Indonesia
Indonesia welcomes the Year of the Snake with dragon puppets and drum displays
The vibrant streets and bustling shopping malls of Jakarta have come alive with traditional music and dragon puppet dances as Indonesia prepares to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Communities across Asia will mark the Lunar New Year on January 29, with 2025 being the Year of the Snake according to the Chinese zodiac. Festivities, including fireworks and parades, aim to dispel misfortune and invite prosperity.
In Indonesia, home to millions of people with Chinese heritage, crowds gathered to enjoy performances featuring traditional dragon and lion puppets. These intricate creations, some as long as 65 feet (20 meters), are operated by groups of performers walking underneath interconnected sections, with drummers adding a rhythmic backdrop.
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In the weeks leading up to the celebrations, performance troupes rehearse tirelessly in makeshift spaces, such as the back of a small coffee and snack shop. Local residents, including women and children, often stop by to watch these practices. During quieter periods, the puppet heads are stored on shelves.
Just days before the Lunar New Year, one troupe loaded their puppets and performers into a truck for a mall performance, with others following on motorbikes. At the venue, hundreds of spectators were captivated by the drumming and puppet dance. Enthusiastic applause accompanied the show, and some audience members presented “angpau” — red envelopes containing money traditionally given during special occasions — by placing them into the puppets’ mouths.
25 days ago
Search resumes after deadly flooding and landslides in Indonesia
Indonesian rescuers retrieved two more bodies after they resumed their search Wednesday for people missing after floods and landslides on Indonesia’s main island of Java, bringing the death toll to 19.
Waters from flooded rivers tore through nine villages in Pekalongan regency of Central Java province and landslides tumbled onto mountainside hamlets after the torrential rains Monday.
Videos and photos released by National Search and Rescue Agency showed workers digging desperately in villages where roads and green-terraced rice fields were transformed into murky brown mud and villages were covered by thick mud, rocks and uprooted trees.
National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said flooding triggered a landslide that buried two houses and a cafe in the Petungkriyono resort area. The disasters all together destroyed 25 houses, a dam and three main bridges connecting villages in Pekalongan. At least 13 people injured and nearly 300 people were forced to flee to temporary government shelters.
The search and rescue operation that was hampered by bad weather, mudslides and rugged terrain was halted Tuesday afternoon due to heavy rain and thick fog that made devastated areas along the rivers dangerous to rescuers.
On Wednesday, they searched in rivers and the rubble of villages for bodies and, whenever possible, survivors in worst-hit Kasimpar village, said Budiono, who heads a local rescue office.
Scores of rescue personnel recovered two mud-caked bodies as they searched a Petungkriyono area where tons of mud and rocks buried two houses and a café. Rescuers are still searching for seven people reported missing.
Read: Landslides, flash floods in Indonesia kill 17, missing 8
Landslides and floods were also reported in many other provinces, Muhari said. On Monday, a landslide hit five houses in Denpasar on the tourist island of Bali, killing four people and leaving one missing.
Heavy seasonal rain from about October to March frequently causes flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile floodplains.
The British Geological Survey defines a landslide as a mass movement of material, such as rock, earth, or debris moving down a slope. Landslides can happen suddenly or slowly and can be caused by rain, erosion, or changes to the slope’s material.
Rain adds weight to the slope, making it more unstable. The slope’s steepness or erosion at the base can make landslides more likely. They can be caused by the movement of nearby bodies of water or vibrations from earthquakes, mining or traffic. The types and sizes of the rocks and soils can determine how much water land can absorb before weakening and collapsing.
Studies have found that landslides could become more frequent as climate change increases rainfall.
1 month ago
Landslides, flash floods in Indonesia kill 17, missing 8
Indonesian rescuers recovered the bodies of at least 17 people who were swept away in flash floods or buried under tons of mud and rocks that hit hilly villages on the country’s main island of Java, officials said Tuesday. Eight people were missing.
Torrential rains on Monday caused rivers to burst their banks, tearing through nine villages in Pekalongan regency of Central Java province, as mud, rocks and trees tumbled down on mountainside hamlets, said Bergas Catursasi, who heads the local Disaster Management Agency.
He said rescue workers by Tuesday had recovered at least 17 bodies in the worst-hit village of Petungkriyono, and were searching for eight villagers who were reported missing. Eleven injured people managed to escape and were rushed to nearby hospitals, Catursari said, AP reports.
Television reports showed police, soldiers and rescue workers using excavators, farm equipment and their bare hands to search through the rubble in devastated villages. Others carried victims on bamboo stretchers or in body bags to ambulances or trucks.
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“Bad weather, mudslides and rugged terrain hampered the rescue operation,” Catursari said, adding that people who were fishing in the river or taking shelter from the rain were swept away by the floods.
The search was suspended Tuesday afternoon due to heavy rain and thick fog and will be resumed early Wednesday, said Budiono, head of the provincial Search and Rescue Office.
National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said flash floods swept away villagers and vehicles passing through devastated villages and triggered a landslide that buried two houses. The floods also destroyed two main bridges connecting villages in Pekalongan district.
On Monday, a landslide hit five houses in Denpasar on the tourist island of Bali, killing four people and leaving one missing, Muhari said. The landslide also injured three people. Floods were also reported in many other provinces.
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Heavy seasonal rain from about October to March frequently causes flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile floodplains.
Last month, a landslide, flash floods and strong winds hit Sukabumi district of West Java province, killing 12 people. In November, a landslide and flash floods triggered by heavy downpours hit North Sumatra province, leaving 20 dead and two missing. A landslide in the region also hit a tourist bus, killing nine people.
1 month ago
Japan's Ishiba heads to Malaysia and Indonesia to strengthen defense, economic ties
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday began a trip to Malaysia and Indonesia as part of an effort to strengthen defense and economic ties with Southeast Asia as China's threats grow in the region.
The visit, his first for bilateral talks outside of international meetings, shows Japan’s commitment to further those ties even as the US presence in the region may decrease after President-elect Donald Trump takes office later this month.
Malaysia and Indonesia are maritime regional powers near vital shipping lanes and are key to Japanese and global security and the economy, and they share concerns over China's increasing assertiveness, officials say.
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Ishiba, who will meet Friday with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, hopes to strengthen security cooperation and discuss efforts to ensure stable supply chains with Malaysia, which is chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year.
On Saturday, Ishiba and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will reportedly sign a deal for Japan's provision of high-speed patrol boats. Talks between the two leaders, who are both former defense ministers, are expected to focus on military cooperation and arms transfers.
1 month ago
260 Rohingya refugees arrive in Indonesia's coast
Two boats carrying over 260 Rohingya refugees, primarily women and children, have arrived on Indonesia's coast, officials confirmed on Monday, reports AP.
Police and military personnel, alongside the U.N. refugee agency and the local government in West Pereulak, East Aceh, are gathering details about the refugees, who arrived Sunday evening, while ensuring their safety, according to East Aceh police chief Nova Suryandaru. “We will follow up their presence by coordinating with the UNHCR for further action,” Suryandaru stated.
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Since last February, East Aceh has received more than 300 Rohingya refugees, it said.
Approximately 1 million Rohingya, predominantly Muslims, reside in camps in Bangladesh after fleeing Myanmar, including around 740,000 who escaped a violent “clearance campaign” in 2017 by Myanmar’s security forces, accused of mass rapes and killings. The Rohingya minority faces extensive discrimination in Myanmar and is largely denied citizenship.
In response to a significant increase in Rohingya departures from overcrowded Bangladeshi refugee camps since last year, Indonesia has sought international assistance, the report said.
Although Indonesia, like Thailand and Malaysia, is not a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention and is not legally required to accept refugees, it typically offers temporary shelter to those in distress.
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On Saturday, Malaysian authorities reported turning away two boats carrying nearly 300 Rohingya attempting to enter the country unlawfully. The Maritime Enforcement Agency also noted two additional boats attempting entry after 196 Rohingya landed on Friday on Langkawi, a northeastern resort island, where they were detained.
1 month ago
Rescuers recover 20 bodies from flash floods and landslides on Indonesia's Sumatra island
Indonesian rescuers have recovered 20 bodies and are looking for two villagers who remain missing after flash floods on Sumatra island caused mud and rocks to tumble down mountainsides, officials said Tuesday.
Torrential rains over the weekend caused rivers to burst their banks in four hilly districts in North Sumatra province, washing away houses and destroying farms.
Four more bodies were recovered Monday evening in Karo Regency, bringing the total there to 10, National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said in a statement Tuesday.
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Flash floods also left four people dead in Deli Serdang district, and rescue workers were still searching for two people who were swept away.
Earlier, rescuers recovered two bodies in villages in South Tapanuli district, and four members of a family, including two children, in Harang Julu, a mountainside village in Padang Lawas district.
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Seasonal rain from about October to March frequently causes flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile flood plains.
2 months ago
140 Rohingya stranded off Indonesia; locals deny landing permission
About 140 weak and hungry Rohingya Muslims, mostly women and children, were on a wooden boat anchored about 1 mile (0.60 kilometers) off the coast of Indonesia’s northernmost province of Aceh on Tuesday, officials said, and local residents refused to allow them onto land.
The blue-painted boat has been floating off the coast since Friday. Three Rohingya died during the nearly two-week-long trip from Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh to the waters off Labuhan Haji in South Aceh district, local police said.
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Authorities have transferred 11 Rohingya to a government hospital since Sunday after their health worsened.
“Our community, the fishing community, refuses to let them land because of what happened in other places. They have caused unrest to local residents,” said Muhammad Jabal, the chief of the fishing community in South Aceh.
A large banner hanging at the seaport read: “The people of South Aceh Regency reject the arrival of Rohingya refugees in the South Aceh Regency area."
The group left Cox’s Bazar on Oct. 9, according to an Aceh police report, and intended to reach Malaysia. Some passengers on the boat had reportedly paid to be transported to other countries.
Local residents have given the group food, Jabal said, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has also provided them food.
There were 216 people on board when the boat departed Bangladesh and 50 of them reportedly disembarked in Indonesia’s Riau province, according to police.
Aceh police have arrested three suspects for alleged people smuggling.
About 1 million of the predominately Muslim Rohingya live in Bangladesh as refugees from Myanmar. They include about 740,000 who fled a brutal counterinsurgency campaign in 2017 by Myanmar’s security forces, who were accused of committing mass rapes and killings.
The Rohingya minority in Myanmar faces widespread discrimination. Most are denied citizenship.
Indonesia, like Thailand and Malaysia, is not a signatory to the United Nations’ 1951 Refugee Convention and is not obligated to accept them. However, the country generally provides temporary shelter to refugees in distress.
In March, Indonesian officials and local fishermen rescued 75 people from atop the overturned hull of a boat off the coast of Aceh. Another 67 passengers, including at least 28 children, had been killed when the boat capsized, according to the UNHCR. AP reported that the captain and crew had tortured women and girls before the the boat capsized.
3 months ago
Trip to Bali: A Comprehensive Travel Guide
Nestled in the western end of the Lesser Sunda islands in Indonesia, Bali is one of the top tourist destinations in the world. Often referred to as the "Island of the Gods," Bali is renowned for its arts, traditional and modern dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking, and music.
With its pristine beaches and diverse marine life, there’s a lot to see and explore in Bali. Here’s a comprehensive guide to get you started on your next dream holiday.
Location of Bali
Bali is an island province of Indonesia located near the equator. The island system is close to Java and Lombok with Java Strait and Lombok Strait separating them. In addition to the main island, there are smaller islands such as Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nusa Ceningan, located southeast of the main island. The island is surrounded by the Indian Ocean on the south. The Bali Sea and part of the Pacific Ocean circumvent the island on the north.
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The main point of entry to Bali is the Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS). It is located near the capital city of Denpasar and serves as the main entry point for international and domestic tourists.
8 months ago
Out of options, Rohingya fleeing Myanmar and Bangladesh by boat despite soaring death toll
Across a treacherous stretch of water, the Rohingya came by the thousands, then died by the hundreds. And though they know the dangers of fleeing by boat, many among this persecuted people say they will not stop — because the world has left them with no other choice.
Last year, nearly 4,500 Rohingya — two-thirds of them women and children — fled their homeland of Myanmar and the refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh by boat, the United Nations’ refugee agency reported. Of those, 569 died or went missing while crossing the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, the highest death toll since 2014.
The numbers mean one out of every eight Rohingya who attempted the crossing never made it, the UNHCR said last week.
Yet despite the risks, there are no signs the stream of Rohingya is ebbing. On Thursday, Indonesian officials said another boat carrying Rohingya refugees landed in the country’s northern province of Aceh.
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Fishermen provided food and water to 131 Rohingya, mostly women and children, who had been on board, said Marzuki, the leader of the local tribal fishing community, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.
Some passengers told officials they had been at sea since last month and their boat's engine had broken down, leaving them adrift, said Lt. Col. Andi Susanto, commander of the navy base in Lhokseumawe.
“Southeast Asian waters are one of the deadliest stretches in the world and a graveyard for many Rohingya who have lost their lives,” says Babar Baloch, UNHCR’s spokesman for Asia and the Pacific. “The rate of Rohingya who are dying at sea without being rescued — that’s really alarming and worrying.”
Inside the squalid refugee camps in Bangladesh, where more than 750,000 ethnic Rohingya Muslims fled in 2017 following sweeping attacks by Myanmar’s military, the situation has grown increasingly desperate. Not even the threat of death at sea is enough to stop many from trying to traverse the region’s waters in a bid to reach Indonesia or Malaysia.
“We need to choose the risky journey by boat because the international community has failed their responsibility,” says Mohammed Ayub, who is saving up money for a spot on one of the rickety wooden fishing boats traffickers use to ferry passengers 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) from Bangladesh to Indonesia.
Global indifference toward the Rohingya crisis has left those languishing in the overcrowded camps with few alternatives to fleeing. Because Bangladesh bans the Rohingya from working, their survival is dependent upon food rations, which were slashed last year due to a drop in global donations.
Returning safely to Myanmar is virtually impossible for the Rohingya, because the military that attacked them overthrew Myanmar’s democratically elected government in 2021. And no country is offering the Rohingya any large-scale resettlement opportunities.
Meanwhile, a surge in killings, kidnappings and arson attacks by militant groups in the camps has left residents fearing for their lives. And so, starving, scared and out of options, they continue to board the boats.
Ayub has lived in a sweltering, cramped shelter for more than six years in a camp where security and sanitation are scarce, and hope even scarcer. There is no formal schooling for his children, no way for him to earn money, no prospects for returning to his homeland and no refuge for his family amid spiraling gang violence.
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“Of course I understand how dangerous the boat journey by sea is,” Ayub says. “We could die during the journey by boat. But it depends on our fate. ... It’s better to choose the dangerous way even if it’s risky, because we are afraid to stay in the camps.”
Two hundred of the people who died or went missing at sea last year were aboard one boat that left Bangladesh in November. Eyewitnesses on a nearby boat told The Associated Press that the missing vessel, which was crowded with babies, children and mothers, broke down and was taking on water before it drifted off during a storm as its passengers screamed for help. It has not been seen since.
It was one of several distressed boats that the region’s coastal countries neglected to save, despite the UNHCR’s requests for those countries to launch search and rescue missions.
“When no action is taken, lives are lost,” says UNHCR’s Baloch. “If there is no hope restored in Rohingya lives either in Myanmar or in Bangladesh, there are no rescue attempts, (then) sadly we could see more desperate people dying in Southeast Asian seas under the watch of coastal authorities who could act to save lives.”
Six of Mohammed Taher’s family members were aboard the boat that vanished in November, including his 15-year-old brother, Mohammed Amin, and two of Taher’s nephews, aged 3 and 4. Their ultimate destination was Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country where many Rohingya seek relative safety.
Taher and his parents now struggle to sleep or eat, and spend their days agonizing over what became of their loved ones. Taher’s mother saw a fortune teller who said her relatives were still alive. Taher, meanwhile, dreamed that the boat made it to shore, where his relatives took refuge in a school and were able to bathe in warm water. But he remains unconvinced their journey ended so happily.
And so he has vowed to tell everyone to stay off the boats, no matter how unbearable life on land has become.
“I will never leave by boat on this difficult journey,” Taher says. “All the people who reached their destination are saying that it’s horrific traveling by boat.”
Yet such warnings are often futile. Ayub is now preparing to sell his daughter’s jewelry to help pay for his spot on a boat. While he is frightened by the stories of those who didn’t make it, he is motivated by the stories of those who did.
“Nobody would consider taking a risk by boat on a dangerous journey if they had better opportunities,” he says. “Fortunately, some people did reach their destination and got a better life. I am staying positive that Allah will save us.”
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1 year ago
Jokowi greets Hasina on reelection as PM
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, has congratulated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on her re-election as Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
In a greeting letter sent to the Bangladesh Prime Minister, the President wrote "Your appointment to this esteemed and consequential office exemplifies the profound respect and unwavering confidence bestowed upon you by the people of Bangladesh."
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He mentioned that he has full confidence in Sheikh Hasina's illustrious career and vast experience, which shall undoubtedly furnish her with ample support and resources to steer Bangladesh towards a future brimming with prosperity.
"It is with great optimism that I express my hope for the elevation of bilateral relations and cooperation between our esteemed nations, as we embark on a new era of progress and prosperity."
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Joko Widodo said that over the course of more than five decades, the two countries' bond has steadily flourished and now is the time for it to reach unprecedented heights.
"I am filled with utmost confidence that we shall discover means through which we can enhance our collaborative efforts in order to seize the unparalleled opportunities of our era."
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1 year ago