Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Jakarta – President Joko Widodo appealed on Friday (Aug 16) to all the branches of government – executive, legislative and judicial – in Indonesia to work together to make sure the nation progresses faster and is competitive in the international arena.

Marvie Chorawan-Basilan – Indonesia recently stopped foreign waste from entering the country but some villagers Bangun noted that "cash for trash" is their way of life – a booming business that helps sustain the needs of the village people.

Four police officers in Cianjur, West Java have been hospitalized due to burn injuries they sustained while securing a student protest in the regency, with one officer reportedly suffering particularly severe injuries from being set on fire.

Jakarta – A number of workers planning to hold a protest action were arrested by police in the vicinity of the House of Representatives (DPR) and People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) building in Jakarta on Friday August 16.

The arrested workers were part of the People's United Labour Movement (Gebrak) who had come to Jakarta from various different areas.

Rachmadea Aisyah, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo will continue with his human capital development focus in the first year of his second term as his administration has designed the proposed 2020 state budget to support this agenda.

Andita Rahma, Jakarta – The National Police Headquarters has named 87 suspects in forest and land fires in six provinces, Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Jambi, Riau and South Sumatra.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has renewed his call to accelerate the development of palm oil-derived biodiesel in his State of the Nation address on Friday, claiming this would be one way to boost Indonesia's industrial prowess and shield the country from potential trade wars.

Jakarta – Time is running out for Jakarta. One of the fastest-sinking cities on earth, environmental experts warn that one third of it could be submerged by 2050 if current rates continue.

Maikel Jefriando, Tabita Diela, Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Friday proposed a 2,528.8 trillion rupiah ($177.56 billion) budget to parliament for 2020, focusing spending on human resources, which was central in his re-election campaign.

Dion Bisara, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo targets a narrower deficit in his 2020 state budget, staying true to his original vision of developing local talents to strengthen the domestic economy amid continued threats of global recession and trade wars.

Kharishar Kahfi, Jakarta – Being known for pushing his administration to become more efficient in using the state budget, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo tried to pass the same message to House of Representatives members by teasing them about their past overseas trips.

Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – House of Representatives (DPR) speaker Bambang Soesatyo touched on the incompletion of severe human rights violation cases during his opening speech at the annual session of 2019-2020 on Friday, August 16.

Kharishar Kahfi and Ghina Ghaliya, Jakarta – In his annual state of the nation address, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo highlighted his vision to develop the nation's human capital, a vision that formed part of his reelection campaign Indonesia Maju (Indonesia Onward).

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – President Joko Widodo formally proposed to parliament on Friday a plan to relocate Indonesia's capital from Jakarta to Kalimantan on the island of Borneo.

Norman Harsono, Jakarta – The government is optimistic that it can reduce inequality and poverty rates next year by continuing current socio-economic initiatives.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo read the annual financial note speech on Friday, saying the government expected inequality to go down to between 0.375 and 0.380 on the Gini coefficient next year.

James Massola and Karuni Rompies, Jakarta – Imagine, for a moment, that three of Scott Morrison's ministers were caught up in corruption investigations and the speaker of the Australian Parliament had been sentenced to 15 years in prison in a multi-million dollar graft case.

Nur Yasmin, Jakarta – The Indonesian Institute of Sciences has recommended that the government employ more measures to protect biodiversity in some of the archipelago's remotest islands, after launching an expedition to eight out of 111 remote Indonesian islands in the South Pacific Ocean where they found unique and rare marine lives.

Aisyah Llewellyn, Medan, Indonesia – A trial pitting student journalists and the top official of a government-run university official in this northern city has begun, in what is seen as a test case of Indonesia's limits on censorship, free press and gay rights.

Francisca Christy Rosana, Jakarta – The Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) said that President Joko Widodo's (Jokowi) decision to form a ministry that specifically handles digital investment could lead to dualism in the investment sector.

Vela Andapita, Jakarta – The city administration of Bogor in West Java has vowed to resolve a dispute over a church that has been refused a building permit for years despite a Supreme Court ruling in its favor.

Marchio Irfan Gorbiano, Jakarta – Indonesia's external debt level was up about 10 percent year-on-year (yoy) in the second quarter due to a significant increase in government net borrowing.

Luthfi T. Dzulfikar, Iwan Pranoto and Satryo Soemantri Brodjonegoro – Indonesian schools have failed to recognise students' interest and talents, scholars said in a discussion on education last week.

Schools and campuses have also restricted students from freely exploring various thoughts and views, limiting their academic freedom.

Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – University of Andalas Constitutional Law Expert, Feri Amsari, argues that the People's Consultative Assembly's (MPR) plan on reinstating the State Policy Guidelines (GBHN) is irrelevant to the presidential system Indonesia currently adopts.

Dewi Nurita L & Koran Tempo, Jakarta – Criticism is being voiced in response to the involvement of State Intelligence Agency (BIN) Head Budi Gunawan in the country's politics, especially his close ties with Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP).

Thresa Sandra Desfika, Jakarta – Gojek Indonesia and Grab, the top two ride-hailing companies in Indonesia, are facing a regulatory hurdle that could make a significant dent in their largest market: the capital Jakarta.

Aman Rochman, Malang, East Java – Amid rising fears of radicalism in academia in recent years, several universities in the country have taken measures to prevent their students from being exposed to religious intolerance and anti-Pancasila ideas.

Jakarta – The Maluku Police are investigating a bomb threat at Pattimura University's School of Economics in Ambon amid rising fears of radicalism in academia.

Jakarta – The Jakarta High Court has ruled upon appeal to increase Irwandi Yusuf's sentence by one year, a ruling that comes three months after the suspended Aceh governor was found guilty of accepting bribes and illicit gifts totaling nearly Rp 10 billion (US$700,615) over two gubernatorial terms.

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Jakarta – Large billboards bearing photos of Golkar member Bambang Soesatyo have been popping up at numerous street corners in Jakarta recently as Indonesia's oldest and second-largest political party gears up for elections by December.

Jakarta – Indonesia will unveil plans for increasing how much foreign investors can own of businesses in some sectors by year-end, the head of the country's investment board told Reuters.

Thomas Lembong, who leads the agency known as BKPM, also indicated the government is looking to ease restrictions in areas that can support Indonesia's booming digital economy.

On 9 August, the Constitutional Court resolved the final dispute over the 2019 election results. Although the Court has ordered recounts in some areas, we can now say that Indonesia's first ever "simultaneous" elections – where national and regional legislators and the president and vice president pair were elected on the same day – are almost over.

M Julnis Firmansyah, Jakarta – The investigation on the alleged rape case experienced by a former employee of the Workers Social Security Agency (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan) which implicated the agency's former supervisory board member has officially been dropped by police.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has indicated his opposition to a discourse on restoring authority to the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to appoint the nation's president, signaling his support for the peoples' right to directly elect their leader.

Jakarta – Four siblings with a brother-in-law have been officiated as council members in Hulu Sungai Selatan regency in South Kalimantan. They were officiated together on Monday to be council members for the period of 2019-2024.

Rachmadea Aisyah, Jakarta – Indonesia has recorded a trade deficit of US$63 million in July on the back of weak commodity prices that has affected its export value, according to Statistic Indonesia (BPS) data released on Thursday.

Kiki Siregar, Jakarta – Sitting in a white plastic chair in his home, Mr Soewarso Warsosoewito tried to remember what exactly he did when he fought against the Japanese in 1945.

The 95-year-old Indonesian war veteran, who suffers from senility, lives in a 60 sq m house with his second wife Karni in the slums of Jakarta.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – Democrat Party Deputy Chief Syarief Hasan stated that his political party has yet to determine whether the party would politically join the government alongside President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo or opt as an opposition.

Jakarta – The government is set to discuss and review discriminatory and intolerant bylaws issued by regional administrations, the Home Ministry's acting regional autonomy director general, Akmal Malik, has said.

Shotaro Tani and Ismi Damayanti, Jakarta – Indonesia is struggling to fill a massive hole in the finances of its compulsory national health insurance system.

Brussels – The European Commission on Tuesday imposed countervailing duties of 8 percent to 18 percent on imports of subsidized biodiesel from Indonesia, saying the move aimed to restore a level playing field for European Union producers.

Roni Afriyanto, Karawang – Around 3 thousand workers demonstrated in Karawang, West Java, on August 13 against planned revisions to the Law Number 13/2003 on Labour. In addition to the protest, the workers also handed out leaflets inviting the public to reject the revision which will further oppress workers.

Jakarta (Antara) – A fire destroyed 343 hectares of forest area, home to the edelweiss flower, in Mount Ciremai Kuningan District, West Java Province.

"The area gutted is some 343 hectares," Agus Mauludin, acting head of the Kuningan Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD), said here on Tuesday.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – Reports arose of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo inviting Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) politician and 1998 activist Adian Napitupulu to the State Palace on Tuesday, August 13.

Nur Yasmin, Jakarta – The endless flow of refugees and asylum seekers into Indonesia and other countries around the world in the past few years has strained the resources of the United Nations Refugee Agency, or UNHCR, that now claims it has been massively underfunded.

Jakarta – It has been a cause for concern in the region that fires razing Indonesian forests have led to a haze crisis in Malaysia.

Although Indonesia has denied that the fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan have caused haze in the neighbouring country, it is indisputable that fires are on the rise again this year.

Jakarta (Antara) – Colonel Arh Sonny Septiono, Commander of the joint task force on the South Sumatra smog disaster, reportedly ordered his men to 'shoot on the sight' upon encountering wildfire arsonists. He asserted that this option can be used as a last resort against uncivilized suspects.

Jakarta (Antara) – Dara Nasution, who initiated the online petition against content supervision in new entertainment platforms such as Netflix and YouTube, submitted the request signed by 75,000 people to the deputy head of Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) Mulyo Hadi Purnomo today, August 14.

Made Supriatma – Indonesia's [1] riots over the disputed presidential election [2] this year were the worst since the 1998 unrest that toppled long-time strongman Suharto.

Nur Yasmin, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has promised to make it quicker and easier for overseas investors and foreign workers to obtain visas and residence permits.

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the country's highest clerical body that also long held sole authority in providing halal certifications in Indonesia, is taking legal action to regain that authority ahead of the government's imminent take over of the certification process.