Tatang Guritno, Jakarta – The lawyer representing the families of victims of the Semanggi I and II tragedies, Muhammad Isnur, says that they will take their case to the Supreme Court following a ruling against them by the State Administrative High Court (PTTUN).

Jayapura – Citizens including a religious figure demand the Indonesian state to take responsibility for the displaced people who had left their homes due to fear of losing their lives amid armed conflicts in the two regencies in Papua Land, or internationally known as West Papua

Jakarta, Jubi – The Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police had been investigating a case in which "a stray bullet" hit a resident, Andres Bewarmbo, when the police and the military tried to disperse an angry crowd in Kampung Pomako in Mimika Regency, Papua on March 7, 2021.

Erfan Maaruf, Jakarta – The State Intelligence Agency (BIN) is conducting 24 hour patrols for hate speech and hoaxes on social media (medsos). And they are not just patrolling cyberspace, BIN will also go into the field to act against those spreading negative content.

Fana Suparman, Jakarta – Two high ranking police officers were found guilty of taking bribe from graft convict Djoko Tjandra during separate trials on Wednesday.

Inspector General Napoleon Bonaparte was sentenced to four and a half years for accepting US$370,000 and SIN$200,000 from Djoko, according to the verdict delivered by the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court.

Nelson Da Cruz, Kate Lamb, Dili – The tiny Southeast Asian nation of East Timor will put its capital city on a coronavirus lockdown for the first time, its government said on Monday, amid fears it could be facing its first local outbreak.

Muawwan Daelami, Jakarta – Waskita Toll Road, or WTR, a subsidiary of state-controlled construction company Waskita Karya, has announced a plan to divest all of its 30 percent interest in the Medan-Kualanamu-Tebing Tinggi Toll Road to Kings Ring, a subsidiary of Hong-Kong-based investment company Road King Expressway in a deal worth $57 million.

Imam Hamdi, Jakarta – The Jakarta Ombudsman Head Teguh Nugroho stressed that a request for the Covid-19 vaccination for families of the Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) members is against the technical guidance issued by the Health Ministry.

"The council's request for a vaccine for their families violates the technical guidelines," said Teguh on Monday, March 8.

Antara, Jakarta – Chairperson of the Covid-19 Handling Task Force Doni Monardo called on all parties to comply with the traveling restriction during the upcoming holidays of Isra Miraj and Nyepi (Day of Silence), particularly the state apparatus (ASN) up to state-owned enterprises (SOE) employees.

Bisnis.Com, Jakarta – The Indonesian Private Hospital Association (ARSSI) Secretary-General Ichsan Hanafi said 700 private hospitals handling Covid-19 cases have not yet received incentives for health workers.

Jakarta – A video of a police officer warning that they will shot Papuan students gathered in front of the Malang municipal police headquarters in East Java has gone viral on social media. In the video, a local police unit chief can be heard threatening the Papuan students.

Markeus FK/Suharto, Wamena, Papua – Thousands of families in Jayawijaya district, Papua province have been shifted to higher ground due to floodwaters submerging their homes, the Jayawijaya District Natural Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) reported.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Indonesia's deforestation rate hit a historic low in 2020, with the government crediting its various policies prohibiting forest-clearing, and experts attributing the trend to more rains, falling oil palm prices, and an economic slowdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A 17-year-old boy has become the latest victim of Indonesia's six-decades-long colonisation of West Papua. Killed on March 6, Melianus Nayagau has been murdered in Intan Jaya, where Indonesian military operations have displaced thousands of my people.

Bernadus Wijayaka, Jakarta – Aprilia Manganang, once was the key player in the Indonesian women's volleyball team, was confirmed to be a man on Tuesday after he underwent surgery.

Aprilia, 28, has sparked controversy during international competitions before with rivaling teams raising suspicion about his gender judged by his physical appearance.

Tatang Guritno, Jakarta – Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (Safenet) Executive Director Damar Juniarto is questioning the government and the House of Representatives' (DPR) scale of priorities after revisions to the Information and Electronic Transaction (ITE) Law were not included in the 2021 priority National Legislation Program (Prolegnas).

Bandung – Activists from the Women's Liberation Knot (Simpul Pembebasan Perempuan, Simpulpuan) held a parade (long-march) to the Gedung Sate building in the West Java provincial capital of Bandung on March 8 to demand the ratification of the Draft Law on the Elimination of Sexual Violence (RUU PKS).

Rizky Suryarandika and Nawir Arsyad Akbar, Jakarta – The executive director of Voxpol Center Research and Consulting, Pangi Syarwi Chaniago, suspects that there is a hidden agenda behind attempts to take over the Democrat Party leadership. Chaniago is concerned that one of the aims is so President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo can run for a third term in office.

Pradito Rida Pertana, Yogyakarta – Protesters calling themselves the People's Struggle Front (FPR) held an action commemorating International Women's Day (IWD) today in front of the governor's office in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta. The action however was marred by an altercation between the protesters and local people.

Muhammad Aminudin, Malang – A demonstration held near the Gajayana stadium in Malang city, East Java, ended in chaos and anarchy with demonstrators smashing a police truck window after they were asked to disperse for violating health protocols.

Kevin O'Rourke – The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed social inequities worldwide, including in the administration of vaccines. Indonesia, however, stands out for a vaccination policy that deliberately accommodates – and indulges – the country's most prosperous groups.

While many Jakartans have gradually gone back to spending weekends visiting their favorite malls, the overall visitation rate has yet to return to pre-pandemic times, one year after Indonesia reported its first COVID-19 cases.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – Constitutional law expert from Jentera School of Law, Bivitri Susanti, opined that the government should not remain silent in responding to the conflict of the Democrat Party. The government, she added, has the responsibility to keep democracy going well.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said in commemoration of the International Women's Day that both men and women have equal opportunity, as he wrote on his Instagram account on Monday, March 8, 2021.

This year's theme of International Women's Day (IWD2021) is "Choose to Challenge."

Jakarta – Indonesia announced last week that it had identified two new cases of the B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant, which was first detected in the UK late last year.

Zurich, Switzerland – Swiss voters on Sunday narrowly backed a free trade agreement with Indonesia that would abolish duties on industrial products including palm oil.

The Health Ministry has announced an updated schedule for its COVID-19 mass vaccination program, with the general public now expected to begin receiving their shots in September.

Sheany – The issue of privilege resurfaced on Indonesian Twitter over the weekend, after one user showed a photo of foreigners without masks when boarding a Citilink flight from Denpasar.

The post, which has gone viral recently, alleged that airline hostesses kept quiet despite the apparent violation of COVID-19 protocol.

Three days after the first suspected case of Covid-19 was announced last year in Tulungagung, East Java, 55-year-old Sutikno came up with a unique idea: As he harvested the dry, fan-shaped sheaths of coconut leaves at his farm, a vision of a familiar traditional mask came to him.

Adam Voiland – Though it covers just 1 percent of Earth's land surfaces, Indonesia's rainforest is believed to shelter 10 percent of the world's known plant species, 12 percent of mammal species, and 17 percent of bird species.

Henry, Jakarta – The baton urging the enactment of the Draft Law on the Elimination of Sexual Violence (RUU PKS) into to law has been taken up.

Theo Kelen, Jayapura – The police arrested nine rally participants in West Papua on Monday, March 8, 2021 and dispersed International Women's Day rallies in Jayapura, the biggest city in West Papua.

Novia Harlina, Padang – Women community members from the Women's Concern Network (JPP) held a peaceful action at the traffic circle in front of the West Sumatra Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) in Padang on Monday March 8. The action was held to commemorate International Women's Day (IWD) 2021.

Tiara Azzahra, Jakarta – On March 8 protesters held a long-march from the central business district on Jalan MH Thamrin to the State Palace in Central Jakarta to commemorate International Women's Day (IWD) 2021.

Banda Aceh – Non-government organisations (NGOs) and millennial groups in Aceh held an International Women's Day (IWD) virtual campaign at the Ivory Cafe in Setui, Banda Aceh, on Monday March 8.

Yudha Baskoro, Jakarta – Women in Jakarta participated in a march to commemorate International Women's Day on Monday, demanding that the government enact sexual violence eradication bill into law.

They carried posters with slogans criticizing violence, rape culture and unequal work environment in Indonesia. One of them showed a placard that reads "Women aren't Property".

Surabaya – Police broke up an International Women's Day (IWD) action by the Women's Movement with the People (Gempur) Alliance in Malang, East Java on Monday. A number of protesters were also arrested by police because of the chaos that ensued when they tried to disperse the crowd.

Jakarta – Indonesia received 1.1 million doses of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine from the global vaccine procurement program Covax on Monday afternoon.

Indonesia is among developing countries entitled for free vaccine supply under the UN-backed scheme.

Dian Septiari, Jakarta – Ambassadors and foreign representatives in Jakarta's diplomatic circles have taken a diversity pledge to decline speaking engagements in all public discussions where women's voices are not represented, part of a bigger move to ensure equal representation as the world celebrated International Women's Day on Monday.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – "Birds might fall as they're not strong since there's no more trees standing."

This is how Jemris Nikolas characterizes the response of many in Sorong, a district in Indonesia's easternmost region of Papua, to the deforestation unfolding in their area.

Abeth You, Enarotali – Reports from Intan Jaya confirmed that in late February and early March, two civilians, one a man with disability and another a teenager, were shot dead.

M Yusuf Manurung, Jakarta – Hundreds of Democrat Party cadres in the Capital City held a blood thumbprint event to declare their loyalty to General Chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono or AHY.

The event was held at the DPD office of the Jakarta Democratic Party, Jalan Bambu Apus Raya, Cipayung, East Jakarta, on Sunday, March 7, 2021.

Anne Barker, Indonesia – Indonesia is drawing up a plan that could allow foreign tourists to return to Bali within months if they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and return a negative test on arrival.

Zakki Amali – The accusations by Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) have been proven true after the passing of several weeks. The former infantry major accused Moeldoko, a retired TNI (Indonesian military) general, of meeting with leading Democrat Party members and prepared a coup d'etat to take over his leadership of the party.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Indonesia's Ministry of Religion Affairs has withdrawn a history textbook for Protestant students following a complaint by a Catholic priest who claimed the book contained misleading information.

Jakarta – Bank Pan Indonesia, or Bank Panin, the country's eighth-largest lender by assets, controlled by Indonesian billionaire Mu'min Ali Gunawan, is implicated in the latest tax corruption case Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati dubbed as an act of betrayal to the country.

Jakarta – The decision by three ministers on school uniforms must be supported. The politicization of what students wear in school must be stopped.

Devina Halim, Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) hopes that the requirements for independent candidates to take part in the election of regional heads (pilkada) will be eased for the sake of preventing the emergence of oligarchies.

Sheany – An "orgasm retreat" initially scheduled to start this weekend in Ubud has been canceled, after it gained traction online and was castigated by Indonesians, with one local public figure saying that the event tainted Bali's dignity.

Ika Krismantari – A year into the pandemic, Indonesia has made no significant progress in containing COVID-19 since President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo announced the first two cases on March 2 last year.

Since last October, the world's fourth-most-populated country still reigns as the nation with the most COVID-19 cases and highest fatality rate in Southeast Asia.