Indonesians ushered in the New Year with subdued celebrations, as scaled-down festivities across the country served as a gesture of solidarity with millions affected by deadly disasters in northern Sumatra.

Most regions held joint prayers for the New Year’s Eve celebration for people affected by cyclone-induced floods and landslides in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra, but some still opted to set off fireworks in several locations across the country.

While boasting in front of the international community of a commitment to grant 1.4 million hectares of customary forest in the next five years, the government was met with criticism of conflicting policies and increasing repression that put indigenous communities in a more vulnerable position.

With the New Year return-traffic surge expected from Jan. 2 to 4, authorities are stepping up road safety operations to prevent accidents that have already claimed a number of lives during the year-end holiday season.

Many in the congregation of churches in regions affected by cyclone-induced floods and landslides are still sheltering at evacuation sites after the disasters wreaked havoc on the regions a month ago.

Various churches and state officials call for Indonesian Christians to pray for victims of floods and landslides in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra during this year’s Christmas celebrations.

With the 2025 year-end holiday fast approaching, the National Police have stepped up security measures nationwide, deploying hundreds of thousands of personnel to ensure the public can celebrate Christmas and New Year safely.

Four residents of the low-lying island of Pari, which has been repeatedly flooded as warmer temperatures push up sea levels, submitted a legal complaint in January 2023 to the cantonal court in Zug, Switzerland.

The 26-year-old, whose real name is Tia Billinger, was deported this month after police raided a studio in Badung, a popular tourist district near provincial capital of Denpasar.

From a boarding school collapse that killed more than 60 students to numerous fatal bullying incidents, 2025 exposed deep weaknesses in Indonesia’s ability to guarantee student safety.

Authorities have warned of more potential extreme weather as the nation headed into another busy year-end holiday travel season over the weekend, with millions pouring in and out of Jakarta and other big cities nationwide amid muted celebrations in respect for those still reeling from the disaster in Sumatra.

Weak disaster preparedness and mitigation efforts as well as environmental degradation mainly caused by business activities have exposed Indonesia to hazards of extreme climate events, including tropical cyclones that are not usually forming in areas close to the equator.

The recent rediscovery of a rare plant was met by renewed debate among researchers and public alike about academic colonialism. The concerns hinged on whether the Rafflesia, which was named after a European colonial figure, should be renamed to better represent its Southeast Asian origin and remove its colonial legacy.

The outcome of the bidding for a plot of land where President Prabowo Subianto’s proposed haj village will be located is expected to be announced in late December or January.

In its ruling, the Constitutional Court asserted the royalties for commercial live performances should be paid by the party organizing the performances, rather than the performers themselves, either through a rights management agency or directly to songwriters or rights holders.

A webinar on methanol poisoning involving experts from the WHO and other health professionals last week has pointed to an urgency for emergency planning to reduce illness and related risks in Indonesia, including ensuring the availability of antidotes.

The Communications and Digital Ministry is preparing a ministerial regulation that would stipulate detailed provisions on punishments for tech companies found violating a prohibition on social media for children.

Around 90 percent of 13,000 hectares of natural forests cleared by activities from the pulpwood industry were found in Kalimantan, according to a new report issued by environmental groups, raising alarms of looming ecological crisis that may hit the island in the coming years.

Supply disruptions of various types of chilies and vegetables have increased the prices in Batam following the flooding in the northern part of Sumatra.

The Ford Foundation has called on the government to expand its engagement with Indigenous communities as Indonesia moves forward with its pledge to recognize 1.4 million hectares of customary forests by 2029. 

The death toll from the cyclone-induced floods and landslides reached 950 as of Monday, with 274 people still missing, according to official data. The storms also killed about 200 people in southern Thailand and Malaysia.  

Home to 4.8 billion people or 60 percent of the world’s population, Asia accounts for 50 percent of the global cancer incidence.

One in four women in Indonesia has experienced sexual violence in their lifetime, with at least 30 percent of reported cases committed by intimate partners according to a 2024 survey conducted by the Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry. 

Indonesia is among the countries with transitional capacity, which have internet access for most people, but coverage and quality remain uneven with regulation, funding and skills still catching up. These nations are encouraged to draft national strategies that should outline greater investment in labor skills and strong AI policies.

The police have named Lin Jingzhang, director of PT Peter Metal Technology (PMT), a suspect in the case of radioactive contamination at the Modern Cikande Industrial Estate in Banten, as authorities face pressure to tighten supervision to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

Now increasingly visible in Jakarta and other cities, independent libraries and reading communities have become new hubs for readers, taking the lead in promoting reading culture as government initiatives continue to fall short.

As Indonesia commemorated World AIDS Day, some regions in the country recorded thousands of HIV cases, prompting renewed calls for stronger HIV education in schools and families.