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☆ New mission could reveal secrets of the moon’s ‘hidden side’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

In one lunar region, Japan’s “Moon Sniper” mission has beaten the odds and survived three long, frigid lunar nights since its sideways landing on January 19. The Tianwen-2 mission will visit the space rock later this decade. But first, China has set its sights on returning to the moon’s “hidden side.”An illustration depicts the far side of the moon, with Earth behind it. Since the Chang’e 4 mission in 2019, China remains the only country to have landed on the moon’s far side, sometimes called the “dark side” of the moon. Scientists hope that returning samples from the far side could solve some of the biggest remaining lunar mysteries, including the moon’s true origin.

Persons: Graziano Ranocchia, Ranocchia, Plato, Emma Pomeroy, “ She’s, ”, Pomeroy, Armas Rakus, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, Kevin Bacon, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Engineers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA, Apollo, Platonic Academy of Athens, University of Pisa, Netflix, University of Cambridge, Norton Disney, Archaeology Group, Roman, International Space, CNN Space, Science Locations: China, Kurdistan, Gunung Leuser, South Aceh, Indonesia, Morocco

☆ Scientists witnessed an orangutan treating his wounds with medicinal plants, showing human-like behavior
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Ellyn Lapointe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

They believe it was caused by a neighboring male in what's known as a "long call battle," Laumer told Business Insider. Adult male orangutans like Rakus shout out "long calls" to attract females and let rival males know that this is their territory. Rakus may have unintentionally touched his leaf-mush-covered finger to his face, and instantly felt the pain-relieving properties of the plant, Laumer explained. But, because this is the first time this behavior has ever been observed in orangutans, scientists can't say for sure why or how Rakus did it. More alike than we are differentRakus's behavior reminds us a lot of our own behavior with medicinal plants, which could help us understand where our knack for medicinal treatment first evolved.

Persons: —, Caroline Schuppli, Isabelle Laumer, Laumer, Rakus, liana, Akar, Saidi, seng chye teo Organizations: Service, Institute of Animal, Business, Suaq Locations: Gunung Leuser, South Aceh, Indonesia, Gabon

☆ Here’s how to see the upcoming worm moon lunar eclipse
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A glowing worm moon will light up the sky on Monday with a celestial performance in store for people venturing out in the early morning hours — a penumbral lunar eclipse. The moon looks slightly darker during a 2023 penumbral lunar eclipse in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. It’s not going to be a super dramatic change in what we see in the moon,” Schmoll said. The penumbral eclipse comes about two weeks before a total solar eclipse that will cross Mexico, the United States and Canada on April 8. While a penumbral eclipse is not as dramatic as a total lunar eclipse with the moon appearing an eerie red, there is no special equipment required to view a lunar eclipse such as the viewing glasses needed for a solar eclipse, Schmoll said, allowing for lunar eclipses to be viewed with the naked eye.

Persons: Mahyuddin, Dr, Shannon Schmoll, “ It’ll, It’s, ” Schmoll, you’re, Schmoll, • Lyrids, Alpha Capricornids, Perseids, Draconids, Orionids, Leonids, Geminids, Ursids Organizations: CNN, Farmers, Getty, Michigan State University, NASA, American Meteor Society, Alpha Locations: Banda Aceh, Indonesia, AFP, Europe, North, East Asia, Australia, Africa, North America, South America, Mexico, United States, Canada, Asia

☆ Prabowo Subianto: Once banned from the US, this fiery ex-army general is poised to lead Indonesia
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

“The most important objective of democracy is giving people the leaders and representatives they want,” Prabowo told reporters from his pool. Antara Foto/Galih Pradipta/ReutersMany are excited about a Prabowo presidency, like this hardcore supporter who has clearly taken his support to the extreme. Bagus Saragih/AFP/Getty ImagesMore recently, Prabowo has presented himself as a loyal Jokowi ally, serving as his defense minister for the past five years. Experts say Prabowo, known for his fiery speeches, military background and combative past will make for a very different kind of president. Indonesia has long been one of Australia’s most important bilateral relationships and experts say that will not change with Prabowo in charge.

Persons: Prabowo Subianto, ” Prabowo, Prabowo, Indonesia’s, Partai Probawo, Gibran, “ Prabowo, ”, Zachary Abuza, Abuza, “, Antara, Pradipta, Saragih, Widodo, Barack Obama, Tom Pepinsky, Rodrigo Duterte, Javier Milei, Trump, ” “, Dita Alangkara, Jokowi, Jacqui Baker, Laura Schwartz, Schwartz, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Adek Berry, Chong Ja Ian, Suharto, –, Dan Slater, Prabowo “, ” Slater, Chaideer Mahyuddin, Chong, Juni Kriswanto, Usman Hamid, Papuans, Veronica Koman, ” Koman Organizations: CNN, National War College, Getty, Southeast Asia, Cornell University, “, Center, Research, Senior Southeast, National University of Singapore, Center for Emerging Democracies, University of Michigan, Muda Airforce, Amnesty International Locations: Jakarta, United States, South Jakarta, Washington ,, AFP, Indonesia, Singapore, Ukraine, Russia, China, Australia, Asian, Perth, Asia, Beijing, Washington, “ Washington, Sultan, Muda, Aceh, West Papua, South China, Tentara Nasional Indonesia, Southeast Asia, “, Papua, Amnesty International Indonesia, restive, Indonesian, East Timor

☆ AI ‘resurrects’ long dead dictator in murky new era of deepfake electioneering
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“As a member of Golkar, I am very proud of Suharto because he successfully developed Indonesia,” Aksa wrote on X. The Golkar-produced Suharto video was just one of dozens featured in official party campaigns, they said. AI photos made by supporters, have also been used by Ganjar’s party in his campaign. Indonesia’s Communications Ministry issued advisories following several viral AI videos, warning tech companies and voters to be cautious of deepfakes. TAPP (Tim Advokasi Peduli Pemilu), a Jakarta-based nonprofit, said that videos like the Suharto deepfake showed AI’s potential for voter manipulation.

Persons: Suharto, ”, Erwin Aksa, Golkar –, Prabowo Subianto, –, ” Aksa, Golda Benjamin, Ganjar, Darryl Ramadhan, Muhammad Zulfan Dalimunthe, ” Budisatrio, Prabowo’s, Ganjar Pranowo, Anies Baswedan, Anies, ” Anies, TAPP, Tim Advokasi Peduli, Suharto deepfake, Gugum Ridho, Rahmat Pribadi, Suharto Suharto’s, Soe Tjen, Anton Pratama, “, ” Anton Organizations: CNN, Facebook, YouTube, Golkar, Asia Pacific, ”, Gerindra Party, Central Java Gov, Ganjar’s Democratic Party of, Jakarta Gov, Indonesia’s Communications Ministry, Getty, SOAS University of London Locations: Indonesia, Indonesian, Asia, Jakarta, Lubuk Pakam, North Sumatra, AFP, Gugum Ridho Putra, East Timor, Aceh, West Papua, Maluku, Yogyakarta

SYDNEY (AP) — Across a treacherous stretch of water, the Rohingya came by the thousands, then died by the hundreds. 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. On Thursday, Indonesian officials said another boat carrying Rohingya refugees landed in the country’s northern province of Aceh. Global indifference toward the Rohingya crisis has left those languishing in the overcrowded camps with few alternatives to fleeing. “Of course I understand how dangerous the boat journey by sea is,” Ayub says.

Persons: —, Marzuki, Andi Susanto, ”, Babar Baloch, — that’s, Mohammed Ayub, Myanmar’s, Ayub, ” Ayub, “, It’s, UNHCR’s Baloch, Mohammed Taher’s, Mohammed Amin, Taher, ” Taher, Niniek Karmini Organizations: SYDNEY, United Nations ’, UNHCR, Fishermen, Associated Press Locations: Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bengal, Andaman, Aceh, Lhokseumawe, Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, UNHCR’s, Jakarta

☆ Campaigning gets underway in Indonesia for February presidential election
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Recent surveys have showed former special forces commander Prabowo leading with Ganjar second and Anies a distant third. Prabowo and his vice-presidential pick Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of President Widodo, will start their campaign at a later date. The candidates will appear in debates organised by the election commission in the coming weeks, with no schedule unveiled so far. About 205 million of Indonesia's more than 270 million population are eligible to vote in the election. Reporting by Ananda Teresia, Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor, Martin PettyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Prabowo Subianto, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Ganjar, Anies Baswedan, Muhaimin Iskandar, Ganjar Pranowo, Joko Widodo, Prabowo, Mahfud, Muhaimin, Widodo, Ananda Teresia, Kanupriya Kapoor, Martin Petty Organizations: Defence, Java, Thomson Locations: Mahfud, Jakarta, JAKARTA, Indonesia, Papua, Aceh province, Anies, Muhaimin Iskandar, East Java's Surabaya, Prabowo

“My house was only meters away from the path where flood water passed,” said Asmia, who, like many Indonesians, uses one name. At the refugee camp, “it was miserable,” she said. However, in Indonesia, where patriarchal culture is deeply rooted, women’s roles are habitually diminished, and women are often overlooked in many fields of work. “Women are often left out and not allowed to do many roles in Aceh, especially at the village level.”While it required months of discussion, the village leaders were eventually convinced to let the women become rangers. A name was picked for the initiative: Mpu Euteun, or someone who looks after the forest.

Persons: ”, Asmia, “, Damaran Baru, Rubama, Mpu Organizations: Nature, Environment Aceh Foundation Locations: Damaran, Indonesia, Aceh, Indonesian

Rohingya traditionally take to sea in October, at the end of the rainy season, on journeys fraught with danger. Of 3,572 Rohingya who have left on 34 boats this year, 31% of them were children, data showed. In 2022, one of the deadliest years for the Rohingya at sea, a fifth of the about 3,705 people who fled were children. "Children making the boat journeys was not a trend before," said Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh's refugee relief and repatriation commissioner based in Cox's Bazar. With little hope of settling in Bangladesh or being accepted elsewhere, they feel they have no choice but to take to sea, Rahman said.

Persons: Riska, Chris Lewa, Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Rahman, taka, Mohammed Taher, Ruma Paul, Sudipto Ganguly, Krishna N, Das, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Rights DHAKA, Malaysia, Thomson Locations: Sabang, Aceh province, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bangladeshi, Cox's Bazar, Arakan, Southeast Asia, Indonesia's Aceh, South Asia, Dhaka, Mumbai

☆ Hundreds of Rohingya come ashore in Indonesia, joining about 1,000 this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

During November to April, when the seas are calmer, many members of the persecuted minority leave Myanmar on rickety boats for Thailand, Muslim-majority Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia. Mitra Salima Suryono, a spokesperson for the U.N. refugee agency in Indonesia, said there did not appear to be any particular reason for the big number of Rohingya arriving. Mitra said Aceh villagers had tried to prevent hundreds of Rohingya arriving in the Bireuen area in northeast Sumatra last week although they eventually came ashore on Sunday. For years, Rohingya have left Buddhist-majority Myanmar where they are generally regarded as foreign interlopers from South Asia, denied citizenship and subjected to abuse. Usman Hamid, the director of rights group Amnesty International Indonesia, called for authorities to take in the Rohingya and talk with neighbours, especially Malaysia and Thailand, where Rohingya also often stop.

Persons: Rohingya, Adek, Mitra Salima Suryono, Mitra, Usman Hamid, Stanley Widianto, Robert Birsel Organizations: Reuters, Indonesia's, Amnesty International, Thomson Locations: JAKARTA, Indonesia's Aceh, Myanmar, Thailand, Muslim, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sabang, Aceh, Sumatra, South Asia, Bangladeshi, Cox's Bazar, Amnesty International Indonesia

☆ Hundreds more Rohingya refugees arrive in Indonesia's Aceh
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Rohingya Muslim women and children rest, following their arrival in Kulee village, Pidie regency, Aceh province, Indonesia, November 19, 2023. REUTERS/Riska Munawarah Acquire Licensing RightsACEH, Nov 19 (Reuters) - More than 500 Rohingya refugees originally from Myanmar landed on the shores of Indonesia's Aceh province on Sunday, the fourth wave of arrivals this week, a local UNHCR official said. The refugees, who arrived at various parts of the province including Bireuen, Pidie and East Aceh, have overwhelmed local facilities, Munawaratul Makhya, a UNHCR official, told Reuters. Almost 1 million Rohingya are living in camps in Bangladesh in what U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi described as "the biggest humanitarian refugee camp in the world". Indonesia's Foreign Ministry said the Southeast Asian country "has no obligation nor capacity to accommodate refugees, let alone to provide a permanent solution".

Persons: Riska, Rohingya, Rohingyas, Filippo Grandi, Hidayatullah Tahjuddin, Dewi Kurniawati, David Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, UNHCR, Reuters, Ministry, UN, Thomson Locations: Kulee, Aceh province, Indonesia, Rights ACEH, Myanmar, Indonesia's Aceh, Bireuen, Pidie, East Aceh, Muslim, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand, Jakarta

☆ Finnish Nobel Peace laureate and former president Ahtisaari dies at 86
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Anne Kauranen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari poses with his medal and diploma during the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in Oslo December 10, 2008. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsHELSINKI, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Nobel Peace laureate Martti Ahtisaari, who served as Finland's 10th president between 1994 and 2000, died on Monday at the age of 86, the Finnish president's office said in a statement. Ahtisaari was celebrated around the world for brokering peace in conflict zones in Kosovo, Indonesia and Northern Ireland. All conflicts can be settled, and there are no excuses for allowing them to become eternal," Ahtisaari said when he accepted the Nobel award in 2008. Several months afterwards, the Nobel committee gave him the peace prize, citing work on multiple continents over more than three decades.

Persons: Martti Ahtisaari, Ints, Ahtisaari, Mara, Martti, Finland's, Slobodan Milosevic, Eeva, Marko, Anne Kauranen, Ritsuko Ando, Sonya Hepinstall, Alex Richardson, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Soviet, Social Democrats, Finland's European Union, NATO, Finland's Ministry, Foreign Affairs, EU, Yugoslav, Crisis Management, Free Aceh Movement, Nokia, Thomson Locations: Oslo, Rights HELSINKI, Finnish, Kosovo, Indonesia, Northern Ireland, Finland, Soviet Union, Ukraine, Viipuri, Russia, Pakistan, Tanzania, Namibia, South Africa, Aceh, Balkans

☆ Panji Gumilang: Islamic preacher arrested for blasphemy in world's largest Muslim-majority country
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Unlike other Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia, its prayer sessions do not follow gender segregation, angering some religious groups. Police did not specify what Panji had said or done that constituted blasphemy but said they were acting on public complaints. In June, Indonesia’s Islamic Clerical Council said it was investigating Al-Zaytun for “misguided religious practices,” according to CNN affiliate CNN Indonesia. “He is after all, a public figure with millions of supporters… With all this happening, we don’t know what could happen,” he told CNN Indonesia. There is nothing wrong with him (a Muslim cleric) promoting women’s rights – something is terribly wrong with blasphemy laws,” he added.

Persons: Panji Gumilang, Djuhandhani Rahardjo, ” Djuhandhani, ”, Panji, Al, Hendra Effendy, Andreas Harsono, ” Andreas Organizations: CNN, Indonesian National Police, Criminal Investigation Agency, “, Police, Islamic Clerical, CNN Indonesia, Human Rights Watch, Rights Locations: Indonesia, Indramayu, West Java, Jakarta, Aceh, Islam, Chinese

☆ UK band The 1975 cancels Indonesia, Taiwan shows after Malaysia LGBT controversy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 23 (Reuters) - British band The 1975 said on Sunday they have cancelled shows in Taiwan and Muslim-majority Indonesia, a day after Malaysia banned them from performing there after their frontman kissed a bandmate on stage and criticised the country's anti-LGBT laws. "Unfortunately, due to current circumstances, it is impossible to proceed with the scheduled shows," the pop rock group said in a statement, without elaborating. Malaysia's government halted a music festival in the capital Kuala Lumpur on Saturday and barred The 1975 after what it called "disrespectful actions". Homosexuality is a crime in Muslim-majority Malaysia. It was not immediately clear why the band cancelled their July 25 show in Taiwan, which has a proud reputation as a bastion of LGBT rights and liberalism, including allowing same-sex marriage in 2019.

Persons: Matty Healy's, Martin Petty, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Malaysia, Rights, Southeast, Southeast Asia LGBT, Thomson Locations: Taiwan, Muslim, Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Jakarta, Aceh province, Southeast Asia

☆ Indonesia starts reparations programme for victims of its bloody past
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Ananda Teresia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JAKARTA, June 27 (Reuters) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday launched an unprecedented reparation programme for victims of past human rights abuses by the state, a project critics fear will compensate only a small fraction of those who suffered. "Today we can start restoring the victims' rights," said Jokowi, who came to office in 2014 promising to take up the issue. The compensation will range from educational and health incentives to house renovations, and visas for victims in exile. Research by Indonesia's human rights commission, in cooperation with civil society groups, has estimated there are between 500,000 and 3 million victims and survivors of the 1965 bloodshed. "We will try our best to reach more victims," Anis said.

Persons: Joko Widodo, Suharto, Jokowi, Sri, Anis Hidayah, Anis, Maria Catarina Sumarsih, Ananda Teresia, Martin Petty Organizations: Thomson Locations: JAKARTA, Aceh, Papua, Sri Winarso

☆ Exxon settles Indonesia torture case that led to SEC official’s ouster
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Reuters —Exxon Mobil on Monday settled a long-running human rights lawsuit with villagers who claimed soldiers Exxon hired to guard a natural gas facility in Indonesia committed murder and torture. The two sides said in a Washington, DC federal court filing that they had resolved the 2001 case. Agnieszka Fryszman, a lawyer for the Indonesian villagers at law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, said the terms are confidential. The lawsuit also sought to hold Exxon accountable for alleged atrocities committed by the soldiers. Oh, who did not return to the law firm after her SEC resignation, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ Exxon Mobil Settles Indonesians’ Long-Running Abuse Suit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Erin Mulvaney | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Exxon Mobil headquarters in Spring, Texas Photo: Meridith Kohut for The Wall Street JournalExxon Mobil has reached a settlement with Indonesian villagers who sued the oil giant more than 20 years ago for alleged human-rights abuses by contract soldiers hired to guard the company’s operations in Aceh province. The settlement, announced in a court filing Monday, comes ahead of a widely anticipated trial that was scheduled to begin May 24. The villagers sued in U.S. court in 2001, alleging the soldiers committed atrocities including sexual assault, torture, and murder at or near ExxonMobil’s large natural gas operations in the Arun field.

☆ Bodhi Mani Risby-Jones: Australian surfer faces possible flogging after alleged naked, drunken rampage in Indonesia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —An Australian man arrested in a conservative area of Indonesia over an alleged violent rampage faces the possibility of prison time and a public flogging, authorities have said. Bodhi Mani Risby-Jones, 23, from Noosa in southern Queensland, was arrested after allegedly attacking and injuring a local fisherman while drunk. It is the only Indonesian province officially practicing Sharia law, enforced by religious police officers known as the Wilayatul Hisbah, and outlaws homosexuality, adultery, alcohol and gambling. The police chief said Risby-Jones would have a choice over whether to be prosecuted under Sharia law or provincial law. If found guilty under Sharia law he faces the possibility of 40 lashes and up to 2.5 years jail.

☆ More than 180 Rohingya Muslims arrive by boat in Indonesia's Aceh
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, March 27 (Reuters) - More than 180 Rohingya Muslims landed in Indonesia's Aceh province on Monday, officials said, the latest among hundreds who have fled by boat from desperate conditions in Myanmar and in camps in Bangladesh. A spokesperson for the local police, Kamil, confirmed by phone that 184 Rohingya had arrived in East Aceh district and were "all in healthy condition". Since November last year, Indonesia has registered 918 Rohingya who reached Aceh, its westernmost region, according to the foreign ministry, having made the journey south in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Nearly 1 million Rohingya live in crowded conditions in Bangladesh, among them those who fled a deadly crackdown in 2017 by Myanmar's military, which denies committing crimes against humanity. Reporting by Ananda Teresia and Stanley Widianto; Editing by Martin PettyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Snoop Dogg launches new coffee line INDOxyz inspired by trip to Indonesia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN —Rapper and entrepreneur Snoop Dogg is expanding his business empire yet again, this time branching out into a line of premium coffee products with beans sourced locally from Indonesia. “My relationship with coffee goes way back,” Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, said in the statement. “The many long nights in the studio making hit after hit, coffee provided the fuel which kept us going. Snoop’s coffee beans will be sourced from Gayo, a region in Aceh on the island of Sumatra. In addition to releasing more than a dozen studio albums and receiving multiple Grammy nominations as a rapper, Snoop Dogg has been expanding his business empire.

☆ Risking death at sea, Rohingya Muslims seek safety in Indonesia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Hidayatullah Tahjuddin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PIDIE, Indonesia, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Crying with relief after a traumatic 40-day voyage to Indonesia in a leaky boat, Rohingya Muslim Fatimah bin Ismail held a mobile phone with shaky hands as she made a video call to relatives. The 19-year-old was among 174 surviving Rohingya in the overloaded wooden fishing boat when it washed up on the shores of Indonesia's Aceh province this week. Then after 12 days water started coming into the boat," Fatimah told Reuters. The Rohingya are a Muslim people from mainly Buddhist Myanmar, where they have long suffered repression. Many try to get to Muslim-majority Indonesia, where the UN refugee agency says nearly 500 Rohingya have reached land in the past six weeks, or to Malaysia.

☆ Rohingya recount stories of hunger and desperation in escape to Indonesia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

PIDIE, Indonesia — Rohingya Muslims who survived a harrowing 40 days on a boat across the Indian Ocean to end up in Indonesia have recounted stories of hunger and desperation, saying more than 20 of those on board died on the way. Rohingya men resting at a shelter in the Pidie district of Aceh province on Monday. A Rohingya child rests in a temporary shelter in Laweueng on Tuesday. Rohingya attempting sea crossings to Thailand and Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia often set off between November and April when seas are calmer. Indonesia has seen nearly 500 Rohingya reach its shores in the past six weeks, according to the UNHCR.

☆ At least 20 reported dead as Rohingya boats land in Indonesia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PIDIE, Indonesia, Dec 27 (Reuters) - At least 20 Rohingya have died at sea in recent weeks, the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday, as boats carrying hundreds of the persecuted Muslims landed in Indonesia while others were believed to be adrift in the Indian Ocean. Chris Lewa of the Arakan Project, which provides support to Rohingya, said the boat was the same as one earlier reported missing and feared to have sank. Some activists believe the lifting of COVID restrictions around Southeast Asia, a favoured destination for the Rohingya, could be a factor. The group is the latest in a series of boat landings and rescues around the region in recent weeks. There were 57 other Rohingya who reached Aceh on Sunday, while two other boats carrying a combined 230 people landed in November.

[1/2] Rohingya refugees rescued by fishermen are seen on a boat behind a patrol boat near the coast of Seunuddon beach in North Aceh, Indonesia, June 24, 2020. In Buddhist-majority Myanmar, most Rohingya are denied citizenship and are seen as illegal immigrants from South Asia. Nearly 200 Rohingya are feared dead or missing at sea this year already. "We hope against hope that the 180 missing are still alive somewhere out there", said UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch. Two boats carrying a total of 230 Rohingya refugees, including women and children, landed on the shores of Indonesia's Aceh province in November, while this month, Sri Lanka's navy rescued 104 Rohingya adrift off the Indian Ocean island's northern coast.

Indonesian lawmakers passed a sweeping new criminal code on Tuesday that criminalizes sex outside marriage, as part of a tranche of changes that critics say threaten human rights and freedoms in the Southeast Asian country. The new code, which also applies to foreign residents and tourists, bans cohabitation before marriage, apostasy, and provides punishments for insulting the president or expressing views counter to the national ideology. “All have agreed to ratify the (draft changes) into law,” said lawmaker Bambang Wuryanto, who led the parliamentary commission in charge of revising the colonial-era code. “The old code belongs to Dutch heritage … and is no longer relevant.”The world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia has seen a rise in religious conservatism in recent years. Under the laws, sex outside marriage carries a potential one-year prison term, and the crime of blasphemy, already on Indonesia’s books, could now lead to a five-year prison sentence.

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