Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Timor-Leste has officially launched a travel association bringing together all religions to promote religious tourism, a sector that the Catholic-majority country is seeking to develop to diversify its economy.

Jakarta – The government has cut the quarantine time for foreigners to five days, from eight previously, as it started allowing foreign tourists to visit Bali and Riau Island on Thursday.

The decision came as the country seeks to reinvigorate the tourism industry after nearly two years of hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sultan Anshori, Agustinus Beo Da Costa, Denpasar – Indonesia's holiday island of Bali reopened to foreign tourists after 18 months of pandemic hiatus on Thursday, but the island is lacking one crucial ingredient: international flights.

Every night at 3:00 am, Rina is jolted awake by blaring speakers so loud she has developed an anxiety disorder: she can't sleep, she's too nauseous to eat – but she is also too scared to complain because doing so could see her jailed or attacked.

The noisy neighbour is the local mosque in her Jakarta suburb, and the clamorous sound is the call to prayer.

Jakarta – Education should follow developments in the world and teachers, as the catalyst of change in the education system, must follow their passion, in turn inspiring students to be curious and creative in navigating the future, education experts have said.

Antara, Jakarta – Mining activities without permits are acts of crime, and the Indonesian Government will continue to crack down on illegal mining, according to Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Minister Arifin Tasrif during a webinar on Wednesday.

Adam Prireza, Jakarta – Jakarta Health Agency Head Widyastuti said the increase in daily COVID-19 cases in the capital was due to the active case-finding (ACF). The agency expanded tests to residential areas, not only at schools.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – Former employee of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Rasamala Aritonang on Thursday said he plans to establish a political party and has even prepared a name for it. He is one of the 57 former employees who were dropped from the anti-graft watchdog in a controversial and widely known civic knowledge test (TWK).

M Yusuf Manurung, Ayu Cipta, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid in a written statement on Wednesday condemns the incident that saw a police personnel securing a heated situation amidst a protest by body slamming a student protester in Tangerang. He deemed it a blatant act of brutality.

Bandung – Hundreds of workers from the Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance Confederation (KASBI) commemorated the anniversary of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) in front of the Gedung Sate building in the West Java provincial capital of Bandung on Thursday October 14.

Sania Mashabi, Jakarta – Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance Confederation (KASBI) Chairperson Nining Elitos says that Law Number 11/2020 on Job Creation has had the totally opposite effect to the government's stated desire to increase prosperity and create job opportunities.

M. Aribowo, Suara North Sumatra – A video showing a police officer hitting a youth until they fall to the side of the road in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra has gone viral.

Viewed on Thursday October 14, a uniformed police officer can be seen hitting a youth in the face until they fall to the ground. Angered over the beating, the youth tries to resist.

When the Indonesian government announced ambitious plans to ramp up domestic food production as the pandemic set in last June, officials claimed that it would not lead to "environmental destruction".

Theo Kelen, Jayapura – The Jayapura District Court is still waiting for the medical examination result of Victor Yeimo to determine his trial schedule. Yeimo, the international spokesperson for the West Papua National Committee who is arrested for alleged treason during a protest against racism in 2019, is currently undergoing treatment for tuberculosis at the Dok 2 Hospital.

Muhammad Waffaa Kharisma – In recent weeks, few issues have triggered as much debate on the future of the Indo-Pacific as the unveiling of the AUKUS trilateral security partnership.

Konradus Epa, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has announced it will give compensation to more than 400 victims of terrorist bomb attacks committed across the country over the past two decades.

It will be the third and last round of payouts to be given as part of a commitment made by the government in 2018 to give compensation to terror attack victims.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – A Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician Nasir Djamil in a virtual discussion on Tuesday advised President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to show his commitment in fixing the Electronic Information and Transactions Law (ITE Law) by granting mass-amnesty for people who have been charged with it.

Jayapura – The International Coalition for Papua (ICP) has released its latest report on human rights violations in Papua between July and September 2021.

Dyna Rochmyaningsih – Seventeen years ago, botanist Miriam van Heist of Wageningen University and a team of local collaborators set out to explore plant diversity in the Foja Mountains in Western New Guinea. It was an uncharted realm: Of the 487 species they found, nearly one-third had never been described anywhere.

Lenny Tristia Tambun & Novy Lumanauw, Gresik, East Java – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Tuesday laid the foundation stone for a giant smelter belonging to copper and gold mining firm Freeport Indonesia in the East Java town of Gresik.

The smelter is built on 103-hectare land at the Manyar Special Economic Zone at a cost of $3 billion, according to government data.

Superman's son is bisexual, and while the rest of us are here for more representation, various organizations and political parties in Indonesia have called for the comic to be banned.

Jakarta – The deputy chairperson of the peak Islamic body the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI), Anwar Abbas, has asked the government to ban the distribution of DC Comics in which Superman is depicted as bisexual.

Victor Mambor, Jayapura – Upon receiving a report on a missing person named Sem Kobagau, reportedly arrested by four members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in Sugapa District, Intan Jaya Regency, the Cenderawasih Military Command XVII starts investigating the allegation.

Mikael Niman, Jakarta – Some of the 57 ousted Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators have made an unlikely turn to make a living: selling fried rice and snacks.

Hengky Yeimo, Jayapura – The executive director of the Institute for Research, Assessment, and Development of Legal Aid (LP3BH) Manokwari, Yan Christian Warinussy, says that during the 25 years of the LP3BH's establishment, his party has not found any real efforts by the Indonesian government to address the two root causes of Papua's problems, which are, the disputes over political

If you want to report a crime to the police, make sure you give an accurate testimony, Indonesia's National Police said, after a man did the exact opposite in the name of pride as he sought justice for getting robbed.

Dina Afrianty – On 23 September, Indonesia's second largest Islam-based political party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), sparked controversy by publicly recommending polygamy as part of its Covid-19 response.

A high school teacher in North Sulawesi province's South Minahasa regency is getting just an administrative sanction for groping the breast of a student, as seen in photos of the abuse that has gone viral nationwide.

A. Asnawi, Pasuruan, Indonesia – Authorities in Indonesia have managed to put out a wildfire that had been tearing through a national park that's home to rare leopards and eagles.

The fire started on the morning of Oct. 9 in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, home to the iconic Mount Bromo, a popular tourist attraction.

Jakarta – Indonesia plans a nationwide seroprevalence survey over the next two weeks to determine whether that substantial portion of its population already has immunity against Covid-19, either artificially through vaccines, Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin said on Monday.

Atamus Kepno, Jayapura – Cenderawasih University (Uncen) students are urging the government through the Papua police to immediately release West Papua National Committee (KNPB) international spokesperson Victor F. Yeimo and student activist Frans Wasini.

Burhanuddin Muhtadi, Norshahril Saat – The current internal struggle within the PDI-P to determine the party's 2024 presidential nominee will have a significant bearing on how broader political alliances will shape up thereafter.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – Juliandi Tigor Simanjuntak, a former employee of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) legal bureau, resorted to selling fried rice after he was sacked. Tigor is one of the KPK employees who was fired for failing the civil service exam – known as the national insight test or TWK.

Moh Khory Alfarizi, Jakarta – University of Indonesia Faculty of Medicine's Department of Pulmonology and Respiratory Medicine professor Tjandra Yoga Aditama on Monday revealed that Indonesia's Covid-19 recovery index is considered admirable and even exceeds other ASEAN countries.

A new United Nations report has detailed the harassment and surveillance of West Papuan human rights defenders at the hands of the Indonesian state.

The report, jointly compiled by the UN Secretary-General and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), records attacks on human rights defenders in 45 countries, including Indonesia.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Activists are warning of "severe environmental and social risks" from plans by two of the world's largest paper companies to significantly expand their operations in Indonesia.

Jakarta – Nine months since the Indonesian government ran the COVID-19 vaccination program, the vaccination rate in Papua Province is lowest, a recent national count says.

Indonesia this weekend celebrated the divinely good news that Saudi Arabia is set to reopen its borders to pilgrims from the world's most populous Muslim country, though it appears the two countries are working to finalize details on vaccinations before the program can begin.

Arys Aditya – Indonesia is reopening its borders further, allowing visitors from more countries to enter and imposing a shorter quarantine period.

Andita Rahma, Jakarta – The Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) argued that the viral social media hashtag saying that filing a police report would be pointless (#PercumaLaporPolisi) should be a momentum for evaluation.

The widespread online criticism came after an independent media reported that the police in South Sulawesi had dropped an alleged child rape case.

Kiki Siregar, Jakarta – There is no intention to cancel a proposed travel bubble between Indonesia's Riau Islands and Singapore, said provincial governor Ansar Ahmad on Sunday (Oct 10).

Yudha Baskoro, Jakarta – A Covid-19 mass vaccination program for refugees and asylum seekers living in the Greater Jakarta area took place at the Bulungan Sports Hall in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, last Thursday.

Siti Nur Rahmawati, Jakarta – Indonesia will soon has its first floating Solar-Powered Power Plant, and is said to be the largest Solar-Powered Power Plant in Southeast Asia. Three international banks have expressed their readiness to fund the project, which will be developed in Cirata Reservoir in West Java.

Jakarta – More than 100 million Indonesian citizens have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine since the vaccination drive began on January 13, according to Health Ministry data released on Sunday.

Figures from the ministry's vaccination dashboard show that 100,189,038 citizens are partially vaccinated, representing 48.11 percent of the target population.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – Saiful Mahdi, Lecturer from Syah Kuala University in Aceh, hoped that any ambiguous articles in the Information and Electronic Transaction Law ("ITE Law") to be revised. Saiful said that there should be no more victims of the ITE Law, such as himself.

Immanuel C S, Mecca Yumna, Semarang, Central Java – Head of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) Daeng M. Faqih urged the Indonesian Government to boost security at the airport, as Indonesia's entry point from overseas, to prevent the risk of a third wave of COVID-19.

Imam Budilaksono, Suharto, Jakarta – The Greater Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party has outlined the reason behind its chairman Prabowo Subianto's third bid for presidency in 2024.

Chris Barrett, Singapore – Indonesia hopes to see Australian travellers return to Bali by the end of the year and is ready to talk to the Morrison government about how to get them back.

Jakarta Globe, Jakarta – The government is considering reducing the mandatory quarantine period for arriving international travelers, either Indonesian citizens or foreigners, to five days from eight, in a move to reinvigorate international business and tourism activities.

Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) says that seven international non-government organisations (NGOs) have highlighted the recent criminalisation by government officials of four human rights activists in Indonesia.