Timor-Leste's Petroleum Fund (PF) is 'well capitalised' to support economic growth, although it is currently being hampered by the pandemic, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Emma Connors, Singapore – The Indonesian government is wrapping Bali in a bubble in an effort to protect the holiday mecca from rising new cases, as hotels start to advertise to international tourists ahead of a planned reopening in July.

Syaiful H, Rahmad Nasution, Jakarta – Indonesia's top security minister, Mahfud MD, highlighted the government's priority to seek peaceful solutions to the Papuan issue though will continue to crack down on armed Papuan terrorist groups that have threatened most Papuan communities.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Lawyers for alleged victims in a sexual abuse case involving an ex-priest in Timor-Leste are to lodge an official complaint against officials at a district court where the case is being heard after the trial was postponed for a third time.

Johannes Nugroho, Surabaya, Indonesia – Indonesia's public debate over the issue of Palestinian rights was reawakened by the latest violence, which claimed at least 243 lives in Gaza and 12 in Israel before an eventual ceasefire.

Jakarta – The leadership of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has conferred with the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform (Kemenpan RB) and the State Civil Service Agency (BKN) on the fate of the 75 anti-graft agency employees who failed the pass the civics knowledge or nationalism test required for them to become state civil servants.

Erlina Fury Santika, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud MD claims that 92 percent of the Papuan people support the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

This was conveyed after he met with several Papuan figures following a meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission I on Tuesday May 25.

Yerica Lai, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has appointed Lt. Gen. Ganip Warsito, the chief of general staff of the Indonesian Military (Kasum TNI), as the successor to National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) head Doni Monardo, who is to retire from the position on June 1.

Rifki Nurfajri, Jakarta – Publicly listed retail group PT Hero Supermarket plans to close all of its Giant supermarket outlets by the end of July to improve its finances after the pandemic whammed Indonesia's retail industry.

Authorities have arrested two men for their alleged roles in an online prostitution ring involving over a dozen teenagers in West Jakarta.

In a raid conducted on Wednesday and Friday last week, police apprehended at least 75 people from two hotels in the area. Among them were 18 underage girls, who the pimps took in after going on dates with them.

Charles Maniani, Manokwari – Hundreds of people in Manokwari from the Papuan People's Solidarity (SRP) once again articulated their opposition to the extension of Special Autonomy in Papua and other demands on the morning of Tuesday May 25.

The arrest of an alleged breast groper in Jakarta has sparked a discussion on the trivialization of sexual harassment in Indonesia, with netizens coming forward to share stories about their horrifying trauma as victims.

East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa has been reported to the police for allegedly breaching COVID-19 protocols at her birthday party last week.

Indonesian police have forcefully dispersed a number of West Papuan protests around the region today.

The protestors were calling for the release of pro-independence activist Victor Yeimo who was taken into police custody over two weeks ago.

An exiled West Papuan leader has condemned Indonesian for "hypocrisy" in speaking out about Myanmar and Palestine while voting to ignore genocide and ethnic cleansing at the United Nations.

The leading English-language daily newspaper, The Jakarta Post, has also criticised Jakarta's UN vote.

James Guild – A recent article from Mongabay reports that as of 2023 Indonesia will no longer build new coal-fired power plants. The article notes, however, that Indonesia still intends to finish dozens of projects that are currently under construction, and that these will continue burning coal and emitting carbon for many years to come.

Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – At least eight family members of 47 Indonesian health workers who contracted Covid-19 after treating 14 sick Filipino ship crew members have tested positive for the coronavirus as the health authorities intensify tracing on their close contacts.

Medan, Indonesia (AFP) – Four people have been arrested in Indonesia for allegedly stealing Covid-19 vaccines marked for prisoners and selling them to the public, the authorities said on Tuesday (May 25).

Astrid Faidlatul Habibah, Katr, Jakarta – Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati expressed pride while highlighting that Indonesia's COVID-19 vaccination program was ranked 11th internationally, with 24.84 million doses of the vaccine administered to the public.

Leo Galuh – Bandung, Indonesia – Farah Prisiliana woke up at 7 a.m., as she normally does, to start her routine from a rented room in Bandung, the capital of West Java.

Prisiliana, 42, stood up slowly, looking for her right prosthetic leg. Watering vegetables and plants on the windowsill is her first task once she affixes her leg and leaves her room.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – A priest who heads a theology and philosophy school in Indonesia has sparked controversy by claiming the Catholic Church will probably accept same-sex marriages.

Divine Word Father Otto Gusti Madung's comments were made last month during a talk with members of a group called Journalists Union for Diversity, which posted them on Facebook on May 23.

Erwida Maulia and Ismi Damayanti, Jakarta – The Indonesian government is working on a plan to send thousands of Jakarta-based civil servants to work remotely from Bali, in a bid to help the economy of the tourism-reliant island rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dzulfiqar Fathur Rahman, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia (BI) decided on Tuesday to hold its benchmark seven-day reverse repo rate at 3.5 percent amid a continually weakening rupiah and unusually low inflation last month, despite the Ramadan and Idul Fitri holidays.

Jakarta – The government has proposed a plan to add a new income tax bracket imposing a 35 percent tax rate on any annual income above $348,000 as part of a sweeping move to revamp Indonesia's tax code and boost state revenue.

Jakarta – At least 17 soldiers have been slapped with dishonorable discharge after they were found guilty of attacking a police station in East Jakarta, the Indonesian Military said in a statement on Monday.

A'an Suryana – A series of changes in Indonesia's KPK will seriously dent the anti-graft body's ability to investigate cases of corruption.

Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – Until the end of April 2021, the Indonesian government had spent Rp10.7 trillion from the state budget to treat Covid-19 patients. The money was used to pay for hospital facilities, health workers, and medicines that were given free to 159,700 patients.

Leanne Jorari – As popular support for West Papua grows more vocal, PNG officials walk a diplomatic tightrope.

A video recently surfaced on social media in Papua New Guinea, featuring a group of about 20 men, gathered around their apparent leader, declaring war on Indonesia.

Aisyah Llewellyn and Arif Budi Setyawan, Medan, Indonesia – When Zakiah Aini, a 25-year-old university dropout, walked into the Indonesian National Police Headquarters in Jakarta brandishing an air gun on the last day of March, it was initially widely reported, and perhaps assumed, that the perpetrator had been a man.

Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud MD claims that only a handful of Papuans want independence. More than that, he said, 92 percent of Papuans support the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

Thomas Bywater – An ambitious $4 billion tourism development dubbed 'the next Bali' has been condemned by the UN Human Rights Office after shocking land grabs and treatment of the islands' indigenous people have been brought to light.

Kate Lamb and Fanny Potkin – Indonesian anti-corruption activists have suffered a surge of digital attacks, from the hacking of messaging accounts to the sabotage of a Zoom conference with pornography, and they say they fear they are being targeted for speaking out.

Andita Rahma, Jakarta – Following news about an alleged massive data breach of 279 million Indonesians' confidential BPJS (social security) data on Friday, Commission I House of Representative (DPR) legislator Sukamta highlighted the fact that confidential data breach has happened too often which exposes Indonesia's cyber security weaknesses.

Alex Ray – Fifty kilometres east of Dili is the site of one of Timor-Leste's most renowned scuba diving locations. It is reached via the nearby Santo Antonio Grotto rest stop where timber-slat huts sell plastic bottled water and noodles in Styrofoam cups.

Shotaro Tani, Jakarta – Indonesia is considering introducing a carbon tax as it seeks to boost revenue to fund its spending to support an economy reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Officials in Bengkulu have reversed the expulsion of a high school student, whose viral TikTok video mocking Palestinians became the subject of nationwide outrage last week.

Facebook, TikTok, and Clubhouse may be banned in Indonesia within six months if the Information and Communications Ministry's order for them to be legally registered in the country proves to be more than a mere bluff.

Antara, Jakarta – The South Jakarta Metro Police is currently launching an investigation on the viral video in Instagram on an alleged burning of Muslim's Holy Quran. The police headquarters' Chief Grand Commissioner Azis Andriansyah said on Sunday confirms this "It's an ongoing investigation."

Chris Barrett – Farahnaz Salehi calls them the lost years. There have been seven of them for the 21-year-old Hazara refugee since she fled Afghanistan with her parents and her seven brothers and sisters in 2014, ending up in Indonesia.

"We are stuck here and we cannot do anything," she said from Cisarua, a mountainous district an hour's drive outside Jakarta.

The Indonesian government is speaking out about Myanmar and Palestine whilst voting to ignore genocide and ethnic cleansing at the UN. We are thankful that Indonesian leaders show solidarity with the suffering of the Palestinians and Myanmarese, but Indonesia is desperately trying to cover up its own crimes against humanity in West Papua.

Bayu Marhaenjati, Jakarta – The Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court on Monday found Maria Pauline Lumowa guilty of corruption and money laundering and sentenced her to 18 years behind bars for a major bank embezzlement case back in 2003.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – The Covid-19 pandemic has forced a district court in Timor-Leste to postpone the resumption of a trial of an ex-priest accused of sexually abusing children for the third time.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The Covid-19 national task force's head of data and information technology, Dewi Nur Aisyah, on Sunday announced that four Indonesian provinces have seen a rise in hospital bed occupancy rate with many hospitals treating coronavirus cases already over 50 percent occupied.

Jakarta – The Jakarta's Regional Commission for Post-Immunization Events, or KIPI, ensures every Covid-19 vaccine rolled out to the public is safe, as they have undergone several trials.

"All vaccines have undergone three-phase trials for safety," the commission's chief Ellen Roostati Sianipar told an online #tanyaIDI conference themed "Is AstraZeneca Safe?" on Thursday.

Harry Suhartono and Tassia Sipahutar – PT Garuda Indonesia needs to completely restructure its business, potentially reducing the number of planes it operates to less than half its main fleet as it seeks to survive the crisis wrought by the pandemic, its president told staff this week.

Ah, Bali. Land of holy temples, age-old traditions, beaches and jungles – and hordes of influencers in flowing white clothing.

Jakarta – Indonesia's foreign debt until the first quarter (Q1) end of 2021 reached US$415.6 billion, or decreased 0.4 percent (qtq), from the external debt position recorded in the fourth quarter of 2020, at US$417.5 billion.

Indonesian authorities on Friday summoned state insurer BPJS Kesehatan, which provides universal health coverage, as part of an investigation into an alleged breach of personal data involving millions of people, the communications ministry said.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia added 5,296 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections on Saturday, taking the total tally since the start of the pandemic in March, 2020 to 1,769,940, according to data provided by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force.

Markus You, Nabire – With the exception of a mass protest against racism on the grounds of the Papua governor's office on August 19, 2019, Victor Yeimo was never involved in the subsequent protest action on August 29 in Jayapura city which ended in a riot.