Stories related to: Indonesia

Illegal loggers and palm oil plantations may make the orangutan the first great ape to become extinct, scientists warn. In Indonesia, a mere 6,600 of the apes remain, while on Malaysia’s Borneo Island, the population has fallen 10% to 49,600, the Telegraph reports. More »

European divers battled a Komodo dragon while waiting 36 hours to be rescued from a deserted Indonesian island, CNN reports. The group, which scavenged for shellfish and pelted the giant lizard with rocks, is dehydrated but suffered minor cuts. Asked if the dragons are dangerous, one expert responded, “Of course! They eat almost everything, including human beings.” More »

Reacting to clients’ demands for sex, some Indonesian masseuses have begun wearing locked pants reminiscent of ancient chastity belts, the Los Angeles Times reports. What began as one parlor entrepreneur's idea to deflect pushy clients has spread and may now spawn legislation. But many, including Indonesia's minister for women’s empowerment, are outraged by the idea. More »

The Olympic torch passed through Indonesia today with little incident and less fanfare, the BBC reports. What was originally supposed to be a 15-mile relay was abbreviated to a few laps around a Jakarta stadium before a crowd of 5,000 carefully credentialed spectators. Outside, police broke up a pro-Tibet demonstration, arresting six of the roughly 100 protesters. More »

In Barack Obama’s stump speeches, his mother is little but a single mom, a cancer victim, a white woman from Kansas. But in life, Stanley Ann Dunham Soetoro was a fascinating figure, a globe-trotting free spirit desperate to help the world. Soetoro never lived to see her son’s political ascendance, but friends see in Obama his mother’s intelligence and morality, the New York Times reports. More »

In a new volley in the back and forth over whether "hobbit" fossils found on an Indonesian island were a separate species, a research team says the remains are those of modern humans suffering from malnutrition-induced dwarfism. Iodine deficiency during pregnancy can result in humans growing less than 3 feet tall—and looking similar to the fossils found in Indonesia, the BBC reports. More »

Barack Obama’s mother is sometimes described just as “a white woman from Kansas,” but Ann Dunham possessed an indomitable spirit and fierce open-mindedness that profoundly shaped her son. Dunham was a single mom and social activist who worked in Indonesia and Pakistan, and consulted for the World Bank and USAID. Bloomberg looks at one of the women behind the man who would be president. More »

At least ten people were killed yesterday when they were crushed in a stampede of fans at a punk rock concert in Indonesia. The victims, mostly teenagers, died as a mob of concertgoers tried to leave the jam-packed venue as others were still streaming in, and the crowd panicked, according to some reports. Other witnesses said drunk fans triggered the panic as they stormed through the crowd. More »

Heavy trains have triggered floods and landslides across the Indonesian archipelago, killing at least 12 people and displacing thousands, Reuters reports. Jakarta's 14 million citizens are wading through knee-high water, and the country's president was forced to abandon his bulletproof car after getting stuck. On Java, more than 10,000 houses were inundated, forcing residents into tents on the street. More »

The death of Suharto, Indonesia's ferociously anti-communist dictator for more than 30 years, leaves islanders ambivalent: On the one hand, he created economic prosperity; on the other, he enriched himself and his cronies, and brutally suppressed opponents, leaving hundreds of thousands imprisoned or dead. "He was 50% good and 50% bad," a historian tells the Christian Science Monitor . More »

Suharto's critics kept quiet today as Indonesia mourned the former dictator on the streets and around TVs, the New York Times reports. Crowds swarmed an ambulance transporting his body, television channels ran nostalgic accounts of his life, and President Susilo Yudhoyono called on the nation to pray for Suharto, saying, "Pray that the deceased’s good deeds and dedication to the nation be may accepted by God the Almighty." More »

Former Indonesian president Suharto, a US Cold War ally whose legacy of economic development was marred by charges of human rights abuses and corruption, died today of organ failure at 86, Reuters reports. Suharto ruled for 32 years until being forced out in 1998; his deteriorating health prevented him from ever going to trial even though accusers allege he had perhaps 1 million opponents killed and had embezzled billions. More »

Longtime Indonesian dictator Suharto's health worsened yesterday as he suffered multiple organ failure. Suharto's condition improved slightly as workers rushed to prepare for what they believed to be his imminent funeral, AFP  reports. Suharto, 86, was forced from power a decade ago after ruling Indonesia with an iron fist for three decades. More »

Suharto, the man who ruled Indonesia with a ruthless resolve for 32 years, is in critical condition with a variety of ailments, BBC reports. President Yudhoyono visited Suharto, who is said to be conscious but drowsy, and told the country to “pray for the best.” The 86-year-old is accused of stealing billions from the treasury during his reign, but he's avoided trials because of his deteriorating health. More »

More than 120 Indonesians are dead or missing after yesterday's landslides and floods, and thousands more are homeless, Reuters reports. A rescue team searched for bodies under yards of mud on steep hills and pulled out 12 with “spades and plows,” said a policeman. Many survivors are living in makeshift shelters in offices, schools, and tents. More »

As candles are lit today in memory of the 230,000 victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the Christian Science Monitor reports on the results of the $13.6 billion effort to help survivors. The aid has largely been used effectively, but now officials worry about the recovering economies after the rebuilding boom peaks and the aid dries up. More »

Three years after it was hit by a devastating tsumani, Aceh is slowly returning to normal, Time r eports. The disaster killed more than 160,000 people in the Sumatran province and wiped out much of its infrastructure. In the years since, aid from all over the world has helped Aceh's people rebuild their towns and their lives. More »

Torrential rainstorms set off landslides and flooding in Indonesia today, the third anniversary of the Asian tsunami, killing as many as 81 people and forcing thousands to flee their homes. The disaster affected several districts on the main island of Java, where residents have been wading through neck-high water. "This is the first time in the last 25 years anything of this scale occurred here," a government official told Reuters. More »

Conflicts between elephant and man are common in Indonesia, fueled by the establishment of plantations ever-deeper into the Sumatran jungle. Since 2002, 42 people and 100 elephants have died in clashes, the Wall Street Journal reports. Enter the “Flying Squad,” four trained elephants and their keepers who patrol the jungle borders, forcing dangerous wild herds away from human areas. More »

Sniping among the 190 nations in attendance isn't keeping the climate talks in Bali from inching forward, Reuters reports. Participants have succeeded in putting together a "special group" to look at post-Kyoto Protocol options, but "the devil's in the detail," cautioned a top UN official. Meanwhile, environmentalists and protesters continue to demand faster action. More »