Jakarta – A prosecutor in Bali has appealed a Denpasar district court verdict sentencing musician I Gede Ari Astina, better known as Jerinx, to 14 months in prison for "hate speech" against the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI).

Francisca Christy Rosana, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan on Friday mentioned Indonesia's natural tourism and adventures, citing a World Economic Forum study, which claims Thailand is more superior compared to Indonesia.

Based on the study, Thailand tops the category in the Southeast Asia region.

Friski Riana, Jakarta – Former National Armed Forces (TNI) commander Gatot Nurmantyo in Thursday's virtual seminar stated that it would be impossible for the military to be enemies with the controversial mass-organization Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and its leader Rizieq Shihab.

Riska Rahman, Jakarta – Fundraising on the Indonesian stock market is expected to increase next year, Deloitte Indonesia has said, as more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are projected to go public in response to tax cuts and a relaxation of administrative requirements.

Jakarta – A United Nations special rapporteur wrote his opinion to the Central Jakarta District Court, which has yet to rule on a lawsuit filed by Jakartans over polluted air. The judges need to care more about the environment.

Jakarta – Graft convict Djoko Soegiarto Tjandra has admitted to paying Rp 10 billion (US$710,400) to businessman Tommy Sumardi to assist Djoko with the removal of his Interpol red notice back when he was still on the run.

Pacific Media Centre – An appeal for a 40-day fast across the region by the Pacific Council of Churches in support of West Papua closes next week with no result in sight.

Ikhwan Hastanto – Indonesian police have been criticized for placing a trans woman in a male jail cell following her arrest over the weekend.

Jakarta – The West Papua regional police (Polda) arrested 36 people in Manokwari and Sorong city following demonstrations commemorating the anniversary of the West Papua New Guinea National Congress (WPNGNC) on Friday November 27.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has confirmed the cancellation of the 212 reunion rally as stipulated in a statement issued by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), Jakarta Military Command (Kodam) Jaya commander Maj. Gen. Dudung Abdurachman has said.

Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – The government needs to ramp up research and development (R&D) and develop human resources in the manufacturing industry, the business sector contributing the most to gross domestic product (GDP), to support the country's economic recovery, experts have stated.

Bandung and Jakarta – State-owned pharmaceutical company PT Bio Farma is still waiting for results from the phase three clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine produced by Sinovac Biotech for the vaccine to be authorized for public use.

Padjadjaran University's School of Medicine is currently conducting the phase three clinical trial in Bandung, West Java.

Jakarta – A hospital administration expert is urging the government and health authorities to increase bed capacity and expanding isolation facilities to anticipate a potential surge in coronavirus patients, as hospitals in Indonesia are quickly running out of space for COVID-19 patients.

Jakarta – Indonesia logged yet another daily record in coronavirus infections and fatalities on Friday as the national COVID-19 task force confirmed 5,828 new cases and 169 new deaths over the past 24 hours.

Norman Harsono, Jakarta – The Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI) signed on Wednesday a deal with the China Coal Transport and Distribution (CCTD) association to export US$1.46 billion worth of coal to China next year.

Fana Suparman & Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The town of Cimahi in West Java has been led by three mayors since it got a municipal status in 2002 – all the three are now convicts or a suspect of corruption.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Indonesia reported the highest single-day rise of both coronavirus-related deaths and newly confirmed cases on Friday as the surge continued in line with improving testing capacity.

Benny Mawel, Jakarta – Five civilians, including minors, were reportedly shot by unidentified assailants in two separate incidents in Papua's Puncak regency last Friday.

Four of them died immediately, while the fifth managed to escape, according to accounts from the victims' relatives.

Singapore (Reuters) – Forest-related risks could cost companies that trade in or use Indonesian palm oil as much as US$10 billion (RM41 billion) this year, according to a study of more than 100 firms published by a global environmental group.

Yogyakarta – Gadjah Mada University (UGM), in cooperation with the Research and Technology Ministry, is to distribute 11,000 locally developed rapid test kits for free to hospitals and health agencies across the country.

Reports from Indonesian's Papua region say a West Papuan teenager was shot dead in a mystery attack in the central highlands.

Another male student who was with the victim was also shot in last Friday's attack but survived and later found help to reach a medical clinic.

Mardika Parama, Jakarta – Land acquisition and human capital issues have remained a challenge in the development of the mega trans-Sumatra toll road project, which might delay its scheduled completion.

Jakarta – The national COVID-19 task force has traced nearly 240 confirmed cases to 17 clusters that emerged in May-November from large public gatherings at religious events and places of worship in Jakarta.

Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo addressed on Wednesday 50 global business leaders in a virtual dialogue held by the World Economic Forum, in which he promoted the Job Creation Law and explained the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil, Jakarta – The government has called for Christmas celebrations this year to take place under proper health protocols to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 in the country.

Bandung – The West Java administration's COVID-19 and economic recovery task force has prepared refrigerators and cold storage rooms to house vaccine doses in 27 regencies and cities in the province in preparation for mass vaccination efforts.

Nina A. Loasana, Jakarta – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has reasserted its commitment to supporting Indonesia's food security programs in its recently released 2021-2025 Country Strategic Plan (CSP).

Fana Suparman & Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Edhy Prabowo and his wife have used part of bribe money to buy a Rolex watch and luxury handbags during their trip to Hawaii, according to new details that emerged during a press conference by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Wednesday night.

Antara, Jakarta – President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said the current public health and economic crises are an opportunity for Indonesia to push the reset button and make a quantum leap through big vision, big transformation, and big actions.

Francisca Christy Rosana, Jakarta – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) on Wednesday asked President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to appoint a new Maritime and Fisheries Minister who can show commitment to revoke the controversial export policy on lobster seeds.

Yogyakarta – The recent death of Andrianto Purnawan, the head of the Indonesian Medical Association's (IDI) public participation acceleration team for COVID-19 mitigation, adds to the rising number of medical personnel who have succumbed to the coronavirus.

Nina A. Loasana, Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has found that reported sexual harassment and abuse, particularly online, has risen significantly this year as the nation endures the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hundreds of pairs of shoes were arranged neatly in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) building on the morning of Wednesday November 25. Several purple coloured posters were also placed between the shoes, one of which read "No Excuse For Abuse".

Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) detained Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Edhy Prabowo in the early hours of Wednesday.

KPK deputy chairman Nawawi Pomolango confirmed a sting took place on Wednesday morning but did not elaborate. "It is true, we detained a number of people last night and early this morning," Nawawi said as quoted by kompas.com.

Pacific Media Centre – Campaigners at a TAPOL-hosted global webinar have called on the people of Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States and other countries to stop funding military training for Indonesian security forces who are "killing innocent West Papuans".

Budi Sutrisno, Jakarta – Activists have strongly condemned law enforcement officials for placing a transgender woman in a men's detention facility, calling it an insensitive move against the special needs and security risks of the detainee.

Jakarta – Indonesian businesses have put high hope on the Covid-19 mass vaccination to return the confidence of 162 million Indonesian middle- and upper-income classes to start spending again next year.

Jakarta – The return of Muhammad Rizieq bin Hussein Shihab two weeks ago was like opening Pandora's box.

After the state seems to vanished and the government looks like a loser, now officials in the center and the regions busied themselves passing the blame and trying to save face. Identity politics has heated up again and will continue to fester until the 2024 elections.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The national COVID-19 task force on Tuesday said that the upcoming year-end holidays can potentially cause confirmed cases to increase exponentially.

Saskia Raishaputri, London – Papua is brewing, its people taking to the streets last year in large numbers to show their discontent at being a part of Indonesia. It has been 51 years since the last Dutch colonial bastion in this region joined the Republic, but instead of rejoicing, the demonstrations and protests have continued.

Dzulfiqar Fathur Rahman, Jakarta – The government is ramping up sugar production and working to attract more investment in the industry to prevent a shortage of the commodity and price hikes in 2021 as the country seeks to recover from the pandemic downturn.

Jakarta – Indonesia logged yet another record in daily coronavirus infections on Wednesday as the national COVID-19 task force confirmed 5,534 new cases over the past 24 hours, shortly after the country observed several mass gathering violations.

Jakarta – National COVID-19 task force spokesperson Wiku Adisasmito has warned of potential new clusters emerging at schools, after the central government gave regional administrations permission to resume on-campus learning in January 2021.

Wiku said in-classroom teaching could not be done instantaneously and should be carried out according to strict health protocols.

Jakarta – A variety of civil society groups have sent flower boards to the Jakarta Military Command (Kodam Jaya) headquarters in Cililitan, East Jakarta, to thank the Indonesian Military (TNI) for removing banners supporting Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab.

Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has asserted that solidarity between civil society groups will not be split or divided by an attempt to invite them to a meeting with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Monday November 23.

Andita Rahma, Jakarta – The Indonesian national police (Polri) together with the National Armed Forces (TNI) will conduct massive joint patrols ahead of the commemoration day of the establishment of Free Papua Movement (OPM) on December 1.

Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – The House of Representatives (DPR) legislation board (Baleg) has decided to stop deliberating the controversial draft family resilience bill (RUU) which was decided after five factions expressed their objection.

Muhammad Beni Saputra – COVID-19 pandemic has increased the thirst for local news among people across Indonesia's vast archipelago since the first coronavirus case was announced in March.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – "Welcome back, the famous Great Imam, the pride of the habibs/Who is like a sword for believers of Islamic shariah, like a lion of Allah/Whose knowledge is as deep as the ocean, who is patient and generous"

Juhri Selamet – The United Nations (UN) designated 19 November as World Toilet Day to raise awareness that 4.2 billion people live without access to safe sanitation, including in Indonesia.