Tsarina Maharani, Jakarta – National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) Deputy Chairperson Mariana Amiruddin says implementing the principle of restorative justice in rape cases does not mean marrying off the victim to the rapist.

Zuhdiar L, Rahmad Nasution, Jakarta – The Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has appealed to the Defence Ministry, National Defence Forces, and Police to seek effective measures to crush armed Papuan groups responsible for acts of terror in the province.

Stuart Rees – West Papuans are Indigenous people, easily ignored, their natural resources exploited, their homes and cultures destroyed, hundreds tortured, hundreds of thousands killed. Our media reports endlessly about genocide in remote Xinjiang but not about genocide in neighbouring West Papua. Why?

The Food and Drugs Monitoring Agency (BPOM) has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for a COVID-19 vaccine processed in Indonesia, as the country gears up to enter the second phase of its mass vaccination program.

The head of Indonesia's COVID-19 task force has set an ambitious deadline by which Indonesia is to completely be rid of the coronavirus, with the targeted date falling on the country's Independence Day.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – A human rights group in Indonesia has called for changes to provisions in the criminal code dealing with detaining suspects following more than 100 reported cases of police abuses including torture against prisoners in custody.

Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – Indonesian rescuers have taken extra measures to protect themselves from being infected with Covid-19, as they battle floods in Jakarta and the surrounding regions.

Shotaro Tani, Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday named the head of a domestic bank to lead the country's planned $15 billion sovereign wealth fund.

President Joko Widodo has called for a more selective approach in the enforcement of Indonesia's Information and Electronic Transactions Act (UU ITE), possibly planting the seeds for a much-needed revision to the controversial law.

Koya Jibiki and Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Indonesian state energy company Pertamina has committed to palm oil biofuel as it follows the global shift away from fossil fuels, but high costs and international pressure over the industry's deforestation show this approach carries its own risks.

Indonesian police say they are looking into a bizarre claim made by a young widow in Cianjur, West Java, who has become the subject of widespread ridicule for saying she miraculously became pregnant without sexual intercourse.

Triyan Pangastuti, Muhammad Ghafur Fadillah, Novy Lumanauw, Jakarta – The government has increased the Covid-19 and national economic recovery (PC-PEN) fund by 19 percent and provided tax cuts for new car purchases to encourage consumers to spend, following an underwhelming trade data pointed to lingering weakness in domestic demand.

Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo stated he would ask the House of Representatives (DPR) to revise the Information and Electronic Transaction Law or ITE Law. He said the revision was aimed at removing vague articles that potentially cause multiple interpretations.

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Jakarta – Indonesia has made coronavirus vaccination for citizens compulsory and is set to allow the private sector to help inoculate the population to reach herd immunity faster.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – At least 168 people, mainly children, have died after falling into abandoned mining pits across Indonesia over the past seven years, according to a new report.

Jakarta – Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) Chairperson Asfinawati has responded to plans to revise the Information and Electronic Transaction (ITE) Law.

Asfinawati said that revisions to the ITE Law are indeed much needed but this is not enough to guarantee freedom of expression.

Jakarta – Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) says revisions to the Information and Electronic Transaction (ITE) Law must be done immediately.

Kontras legal division staff member Andi Rezaldi said that he hopes that the talk on revisions will not just be a discourse for the sake of saving the government's reputation.

Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – Indonesian military (TNI) Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto has revealed that Papuan separatists are using social media (medsos) as a propaganda tool.

Tjahjanto explained that there are at least three elements exploiting social media as a propaganda tool, namely elements from political, clandestine and armed fronts.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Indonesia's Drug and Food Supervisory Agency, or BPOM, approved on Tuesday the emergency use of a vaccine against coronavirus manufactured by state-run pharmaceutical company Bio Farma under license from China's Sinovac Biotech.

A wave of rejections against Jakarta's plan to establish new provinces in West Papua has emerged in Papua Land. Papuan students outside their home have also risen to the occasion and rejected the plan.

Imam Budilaksono/Suharto, Jakarta – A lawmaker urged Indonesia's government to improve its strategy to handle armed criminal groups in Papua Province following the death of a military soldier in a gunfight with rebels in Intan Jaya on Feb 15.

Maria Fatima Bona, Jakarta – The Indonesian government will start the second round of mass vaccination against coronavirus targeting priority groups other than medical workers on Wednesday.

Nganjuk, Indonesia – Torrential rains triggered a landslide on Indonesia's main island of Java, killing at least four people and leaving 14 others missing, as emergency personnel digging with their bare hands and farm tools desperately sought to unearth more victims on Monday (Feb 15), officials said.

A contract teacher in Bone, South Sulawesi was reportedly fired for posting about her relatively small pay on social media, her case drawing sympathy for non-permanent educators from many in Indonesia.

Millions of Indonesians fell into poverty during the pandemic, new data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) showed, pushing the country's poverty rate above 10 percent.

BPS' latest poverty data showed that as of September 2020, 27.55 million Indonesians live below the national poverty line, which represents a 2.76 million or 0.97 percent year-on-year increase.

Inaya Rakhmani, Evi Eliyanah and Zulfa Sakhiyya – COVID-19 has brought an unprecedented crisis to universities around the world. But female academics in Indonesian universities are facing additional constraints.

Women do not hold the highest-level executive positions in Indonesian universities. This results in gender biases in university policy-making.

Konradus EpaKonradus Epa, Jakarta – More than 5,000 people including 3,000 Catholics have fled their homes in Indonesia's Papua region following clashes between security forces and a separatist group, according to a church official.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Conflicts over land flared up across Indonesia in 2020, as Indigenous and rural communities tried to hold off pulpwood, palm oil and logging companies ramping up their expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Antara, Jakarta – The Health Ministry appealed to local governments to accelerate the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination program for health workers over concerns about the vaccines' expiration date, which was only six months.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) on Sunday reported that a major landslide had happened in an East Java village in the province's area of Nganjuk which caused 14 injuries and reportedly 20 people have gone missing.

Hendartyo Hanggi, Jakarta – Statistics Indonesia (BPS) on Monday reported that Indonesia's January 2021 trade balance saw a surplus up to US$1.96 billion which was boosted by larger figures of exports compared to January 2020.

Lani Diana Wijaya, Jakarta – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has made suggestions in response to Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan's plan to turn the capital into a Climate-Resilient City by 2030.

Jayapura, Jubi – Another armed conflict between the Indonesian Military (TNI) and West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) occurred in Intan Jaya Regency in Papua, this time killing an Indonesian soldier.

The armed altercation was the second reported incident since Feb. 12, when an armed civilian shot and injured a TNI soldier.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – It is not just the restaurants. Grab's motorcycle taxis, or GrabBike, drivers also benefit from food delivery service GrabFood.

Meleva Thorn, Perth – After a year of bushfires, floods, and drought, the Australian agricultural industry is on the road to recovery. One of the countries that will play a major role in helping heal this industry is Australia's biggest neighbor, Indonesia.

Arlina Arshad, Jakarta – A grassroots movement in one of Indonesia's worst-hit regions for Covid-19 has emerged to ease a crisis in healthcare in the country with hospitals unable to cope as patient numbers surge.

Linda Morris – A haunting video art installation acknowledging the murderous history of anti-communist purges in Bali has won this year's Blake Prize.

Devina Halim, Jakarta – The family of Pastor Yeremia Zanambani who was killed in Intan Jaya, Papua, on September 19 last year, has agreed to an autopsy being conducted with certain conditions.

By Raghu Gururaj

Introduction

Dicky Agung Prihanto, Jakarta – The Depok city Education Offices has issued a circular banning students from celebrating Valentine's Day, which falls on February 14.

Laurens Ikinia, Auckland – Indigenous Papuan students who are currently studying in New Zealand and Australia have formed an educational association, choosing Waitangi Day to mark the occasion of their inaugural virtual conference.

Wishnu Bagus Prasetyo, Jakarta – The government has decided to assign MNC Lido City, a resort megaproject owned by MNC Land, a Jakarta-listed property company controlled by media tycoon Hary Tanoesoedibjo, special economic zones, or SEZ for tourism, a status that came with various tax incentives and special tax facilities for any business involved in the project.

Shweta Sharma – A wedding planning company in Indonesia has come under fire for encouraging child marriages of girls as young as twelve years old, sparking outrage in the country.

A criminal investigation has been launched against the wedding planner, Aisha Weddings, after a complaint was lodged by the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI).

Victor Mambor, Jayapura – On Aug. 1, 2019, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) held a large meeting, called "Reunification and Declaration of Unity of TPNPB-Free Papua Organization" in Ilaga, Puncak Regency. The meeting in the neighboring regency ushered in a new period of conflict in Intan Jaya.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Environmental organizations including church groups have warned that deforestation in Indonesia's natural forests is reaching a critical level, especially in Papua where the clearance rate has increased significantly in the last two decades.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – The National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) Governor Agus Widjojo on Thursday said that the results of the 2020 simultaneous regional head elections (Pilkada) show the growth of political dynasty.

Kyunghoon Kim, KCL – Indonesia is establishing a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) in the coming weeks. While details are still lacking, it seems that the entity – tentatively referred to as Lembaga Pengelola Investasi (Investment Management Authority, or LPI) – will not look like an ordinary SWF.

Imam Hamdi, Jakarta – Epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia, Syahrizal Syarif, opined that Covid-19 cases in Jakarta and other regions could not be controlled without implementing lockdown or regional quarantine.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Monitoring Coalition says that deforestation in Papua has increased under the administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. The Coalition is made up of 11 non-government organisations (NGOs).

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) criticized the statement President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo made on Monday where he called for the public to be more actively engaged in criticizing the government, arguing that the current situation has shown civil freedom under threat.