Just when the COVID-19 pandemic began to show signs of easing, a series of unexpected illnesses this year raised the stakes even further.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has left the door open for a Cabinet reshuffle, fueling rumors that ministers from the pro-government NasDem Party – which has thrown its weight behind opposition figurehead Anies Baswedan – will be on the chopping block, an idea that the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has supported.

Families celebrating Christmas have welcomed a return of classic holiday traditions, including church-going and family gatherings, while others have taken the opportunity to go on long-awaited vacations during the first year-end holiday season without strict public health rules since the pandemic began.

Bogor Cathedral is holding an exhibition of 155 nativity scenes at the former site of Stella Maris Seminary, from Dec. 23 to Jan. 8.

The Medan Corruption Court in North Sumatra acquitted businessman Mujianto from charges of corruption and money laundering, to which state prosecutors said they would file an appeal.

Indonesia has called for the nature deal to protect ecosystems, agreed at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Canada, to also come with developed countries contributing their fair share to protecting nature.

Nearly half of Indonesia’s wild fish stocks are overfished as the country struggles to meet its own fisheries targets, while some essential marine ecosystems are still left out of the expanding marine protected areas (MPAs), a recent study by World Resources Institute (WRI) Indonesia has found.

Indonesia expresses concern and disappointment with the decision of the Taliban that suspended the access to university education for women in Afghanistan.

In a bid to lure more ‘high-value’ foreigners to Indonesia, the government officially launched the second home visa on Wednesday.

All eyes will be on match organizers and security personnel who will be testing out new security measures on Friday as the Indonesian men’s soccer team will play the country’s first ever match involving pitch-side spectators, since the deadly Kanjuruhan stadium crush in East Java in October.

Preparations to welcome the first year-end holiday season without strict public health rules since the beginning of the pandemic are now in full swing, with the police planning to mobilize personnel to keep people safe during the festivities.

Indonesia has responded tepidly to a speech made by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte apologizing for 250 years of slavery in the country’s former colonies, saying the country needs to do more than simply offer a mea culpa for its role.

The government will disburse an additional budget of Rp 15 trillion (US$963 million) to develop five priority-tourism destinations in the next two years.

Local kingdoms had brokered slaves for the Dutch and had thus been complicit in the practice of slavery in the archipelago, historians say.  

Seven suspects have been detained by the police in connection with the Dec. 7 suicide bombing attack on a district police station in Bandung, West Java.

Surabaya city administration and the Transportation Ministry launched on Tuesday 17 electric buses to ply one of the city’s bus routes.

The Galang Island special infection hospital task force in Riau Islands officially ceased its operation on Wednesday, but dozens of health workers complain that they have yet to be paid their meal allowances.

The Chinese ambassador to Indonesia has given an assurance that the recent deadly accident at the construction project of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway (KCJB) is not a reflection of the safety of the future train service.

Vulnerable families, including households with children, disabled members or those that are led by women, face tougher challenges in bouncing back nearly two years after the pandemic, a survey has found, as the country now seeks to recover from the health crisis.

The Central Java administration has launched the Anti-corruption Villages program in 29 regencies and municipalities in a bid to boost corruption eradication in the province.

Indonesia’s climate targets are “critically insufficient,” said a global climate research consortium, despite the country’s renewed emission target.

Already beset by a ballooning budget and missed deadlines, the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project (KCJB) suffers another roadblock as a work train involved with the project careened off the railway, killed two foreign technical workers and injured several others on Sunday evening.

Jokowi said "the reduction of military troops in Papua is good, but we need to continue to be stern," after appointing a new Indonesia Military (TNI) chief.

The environment ministry and USAID are committed to launching a new climate partnership in early 2023, with funding of up to US$50 million, to help Indonesia's forestry sector achieve its 2030 carbon sink target.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has signed a regulation that details new safety and security requirements for businesses seeking to mine nuclear materials in the country.

AJI and LBH Pers have condemned the police for appointing a former journalist as a sub-precinct police in Central Java.

A forum of female enthusiasts, as well as other groups, is trying to create space in Indonesian soccer so all supporters can safely enjoy watching the sport from the stands.