Jakarta – As of the third quarter of this year, domestic consumption contributes more than half of Indonesia's economic growth. Although all appears well, this figure reflects a fragile economy: the long-established middle class is spending money to relieve the pressures of life.

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.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto said the presence of central government agencies in responding to the Sumatra disaster is widely seen by the public as a direct reflection of his leadership, adding that any shortcomings in disaster management ultimately fall under his responsibility.

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.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – A major global forestry certification body is under scrutiny for endorsing one of Indonesia's largest recent deforesters, raising concerns that consumers may be misled about the origins of the wood products they buy.

Jakarta – It is time for Jakartans to stop waiting. We can no longer afford to merely complain about the slow pace of the city administration's actions to reduce pollution in this choking megapolis: We must be proactive in creating cleaner air ourselves.

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Solo, Central Java – The squat, one-storey school building near the Bengawan Solo (Solo River) appears unremarkable from the outside. Inside, rows of bunk beds line former classrooms, the blackboards and chalk replaced with simple shelves and medicine boxes.

Cut Mery, Banda Aceh – The Aceh provincial government has formally requested assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) to support post-disaster recovery efforts following deadly floods and landslides in the province.

Mele Tuuakitau – As a small island state in the Pacific, Tonga is the only remaining Kingdom that has never been colonized in the region, valuing sovereignty and self-determination which are principles that could shape a moral stance for West Papua.

Basten Gokkon – Conservation officials have announced the death the first Javan rhino ever translocated as part of Indonesia's conservation program, marking a setback for efforts to protect the critically endangered species.

Anastasya Lavenia Yudi, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia announced Indonesia's foreign debt position in October 2025 amounted to US$423.9 billion or Rp7,062 trillion (with an exchange rate of Rp16,659 per U.S. dollar on Monday, December 15, 2025). This figure decreased from the previous month's position of US$425.6 billion. Indonesia's foreign debt grew by 0.3 percent annually.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 – 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.