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JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesians could be jailed for criticizing national politicians under a new law which came into force Thursday, in what critics slammed as a major step back for the world’s third-biggest democracy. The vaguely worded bill passed the 560-member house last month but has just become official, over the objections of President Joko Widodo who refused to sign off on the controversial legislation. Widodo does not have veto power over the […]
by Harry Pearl © Agence France-Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia is battling a wave of fake news and online hate speech ahead of presidential elections in 2019, as a string of arrests underscore fears it could crack open social and religious fault lines in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. The pluralist nation’s reputation as a bastion of tolerance has been tested in recent months, as conservative groups exploit social media to spread lies and […]
BALIKPAPAN, Indonesia (AFP) — A human leg and arm have been found inside the belly of a huge crocodile suspected of mauling a man to death in Borneo, Indonesian police said Friday. Authorities shot and killed the six-meter (20-foot) long crocodile close to a riverbank where a local palm oil plantation worker had gone missing two days earlier, with only his motorbike and sandals found at the site, they said. The search ended Thursday when […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off eastern Indonesia late Monday, the US Geological Survey said, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The quake was measured at a depth of 11.9 kilometers (seven miles) with its epicenter in the Seram Sea around 194 kilometers northwest of Ambon, the capital of Maluku province, according to USGS. “The earthquake does not have tsunami potential. I […]
by Sam Reeves / with Kiki Siregar in Jakarta Agence France Presse KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Trafficked to Malaysia, forced to sleep outside with a dog before dying from serious injuries -– the latest abuse case involving an Indonesian maid highlights a failure to protect domestic helpers despite repeated government pledges, critics say. Adelina Sau died earlier this month in hospital a day after being rescued from her employer’s house in Malaysia’s […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — At least five people have been killed and 15 are still missing after a landslide cascaded down the terraced slopes of a rice field on the Indonesian island of Java on Thursday, officials said. The victims, farmers tending their crops in Brebes district, Central Java, were buried under an avalanche of mud and rock around 8:00 am (0100 GMT). “The landslide buried the farmers working in their rice fields,” disaster mitigation […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesian authorities early Tuesday seized 1.6 tons of crystal methamphetamine hidden on a Singapore-flagged ship in their second major drug bust this month, officials said. Customs inspectors said they spotted the vessel between Indonesia’s Sumatra island and Singapore and reported it to police. A subsequent search of the ship turned up the huge haul of narcotics stuffed into some 81 rice sacks. Four Taiwanese crew were arrested including a 69-year-old man. […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — An Indonesian court on Tuesday jailed an Islamist militant for ten years for buying a cache of firearms from the Philippines’ biggest Muslim rebel group for attacks on home soil. Suryadi Mas’ud, 45, was found guilty of a range of offences —- including planning a terrorist act and procuring weapons —- by a panel of three judges at the West Jakarta district court. The sentencing has highlighted the strong links […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — A plan to use satellite imagery and aerial mapping to protect Indonesia’s peatlands — a vast carbon sink and source of much of the country’s greenhouse emissions — was awarded a $1 million prize on Friday. The cutting-edge technology will be used by authorities to clamp down on illegal clearance of the land for plantations, helping to prevent a repeat of annual forest fires that plague the region while also […]
by Dessy Sagita Agence France Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — A strong quake rattled Indonesia Tuesday, sparking panic in the capital Jakarta and ripping roads apart in the countryside. Office workers rushed outside as buildings began swaying, while riders were thrown off their motorbikes by the force of the 6.0 magnitude rumble. Footage broadcast on Indonesian television showed trucks swaying violently from side to side at a port in Banten province on the […]
by Bagus SARAGIH Agence France-Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — At least 75 people were injured Monday when a mezzanine floor at Indonesia’s stock exchange building collapsed into the lobby, police said, with victims carried out of the debris-filled building on stretchers. A cascade of glass, metal and other material crashed onto the ground floor when part of the mezzanine level gave way. A Jakarta police spokesman said the collapse was an accident and not the […]
(Eagle News) — Indonesian president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will once again visit India this year. The Indonesian leader’s visit is slated before the end of January, in time for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-India Commemorative Summit on the 25th of this month, and India’s Republic Day Parade the following day. The visit aims to strengthen the two countries’ strategic partnership. Once in New Delhi, President Widodo is expected to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra […]
