Jakarta – For years, the media and antigraft activists have been writing obituaries for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). In fact, this very newspaper has prophesied the "endgame" of the institution, its "demise" and that its "luck may have run out".

Lani Diana Wijaya, Jakarta – The Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) faction at the Jakarta Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) questioned the determination of the Formula E circuit that was without the approval of the council members. The party member Anggara Wicitra Sastroamidjojo reminded that the event used Regional Budget (APBD).

Antara, Jakarta – The Ministry of Religious Affairs is planning to offer religious tour packages to the Prambanan temple complex, which borders Sleman District, Yogyakarta, and Klaten District, Central Java.

Owen Howell – Last week Indonesia officially recorded its first cases of the new Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, which has quickly spread into Southeast Asia. The variant was finally discovered after two weeks in which the Indonesian government refused to impose urgent public health measures to prevent the arrival and spread of Omicron.

A delegation of the Indonesian Constitutional Court was on an official visit to Uzbekistan this week to share experience and establish cooperation with a similar institution of the host country.

Jakarta – Indonesian authorities have confiscated land and property assets from textile firm Texmaco Group, after the company failed to repay more than US$2 billion in debt since the late 1990s, the country's finance minister said on Thursday.

Aisyah Llewellyn, Medan, Indonesia – A $6bn proposal to turn an Indonesia airport into a regional hub rivalling Singapore and Kuala Lumpur has sparked concern among local tour operators who question the transparency and feasibility of the project.

Theo Kelen, Jayapura, Jubi – A total of 476,534 indigenous children in Papua and West Papua provinces do not attend school, says data from the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Statistics Indonesia (BPS) for Papua and West Papua.

Yance Wenda, Jayapura, Jubi – A number of students and family members of Hendrik Lokbere reflected on Sunday night, December 19, 2021, the shooting that killed Lokbere two years ago. They urged the Indonesian government to investigate and disclose the murder of Hendrik Lokbere and other Nduga civilians.

Claire Jiao – Salary increases in Indonesia are on track to rebound to pre-pandemic levels next year as the economy recovers and employers beef up their workforce, a new survey showed.

Konradus Epa, Jakarta – Nearly 180,000 Indonesian police officers will guard churches and public places across the country during Christmas celebrations this year to prevent terrorist attacks.

Rangga P, Azis Kurmala, Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) officially opened the 34th Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Congress held at the Darussaadah Islamic Boarding School, Gunung Sugih Sub-District, Central Lampung District, Wednesday.

Jakarta – With three confirmed cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, and given our knowledge about its virality and the struggle of many countries facing hundreds or even thousands of new cases each day, why is our government reluctant to take the steps necessary to prevent its spread?

Caesar Akbar, Jakarta – Senior economist Faisal Basri in a virtual event on Tuesday said one of the main problems within the State Official circle is conflict of interest. He said there are people in the government ranks with roles as business people in the private sector.

Antonio Sampaio in Oecusse, Timor-Leste – Defrocked American priest Richard Daschbach, 82, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the crimes of sexual abuse of orphaned and vulnerable girls in his care.

He was sentenced on Tuesday for various sexual offences against girls at the Topu Honis orphanage which he controlled.

Jakarta – The Women's Rights Sexual Violence Victims Defense Network is urging the House of Representatives (DPR) to immediately designate the Draft Law on Sexual Violence Crimes (RUU TPKS, formally the RUU PKS) as a DPR draft law initiative for the start of 2022.

Bisnis, Jakarta – Entering the second year of the pandemic, the Covid-19 task force has eventually regulated the tariffs of quarantine repatriation hotels for people arriving from overseas, which will have been made effective on December 20.

Antara, Jakarta – The latest Charta Politika survey found 40.3 percent out of 1,200 respondents are not aware that the 2024 elections will be a simultaneous election, despite 59.7 percent of them being informed that the presidential, legislation, and regional head elections would be held in the same year.

Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – Indonesia's Non-Tax State Revenue from the mineral and coal sector set a record high this year. As of December 10, the figure has reached Rp70.05 trillion, or 179.14 percent of the State Budget target of only IDR 39.1 trillion.

Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry (ESDM) in a press conference on Tuesday predicts domestic coal production will grow to a number between 637-664 million tons. This comes along with the prediction that the use of the commodity will likely grow to 190 million tons.

Caesar Akbar, Jakarta – The Ministry of Manpower lamented Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan's decision to revise the regulation on 2021 Provincial Minimum Wage (UMP) which contradicts Government Regulation (PP) No. 36 of 2021 concerning wages.

Lani Diana Wijaya, Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan outlined the objective and rational reasons behind his decision to revise the increase in the 2022 provincial minimum wage (UMP) from 0.8 percent to 5.1 percent. He asked all parties to look into and calculate the amount objectively.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia has kicked off the construction of what will be the world's largest green industrial park in Bulungan, North Kalimantan.

Russell Searancke – Privately-owned operator Timor Resources said it has made an oil and gas discovery in Timor-Leste with the first of two planned onshore exploration wells.

In a brief statement, the operator said the discovery comprised oil and gas, and that Schlumberger had run wireline logs on the well to help measure the amount of oil and gas discovered.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – A court in Timor-Leste has sentenced a defrocked American priest to 12 years in prison for sexually abusing young orphaned and underprivileged girls in his care.

Richard Daschbach, 84, was found guilty by Oecusse District Court after becoming the first cleric in the Catholic-majority country to be prosecuted for child sex abuse.

A court in East Timor has jailed a defrocked American priest for 12 years after he was charged with sexually abusing several orphaned and disadvantaged girls in his care.

The sentencing of Richard Daschbach took place on Tuesday.

Kizzy Kalsakau and Jason Abel in Port Vila – The interim President of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) provisional government, Benny Wenda, has condemned Indonesia for the arrest and torture of eight students, and appeals to Melanesian countries to support their plea.

Jakarta – Indonesia's government will sell 157 trillion rupiah (US$10.94 billion) of bonds to the central bank before the end of 2021 to utilise a fiscal deficit financing deal agreed in August, according to a presentation from the finance minister.

The government had already sold 58 trillion rupiah of bonds to Bank Indonesia (BI) earlier this month.

Lani Diana Wijaya, Jakarta – The Indonesian Employer Association (Apindo) chairman Hariyadi B. Sukamdani planned to file a lawsuit against Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan to the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) concerning matters related to the revised regulation on the 2022 provincial minimum wage (UMP).

Alexander Loen, Jayapura, Jubi – The agenda on recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic must also favor the interests and needs of Indigenous Peoples, Ministry of Education and Culture's director-general of Culture Hilmar Farid says.

Tatang Guritno, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) says that over the last seven years of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's leadership the issue of corruption eradication has been little more than jargon.

Agung Sandy Lesmana – The Civil Society Coalition, which is made up of the Center for Indonesia's Strategic Development Initiatives (CISDI), the Child Protection and Wellbeing Study and Advocacy Centre (PUSKAPA), the volunteer group Lapor COVID-19 and Transparency International Indonesia, are calling on the government to abandon the paid vaccination booster plan.

Chris McCall, Yapsi, Papua New Guinea – Wiro Nongganop says he commands a battalion of West Papua independence fighters, but he has no guns, only bows and arrows, and lives in exile in a bark hut, sometimes surviving on potato leaves.

Nurika Manan/Project Multatuli, Bojonegoro – For two consecutive years, Siyamin's tobacco harvests failed to bring in enough revenue to cover his costs. So, he decided he had to make a change.

The tobacco farmer began growing corn and senerek (red beans) to be harvested every three months.

Khanifahjuniasari, Jakarta – The Indonesian Workers Union Confederation (KSPI) chairman Said Iqbal assessed that the Jakarta Employer Association or Apindo Jakarta's plan to file a lawsuit against Anies Baswedan over matters related to the revised regulation on the 2022 provincial minimum wage (UMP) would add fuel to the fire.

Friski Riana, Jakarta – A civil society coalition composed of CISDI, Puskapa, LaporCovid-19, and Transparency International Indonesia urges the government to revoke the paid booster vaccine policy and argues that it does not go inline with the principle of justice.

Joniansyah Hardjono, Jakarta – A video which has gone viral in social media shows a large number of travelers who just arrived at Soekarno-Hatta Airport's arrival area waiting in queue for multiple hours for the quarantine process at the Wisma Atlet Hospital

M Hendartyo, Lani Diana, Jakarta – The decision by Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan to revise the 0.8 percent increase of the city's minimum wage (UMP) to 5.1 percent for 2022 was met with split responses from workers' union and business owners.

Tempo Magazine, Jakarta – The latest in-depth report from the Tempo Magazine team looks into the three main methods committed by state officials and public figures in working around the mandatory quarantine imposed on travelers arriving from overseas.

Antara, Jakarta – Floods swamped five hamlets in Tiku Lima Jorong Village in Tanjungmutiara Sub-district, Agam District, West Sumatra Province, isolating at least 4,000 villagers as the flooding cut off roads connecting the areas to other villages.

Jakarta – The government considers extending self-isolation requirement for international visitors and Indonesian returnees to two weeks to prevent the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, a senior official said on Monday.

Indonesia has confirmed three Omicron cases so far with the government classifying them as "imported cases".

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Affairs, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, said that as of now the only cases of the new B.1.1.529 or Omicron variant had only been detected in the Wisma Atlet Kemayoran Emergency Covid-19 Hospital.

According to Luhut, there is no outbreak because the case was detected early in a quarantine zone.

Chris Barrett, Singapore – Jose Ramos-Horta, one of East Timor's historic leaders, is weighing up a bid to return to the presidency of the country in next year's elections.

"I have been approached and lobbied by many thousands of people around the country pleading with me to run again," he told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Lumajang, East Java – Semeru volcano on Java island erupted early on Sunday spewing a two km (1.24 miles) high ash column, prompting authorities to warn people to stay away from the eruption range.

Antara, Jakarta – The departure of Indonesian Umrah pilgrims will be postponed until 2022 after President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) appealed to Indonesian people to avoid traveling abroad.

Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas also advised people to adjourn their plans for overseas travel.

Antara, Jakarta – The recently enforced ministerial regulation on sexual violence prevention and handling is encouraging victims to speak up, seek help, and file a report, stated legal practitioner Justitia Avila Veda.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia sits on number six on the list of Truecaller Global Span Report for 2021. The list includes the top 20 countries affected by spam and Indonesia has become one of the two countries with more than double the increase in the volume of spam calls from January to October 2021.

Nivell Rayda, Bandung, Indonesia – Suryo (not his real name) used to believe that he was a bright student.

He was the first in his family to go to college and the first in his village to get accepted to a top university in the outskirts of Jakarta, 350km away from his home in Central Java.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – A public organization named the Alliance of Boarding School Students City Against Sexual Violence urged the East Java Regional Police to arrest a suspect of sexual violence known by the initial MSAT.

The suspect is alleged for committing the crime against female students of a boarding school owned by his father, who is a religious leader.

Johnny Blades, RNZ Pacific journalist – Armed conflict in West Papua continues to claim lives, displace tens of thousands of people and cause resentment at Indonesian rule.

But despite ongoing calls for help, neighbouring countries in the Pacific Islands region remain largely silent and ineffectual in their response.