Indonesia recovers two bodies after Rohingya boat capsizes off Aceh
Aceh Jaya, Indonesia Reuters Indonesian authorities recovered two bodies from the shores of West Aceh on Saturday and said local fishermen reported several other drowning victims washed up after a vessel carrying Rohingya migrants capsized off the coast earlier this week. More than 70 Rohingya were “presumed dead or missing”, which if confirmed would be […]
Over 70 Rohingya dead or missing after boat capsizes off Indonesia’s Aceh
Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters More than 70 Rohingya are “presumed dead or missing” after a boat they were on capsized off the coast of Indonesia’s Aceh province, while 75 have been rescued, the UNHCR refugee agency said on Friday. The UNHCR said in a joint statement with the International Organization for Migration that if the death […]
About 400 Rohingya land in Indonesia, adds to surge of recent arrivals
Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters Dilapidated boats carrying an estimated 400 ethnic Rohingya arrived in Indonesia’s Aceh province on Sunday, chief of a provincial fishing community has confirmed, adding to a recent surge of Myanmar’s Muslim minority arriving in the country. Prior to Sunday’s arrivals, the United Nations’ refugee agency, UNHCR, said that 1,200 Rohingya people, a […]
Hundreds of Rohingya come ashore in Indonesia, joining about 1,000 this week
Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters More than 200 ethnic Rohingya came ashore in Indonesia’s Aceh province late on Tuesday, taking total arrivals of members of the Myanmar Muslim minority to more than 1,000 for the week, a leader of the province’s fishing community said. During November to April, when the seas are calmer, many members of the […]
Indonesia starts reparations program for victims of its bloody past
Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday launched an unprecedented reparation program for victims of past human rights abuses by the state, a project critics fear will compensate only a small fraction of those who suffered. Jokowi, as the President is known, in January expressed deep regret over 12 deadly events from 1965-2003 […]
“The only treatment is prevention”: Polio is back in Indonesia, sparking vaccination campaign
RISKA MUNAWARAH and NINIEK KARMINI, of Associated Press, report on Indonesia’s response to an outbreak of polio in the nation…
230,000 people lost in a day: Asia remembers devastating 2004 tsunami
Phang Nga, ThailandReuters Communities across Asia commemorated the 230,000 victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami on Thursday, the 15th anniversary of one of the world’s most deadly disasters. On the morning after Christmas Day in 2004, a 9.1 magnitude quake off northern Sumatra island triggered a tsunami with waves as high as 17.4 metres that […]
Indonesia Christians’ whipping a rare example of non-Muslims punished under Sharia
Two Indonesian Christians were whipped in public earlier this week in Banda Aceh, the capital of the Sumatran province of Aceh, as a crowd took photos and jeered. Dahlan Sili Tongga, 61, and Tjia Nyuk Hwa, 45, were being punished for breaking Sharia (Islamic law) by playing a game at a children’s entertainment centre, which the […]
Almost 100 dead in Indonesian province of Aceh following quake
Aid has begun to reach communities in Aceh after almost 100 people were killed and dozens of buildings destroyed when a magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the Indonesian province early Wednesday morning. Authorities have said at least 97 people died after the quake struck about 5am near the northern tip of Sumatra. Thousands of police and […]