Tag Archives: Indonesia

Fires burning since July have destroyed over 800,000 hectares of rainforest in Indonesia, blanketing the islands in thick toxic smoke which has turned the sky a violent red. The gigantic conflagrations are causing respiratory problems and there are numerous reports of deaths, including at least six farmers and two children. …

Thousands of Indonesians prayed for rain in haze-hit towns on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo on Wednesday, as forest fires raged at the height of the dry season, the state Antara news agency reported. Fires have burnt through parts of Sumatra and Borneo island for more than a month …

Indonesia has sent hundreds of garbage-filled shipping containers back to their countries of origin, according to the customs agency. The Southeast Asian nation, which is pushing back against becoming a dumping ground for foreign trash, has already returned about 250 containers seized across the archipelago in recent months, and authorities …

Indonesian government has called for calm following violent protests, including in Papua Province, over racial discrimination. “Why must we kill each other because we’re offended?” Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Wiranto said at a joint news conference with several Papuan figures in the capital, Jakarta, on Friday. …

Indonesia’s capital city is to be relocated to the province of East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, President Joko Widodo has said. The current capital, Jakarta, home to more than 10 million people, sits on swampy land. Parts of the city are sinking by as much as 25cm (10in) …

At least seven people, including children, have been killed and four remain missing after a ship caught fire in waters near Southeast Sulawesi province in Indonesia, the head of communication for media at the national search and rescue office Yusuf Latief told Xinhua News Agency on Saturday. “The incident started …

A volcano erupted near Indonesia’s third-biggest city of Bandung on July 26, sending ash several hundred meters into the air and triggering warnings for people to stay away. Broadcasters showed footage of cars and motorbikes driving away from Tangkuban Parahu on roads covered by ash. The disaster mitigation agency said …

Residents of Indonesia’s capital on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the government over the toxic levels of air pollution that regularly blanket the city. Jakarta has been shrouded in hazardous smog for much of the past month, with air quality readings recording high concentrations of harmful microscopic particles known as …

More than 13,000 dogs are slaughtered each month in an Indonesian city to keep up with the demand for the animal’s meat. Horrific video footage captured in slaughterhouses in the Central Javan capital city of Surakarta, known as Solo, shows the animals being beaten and strung up to bleed out …

A fishing boat carrying more than 60 Rohingya Muslims was found beached on an island in southern Thailand on Tuesday, officials said. The passengers – 28 men, 31 women, and five children – were stranded on Rawi island in Tarutao National Park in Thailand’s southern Satun province after the boat …

Malaysia’s last male Sumatran rhinoceros has died, an official says, dashing efforts to save the critically endangered species in the country. The rhino, named Tam, was about 30 years old and lived at a wildlife reserve in Sabah state on Borneo island since his capture in 2008, Christina Liew, state …

Jakarta has descended into violent chaos with angry mobs torching cars and firing missiles and Molotov cocktails at police in post-election skirmishes. So far, six people have been confirmed dead and a further 200 injured. A reportedly 50,000-strong security force used tear gas and water cannon to quell torrents of …

In a fresh show of naval force in the contested South China Sea, a U.S. guided missile destroyer conducted drills with a Japanese aircraft carrier, two Indian naval ships, and a Philippine patrol vessel in the waterway claimed by China, the U.S. Navy said on Thursday. While similar exercises have …

Counting millions of ballot papers by hand proved to be a life-threatening job for hundreds of election staff in Indonesia, as over 270 died and nearly 2,000 fell ill after working long hours, an official has said. As many as 272 staff have died just 10 days after Indonesia held …

Around 12 million hectares of forest in the world’s tropical regions were lost in 2018, equivalent to 30 football fields per minute. While this represents a decline in 2016 and 2017, it is still the fourth highest rate of loss since records began in 2001. Of particular concern is the …

Donald Trump has claimed he could fix the Boeing 737 MAX after the aircraft was involved in two fatal crashes. In a tweet posted at 6.29am, the president said: “What do I know about branding, maybe nothing (but I did become President!), but if I were Boeing, I would FIX …

Tens of millions of Indonesians will vote in presidential and parliamentary elections this week after campaigns focused on the economy, but with political Islam looming ever larger in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation. President Joko Widodo, a former furniture salesman who launched his political career as a small-city mayor, is …

A tsunami warning that was issued after an earthquake struck off the east coast of Sulawesi Island, Indonesia, has now been lifted. The quake, which hit at a depth of 43km, had a magnitude of 6.8, the US Geological Survey said. Authorities initially urged people to evacuate to higher ground. …

The J-Queen durian fruit costs the equivalent of £750 which is more than three times the average monthly salary in Indonesia. A rare type of durian fruit, known for its pungent aroma, has gone on sale in Indonesia three times the average monthly salary. The J-Queen variety of the smelly …