Muhammad Hendartyo, Jakarta – The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) chairman Jusuf Kalla or JK predicted that the number of Covid-19 cases in Indonesia would reach 2 million in April 2021. This, he added, could happen if the addition of new infections per day consistently hit above 12,000.

Konradus Epa, Jakarta – An indigenous community in Indonesia's East Kalimantan province has launched a campaign seeking more than US1 million in compensation from a palm oil company by blockading its plantation.

Hellena Souisa – The country hit 1 million COVID-19 cases at the end of last month, almost two weeks after the vaccine developed by China's CoronaVac was rolled out.

But among at least two tribes in West Java – the people of Baduy and Kasepuhan Ciptagelar – no positive cases have ever been detected.

Sienna Curnow, Jakarta – Two thirds of Indonesia's territory is comprised of water – which continues to serve as a dumping ground for much of the population's waste. According to an estimate, approximately 20 percent of total plastic waste in Indonesia ends up in marine waters, a staggering amount which relies largely on activist contributions to clean up.

Antara, Jakarta – Traffic on Jalan Jatinegara Barat, East Jakarta, was congested as part of the road was flooded following the overflow of the Ciliwung River on Monday morning, February 8. The floodwater reached a height of about 20 centimeters.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said two provinces reported a decrease in cases of coronavirus among health workers after the Covid-19 vaccination.

"We have seen that two provinces start to record a decline in positive cases among healthcare workers," Budi said in an online press conference on Sunday, February 7.

Antara, Jayapura, Papua – State-owned Pertamina-Papua and Maluku Regional Office has distributed its aid packages to flood victims currently taking refuge in Pramuka building of Arso Swakarsa neighborhood, Arso Subdistrict, Keerom District, Papua.

Annie Sloman – The COVID-19 pandemic has not only had global health, economic and social impacts, it has also impacted on civic space. But what has been the impact of COVID-19 on civic space in Timor-Leste?

Mathias Hariyadi, Jakarta – The massive floods that hit Semarang in recent days have sowed chaos and confusion.

A metre of water has interrupted rail links to the capital of Central Java province, paralysing east-west road traffic, and putting out of service the city's Tawang Central Station.

Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – Pollster Indikator Politik Indonesia on Monday announced that its recent survey found that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's satisfaction rate failed to improve in 2021 with 62.9 percent. It also recorded an increase in dissatisfaction rate.

Jakarta – Indonesia on Monday extended the closure of its borders to foreigners for another two weeks until Feb. 22 over coronavirus fears, a day after its drug monitoring agency approved the emergency use of China's CoronaVac vaccine for the elderly.

Yustinus Paat & Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has relaxed coronavirus-related social restrictions by allowing malls, supermarkets and retailers to operate until 09.00 p.m. starting on Tuesday as the surge in newly cases begins to slow.

Business premises were previously ordered to halt operation at 7.00 p.m.

Lies Marcoes – After years of inaction, the Indonesian government is finally acting to prevent state schools from forcing students or staff to wear headscarves or other religious clothing.

Dr Socratez Yoman – The Indonesian coloniser has become an ignorant ruler with deaf ears and with evil intention in fighting for the addition of new Papuan provinces without the population numbers to justify this.

Provincial division is a serious problem because the population of Papua and West Papua does not meet the requirements to establish new provinces.

Stanley Widianto and Maikel Jefriando, Jakarta – Indonesia has approved Sinovac Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine for use in the elderly, a letter from the food and drug agency shows, potentially changing the country's strategy which has prioritised its working population first.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia, which is home to one of the world's largest mangrove forests, has set a target of rehabilitating 150,000 hectares (ha) of its area under mangroves in 2021.

Antara, Jakarta – As a country located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia is prone to natural disasters such as volcano eruption, earthquake, and tsunami, and hence its residents must be prepared for that.

Penulis Irfan Kamil, Jakarta – The results of an Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) poll shows that 58.3 percent of respondents believe that there has been an increase in corruption over the last two years.

The survey was conducted to garner the opinion of social groups who potentially have information and experience related to the issue.

Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – The results of an Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) poll shows that 51.1 percent of respondents are dissatisfied by the performance of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Hendro D Situmorang, Natasia Christy Wahyuni, Jakarta – Indonesia will start the Covid-19 vaccination on the people aged 60 or older on Monday after the country's drug supervisory authority cleared the CoronaVac, made by Chinese Sinovac Biotech, for emergency use among the elderly.

Yudha Baskoro, Jakarta – Protesters from Leaders and Organizers of Community Organizations in Asia (Locoa) have held a demonstration to show solidarity due to the loss of democracy in Myanmar at the Myanmar Embassy building in Central Jakarta on Friday.

Karuni Rompies, Jakarta – More than 100 volunteers who helped victims of last month's earthquake in Indonesia's West Sulawesi province have contracted COVID-19 due to poor implementation of health protocols.

Although accurate and official data is not available, local media reports say as many as 105 out of 150 volunteers have tested positive to the illness.

Jakarta – A surreal, blood-red river inundated the Indonesian village of Jenggot after floods hit a nearby batik factory on Saturday, causing a frenzy on social media.

Jason Hung – Indonesia's mass procurement of Chinese vaccines hints that Beijing and Jakarta may use the public health crisis to strengthen ties. Indonesia's vaccine rollout will have critical consequences for its intensifying economic and health crisis, and for China's global reputation.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government should actively enforce a new decree that bans abusive, discriminatory dress codes for female students and teachers in Indonesia's state schools, Human Rights Watch said today.

Michael Taylor/Thomson Reuters Foundation, Kuala Lumpur – Indonesia's ambitious biodiesel program would increase the risks of deforestation as more tropical forest could be cleared to grow palm oil, environmentalists say, urging policymakers to implement a long-term ban on new plantations.

Triyan Pangastuti, Arnoldus Kristianus, Nasori – Jakarta – The government is confident Indonesia's economy would return to an expansion mode in the first quarter this year, banking on the government spending increase, manufacturing growth, and exports, after a persistent rise of the Covid-19 cases prevent the country from escaping its first recession in 22 years last year.

Antara, Jakarta – Semarang City in Central Java is widely submerged by floods due to the rain pouring over the city from Friday until today, Feb. 5-6. Antara reported that the flooding has hampered the traffic heading to Semarang Old Town.

The 30-50 cm high water inundates the roads on Jalan Pemuda and Jalan Agus Salim, heading to Johar Market.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – The Indonesian government set to implement the Covid-19 restrictions on micro-scale starting on February 9. This is to continue the community mobility restriction (PPKM) that has been running since January 11.

Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia says that the government cannot just issue a joint ministerial decree (SKB) on uniforms in state schools. The decree must be followed by revoking the 2006 joint ministerial decree on establishing houses of worship.

Tsarina Maharani, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia is urging Attorney General (JA) ST Burhanuddin to withdraw a appeal against a Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) ruling against a statement he made in 2020 on the Semanggi I and II students shooting in 1998-99.

Pontianak, West Kalimantan – A critically endangered Sumatran tiger was shot dead on Saturday while another is still on the loose after they escaped from a zoo in West Kalimantan, leaving a zookeeper dead, an official said.

Jakarta – The New and Renewable Energy Bill must accelerate the endeavor to abandon fossil-based energy sources such as coal. As a precondition, the mechanism for purchasing electricity must be revised.

Antara, Jakarta – The Covid-19 task force on Friday revealed that the provinces of West Kalimantan and Riau can be the references for other regencies in terms of managing the pandemic. Both provinces are at low risk of spreading the virus and classified as 'yellow zones.'

Kiki Siregar, Jakarta – Indonesia and Malaysia are committed to working together to combat international discrimination against palm oil, the countries' leaders said in Jakarta on Friday (Feb 5).

Lusa News, Dili – The Timorese Press Council today asked journalists to avoid being "messenger boys", referring to the publication of a statement about former Timor-Leste president Xanana Gusmao's controversial visit to a former priest accused of child abuse without identifying the source.

Gemma Holliani Cahya, Jakarta – It was 8pm on one of the busiest intersections in western Jakarta. Three men in metallic paint from head to toe stood on the footpath. Each was holding a silver can.

We didn't see it coming, but Indonesian shamans and psychics have formally established the Indonesian Shaman Association (Perdunu) in Banyuwangi, East Java. And they foresee a festival celebrating the union.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has received the honor of being named one of the world's champions in the advancement of sustainable mobility in 2021.

Dozens of Indonesian terror victims, mainly those from the Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005, were finally granted compensation yesterday, following years of struggle for financial support from the government.

Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) fell slightly more than expected in the fourth quarter, tipping Southeast Asia's largest economy into its first full-year contraction in more than 20 years in 2020 as it grappled with the hit from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kate Lamb, Stanley Widianto and Agustinus Beo Da Costa, Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko Widodo received the nation's first coronavirus vaccine live on television last month, but despite the fanfare, his ambitious inoculation campaign is already facing glitches from refrigeration, distrust and disinformation.

Antara, Jakarta – The Indonesian railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) on Friday has officially introduced the GeNose C19 Covid-19 screening services in Jakarta's major railway stations; Gambir and Pasar Senen.

Anwar Siswadi, Jakarta – A team of researchers from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) in Bandung has created two robots that are able to conduct indoor sterilization dubbed the ROM20 or autonomous multi-use robot 20 and the Si-SUSan or Simple-Smart UV-C Sanitizer.

Bisnis, Jakarta – The Indonesian government through the Finance Ministry's staffer, Yustinus Prastowo, said that the incentives for healthcare workers in the 2021 State Budget (APBN) will be unchanged compared to last year.

"Therefore, the incentives [for health workers] will remain the same with 2020," he stated in a text message to Bisnis.com on February 4.

Jakarta – The government needs to carefully study the plan to build a thorium power station in Bangka Belitung. Environmentally friendly energy sources must be prioritized.

Yance Wenda, Jayapura – Flood victims and an environmental activist in Sentani in Jayapura Regency, West Papua, have identified that poor water management in the area and environmental damage in the regency's water retention area, the Cycloop Hill.

Sebastian Strangio – Earlier this week, the Indonesian government banned public schools from making religious attire mandatory for teachers and students, in the government's latest apparent attempt to fight a rising tide of religious intolerance.

Yohanes Sulaiman – Firebrand and head of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) Muhamad Rizieq returned to Indonesia from his exile in Saudi Arabia on 10 November 2020.

Jakarta – Scores of people from the Urban Poor People's Network (JRMK) and the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) held a solidarity action in front of the Burmese Embassy in Jakarta on Friday February 5. During the action they condemned the military coup in Burma and called for the restoration of democracy.