The Indonesian Coalition for Animal Protection (KPH Indonesia) said there was fresh urgency for the passing of new legislation that could guarantee the protection of animal rights given the rising number of animal-abuse cases in the country.

“The government often sugarcoats its promises and commitments at international forums. They look shiny from the outside but not from the inside,” one youth activist said.

The vaccination campaign is still being hampered by administrative problems, civil groups have said, having received reports of people being unable to get their jabs because of misuse of identification numbers (NIK).

The government has confirmed two new cases of the highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant on Saturday among people who recently arrived in the country.

“We will ensure that PPKM is implemented in the regions according to their level [of risk]. [Although restriction] levels are adjustable, we will not ease the prevailing curbs until January,” said Vice President Ma’ruf Amin on Friday.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo urged the public to remain calm and to maintain discipline in following health protocols after Indonesia discovered its first confirmed COVID-19 case caused by the emerging Omicron variant on Thursday.

A member of a visiting United States delegation tested positive for COVID-19 after a press event in Malaysia, cutting short a tour of Southeast Asia and sparking a health scare in Indonesia, the US official's previous destination.

The case was detected on Wednesday evening and was an employee at the Wisma Atlet hospital in Jakarta.

The government is planning to expand its COVID-19 booster program to members of the general public in January of next year, with priority given to immunocompromised people and the elderly.

The government has urged people not to travel overseas unless necessary in a bid to protect Indonesia against the emerging Omicron variant, as the country inches closer to transitioning to the endemic phase of COVID-19.

As concerns mount over the threat of the Omicron variant, the government will begin inoculating some 26 million children aged 6 to 11 ahead of schedule, with the first jabs set to be administered on Tuesday.

Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Quomas has condemned the case, saying that his ministry would conduct a thorough investigation into all madrasahs and pesantren after concerns arose within the ministry that the case was just a tip of the iceberg.

Indonesia approved China's Sinovac Biotech vaccine for the age group last month and about 26.5 million children have been targeted for vaccination, Maxi Rein Rondonuwu, a senior health ministry official, told a briefing.

What was supposed to open a chapter toward better disability equality in the country has been marred by the lackluster response of the newly inaugurated government watchdog.

After years of delay, the government is set to restart the deliberation process of a bill ratifying a United Nations convention against involuntary disappearance, with the aim of adopting the convention next year.

The researchers combed through 63 laws that were passed between 1957 and 2021, including 18 laws ratified from international covenants, none of which contained a comprehensive definition of vulnerable groups.

The government will allow pilgrims to travel to Saudi Arabia for umrah (minor haj) later this month, a move that experts say is risky given the threat of the emerging Omicron variant, which has been detected in the gulf country.

“We have no other option but to adapt and innovate, turning disruption into solutions,” said Nadiem on Wednesday. “We are committed to not only expanding access to technology [for students], but also to bridge the knowledge and technological skills gap.”

Indonesia kicks off its G20 presidency with global collaboration in mind and an appetite to make big transformative changes.

A recent ruling against South Sulawesi-based journalist Muhammad Asrul, who was charged under the defamation article of the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, has sparked concern among civil groups over press freedom in the country.

The suspects had been collecting funds for JI via two Islamic charitable foundations and their arrests will help build a picture of militant funding in Indonesia, Sr. Comr. Aswin Siregar of the Densus 88 counterterrorism force told media on Thursday.

Under the regulation, which was issued by Home Minister Tito Karnavian on Monday, the central government has asked regional administrations to urge the public to limit their “nonessential” mobility and tighten border restrictions in anticipation of an influx of Indonesian migrant workers returning from abroad over the holiday period.

Divisive lawmaker Arteria Dahlan of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) stirred up debate last week on the possibility of granting law enforcers immunity from graft sting operations.

Environmentalists have said that they remain skeptical over the mechanism, arguing that it could incentivize industrialized countries to offset, rather than reduce, their carbon emissions by purchasing credits representing emission-reduction efforts from other countries.

Indonesia launched a mangrove rehabilitation program in March, aiming to restore 600,000 hectares (1.5 million acres) of degraded mangrove by 2024 to help absorb carbon emissions.

The ministry has identified 31,624 civil servants who have been receiving some form of social aid, such as non-cash food assistance (BPNT) or other forms of aids under the Family Hope Program (PKH), when it recently updated its Integrated Data for Social Welfare (DTKS) database of poor and vulnerable families.

An environment ministerial regulation dated 2019 aims to cut consumer waste by 30 percent and marine plastic debris by 70 percent by 2025, but the mandatory policy doesn't have a detailed provision on sanctions for offending or recalcitrant businesses.

Using a now suspended Twitter handle, a hacker who said they were from Brazil claimed to have obtained the data of 28,000 officers by infiltrating National Police server, according to local media reports.

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) has said it will reschedule its national congress, set to be held in Lampung, in response to the government’s plan to impose stricter mobility curbs at the end of the year.

Ahmad Zain An-Najah, a member of top Islamic organisation the Indonesian Ulema Council, and two associates were charged with setting up a charity organisation that diverted money to Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).