Indriani, Raka Adji, Jakarta – Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim has emphasized that his ministry has never supported the practice of free love or fornication.

Anita Permata, Raka Adji, Jakarta – Head of the Professional Development Division of the Indonesian Association of Epidemiologists (PAEI) Dr Masdalina Pane stated that so far, there was no sign of a third wave of COVID-19 in the country.

Anita D, Kenzu T, Jakarta – The compliance scores for wearing masks were still below 60 percent in some Indonesian districts and cities, COVID-19 Handling Task Force's Head of Behavioral Change, Sonny Harry B. Harmadi, stated.

Grace Nadia Chandra, Jakarta – Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Nadiem Makarim has declared sexual violence on campuses in Indonesia a critical emergency, as the minister addresses the public on Friday to defend his latest ministerial decree about the issue.

Stefani Wijaya, Jakarta – The Jakarta Police said on Saturday they have arrested 48 suspects of Chinese and Vietnamese nationalities for alleged extortion and data theft using dating apps.

Katharina R. Lestari, Jakarta – Indonesian activists have dismissed objections by conservative Islamic groups against a recently introduced ministerial decree aimed at addressing sexual violence in the country's universities.

The decree, signed by Nadiem Anwar Makarim, the minister of education, culture, research and technology, came into force in late October.

New York – Deforestation and global warming in one Indonesian province caused temperatures to rise nearly a whole degree Celsius in 16 years leading to an eight per cent increase in deaths, a study found Wednesday.

Chris Barrett, Singapore – An Australian-government backed plan to build a memorial park on the site of the former Sari Club will be abandoned after the owner of the land set its price tag at almost $15 million.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Young people in Timor-Leste were urged to learn from the sacrifices of the freedom fighters on the 30th anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre on Nov. 12.

Kiki Siregar, Jakarta – Treading carefully on bamboo walkways perched above the swamp, several top Indonesian officials arrived at Jakarta's nature park Angke Kapuk on Oct 13, ready to plant mangrove shrubs to launch the 2021 National Mangrove Map.

They clapped, and then lowered the shrubs into the water.

Jayapura – The focus of the food estate program was, at first, to promote rice production in the peatland areas of Central Kalimantan. The plan immediately drew heavy criticism from those who worried it would only repeat the disaster that had occurred two decades ago in the same location.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre in East Timor, when Indonesian troops armed with U.S. M16s fired on a peaceful memorial procession in the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, killing more than 270 East Timorese.

Dili – Prioritizing and improving the quality of public spending and increasing domestic revenue is crucial to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth in East Timor, according to a new World Bank report released this week.

Yogi Eka Sahputra, Jakarta – The vocal government critic and academic Rocky Gerung in a discussion on Wednesday said the statement on deforestation delivered by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo at the United Nations climate change conference (COP 26) lacks the data to back the claims.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Nadiem Makarim, said the issuance of the ministerial regulation No. 30 of 2021 (Permendikbud 30) on the prevention and handling of sexual violence in higher education is due to the emergency situation on such cases at universities.

Saifulbahri Ismail and Chandni Vatvani, Lombok – Dressed in a black racing outfit, Indonesian President Joko Widodo revved his modified Kawasaki W175 motorbike at the starting point of the Mandalika International Street Circuit.

He had waited for more than an hour for the rain to stop, and he was raring to test the 4.3km race track in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara province.

Basten Gokkon, Jakarta – Conservation officials in Indonesia have broken ground on a new sanctuary for Sumatran rhinos, part of ongoing efforts to breed the critically endangered species in captivity and stave off its extinction.

Atamus Kepno, Jayapura – One hundred and ninety-four Catholic leaders from across Papua have explicitly called for an end to military operations in Papua. The Pastors hope that dialogue and reconciliation will be the solution to resolve the prolonged conflict in Papua.

Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan says that the government will audit non-government organisations (NGOs) in Indonesia. Pandjaitan claimed that they will conduct the audit because, according to Pandjaitan, there are NGOs which he alleges are spreading incorrect information.

On the 30th anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre, the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) urges the international community to end impunity for the human rights crimes committed during the occupation of Timor-Leste.

Robert Lowry – Indonesian Papua has seen increasing levels of violence. The Indonesian government is pursuing a soft power response with mixed success.

Jakarta – The chairperson of the country's peak Islamic body, the Indonesia Ulama Council (MUI), Cholil Nafis, is asked for the removal of problematic articles in the Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister's (Permendikbudristek) Regulation Number 30/2021 on Preventing and Addressing Sexual Violence on Higher Education Institutions.

Jakarta – The Mulawarman University (Unmul) coalition of lecturers has defended the Student Executive Council (BEM) at their campus after they launched a satirical criticism of a visit by Vice President Ma'ruf Amin to Samarinda in East Kalimantan (Kaltim) on Tuesday November 2.

Jayapura – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has strongly condemned the shooting of a mama (traditional women trader) allegedly committed by a TNI (Indonesian military) member in Mamba Village, Intan Jaya, Papua.

Grace Nadia Chandra, Triyan Pangastuti, Jakarta – Indonesia has secured $44.6 billion of investments commitment in agriculture, healthcare, digitalization, downstream mining, renewable energy, infrastructure, and development of the Southeast Asian country's new capital in East Kalimantan, following President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's visit to the United Arab Emirates last week.

Arys Aditya (Bloomberg) – The use of crypto assets as a currency is forbidden for Muslims, according to Indonesia's council of religious leaders.

Mahmud Ichi, Ternate, Indonesia – At the inauguration of the Guraping Mangrove Tourism Forest last month in Sofifi, a sleepy coastal town and capital of one of Indonesia's remotest provinces, North Maluku Governor Abdul Gani Kasuba took a playful jab at the nation's president.

We at Coconuts have been adamant for quite a while that cultural inferiority complex has no place in the 21st century, and it's nice to see President Joko Widodo on our side on this issue.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – More than 45 academics from a wide array of campuses on Thursday voiced their support for the Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister's Act No. 30/2021 on the prevention and handling of sexual violence across campus spaces.

Rini Kustiani, Jakarta – A survey on digital literacy by the Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) Ministry in 2020 shows that Indonesia scored 3.47 in UNESCO's digital literacy indicator assessment, which is meant to define digital literacy competencies and proficiency levels so that country results can be compared and used to monitor progress towards SDG 4.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo welcomed British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss at the Jakarta Merdeka Palace today, November 11.

During the meeting, they discussed strategic economic ties as a follow-up to Widodo's talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) has appealed to news media that reported on intimidation against the parents and relatives of human rights lawyer Veronica Koman to immediately make corrections.

Some media have revealed the identity and addresses exposing them to further violence, reports Tabloid Jubi in Jayapura.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The UK is seeking to deepen ties with Indonesia on trade, investment, and maritime security, among others, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced during her visit in Jakarta on Thursday.

Yudith Ho and Fathiya Dahrul – Indonesia's stock benchmark is on course for a fresh record high on the back of signs of an economy recovery.

Edvin Aldrian – As Indonesia's capital and most populous megacity, Jakarta needs rapid solutions to tackle the problems of land subsidence and sea-level rise.

A recent study by the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) stated that, without aggressive effort, around 25% of the capital area will be submerged in 2050.

Alexander R Arifianto – As Indonesia inches closer to its next general election in 2024, political elites are manoeuvring to hold on to their existing power and advantages.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – An Indonesian provincial governor has vowed to crack down on the issuing of permits to palm oil firms after flash floods hit several areas of Borneo, killing several people and forcing thousands to flee their homes.

Jayapura – When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and disrupted world supply chains, the Indonesian government launched an ambitious plan to boost domestic food production through the "food estate" program in June last year.

The province of West Kalimantan is in the midst of a hydrometeorological disaster of a massive scale, yet those who are at least partially responsible for the environmental destruction that led to the tragedy have been accused of washing their hands clean off the issue, drawing ire from the region's leader.

Chris Barrett and Karuni Rompies, Singapore – Less than 48 hours after saying it would suspend joint maritime patrols with Australia over the destruction of Indonesian vessels fishing in Australian waters, Jakarta is planning to resume them.

The sad state of affairs at flag carrier Garuda Indonesia continues, as the debt-ridden airline has announced plans to massively shrink its destinations list in the name of operations efficiency.

Senator the Hon Marise Payne
Minister for Foreign Affairs
PO Box 6100
Senate, Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

10 November 2021

Dear Foreign Minister,

I am writing to you on behalf of the Australia West Papua Association in Sydney.

We are concerned about a number of attacks on the home (in Indonesia) of the parents of Veronica Koman.

Jakarta – National Police's counterterrorism squad Detachment 88 arrested five suspected members of shadowy militant group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) during separate operations in East Java on Tuesday.JI is responsible for a string of major attacks in the early 2000s, including the October 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people.

Jakarta – West Kalimantan Governor Sutarmidji expelled 20 representatives of palm oil companies from a meeting at his office because they failed to respond when asked to help dealing with floods in the area.

Christopher Knaus – The federal government is attempting to introduce new "super-secret" evidence against Bernard Collaery in the Timor-Leste spying case, prompting fury from Collaery and warnings from a supreme court judge that it may cause a "perpetual vortex" of delay and secrecy.

Wayne Palmer – Work rights for non-citizens is a controversial issue for most – if not all – governments, and Indonesia is no exception.

Like other countries with large numbers of migrant workers overseas and a small population of non-citizens at home, Indonesia applies different standards when it comes to their work rights.

This was announced in a joint statement following a meeting at the state palace in Bogor, outside Jakarta, between Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaa

Fathin Ungku and Bernadette Christina, Singapore – Indonesia's giant palm oil industry, long a target of global green groups, is shoring up its defences closer to home as it tries to counter growing anti-palm oil sentiment among a more environmentally conscious generation of young Indonesians.

Lani Diana Wijaya, Jakarta – The union of labor organizations staged a rally today, November 10, demanding an increase in the Provincial Minimum Wage (UMP) before Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan's office or the City Hall, Central Jakarta.