Indonesia

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Five People Stayed Afloat Four Days Before Sea Rescue

Survivors clung to fishing trap, boat debris in Indonesia

(Newser) - An improbable maritime rescue is making headlines out of Indonesia. Five of the people who vanished after a passenger boat went down off South Sulawesi on Wednesday were found alive Saturday—four days after the sinking—reports the Anatolian News Agency . One of the survivors is a 7-year-old girl, per...

Separatists Say They Killed an American Pilot

They accuse him of transporting Indonesian troops into West Papua

(Newser) - A Papua separatist group said Thursday it shot dead an American pilot who allegedly transported Indonesian troops into the restive province. A spokesman for the West Papua Liberation Army, or TPNPB, said its fighters fatally shot Nicholas F. Goselin and set fire to an aircraft operated by PT AMA, an...

They Kissed on a TikTok Livestream, Then Got Caned

Unmarried pair in Indonesia's Banda Aceh punished for alleged violations of Islamic law

(Newser) - A young couple in Indonesia's conservative Aceh province were publicly caned on Thursday after a Shariah court convicted them of violating Islamic law by kissing during a TikTok livestream. Aceh's Sharia court ordered the two people to be whipped with a rattan cane 21 times each for kissing...

Single Brutal Storm Wiped Out 7% of Rarest Great Ape
4 Days of Rain Wiped
Out 7% of Rarest Great Ape
new study
Jun 11, 2026 6:15 PM CDT

4 Days of Rain Wiped Out 7% of Rarest Great Ape

About 800 Tapanuli orangutans live in 3 isolated populations in Batang Toru

(Newser) - A four-day deluge in Indonesia killed off 7% of an entire species of endangered great ape, a new study has found. Researchers say roughly 39 inches of rain fell as Cyclone Senyar hit Indonesia's North Sumatra province last November, triggering landslides that, per satellite imagery, brought down about 20,...

Researchers Have Surprisingly Good News on Mangroves

Decades of global decline have reversed since 2010

(Newser) - Mangroves, long seen as casualties of coastal development, are quietly clawing their way back. A new global study published in Science finds that since 2010, Earth has actually added more mangrove forest than it has lost—reversing decades of net decline driven by fish farming, agriculture, and urban growth. Researchers...

Guide on Fatal Hike Says He Was Oblivious to Warnings

Reza Selang recounts watching 2 people get crushed on Indonesia's Mount Dukono

(Newser) - A man who guided hikers up one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes says he had no indication the trip would turn fatal in seconds . "I still can't believe it," Indonesian guide Reza Selang tells the BBC , claiming he was unaware Mount Dukono was off-limits, having erupted...

Hikers Defy Volcano's Restricted Zone, Pay With Their Lives

At least 3 in group of 20 killed when Indonesia's Mount Dukono erupts

(Newser) - An explosive eruption of Mount Dukono on a remote Indonesian island killed three hikers, authorities said Friday. About 20 climbers set out Thursday to ascend the nearly 4,445-foot volcano on the island of Halmahera, in defiance of safety restrictions, said North Halmahera police chief Erlichson Pasaribu. They became stranded...

After Moment of Hesitation, Primate Takes Big Leap of Faith

Sumatran orangutan is first ever to use artificial canopy bridge to cross a public road

(Newser) - A Sumatran orangutan has been filmed for the first time using a human-made canopy bridge to cross a public road on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, conservationists said Monday. Rapid development has been shrinking the jungle habitat of the critically endangered species, and fatal conflicts with people have been increasing....

Jakarta Goes After Its Invasive 'Janitor Fish'

Mass operation in Indonesia aims to remove 10 tons of suckermouth catfish from polluted waterways

(Newser) - Cheers broke out in Indonesia's capital on Friday as residents, city workers, and environmental volunteers hauled bulging nets of invasive fish to the surface of a reservoir in an operation to crack down on "janitor fish." Authorities are seeking to remove at least 10 tons of the...

Undersea Earthquake Sets Off Small Tsunami

7.4 earthquake off Indonesia kills at least one person

(Newser) - An undersea magnitude 7.4 earthquake toppled buildings in parts of northern Indonesia, sent people fleeing from their homes, killed at least one person, and generated a small tsunami Thursday, the AP reports. Strong shaking lasting 10 to 20 seconds was felt in Bitung in North Sulawesi province as well...

Avalanche of Garbage Kills 7 at Landfill

Tragedy strikes in Indonesia after heavy rains

(Newser) - A massive avalanche of garbage at Indonesia's largest landfill killed seven people after heavy overnight rain triggered a rubbish dump collapse, officials said Tuesday. More than 300 search-and-rescue personnel, using heavy machinery and sniffer dogs, were deployed to the sprawling dump site late Sunday at the Bantargebang Integrated Waste...

'Suitcase Murder' Convict Pleads Not Guilty in US

Tommy Schaefer served 11 years in Indonesia prison before he was sent back to US next week

(Newser) - A Chicago man convicted in Indonesia of beating his then-girlfriend's mother to death with a fruit bowl and hiding the body in a suitcase more than a decade ago pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal charges in the US. Tommy Schaefer was sentenced in Indonesia to 18 years in...

These Faint Handprints Change What We Know About Art

Indonesian handprints are the oldest cave art found yet

(Newser) - Handprints on cave walls in a largely unexplored area of Indonesia may be the oldest rock art studied so far, dating back to at least 67,800 years ago. The tan-colored prints analyzed by Indonesian and Australian researchers on the island of Sulawesi were made by blowing pigment over hands...

X Limits Grok After Backlash Over Deepfakes

Move follows global backlash and California probe into AI deepfakes

(Newser) - Elon Musk's AI chatbot is getting a new dress code. X said its Grok AI model will no longer let users alter photos of real people to make them appear in skimpy or suggestive outfits, after mounting alarm over sexually explicit deepfakes in the US, UK, and elsewhere, the...

6 Family Members Went on Tour Boat. Only 2 Returned

Rescuers are looking for Spanish nationals after vessel sank off Indonesian island of Padar

(Newser) - Indonesian rescuers searched for four members of a Spanish family on Saturday after a tour boat carrying 11 people sank overnight near Padar Island, a popular destination within Komodo National Park, officials said. The boat was carrying the family of six, four crew members, and a local guide when it...

World's Rarest Ape Lives Near a Gold Mine. That's a Problem

Conservationists say expansion work puts critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan at risk

(Newser) - A little-known ape could be the collateral damage of a very well-known metal. In northern Sumatra's Batang Toru rainforest, new access roads are being laid toward the Tor Ulu Ala pit, a part of Indonesia's Martabe gold mine. Conservation group Mighty Earth says one road has already come...

Pregnant Woman Among Dead in Horrific Office Fire

Death toll currently at 22 after building blaze in Indonesian capital of Jakarta

(Newser) - A fire ripped through an office building in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on Tuesday, killing at least 22, including a pregnant woman, police said. Flames engulfed the seven-story building, sending thick black smoke billowing and causing panic among nearby residents and workers, per the AP . The fire, which broke...

Indonesian Zoo Shows Off Rio, Newborn Panda Cub

The male reportedly has displayed early signs of good health

(Newser) - A zoo on Java island has released photos of Indonesia's first locally born giant panda cub, saying the male cub was showing signs of being in good health. The mother, 15-year-old Hu Chun, gave birth to Satrio Wiratama—nicknamed Rio—on Nov. 27 at the zoo's facility in...

Hundreds Dead, Missing in Southeast Asia Floods

Indonesia and Sri Lanka especially hard hit

(Newser) - The number of dead and missing in Southeast Asia continues to climb after some of the heaviest rainfall in years:
  • More than 400 are dead in Indonesia, and hundreds more are missing in the three provinces of North Sumatra, West Sumatra, and Aceh, according to the National Disaster Management Agency,
...

World's New Biggest City Last Ranked 33rd
The World Has a New
Biggest City
in case you missed it
Nov 30, 2025 6:41 AM CST

The World Has a New Biggest City

Jakarta surpasses Tokyo

(Newser) - The world has a new most populous city. According to a new United Nations report , Jakarta has overtaken Tokyo, which previously held the top spot but is shrinking due to Japan's aging population. The Indonesian capital, which sat in 33rd place in the last ranking in 2018, now has...

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