Jakarta

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First the Smell of Gas, Then Thunder, a Blast, and Fire

At least 18 dead after blaze at fuel storage depot in Jakarta, Indonesia

(Newser) - Indonesian rescuers and firefighters on Saturday searched for more than a dozen missing people under the rubble of charred houses and buildings, after a large fire spread from a fuel storage depot in the capital and killed at least 18 people. The Plumpang fuel storage station, operated by state-run oil...

World's 4th Most Populous Country to Get New Capital
Indonesia Chooses
Name for Its New Capital
UPDATED
Jan 18, 2022 2:40 PM CST

Indonesia Chooses Name for Its New Capital

So long, Jakarta

(Newser) - Update: If memorizing capitals is among your pastimes, here's a new one for you: Nusantara. That's the name that will grace Indonesia's new capital, which is set to take shape somewhere around 2024. It will replace the current government seat, Jakarta, areas of which are sinking at...

Indonesian PM, 6 Bigwigs Found 'Negligent' on Air Pollution

Court orders Joko Widodo, 6 other top officials to improve air quality in Jakarta

(Newser) - An Indonesian court ruled Thursday that President Joko Widodo and six other top officials have neglected citizens' rights to clean air and ordered them to improve the poor air quality in the current capital of Jakarta. A three-judge panel at the Central Jakarta District Court notched a victory for a...

Indonesia Chooses Island for New Capital

It's moving from Java to Borneo

(Newser) - Indonesia's president has announced that the country's capital will be moved from overcrowded, sinking, and polluted Jakarta to East Kalimantan province. President Joko Widodo told a news conference Monday the decision to choose the province on the Indonesian side of Borneo island, which is shared with Malaysia and...

Passengers, Plane Crew Nearly Brawl Over Stinky Fruit

Sriwijaya Air flight in Indonesia temporarily grounded thanks to durian in cargo hold

(Newser) - The durian is known for being one of the grossest-smelling fruits in the world—think "turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock," as one food writer has described it, per Smithsonian . The late Anthony Bourdain once said after eating it, "Your breath will smell as if...

Cape Town Isn't Only Big City With Water Crisis

These 5 cities also are in an H20 predicament

(Newser) - Cape Town's water situation is dire , but although it may soon be the first big city in the world to run out of H2O, it's not the only one nearing such a precarious position. The BBC takes a look at other major urban areas thirsting for liquid sustenance,...

50 Injured in Stock Exchange Floor Collapse

Jakarta exchange kept trading

(Newser) - A mezzanine floor inside the Jakarta Stock Exchange tower collapsed on Monday, injuring more than 50 people and forcing a chaotic evacuation. TV footage showed the lobby strewn with debris and people being helped out of the building while others lay on the grass or steps outside the tower, the...

Prosecutors Wanted Probation. Christian Governor Gets Prison

Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama gets 2 years for blasphemy in Muslim-majority country

(Newser) - An Indonesian court sentenced the minority Christian governor of Jakarta to two years in prison on Tuesday for blaspheming the Koran, a jarring ruling that undermines the reputation of the world's largest Muslim nation for practicing a moderate form of Islam. In announcing its decision, the five-judge panel said...

Cops: Woman Laced Study Partner's Coffee With Cyanide

Jakarta police arrest Jessica Kumala, 27

(Newser) - Indonesian authorities arrested a woman Saturday for allegedly lacing her friend's coffee with a lethal does of cyanide, Australia's News Network reports. Investigators say Jessica Kumala, 27, arrived early at a cafe in central Jakarta and ordered an iced coffee for friend Wayan Mirna Salihin, 27—who soon...

Cops Find ISIS Flag After Jakarta Attacks

Indonesia security forces now face major challenge

(Newser) - Indonesian police on Friday arrested three men on suspicion of links to the brazen attacks in the heart of the country's capital , and said they recovered an ISIS flag from the home of one of the attackers. The discovery of the flag bolsters authorities' claim that the attack Thursday...

At Least 7 Dead in 'Paris-Style' Jakarta Attacks

Assault began with explosion in Starbucks

(Newser) - Attackers set off explosions at a Starbucks cafe in a bustling shopping area in Indonesia's capital and waged gunbattles with police Thursday, leaving bodies in the streets as office workers watched in terror from high-rise buildings. Police said five attackers and two civilians were killed, while 10 people were...

The World's 5 Most Disaster-Prone Cities

Asia is apparently especially risky, insurer's rankings suggest

(Newser) - In the wake of Chile's earthquake, the Guardian was wondering which cities were the riskiest to live in from a natural-disaster perspective. So they checked with a source with a vested interest in knowing precisely that: The re-insurance company Swiss Re. Here are the five cities it's most...

Military Plane Slams Into Jakarta Homes

2 kids, nanny among 10 dead

(Newser) - An Indonesian air force plane slammed into a military housing complex and ignited a huge fireball today while trying to land in Jakarta, killing all seven people aboard as well as two toddlers and their nanny in a home. The pilot, co-pilot, and five trainees aboard the Fokker F-27 were...

Indonesian Cops Nix Lady Gaga Concert

Permit denied after extremists vow to stop 'Satanic' singer

(Newser) - Religious fanatics appear to have made the world's biggest Muslim country a no-go for Gaga. Police in Indonesia have refused Lady Gaga a permit for her sold-out Jakarta concert, saying they would be unable to guarantee her safety following threats from an extremist group , reports the Guardian . The chief...

Bodies Found at Site of Russian Jet Wreck

Sukhoi Superjet-100 spotted on side of volcano south of Jakarta

(Newser) - The wreckage of a Russian passenger jet that vanished over Indonesia during a demonstration flight yesterday has been located on the side of a volcano south of Jakarta, and rescuers have spotted bodies. Helicopter crews spotted wreckage on a cliff on the side of Mount Salak at an elevation of...

Muslim Group Vows to Stop Gaga Concert

'We will stop her from setting foot here,' warns Jakarta FPI

(Newser) - Conservative Muslims' latest holy war is being waged against Lady Gaga and her Indonesia tour. The extremist Islamic Defenders’ Front (FPI) accuses Gaga of promoting devil worship, and has vowed to mobilize 30,000 protesters to intercept her at the Jakarta airport so she can't perform next month at...

Russian Jet Vanishes Mid-Flight

It may have crashed or been hijacked: Indonesian officials

(Newser) - A Russian Sukhoi SuperJet-100 disappeared during a demonstration flight in Indonesia today, vanishing from radar screens while it was still at high altitudes and failing to land at its appointed time. The plane was last heard from when it requested, and was granted, permission to descend from 10,000 feet...

Stanley Ann Dunham: Barack Obama Reflects on Mom's
 Obama Reflects on 
 Dogged, Flawed Mom 
Profile
Apr 20, 2011 1:05 PM CDT

Obama Reflects on Dogged, Flawed Mom

Reminiscing comes in profile about his time in Indonesia

(Newser) - Barry Obama was just 6 years old when Ann Dunham decided to take him to war-torn Indonesia, and Sunday’s New York Times Magazine examines the reverberations of that decision. On the surface the answer is simple: She was following her second husband, Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian native who’d...

Obama Relives Childhood Memories as Asia Trip Ends

Trip offered opportunities for personal moments

(Newser) - President Obama finished off his 10-day Asia trip on a personal note, visiting the Great Buddha statue in Japan that he last saw as a 6-year-old boy. “It is wonderful to return to this great treasure of Japanese culture,” he wrote in the guest book. "Its beauty...

Obama: 'Indonesia Is Part of Me'

America is not at war with Islam, president tells Jakarta audience

(Newser) - President Obama called for a fresh beginning with the Muslim world in a speech in Jakarta today. Obama, revisiting the nation where he lived for four years as a boy, praised Indonesia for fighting terrorism and called for both the US and the Islamic world to overcome "suspicion and...

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