Rhett Butler – Indonesia's government has been at pains to stress that the recent catastrophe in Sumatra was triggered by a rare meteorological event. Cyclone Senyar formed in the Malacca Strait, an area where the national weather agency notes such storms are "an extremely rare phenomenon," before unloading torrents of rain on Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra.

Rahel Narda Chaterine, Nawir Arsyad Akbar, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto has alluded to foreign parties who dislike Indonesia being a strong nation.

This was conveyed by Prabowo when he asserted that Indonesia was capable of handling the disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra.

Aditya Budiman, Jakarta – Indonesia's Ministry of Environment has pointed to poor environmental management as a key factor behind recent floods and landslides in North Sumatra, summoning eight companies operating in the region for clarification.

Aceh – In order to accelerate dealing with victims, restoring infrastructure and opening access to international humanitarian aid in a coordinated and accountable manner, Acehnese Islamic clerics (Ulama) are asking President Prabowo Subianto to declare a national disaster in the three provinces affected by floods and landslides in Sumatra, namely Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra

Adil Al Hasan, Jakarta – The Head of the Economic Division at PT Bank Central Asia Tbk, David Sumual, stated that the Sumatra floods caused a 0.31 percent decrease in spending, equivalent to Rp18.58 trillion of the gross domestic product in the fourth quarter of 2025. The condition arose because the purchasing power of flood-affected communities decreased automatically.

The Civil Society Coalition Against Impunity condemns the launch of the latest edition of the book "The National History of Indonesia" that was launched on Sunday December 14.

Adil Al Hasan, Jakarta – Senior Director of Business Performance and Asset Optimization of the Investment Management Agency Danantara Indonesia Bhimo Aryanto speaks out about the state-owned enterprises (BUMN) business merger process. He ensures that there will be no layoffs during the merger process of these state-owned companies.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – Indonesia's Ministry of Culture has designated December 14 as National History Day. The History Day launch took place at the Plaza Insan Berprestasi in Jakarta today.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – The Minister of Culture, Fadli Zon, launched the book series Sejarah Indonesia: Dinamika Kebangsaan dalam Arus Global (History of Indonesia: National Dynamics in the Global Flow) at Plaza Insan Berprestasi in Jakarta, on Sunday, December 14, 2025.

Jakarta – Indonesia is continuing large-scale reconstruction efforts across Sumatra after devastating flash floods and landslides killed more than 1,000 people and displaced tens of thousands over the past two weeks, authorities said on Sunday.

Naomi Lyandra, Jakarta – Three weeks after the hydrometeorological disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra, the Civil Society Coalition believes the government's response has been suboptimal because it has failed to declare a national disaster.

Dinda Shabrina, Jakarta – The disaster situation in several regions in Indonesia has once again highlighted the high risk of sexual violence against women in evacuation centers. Women, children, and the elderly are considered the most vulnerable in emergency conditions, while non-physical risks such as sexual violence often go unnoticed in disaster response priorities.

Muawwan Daelami, Jakarta – Sovereign wealth fund Danantara Indonesia announced on Sunday that it has acquired hotel and real estate assets in Thakher City, an integrated development located about 2.5 kilometers from the Grand Mosque in Makkah.

Dinda Shabrina, Jakarta – The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) has evacuated the body of someone believed to be a female foreign national victim of the flood in Tibubeneng, Badung Regency, Denpasar, Bali.

Anastasya Lavenia Yudi, Jakarta – The Financial Services Authority (OJK) reported that outstanding debt in the Indonesian online loan industry reached Rp92.92 trillion in October 2025. This figure represents a robust growth of 23.86 percent year-on-year (YoY), a higher rate than the 22.16 percent YoY recorded in the preceding month.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said the situation in North Sumatra has improved since the severe floods and landslides at the end of November, while emphasizing that the government will continue to monitor affected communities.

Dian Rahma Fika, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto on Friday visited three districts in Aceh province affected by severe floods and landslides: Aceh Tamiang, Aceh Tengah, and Bener Meriah.

The visit marked Prabowo's third inspection of disaster-hit areas in recent weeks, following earlier trips to flood-affected regions in North Sumatra and West Sumatra.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesian immigration authorities have deported British adult film actress and OnlyFans personality Tia Emma Billinger, widely known as Bonnie Blue, for violating immigration rules and traffic laws during her stay in Bali.

Ali MC, Dili, East Timor – On the 50th anniversary of Indonesia's invasion of East Timor, longtime independence advocate and now the country's President Jose Ramos-Horta reflected on the last half-century of politics and diplomacy in his country.

Aditya Aji, Aceh Tamiang, Aceh – Almost two weeks on from devastating floods, Muslim worshippers in disaster-hit northern Sumatra who gathered at their local mosque on Friday for prayers were blocked from entering by a huge pile of thousands of uprooted trees.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto has vowed a stringent crackdown on all illegal logging activities following the devastating disaster in Sumatra.

Dede Leni Mardianti, Jakarta – The Indonesian Ombudsman stated that communication issues were the main problem in the government's handling of the disaster that struck the island of Sumatra at the end of last November.

M. Faiz Zaki, Jakarta – Russian investment in Indonesia totaled US$147.2 million, or approximately Rp2.46 trillion, from January to September 2025, according to records from the Ministry of Industry. This follows a full-year investment value of US$262.7 million recorded in 2024.

Bucharest – Romania said it had found two masseuses with leprosy at a spa in the northwestern city of Cluj, the European Union state's first confirmed cases of the disease in more than 40 years.

Two more people were being tested and the two confirmed cases, both Indonesian nationals aged 21 and 25, were being treated, the Romanian Health Ministry added.

Doubts that the Government and the House of Representatives (DPR) genuinely support Komnas HAM's pro justitia investigation into the Munir case, which has remained stagnant for more than 21 years.

Alfitria Nefi Pratiwi, Jakarta – The Ministry of Agriculture has reported that at least 11,000 hectares of paddy fields have suffered severe damage or total crop failure following the recent Sumatra floods.

Sara Hussein, Bangkok – Sumatra's deadly flooding was an "extinction-level disturbance" for the world's rarest great ape, the tapanuli orangutan, causing catastrophic damage to its habitat and survival prospects, scientists warned on Friday.

Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto has once again intervened in the law enforcement process of a corruption case. This time, he did so by rehabilitating three defendants in the corruption case involving Angkutan Sungai, Danau, dan Penyeberangan Indonesia Ferry, or ASDP.

Fachri Hamzah, Jakarta – The Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) in West Sumatra considers the flash floods that have struck several areas in the province not just a natural disaster, but an ecological crisis that has accumulated over decades, during which time the government has never taken restorative measures.

Irna Nurlina – Tragedies like the collapse of an Islamic boarding school in mid-September in West Java require nuanced solutions and hard soul-searching. Hope and inspiration may come from within the country, indeed, within the same province.

Jakarta – Indonesia's Islamic banking sector is on track for its strongest year ever, with total assets surpassing Rp 1,028 trillion ($65 billion) as of October 2025 – the highest level since the industry was established, according to the country's Financial Services Authority (OJK).

Amid natural disasters, floods and landslides in Sumatra, caused by environmental destruction that the state failed to anticipate, communities in other regions are instead facing violence in the form of land grabbing and unilateral claims by the Indonesian Military (TNI).

Andi F – Tanrigau, Indonesia's economy is becoming more deeply embedded in global supply chains, and with that integration comes a new reality: sustainability reporting is no longer optional. It cannot be treated as a document prepared only when time and resources allow.

In commemoration of the International Human Rights Day on December 10, the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) has once again published its Human Rights Day Report. This report summarizes the situation of human rights respect, protection, and fulfillment over the past year.

Yuni Rohmawati, Jakarta – Entering the peak of the rainy season, which is projected to occur from December 2025 to March 2026 according to the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of South Sumatra has declared a flood and landslide alert in five regencies/cities.

Adinda Jasmine, Jakarta – Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao kicked off his official visit to the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta on Thursday, December 11, 2025. This marks his first visit after Timor Leste was designated as the 11th full member of ASEAN in Malaysia last October.

Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto has once again raised the idea of scrapping direct regional head elections to cut costs, ahead of a planned revision to election rules at the legislature and despite persistent opposition from pro-democracy activists who have warned of a possible rollback of democratic safeguards.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – A Tapanuli orangutan, the world's rarest great ape, has been discovered dead in mud and log debris in a village in northern Sumatra – a grim sign of how severely recent floods and landslides may have devastated the species' fragile habitat.

A group of scientists has described the catastrophe as an "extinction-level disturbance" for the apes.

Maretha Uli, Jakarta – A photo that might seem harmless can turn a woman into a target of sexual harassment overnight.

Andi Adam Faturahman, Jakarta – The Chair of House Commission I (DPR), Utut Adianto, proposed that the government should establish a ministry dedicated to integrated disaster management.

Grace Gandhi, Jakarta – The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) remains committed to importing crude oil and fuel from the United States, as agreed upon in the trade tariff negotiations between Indonesia and the U.S.

On 3 December 2025, at around 4:00 pm, 20-year-old indigenous Papuan, Mr Yanuarius Pekei, was shot dead while joining a protest on the connecting road from Paniai to Dogiyai in the Deiyai Regency, Central Papua Province.

Eka Yudha Saputra, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto has asked the victims of the Sumatra floods to be patient. The central government will help those affected by the disaster.

Maretha Uli, Jakarta – Authorities are struggling to restore power in northern Sumatra, particularly in Aceh, after widespread floods and landslides last month, triggered by a rare cyclone and exacerbated by environmental destruction, with felled trees sweeping away villages, causing massive damage and hampering recovery.

Adinda Jasmine, Jakarta – Xanana Gusmao, the Prime Minister of Timor Leste, delivered his inaugural policy speech at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta on Thursday, December 11, 2025. Xanana made his first visit as Timor Leste was accepted as the 11th member of the regional bloc in Malaysia last October.

Adil Al Hasan, Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has released the examination results of the capital injection by PT Wijaya Karya (WIKA) into PT Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia in the investment for Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Train through the formation of PT KCIC (Kereta Cepat Indonesia Cina).

Fachri Hamzah, Jakarta – West Sumatra residents, through the Ecological Justice Advocacy Team, are preparing to file a citizen lawsuit against 12 state officials for alleged negligence in preventing and handling ecological disasters that have struck the region since late November 2025.

Novali Panji Nugroho, Jakarta – The YouTube channel owned by Tempo has been accessible to the public again on Thursday, December 11, 2025. The YouTube account Tempodotco disappeared on December 9, around 7 in the morning.

Nandito Putra, Jakarta – Greenpeace Indonesia is urging the government to revoke the permits of companies suspected of damaging Sumatra's forests and river basins, which worsened the severe flooding that hit three provinces in late November 2025. These permits must be revoked with measurable ecological restoration obligations.

Irsyan Hasyim, Jakarta – A study by the Research Center for Environmental Studies (PPLH) at IPB University's International Research Institute for Climate Change has shown that most of Jakarta's rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and groundwater are heavily contaminated.