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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 – 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 – 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Jakarta – As the holiday season gets closer, the Indonesian government is tightening security to maintain public order and safety. The government is also doubling down on health protocol checks to keep the Covid-19 pandemic under control.

Firda Cynthia Anggrainy, Jakarta – The House of Representatives (DPR) Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction has initiated the distribution of sembako (basic goods) to people in its electoral districts (dapil) in bags with pictures of DPR Speaker and senior PDI-P politician Puan Maharani on them.

Craig Harris – West Papua occupies the Indonesian half of New Guinea, the second largest island in the world after Greenland.

Theo Kelen, Jayapura, Jubi – It is time for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR) Law to be revived in Indonesia, senior diplomat Makarim Wibisono says. He mentioned that for the last 15 years, gross human rights violation cases in the country had been suspended ever since the Constitutional Court revoked the KKR Law in 2006.

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.

Sugiharto Purnama, Uyu Liman, Jakarta – The utilization of 30 percent biodiesel (B30) in 2021 helped Indonesia save US$4.54 billion in foreign exchange or equivalent to Rp64.6 trillion, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has informed.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is ranked 26th out of 57 non-state ministries in its own integrity assessment survey (SPI), which measures corruption risks in each assessed institution.

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.

A wounded Sumatran tiger has been rescued and is on the mend, Indonesia's Environment and Forestry Ministry reported, after she was believed to have been caught in a boar trap.

Jakarta – Indonesia once again reaffirmed its unwavering stance on the Palestine.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry issued the statement on Indonesia's position, following media reports that the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had discussed Israel-Indonesia normalization during his recent Jakarta visit.

Arjuna Pademme, Wamena, Jubi – President of the Evangelical Church of Indonesia (GIDI) Dorman Wandikbo has asked all parties to create a peaceful atmosphere as Christmas is near, hoping that all the people in Papua could celebrate and enjoy Christmas in peace instead of chaos since armed conflicts have been escalating in several parts of Papua this year.

There's no known community spread yet of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Indonesia's Health Ministry said today, as it assures the public that all reported cases involving the mutation have been contained.

The ministry's spokeswoman Siti Nadia Tarmizi said today that Indonesia has confirmed eight Omicron cases thus far.

Anita Permata Dewi, Fadhli R, Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has urged the House of Representatives (DPR) and the government to ratify the sexual violence prevention bill (RUU TPKS) without delay to commemorate Mother's Day.

Katharina R. Lestari, Jakarta – A civil society group in Indonesia has come under fire from rights activists after it called on Muslim women to cover up, wear hijabs and avoid close contact with men to prevent them from falling victim to an increasing number of sex attacks.

Jakarta – Indonesia's exports this year could reach between US$225 billion to US$230 billion, the biggest on record for Southeast Asia's largest economy, the country's trade minister said on Thursday (Dec 23).

The resource-rich country has been enjoying an export boom on the back of rising prices of its top commodities such as coal, palm oil, tin, steel and rubber.

Francisca Christy Rosana, Jakarta – Epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia, Pandu Riono, believed that Indonesia would not face the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. He claimed to have expressed this optimism since August 2021 after the country dealt with a significant spike in cases due to the Delta variant.

Victoria Milko08 – On a dirt path, forked yellow tongue darting from its mouth, a member of the world's largest lizard species lazes on an island in eastern Indonesia's Komodo National Park as tourists snap photos.

Vincent Lingga, Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan recently decided to increase the capital city's minimum wage by 5.1 percent for 2022, much higher than the 1.09 percent set in the central government's guidelines.

Vincent Fabian Thomas, Jakarta – The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has called on the government to protect local fishing companies ahead of a ministerial plan to auction commercial fishing rights covering a total quota of several million tons to both local and foreign investors starting 2022.

Yudhistira Agato, Jakarta – The government has eased up on public mobility restrictions (PPKM) as COVID-19 cases have come under control, but many Indonesians are reluctant to return to the office.

Like many others around the world, in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesians struggled to adjust to working from home. But soon enough, it became the norm.