Ans K, Merauke – Merauke Regional Police arrested four residents who were referred to as sympathizers of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB). They were accused of vandalism for painting the Morning Star symbol on walls and fences in a number of locations in the City of Merauke.

Evarukdijati, Rahmad Nasution, Jayapura – Four youths in Abepura Sub-district, Jayapura, Papua, were apprehended, Sunday, over motifs of Bintang Kejora (Morning Star) flag painted over their faces indicating their support for the Free Papua Movement (OPM), a police officer stated.

Dili – Timor-Leste is experiencing climate change, says Demetrio de Amaral de Carvalho, secretary of state for the environment. The weather is more extreme. The northern part of the nation is suffering from drought, while the south is experiencing more rain and flooding. The country is however not well equipped to deal with these growing problems.

Oleh Farid M. Ibrahim – Welcoming December 1, 2019 yesterday, activists from the Free Papua Organisation (OPM) and its supporters in a number of different countries held actions in which they brought and flew the Morning Star independence flag. Several activities were coordinated on social media through the hashtag #GlobalFlagRaising.

Jakarta – The wife of Indonesian People's Front for West Papua (FRI-WP) spokesperson Surya Anta, Lucia Fransisca, says that her husband was treated differently from other patients when he underwent a medical examination at the prison clinic.

Jakarta – The Papua Advocacy Team, which is assisting six Papuan activists who have been charged for raising the Morning Star independence flag, say that police committed theft, not legitimate seizure during their client's arrest. The team believes that the raids, seizures and arrests by police were illegal.

Jakarta – The Jayapura municipal police have declared 20 people accused of being Free Papua sympathisers as suspects on charges of makar (treason, subversion, rebellion). The 20 are part of a group of 34 Free Papua sympathisers who were arrested by a joint team from the Jayapura municipal police on Saturday November 30.

Herman, Jakarta – Indonesia looks set to miss its target of 18 million international arrivals this year after attracting only 13.62 million foreign visitors between January and October, government data released on Monday showed.

Antara, Jakarta – New State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir has said he would drop a plan by his predecessor Rini Soemarno to establish a super holding company for state-controlled companies in the mold of Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek, and replace it by rearranging the companies into smaller groups with clear core businesses.

Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo says Indonesia's lawmakers should stop attempting to amend the 1945 Constitution and focus instead on fighting "external pressures" and improving the economy.

Marchio Irfan Gorbiano, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has defended his presidential expert staff member Gracia Billy Mambrasar for recent controversial remarks on Twitter, asking the public to forgive the 31-year-old for his blunder.

Jakarta – Firebrand cleric and Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab, who currently resides in Saudi Arabia, has claimed that he has been "exiled" by the Indonesian government and he cannot return home because the latter has barred him from doing so.

Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the sectors of agriculture and aircraft and ship manufacturing, among other sectors, are on the brink of bankruptcy, according to Finance Ministry data.

Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – The Indonesian, Indian and Australian navies held the three-day Trilateral Indian Ocean Maritime Security workshop in Fremantle in Western Australia last week.

Ian Lloyd Neubauer, Denpasar, Bali – The people of Bali have shared water resources through "subak" – a sophisticated irrigation system that diverts water from channel to rice field and back – since the ninth century.

More than just a means to water crops, subak is a manifestation of the Balinese Hindu philosophy of harmony between people, nature and the spiritual realm.

Karoline Tuckey – A group calling for an end to violence in West Papua say they have received threats in the lead-up to a protest at Parliament today, where they will display 57 coffins painted in West Papuan colours.

Many New Zealanders don't know much about the conflict in West Papua, but are supportive when they are told about it, a protest organiser says.

Herlambang P Wiratraman – "Honourable panel of judges, once again, people's lives, happiness, prosperity and peace have been disrupted! The impact of the gold mining activities in the Tumpang Pitu protected forest area has caused real misery to the local community. I reject the mine because my life has been affected by the dangers of mining.

Grace Leksana – As Indonesians are moving further from 1965, scholars and activists are starting to raise awareness about the risk of 'collective forgetting': a state-induced situation in which the 1965-66 violence against the Left and communists would be largely forgotten.

Dede Oetomo – Ten years into reformasi, waria (trans women) participants in HIV/AIDS, human rights and organisational development workshops started complaining that their situation had worsened. I used to remark at how much we were able to do in terms of openly public activism as sexual minorities; something unimaginable before reformasi.

Fanny Syariful Alam – On 10 December 2015 Bandung's then mayor Ridwan Kamil signed the Bandung City of Human Rights Charter, honouring the city's official commitment to uphold the human rights of all its citizens, made on 2 April earlier that year.

Sylvia Tidey – In early 2016 Komnas HAM (Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights) found itself in hot water. A few weeks earlier, it had published a press release condemning disparaging comments made by several high-ranking officials against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Indonesians.

Joe Cochrane – The controversy started with a photo on Twitter showing a notice in the window of a Western-style bakery in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.

Willy Kurniawan, Tambaklorok – Indonesian fisherman Miskan says the once-abundant catches he used to enjoy have been dwindling in recent years on this stretch of the Java Sea.

His meagre income is being further strained by having to borrow cash to shore up his home against lapping waves coming further inland on this vulnerable coastline.

Jakarta – The Jayapura district police (Polres) have arrested 34 people for allegedly planning to celebrate the Free Papua Movement's (OPM) anniversary on Sunday December 1.

Jayapura police chief Assistant Superintendent Viktor Mackbon told the Antara state news agency that the 34 people were arrested on the evening of Saturday November 30 at around 10pm.

Ardila Syakriah, Jakarta – Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim has referred to state ideology Pancasila as one of the best frameworks for character education, noting that his ministry would also make use of "above-the-line" measures common to marketing to help change mindsets.

Investor Daily, Labuan Bajo – Flores, a volcanic island in East Nusa Tenggara, has set to become the first region in Indonesia to meet the government's 2025 renewable energy goal on the back of the wealth of geothermal resources on the island.

Jakarta (Antara) – A total of 156 personnel from Indonesia's Para Raider 330/Tri Dharma's Infantry Battalion joined a parachuting drill at Mozes Kilangin Airport in Timika, Papua Province, Friday morning.

Jessica Howard – It's been 10 years since a group of Warrnambool activists started flying the West Papuan 'Morning Star' flag and their spirit has not dampened.

Nearly 20 people attended the flag-raising ceremony at Warrnambool's Civic Green on Sunday – the biggest turn out in about five years.

Jakarta (Antara) – Papuan gunmen fired at an escort car owned by PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) at around Mile 60 in Tembagapura Subdistrict, Mimika District, Papua Province, on Saturday but there were no casualties in the incident, a military spokesman said.

Nur Yasmin, Jakarta – Indonesia will continue negotiations on an economic agreement with the European Union despite growing tension, after a leaked document revealed the EU intended to exclude palm oil-derived biofuels from trade between the two countries by 2021.

Antara, Jakarta – The East Nusa Tenggara provincial government is developing an online ticketing system for the Komodo National Park, the world's remaining natural habitat of Komodo dragons, and proposing a year long pass to an island with biggest Komodo population for foreign visitors at $1,000, a spokesman said on Sunday.

Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – Indonesia's Supreme Audit Agency, the BPK, has been selected as the external auditor for the International Maritime Organization for 2020-2023, the first Southeast Asian agency to be granted the post.

Rahmat Rahman Patty, Ambon – A protest action by scores of Papuan students calling themselves the Struggle Committee for Democracy and Human Rights in front of the World Peace Gong in Ambon City, Maluku, was broken up by police on Sunday December 1.

Shinta Maharani, Yogyakarta – Around 100 students from the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) along with various other organisations held a protest action demanding a referendum for West Papua at the Gajah Mada University (UGM) traffic circle in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta on Sunday December 1.

Jakarta (Antara) – The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has outlined a goal of creating 20 million hectares of water conservation area in 2020.

Jakarta (Antara) – The Papua Province Police deployed 1,300 officers to anticipate rally or other mass activities to celebrate the anniversary of separatist group Free Papua Movement (OPM) on December 1, a high ranking official said on Sunday.

Jakarta – The Depok administration has declared an emergency following a hepatitis A outbreak in the city that has affected dozens of students and teachers, prompting authorities to impose health measures for treatment and efforts to prevent the disease from spreading.

Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – The disbursement of bank loans grew only 6.53 percent year-on-year (yoy) in October, the slowest pace since 2016, according to the Financial Services Authority (OJK).

OJK deputy commissioner for banking supervision Slamet Edy Purnomo said the sluggish growth was due to lower credit demand in the mining and construction sectors.

Jakarta – The desire of President Joko Widodo for law enforcement personnel to provide warnings to officials with the potential of being caught up in corruption is very strange. This does not illustrate the commitment of a leader to battle corruption. A system of warnings will only invite collusion that will, in turn, nurture the crime.

Ari Supriyanti Rikin, Jakarta – Jakarta, Banten, and Central Java have entered rainy season this week, prompting the national weather service agency to issue warnings on potential floods and landslides in the region.

Hengky Yeimo, Jayapura – Emanuel Gobay, the Director of LBH Papua, said Ricky was arrested and detained by police for painting the 16 square meters of Morning Star pattern on the wall in his house. This arrest, said Gobay, was considered an attempt to criminalise Ricky using the ITE Law.

Amy Chew – Indonesian President Joko Widodo is determined to retain direct presidential elections, despite recent calls by political elites to empower the upper house of parliament to elect the country's leader, in a move that harks back to the era of former strongman Suharto.

Jo Chandler in Kiunga – It's 35 years since Agapitus Kiku decided he didn't want a future without freedom.

As a young man he'd been pressed into a work gang, bristling under the watch of Indonesian soldiers whose authority over his tribal country, in the south-east corner of the vast contested province then called Irian Jaya, he refused to recognise.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – The U.S. Marine Corps is celebrating its 244th anniversary in November 2019. It coincides with the 70 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and Indonesia.

Papua (Antara) – Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law, and Security Mahfud Md holds a dialogue with several Papuan figures in North Jayapura District, City of Jayapura, Saturday, Nov. 30.

Diana Mariska, Jakarta – Researchers say certain homeschooling systems could be vulnerable to the spread of radicalism and even serve as a platform to spread radical religious views to young children.

Jakarta – Jakarta's notorious traffic congestion was once again in the spotlight after President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo revealed that he was held up by gridlock in the capital on his way to attend the Bank Indonesia Annual Meeting on Thursday evening.

Beritasatu, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court promptly rejected a judicial review request by a group of mostly university students who sought the annulment of the amended law on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) because the plaintiffs had mentioned the wrong law.

Karina M. Tehusijarana, Jakarta – Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian has asked regional administrations to install more closed circuit television (CCTV) systems connected to the local police to address crime and provide digital security measures for residents.

Dyaning Pangestika and Ghina Ghaliya, Jakarta – In a turn of events that rocked the Twitter world, the Prabowo Subianto-led Gerindra Party took to the social media platform to convey the party's stance on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community's rights to employment.