Marchio Irfan Gorbiano, Jakarta – The government is set to conduct a population census, which are done every 10 years, next month to update data on the country's demographics.

Erin Cook – If 2019 was the Year of Living Excitedly, with the world's biggest-ever one-day polls returning President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to his post, 2020 will be the Year of Quietly Getting on With It. After securing a broad mandate, the government has virtually a clear path to institute reforms and launch its ambitious plan to move the seat of government to Kalimantan.

Andita Rahma, Halida Bunga, Dio Suhenda, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) is pressing President Joko Widodo or Jokowi to remove Yasonna Laoly from his position as Minister of Law and Human Rights (Menkumham).

Diana Mariska, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has decided to extend the service of anti-illegal fishing task force Satgas 115 following an evaluation by related ministries and state agencies.

Jakarta – Land and forest fires have hit at least seven areas in North Penajam Paser regency in East Kalimantan – the region that is to host part of Indonesia's new capital – over the past two days, according to local authorities.

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Surabaya – The head and all the staffers of community unit (RW) 03 at Bangkingan village in Surabaya, East Java made a public apology on Tuesday after issuing a circular that contained racist sentiments.

The circular issued on Jan. 12 went viral on social media on Tuesday and received a backlash from people condemning the racial statements.

Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Friday questioned the secretary-general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Hasto Kristiyanto over an alleged bribery case that has implicated some of the party's members.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The fires that raze vast swaths of Indonesian Borneo every year are having a lasting health impact on the region's critically endangered orangutans that threatens them with extinction, a new study has found.

Jakarta – If only President Joko Widodo and the House of Representatives (DPR) had not blunted the spearhead of Indonesia's anti-corruption agency, this embarrassing drama would not have happened.

Whisnu Bagus Prasetyo, Jakarta – Top executives from Americans technology giants Qualcomm and Amazon met with Minister of Communication and Information Technology Johnny G. Plate on Thursday to convey their interest in investing in Indonesia.

Norman Harsono, Jakarta – The government expects four smelters with a combined annual input capacity of 2.07 million tons and output capacity of 200,923 tons to begin operations this year.

Marchio Irfan Gorbiano, Jakarta – Indonesia and Hungary have vowed to strengthen bilateral relations, particularly at the people-to-people level, as well as the two countries' economic ties following Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's meeting with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Thursday.

Police in Pringsewu regency in Lampung province recently arrested a 40-year-old man for raping his 15-year-old stepdaughter, with a neighbor also suspected of raping the underage girl on numerous occasions.

Apriadi Gunawan and Ardila Syakriah, Medan, North Sumatra – Many Indonesians are preparing to celebrate the Chinese New Year, which falls on Saturday, with religious rituals and festive attractions.

In Medan, North Sumatra, Buddhists are visiting temples to perform prayers for their ancestors ahead of the Chinese New Year, locally known as Imlek.

Antara, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the Attorney General's Office (AGO) have agreed to continue the legal process of one of Indonesia's worst human rights violations cases known as the first and the second Semanggi tragedies.

Halida Bung, Jakarta – Acting spokesman of Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Ali Fikri said an issue on the obstruction of justice allegedly committed by Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly in the graft case of Harun Masiku needed to be explored.

Kevin Ng – When I first saw AksiKamisan (Act of Thursday), it was quite surprising. How come a group of people, gathering around in front of the presidential palace every Thursday demanding clarity from the government on serious human rights violation cases? The attendees are the victim's families, students, and people who care about the truth.

Jakarta – Flooding has occurred in parts of Jakarta on as a result of heavy rain in the early hours of Friday morning, according to data from the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD).

The BPBD recorded 54 inundated areas across the capital, of which 28 are located in North Jakarta.

Jakarta – The Jakarta Police on Wednesday named an East Jakarta resident a suspect of hate speech after he threatened to expel "the Chinese" from the neighborhood.

The chairman of the Betawi Islam Movement (Goib), Andy M. Saleh, was arrested in his house in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) Director Asfinawati said the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) should call in Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly and Immigration Director-General Ronny Sompie over the delay information on the whereabouts of graft suspect Harun Masiku.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan, North Sumatra – Hundreds of Batak people in North Sumatra have kick started a campaign to protest a proposed plan to cull domesticated pigs across the province following the sudden deaths of thousands of pigs from the recent African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in the region.

Dyaning Pangestika, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has listed 50 bills to be prioritized in the 2020 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) during its eighth plenary session on Wednesday.

Of the 50 priority bills, four are omnibus bills. Here is the list of the House's priority bills for 2020:

Jakarta – Cargill Indonesia, the local arm of the US agribusiness giant, has pointed to regulatory consistency as vital to attaining the desired impacts of the omnibus law, as legal uncertainty can hurt businesses.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Ombudsman has formed a team to investigate the Financial Service Authority (OJK) amid growing complaints from the public against the financial watchdog's poor supervision, following revelations of a financial fiasco involving insurance companies Jiwasraya, Asabri and Bumiputera.

Riska Rahman, Jakarta – State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir has denied accusations that he is giving out positions based on politics to supervise state-owned flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.Garuda appointed on Wednesday former Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) head Triawan Munaf as its new president commissioner.

Jon Afrizal, Jambi – A citizen of the United States and an Indonesian national have been arrested by the Telanaipura Police in Jambi for allegedly spreading the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Simpang Empat Sipin subdistrict of Jambi city.

American environmental journalist Philip Jacobson has expressed gratitude for all the support he has received following his arrest in Indonesia, as recorded in a video message published today by his employer, Mongabay.

Jakarta – The public prosecutor has demanded Habil Marati, accused of illegal firearms possession, to be sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. Prosecutors believe that Habil was proven to have provided funds for Kivlan Zen to buy illegal firearms.

Will Doran – On January 29, the Global Commission on Drug Policy (GCDP), one of the world's leading bodies advocating for global drug policy reform, will be co-hosting a seminar called "Sustainable Development in Indonesia: What Can Be Learned From Global Best Practice in Drug Control?" in Jakarta.

Karina M. Tehusijarana, Jakarta – Halal makeup producer Wardah Cosmetics has issued a statement denying its involvement in an anti-feminist and anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) event.

Wardah's logo was used on a poster of an event held by Majelis Umat Rabbani Nur Islam [MURNI] at the Al-Mukhlishin Mosque with the theme 'The Danger of Feminism and LGBT'.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has said that it is ready to issue a fatwa against popular streaming service Netflix should the platform be reported and found to have hosted "negative" content.

Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – The Finance Ministry is set to issue project-linked Sharia sovereign bonds (SBSN) this year to fund the development of 728 projects worth Rp 27.35 trillion (US$2 billion).

Made Anthony Iswara, Jakarta – Indonesia has continued its venture to lure global corporations into investing in the country during the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland this week.

Indonesia ranks fifth in the world for stunting. In 2013, nine million children, a third of Indonesian children aged under five years, were stunted, meaning that they were too short for their age

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has defended Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto against scathing criticism of the minister's frequent overseas trips.

The lack of an explicit divine prohibition against meth led to a man, ostensibly of God, to consume the illegal drug without any apparent sense of guilt.

Police in Bangkalan regency, East Java this week arrested a 46-year-old ustad (Islamic preacher), who is identified by his initials AM, for meth consumption and distribution to his students.

Jakarta – The government plans to relax environmental impact analysis (Amdal) requirements as it seeks to improve the country's ease of doing business, a minister has said.

Fadli, Batam, Riau Islands – A religious studies teacher at SMKN 1 state vocational high school in Anambas regency, Riau Islands, is to be slapped with a warning letter after calling a female student lonte (prostitute), which led her to drop out of school as she was "traumatized" by the verbal abuse.

Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia (BI) has decided to hold its benchmark interest rate at 5 percent amid a plunge in loan growth and improvements in the global and domestic economy.

Jakarta – Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly has apologized for provoking the ire of Tanjung Priok residents in North Jakarta following his negative description of the area.

During a speech at Jatinegara Prison in East Jakarta on Jan. 16, the minister stated that Tanjung Priok was an example of a "slum" as well as the source of all sorts of crime due to poverty.

Michael Andrew, Jakarta – International journalists and agencies have condemned the arrest of American environmental journalist Philip Jacobson, who has been detained in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, for allegedly misusing his residency permit.

Jakarta – The Jakarta administration is back in the spotlight, this time inviting scrutiny over the revitalization of the National Monument (Monas) area in Central Jakarta, which includes uprooting more than 200 trees in the southern part of the complex.

Philip Jacobson has been detained since Tuesday, not long after he attended a community meeting between the provincial government and the Indigenous People's Alliance of the Archipelago – a community group with a long history of dispute ove

Ardila Syakriah, Jakarta – American journalist Philip Jacobson, who works for environmental news website Mongabay, received an award for "excellence in environmental journalism" from Fetisov Journalism Award for a collaborative investigative work on environmental issues in Indonesia.

Made Anthony Iswara, Jakarta – I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali will soon get a facelift through the development of a South Korea-backed light rail transit (LRT) service to reduce traffic congestion in the area, an executive of the project's construction firm has said.

Dion Bisara, Jakarta – Indonesia's flawed democracy improved for the first time in four years, bucking a global trend that saw the rise of strongmen and oligarchs, gripping government surveillance and violent protests against authorities.

Norman Harsono, Jakarta – Indonesia's oil and gas industry will continue to face challenges this year as the government projects lower crude oil prices, production and investment while demand continues to grow.

Riza Roidilla and Rizki Fachriansyah, Jakarta – National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia appointed Irfan Setiaputra as its new president director and former Creative Economy Agency head Triawan Munaf as its new president commissioner during the airline's latest extraordinary general shareholders meeting on Wednesday under the supervision of the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry.

Mercedes Hutton – LGBT visitors to Bali could be forgiven for thinking that the Indonesian island is a haven of tolerance in an increasingly conservative Muslim-majority nation. "Beautiful landscapes, sandy beaches and [a] friendly gay scene make Bali one of Asia's most popular gay destinations," states online travel and lifestyle guide Travel Gay.

Arys Aditya – Indonesian lawmakers agreed to prioritize bills related to jobs, taxation and the relocation of the capital, key to President Joko Widodo's efforts to boost investment and accelerate growth in Southeast Asia's largest economy.