Nicholas Ryan Aditya, Jakarta – Public policy observer Trubus Rahadiansyah says that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's claim that Indonesia is handling the corona virus pandemic well is intended to prevent the public from panicking. Yet the number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise.

Indra Nugraha – Veteran Indonesian agrarian reform activist Gunawan Wiradi, a lifelong champion of the rights of farmers and rural communities, has died at the age of 88.

Gunawan co-founded the Consortium for Agrarian Reform (KPA), which documents and records conflicts and injustices in underreported regions of Indonesia.

Max Lane – The opposition's weakness means that the Indonesian president's recent problems carry few political costs – for the moment.

Tabita Diela, Jakarta – Indonesia has raised its budget for the National Economic Recovery program to Rp 553.09 trillion (US$39.4 billion), increasing fiscal support for a country struggling to contain its coronvirus outbreak, a minister said on Tuesday.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo called for several extraordinary steps to address the global impacts of climate change. He made the statement during the online Climate Adaptation Summit (CAS) on January 25, 2021.

Mahfuzulloh Al Murtadho, Jakarta – High-intensity rainfall showering Bogor since 15:30 local time on Monday, Jan. 25 caused the Cisadane River to overflow which led to landslides in plantations and fields belonging to residents of Ciadeg Village, Cigombong.

Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – Nurse Sustina Syofianti felt relieved and upbeat after getting the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Jan 16.

She had been vaccinated before for other diseases but was still nervous about being among the first to receive the China-made Sinovac vaccine.

Antara, Jakarta – The Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) announced Monday that the losses due to the devastating South Kalimantan floods were estimated to reach Rp1.349 trillion.

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta 00 The flimsy, makeshift bamboo walkway creaked and bent as Ade Djuhana treaded his steps carefully metres above trash-strewn water in a coastal area of Jakarta.

Yen Nee Lee, Singapore – Indonesia will take at least a year before a sufficient portion of its population becomes immune to Covid-19, the country's Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told CNBC and stressed the need for the government to keep spending to support the economy.

Graeme Dobell – The word 'guarantee' rightly makes Oz politicians, diplomats and lawyers cautious, even nervous: never say forever, never say never, and try never to provoke Indonesia.

Dio Herdiawan Tobing and Vicky Nauli Barreto Simanjuntak, Jakarta – WhatsApp's new privacy policy that no longer allows user to opt out of sharing their data with the parent company Facebook has sparked controversy and a massive migration to rival messaging apps around the world.

Daniel Fitzgerald – The Indonesian Government is reportedly looking to Mexico as an alternate source of live cattle, after Australian cattle hit record prices and Jakarta meat sellers go on strike.

In Indonesia, the government sets a ceiling for beef prices, as part of an effort to keep costs down for food staples.

A man and a woman may be headed for spells in prison after the police arrested them for allegedly having oral sex at a bus stop in Central Jakarta.

Education officials in the city of Padang, West Sumatra are under pressure to review a discriminatory rule after a student at public vocational high school complained that she was made to wear the hijab even though she's not Muslim.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – An Indonesian politician has come under fire after making racist comments about a former Papuan member of the country's National Human Rights Commission.

Ambroncius Nababan, who unsuccessfully stood as a candidate in a Papuan constituency in the last national assembly elections, is accused of likening Natalius Pigai, a Catholic, to an ape.

Jayapura, Jubi – Since Dec. 24 last year, 18 Nduga residents who had been taking refuge in Jayawijaya regency in Indonesia's Papua had died after being denied access to healthcare, a volunteer reported.

Jayapura, Jubi – Merauke District Court in Papua held a pre-trial hearing to judge whether the arrest of 14 West Papua National Committee (KNPB) activists in Merauke last month was legal or not.

Novy Lumanauw & Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo recently announced Indonesia will soon have its largest Islamic bank, Bank Syariah Indonesia or BSI, to catch up on its sharia economy lag.

Sienna Curnow & Elena Couper, Jakarta – While Covid-19 numbers explode in Indonesia and settle in Australia, the fate of the international students caught in between remains unclear.

Farouk Arnaz, Jakarta – The Aceh Provincial Police have arrested five men, including a local civil servant, for alleged role in a series of terror attacks and suspected link with global terror network the Islamic State, a spokesman said on Monday.

Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition is concerned that the newly established national defense reserve component (komcad) will be used to control domestic security threats.

Triyan Pangastuti, Jakarta – Indonesia attracted $7.7 billion in foreign direct investment last year, only down slightly from the year-earlier as the largest economy in Southeast Asia managed to stock up investors' confidence in its economic resilience and prospect amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jakarta – Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta) Director Arif Maulana has confirmed the view that the state has played a role in perpetuating racism against Papuans.

Moh Khory Alfrizi, Jakarta – Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that Indonesia had adopted an incorrect COVID-19 testing scheme. He explained that the tests were only conducted on people that intended to travel out of town and some other activities.

Dian Erika Nugraheny, Jakarta – Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) advocacy division head Muhammad Isnur says that the government often tends to blame the public for its poor handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Isnur, this tendency is an effort on the part of the government to cover up its poor leadership and handling of the pandemic.

Indonesia has decided to prioritize vaccination for people aged 18-59, arguing the workforce needs to be protected first to boost the economy. Authorities argue that vaccinating workers first reduces the overall infection rate more effectively

Antara, Jakarta – The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) will provide more emergency shelters for COVID-19 patients in quake-hit West Sulawesi province to conduct self isolation.

Grace Sihombing and Haslinda Amin – Indonesia sees downside risks for economic growth in the first quarter as the government imposed more restrictions to curb a worsening coronavirus outbreak, said the finance minister.

Michael G. Vann – The massacre of the Indonesian left in 1965-66, backed by Washington, was one of the great crimes of the twentieth century. A new generation of scholars has uncovered its long-suppressed history of slaughter of up to a million people in the name of anti-communism.

Dina Manafe & Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The Indonesian government is considering allowing companies to initiate vaccination against coronavirus for their employees amid ongoing surge in newly cases that takes the country closer to the grim milestone of 1 million cases.

Jakarta – The Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam) says that the presence of retired Indonesian military (TNI) and police generals in mining companies is ridden with conflicts of interest. It is suspected that their presence also results in favouritism in the handling of conflicts between the mining industry and local communities.

Antara, Jakarta – State-run vaccine manufacturer PT Bio Farma (Persero) announced that it had completed the production of four million doses of COVID-19 vaccine that will be ready for distribution in February 2021.

Nicholas Ryan Aditya, Jakarta – Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam) Coordinator Merah Johansyah has refuted Presidential Chief of Staff (KSP) Moeldoko's statement that the administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is not selling off permits to open new mines and palm oil plantations.

Asni Ovier, Jakarta – National Covid-19 Task Force Head Doni Monardo confirmed on Saturday he has tested positive for coronavirus following week-long trips to Sulawesi and Kalimantan.

Jakarta (AFP) – Relatives of 62 people killed when an Indonesian passenger jet slammed into the sea scattered flowers at the crash site on Friday (Jan 22), as investigators look for clues to why the plane dropped from the sky minutes after take-off.

Sabrina Citra – This week, a Twitter thread penned by an American graphic designer named Kristen Gray went viral. No wonder; successive tweets detailed the seemingly charmed life she and her girlfriend, Saundra Alexander, were now enjoying after moving to the Indonesian island of Bali in 2020. The move, wrote Gray, had been a "game changer".

National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) investigator Nurcayho Utomo said a problem with the Boeing 737-500's autothrottle system – which controls engine power automatically – was reported after a flight a few days earlier.

Ben Fox, Washington – After an unexplained delay, the US Defence Department has announced plans to try in a military court three men held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who are suspected of involvement in deadly bombings in Indonesia in 2002 and 2003.

Erwin Renaldi – The year has only just begun, but already Indonesia has been hit with fatal earthquakes, deadly landslides and volcanic eruptions.

The Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said there had been a staggering 185 natural disasters in Indonesia in the first three weeks of 2021 alone.

Jakarta – Indonesia would reach the peak of its demographic dividend this year as the working-age population now account for close to 71 percent of the country's total population, and its birth rate continues to decline, according to the latest census data published on Thursday.

Dian Wahyu Kusuma, Bandar Lampung, Indonesia – In a two-week survey of the thick forest of Sumatra's Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in the 1990s, Indonesian conservationist Agus Setiawan says he found signs of the rare and threatened Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis).

Antonia Timmerman, Jakarta – Bayu Edmiralda left the congestion of Jakarta seven months ago for the tropical delights of Bali, where he spends his day in a coworking space near his rented room.

Muhammad Hendartyo, Jakarta – Trade Ministry's secretary-general Suhanto on Friday, Jan, 22, said beef supplies available in the market suffice Indonesia's national need. The government guarantees that it will remain that way.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – Pro-democracy NGO Setara Institute on Thursday disapproved of the step taken by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo who they deemed had rushed the passing of derivative government regulation (PP) No. 3/2021 on managing national resources for defense use.

Jakarta, Indonesia – Investigators are yet to determine the cause of this month's Sriwijaya Air plane crash in Indonesia that killed all 63 people on board, but the disaster has once again put the spotlight on maintenance, training and safety across the country's transport system.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Indonesia has recorded more coronavirus cases and deaths in the first 22 days of the year than the previous monthly record reported in December, as newly cases are spiraling beyond control and nearing the 1 million mark.

Devina Halim, Jakarta – The Security sector Reform Coalition says that there are three problems which need to be addressed when the sole candidate for the next police chief, Commissioner General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, takes over the leadership of the national police.

Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) says that the planned reactivation of the Swakarsa Civilian Security Force (Pam Swakarsa), which was proposed by candidate national police chief Commissioner General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, is a betrayal of the values of reformasi.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has denied that deforestation for oil palm plantations and coal mines contributed to a recent deadly flood in southern Borneo.