The ministry's Environmental and Forestry Law Enforcement Director General Rasio Ridho Sani announced the decision on Wednesday with the order for the four companies to cease operation effective immediately.

Researchers found last year that the Puncak Jaya glaciers had shrunk to 0.23 square kilometers in total, equivalent to 32 soccer fields.

The Health Ministry is to form an independent board to better protect health professionals from malpractice litigation, in line with the new Health Law.

The Health Ministry has issued a warning to three government-owned teaching hospitals after their medical residents filed reports of alleged hazing during their training.

The hunger strike will be held in six cities across the country, including Medan, North Sumatra; Semarang, Central Java; Makassar, South Sulawesi; and Yogyakarta.

The government is set to expand the rollout of the rotavirus vaccine to prevent diarrheal diseases in infants nationwide starting Tuesday, as it seeks to further curb infant fatalities.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is still tracking down the whereabouts of fugitive Harun Masiku after receiving information that the politician is hiding abroad.

A 2023 World Bank study has found that Indonesian students on average lost 11.2 months of learning over three years of COVID-19, but that the government fared relatively well in managing education delivery during the pandemic.

The new Omicron subvariant, known as EG.5 or “Eris” has become the most prevalent strain in other countries, from the United States to China.

At least eight finalists of Miss Universe Indonesia 2023 have filed complaints with the police against staffers of the contest’s organizer, alleging they were sexually harassed during a so-called body check session.

The contestants, held in the capital Jakarta from July 29 to Aug. 3, said the organizers asked five of them to strip to their underwear for physical examinations in a room with more than 20 people, including men.

The Supreme Court has reduced the death sentence for disgraced former two-star police general Ferdy Sambo to life in prison on the grounds that he committed the premeditated murder of his own aide-de-camp Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat along with others, court spokesperson Sobandi said.

Experts warned of the increasing risk of contagious disease outbreaks and other health problems in Indonesia as the hotter El Niño climate phenomenon emerged in the tropical Pacific for the first time in seven years.

Police have named Al-Zaytun head Panji Gumilang as a suspect in a case that rights activists say is the latest example of the weaponization of the 1965 Blasphemy Law to shut down minority views.

Founded in 1996 and home to roughly 5,000 students, Al-Zaytun has caused a stir with practices like allowing men and women to pray alongside each other, and women to become preachers, which are uncommon in Indonesia

Health experts have raised concerns about the government's plan to reestablish sanatoriums, calling it a setback in the country's fight against tuberculosis.

Authorities have said a government regulation that will allow tourists to enter the country via the highly anticipated “golden visa” program is in its final stages and will be ready soon.

The BMKG has found that the average daily temperature in June was 27 degrees, 0.5 degrees higher than the average for the same month between 1991 and 2020.

The government is planning to stick with its controversial zoning system for state school enrollment, arguing that it remains key to addressing Indonesia's long-standing education disparities, despite a recent string of complaints from parents that the policy is susceptible to cheating and bribery.

Australia's Agriculture Minister Murray Watt has confirmed that Indonesia has made the move and that exports from the four facilities had stopped.

The 2023 Henley Passport Index found that Indonesians enjoy visa-free entry to 70 countries and destinations, putting the country in 77th place on the list of the world’s strongest passports.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin issued a ministerial regulation last week that formally banned all forms of hazing in government-owned teaching hospitals and launched a bullying reporting platform for medical residents.

The Supreme Court has ordered a palm oil company to pay Rp 920 billion (US$60.9 million) for failing to prevent or extinguish forest fires within its concession area in West Kalimantan, adding to a growing list of firms held responsible for environmental disasters in the country.

The Health Ministry recorded a rise in the obesity rate as a proportion of the population from 2013 to 2018, Deputy Health Minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono said on Monday.

About 30 percent of wildfires between 2015 and 2020 were found in peatland that overlapped with the concession areas, according to a report from environmental coalition Pantau Gambut. 

Activists warn that companies will misuse the carbon market to avoid reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. 

The Supreme Court issued a circular on Monday prohibiting lower courts from granting any request to legalize interfaith marriage.

A recent remark by the mayor of Medan, North Sumatra, Bobby Nasution, on police shooting criminals dead has been criticized for potentially leading to human rights violations.

An elderly Indonesian man who had been missing in Saudi Arabia for almost two weeks has been found dead at a hospital in Mecca, Indonesian haj officials have said, as they continue their search for two other missing pilgrims.

As Twitter imposes more limits on its users' activity, experts say the social media platform will become a less reliable source of information and more susceptible to polarization ahead of Indonesia’s general election next year.