ASEAN IN FOCUS

JUST IN: Patients, staff trapped in rubble of hospital flattened by Indonesia quake

  More than a dozen patients and staff are trapped beneath the rubble of a hospital that was flattened when a 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, killing at least three people, authorities said. “The hospital is flattened — it collapsed,” said Arianto from the rescue agency in Mamuju city, who goes by one name. “There are patients and hospital employees trapped under the rubble and we’re now trying to reach them,” he added, without […]

Hotel collapses, at least three dead in Indonesia quake: official

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — At least three people were killed and large buildings including a hotel collapsed when a 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, authorities said. “Three people are dead and 24 are injured,” said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Raditya Jati. The country’s search and rescue agency also confirmed that at least one hotel had collapsed. © Agence France-Presse  

Indonesia landslide toll rises to 21 as rescuers search for missing

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesian rescuers dug through mud Wednesday as they scrambled to find survivors from weekend landslides caused by torrential rains, as the death toll rose to 21 and 19 others were listed as missing. A landslide struck the village of Sumedang in West Java Saturday night, followed hours later by a second that engulfed rescuers digging for survivors. The death toll has nearly doubled from the 11 deaths reported on Sunday. And […]

President Widodo gets first Sinovac jab to prove its safety as Indonesia starts mass vaccination

  (Eagle News) — Indonesian President Joko Widodo was the first to be inoculated with China’s Sinovac vaccine against COVID-19 on Wednesday, Jan. 13, as Indonesia officially kicked off its mass vaccination drive starting with the Chinese-developed vaccines. The vaccination of the Indonesian president was broadcast live on television. Widodo had earlier announced that he would be the first one to get the jab to allay the public’s fears about getting vaccinated against COVID-19. The […]

Indonesia okays emergency use of Sinovac, as Turkey announces start of vaccination this week

  (Eagle News) — Indonesia has given emergency use approval to the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac BioTech Ltd., and is set to start vaccination using the vaccines. As this developed, Turkey also announced that it would start vaccination using the Chinese-made vaccine by Thursday or Friday. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan himself announced the start of the vaccination in Turkey In Indonesia, the Jakarta Post reported that no less than Indonesian President Joko Widodo […]

Indonesia recovers first black box from crashed plane

by Dessy SAGITA Agence France Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — A black box from the crashed Indonesian passenger jet has been recovered, officials said Tuesday, a discovery that could offer critical clues to explaining why the plane with 62 people aboard slammed into the sea. Divers just off the coast of the capital Jakarta hauled the jet’s flight data recorder to the surface, as the hunt continues for its cockpit voice recorder. Indonesian transport minister […]

Indonesian divers hunt for crashed plane’s black boxes

  by Dessy SAGITA Agence France Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesian divers returned Tuesday to a wreckage-littered seabed off Jakarta in their hunt for the black boxes that will likely be key to unlocking the mystery of why a passenger jet carrying 62 people fell from the sky. Some 3,600 personnel are taking part in the recovery effort, assisted by dozens of boats and helicopters flying over small islands off the capital’s coast. Underwater […]

Crew on crashed Indonesian passenger jet did not declare emergency

  by Haeril HALIM Agence France Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — The crew of an Indonesian passenger jet that crashed off Jakarta at the weekend with 62 people aboard did not declare an emergency or report technical problems before it suddenly plunged into the sea, an investigator said Monday. Authorities have so far been unable to explain why the 26-year-old plane crashed just four minutes after takeoff, but say they’ve pinpointed the location of the […]

Divers search Indonesian plane wreckage for black boxes

  by Haeril HALIM Agence France Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesian divers searched waters off Jakarta Monday in a hunt for black boxes from the passenger jet with 62 people aboard that crashed at the weekend, as investigators took up the grim task of identifying victims’ mangled remains. Finding the boxes — cockpit voice and flight data recorders — could offer crucial clues as to why the Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 plunged some 10,000 […]

Malaysian villagers escape floods on excavator as 28,000 evacuated

KAMPUNG SEMENTEH, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysian villagers were evacuated in an excavator while others swam through deep waters Wednesday as the number forced from their homes by floods rose to more than 28,000 with at least four dead. Flooding hits the country’s east coast during the rainy season annually and regularly results in mass evacuations, but people in some areas say this year’s are the worst in decades. The worst-hit state is Pahang, where over […]

Indonesia police shoot dead two militants linked to Philippines church bombing

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Two Indonesian militants linked to a 2019 church blast in the Philippines have been shot dead by police, authorities said Wednesday, as officers arrested scores of pro-Islamic State radicals. The shootings came as Indonesia’s counter-terrorism squad, Densus 88, raided a hideout of extremist group Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) in Sulawesi island’s Makassar city, they said. Two suspects were gunned down when they “resisted arrest” and attacked officers, police said, adding that […]

Singapore’s virus-hit economy suffers worst decline in 2020

  SINGAPORE (AFP) — Singapore’s economy suffered its worst ever annual contraction in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic hammered the city-state’s vital trade and tourism sectors, official data showed Monday. But the 5.8 percent decline was not as bad as feared — official forecasts had predicted a fall of up to 6.5 percent — as economic activity picked up with the easing of curbs. The financial hub plunged into its first recession since the 2008 […]