Jakarta, Indonesia (AFP) A strong earthquake hit Indonesia’s main island of Java on Saturday, injuring at least one person and shaking the same town devastated by a tremor last month that left more than 330 people dead. The 5.7-magnitude quake struck on land at a depth of 112 kilometres (70 miles), with the epicentre located 18 kilometres southeast of the West Java city of Banjar, according to the United States Geological Survey. Indonesia’s meteorological agency, […]
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Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupts, forcing thousands to flee
Lumajang, Indonesia (AFP) by Agus Harianto with Agnes Anya in Jakarta Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupted Sunday spewing hot ash clouds a mile high and rivers of lava down its side while sparking the evacuation of nearly 2,000 people exactly one year after its last major eruption killed dozens. The burst from the highest mountain on Indonesia’s main island of Java, around 800 kilometres (500 miles) southeast of the capital Jakarta, prompted authorities to raise the alert […]
Canada unveils new Asia-Pacific strategy with eye on China
Canada on Sunday unveiled its new economic and diplomatic strategy for the Asia-Pacific region, allocating 2.3 billion Canadian dollars (US$1.7 billion) over the next five years to the plan aimed at mitigating risks posed by China. The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has based its strategy on five major planks: promoting peace and security, notably by sending a warship to the region; bolstering trade and investment; boosting “feminist international assistance”; financing sustainable infrastructure; and […]
Opposition leader Anwar named Malaysia PM: palace
Malaysia’s perennial opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was named prime minister on Thursday, ending a days-long political impasse after inconclusive polls. His ascension — making him the country’s fourth leader in as many years — caps a turbulent political life for Anwar, during which he served jail time on corruption and sodomy charges. “After taking into consideration the views of Their Royal Highnesses the Malay Rulers, His Majesty has given consent to appoint Anwar Ibrahim […]
Shallow quake kills 162, injures hundreds on Indonesia’s Java island
Cianjur, Indonesia | AFP | by Dessy Sagita with Jack Moore in Jakarta A shallow 5.6-magnitude earthquake killed at least 162 people, with hundreds injured and others missing, when it toppled buildings and triggered landslides on Indonesia’s main island of Java on Monday, officials said. Doctors treated patients outdoors after the quake, which was felt as far away as the capital Jakarta, left hospitals in the West Java town of Cianjur without power for several […]
URGENT: ‘Nearly 20’ dead, 300 injured in Indonesia quake: local official
Cianjur, Indonesia | AFP | Nearly 20 people have been killed and at least 300 injured in an earthquake that rattled Indonesia’s main island of Java on Monday, a local official from the town worst-hit by the tremor told local media. “The information I got for now, in this hospital alone, nearly 20 died and at least 300 people are being treated. Most of them had fractures from being trapped by the ruins of buildings,” […]
Police, protesters clash as Bangkok hosts summit
Bangkok, Thailand | AFP | Thai police fired rubber bullets Friday in clashes with dozens of protesters trying to march to the venue of an Asia-Pacific summit in Bangkok. Around 50 people demonstrating against the event and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha threw rocks, bottles and broken glass during half an hour of scuffles with hundreds of riot police. The incident took place near the Thai capital’s Democracy Monument, around eight kilometres (five miles) from […]
Myanmar junta to release UK ex-ambassador, Australian and Japanese prisoners
Yangon, Myanmar (AFP) ADDS fresh quote, 200 gathered outside prison, Australian FM statement Myanmar’s military said Thursday it will release almost 6,000 prisoners, including a former British ambassador, a Japanese journalist and an Australian economics adviser, in a rare olive branch from the isolated junta. The Southeast Asian country has been in turmoil since the military’s coup last year and a bloody crackdown on dissent during which thousands have been jailed. Former British envoy Vicky […]
Leaders to watch as Malaysia heads to the polls
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | AFP | Thursday 11/17/2022 Malaysians go to the polls on Saturday after four years of fractious politics that followed the fall of jailed former prime minister Najib Razak. At stake are 222 seats in the lower house of parliament, to be decided by 21 million registered voters. Here are thumbnail portraits of the key personalities: – Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob – Ismail is the vice chief of the ruling United […]
Chinese Pres. Xi urges G20 wealthy nations to reduce fallout of rate hikes
Nusa Dua, Indonesia | AFP | Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday asked the G20 wealthy nations to contain the fallout from interest rate hikes, as the US Federal Reserve moves aggressively to fight inflation. “We must contain global inflation and resolve systematic risks in the economy and finance,” Xi told a summit of the 20 major economies taking place in Bali. “Developed economies should reduce the negative spillover effects of their monetary policy adjustments […]
Zelensky tells G20 ‘now is the time’ to end Russia’s war
Nusa Dua, Indonesia | AFP | Now is the time to end Russia’s “destructive” war and “save thousands of lives”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the G20 summit in Bali via video address on Tuesday. “I am convinced now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped,” he said, according to a speech obtained by AFP. “It will save thousands of lives.” Wearing his now-familiar army green T-shirt and speaking […]
Indonesia president tells G20 leaders they ‘must end war’
Nusa Dua, Indonesia | AFP | Indonesian President Joko Widodo told G20 members to “end the war” as he opened a leaders’ summit Tuesday in Bali that will be dominated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Being responsible means creating not zero-sum situations, being responsible here also means that we must end the war. If the war does not end, it will be difficult for the world to move forward,” he told leaders ahead of […]
