Chinese aviation regulator suspends operation of aircraft after second tragedy involving the new plane in four months
China’s aviation authorities have ordered the country’s airlines to ground their Boeing 737 Max 8 jets after a crash in Ethiopia killed 157 people.
The disaster was the second involving the new aircraft in the last four months. In October, a Lion Air plane crashed into the sea off the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, killing all 189 onboard.
Continue reading...Deaths reported on both sides in firefight during work on trans-Papua highway
As many as 15 people are believed to have been killed in a firefight between Indonesian soldiers and Papuan independence fighters, adding to more than two dozen deaths in the simmering conflict since November.
Indonesia’s military said three of its soldiers, and seven to 10 independence fighters, died on Thursday when a force of 50 to 70 rebels carrying firearms as well as spears and arrows attacked a group of 25 soldiers in a battle lasting several hours.
Continue reading...At least two dead and 14 injured in the incident in Sulawesi
Dozens of people have been buried by a landslide at an unlicensed goldmine in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province, the national disaster agency has said, as emergency personnel used their bare hands and farm tools to reach victims calling for help from beneath the rubble.
The agency said two people were dead and 14 were injured, with at least 60 buried.
Continue reading...Shape of You and Love me Harder among western hits deemed obscene and playable only between 10pm and 3am
More than a dozen western pop songs, including Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You, have been deemed pornographic and banned from being played in daylight hours in Indonesia’s notoriously conservative West Java province.
The West Java broadcasting commission singled out 85 songs, including 17 western pop songs, it said contained adult and offensive content.
Continue reading...Expert panel says incident shows the ‘deeply entrenched discrimination and racism’ faced by Papuans
Indonesian police who used a large snake to terrorise a handcuffed boy is reflective of “a widespread pattern of violence” against indigenous West Papuans, a United Nations panel of experts has said, calling for investigations into numerous cases of violence, unlawful arrest and mistreatment.
Earlier this month a video emerged of Indonesian police interrogating a young boy, in handcuffs and on the floor, while officers wrapped a large snake around him.
Continue reading...Biologists discover single female Wallace’s giant bee inside a termites’ nest in a tree
As long as an adult thumb, with jaws like a stag beetle and four times larger than a honeybee, Wallace’s giant bee is not exactly inconspicuous.
But after going missing, feared extinct, for 38 years, the world’s largest bee has been rediscovered on the Indonesian islands of the North Moluccas.
Continue reading...South-east Asia has three countries in the top five, while Japan comes in last
South-east Asia is one of the most internet-addicted regions on the planet, with the Philippines topping the global list with an average 10 hours and 2 minutes of screen time every day.
The country was joined in the top five by Thailand and Indonesia, according to findings in a new report on online habits released by HootSuite and We Are Social.
Continue reading...UNHCHR wants access after Indonesian military crackdown in response to guerrilla attack
Indonesia has agreed in principle to allow the UN office of the human rights commissioner into West Papua amid continuing violence in the region.
The long-running low-level insurgency violently escalated late last year, after West Papuan guerrillas attacked a construction site in Nduga, killing at least 17 people they claimed were Indonesian military but who Jakarta insists were civilian workers.
Continue reading...PM urges president Joko Widodo to show respect for Australia over the planned early prison release of alleged mastermind
Indonesia’s security minister says the decision to release alleged Bali bombing mastermind Abu Bakar Bashir is being reviewed, hours after Scott Morrison urged president Joko Widodo to show respect for Australia.
The minister, Wiranto, told a hastily called news conference on Monday night that Widodo had asked him to coordinate a review of all aspects of the planned release.
Continue reading...As elections loom, millennials tired of leaders who do not represent them find happiness in spoof social media personalities
With their moustaches, traditional headwear and big campaign promises, Nurhadi and Aldo resemble almost any other politician. But, as Indonesia heads towards a presidential election, looks can be deceiving.
The two presidential candidates are in fact fictional.
Continue reading...Tsunami warning systems are in place around Indonesia, but they are tailored to earthquake tsunamis
Just over a week ago, the Indonesian volcano Anak Krakatau blew its top, losing about two-thirds of its height.
Most of this 150m cubic metres of rock is thought to have slid into the sea in one go, generating a tsunami that killed more than 400 people. Tsunami warning systems are in place around Indonesia, but they are tailored to earthquake tsunamis, triggering only if an earthquake and large wave are detected.
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