and disruptions in supply chains, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Wednesday.

According to government data, it has spent Rp 116 trillion [$7.9 billion] in energy subsidies during the first seven months of the year.