Jakarta – The Labour Party demanded that the 2024 elections be held on schedule and that they be transparent and fair during a May Day action in front of the General Elections Commission (KPU) building in Central Jakarta on Sunday May 1.

Jakarta, Indonesia – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Friday confirmed to strengthen cooperation toward realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific amid China's growing assertiveness in the region and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Patrick O'Connor – Ramos-Horta received 62 percent of the vote, defeating incumbent Fretilin President Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres with 38 percent. Turn out was 75.2 percent. The former prime minister and president will return to office next month, with the presidential swearing in ceremony scheduled for May 19.

Jakarta – An aerial view of vehicles lining up on toll roads used to evoke a feeling of hopelessness for many Muslims wishing to spend their Idul Fitri holiday with their families in their hometowns. But this year, such an image oddly brings a sigh of relief, if not a glimmer of hope, that we may finally be ready to live with COVID-19.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia is hoping for Japan to take part in a megaproject to build the new capital city when leaders from both countries met in Bogor on Friday.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The North Sumatra Police and the Natural Resources Conservation Agency have arrested five people and foiled the illegal sale of an endangered orangutan in Deli Serdang.

Nur Janti, Jakarta – A local district court in West Java stunned activists this week after sending four convicted robbers to prison despite mounting proof of wrongful arrest and police intimidation.

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – With a suitcase full of clothes and gifts for her nieces and nephews back home, Lily Hapsari travelled from Jakarta by train to her hometown in Central Java province on Monday (Apr 25) to be with her parents for the Muslim holiday Idul Fitri, which is expected to fall on May 2.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Timor-Leste's president-elect Jose Ramos-Horta says he will adopt a papal-endorsed document on human fraternity into the school curriculum to maintain interreligious harmony and peace in the Catholic-majority country.

He said he had discussed the issue with Aniceto Guerres Lopes, national parliament president, who gave his support.

Bernadette Christina, Jakarta – When Indonesian cooking oil prices started climbing in November, authorities faced pressure to contain the cost of the household necessity made from palm oil and used by most people in the world's fourth most populous country.

Jayapura, Jubi – Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) chair Timotius Murib says the government's plan to expand Papua, or form three new provinces, does not necessarily guarantee that the Papuan people will prosper.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Papua Provincial Government claims to have distributed scholarship funds, or paid tuition fees and sent allowances for 355 Papuan students who are studying abroad.

Jakarta (Reuters) – Indonesia's President Joko Widodo said on Friday (April 29) he had turned down a request for arms from Ukraine's leader and urged him and his Russian counterpart to end the war in Ukraine.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – A court in Jakarta has rejected a lawsuit by a remote island community against a gold-mining operation that overlaps onto their villages, in a ruling deemed "problematic" by anti-mining activists.

Medan, North Sumatra – Twelve women working in an illegal gold mine in North Sumatra province were killed when a cliff collapsed and triggered a landslide that buried them, police said.

Unlicensed mines are common across mineral-rich Indonesia, with abandoned sites attracting locals who scrounge for leftover gold ore without using proper safety equipment.

Jakarta (Agencies) – Millions of Indonesians were travelling to their hometowns on Thursday in an annual exodus from Jakarta and other major cities before the Idul Fitri holidays, a tradition that has been stalled for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kremlin, Twitter, Jakarta – The Russian Presidential Office on its website confirmed that a telephone conversation between President Vladimir Putin and Indonesian President Joko Widodo, or Jokowi, took place on Thursday, April 28. Both leaders reportedly discussed multiple issues including the G20 event where its presidency is held in Indonesia this year.

Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – The Indonesian Covid-19 task force announced on Thursday, April 28, 2022, that the daily growth of confirmed coronavirus cases was 412 with most of them coming from the capital city of Jakarta.

Christopher Knaus and Ben Doherty – Staring at the camera, Anto's face, wide-eyed and child-like, invites a simple question.

How could anyone, let alone Australia's federal crime fighting agency, see an adult gazing back at them?

Timor-Leste has awarded five out of 18 blocks in the second licensing round for onshore and coastal oil and gas exploration projects, according to the National Oil and Minerals Authority (ANPM).

ANPM awarded three onshore blocks and two blocks in the Timor Sea, Portuguese news agency Lusa reported.

Jakarta – Shares of some of Indonesia's leading palm oil plantation companies and the rupiah currency dropped on Thursday after the government shocked markets by making last-minute changes to an export ban to include crude palm oil and other refined products.

Jakarta – Starting 00:00 a.m. today, Indonesia has stopped all palm oil and its derivatives exports to drive cooking oil prices to below $1 at local markets.

Dio Suhenda, Jakarta – A local court on Tuesday opened the trial of a Quran teacher from Depok, West Java, who was indicted for child molestation involving 10 female students, all minors, according to Kompas.com.

Maria Monica Wihardja and Siwage Dharma Negara – Indonesia's food policy management has received a potential boost as it has set up a new National Food Agency (NFA), but vast challenges lie ahead as NFA's leader figures out how to feed the world's fourth most populous country in the face of growing external shocks to its food supplies.

David Fogarty, Singapore – Indonesia's fifth-straight annual decline in primary forest loss in 2021 shows government and business policies are working, experts from the World Resources Institute (WRI) think-tank say.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Timor-Leste president-elect Jose Ramos-Horta said he would work closely with the Catholic Church and acknowledged the important role of various parties, including religious leaders, in jointly finding solutions to the country's problems.

Eduard Lazarus – On 12 April, the Indonesian parliament announced plans to establish three new provinces in West Papua. Currently, the western part of the island of New Guinea consists of two provinces: West Papua Province and Papua Province.

Linda Rae Bennett and Setiyani Marta Dewi – Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin announced on 20 April that his ministry was adding the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to the list of routine free immunisations administered nation-wide.

Joao da Cruz Cardoso – Following Timor-Leste's presidential run-off election on 19 April, Jose Ramos-Horta has been confirmed as the country's next president in a landslide victory over Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres.

Konradus Epa, Jakarta – A construction worker was killed in an attack by armed separatists in Indonesia's restive Papua province in reprisal for the recent killing of two rebels by security forces, police said.

The shooting took place in Erogama, a remote village in Puncak district, police spokesman Ahmad Mustofa Kamal said on April 26.

A'an Suryana – In late March, the mayor of a city within the greater Jakarta area publicly opposed a recent circular issued by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, which regulates the volume level of mosque loudspeakers broadcasting the azan, the call to prayer for Muslims, which marks the time for obligatory prayers five times a day).

Jakarta – Indonesian palm oil companies were bracing on Wednesday for the impact of a government ban on exports of refined palm olein, with the new rules aimed at taming soaring prices of domestic cooking oil due to come into effect from midnight.

News Desk, Jakarta – Despite the country' improving COVID-19 situation, only 15.9 percent of the population intend to go on mudik (exodus) to celebrate Idul Fitri in their hometowns this year, a survey by Indikator Politik Indonesia (IPI) has found.

The figure is far below the government's projection of 31 percent.

David Firnando Silalahi, Jakarta – The latest IPCC report recommends that we need to cut greenhouse gasses emission hard and fast as the Earth continues to warm causing more frequent and severe weather and threatening the lives of Earth's inhabitants.

Muhammad Aulia, Jakarta – Bogor District Head Ade Munawaroh Yasin was arrested late Tuesday by the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, the same agency that ended the term of her predecessor and elder brother Rachmat Yasin also for a corruption scandal.

M Julnis Firmansyah, Jakarta – A survey conducted on April 14-19, 2022, by pollster Indikator Politik Indonesia showed that public satisfaction with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo continued to drop to 59.9 percent.

Gilang Galiartha, Mecca Yumna, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD pointed out that 82 percent people of Papua and West Papua had agreed to the discourse on expansion of new autonomous regions.

M Julnis Firmansyah, Jakarta – Pollster Charta Politika in one of its recent surveys discovered that public confidence towards President Joko Widodo or Jokowi continues to decline in 2022 from 84.9 percent in January of 2022, to 81.0 percent in February 2022, and the latest 75.8 percent recorded in April 2022.

Fernanda Canofre and Dercio Tsandzana – As Timor-Leste celebrates its 20th independence anniversary, former president and 1996 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta has been announced as the new president-elect in the Asian country of 1.3 million inhabitants.

Jakarta – Indonesia is prepared to widen its ban on exports of refined palm olein if it faces domestic shortages of derivatives used in the production of cooking oil, according to details presented at a meeting between government and industry officials.

Firhandika Ade Santury – Indonesia is beginning a new chapter in its democracy. In the midst of increasing number of expressive platforms, state power is actually tightening its supervision. It is not impossible: expressions considered detrimental to certain parties in power will be muzzled on behalf of the state.

Rafqa Touma and agencies – Three endangered Sumatran tigers have been found dead after being caught in traps on Indonesia's Sumatra island.

Jakarta, Jubi TV – President Joko Widodo received delegations from the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) and West Papuan People's Assembly (MRPB) at the Merdeka Palace on Monday, April 25, 2022.

Jayapura, Jubi TV – The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) under the command of Goliath Tabuni and Lekagak Telenggen claimed to have set fire in Ilaga, Puncak Regency and shot military on patrol in Keneyam, Nduga Regency, Papua.

Ardito Ramadhan, Jakarta – Papua People's Council (MPR) Chairperson Timotius Murib has questioned a claim by Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Mahfud MD that 82 percent of Papuans agree with the creation of new regions in Papua.

An interview with Irene Yuliana Fatagur

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo is again leading the list of potential presidential nominees for the 2024 election in another poll whose results were announced on Tuesday.

Jakarta – Indonesia raised the alert status for the offspring of the infamous Krakatau volcano to its second highest level on Monday, a day after it erupted and spewed a towering ash cloud 3,000 metres (9,800 feet) into the sky.

Denpasar, Bali – A Canadian actor and self-proclaimed wellness guru is facing deportation from Bali after a video of him dancing naked at a sacred mountain went viral.

Jeffrey Craigen posted a video of himself doing the Haka – a ceremonial dance in New Zealand's Maori culture – while nude on top of Mount Batur, a volcano considered holy by many Balinese.

Bernadette Christina, Jakarta – The Agriculture Ministry said on Monday that crude palm oil shipments would be excluded from a planned palm oil export ban, according to a copy of an official letter sent to local government leaders.

The letter, which was verified by a ministry official, said the ban would however include refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) palm olein.