Indonesia passes law to relocate capital to Borneo jungle
Jakarta, IndonesiaReuters Parliament on Tuesday approved a bill to relocate Indonesia’s capital from Jakarta to a site deep within the jungle of Kalimantan on Borneo island, the most significant advancement of an idea the country’s leaders have been toying with for years. The new state capital law, which provides a legal framework for President Joko […]
As floods hit Borneo, Indonesia urged to boost climate action under Paris accord
Thomson Reuters Foundation Deadly floods across parts of Indonesia are a stark reminder of the climate change risks facing the South-East Asian nation, environmentalists said on Monday, urging the government to be more ambitious in its efforts to cut planet-heating emissions. South Kalimantan on Borneo island declared a state of emergency last week, after heavy rainfall and […]
Resisting the loggers: Swiss explorer film spotlights threatened Malaysian tribe
Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaThomson Reuters Foundation A film about one of the world’s last hunter-gatherer tribes living in Malaysia’s rainforest premiers on Thursday, with its Indigenous actors urging authorities to formally grant them land rights after a decades-long battle. Paradise War, which debuts at the Zurich Film Festival, follows the 1984 expedition made by intrepid Swiss […]
Malaysia’s new chief justice is a Catholic
World Watch Monitor A Catholic has been appointed as the new chief justice in majority-Muslim Malaysia, reports the Catholic news agency UCAN. The appointment of Richard Malanjum, 65, from Sabah state on the predominantly Christian island of Borneo, follows elections in May in which the Barisan Nasional coalition government was ousted. It “signifies that Malaysia’s new rulers…are on […]
Jill Ireland back in court as Malaysia considers Christians’ right to call God ‘Allah’
World Watch Monitor A Malaysian Christian woman’s campaign for Christians’ right to use the word “Allah” for “God” has resumed in Malaysia’s High Court. Jill Ireland has been campaigning for Christians’ right to use the word ever since immigration officials at a Kuala Lumpur airport seized eight Christian CDs from her in May 2008 because […]