Category Archives: Indonesia

Indigenous peoples face rise in rights abuses during pandemic, report finds

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Increasing land grabs endangering forest communities and wildlife as governments expand mining and agriculture to combat economic impact of Covid

Indigenous communities in some of the world’s most forested tropical countries have faced a wave of human rights abuses during the Covid-19 pandemic as governments prioritise extractive industries in economic recovery plans, according to a new report.

New mines, infrastructure projects and agricultural plantations in Brazil, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Indonesia and Peru are driving land grabs and violence against indigenous peoples as governments seek to revive economies hit by the pandemic, research by the NGO Forest Peoples Programme has found.

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Indonesia plane crash: Sriwijaya Air jet throttle may have been faulty, says report

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Automatic throttle may have caused Sriwijaya Air jet pilots to lose control of Boeing 737-500

A malfunctioning automatic throttle may have caused the pilots of a Sriwijaya Air jet to lose control, leading to the Boeing 737-500’s plunge into the Java Sea last month, Indonesian investigators have said.

National transportation safety committee investigators said on Wednesday they were still struggling to understand why the jet nosedived into the water minutes after taking off from Jakarta on 9 January, killing all 62 people on board.

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‘I have to do this to survive’: a night with Jakarta’s silvermen

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Indonesian men, women and children are risking their health wearing metallic paint to earn money as the economic impact of coronavirus worsens

It was 8pm on one of the busiest intersections in western Jakarta. Three men in metallic paint from head to toe stood on the footpath. Each was holding a silver can.

Alfan, 25, was one. When the light turned red, he walked in silence, barefoot, and stood in front of the stopped traffic. He bowed deeply for a few seconds and then struck a pose like a statue: standing straight, he raised his right hand to his temple and gave a salute in silence for about a minute without blinking.

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Gay men caned 77 times in ‘medieval’ punishment in Indonesian province

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Men in Aceh province were detained by vigilantes before being caned in public

Two gay men in Indonesia’s Aceh province have been publicly caned 77 times each after they were reported to police by vigilantes who raided their apartment.

Human rights groups have condemned the spectacle, which was watched by dozens of people in the capital Banda Aceh, as brutal and medieval.

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UN global climate poll: ‘The people’s voice is clear – they want action’

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Biggest ever survey finds two-thirds of people think climate change is a global emergency

The biggest ever opinion poll on climate change has found two-thirds of people think it is a “global emergency”.

The survey shows people across the world support climate action and gives politicians a clear mandate to take the major action needed, according to the UN organisation that carried out the poll.

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Covid patients turned away as hospitals in Indonesia face collapse

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One man died after rejection from 10 hospitals as country nears one million cases of coronavirus

Health experts in Indonesia have warned that hospitals in some areas are on the brink of collapse as the nation approached one million cases of coronavirus.

In one case, a man died after he was turned away from 10 hospitals, including three in Jakarta, with doctors under greater strain that an any time in the pandemic.

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Java’s ring of fire rumbles on: Indonesian volcanoes erupt – in pictures

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Volcanoes in Java continue to show worrying signs, with authorities closely monitoring seismic activity as they spew lava and ash many kilometres into the atmosphere.

At 3,676 metres (12,060 feet), Mount Semeru in East Java is one of the highest volcanoes in Indonesia. Mount Merapi in central Java is a 2,929-metre (9,610-foot) active volcano with a hiking trail to its summit and a surrounding national park. Both continue to trouble authorities.

On 16 January 2021, the Semeru volcano observatory issued a notice for aviation warning of an ash cloud moving to the north-east with an ash cloud top at around 5,676 metres (18,163 feet) above sea level, but it may be higher than what can be observed clearly.

Here’s a look at this month’s eruptions

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Indonesia earthquake rescuers hampered by damaged infrastructure after dozens killed

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At least 49 dead after magnitude 6.2 shock on Sulawesi island, which destroyed roads, bridges and houses

Damaged roads and bridges, power blackouts and lack of heavy equipment on Saturday hampered rescuers after a strong earthquake left at least 49 people dead and hundreds injured on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island.

Operations were focused on about eight locations in the hardest-hit city of Mamuju, where people were still believed trapped following the magnitude 6.2 quake that struck early on Friday, said Saidar Rahmanjaya, who heads the local search and rescue agency.

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Indonesia earthquake: dozens dead after tremors and landslides hit Sulawesi

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Thousands flee for safety and higher ground after island’s second quake in 24 hours

At least 37 people have been killed and hundreds injured following a strong earthquake that shook the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia early on Friday morning, prompting landslides and destroying houses.

Thousands of people fled their homes to seek safety when the 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit just after 1am local time on Friday morning. The epicentre was 6km north-east of Majene city in West Sulawesi.

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Indonesia earthquake: rescue workers search rubble with dozens reported dead – video

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WARNING: This video contains scenes some viewers may find distressing.

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island has killed dozens of people, injured hundreds and damaged many buildings, the country’s disaster mitigation agency said. The epicentre of the quake was six kilometres north-east of Majene city at a depth of 10 kilometres and hit at 1am local time. Rescuers are still probing the rubble

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Nice phone: Bali’s thieving monkeys can spot high-value items to ransom

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Study finds macaques go for tourists’ electronics and wallets over empty bags and then maximise their profit

At the Uluwatu temple in Bali, monkeys mean business. The long-tailed macaques who roam the ancient site are infamous for brazenly robbing unsuspecting tourists and clinging on to their possessions until food is offered as ransom payment.

Researchers have found they are also skilled at judging which items their victims value the most and using this information to maximise their profit.

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World’s oldest known cave painting found in Indonesia

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Picture of wild pig made at least 45,500 years ago provides earliest evidence of human settlement

Archaeologists have discovered the world’s oldest known cave painting: a life-sized picture of a wild pig that was made at least 45,500 years ago in Indonesia.

The finding, described in the journal Science Advances on Wednesday, provides the earliest evidence of human settlement of the region.

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Indonesia plane crash relative: ‘I said I would pray for her’

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As divers search for black boxes in Java Sea, families recall last-minute messages

Rafik Yusuf Alaydrus’s wife, Panca Widia Nursanti, messaged him on WhatsApp as she sat on board the Sriwijaya Air SJ-182 flight. The weather in Jakarta was bad, she said. It was raining heavily and the flight, bound for Pontianak on Borneo island, had been delayed for an hour by the poor conditions.

As she waited for takeoff on Saturday, Panca told him she had a bad feeling, and asked him to pray for her. “I tried to calm her down, saying that I would pray for her, and asked her to pray during flight. Inshallah she would be safe,” he said.

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Divers search for black boxes in debris of Sriwijaya Air flight 182 – video

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Footage released by the Indonesian Navy showed divers searching for the black boxes of Sriwijaya Air flight SJ 182 among suspected debris from the downed flight.

Authorities pinpointed the area where the black boxes may be located after they lifted chunks of the Boeing 737-500 fuselage off the sea bed. Rescuers have also found human body parts and personal effects.

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Indonesia plane crash: divers to retrieve black boxes from Sriwijaya Air flight 182

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Authorities located data recorders on Sunday from jet that crashed off Jakarta carrying 62 people

Indonesian divers will try to retrieve the data recorders of a Sriwijaya Air jet on Monday after it plunged into the sea two days ago with 62 people on board minutes after take off from Jakarta’s main airport.

Flight SJ182 was headed to Pontianak on Borneo island, about 740 km (460 miles) from Jakarta, on Saturday before it disappeared from radar screens four minutes after take-off and crashed into the Java sea.

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Indonesia plane crash: authorities locate black boxes among wreckage

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Sriwijaya Air flight carrying 62 people crashed after taking off from Jakarta on Saturday

Indonesian authorities have located the black boxes of the Sriwijaya Air jet that crashed into the sea soon after taking off from the capital Jakarta, as human body parts and suspected pieces of the plane were retrieved.

The Boeing 737-500 with 62 passengers and crew was heading to Pontianak in West Kalimantan on Saturday when it disappeared from radar screens four minutes after takeoff.

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Boeing 737 carrying 62 people feared to have crashed into sea near Jakarta

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Suspected debris found in sea after Sriwijaya Air flight went missing shortly after takeoff

An Indonesian passenger plane carrying 62 people that went missing on Saturday is feared to have crashed, after suspected debris was found in the sea north of Jakarta.

The Boeing 737-500, which departed from Jakarta’s international airport at about 2.36pm, lost contact four minutes later. Data from the flight tracker FlightRadar24 said Sriwijaya Air flight SJ182 had reached an altitude of nearly 11,000ft (3,350 metres) before dropping to 250ft.

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Bali’s beaches buried in tide of plastic rubbish during monsoon season

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Tourist drawcards Kuta and Legian beaches are being overwhelmed by up to 60 tonnes of plastic rubbish every day

Bali’s beaches have been covered in tonnes of ugly rubbish as a result of the monsoon and chronic failings in Indonesia’s waste management system.

Authorities say that between 30 and 60 tonnes of trash is being collected from the island’s most famous beaches each day.

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Indonesian fisher finds drone submarine on possible covert mission

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Navy seizes UUV, likely a Chinese Sea Wing, that experts say could be used to plot routes for military subs

An Indonesian fisher has found what experts say is likely to be a Chinese submarine drone in waters on a strategic maritime route from the South China Sea to Australia.

According to Indonesian media the unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) was found on 20 December near Selayar Island in South Sulawesi. Six days later it was handed to police and then transferred to the Indonesian military.

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