Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – A number of environmental groups have criticized the carbon offset scheme that is set to be discussed in the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26), which is one of the solutions offered by member countries to tackle global climate change deemed as a mere "greenwashing" by Greenpeace Indonesia representative Khalisah Khalid.

Church leaders in Indonesia's conflict-wracked Papua region called for calm Sunday as thousands fled to shelters after a two-year-old boy was killed in a firefight between government troops and independence-seeking rebels.

Kiki Siregar, Bali – After 18 months of almost no activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was hoped that some international tourists would be back by now in Bali's famous beaches of Kuta and Nusa Dua, or enjoying views of the forests and lush paddy fields in Ubud.

Sheena Suparman, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has pledged that Indonesia is fully committed to controlling climate change, including reducing emissions by 29 percent by 2030. Emission reduction will be focused on the energy sector and maritime sector, as well as forest governance and land management.

Aisyah Llewellyn – When Arif Setyawan was given a three-year prison sentence in August 2015 for terrorism-related offences, he was sent to Salemba Prison in Jakarta – a place that has housed some of Indonesia's most infamous criminals and is notorious for overcrowding.

Abeth You, Jayapura – The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) said that the Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel who allegedly shot dead Nopelinus Sondegau, a two-year-old child, and injured a six-year-old named Yoakim Majau, did so because they were upset for failing to shoot the opponents.

Benny Mawel, Jayapura – The Papuan Customary Council has criticized all parties who speak on behalf of the Indigenous Papuan people and ask PT Freeport Indonesia to build a copper smelter in Papua.

The council also questions those who ask the company to prioritize Indigenous Papuans to work at Freeport's new smelter in East Java.

Jakarta – Indonesia has received more than 12 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine in three days, bringing the total vaccine delivered to the country to more than 300 million doses, according to Usman Kansong, the public information and communications director-general at the Informatics Ministry.

Nava Nuraniyah – Shortly after his re-election in May 2019, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) delivered his Vision of Indonesia speech, in which he pledged "zero tolerance against those who undermine Pancasila", the pluralist state ideology.

Antonio Sampaio, Dili – Former Timor-Leste President Xanana Gusmao today lamented the death of journalist and filmmaker Max Stahl, recalling that his work had "changed the fate of the nation".

Antonio Sampaio, Dili – Filmmaker and journalist Max Stahl, 66, has died almost 30 years after capturing images of the Indonesian massacre at Santa Cruz cemetery in the Timor-Leste capital Dili, which helped accelerate the country's struggle for independence.

Francisca Christy Rosana, Jakarta – The Transportation Ministry on Friday has introduced yet another change in its air travel health requirement amid the COVID-19 pandemic overseen by Circular No. 93/2021, which covers the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.

Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) on Friday issued an early warning on La Nina, which the agency warns could affect Indonesia's weather pattern, as its weather detection system spotted growing cooling anomaly of sea surface temperature in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

Hedwige, Jakarta – Indonesia is planning to have public transportation buses running on electricity by 2030. The country continues to target net zero emissions in an effort to mitigate climate change consistently and sustainably.

A child was killed and one wounded in Indonesia's easternmost Papua region, a security spokesman said, in a rare flare up in an old insurgency when government forces clashed with separatist insurgents.

Aisah Putri Budiatri and Ahmad Najib Burhani – The largest Islamic organisation in Indonesia will hold its congress in December to elect its next chairman. The new leader will have his work cut out for him.

Jakarta – The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), as one of the parties in a judicial review of Article 40 Paragraph (2b) of Law Number 19/2016 on Information and Electronic Transaction (ITE) on the blocking and restriction of internet access in Papua, says it is disappointed with the Constitutional Court's (MK) ruling.

Abeth You, Jayapura – The Pegunungan Bintang (Pegubin) Administration is preparing to send hundreds of displaced people of Kiwirok District, who fled after the attack on the Kiwirok's health center on Sept. 18, 2021, back to their villages.

More than 300 Kiwirok residents currently take shelter at 17 points in Oksibil City, the capital of Pegunungan Bintang.

Victor Mambor, Jayapura – Two children were reportedly shot during a crossfire between the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) in Sugapa, Intan Jaya. The victims are Nopelinus Sondegau, a 2-year-old toddler and Yoakim Mazau, 6 years old. Sondegau died from the gunshot wound.

Yanuar Nugroho – Legislation to approve moving the Indonesian capital to East Kalimantan is expected soon. Meticulous planning and execution will be required to avoid huge problems in future.

David Rising and Edna Tarigan, Jakarta – Indonesians are looking ahead warily toward the holiday travel season, anxious for crucial tourist spending but worried an influx of visitors could spread the coronavirus just as its pandemic situation seems to be subsiding.

Katharina R. Lestari, Jakarta – A two-year-old boy has died following an armed clash between suspected separatist rebels and soldiers in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua, police said on Oct. 27.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The latest poll by Indikator Politik Indonesia shows that young voters comprising the generation Z (gen Z) and millennials have shown serious awareness towards climate change.

Caesar Akbar, Jakarta – The government's plan to broaden the PCR test mandate outside of air travel grabbed the attention of the Indonesian Association of Clinical and Laboratory Pathology Specialists (PDS Patklin) which fears that the government's attempt to reduce PCR upper tariff will affect the quality.

Rr Ariyani Yakti Widyastuti, Jakarta – The East Java branch of one of Indonesia's largest Islamic organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), on Sunday announced its latest fatwa that deems the use of cryptocurrency or digital currencies secured by cryptography as a transaction tool as haram (forbidden under Islamic law).

Kulon Progo, Indonesia – On the coastline south of one of Java's oldest kingdoms, a group of chili farmers grapples with a centuries-old sultanate on ancient plains of dark sand.

Jakarta – Protesting workers, students and civil society groups from the Labour Movement with the People (Gebrak) have begun moving off in the direction the the State Palace in Central Jakarta on Thursday October 28.

Wisma Putra, Bandung – Hundreds of students held a demonstration in front of the West Java Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) in Bandung on Thursday October 28 in which they highlighted President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo performance on education.

Isnaya Helmi, Jakarta – An alliance of worker and student groups held a demonstration near the Presidential Palace on Central Jakarta today, Thursday October 28.

Hermawan Mappiwali, Makassar – Protesting students, who have been demonstrating since earlier this afternoon, continued to hold their ground on Jalan Sultan Alauddin in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar into the evening. They have now commandeered several trucks and blockaded two stretches of road.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The government fully supports the development and monetization of video games by local players to tap into the rapidly growing market in the region, the information technology minister said on Thursday.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Being blessed with abundant renewable energy sources, Indonesia has the potential to become a climate superpower, according to British diplomats.

Antara, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has officially erased the Christmas annual collective leave initially slated for December 24, 2021, in an attempt to suppress public mobility and avert another wave of Covid-19 transmission.

Agustinus Beo Da Costa and Stanley Widianto, Jakarta – Indonesia's decision to block internet access during periods of social unrest was lawful, its constitutional court ruled on Wednesday, in a move activists said sets a dangerous precedent for internet freedom in the world's third largest democracy.

Jakarta – An Indonesian cabinet minister is pushing for American mining giant Freeport McMoRan to be allowed to expand its copper concentrate output so as to supply a planned smelter in the easternmost region of Papua, he said on Wednesday.

Friski Riana, Jakarta – Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas issued a written statement on Tuesday insisting that the ministry he leads represents every religion and does not exclusively serve one religious organization.

Jayapura – Papua Legal Aid Institute has called on the Papua and West Papua administration, as well as the Indonesian Red Cross, to immediately save civilians who were displaced due to armed conflict in a number of areas in Papua.

Caesar Akbar, Jakarta – The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) chairperson Tulus Abadi on Tuesday gave his response to President Joko Widodo's public request to lower the cost of PCR testing services.

He said the President's positive sentiment is appreciated as it mirrors the public's complaint on the high tariff of PCR tests.

The gold standard COVID-19 diagnostic tool has become slightly more accessible to Indonesians, after the government this afternoon announced PCR swab test's price ceiling has been lowered to IDR275 (US$19).

Officers of an agency regularly tasked with cleaning up prostitution and all sorts of humanly vices from their jurisdiction were caught with their pants down (quite literally) soliciting services from a sex worker, with the agency later conveniently claiming that they were undercover.

Johnny Blades – Armed conflict in West Papua has caused an exodus of displaced people into one of the most remote parts of neighbouring Papua New Guinea.

Ryan Dagur – A Catholic school run by the Canossian Sisters in Timor-Leste has launched a green school initiative aimed at, among other things, reducing single-use plastic waste that is inundating the Southeast Asian nation.

New Delhi – The daughter of Sukarno, Indonesia's founding father and first president, on Tuesday converted from Islam to Hinduism, an unorthodox move in the world's most populous Muslim country.

Friski Riana, Jakarta – The Minister of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) Johnny G. Plate on Tuesday announced that his team discovered a number of field implementation violations regarding the use of Covid-19 tracing app PeduliLindungi.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The Indonesian government once again pledged to advance the nation's shift from fossil fuel to renewables, as it sets up strategies to give the energy transition a push.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – Pollster Indikator Politik Indonesia in partnership with NGO Indonesia Cerah Foundation conducted a poll on young voters' opinion and perception towards climate change in Indonesia. The survey subjected respondents aged between 17-35 years of age across Indonesia.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The Education, Culture, and Technology Ministry Nadiem Makarim in early September introduced regulation No. 30/2021 overseeing the prevention and handling of sexual violence within university environment.

Andita Rahma, Jakarta – The Communications and Informatics (Kominfo) Ministry on Tuesday responded to a Google report stating that Indonesia tops the list of countries in the world with the most frequent content removal requests.

The transparency report from January to June 2021 ranks Indonesia first and followed by Russia and Kazakhstan.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Navy has received two new tank landing ships built by a local defense consortium on the island of Batam.

Each ship is capable of carrying 367 personnel, 15 BMP-3F tanks, and a helicopter, according to the Defense Ministry.

It measures 117 meters in length, 16.4 meters in width, and 7.8 meters in height. Both have a maximum speed of 16 knots.

Friski Riana, Jakarta – Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI) chairperson Jusuf Kalla announced on Monday that the council will work together with the Ministry of Religious Affairs in regulating the use of sound systems in Mosques nationwide.