Andi Firdaus, Fardah, Jakarta – The National Commission (Komnas) for KIPI (adverse event following immunization – AEFI) has said there has been no death caused by COVID-19 vaccination in Indonesia so far.

Ernes BK, Rahmad Nasution, Sorong, W Papua – Six men accused of launching an attack on a military post in Maybrat district, West Papua, on September 2, 2021, which claimed the lives of four soldiers, will be tried at the Makassar District Court.

Head of the Sorong Prosecutors Office's Intelligence Section, I Putu Sastra Adi Wicaksana, conveyed this information on Friday.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – Indonesian Health Ministry confirms the 68 additional Omicron cases, totaling the number to 136 people. The ministry's Covid-19 vaccination spokesman, Siti Nadia Tarmidzi, stated that the new cases were international travelers and 11 of them are Indonesian citizens.

Bernadette Christina – Indonesia has banned coal exports in January due to concerns that low supplies at domestic power plants could lead to widespread blackouts, a senior official at the energy ministry says.

Jayapura – West Papua National Committee (KNPB) spokesperson Ones Suhuniap says that the KNPB is committed to continuing the struggle and resistance against Indonesian colonialism by peaceful and dignified means.

Jakarta – The province of South Sulawesi is said to be heading for destruction or collapse due to the continuing loss of forest cover. The remaining forest cover is less than 40 percent.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) has released its 2021 End of Year Report. Over the last year, the foundation has received 2,598 complaints, both from the public as well as organisations.

New year, new COVID-19 vaccination phase in Indonesia, as the government has set Jan. 12 as the possible launch date for its booster shot program.

Putu Indah, Raka Adji, Jakarta – The Sexual Violence Bill (RUU TPKS) and the Personal Data Protection Bill (RUU PDP) should be the main priorities for the government in 2022, political analyst from Pelita Harapan University Emrus Sihombing has said.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – In less than 24 hours, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership – also known as the RCEP – will enter into force.

Denpasar (AFP) – Foreign revellers on Indonesia's resort island of Bali have been warned they may be deported if they are caught violating Covid-19 health rules during New Year celebrations, authorities warned on Thursday (Dec 30).

Jakarta – This once-in-a-century pandemic has certainly tempted some of us to think that we live in the worst of times, if not the end of times. And with the ongoing climate crisis, it is difficult for many not to break under the weight of existential dread.

Jakarta – The government needs to add a new portfolio in the cabinet to deal exclusively with domestic security issues, a respected think-tank group said on Friday.

Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said the government is set to roll out four new programs of the National Economic Recovery (PEN) next year, starting from the micro-credit program or KUR subsidies to cash aids for street vendors.

Antara, Jakarta – The Health Ministry spokesperson for the COVID-19 vaccination, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said it is impossible for the government to block the entry of international travelers despite the Omicron variant having entered the country.

Adam Prireza, Jakarta – Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Endra Zulpan on Friday said there would be 1,730 personnel mobilized to help secure the capital city ahead of New Year's Eve. This came after Jakarta administrators decided to enact a crowd-free night to safeguard the COVID-19 health protocols.

The Indonesian Navy stationed in Denpasar rescued 32 sea turtles from illegal poachers on Thursday, as the marine creature comes under increasing threat amid desperate economic conditions.

Three fishing vessels set out from South Badung on Wednesday afternoon and returned the following morning after having caught dozens of sea turtles.

Joniansyah Hardjono, Jakarta – The Soekarno-Hatta airport immigration office as of Thursday, December 30, denied the visas of 782 foreign nationals with various considerations throughout 2021. Head of immigrations and intelligence Andika Kurniawan revealed that it was due to Covid-19 restrictions consideration.

Jakarta – State-owned steelmaker Krakatau Steel recently announced that it has repaid the tranche B debt of Rp 2.7 trillion to three state banks, namely Mandiri, BRI, and BNI.

With this repayment, Krakatau Steel (KRAS) has completed its working capital bridging loan facility worth $200 million to the three aforementioned banks.

Jakarta – As we remember those who perished in the Boxing Day tsunami that devastated Aceh and affected neighboring countries near and far 17 years ago, Southeast Asia once again is marking the year-end in grief.

Jakarta – Indonesia on Wednesday said it will let dozens of Rohingya refugees come ashore after protests from locals and the international community over its plan to push them into Malaysian waters.

Alfath Asmunda and Mulyadi, Bireun, Aceh – Fisherman Edi Saputra had been at sea for four days off the coast of Indonesia's Aceh province when he got a call from a friend asking him to come urgently: he had stumbled across a crippled boat packed with foreigners.

Jean Chien Tay – An Indonesian man recently revealed that he had been paid to take 14 shots of the Covid-19 vaccine on behalf of others, Kompas reported.

Abdul Rahim, 49, said in a video that he had taken 16 jabs in total, with 14 of those meant for other people. The video has reportedly gone viral.

Endy Bayuni, Jakarta – In the run-up to the National Games (PON) in October, the government worked hard to make sure that as many people as possible in Papua and West Papua provinces, hosts of the biennale event, get their Covid-19 vaccines.

It's that time of year again, when the Bali Immigration Office releases its annual list of naughty foreigners who were kicked out of the island (or the country altogether) over various run-ins with the law.

Dili – After the dual shocks of COVID-19 and natural disasters, East Timor's economy is showing some signs of recovery and this year's gross domestic product (GD) growth in real terms is expected to improve to 1.9 percent, according to the latest World Bank economic update, 'Timor-Leste Economic Report: Steadying The Ship', released earlier this month by the global lender based in W

Leo Suryadinata – The Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) no longer exists in the country's political landscape. But this has not stopped some groups from using the PKI bogeyman for political gain.

Francisca Christy Rosana, Jakarta – The Communication and Information (Kominfo) Ministry had shut down access to 5,429 online loan sites reported by the public from 2018 to December 26, 2021. One of the reasons for the access blocking was due to misuse of personal data.

M Julnis Firmansyah, Jakarta – Jakarta Transportation Council (DTKJ) deputy chairman Berman Limbong revealed a number of obstacles in expanding Transjakarta services to the capital's buffer cities in order to facilitate the mobility of Jakarta workers residing in the city's outskirts.

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.

Jakarta – Dozens of Rohingya refugees intercepted after their boat ran into trouble off the coast of Aceh province were being sent into Malaysian waters, authorities said on Tuesday.

At least 100 mostly women and children aboard a wooden vessel said to be taking on water were denied refuge in Indonesia and instead pushed into the neighboring Southeast Asian country.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Mirza Bagaskara, Jakarta – National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) chairman Ahmad Taufan Damanik outlined a number of notes on cases of human rights throughout 2021 which are dominated by issues of agrarian conflicts and violence committed by law enforcement officers.

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.

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.

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