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.

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.

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.

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

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 – 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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Irsyan Hasyim, Jakarta – New findings from Trase.Earth show that while deforestation linked to Indonesia's pulp industry declined in 2024, the overall risk of natural forest destruction is still alarmingly high.

Ruth Dea Juwita, Jakarta – Trade negotiations between Indonesia and the United States remain ongoing, the government insists, seeking to dispel reported US concerns over the implementation of a handshake deal agreed in July.

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.

Duncan Graham – As Indonesia prepares to release a new official national history, an Australian historian's account of the 1965-66 mass killings threatens to reopen a long-suppressed debate about power, violence, and memory.

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.

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.

Jakarta – Human Rights Day which falls today should remind nations of the promises they make to their citizens: dignity, safety and justice. This year, however, Indonesia faces the commemorative day with the uneasy recognition that its human rights foundations are steadily weakening.

Moscow – Russian President Vladimir Putin told Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday that Moscow was pleased with the developing military ties between the two countries and ready to help Jakarta in the field of nuclear energy.

Jakarta – Floods and landslides struck several districts in South Nias regency in North Sumatra on Thursday, after heavy rain and strong winds lashed the region. In Ndraso Village, Maniamolo District, floodwater reaches up to 1.5 meters high and inundated 4 hectares of rice fields.

Balipuspanews, Badung, Bali – Authorities in Bali say they have found no evidence of pornography after raiding a Pererenan studio where foreign nationals, including adult film actress and OnlyFans creator Bonnie Blue, were detained last week. The investigation is now shifting toward potential immigration violations, with several individuals facing possible deportation.

Apriadi Gunawan and Theresia Sufa, Medan – The Environment Ministry has temporarily halted the operations of four companies working in the upstream Batang Toru river basin area following the devastating floods and landslides in North Sumatra.

Hans Makabori, Jayapura – The West Papua National Committee (KNPB) held a peaceful demonstration commemorating International Human Rights Day at the Abepura traffic circle in Jayapura city, Papua, on Wednesday December 10.

Novali Panji Nugroho, Jakarta – Members of the Indonesian diaspora in Singapore have voiced frustration over what they describe as restrictive rules on delivering aid to victims of the devastating Sumatra floods.

Dian Rahma Fika, Jakarta – The Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet) suspects a cyberattack behind the sudden disappearance of Tempo's YouTube account on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, at around 07:00 AM.

The organization, however, has yet to determine the exact nature of the incident as it continues gathering information from YouTube.

Jakarta – Indonesian state railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) has introduced strict sanctions for anyone found committing sexual harassment in railway areas. Offenders will be blacklisted and banned from using all train services for 20 years.

Philip Jacobson, Dili, Timor-Leste – Whale tourism in Timor-Leste is booming. Tour operators report a healthy number of sightings and full bookings in the peak season of September to December, when hundreds of pygmy blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) make the journey through the Ombai-Wetar Strait on their way south to western Australia.

Maretha Uli, Jakarta – The National Police had been accused of using excessive force against protesters during nationwide rallies in late August, according to an investigation by human rights group Amnesty International on multiple cases of violence around the demonstrations.

West Papuan activists in Vanuatu are demanding that the Vanuatu government "take a stronger and more decisive stance" in support of the region's independence from Indonesia, the Vanuatu Daily Post reports.

Jakarta – At least 20 students and one teacher were wounded after a vehicle suddenly crashed into a school gathering at SDN Kalibaru 01 Pagi state elementary school in Cilincing, North Jakarta, on Thursday morning.