Volcano spews ash over popular tourist island but authorities yet to raise alert level
Bali’s airport has cancelled flights following an eruption of the Mount Agung volcano, which spread ash over the south of the Indonesian island.
The national disaster agency said Friday night’s eruption lasted four minutes and 30 seconds, spreading lava and incandescent rocks about 3km from the crater.
Continue reading...Mobs set fire to vehicles in Jakarta after supporters of Prabowo Subianto, who lost the vote, took to the streets
Six people are dead and more than 200 are injured, according to Jakarta’s governor, after mobs clashed with security forces and set fire to a police dormitory and vehicles in the Indonesian capital following the release of official election results.
National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said protests by supporters of an unsuccessful presidential candidate turned violent late on Tuesday and continued through the night. Police said they had arrested 20 “provocateurs”.
Continue reading...Country fears civil unrest as rival campaign complains of cheating in general election
Heavily armed troops are on high alert in Indonesia amid fears of civil unrest after the incumbent president was declared the winner of last month’s election in a surprise early announcement by the election commission.
Joko Widodo took 55.5% of votes against 44.5% for his challenger, retired general Prabowo Subianto, the commission said on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Director gets death threats as 93,000 sign petition to have ‘LGBT film’ Memories of My Body banned lest young ‘imitate behaviour’
The release of an award-winning Indonesian film about a male dancer exploring his sexuality has led to a backlash from religious groups in the south-east Asian country.
The release of Garin Nugroho’s Memories of My Body comes at a time of increased antagonism towards the country’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
Continue reading...Idea of unhitching country’s administrative centre from its megacity has a long history – but experts are sceptical
Not only is the megacity of Jakarta besieged by a confluence of modern ills – including pollution, overpopulation and soul-destroying traffic – it is also one of the fastest-sinking capitals in the world.
So when Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, this week suggested making somewhere else the capital, it did not come as a shock. Indeed, the idea of relocating the country’s administrative centre is almost as old as the republic itself – it was floated by Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno, in 1957 and has been brought up again by several presidents since.
Continue reading...Electoral commission says most died from fatigue due caused by long hours counting millions of ballots
Ten days after Indonesia held the world’s biggest single-day elections, officials say more than 270 election staff have died, mostly of fatigue-related illneses caused by long hours of work counting millions of ballot papers by hand.
The 17 April elections were the first time the country of 260 million people combined the presidential vote with national and regional parliamentary ones, with an aim to cut costs.
Continue reading...Pristine forests are vital for climate and wildlife but trend of losses is rising, data shows
Millions of hectares of pristine tropical rainforest were destroyed in 2018, according to satellite analysis, with beef, chocolate and palm oil among the main causes.
The forests store huge amounts of carbon and are teeming with wildlife, making their protection critical to stopping runaway climate change and halting a sixth mass extinction. But deforestation is still on an upward trend, the researchers said. Although 2018 losses were lower than in 2016 and 2017, when dry conditions led to large fires, last year was the next worst since 2002, when such records began.
Continue reading...President says he has won a second term, defeating challenger Prabowo Subianto
The Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, has announced he has won re-election after receiving an estimated 54% of the vote, backtracking on his promise to wait for official results after his challenger made improbable claims of victory.
Widodo, after meeting with parties in his coalition, told reporters the leaders of Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey and other countries had congratulated him on securing a second term.
Continue reading...Former army general say he is ‘the president of all Indonesians’ but credible surveys put Joko Widodo in the lead
Ex-army general Prabowo Subianto has controversially claimed victory in Indonesia’s presidential election, despite unofficial results from more than half a dozen credible pollsters indicating that incumbent Joko Widodo has comfortably won.
Speaking to supporters and journalists gathered outside his residence in South Jakarta on Wednesday evening, hours after the polls had closed, the fiery former special forces commander delivered a triumphant speech.
Continue reading...Unofficial ‘quick count’ results show incumbent president nearly nine points ahead
Joko Widodo looks likely to have secured a comfortable win over his rival in Indonesian elections, according to unofficial “quick counts”.
The counts, conducted by several credible polling agencies, show the incumbent president ahead of his political rival, the former special forces commander Prabowo Subianto, by almost 9 percentage points.
Continue reading...Indonesia has kicked off one of the world’s biggest one-day elections, pitting president Joko Widodo against ex-general Prabowo Subianto
Continue reading...Authorities warn considerable damage to poorly built structures possible in Sulawesi from 6.8-magnitude quake
A strong 6.8-magnitude earthquake has rocked eastern Indonesia, reportedly killing one person and triggering a brief tsunami warning that sent panicked residents fleeing to higher ground.
The quake struck at a relatively shallow depth of 17 kilometres off the east coast of Sulawesi island, the US Geological Survey said. A 7.5-magnitude quake and tsunami struck near the city of Palu on the other side of the island last year, killing more than 4,300 people.
Continue reading...Indonesian authorities take action to protect endangered species after reports dozens had been sold on Facebook
Tourists will be banned from Komodo Island, the home of the ancient Komodo dragon, from January 2020 to allow for conservation efforts, after a smuggling case involving the endangered animal.
The island, in Maggarai Barat Indonesia, has been a major tourist destination, with many making the trip to see the lizard, which has a poisonous bite, can grow up to three metres long and weigh 50kg.
Continue reading...As elections loom in one of south-east Asia’s only true democracies, some wonder whether the president has done enough
Five years ago he was south-east Asia’s democratic poster boy, Indonesia’s Obama. His face plastered across Time magazine with three words: A New Hope.
When Joko Widodo, or “Jokowi”, was elected president of one of the only true remaining democracies in the region it was a moment of triumphant vindication – proof that outliers could trump an entrenched oligarchy, that an ordinary Indonesian could make it.
Continue reading...Statues given tube tops to help the park become a holiday spot for families, says official
Two naked mermaid statues at an Indonesian amusement park have had their breasts covered with golden tube tops in a bid to make them more “appropriate” and appealing to families.
The nude statues have been on display for years at Jakarta’s Ancol Dreamland but a recent policy to respect “eastern values” meant the mermaids were covered up.
Continue reading...Police at Indonesian airport also found two live geckos and five lizards in suitcase
A Russian tourist attempting to smuggle a drugged orangutan out of Indonesia in his suitcase to bring home and keep as a pet has been arrested in Bali, police said on Saturday.
Andrei Zhestkov was detained in Denpasar airport late on Friday while passing through a security screening before a planned flight back to Russia.
Continue reading...Company blames loss of passenger trust after Ethiopia Airlines and Lion Air disasters involving the aircraft
Indonesia’s national carrier Garuda has cancelled a multibillion-dollar order for 49 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets after two fatal crashes involving the plane, the company said, blaming passengers’ loss of trust in the aircraft.
In what is thought to be the first formal cancellation for the model, Garuda spokesman Ikhsan Rosan said: “We have sent a letter to Boeing requesting that the order be cancelled.
Continue reading...Sources say flight crew of Indonesian jet tried to find procedure to halt dive
The pilots of the Lion Air Boeing 737 Max that crashed in Indonesia were searching a flight manual to try to find why the plane kept lurching downwards against their commands, according to reports of the cockpit voice recording.
The investigation into the crash, which killed all 189 people on board last October, has become even more significant for Boeing and airlines due to its suspected links with the Ethiopian Airlines disaster, where 157 died on the same model of plane.
Continue reading...Dozens of posts containing disinformation spread, with fears people may not trust results of a legitimate election
The spread of fake news and disinformation has spiked in Indonesia in recent months, weeks before millions are scheduled to vote in the country’s elections.
Data released in a new report from Mafindo, an organisation focused on combating fake news and improving digital literacy, shows that political fake news and disinformation shot up by 61% between December 2018 and January this year.
Continue reading...Foreign ministry says Anning’s statement shows lack of understanding about Islam
The Indonesian foreign ministry has summoned the Australian ambassador in Jakarta to express strong condemnation of Australian senator Fraser’s Anning’s controversial response to the Christchurch massacre.
In a meeting in the Indonesian capital on Monday, the Indonesian foreign affairs minister, Retno Marsudi, told Australia’s ambassador to Indonesia, Gary Quinlan, that Indonesia strongly denounced the Queensland senator’s comments.
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