Category Archives: Indonesia

Politicians in at least 51 countries used anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric during elections, NGO finds

Posted on by

Rights group also finds rise in openly gay, bisexual and transgender people running for office in 36 countries

Politicians in at least 51 countries used homophobic or transphobic rhetoric during elections last year, from depicting LGBTQ+ identity as a foreign threat to condemning “gender ideology”, according to a new study of 60 countries and the EU.

However, there were also gains for LGBTQ+ representation in some countries. Openly gay, bisexual and transgender people ran for office in at least 36 countries, including for the first time in Botswana, Namibia and Romania – albeit unsuccessfully – according to the report by Outright International. The number of LGBTQ+ elected officials doubled to at least 233 in Brazil.

Continue reading...

Flash floods in Indonesia leave at least 15 people dead and 10 missing

Posted on by

Torrential rains cause flooding and landslides in East Nusa Tenggara province and on the tourist island of Bali

Rescuers have recovered the bodies of 15 people who have died in flash flooding in two Indonesian provinces, while authorities said 10 others were missing.

Torrential rains beginning on Monday caused flooding and landslides in East Nusa Tenggara province and on the island of Bali.

Continue reading...

Indonesia embassy official’s shooting in Lima probably a ‘contract killing’, says Peru government

Posted on by

Interior minister says ‘they were waiting for’ official who was shot at point-blank range outside his home in killing that has shocked Peru

Peru’s government has said the fatal shooting of an Indonesian embassy official in Lima on Monday night was likely a “contract killing”.

Zetro Leonardo Purba, 40, an official at the Indonesian embassy in Peru, was shot dead outside his block of flats in Lima’s Lince neighbourhood while riding a bicycle home from work on Monday evening.

Continue reading...

Twenty missing in Indonesia protests, rights group says

Posted on by

Mass protests first erupted last week, prompted by anger over the perks and benefits given to lawmakers, including a controversial housing allowance

At least 20 people are missing following violent protests that have gripped cities across Indonesia over the past week, a human rights group has warned.

Mass protests first erupted on 25 August, prompted by anger over the perks and benefits given to lawmakers, including a controversial housing allowance. Public fury escalated further when a motorcycle taxi driver, 21-year-old Affan Kurniawan, was run over by a police vehicle at a protest site.

Continue reading...

Indonesia protests: president scraps lawmakers’ perks in bid to calm tensions

Posted on by

Police set up checkpoints across Jakarta on Monday after deadly protests that have forced Prabowo Subianto to remove perks include a housing allowance worth 10 times the minimum wage

Indonesian political parties have agreed to cut some lawmakers’ perks, including a controversial $3,000 housing allowance, the president said, as security measures were stepped up in an attempt to halt protests that have gripped the country for a week.

President Prabowo Subianto, accompanied by leaders of eight Indonesian political parties, told a televised news conference in the capital, Jakarta, on Sunday that they had agreed to cut the housing allowance and suspend overseas trips for members of parliament.

Continue reading...

Fire kills three people in Indonesia after protesters torch council buildings

Posted on by

Cities in Indonesia rocked by protests after motorcycle taxi driver run over by police tactical vehicle

Protesters have torched parliamentary buildings in three further Indonesian provinces, a day after at least three people were killed by a fire started by demonstrators at a council building in the city of Makassar.

Protests erupted across Indonesia after footage spread showing a motorcycle taxi driver being run over and killed by a police vehicle on Thursday night during earlier demonstrations over low wages for workers and perks for lawmakers.

Continue reading...

Protests erupt in Indonesia over death of man hit by police vehicle

Posted on by

Government faces calls for police reform amid violent clashes across Jakarta and demonstrations in other cities

Hundreds of Indonesians have protested at sites across Jakarta over the death of a man hit by a police vehicle, in the first big test for Prabowo Subianto’s nearly year-old government.

The man, a motorcycle ride-sharing driver, was hit at the site of violent clashes near parliament on Thursday as police sought to disperse demonstrators protesting about a number of issues including lawmakers’ pay and education funding.

Continue reading...

Indonesia working on details of plan to treat 2,000 people from Gaza amid concerns about right to return

Posted on by

Security ministry and the ministries of health and foreign affairs have met to discuss how the controversial proposal to treat Palestinians would work

The Indonesian government is working on plans to treat 2,000 people from war-ravaged Gaza, holding a series of inter-ministerial discussions to discuss logistics, legality and foreign policy implications relating to the highly sensitive proposal, according to a senior government official.

Indonesia announced earlier this month that it would provide temporary medical assistance to 2,000 Palestinians from Gaza, with the uninhabited island of Galang identified as one possible site. Located just south of Singapore, the island was once home to a former camp for Vietnamese refugees and most recently the site of a pandemic hospital.

Continue reading...

Hundreds hit with food poisoning in Indonesia after eating free meals from president’s flagship program

Posted on by

Since its launch in January, Prabowo Subianto’s signature policy has been marred by mass food poisoning cases affecting over 1,000 people

More than 360 people fell ill in the Indonesian town of Sragen in Central Java after consuming school lunches, according to officials, in the largest food poisoning case to hit President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free meals programme to date.

Since its launch in January, the free school meals programme has been marred by mass food poisoning cases across the archipelago, affecting more than 1,000 people.

Continue reading...

Trump says Indonesia to pay 19% tariffs, buy 50 Boeing jets under trade deal

Posted on by

Rate is significantly below the 32% the US president had threatened but timeline for implementation of deal remains unclear

US President Donald Trump says he has struck a trade pact with Indonesia resulting in significant purchase commitments from the south-east Asian country, after negotiations to avoid steeper tariffs.

Indonesian goods entering the United States would face a 19% tariff, Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. This is significantly below the 32% level the president earlier threatened.

Continue reading...

Macron calls on EU to ‘defend European interests resolutely’ from Trump tariffs

Posted on by

French president says bloc should be ready for trade war after 30% tariff threat but other EU leaders call for calm

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has called on the EU to “defend European interests resolutely” after Donald Trump threatened to impose 30% tariffs on nearly all imports from the EU.

It came as the EU moved to de-escalate tensions after the blunt move by Trump on Saturday. The bloc declared a further pause on €21bn of retaliatory tariffs until 1 August, dovetailing with the US president’s new deal deadline.

Continue reading...

Rubio in bind as he seeks to reassure south-east Asia, even as it faces Trump tariffs

Posted on by

Rubio meets Chinese counterpart at gathering, as questions remain about US trade polices and commitment to region

Even as they face among the most punitive tariffs globally, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has sought to reassure south-east Asian countries of Washington’s commitment to the region, saying they may get “better” trade deals than the rest of the world.

In his first official visit to Asia, Rubio met the foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Malaysia on Thursday, telling his counterparts that the US had “no intention of abandoning” the region.

His visit came days after Donald Trump renewed his threat to impose severe tariffson many south-east Asian countries if they did not strike deals by 1 August.

Continue reading...

Rescuers racing to find survivors after ferry bound for Bali carrying 65 people sinks

Posted on by

Thirty-five people have been rescued after ferry travelling from Java sank, killing six, rescue agency says

Rescue teams were racing to find dozens of people missing after a ferry sank in rough seas late on Wednesday on its way to the Indonesian resort island Bali, killing six people.

The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya, which was carrying 65 people, sank as it sailed to Bali from Indonesia’s main island, Java. All passengers were Indonesian, the transport ministry said.

Continue reading...

Australian accused of smuggling cocaine into Bali faces ‘death penalty or life in jail’

Posted on by

The 43-year-old from Sydney appears in prison jumpsuit after allegedly being in possession of 1.7kg of drugs

Authorities are providing consular assistance in Bali to an Australian man accused of trying to smuggle drugs into the Indonesian tourist island.

The 43-year-old from Sydney was arrested on Thursday after police raided his rented house near Kuta Beach.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Company supplying critical EV metal ‘did not disclose’ Erin Brockovich pollutant in drinking water

Posted on by

Leaked documents indicate Harita, owner of key nickel mine in Indonesia, did not reveal water contamination

One of Indonesia’s largest nickel-mining companies, which supplies a mineral critical to the global electric car industry, did not tell the public that local drinking water was polluted, according to documents seen by the Guardian.

Indonesia has become the world’s biggest producer of nickel, used in the production of wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicle batteries. But observers have voiced concerns that regulatory oversight in the country has failed to keep up with the rush to develop mines to satisfy booming global demand.

Continue reading...

Indonesian ambassador met senior Australian diplomats on same day Albanese accused Dutton of ‘damaging relationship’

Posted on by

Exclusive: Meeting with Dfat deputy secretary not specifically about reported Russian military request, diplomatic sources say, but may have been canvassed

Indonesia’s ambassador met with senior Australian diplomats on Tuesday as the nation was thrust into an election campaign debate about a potential Russian military presence in the region – and on the same day Anthony Albanese accused Peter Dutton of damaging the bilateral relationship.

Indonesia’s ambassador to Australia, Dr Siswo Pramono, met with the department of foreign affairs and trade’s deputy secretary, Michelle Chan, who leads its south-east Asian policy division. One diplomatic source said Indonesia requested the meeting.

Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter

Continue reading...

‘Propaganda’: Albanese mocks Russia’s ‘you have no cards’ warning to Australia

Posted on by

Incendiary letter by Moscow’s envoy says Australians should be more concerned about US bases on their soil than a Russian base in Indonesia

Russian warnings to Australia that “you have no cards” to stop Russian military activity in the Indo-Pacific have been mocked by Anthony Albanese, who has dismissed an incendiary letter from an ambassador as authoritarian “propaganda”.

The unsubstantiated spectre of a proposed Russian military airbase on Indonesian territory has loomed over the past week of Australia’s federal election campaign, with the opposition accusing the government of obfuscating and dodging questions, and the government responding that the opposition had misrepresented the Indonesian government and actively fanned Russian propaganda.

Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter

Continue reading...

Indonesian student detained by Ice after US secretly revokes his visa

Posted on by

Aditya Wahyu Harsono, father of infant with special needs, surprised at work despite valid visa through June 2026

An Indonesian father of an infant with special needs, who was detained by federal agents at his hospital workplace in Minnesota after his student visa was secretly revoked, will remain in custody after an immigration judge ruled Thursday that his case can proceed.

Judge Sarah Mazzie denied a motion to dismiss the case against Aditya Wahyu Harsono on humanitarian grounds, according to his attorney. Harsono, 33, was arrested four days after his visa was revoked without notice. He is scheduled for another hearing on 1 May.

Continue reading...

Australian PM voices concern after report Russia requested access to Indonesia air force base

Posted on by

Anthony Albanese says ‘obviously do not want to see Russian influence in our region’, and analysts say it is unlikely the unusual request would be granted

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese has said officials are seeking further information after a report emerged that Russia is seeking to base military aircraft in Indonesia’s remote Papua region, on Australia’s northern doorstep.

Albanese said on Tuesday: “We obviously do not want to see Russian influence in our region, very clearly.

Continue reading...

Xi Jinping seeks to strengthen economic ties during tour of south-east Asia

Posted on by

President’s first stop is Vietnam as China urges US to end trade war and return to ‘right path of mutual respect’

The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, will visit Vietnam on Monday as he begins a tour of south-east Asia where he will seek to strengthen ties with neighbouring countries amid an escalating trade war.

Xi will visit Vietnam from Monday before travelling to Malaysia and Cambodia, a high-profile tour that Chinese officials have described as being of “major importance”.

Continue reading...