Norman Harsono, Jakarta – The Upstream Oil and Gas Special Regulatory Task Force (SKK Migas) has approved Spain-based Repsol's first plan of development (PoD) in the gas-rich Kaliberau field in the Sakakemang block, South Sumatra.

Francisca Christy Rosana, Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – Epidemiologist from University of Indonesia, Pandu Riono, on Monday implied that the government needs to be 'awakened' to realize that vaccination is not the "ultimate weapon" to help end the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jakarta – An associate dean at state-run Padjadjaran University in Bandung, West Java, was demoted on Monday after the management learned that he has links with now-defunct Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, an organization that seeks to establish Islamic law and caliphate.

Padang – Tan Malaka's heirs want the historical struggle of one of the Indonesian Republic's initiators to be included in school history lessons. They are making this request of the government as one way for the nation's next generation to know the role that Tan Malaka played in the national independence struggle.

Tonnes of rubbish have inundated Bali's famous beaches as authorities on the Indonesian island work around the clock to get rid of it.

Bali's iconic beaches are covered in tonnes of ugly rubbish. Authorities say that between 30 and 60 tonnes of trash is being collected from Bali's best known beaches each day.

Dina Manafe, Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Indonesia's state-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma began distributing 3 million doses of vaccine against coronavirus to all 34 provinces on Sunday.

The vaccine, developed by China's Sinovac Biotech, has been approved for emergency use by the Drug and Food Control Agency (BPOM).

Patrick Winn – The Komodo dragon lives up to its name: nearly 200 pounds of lizard, 8 feet from tail to tongue, with teeth like a shark.

Its bite implants venom that can stop your heart within hours. That's if you don't bleed out first. The creature tends to grip and rip, sinking jaws into prey and tearing off limbs.

Liam Gammon – How do you oversee one of the world's worst outbreaks of COVID-19, ram through unpopular economic reforms during a recession and end up retaining the sort of approval ratings most democratic leaders would walk across coals for?

Benny Mawel, Jayapura – "Merry Christmas, 25 December 2020," says the graffiti displayed in the yard of the Nduga student dormitory in the study city of Jayapura.

Hundreds of eyes stared at the writing, then they moved forward lighting Christmas candles.

"We want Christmas light," said Arim Tabuni, a senior student who attended the joint event.

Anne Barker – Indonesian scientists have developed a simple breathalyser test that they say can electronically "smell' coronavirus and detect infection in under two minutes.

The GeNose C-19 device uses artificial intelligence – in the form of an electronic nose – to analyse a breath sample and identify elements that are unique to COVID-19.

Made Supriatma, Singapore – Indonesian President Joko Widodo reshuffled his 14-month-old Cabinet last week. While the move was widely anticipated, the sweeping changes came as a surprise. Six ministers were replaced.

Jakarta – Pastors in Papua asked bishops in Indonesia to break their silence over the violence in the region. Church leaders must push for dialogue and reconciliation in order to end the conflict.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Indonesia recorded the highest seven-day average of newly coronavirus cases and related deaths on Saturday as the government began registering citizens eligible for mass vaccination starting later this month.

Jakarta – An Instagram user is under fire for offering a service to forge polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results for Indonesians who wish to travel to other cities.

Doctor and prominent social media influencer Tirta Mandira Hudhi shared a screenshot of a post uploaded by Instagram user @hanzdays in which the latter announced his counterfeit PCR test result service.

Jakarta – The press community is calling on Indonesian police chief (Kapolri) General Idham Azis to revoke Article 2d of Kapolri Decree Number: Mak/1/I/2021 on Obeying the Prohibition on Activities, the Use of Symbols and Attributes and Halting the Activities of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI).

Rob Harris – The development of a domestic security force in East Timor was a matter of "fundamental importance" to Australia's strategic interests, newly declassified documents released for the first time on Friday reveal.

Jakarta – Islam Defenders Front (FPI) chairman Ahmad Shabri Lubis announced on Wednesday the establishment of a new mass Islamic organization, hours after the government banned the controversial hardline group and its activities.

Irfan Kamil, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid says that the government's decree banning, disbanding and halting all organisational activities by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) has the potential to discriminate against and violate the right of association.

Jakarta – The Jakarta administration has put in place measures to prevent New Year's Eve celebrations in the capital city in a bid to curb COVID-19 transmission during the year-end holiday.

As many as 94 roads and public facilities across the city will be closed or have their access restricted on New Year's Eve to prevent crowds and celebrations on the roads.

Jakarta – A majority of Indonesians noticed that corruption had become more rampant in the country, according to a recent survey by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC).

Adi Marsiela, Dwi Argo Santosa, Jakarta – Indonesia has received the second batch of Covid-19 vaccines of 1.8 million doses from China's Sinovac Biotech on Thursday, bringing its vaccine stock to 3 million doses as the country gear up preparation for its health workers' vaccination next month.

Lani Diana Wijaya, Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) spoke up following the leaked video of singer Gisella Anastasia or Gisel with Michael YD that caused a public uproar that ended in police naming the singer as a suspect.

Haryanti Puspa Sar, Jakarta – The Anti-Sexual Violence Civil Society Coalition (Kompaks) says that the distribution of intimate video content involving singer and actor Gisella 'Gisel' Anastasia (GA) demonstrates that gender based cyber violence does indeed exist.

Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – Indonesia is set to receive raw materials to produce 15 million doses of vaccine from Chinese firm Sinovac Biotech soon, which will add to the three million doses already dispatched to the country.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Indonesia concluded the year amid ongoing surge in newly coronavirus cases and deaths that put December as the worst period yet in the country's outbreak, as hospitals and even graveyards in major hotspots are nearing capacity.

Lenny Tristia Tambun, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo expressed optimism on Thursday that Indonesia will soon regain lost ground in early 2021 after year-long economic hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab is facing yet another criminal charge with the reopening of an old and controversial pornography case.

Agustinus Beo Da Costa, Jakarta – Indonesia has banned the controversial but politically influential hardline group the Islamic Defender's Front, the country's chief security minister announced on Wednesday.

Minister Mahfud MD said the group, widely known by its acronym FPI, was prohibited effective immediately.

Jakarta – Experts have urged hospitals to better manage the admission of patients, arguing that most of them were overwhelmed by the constant increase in COVID-19 cases.

Jakarta – The government has decided to ban controversial hardline group the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and its activities, saying that it has no legal grounds to operate as a civil organization and that its activities often violated the law and caused public disorder.

Jakarta – The Jakarta and Central Java administrations have encouraged residents to stay home for New Year's Eve.

"We request that everyone stay home," Jakarta deputy governor Ahmad Riza Patria said on Wednesday, as quoted by kompas.com.

Dian Septiari, Jakarta – The Foreign Ministry has said the German embassy staffer who allegedly visited the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) headquarters in Petamburan, Central Jakarta, is unwelcome in Indonesia after he left the country soon after a picture of the purported visit made the rounds on social media last week.

Norman Harsono, Jakarta – City-owned bus operator Transjakarta has an ambitious plan to expand its electric bus (e-bus) fleet to 10,000 units over the decade as Jakarta, a city with one of the world's worst air pollution, tries to push for cleaner air.

Jakarta – The Jakarta Police have named a woman and a man suspects in a leaked celebrity sex tape case for allegedly violating the 2008 Pornography Law amid calls from activists over privacy protection.

The woman, identified only as GA and the man, identified as MYD, were named suspects on Tuesday, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Cmr. Yusri Yunus said.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Adi Marsiela, Jakarta – Indonesia has secured 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines from the British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the US-based vaccine producer Novavax.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno unveils his plan to help the pandemic-hit tourism industry back on its feet in 2021, pledging to continue his predecessor Wishnutama Kusubandio's policies, including tourism grants and health protocol certifications.

John Thomas Didymus – Indonesian singer and actress Gisella "Gisel" Anastasia has been charged under the country's anti-pornography law after a 19-second intimate video of her was leaked online in November.

Jakarta – Indonesian military (TNI) service personnel who commit immoral acts with the same sex or homosexuals shall be subject to a maximum sentence of 28 months in prison and dismissal from the service.

Klas Lundstrom – Fly River, western Papua New Guinea. The chocolate brown water not only bears its colour due to high concentration levels of humus, it is also the result of centuries of floating timber transports and decades of spilled waste from the Ok Tedi mine mill, situated near the river's source.

Jakarta – Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has warned of another COVID-19 case spike following the Christmas and New Year holiday period.

"Our past experience shows that the [COVID-19] infection rate goes up within 10 to 14 days after holiday periods end.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government announced Wednesday it has included hardline group Islamic Defenders Front, or FPI, into the list of proscribed organizations, citing links to terrorism and violent acts against civilians.

Randy Mulyanto, Jakarta, Indonesia – Timor-Leste, formerly known as East Timor, has a creaky healthcare system and is one of the poorest countries in Asia, but even as neighbouring Indonesia grapples with one of the worst outbreaks in the region, it has managed to keep the virus at bay.

Jakarta – Orders have started rolling in after the Indonesian government approved the distribution of a COVID-19 detector developed at a local university, the GeNose.

International travelers packed the Soekarno-Hatta Airport yesterday, several viral social media posts have shown, which was said to be the result of last-minute policy changes to international arrivals in Indonesia.

Jakarta – The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) has revealed that cases of violence against journalists had increased to an all-time high in 2020, with most cases related to intimidation tactics.

"We received reports of 84 cases of violence against journalists in 2020," AJI chairman Abdul Manan said in a press conference on Monday as reported by kompas.com.

It has become evident that the law couldn't move on from what is arguably the Indonesia's biggest sex scandal of the year after the Jakarta Metro Police today named singer/actress Gisella Anastasia a suspect over her alleged leaked sex tape.

Jakarta – As the government has allowed schools to reopen in January, the National Child Protection Commission (KPAI) conducted a survey to learn about the student's point of view on the plan.

The survey, which was conducted earlier this month, involved 62,448 students.

Ardila Syakriah, Jakarta – While the Health Ministry has been given a fresh start ahead of the New Year with a new leader at its helm, concerns over the efficacy of preordered COVID-19 vaccines and the discovery of a more infectious strain of the coronavirus have put Indonesia's vaccination plan in the spotlight again.

Jakarta – The secretary general of the Agrarian Land Consortium (KPA), Dewi Kartika, has called in a pledge by Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, who said during the 2019 presidential election that he would return land over which he has land use rights (HGU) to the state.

Tangguh Chairil and Aisha R. Kusumasomantri – In October, news broke about Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel who were dismissed for being a part of the LGBTQ community. As of this writing, TNI had fired and incarcerated 16 service members who were found to be homosexuals with the charge of disobedience to service orders.