Evarukdijati, Rahmad Nasution, Jayapura, Papua – The Indonesian army will secure the 575-kilometer Transpapua section of the Jayapura-Wamena highway in Papua province to halt the flow of illegal goods, including drugs and liquor, a top military officer said.

Hans Kapisa, Manokwari – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) had evaluated the governance of licensing and permits related to West Papua forests and palm oil plantation companies in the province in Papua Land for the last two years and reported that 24 companies held a permit to turn 576,090 hectares of forests into palm plantations.

Andita Rahma, Jakarta – The National Police Internal Affairs (Propam) immediately issued a ban against policemen consuming alcohol following a bloody incident where a police personnel identified as CS shot four people – injuring one and killing three people with one of them being a military member – after an altercation broke at a local bar in Cengkareng, West Jakarta.

Tsarina Maharani, Jakarta – The Anti-Injustice Social Coalition has reported President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to the police criminal investigations directorate for alleged violations of health protocols during a presidential visit to Maumere in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

Francisca Christy Rosana, Jakarta – Aviation observer from Aviatory Indonesia, Ziva Narendra, asked the government to issue a strict policy, particularly to limit the people's mobility during this year's Eid al-Fitr holidays. She argued that it is vital to curb Covid-19 transmission.

Indonesian netizens might have to learn a thing or two about basic online manners, after the country came last in Southeast Asia in Microsoft's latest Digital Civility Index (DCI).

Since 2016, the survey has been conducted in dozens of countries around the world "to promote safer, healthier, and more respectful online interactions among all people."

Katharina R. Lestari, Jakarta – A group of Indonesian activists have launched an online petition calling on authorities to drop blasphemy charges laid against four medical workers for bathing a dead body.

An online registration open to tourism workers in Bali this week has so far attracted over 10,000 people, an official said, as it pools the number of people who would potentially benefit from a prioritized vaccination program for the battered tourism industry.

Jakarta – Police asked participants at a protest action against Special Autonomy (Otsus) in Papua to take Covid-19 rapid tests at the site of the demonstration in front of the Home Affairs Ministry office in Jakarta on Wednesday February 24. The protesters however refused saying it was an attempt to silence them.

Jakarta – Scores of Papuan students held a protest action in front of the Home Affairs Ministry office in Jakarta on Wednesday February 24 expressing their opposition to the extension of Special Autonomy (Otsus) in the land of the Cenderawasih as Papua is known.

Jakarta – Virtual Police from the Bhayangkara Corps – as the Indonesian police are known – have officially begun operating. The unit, which was the idea of national police chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, was formed to prevent criminal actions which violate the Information and Electronic Transaction Law (UU ITE).

Chairul Fikri, Banten – At least 15 medical workers in South Tangerang, Banten province, were diagnosed with coronavirus and some of them have earlier received two doses of vaccine, a local official said on Wednesday.

Indonesia has vaccinated more than 1.2 million medical workers across the country using a vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech since Jan. 13.

M Rosseno Aji, Friski Riana, Jakarta – Two of Tempo's newspaper and magazine brands, Koran Tempo and Majalah Tempo, took home four awards in The 12th Indonesia Print Media Awards (IPMA) 2021 that was hosted by the print media union or Serikat Perusahaan Pers (SPS).

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo hopes schools can reopen for the new school year in July, as the government recently began administering Covid-19 vaccine shots for teachers.

Hundreds of teachers and education staff received their first Covid-19 jab at SMA 70 high school in Jakarta.

Yance Wenda, Sentani – West Papua Church Council expressed their concerns with the recurring situation in Papua Land, emphasizing the sufferings Papuan people have to endure during the 60 years of "conflict and militarism" especially the latest situation in Nduga, Intan Jaya, and Mimika regencies.

Agus Rahmat, Dani Randi (Banda Aceh) – Officials from the Banda Aceh municipal Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) and Wilayatul Hisbah (Sharia police, WH) have sealed off a hotel in the Batoh area for frequent violations of Islamic law. The hotel was also sealed off because its operational license expired in 2018.

Evarukdijati, Rahmad Nasution, Jayapura, Papua – The Papua provincial government's COVID-19 Task Force disclosed that novel coronavirus disease keeps posing serious threats to residents in 22 of 29 districts and cities across this eastern Indonesian province.

An Indonesian nurse has died from COVID-19 after receiving one of two mandatory vaccine shots, with the government highlighting the importance of adherence to health protocols on top of the ongoing mass vaccination program.

Come what may, Indonesia is getting a new president in 2024. In this country, it's never too early to predict the frontrunners for the top job, and a couple of surveys suggest the favorites are already household names in politics.

Usman Hamid – As Indonesia's Covid-19 case count continues to climb past one million, the government's disregard of other public health measures in favour of an aggressive mandatory vaccination drive shows a clear neglect of its human rights obligations.

Oecusse, Timor-Leste – A defrocked American priest went on trial on Tuesday (Feb 23) to face charges he sexually abused young girls at his shelter for orphans and children from impoverished families, marking the first clergy sex case to emerge in Timor-Leste – the most Catholic place in the world outside the Vatican.

Jakarta (Reuters) – Indonesia's police chief has called on officers to use greater discretion when enforcing the country's Internet law, following signs from the government that the legislation, which has ensnared journalists, academics and opposition figures, will be reviewed.

Jakarta (AFP) – Ten orang utans have been airlifted back to their natural habitat on Indonesia's Borneo island, in the first release of the apes into the wild for a year due to the dangers of coronavirus infection.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – The head of a prominent Catholic rights advocacy group in Papua has told police and the military to put their own houses in order after the arrest of two policemen accused of selling arms to separatist rebels.

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – Indonesia has dismissed a recent report suggesting that an action plan is being prepared to help the Myanmar military to uphold its promise of holding a new election.

Bayu Marhaenjati, Yeremia Sukoyo, Jakarta – At least 15 people have been arrested for their role in a land scam based on a police complaint lodged by the family of former deputy foreign minister Dino Patti Djalal.

The gang has allegedly forged ownership document of a land and building in South Jakarta belonging to Zurni Hasyim Djalal, who is Dino's mother.

Hendro D. Situmorang, Jakarta – John Khan – a bodybuilder from Central Sulawesi who has competed in the men's category – reveals that she was born a woman.

Being a bodybuilder, John has a muscular physique with defined biceps. Nobody would have guessed that John was a woman based on the appearance alone.

Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition has criticised the appointment of a team to review the Information and Electronic Transaction Law (UU ITE) through a decree issued on February 22 by Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud MD.

Carlos KY Paath, Primus Dorimulu, Emmanuel Kure, Jakarta – The Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, the Communication and Information Technology Ministry, and the Law and Human Rights Ministry has formed a team to review the 2008 Law about Electronic Information and Transactions, taking a concrete step to make a change in a controversial law which critic

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – The National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit said his side was developing an application to facilitate officers monitoring hate speech on social networking sites.

Caesar Akbar, Adam Prireza, Jakarta – The Jakarta Provincial Government planned to summon property developers to discuss the impacts of their development in the capital city, including floods.

UCA News reporter, Dili – A court in Timor-Leste has started the trial of a self-confessed pedophile American priest who was dismissed from the priesthood by the Vatican on charges of child abuse in 2018.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Monday local authorities should get prepared for potential forest fires later this year as hot spots had been detected on the island of Sumatra.

The West Papua Liberation Army says three young men killed by Indonesia's military last week were civilians and died after being tortured and not shot while escaping.

The deaths occurred at a health centre in Sugapa in Papua province.A spokesman for Indonesia's military says the three men were members of an armed group, a euphemism for the West Papua Liberation Army.

Konradus Epa, Jakarta – Police in Indonesia's West Nusa Tenggara province have arrested four women for throwing rocks during a protest on Dec. 26 last year against a tobacco factory which they claimed was causing air pollution that was making their children and many others sick.

Abeth You, Dogiyai – Thousands of people in Dogiyai Regency in Papua, united under Papuan People Solidarity, took to the streets on Monday, Feb. 22, to protest against the government's plan to create a new province and to establish a new police precinct at the regency level.

Katharina R. Lestari, Jakarta – Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD says his ministry has formed two teams to amend a controversial law that critics say has catch-all articles aimed at stifling dissent.

Jakarta (Reuters) – Indonesia's government has issued a new regulation on investment following the passage of its job creation law last year, which includes the removal of some restrictions on foreign investment in a bid to boost investment into its pandemic-hit economy.

Antonio Sampaio, Pante Macassar, Timor-Leste – The fear that has led for years to silence dozens of children, allegedly victims of sexual abuse by a former priest who begins trial today in Timor-Leste's western enclave, still shrouds the case.

Intan Jaya has started Lent with bitter sorrow after losing three young Papuan men alleged to have been shot and brutally tortured to death by the Indonesian military in a local health centre.

Sources said that the armed conflict has caused more than 1000 indigenous West Papuans in Intan Jaya evacuate to the church complex of the Catholic Church of Santo Mikael Bilogai.

A man in Serdang Bedagai, West Sumatra was arrested for allegedly posting blasphemous content online, which police say was uploaded due to his frustration over getting dumped in the name of religion.

The government has cut five collective leave days from this year's libur schedule, considering that previous spikes in the country's COVID-19 caseload came right after public holidays.

The decision was made following a meeting with the heads of several ministries today, headed by Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Indonesia's mining giants are piling into coal gasification projects as the country's biggest export markets and global investors move toward a carbon-neutral future.

Jim Nolan – In an unexpected announcement, Indonesian President Joko (Jokowi) Widodo this month called upon Indonesia's military and police leadership to "improve supervision to ensure that the implementation of the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law can be in compliance with the principle of accountability and provide the public sense of justice".

Carlos K.Y. Paath, Jakarta – Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto has the strongest electability among potential presidential hopefuls but no one has emerged as a dominant figure to suggest that the race remains open, according to a survey released on Monday.

Yudha Baskoro, Jakarta – We all know that we will die someday, but we never thought death could come today.

We assume that we still have time until tomorrow, next month and even next year. This assumption, however, only lasts until death comes knocking on your doors.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has readjusted the regulation regarding overtime overseen under one of the Job Creation Law's derivatives seen in the Government Regulation (PP) No. 35/2021.

The law, which has stirred public resistance, has created new derivatives such as temporary workers (PKWT), work time, work relations and break time, and layoffs.

Bisnis, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Monday, February 22 officially ratified the Government Regulation (PP) No. 37/2021, which is one of the dozens of derivatives of the Job Creation Law, that oversees a business owner's requirement to include its employees in the government's security schemes for terminated workers (JKP).

Antara, Jakarta – The State Secretariat hoped that the issuance of 49 derivative regulations of the Job Creation Law, or Law No. 11 of 2020, could immediately bring impacts on economic recovery and become a momentum for national awakening in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Arjuna Pardemme, Jayapura – A Papua Legislative councilor from Intan Jaya electoral district, Thomas Sondegau, said the new deployment of security personnel to Intan Jaya would make residents in the regency more scared and worried about their safety.