Jayapura, Jubi – The Jayapura City Police deployed its forces this morning to a number of locations where the Papuan People's Petition (PRP) mass protested on Friday, June 3, 2022, claiming to secure the action.

Jakarta (Reuters) – Indonesia barred a group of its plantation workers from travelling to Malaysia because recruiters did not follow proper procedures and most of the workers did not have the right visa, the head of the country's migrant worker protection agency said.

Jakarta – The government is dousing the flame of reform by insisting on the appointment of active military and police officers as acting regional heads, who will assume the jobs until after the simultaneous regional elections in November 2024.

For some in the field of medicine, TikTok fun trumps the Hippocratic Oath. A couple of medical workers in Indonesia found themselves facing serious public scrutiny for oversharing on TikTok after they exhibited or implied inappropriate behavior towards people under their care.

An Indonesian man has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for blasphemy towards the Hindu faith, after he was filmed kicking offerings on Mount Semeru in Lumajang, East Java.

The Lumajang District Court handed the sentence to Hadfana Firdaus on Tuesday. If he manages to pay a fine of IDR10 million (US$690), Hadfana will only have to serve 8 months behind bars.

Jayapura, Jubi TV – Coordinator of the Papua Peace Network (JDP) Pastor John Bunai says that reconciliation is an option for a Papuan recovery movement.

Previously, the late Pastor Neles Tebay has also called for dialogue to unravel the root causes of Papua's problems with Indonesia. But the voice for dialogue seems to keep ricocheting, never done properly.

Yogyakarta, Jubi – The Makassar District Court on Tuesday, May 31, 2022, sentenced six defendants in the attack on the Kisor Military Post in Maybrat Regency, West Papua.

Tatang Guritno, Jakarta – The ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) should open itself up to other political parties following the meeting between National Democrat (Nasdem) Party General Chairperson Surya Paloh and Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) Party General Chairperson Prabowo Subianto.

Jakarta – The May inflation in Indonesia has accelerated to the highest level since December 2017, as the celebrations for the Islamic holiday Idul Fitri push costs for consumers across the board, from food items to airplane tickets, the country's statistics agency said on Thursday.

Consensual same-sex relations between adults is not a crime in Indonesia, but calls from religious conservatives to make it so have alarmingly gotten louder.

On Tuesday, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) – the highest clerical body in the nation – held a meeting with leaders of major Islamic organizations in Jakarta in which they discussed the LGBT+ "problem."

Jakarta – The country's peak Islamic body the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) and the leaders of Islamic ormas (social or mass organisations) have agreed to ask President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and the House of Representatives (DPR) to include Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) practices as criminal acts in the Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP).

Antara, Jakarta – The Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) estimated that 1.26 million hectares, or about 60 percent of the total forest area in Jambi, had been encroached upon or damaged over the last two decades.

Director of Walhi Jambi Abdullah stated on Tuesday that Jambi Province currently had only 840 thousand hectares of forest, with good tree cover.

Katharina Reny Lestari – Christians have urged the Indonesian army to take strict action against any group trying to sow discord and create divisions in society after a video of a large motorcycle rally by Muslim extremists calling for an Islamic caliphate went viral on social media.

Last week, Mongabay, BBC News and The Gecko Project released a joint investigation into a scheme that was intended to help lift millions of Indonesians out of poverty and cut them in on the spoils of the global palm oil boom, but has instead been plagued by allegations of exploitation and illegality.

Craig Harris – My cell phone rang at 4 a.m. On the other end was Victor Yeimo calling from his hospital bed in Jayapura, the capital of West Papua.

Andi Ahmad S – The regent of Cianjur in West Java, Herman Suherman, claims to have received data on exactly which state civil servants (ASN) within the Cianjur regency government have deviant sexual relationships or like the same sex.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The first stage for the 2024 General Elections begins in less than a month, but the budget has not been disbursed yet.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, in a meeting with the General Elections Commission (KPU) at the Presidential Palace on Monday, May 30, ensured that the government will immediately disburse the budget based on the needs of each stage.

Jakarta – It is heartening to see how Indonesia is moving to easing restrictions on dual citizenship, although how far reaching and how soon this will happen, we have to wait and see.

The rights of Indonesia's LGBT community are in the spotlight after a shock jock invited a married gay couple to his YouTube talk show, triggering backlash in the Muslim-majority nation and prompting one official to float a ban on homosexuality.

Jakarta (Bloomberg) – Once precious Covid-19 vaccines, now expired, will be destroyed to make way for routine children's immunisations in Indonesia as coronavirus worries ease.

"Our storage facilities are feeling the strain as they're filled with expired doses," Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in a Tuesday (May 31) briefing.

Konradus Epa – Indonesian security forces shot dead a top separatist in a shootout in the predominantly Christian region of Papua.

Lerinus Murib, a member of the West Papua National Liberation Army and Free Papua Movement, was killed in a clash in Puncak district, on May 27, police spokesman Ahmad Mustofa Kamal said on May 31.

Jakarta – Indonesia's anti-monopoly agency on Tuesday called for tighter controls on how much palm oil plantation area a business group can operate, to reduce the risk of unfair competition in the downstream cooking oil industry.

Ahmad Rizky M Umar – On 23 May, Anthony Albanese was formally sworn in as the 31st prime minister of Australia.

Jakarta, Jubi TV – Papua Governor Lukas Enembe finally opened up about his experience of receiving intimidation through the distribution of hoaxes on social media by certain groups, such as questioning his loyalty to Indonesia.

Jakarta, Jubi TV – The bill on the Establishment of the Southwest Papua Province has secured an endorsement from the House of Representatives Legislative Body (Baleg) on Monday, May 30, 2022.

Vincent Fabian Thomas, Jakarta – The Industry Ministry has announced it would scrap the subsidy for bulk cooking oil, effective from Tuesday, leaving many producers unable to file a subsidy claim for selling the staple food below market prices.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) expected that the 2024 General Elections will run better than the previous elections. The organizers thus designed a number of new rules such as limiting the age of polling station working committees (KPPS) up to cutting the campaign period.

Nur Janti, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office has appointed a team of 34 attorneys as public prosecutors to draft an indictment in human rights violations that occurred in Paniai, Papua.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – A court in Indonesia has dismissed lawsuits filed by two palm oil companies against a district head who revoked their permits over various violations. The May 23 rulings mark the latest in a string of legal defeats for palm oil companies who lost their licenses to operate in Indonesia's West Papua province.

Nur Janti, Jakarta – The government has come under increased pressure to involve indigenous Papuans in the policy-making processes that affect them and to accommodate their will as the state pushes to redistrict the resource-rich region and augment its security presence there.

Jakarta – The Majene district police in West Sulawesi have declared four students suspects on charges of taking down the national red-and-white flag during a protest action on the grounds of the local regent's office.

The student protest took place on Monday May 23. Following the demonstration, police questioned nine people.

Jakarta – Forget, for a while, our commitment to reform the energy sector in light of our national pledge to reduce carbon emissions. Instead, let us burn billions more dollars in cheap gasoline and other fossil fuels to sustain the post-pandemic recovery and tame inflationary pressures.

Jayapura, Jubi TV – A shooting occurred between The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) and Police's Mobile Brigade at Trikora Kago Field in Ilaga District, Puncak Regency on Friday evening, May 27, 2022.

Jayapura, Jubi TV – The Papuan office of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM Papua) has formed a team to investigate the alleged arson in Dogiyai Regency last Monday, May 22, 2022.

Head of Komnas HAM Papua Frits Ramandey said his party conducted field monitoring and investigations on May 27.

Ryan Dagur – Timor-Leste is celebrating the appointment of Archbishop Dom Virgilio do Carmo da Silva of Dili as the Catholic-majority country's first-ever cardinal.

The 54-year-old archbishop was one of 21 new cardinals announced by Pope Francis on May 29 and will receive the red hat on Aug. 27. He is one of six new cardinals from Asia – five archbishops and one bishop.

A parliament minister has brought defamation charges under Timor Leste's Penal Code against journalist Francisco Belo Simoes da Costa, following coverage of an allegation of ministerial corruption.

Sebastian Strangio – Late last week, the governor of Indonesia's Papua province gave an interview with Reuters in which he cast doubt about the government's controversial plans to create new provinces in the restive eastern region.

Pekanbaru – A Sumatran elephant and her unborn baby were found dead from suspected poisoning in western Indonesia, a conservation official said on Thursday.

The carcass of the heavily pregnant mammal, a critically endangered species, was found next to a palm plantation in Riau province on Sumatra, home to some of the world's rarest animals.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – After three days of live performances, the 2022 Java Jazz Festival officially came to an end on Sunday night.

Eka Yudha Saputra, Avit Hidayat, Jakarta – A total of 150 disability organizations were set to file a letter on Monday, May 30, 2022, demanding Finance Minister Sri Mulyani respect the rights of persons with disabilities and restore the rights of DH, an employee of the ministry who was deemed unfairly dismissed in 2020.

Police have broken up a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) party at a futsal ground in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar.

The party was broken up because police said that the event titled Rundown Play Dancer K-Pop or Mister Makassar did not have a permit.

Makassar – Ten more survivors of an Indonesian boat that sank three days earlier were rescued Monday by local fishermen, leaving 11 people still missing, an official said.

The captain and other crew of the cargo vessel, which was carrying 42 people, were among those rescued Monday, said Djunaidi, head of the provincial search and rescue agency.

Antara, Jakarta – Foot and mouth disease infecting cattle could acutely damage the ruminant livestock industry, with annual losses estimated at a total of Rp9.9 trillion.

Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo make this cautionary statement during a recent meeting with Commission IV of the House of Representatives.

John McBeth, Jakarta – Risking a confrontation with ruling Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P) leader Megawati Sukarnoputri, with whom he has always had strained relations, President Joko Widodo has dropped his broadest hint yet he will endorse Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo as his successor at the 2024 presidential election.

Jakarta – Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) Director Muhammad Isnur has criticised the Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP) saying it could trigger a rise in the number of child marriages in the future.

Jakarta – The National Police on Friday named 14 suspects in the ongoing investigation into pyramid scheme-style investment app DNA Pro after thousands of users reported financial losses totaling Rp 551 billion ($38 million).

DNA Pro was one of the so-called trading robots taken down in a recent government crackdown on phony investment apps.

Jakarta – After two years of closure, office buildings across Greater Jakarta can now reopen in full, welcoming back those who have been forced to work from home due to the COVID-19 restrictions. The government policy followed the most recent statistics that saw a drastic decline in the number of both active cases and transmissions.

Jakarta – Twenty-six people are missing after a ferry ran out of fuel and sank in bad weather off the coast of Indonesia, officials have said.

The country's search and rescue agency said the vessel was carrying 43 people when it capsized on Thursday in the Makassar Strait, the sea separating the islands of Sulawesi and Borneo.

Jakarta, Jubi – Greenpeace Indonesia appreciates the decision of the Jayapura State Administrative Court which rejected the lawsuits of two palm oil companies, PT Anugerah Sakti Internusa and PT Persada Utama Agromulia, against South Sorong Regent Samsudi Anggiluli for revoking their operational permits.

Ryan Dagur – Indonesian Catholics are mourning the death of Ahmad Syafi'i Maarif, a Muslim cleric known for his spirit of nationalism and defense of minority groups as well as being critical of hardline Islam.