Indonesia

Over 11,500 flee West Papua town after clashes

It comes as violence continues to rock Papua and West Papua provinces, where dozens have died during clashes.

An official with the country's social ministry said the air force has flown around 7,500 people out of Wamena after unrest there in the past month.

Reuters reports Harry Hikmat saying another group of nearly 4,200 residents left on commercial flights.

A police spokesperson said the situation in Wamena is now stable, with shops and markets again open.

     

Thousands of West Papuan students return home over safety fears

Racist harassment of Papuan students in university dormitories in Javanese cities last month sparked weeks of widespread protests and unrest in Papua.

While Indonesian police have started investigations into the harassment, many students claim they continue to face threats and feel unsafe.

As of Monday, 2047 students had been recorded by Papua's provincial government as having left their studies to return to their home region since August.

The majority of the students are from Highlands regencies in Papua.

Families 'cheated of Boeing crash compensation'

Lawyers told the BBC that many families were persuaded to sign forms preventing them from taking legal action.

BBC Panorama has discovered that other relatives signed similar agreements after two other crashes, stopping them from suing Boeing in the US courts.

Boeing has declined to comment on the agreements.

All 189 passengers and crew died when the Boeing 737 Max crashed into the sea just 13 minutes after taking off from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on 29 October 2018.

Within weeks, relatives were offered compensation by insurance lawyers.

Indonesia's Pacific trade show kicks off in New Zealand

Dozens of government and private sector representatives from the Pacific are in Auckland for the Pacific Exposition this week.

On Friday, the foreign ministers of Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia will hold talks, where human rights issues in West Papua are expected to be raised.

Indonesia's ambassador to New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga, Tantowi Yahya, said he hopes to bring economic benefit to the Pacific through trade and tourism.

Papua death toll rises and 4000 evacuated after Sentani floods

Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency says 70 people were killed by landslides in Jayapura regency and seven others died from floods in Jayapura city.

Rescue teams are searching for 43 people still missing.

More than 4000 people have been evacuated to six locations and more than 11,000 families have been affected by the flash flooding.

According to reports, the disaster management agency has attributed the floods to deforestation and encroachment on a nature reserve in the Cyclops mountains over the past 15 years.

Fears of new Indonesia tsunami as Anak Krakatau volcano seethes

On Saturday, giant waves crashed into coastal towns on the islands of Sumatra and Java, killing at least 222 people and injuring 843.

It is thought that volcanic activity set off undersea landslides which in turn generated the killer waves.

Anak Krakatau was erupting again on Sunday, spewing ash and smoke.

Video shot from a charter plane captured the magnitude of the event in the Sunda Strait, between Sumatra and Java.

President Joko Widodo has expressed his sorrow for the victims and urged people to be patient.

'Volcano tsunami' hits Indonesia after Krakatoa eruption

The country's disaster management agency says hundreds of buildings were damaged by Saturday's tsunami.

It says the possible cause of the tsunami was undersea landslides after the Krakatoa volcano erupted.

The strait, between the islands of Java and Sumatra, connects the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean.

The disaster management agency warned that the death toll after the tsunami, that struck at about 21:30 local time (14:30GMT) on Saturday, is likely to rise further.

Deaths have been reported in the Pandeglang, South Lampung and Serang regions.

Mass arrests over West Papua demos in Indonesian cities

It's 57 years since the Papuan Morning Star flag was first flown officially when the indigenous people of the former Dutch New Guinea declared independence.

Demonstrations to mark the anniversary occur annually in Papua region, other parts of Indonesia, and in cities around the world.

Indonesian police and security forces were out in large numbers to crack down on the demonstrations which have grown in recent years in non-Papuan cities.

Lion Air crash: Investigators say plane was 'not airworthy'

The Boeing 737 Max plane crashed into the Java Sea shortly after departing from Jakarta on 29 October.

A preliminary report has found technical problems had been reported on previous flights.

The 737 Max is a new version of Boeing's original 737 and has become its fastest selling plane.

The preliminary report details what is known by authorities about the short time the plane was in the air, but investigators said it did not give a definitive cause for the accident.

What's in the report?

Boeing 737 plane crashes in sea off Jakarta

Flight JT 610 was on a scheduled flight to Pangkal Pinang, the main town in the Bangka Belitung Islands.

It lost contact with ground control a few minutes after take-off, and was last tracked crossing the sea - it is unclear if there are any survivors.

The plane was a Boeing 737 MAX 8, a brand new type of aircraft.

Flight JT 610 took off from Jakarta at 06:20 local time on Monday morning (23:30 GMT on Sunday).