Jakarta – After months of delay and protracted deliberation, the government, the House of Representatives and the General Elections Commission (KPU) have finally decided that the next presidential and legislative election will be held on Feb. 14, 2024.

Jakarta – Four major airplane lessors have agreed to the state-controlled airline Garuda Indonesia's debt restructuring proposal, providing significant support to the airline's plan to repay its $13.8 billion debt and continue its operation as the country's flag carrier, a minister told the lawmakers on Tuesday.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – From hongbao to nian gao, there is always a long shopping list for the Chinese New Year or Imlek celebrations. And Jakarta's Chinatown Glodok is a popular destination for Imlek shopping.

I would like to wish a Happy New Year to all our solidarity supporters around the world and to our diplomatic friends in Vanuatu, the OACPS, the PIF and elsewhere. As we continue to fight for justice and freedom this year, you help give us the strength to carry on our struggle.

Maria Fatima Bona & Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The Health Ministry revealed on Wednesday that it had identified 140 new Omicron infections, bringing Indonesia's tally of the highly transmissible Covid-19 variant to 1,766.

Hengky Yeimo, Jayapura, Jubi – Director of the Democratic Alliance for Papua (ALDP) Latifah Anum Siregar said that the intensity of armed conflicts in Papua continued to increase from time to time. "The prolonged conflict is part of a cycle that must be stopped. The government plays an important role in resolving conflicts in the Land of Papua," she said.

Maya Ayu Puspitasari, Jakarta – The Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) recorded an increase in requests for protection in cases of sexual violence against children throughout 2021, reaching 426 reports.

Jakarta – At least 18 people were killed during clashes between two groups at a night club in the town of Sorong in Indonesia's West Papua province, with most dying after the venue caught fire.

"The clash broke out last night [Monday] at 11pm. It was a prolonged conflict from a clash on Saturday," Sorong police chief Ary Nyoto Setiawan said in a statement.

Arys Aditya – Indonesia will hold its next general election on Feb. 14, 2024, ending speculation that President Joko Widodo would seek to extend his second term in the world's largest Muslim democracy.

Imam B, Rahmad Nasution, Jakarta – Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander, General Andika Perkasa, shared information on strategic changes in the handling of problems in Papua and West Papua provinces during a hearing session with lawmakers here Monday.

Fana Suparman, Jakarta – Indonesia and Singapore will ink an extradition treaty during leaders' retreat in Bintan Island on Tuesday, thus making it easier for Indonesia to catch its graft fugitives.

Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly said that the Indonesian government had been seeking this extradition treaty since the 1990s.

Rituparna Nath, Suyash Pande, Pritish Raj, Nicholas Zhang – Delays in shipment of Indonesia's thermal coal continued due to logistical bottlenecks and impeding paperwork, market sources said Jan. 25, even after the three-week blanket ban on coal exports was eased on Jan. 20.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Former president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta has announced his candidacy in Timor-Leste's presidential election, where he has the support of Xanana Gusmao, a fellow key figure in the country's independence struggle.

Arrijal Rachman, Jakarta – The National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo said he would optimize the performance of former employees of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) employed in the institution to improve the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

Hengky Yeimo, Jayapura, Jubi – Papua is a land dubbed a small paradise that fell to earth. But nowadays, Papua no longer looks like the little paradise that Indigenous Papuans yearn for. Conflicts, shootings, and violence continue to occur and haunt the daily lives of Indigenous Papuans.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia and Singapore on Tuesday agreed to realign their respective flight information regions or FIRs, thus enabling Indonesia to finally reclaim its control of the airspace above Natuna and Riau islands.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Indonesia has reached an exclusive agreement with Singapore to allow the free movement of fully vaccinated people between the city state and the islands of Batam and Bintan, effective from Monday.

Arrivals within the travel bubble are exempt from the mandatory five-day quarantine imposed in other entry gates to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan in a press conference on Monday said the government continues to push for the use of the home-grown COVID-19 tracing app PeduliLindungi and plans to expose those who fail to use the app.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that the number of Omicron cases in Indonesia as of today has reached 1,600 since it was first discovered in mid-December 2021.

"We report that it has been confirmed that 1,600 [COVID-19 patients] have been exposed to Omicron variant," said Budi at a press conference on Monday, January 24.

Arrijal Rachman, Jakarta – Advocacy group Migrant Care planned to file a report against Terbit Rencana Perangin Angin as Regent of Langkat, North Sumatra, to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) over alleged modern slavery.

"Yes," the group's legal team coordinator Nur Harsono confirmed to Tempo on Monday, January 24.

Sapri Maulana, Samarinda – The East Kalimantan Government asked the public not to be easily provoked when talking of the new capital city in eastern Kalimantan.

Dili, Timor Leste – Former Timor Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta on Sunday announced he would run for the top job again in the upcoming election, a decade after the end of his first term.

The 72-year-old was a critical figure in East Timor's independence struggle, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 along with Carlos Filipe Ximines Belo.

Jakarta (Reuters) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo launched construction of a US$2.3 billion coal gasification plant on Monday (Jan 24), in a bid to slash the country's liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports while optimising its coal resources.

Jakarta saw a horrifying incident of extreme road lawlessness that led to the death of an 89-year-old man on Sunday.

Agencies, Batam – Indonesia opened up two island close to Singapore to visitors from the city-state on Monday, officials said, as part of calibrated moves to reboot its tourism sector while controlling the spread of COVID-19.

Michael Leach – After two years marked by Covid-19 and floods, Timor-Leste is now gearing up for presidential elections on 19 March. A runoff round for the top two candidates will be held on 19 April if no candidate receives a majority.

Josh Lewis, Perth – Plans for a giant oilfield redevelopment off the coast of Timor-Leste have taken a huge blow following the disappointing results of a newly drilled appraisal well.

Fana Suparman, Jakarta – A district head in North Sumatra who is being detained under corruption charges has private prison cells at his residence to lock palm oil plantation workers, a human rights group said on Monday.

Jakarta – Prosecutors on Monday demanded a sentence of four years and two months in jail for former House of Representatives deputy speaker Azis Syamsuddin who is charged with bribing an anti-corruption investigator.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Papua Legal Aid Institute or LBH Papua has asked the National Police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) troops occupying three school buildings in Yahukimo District to immediately leave the school building.

Paul Lashmer, Nicholas Gilby, James Oliver – Shocking new details have emerged of Britain's role in one of the most brutal massacres of the postwar 20th century.

Last year the Observer revealed how British officials secretly deployed black propaganda in the 1960s to incite prominent Indonesians to "cut out" the "communist cancer".

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Indonesian authorities are making final preparations to host the country's first MotoGP race since 1997 in the resort island of Lombok where spectators will outnumber the available accommodation.

The Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit can house 200,000 people but Lombok has only around 16,000 hotel rooms.

Agencies, Jakarta – Tens of thousands of indigenous people are at risk of being expelled from their lands to make way for the construction of a new capital on jungle-clad East Kalimantan province, a rights group warned on Friday.

Prisca Triferna, Fadhli Ruhman, Jakarta – A total of 3,205 people were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 on Saturday, with 2,889 cases involving local transmission and the rest involving transmission during international travel, the COVID-19 handling task force informed.

Donald Greenlees – On 22 February, the Indonesian Survey Institute published the results of a poll that rated Minister of Defence Prabowo Subianto as the top performer among President Joko Widodo's ministers, with 75% of respondents expressing satisfaction with his performance.

Lianne Chia, East Java – In August, 17-year-old Tasya Aprilia Agatha lost her father to COVID-19. It left the family struggling to survive.

As a delivery driver and sole breadwinner, he used to earn just enough for the family every month. With his death, an alternative source of income was needed, and Tasya had to step up.

Jakarta – As COVID-19 cases rise amid the spread of the Omicron variant worldwide, vaccine boosters have been recommended for large parts of the population, as full inoculation may not effectively protect people from the new strain.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Timor-Leste has recorded a significant increase in dengue fever cases with this year's death toll already touching 14, making it the deadliest year in recent times.

A report by the Ministry of Health published on Jan. 20 confirmed that the 14 deaths recorded so far this year had surpassed the 11 and 10 deaths recorded in 2021 and 2020 respectively.

Aisyah Llewellyn, Medan, Indonesia – It is every parent's worst nightmare.

As six distraught families looked on, the man accused of sexually assaulting their daughters was handed a 10-year prison sentence by the District Court in the city of Medan, Indonesia.

"Our children," gasped the mother of one, as she slumped in her chair, prompting fears that she had fainted.

Jakarta – Two patients diagnosed with the Omicron coronavirus variant have died while being treated at the hospital, marking Indonesia's first known fatalities from the highly contagious variant, the Health Ministry announced on Saturday.

Jakarta – Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Coordinator Fatia Maulidiyanti claims that they along with their lawyers and human rights activist Haris Azhar have sufficiently strong evidence to face Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan in court.

Jayapura – The West Papua National Committee (KNPB) has declared that it rejects the violent approach which continues to be applied by Indonesia in the land of Papua.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – Omicron patients, both showing symptoms and mild symptoms, are allowed to self-isolate so long as they meet clinical and residential requirements as regulated via the Health Ministerial Circular No. HK.02.01/MENKES/18/2022 concerning prevention and control of the Omicron variant cases of COVID-19 dated January 17, 2022.

Antara, Jakarta – The spokesman of the national Covid-19 Task Force, Wiku Adidasmito, said it would be best for the general public to postpone traveling overseas amidst the government's attempt to suppress the spread of Omicron.

Caesar Akbar, Jakarta – A group called the 'clean Indonesia coalition' on Friday launched a campaign inviting the general public and bank customers to urge banks to stop financing coal-related businesses.

Jakarta – Indonesia has recorded more than 1,000 cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant since the first cases were confirmed in mid-December, according to government data released on Friday.

Health Ministry spokeswoman Siti Nadia Tarmizi said there have been a total of 1,078 Omicron cases as of Friday, as opposed to 882 cases a day earlier.

Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office has moved quickly to investigate possible embezzlement and misuse of power in the lease and procurement of a defense communications satellite by the Defense Ministry dating back to 2016.

Radhiyya Indra, Jakarta – Video footage of a tiger confronting heavy machinery during a land clearing operation in West Sumatra, believed to have been recorded by one of the excavator drivers, went viral on Tuesday morning.

Konradus Epa, Jakarta – At least 1,000 students in Indonesia's Papua province held a protest at the local authority office in Yahukimo district demanding members of the police force move out of their school premises.

Victor Mambor Jayapura – For the second time in four months, the Indonesian military blamed a pro-independence group for a deadly attack in West Papua, although separatist rebels claimed responsibility for the incidents in September and on Thursday.