A boat with 185 Rohingya refugees landed on the shores of Indonesia’s Aceh province on Sunday, a local disaster agency official said, following hundreds who arrived late last year fleeing desperate conditions in refugee camps in Bangladesh. Over half of those who arrived around 2:30 p.m. Sunday were women and …
Read More »Indonesia lifts all coronavirus-related restrictions
Almost three years after officials announced the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Indonesia, the country’s leader said Friday they are lifting all coronavirus-related restrictions nationwide. President Joko Widodo said Indonesia’s COVID-19 situation is under control after observing improvements over the past 10 months, allowing the country to abandon the …
Read More »10 miners killed in Indonesia coal mine explosion; 4 rescued (Video)
According to a rescue agency official, 10 workers were killed in Indonesia after an explosion in a coal mine caused a collapse. The miners were at a coal mine in the West Sumatra province when the blast buried an estimated 14 people. In a statement, local search and rescue agency …
Read More »Indonesia earthquake toll reaches 310 as more bodies are found
The death toll from an earthquake that struck Indonesia’s Java island has risen to 310 after rescuers found more bodies under landslides, an official said. At least 24 people are still missing. In devastated towns in western Java, residents gathered near badly damaged mosques for Friday prayers. Others held prayers …
Read More »Earthquake claims at least 46 lives in Indonesia
A 5.6-magnitude earthquake killed at least 36 people and injured about 700 others in Cianjur town, Indonesia’s West Java province on November 21 afternoon, according to the town’s authorities. Herman Suherman, a government official in Cianjur, said that some residents were trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings. News channel …
Read More »Indonesia police chief, others removed over soccer disaster
An Indonesian police chief and nine elite officers were removed from their posts Monday and 18 others were being investigated for responsibility in the firing of tear gas inside a soccer stadium that set off a stampede, killing at least 125 people, officials said. Distraught family members were struggling to …
Read More »Russian finance minister to attend G20 meeting virtually, Indonesia says
G20 host Indonesia said on Thursday Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov had confirmed he plans to attend virtually next week’s meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 major economies. Indonesian finance ministry official Wempi Saputra also told a briefing that Jakarta was considering whether …
Read More »Indonesia police fire tear gas, water cannon at protesters
Indonesian police fired tear gas and water cannon on Monday to disperse hundreds of university students protesting high cooking oil prices and a mooted extension of President Joko Widodo’s stay in office. Crowds of demonstrators were seen running away from the scene outside parliament in the capital Jakarta, according to …
Read More »Indonesia volcano erupts again as death toll rises to 22
An Indonesian volcano was active again on Monday, spewing out hot clouds of ash, two days after a powerful eruption killed at least 22 people and left dozens missing. Mt. Semeru, the tallest mountain on the island of Java, erupted dramatically on Saturday, shooting a towering column of ash into …
Read More »Indonesia Semeru volcanic eruption kills 14; dozens injured
The eruption of Semeru volcano has killed at least 14 people and injured dozens on Java island, Indonesia’s disaster agency said on Sunday, as rescue teams searched for victims under layers of ash, sometimes digging with their bare hands. Semeru, the tallest mountain on Java, threw up towers of ash …
Read More »Thousands flee as Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupts
Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupted on Saturday, spewing out a tower of smoke and ash that plunged local communities into darkness and forced thousands of nearby residents to flee. There were no immediate reports of casualties, the country’s disaster mitigation agency said. But rescuers moved to evacuate local residents as lava …
Read More »China protested Indonesian drilling, military exercises
China told Indonesia to stop drilling for oil and natural gas in maritime territory that both countries regard as their own during a months-long standoff in the South China Sea earlier this year, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The unprecedented demand, which has not previously been reported, …
Read More »Indonesia Muslim body forbids cryptocurrency trading under Islamic law
Indonesia’s top religious body has declared that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are forbidden under Islamic law and should not be traded in the world’s biggest Muslim majority nation. The country’s powerful Ulema Council issued a fatwah, or religious edict, as virtual currency trading soars in Indonesia and elsewhere. Fatwas have …
Read More »Magnitude 5.8 earthquake strikes off Kep. Tanimbar, Indonesia -EMSC
An earthquake of magnitude 5.8 struck off the coast of Kep. Tanimbar in Indonesia late on Tuesday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. The quake was at a depth of 109 km (67.73 miles) and was about 440 km southeast of the city of Ambon, EMSC said. The earthquake monitoring …
Read More »Moderate earthquake rocks Bali, killing at least 3
Three people were killed Saturday when an earthquake struck the Indonesian tourist island Bali, the disaster agency said. The 4.8 magnitude quake struck at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers (six miles) northeast of the town of Banjar Wanasari. Shallow quakes tend to do more damage than deep tremors. …
Read More »Indonesia passes major tax overhaul bill, VAT to rise next year
Indonesia’s parliament approved a law on Thursday for one of the country’s most ambitious tax overhauls, including raising VAT next year, a new carbon levy and cancelling a planned corporate tax cut. The law is aimed at optimising revenue collection and improving tax compliance after state coffers took a big …
Read More »Indonesia landslide leaves seven dead
Seven people were killed in a landslide triggered by torrential storms on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, authorities said, as they warned continuing rainfall could cause further ground movement on Friday. A day after the landslide hit two adjacent houses in Padang Pariaman district on Wednesday, seven bodies were pulled …
Read More »Death toll from Indonesia jail blaze at 44 amid focus on overcrowding
The death toll from a blaze that tore through an Indonesian jail has risen to 44, as authorities pledged to look at whether more inmates could receive rehabilitation for drug-related offences to ease chronic overcrowding in the prison system. Wednesday’s fire at the penitentiary in Tangerang, on the outskirts of …
Read More »Indonesia and Australia agree to boost security ties
Indonesia and Australia agreed to deepen security ties during a ministerial meeting on Thursday, with discussions underway towards enabling joint military training in Australia and participation in its defence academies. Agreements were signed over counter-terrorism, defence and cybersecurity, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said, plus another agreement on support for …
Read More »Komodo dragon, two-in-five shark species lurch toward extinction
Trapped on island habitats made smaller by rising seas, Indonesia’s Komodo dragons were listed as “endangered” on Saturday, in an update of the wildlife Red List that also warned overfishing threatens nearly two-in-five sharks with extinction. About 28 percent of the 138,000 species assessed by the International Union for the …
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