Victor Mambor, Jayapura, Indonesia – Dividing Indonesia's Papua region further could complicate efforts for a peaceful solution to the separatist conflict, after the national parliament approved a draft bill this week for the creation of three additional provinces despite local opposition, activists and community leaders are warning.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – A number of political parties reportedly started setting their eyes on Solo Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka for the 2024 Regional Head Election (Pilkada) following meetings between the latter and a number of elite parties.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – A number of politicians of the National Mandate Party (PAN) collectively stated that Party chairman Zulkifli Hasan no longer is in support of the idea to postpone the 2024 general election.

Bima Arya, a PAN branch chairperson, said Zulkifli had gathered organization elites in order to discuss an issue at his house on April 6.

Herman, Jakarta – The digital economy could potentially become the new engine of growth due to the massive spread of digital technologies that transforms many aspects of people's way of life, Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said on Thursday.

Siktus Harson, Jakarta – Tensions between an Indonesian minister and rights activists over claims his mining business is stoking conflict in Papua have entered a new phase.

Jakarta – A student protest against the postponement of the legislative and presidential elections in 2024 and President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo serving a third term in office, which was held at the intersection of Jalan Sultan Alauddin and AP Pettarani in the South Sulawesi regional capital of Makassar, has ended in chaos.

Fitria Chusna Farisa, Jakarta – Indonesia will have three new provinces. Thus, later, Indonesia will have 37 provinces. The planned addition of these provinces is regulated under the Draft Law on South Papua Province, Central Papua Province and the Central Highlands Province.

Gafar Abdullah, Sumenep, Indonesia – A coal barge that ran aground in the sea off the Indonesian island of Java remains stuck there, having already spilled much of its cargo and disrupting the local fishery, a witness says.

Jakarta – The government has declared May 2 and 3 national Idul Fitri holidays, alongside mandatory collective leave on April 29 and May 4 to 6, an arrangement that will see many offices closed for the whole first week of May.

Krittayawan Boonto, Tjandra Yoga Aditama and Meirinda Sebayang, Jakarta – In the past two years, there has not been a day going by without us thinking about our health and wellbeing. Health has been the topic of conversation among families, friends, colleagues, as well as topic of headlines all over global and national media outlets.

Arieta Vakasukawaqa – The Melanesian Spearhead Group's acceptance of funds from the Indonesian National Police for the formulation of its regional security strategy was akin to buying their silence on the West Papua issue with blood money, claims human rights activist Shamima Ali.

An official within the Jembrana administration who was demoted back in 2015 over sexual harassment was promoted to a higher position yesterday along with nine other officers.

The man in question, IMY, is now officially serving as the head of the Jembrana Civil and Village Empowerment Agency.

Kate Lamb and Stanley Widianto, Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko Widodo has sought to rein in speculation that he intends to stay in office beyond his legally mandated two terms, ordering ministers this week to cease calls for an extension or postponement of elections due in 2024.

Tata Mustasya – On 18 March, the Jakarta Metropolitan Police named human rights activists Haris Azhar and Fatia Maulidiyanti suspects in a defamation case brought by powerful Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

Jakarta – The Asian Development Bank, or ADB, has projected Indonesia's economy to expand by 5.0 percent in 2022 and 5.2 percent in 2023 on the back of recovering demand, according to the multilateral lender's latest report published on Wednesday.

Evi Eliyanah and Nurenzia Yannuar – Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world. Almost 90% of its population, around 236.5 million people, are Muslim. Women make up almost half of it.

Johannes Nugroho – A video clip dating from 2019 featuring Indonesia's former president Megawati Sukarnoputri has caused a stir on Indonesian social media in recent weeks.

Pribadi Wicaksono, Jakarta – The Yogyakarta government in tandem with the regional police mobilized a neighborhood watch program dubbed 'Jaga Warga' following rising cases of street gang violence perpetrated by teenagers known as klitih that recently killed one person this week.

Seems like Indonesia's coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy had gotten too excited about announcing the return of cuti bersama or collective leave days for the upcoming Eid holiday period, as he scrapped the dates he had mentioned in favor of President Joko Widodo's announcement.

Annisa Firdausi, Jakarta – The Pekanbaru Legal Aid Institute (LBH) which had legally represented the victim of an alleged sexual harassment by campus dean Syafri Harto argues that the court acquittal against the UNRI dean has set a bad precedent on how the country's legal system handles sexual harassment cases.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Tuesday announced there are 15,649 state officials who have not submitted their annual wealth report (LHKPN) and urged these officials to submit them soon.Out of a total of 384,298 officials in a national scale, KPK had received 368,649 which means 95.93 percent have submitted their wealth.

Mutia Yuantisya, Jakarta – The Indonesian government in a press statement assured that the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry (ESDM) will maintain public buying power amidst rising commodity prices caused by global geopolitical conflict.

One of which, they claim, is in the country's electricity tariff they claim is more affordable than other ASEAN countries.

M Julnis Firmansyah, Jakarta – In a plenary cabinet session aired live by the Presidential Secretariat office in Youtube on Wednesday, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo scolded his state ministers who had actively promoted the discourse on postponing the 2024 general elections.

Jakarta – The Financial Transaction Report and Analysis Center (PPATK) has frozen 345 accounts allegedly related to illegal investment schemes worth Rp 588 billion (US$40.9 million).

Jakarta – The East Jakarta District court on Wednesday sentenced a senior member of an outlawed hardline Islamist group to three years in prison for "consciously aiding terrorism actors".

Fauzi, Nabil Ihsan, Jakarta – The House of Representatives (DPR RI) working committee on the harmonization of Papua Province Bill has proposed carving four new provinces out of the existing Papua Province.

Putu Indah S, Fadhli Ruhman, Jakarta – The forced marriage article within the sexual violence prevention bill (RUU TPKS) must specifically include lack of consent from victims, researcher from the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR), Maidina Rahmawati, said.

Arrijal Rachman, Jakarta – Representative of the volunteers for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's 2014 and 2019 elections rebuffed joining the movement that promotes an extended presidential term for the current president.

Suryadi, Pekanbaru, Indonesia – Upon his inauguration as governor of Riau in early 2019, Syamsuar promised to "protect the dignity of Indonesia" by ensuring that the vast Sumatran province, home to rivers, forests, peatlands and oil palm plantations, did not experience another wave of forest and land fires.

Jakarta – A public opinion poll conducted by Australian think tank Lowy Institute has found that although the majority of Indonesians were committed to democracy, many showed a high level of confidence in authoritarian leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Jakarta – The daily COVID-19 booster rate has more than doubled since the government made getting a third vaccine dose a requirement for people intending to travel for the annual Idul Fitri tradition of mudik (exodus).

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung on Monday acknowledged the existence of groups that continue to try to promote President Joko Widodo, or Jokowi's extended presidential term but denies that this movement comes from the Presidential Palace.

M Julnis Firmansyah, Jakarta – Expert staff at the Presidential Staff Office, Ali Mochtar Ngabalin, responded to the students' plan to stage a demonstration if President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo does not issue a clear statement that rejects the postponement of the 2024 general elections and the extension of the presidential office term.

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – Dina, who hails from Central Java but studies in the East Javan city of Malang, is dying to go back to her hometown during the upcoming Idul Fitri holidays.

The 22-year-old university student has not been home since late last year after some physical classes resumed on campus.

Stephen Dziedzic – A major new poll has found Indonesians are increasingly wary of Australia, while China is now seen as their country's main security threat.

The Lowy Institute's survey of about 3,000 Indonesians was the think tank's first major poll in the country for more than a decade.

James Guild – If you go to almost any city in Java, you will come across a public square called an alun-alun, a large open lawn area that serves as a gathering and recreation spot. Even small towns usually have one. Jakarta, the largest of Java's cities and Indonesia's national capital, does not have an alun-alun.

Tri Meilani, Raka Adji, Jakarta – In recent times, sexual violence cases in Indonesia have become more alarming. Cases of sexual violence also occur in the campus environment that is supposed to be a safe place for learning.

Ryan Dagur – Timor-Leste is mourning the death of a Portuguese missionary who spent more than 50 years working as a teacher in the Catholic-majority country.

Baltasar Pires, a deacon of the Salesians of Don Bosco, died on April 4 in a hospital in the capital Dili. He was 81.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – A palm oil company whose permit was revoked at the start of the year and which was ordered to halt operations is allegedly continuing to clear forests in Indonesia's Papua province.

Jakarta – House of Representatives (DPR) Commission III Chairperson Bambang Wuryanto says that the DPR will object to deliberating the Draft Law on the Restriction of Cash Transactions which has been proposed by the Financial Transactions Reporting and Analysis Center (PPATK).

Irfan Kamil, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) says that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and the House of Representatives (DPR) are the parties most responsible for the decline in public trust in the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Agung Sandy Lesmana – Officials from the sub-district military command (Koramil) and the Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) have removed a banner reading "Sack or impeach the PKI TNI Commander" which appeared in the Menteng suburb of Central Jakarta.

Pita Ligaiula – New Zealand's Minister for Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta says the Indonesian Government needs to finalise the timing of the visit of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) as soon as possible.

Yudhistira Agato, Jakarta – Under the moniker Pure Wrath, Januaryo Hardy has released a melodic record that seeks to capture the pain of Indonesia's 1965 mass killing survivors.

At least 14 elementary school students in West Belitung Regency in the Bangka Belitung province were allegedly sexually harassed by their school guard, the Child Protection Agency (LPA) office in East Belitung revealed.

LPA officials found out about the incident after they held an advocacy activity at the school, located in the Kelapa Kampit district, last week.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Dili Archdiocese in Timor-Leste has established an ecclesiastical court to handle marriage-related cases including annulments.

Salesian Archbishop Dom Virgilio do Carmo da Silva of Dili along with the Vatican's representative in Timor-Leste, Monsignor Marco Sprizzi, and Justice Minister Tiago Amaral launched the court on April 1 in Dili.

Jakarta (Bloomberg) – Mr Joko Widodo's main rival in the last two elections is now leading in popularity, even as the Indonesian president remains top of mind.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan recently said that Indonesia had brought the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant transmission under control.

Dio Suhenda, Jakarta – A recent survey by Kompas has found that while a majority of Indonesians would support reviving the now defunct state policy guidelines (PPHN) through a constitutional amendment, many remain concerned that the process could be hijacked by other political interests.

Bandung, West Java – A Bandung court handed down a death sentence on Monday to a teacher for raping 13 girls at a traditional Islamic school, upholding an appeal by prosecutors for the death penalty after he had initially received a sentence of life in prison.