Medan – The Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) has warned health workers nationwide to remain cautious with regard to the surge in COVID-19 transmission in the nation, as the number of fatalities among medical staff kept increasing.

Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) aims to complete its independent probe into the deaths of six members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) in January.

"We aim to complete the investigation by mid-January and announce the result. We have completed 70 percent of questioning," commissioner Beka Ulung Hapsara said on Monday as reported by tempo.co.

Lenny Tristia Tambun & Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The Indonesian government will distribute coronavirus vaccine to 181 million of the country's 270 million population starting next month, the health minister said Tuesday as newly cases and daily death toll are spiking at an unprecedented rate.

Jakarta – The Central Java and Yogyakarta provincial administrations are currently mulling over closing down tourist sites in their areas during the year-end holidays to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Central Java has decided to temporarily close 84 tourist sites in the province during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Hans Nicholas Jong – As global demand for edible oil keeps growing, palm oil has enjoyed unprecedented growth both in consumption and production. Used in everything from chocolate to ice-cream, lipstick to shampoo, palm oil is now the most consumed vegetable oil in the world.

Dina Manafe, Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Government data reveal on Monday that hospital capacity in seven provinces has reached a critical level amid surging coronavirus cases.

The hospital bed occupancy rate in those provinces has passed 75 percent recently and it could reach capacity after the year-end holiday season when newly transmissions are predicted to soar.

Jakarta – While most people can't wait to start a new year and leave this tough year behind, an epidemiologist has warned of a possible surge in COVID-19 cases in Indonesia at the beginning of 2021.

Jakarta – National Police (Polri) Traffic Corps head Insp. Gen. Istiono has said there has been a significant decrease in tourists traveling to Bali, following the country's efforts to curb COVID-19 transmission during the year-end holidays.

He said there were 90 percent fewer tourists than during the same period last year.

Nina A. Loasana, Jakarta – The Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) says 2021 may be a grim year for workers across the archipelago as the multidimensional crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over and the Job Creation Law remains in force.

Jakarta – Hospitals nationwide are being urged to increase their bed capacity in anticipation of a possible COVID-19 case surge following the year-end holidays.

Dian Septiari, Jakarta – Indonesia is closing its borders to foreign travelers from all around the world for the first two weeks of 2021, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi announced on Monday, amid concerns over the discovery of a more infectious SARS-CoV-2 variant first detected in the United Kingdom.

Jakarta – Experts have urged the government to implement stricter social restrictions to curb COVID-19 transmission as fatality and positivity rates continue to spike.

Jakarta – The Jakarta administration has allowed bodies of COVID-19 patients to be buried outside of dedicated graveyards.

The coordinator of the Pondok Ranggon COVID-19 public cemetery, Muhaemin, said the new regulation was aimed at addressing a shortage of graves at dedicated cemeteries.

Irfan Kamil, Jakarta – Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Chairperson Abdul Manan says that there were many cases of violence against journalists in 2020.

Manan said that what are referred to as violence against journalists are actions which can be categories as attempts to obstruct journalists from doing their job.

Tsarina Maharani, Jakarta – Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Coordinator Fatia Maulidiyanti says that the government's plan to upgrade the activities of the cyber police in 2021 threatens civil freedoms, particularly freedom of expression.

On Christmas Eve, the body of Catholic seminarian Zhage Sil, was found in a ditch in Jayapura, in the Indonesian province of Papua. According to the local police, the perpetrators of the crime are still unknown.

Jakarta – Pondok Ranggon Public Cemetery, a burial ground in East Jakarta, the city administration reserve for Covid-19 victims, has run out of space for new burials as the capital stayed on course to see the deadliest month since the pandemic began nine months ago.

Norman Harsono, Jakarta – Recently installed Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno has pledged to focus on reviving the pandemic-stricken tourism industry next year.

Heru Andriyanto, Herman, Jakarta – The Indonesian government obliges any foreign visitor to produce a negative coronavirus test result in the country of origin and spend five days in quarantine upon arrival, a spokesperson said Monday.

The new rule also temporarily bans visits by all travelers from the United Kingdom.

Military Police have named nine soldiers suspects in a case pertaining to the killing of two Hitadipa villagers in Intan Jaya regency, Papua.

The soldiers are suspected of torturing two civilians identified as Luther Zanambani and Apinus Zanambani to death and burning their bodies to hide their crime, Military Police commander Let. Gen. Dodik Widjanarko said.

Jakarta – Competition in Indonesia's heavy equipment market, which has already been hit hard by depressed mineral prices and investment during the COVID-19 pandemic, will become much fiercer with the entry of more Chinese products.

Jakarta – The national COVID-19 task force has conducted a study of the risks of COVID-19 mortality based on age and comorbidities.

According to an analysis by a team of experts over the past five months, COVID-19 patients aged 60 and above are 19.5 times more likely to die than those between the ages of 19 and 30.

Novan Iman Santosa, Jakarta – Defense Minister Prabowo reignited an old debate in June when he sent a letter to his Austrian counterpart Klaudia Tanner on the possibilities of buying 15 Eurofighter Typhoon heavy jet fighters from the central European country to modernize the Indonesian Air Force.

Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) is urging the Attorney General and the Judge Advocate General to immediately to push for the shooting cases in Intan Jaya, Papua, to be heard in civilian courts.

After 18 years on the run, the Indonesian leader who orchestrated the Bali bombings has bared the inner workings of the terrorist organisation, revealing that charity boxes in food stalls and mini-marts helped to fund radical Islamic causes.

Arlina Arshad, Singapore – When Indonesian Elen Retno Bunga Anggraeny moved to Singapore in 2017 to become a domestic helper, she had to work for six months without salary to pay off $3,000 in agency fees back home.

The commander of the Indonesian Army Military Police (Danpuspomad), Lieutenant-General Dodik Widjanarko says TNI AD soldiers in Papua have committed acts of violence, including burning bodies to erase traces of their killing.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government has drawn up a list of preventive measures following a new coronavirus variant that was discovered in the United Kingdom, says national COVID-19 task force chief Doni Monardo.

Jakarta – To anticipate a rising COVID-19 cases tally, the Jakarta Health Agency is planning to add more COVID-19 referral hospitals in the capital city.

"Several hospitals will be turned into COVID-19 referral hospitals later," the agency's disease control and prevention unit head, Dwi Oktavia, said as quoted by kompas.com on Saturday.

Jakarta – As the country gears up to roll out a national COVID-19 vaccination program, the Indonesian Society of Internal Medicine (PAPDI) has said that a candidate vaccine produced by China's Sinovac Biotech is suitable to be given to recipients with certain underlying health conditions.

Jakarta – Indonesia's economic situation is expected to improve soon, as the government is preparing a number of recovery plans, Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartanto has said.

Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – Indonesia will soon introduce a new rapid test which can analyse breath samples and detect Covid-19 infection within a few minutes.

The test is set to use breathalysers GeNose C19, developed by researchers at Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University.

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – The shelves of the three-storey workshop in a Jakarta suburb were packed with colourful tote bags and laptop bags.

Upon closer inspection, one would notice that they were actually made from discarded detergent packaging and used billboard materials.

Ardila Syakriah, Jakarta – Unlike neighboring Singapore, Indonesia has not detected the new SARS-CoV-2 variant first discovered in the United Kingdom, but that may be due to the country's lack of genomic and molecular monitoring, a minister has said.

Nina A. Loasana, Jakarta – Jakarta-owned tap water company PAM Jaya is working to expand the city's tap water coverage from 65 percent to 100 percent to ensure Indonesia's capital becomes water self-sufficient by 2030.

Jakarta – Christians across Indonesia celebrated a quiet Christmas amid the COVID-19 pandemic this year, with many churches limiting physical participation in Christmas services and others moving entirely online.

Antara, Jakarta – Law No. 11 of 2020 on job creation will guarantee that laid-off workers receive their severance pay, according to the Center of Reform on Economic (CORE).

Jakarta – The Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) and the Setara Institute, a human rights group, have urged the newly appointed Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas to prove his commitment to upholding religious rights amid persistent discrimination against minority religious groups.

Jakarta – The Health Ministry has approved a locally made COVID-19 detector called GeNose for distribution.

The device was developed by Gadjah Mada University (UGM) and was funded by the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) and the Research and Technology Ministry's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).

Jakarta – State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II (AP II) has opened a COVID-19 test service for the general public at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport's Terminal 1 health center in Tangerang, Banten.

Jakarta – GeNose C19, an instant Covid-19 detection tool developed by Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, has secured a distribution license from the Health Ministry, paving its way for public use, the university's development team said in a statement on Saturday.

Jakarta – Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, the newly appointed religious affairs minister, has promised to uphold the rights of the Shia and Ahmadiyah minority religious groups and to work to prevent their persecution.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – A reliable, ever-ready IT infrastructure and abundant tech talents will accelerate the digital transformation in Indonesia, according to data center provider Daya Cipta Mandiri Solusi.

Kiki Siregar, Jakarta – It was a picture of Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio standing in front of two elephants with a man and a woman in Indonesia's Leuser Ecosystem that got people talking in 2016.

The actor posted the picture on his Instagram and said that Leuser is "a world-class biodiversity hotspot ... but palm oil expansion is destroying this unique place".

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Indonesia has recorded the highest monthly total of coronavirus cases and deaths since Dec. 1 and marked the 300th day since the first cases were confirmed on March 2 without knowing exactly what to do to cope with raging infections in key provinces.

Nina A. Loasana, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has appointed Hartono as the new head of the Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG), dismissing concerns over an initial plan to dissolve the state body.

Budi Sutrisno, Jakarta – Like no other time in recent history, 2020 has been the year of people accepting fundamental alterations to life, in which unprecedented uncertainties have challenged standards of living and emotional circumstances.

Ardila Syakriah, Jakarta – COVID-19 has led to calls to tone down Christmas celebrations and the introduction of mobility curbs over the holiday, but such restrictions are hardly new in Indonesia.

Some congregations have never really felt able to freely observe the sacred religious holiday, especially those that don't have places of worship to call their own.

Jakarta – Indonesia recorded its biggest daily rise in COVID-19 deaths on Friday (Dec 25) with 258 fatalities, taking the total to 20,847, data by the country's health ministry showed.

The data showed coronavirus infections increased by 7,259, bringing the number of cases to 700,097. Indonesia has the highest coronavirus caseload and death toll in Southeast Asia.

Dian Septiari, Jakarta – Indonesia is set to send 79 containers of hazardous materials back to Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States beginning in January, the government recently revealed.