Sinking Feeling in Jakarta

The Indonesian capital, Jakarta, faces a double threat as seas rises from climate change and land sinks from untrammeled development and illegal wells that are draining its aquifers.

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Five Jakarta hotels to celebrate Christmas, New Year’s Eve

Beautifully decorated Christmas trees adorn every corner of every mall, Michael Buble's holiday album is playing on repeat and soon, we'll be welcoming the New Year.

And as per usual, Jakarta hotels are all geared up for the holidays with special promotions for Christmas and New Year dining experiences.

Here's our list of five-star hotels in the capital offering amazing deals on sumptuous holiday feasts.

Hotel Mulia Senayan

This festive season, Mulia Hotel Senayan is offering promotions for Christmas buffet dinners at its range of top-rated restaurants, including The Café, Orient8, il Mare, Edogin and Cascade.

As for Table8, the restaurant will be serving both a buffet and a set menu package.

On Dec. 25, Orient8 and il Mare will serve Christmas brunch, while late risers can head down to The Café, Table8 and Edogin restaurants for Christmas lunch.

On Dec. 24-25, bring your children to the hotel's ground floor to meet Santa Claus and pose for pictures with him.

As for New Year's Eve, British singer Louisa Johnson is set to perform at the hotel's Grand Ballroom.

Contact: 021 574 7777

Read also: How to stick to your New Year's resolution

Mandarin Oriental

Situated in the heart of Jakarta, Mandarin Oriental is offering Christmas brunch, dinner and buffet packages.

The buffet package can be enjoyed at Cinnamon restaurant for Rp 398,000++ (US$29.30) per person. Available for lunch and dinner, guests can enjoy Christmas Carol performances while savoring delicious holiday dishes.

Meanwhile, Lyon restaurant will be serving a French Christmas feast with prices starting from Rp 630,000 per person.  

Those who want to celebrate New Year's Eve in the heart of the city can join the hotel's Night at Carnival event. Priced at Rp 998,000++ per person, the package includes a New Year's Eve buffet and access to the New Year's Eve countdown party.

Contact: 021 2993 8800

Raffles Jakarta

Arts Café by Raffles at Raffles Jakarta hotel. (Raffles Jakarta/File)

The five-star Raffles Jakarta at Ciputra World 1, South Jakarta, is celebrating Christmas with special dinner and brunch buffet promotions on Dec. 24-25 at Arts Café by Raffles. Savor the restaurant's tantalizing seasonal menu for Rp 688,000++ per person.

Raffles Jakarta will also be offering New Year's Eve packages that include a buffet dinner at Arts Café by Raffles and entrance to the Countdown Party at Navina Pool bar.

Contact: 021 2988 0888

Read also: Extra seats prepared for Christmas, New Year holidays

The Dharmawangsa

As usual, the Dharmawangsa Hotel in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, is reaching new culinary heights celebrating the festive season at its Jakarta Restaurant.

For Christmas Eve, the restaurant will be serving a dinner buffet comprising caviar, smoked fish, traditional Christmas turkey as well as Black Angus beef tenderloin. The buffet is priced at Rp 595,000++ for adults and Rp 345,000++ for children up to 11 years old.

On Christmas day, it will offer a Christmas Day brunch buffet priced at Rp 495,000++ for children and Rp 895,000++ for adults. The little ones will also have the chance to meet Santa Claus.

As part of Jakarta Restaurant's New Year's celebration, enjoy dinner and brunch promotions featuring an array of mouthwatering dishes from around the globe. The dinner package will a caviar and oyster selection, a Spanish tapas station, traditional kambing guling (grilled lamb) and more.

As for New Year's brunch, the restaurant aims to pamper your taste buds with an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (Controlled Name of Origin) cheese selection, a seafood market, a carving station with roasted, French milk-fed lamb leg with eggplant caviar, and a dessert collection that comprises a macaroon tower and the longest mille-feuille (French vanilla pastry) in town.

Contact: 021 725 8181

Fairmont Jakarta

Fairmont Jakarta's festive cookies. (Fairmont Jakarta/File)

This holiday season, the Fairmont Hotel's Spectrum restaurant is offering Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day brunch buffets at Rp 708,000++ per person. Meanwhile, Christmas Day dinner is also available at Rp 488,000++ per person.

If you're craving Italian, schedule a visit to Sapori Deli, where guests can enjoy an Italian Christmas dinner or brunch for Rp 488,000 per person.

Welcome 2018 with a view of Jakarta's nightscape at Fairmont Hotel's K22 Bar on Dec. 31. For only Rp 400,000++ per person, you can enjoy a welcome cocktail, a glass of sparkling and a DJ performance prior to the New Year countdown.

Table or Sofa packages are also available starting from Rp 3.5 million per table.

Fairmont's other dining destinations, namely View Restaurant & Bar, Spectrum and Sapori Deli are also offering special promotions.

Contact: 021 2970 3333

Source: Five Jakarta hotels to celebrate Christmas, New Year's Eve

Justin Rose wins Indonesian Masters by eight shots in Jakarta

Justin Rose had 31 birdies and an eagle over the four rounds in JakartaIndonesian Masters final leaderboard-29 J Rose (Eng); -21 P Khongwatmai (Tha); -19 S Vincent (Zim); -18 Y Miyazato (Jpn); -17 K Aphibarnrat (Tha)Selected others: -14 S Lewton (Eng); -5 W Harrold (Eng) (am)

World number six Justin Rose won the Indonesian Masters by eight shots in Jakarta to seal his third tournament victory in seven weeks.

The Englishman, 37, had to finish 10 holes of his third round on Sunday and carded a six-under 66 to lead by three.

Rose then posted eight birdies and an eagle in the first 13 holes of his final round, closing with his second 62 of the week and a 29-under total.

Phachara Khongwatmai, the 18-year-old from Thailand, hit 65 to finish second.

Khongwatmai became the youngest winner of a professional golf tournament when he took the Sing Hua Hin Open title two months after his 14th birthday in 2013, and his only dropped shots this week came with a double bogey on the second hole of his first round.

Find out how to get into golf with our special guide.

Bad weather affected the event at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club and lightning storms led to play being suspended twice on the final day.

But Rose, who led Zimbabwe's Scott Vincent going into the final round, had four consecutive birdies from the fifth before an eagle three at the ninth - and was in contention for a 59 until dropping a shot at the par four 16th.

"That's my largest ever winning margin at a tournament," he said of his first Asian Tour title.

"To come here with my game in good shape and to deal with the jetlag, deal with the rain delays, to stay focused all four rounds, is something I'm very pleased about."

Englishman Steve Lewton, the Asian Tour-based world number 1,063, finished with a 66 and a 14-under total, which earned him a share of eighth place.

Source: Justin Rose wins Indonesian Masters by eight shots in Jakarta

Jakarta to continue to wage war against drugs: governor

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan affirmed that no compromises will be made in the fight against drugs, reiterating his stance to ensure that places operating as hubs for the circulation of illegal drugs are shut down.

"This should serve as a warning for everyone. Jakarta will continue its fight against drugs," he noted at the City Hall on Tuesday.

Baswedan further emphasized that he did not want to compromise on locations, such as the recently raided MC nightclub, where illegal drugs were being circulated and stored in a liquid methamphetamine laboratory.

"This has gone too far. It is a different matter if, for instance, people come in carrying drugs clandestinely, and the place comes under the scanner. However, in this case, all the workers were also involved," Baswedan pointed out.

Baswedan opined that firm action should be taken to shut down such places, adding that he had ordered to close and revoke the business licenses of MG Club.

"I would like to remind everyone to not play games. We will not compromise and will take decisive action if the need arises. One of the biggest threats to the future of our nation is that drugs are currently destroying our younger generation," he remarked.

Baswedan believes that without firm action, the problems caused by illegal drugs will have an even wider impact. Additionally, he has given an opportunity to places still circulating drugs to immediately make changes.

"We will continue to cooperate with the Anti-Drugs Body. Last week, I had met its chief Budi Waseso and told him about the cooperation, and he responded positively, so we will follow the steps that are being taken by the body," he stated.

Earlier, MG International Club, located on the Tubagus Angke Street, West Jakarta, was raided by the Anti-Drugs Body, as it had been operating since the past two years as a factory to process methamphetamine and ecstasy in liquid form.

Source: Jakarta to continue to wage war against drugs: governor

Thousands rally in Jakarta against US Jerusalem move

Protesters in Jakarta rallied to condemn the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital [Darren Whiteside/Reuters]

Tens of thousands of protesters rallied outside the US embassy in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, against President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Sunday's protest was the fourth and largest mass rally in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, since Trump's announcement on Jerusalem's status on December 6. 

An estimated 80,000 protesters called on Trump to stop his plans to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Al Jazeera's Dessi Arianti, reporting from the protest in Jakarta, said that many of the marchers travelled from out of town to show solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

"Men, women and children, carrying Palestinian flags and banners, condemned the US move while rallying at the National Monument in Jakarta at sunrise on Sunday," Arianti said.

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"Many people, wearing white Muslim robes, held hands in prayers and called on Israel to leave Palestinian soil. Indonesia has been a long-time supporter of independent Palestine. Protesters called for a resolution to end the conflict and vowed to continue fighting for the cause," our correspondent said.

Anwar Abbas, a top scholar from the Indonesian Council of Ulema, read a petition calling on Indonesians to stop buying American products until Trump revoked his move.

"Don't rely on their products," he said, as the crowd - including men, women and children - responded by waving Indonesian and Palestinian flags and shouting "boycott!"

Previous anti-American protests have unsuccessfully lobbied for a boycott of US goods.

Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono said the protesters marched peacefully about 3km from the National Monument Park to the US embassy.

Some local media reported that the number of demonstrators was double the police estimate.

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About 20,000 security forces were deployed to secure the rally.

In the petition, the leaders and scholars urged Trump to immediately revoke his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital because it has hurt international justice, violated Palestinians' human rights and undermined peace efforts.

It also demanded nations not follow the US in moving their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and urged the UN Security Council to hold an emergency session to discuss Trump's declaration.

The chairman of the Muslim leaders' council, Ma'ruf Amin, said: "Let's fight together with the government and the world for the freedom of Palestine through political, diplomatic and economic ways."

Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has strongly condemned Trump's move as a violation of UN resolutions.

Indonesia does not have diplomatic ties with Israel and has long been a strong supporter of Palestinian aspirations for statehood.

Trump's announcement overturned decades of US policy, and a long-standing international consensus, that the fate of Jerusalem be decided as part of a peace deal between Israel and Palestinians.

Israeli and Palestinian claims to the city's eastern sector form the core of their conflict, and Trump's announcement was seen as siding with the Israelis.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies

Source: Thousands rally in Jakarta against US Jerusalem move