Zubi Mahrofi, Nabil Ihsan, Jakarta – An epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia, Pandu Riono, expressed optimism that Indonesia would enter the COVID-19 endemic stage by 2022, as the pandemic situation in the country continues to improve.

Jakarta – Workers at Indonesia's Pertamina have cancelled a planned national strike after their trade union and the state energy firm's management agreed on labour terms, union president Arie Gumilar said in a statement on Wednesday.

Syafiq Hasyim – The decline of the 212 Movement in Indonesia could well portend the decline of political Islam.

Boven Digoel, Jubi – Oil palm plantation company Tunas Sawa Erma (TSE) Group in collaboration with the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) Papua Representative held human rights workshop and training for indigenous communities owner of customary land in Asiki, Boven Digoel, from December 15 to 17, 2021.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Indonesia's land and forest fires burned a greater area this year than in 2020, with most of the fires occurring in West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara, two provinces that were until recently not major sites of burning.

Antara, Jakarta – The National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) said the police's special detachment or Densus 88 had taken action on 364 alleged terrorism cases throughout 2021. Two Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) and Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) are two terror groups that Densus had dealt with the most.

Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan's recent decision to increase Jakarta's minimum wage by 5.1 percent for 2022 or almost five times the level determined by the central government could cause new uncertainty in labor regulations.

Anita P D, Mecca Yumna, Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has recorded a significant increase in the number of cases of violence against women registered this year.

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja – Indonesia is set to receive its first shipment of two types of Covid-19 antiviral pills – molnupiravir made by Merck and paxlovid by Pfizer – next month (January), said Health Minister Budi Sadikin, as the country intensifies efforts to curb the spread of the infectious Omicron variant.

According to the police, one of the suspects, a 19-year-old male who goes by the initial I, recently met the victim through Facebook.

Vitorio Mantalean, Jakarta – The Indonesian Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) released its 2021 End of Year Report in virtual format on Wednesday December 29.

In its explanation, the AJI noted that in the matter of violence against journalists, the police are again the majority of perpetrators this year with 12 reported cases.

Jessica Ester, Jakarta – Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said Indonesia has pocketed more than 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines that are sufficient for the next three months.

Jakarta – Indonesia earlier this week welcomed 12 million doses of Astrazeneca Covid-19 vaccines, which the country had procured through a direct purchase mechanism.

On Monday, about 6,683,500 Astrazeneca doses landed in Indonesia. The remaining 5,787,400 Astrazeneca doses arrived on Tuesday night.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – In 2020, residents of Suka Mukti village in southern Sumatra paid 10 million rupiah each, about $700, to a government agency to obtain titles to their land – a process that is officially supposed to be free.

Indonesia has lifted a ban on the Boeing 737 Max, more than three years after the Lion Air disaster that saw the loss of all 189 people on board.

The plane maker saw its best-selling aircraft grounded globally after a deadly crash in March 2019 involving an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max.

Indonesia's COVID-19 Task Force is discouraging citizens from attending public viewings of the AFF (ASEAN Football Federation) Cup final between the Red-and-Whites and Thailand this evening.

Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – State Logistics Agency (Bulog) reported it had absorbed 1.2 million tons of rice from local farmers until the end of 2021. Thus, the agency ensured the procurement of the government's rice reserve (CBP) from abroad was unnecessary and this marked the third year in a row that the government did not import the commodity.

Maria Fatima Bona, Jakarta – All 46 patients testing positive for the Omicron coronavirus variant have shown mild symptoms that didn't require them to undergo special medical treatment, a Health Ministry spokesperson said on Monday.

The fact that all but one patient have been fully vaccinated may contribute to better protection from more severe symptoms.

Jakarta – What has been Indonesia's biggest achievement in foreign affairs in 2021? The answer will likely be getting the G20 presidency for 2022. This is the first time Indonesia has chaired the club of the world's largest economies. Yet, what is equally important is the diplomacy on COVID-19 vaccines and on Myanmar.

Divya Karyza, Jakarta – The Finance Ministry has exceeded its yearly tax collection target for the first time in 12 years amid recovering business activity and high commodity prices, although the target is lower than in preceding years.

Bireuen, Indonesia – Indonesian authorities will help repair a stranded boat packed with more than 100 Rohingya refugees off its coast but will not allow its passengers to seek refuge in the Southeast Asian country and will turn the vessel away, officials told Reuters on Tuesday (Dec 28).

Adlu Raharusun, Jubi TV – Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Andika Perkasa visited West Papua recently. He first visited Manokwari then continued to Sorong.

Jakarta – Health authorities were conducting contact tracing on Tuesday after detecting Indonesia's first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the community, health ministry official Siti Nadia Tarmizi said.

Jakarta (Agencies) – A boat carrying scores of Rohingya refugees including women and children broke down and was stranded in waters off the coast of Aceh province, local authorities and humanitarian groups said on Monday.

A woman in Bekasi, West Java had to act and catch her daughter's molester by herself due to alleged police inaction, winning praise for herself and public condemnation against law enforcement.

Mirza Bagaskara, Jakarta – The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) said cases of sexual violence against children in educational buildings or schools are still rife. Based on KPAI's findings, at least 18 cases of child abuse in education units were reported from January 2 to December 27, 2021.

Maria Fatima Bona, Jakarta – Indonesia announced on Tuesday its first locally transmitted case of the Omicron Covid-19 variant.

According to Health Ministry spokeswoman Siti Nadia Tarmizi, the Omicron-infected patient is a 37-year-old male. The patient lives in Medan, North Sumatra, with his wife, but he recently visited Jakarta.

Jakarta – The National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) has advised Jakarta-owned bus service Transjakarta to create a unit specifically responsible for setting and maintaining safety standards following a recent spike in crashes involving the city buses.

Fathiya Dahrul and Rieka Rahadiana – Indonesia is overhauling state companies and replacing the management teams with professionals and many of the president's allies amid concern the appointments are politically motivated.

The government is set to temporarily ban Indonesians from leaving the country, Vice President Ma'ruf Amin said today, as the country records rising Omicron numbers.

Ma'ruf said the discussion on the ban came up during a recent cabinet meeting as the government brainstormed ways to contain the spread of Omicron in Indonesia.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The government will introduce stricter quarantine rules related to international travel after an Omicron-infected patient escaped from the mandatory isolation, a senior official said on Monday.

Amierul Rashid – As much as WiFi is a daily need for most of us, some can go to extreme lengths to ensure continued access.

Two Indonesian teenagers were so enraged at a mosque manager for changing the WiFi password at the place of worship that they chased him down with a parang.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia loses Rp 97 trillion or about $6.8 billion with millions of people favoring to receive their medical treatment overseas, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said on Monday. The shocking statistics have prompted Indonesia to construct a world-class hospital in tourist paradise Bali.

Hendartyo Hanggi, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto on Monday said Indonesia's vaccination rate within the past week had slightly increased, thanks to the vaccinations for children that saw an average of 1,219,453 doses administered daily.

Nur Janti, Jakarta – Heavy rainfall over the past few days has caused flooding and landslides in several areas of South Sumatra and Riau, killing at least two people and affecting hundreds of others.

Flooding occurred in five districts in the South Sumatra city of Palembang on Saturday, when the Musi River overflowed its banks that morning as a result of a heavy downpour.

Tri Meilani A, Fadhli Ruhman, Jakarta – On December 16, the sexual violence prevention bill (RUU TPKS) failed to be brought to the House of Representatives' (DPR's) plenary meeting of the second sitting period for 2021-2022 closing to become DPR's initiative bill.

This failure extends the wait for the ratification of RUU TPKS that had been proposed since 2016.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – Governor Anies Baswedan has stipulated the monthly minimum wage in Jakarta at Rp 4.64 million ($326) for next year, an increase of 5.1 percent on the current wage.

The new ruling comes into effect immediately from January 1.

Irfan Kamil, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) believes that the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) performance has declined over the last two years.

ICW researcher Kurnia Ramadhana says the decline in the anti-graft agency's performance has been apparent since the revisions to the KPK Law in 2019.

Sanjeet Bagcchi – Restoration of Indonesian peatlands burned out by fires between 2004 and 2015 could have led to savings worth US$8.4 billion, making it a cost-effective strategy to reduce the effects of peatland fires on the environment, climate and human health, according to a new study.

Zubi Mahrofi, Suharto, Jakarta – The number of Indonesians receiving the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine increased by 451,535 to reach 110,407,287 on Saturday afternoon, the COVID-19 Response Task Force informed.

Meanwhile, the number of residents receiving their first shot rose by 768,061 to touch 156,182,585.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia is likely to achieve 80-percent coverage of the first dose of COVID-19 vaccination in mid-January of 2022, spokesperson for COVID-19 Vaccination of the Health Ministry Siti Nadia Tarmizi stated.

Antara, Jakarta – Some 12,641 Christian and Catholic inmates in Indonesian prisons received special Christmas Day remission from the Law and Human Rights Ministry's Directorate General of Prisons.

Yogyakarta – A small Indonesian community is celebrating Christmas by performing traditional shadow puppet shows about the birth of Christ as the pandemic shutters most public performances.

The country has been hard-hit by COVID with the virus also disrupting the puppet group's shows.

Jakarta – Indonesia received nearly 9 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from the United States and several European countries on Sunday alone, marking the biggest delivery of vaccine donation in a single day.

Antara, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister of Political, Legal, and Human Rights Mahfud MD reiterated the Indonesian government's resolve to ensure equal rights and grant equal protection for religious denominations and organizations.

Fadli, Batam – Malaysian authorities have returned the remains of 11 people who died in a boat accident on Dec. 15 off the coast of Johor Bahru, Malaysia to the Indonesian counterpart in Batam, Riau Islands, on Thursday.

Arlina Arshad, Singapore – A well-regarded Islamic scholar hailed as a "symbol of the new generation" has been elected chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia's influential Muslim group and the world's largest Islamic organisation.

Maria Fatima Bona, Jakarta – Indonesia confirmed 11 new cases of the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant on Friday, bringing the total number of cases to 19.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has sent a presidential letter to the House of Representatives (DPR) asking the council to discuss the draft bill on the second amendment of Law No. 11 of 2008 concerning Electronic Information and Transactions or ITE Law.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, known for its moderate ideology, has elected a new chairman.

Yahya Cholil Staquf, the organization's current secretary-general, was elected on Dec. 24 for the next five years, defeating the current chairman.