KOMPAS.com • April 2, 2021

Zakiah Aini, the Lone Wolf Attacker of the National Indonesian Police

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Investigations carried out by the Indonesian National Police [Polri] have found that the Islamic State still cast its shadow over Indonesia, particularly the role of women in carrying out attacks. IS continued to inspire Indonesian radicals who has taken action after getting radicalized by IS propaganda online, or joined their proxies such as Jamaah Ansharut Daulah [JAD], a group in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia which swore allegiance to Islamic State. A tre

KOMPAS.com • April 1, 2021

Chinese Citizen Found Hanged in a Jakarta Apartment

KOMPAS.com - A Chinese national who is identified as CZ was found dead hanging on the fourth floor of a Jakarta apartment on Wednesday, March 31. Police Commissioner (Kombes) Ady Wibowo, West Jakarta Police chief, confirmed the incident, saying that the cause behind the death is still under investigation. "The motive is still being investigated," said Ady in a statement received by Kompas.com Thursday, April 1. Ady said the case has been handled by the Palmerah Sub-Precinct Police. Also read

KOMPAS.com • March 30, 2021

Animals Gone Wild: 3-Meter-Long Cobra Almost Bites Online Taxi Driver

PEKANBARU, KOMPAS.com - Passersby in the Bangau Sakti neighborhood of the city of Pekanbaru, the provincial capital of the Indonesian province of Riau, went on a hunt for an escapee who had gone on the run on Monday, March 29, at 2 pm local time. But this escapee is no desperate inmate fleeing the local penitentiary. Instead, the 'fugitive' is a 3-meter-cobra which terrified humans inhabiting the area. 24-year old Alexandra, a carwash worker, first spotted the reptilian escapee. "I saw the cob

KOMPAS.com • March 30, 2021

Indonesia to Reopen for Foreign Tourists Mid-Year

KOMPAS.com - Indonesia hopes to welcome back vaccinated foreign tourists by the middle of this year, to be precise around June to July, the month when travel restrictions may be lifted. "We continue to finalize the preparation for the Safe Travel Corridor Arrangement in Bali, Batam and Bintan. For Bali, there are three areas included, namely Nusa Dua, Sanur and Ubud,” Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno said in a weekly press briefing at the ministry's building in Jakarta Monday,

KOMPAS.com • March 29, 2021

Massive Blast Occurs at Indonesia's West Java Oil Refinery

INDRAMAYU, KOMPAS.com - A powerful explosion occurred at one of the tanks of Indonesia's Balongan oil refinery owned by the state oil firm Pertamina in Indramayu regency, West Java on Monday, March 29. Pertamina Subholding Refining and Petrochemical Corporate Secretary Ifky Sukarya said the fire was suspected to have been caused by lightning that occurred in the early hours of Monday. "The tank at the RU VI Balongan refinery caught fire at 00:45 am. It occurred during heavy rain and lightning,

KOMPAS.com • March 27, 2021

Belgian Man, His Indonesian Wife Brings Belgian Tastes to Yogyakarta

KOMPAS.com - Like millions of people in Indonesia and around the world, event organizer Veronica Tri Haryanti and her husband, Belgian tour organizer Michael Van Den Bremt, has been economically affected by Covid-19, as the pandemic curtailed travel and crowded events. Van Den Bremt and his wife were forced to reinvent themselves as the coronavirus hit their bottom line. The two then set up shop in a ruined warehouse on Jalan [street] ]Tirtodipuran at Yogyakarta's Mantrijeron district, and tur

KOMPAS.com • March 27, 2021

Tongkonan Lempe, North Toraja, indonesia's Land Above the Clouds

KOMPAS.com - For visitors to South Sulawesi province's Tana Toraja or North Tana Toraja regencies are an otherworldly experience that make one feel like they stepped back in time. The highlands draw travelers seeking clean, mountain air and eclectic traditional cultures. These range from houses and buildings built according to Tongkonan architecture with their boat shaped roofs, macabre rituals involving the mummies of the local people's loved ones to Toraja's eponymously named coffee, which is

KOMPAS.com • March 25, 2021

Indonesia Still Reviews Face-to-Face Learning

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Online learning will still be continued during the Covid-19 pandemic as the government has yet decided whether face-to-face learning will be implemented anytime soon, Kompas.com learned. Masduki Baidlowi, a spokesperson for Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, said the government has yet decided whether in-class learning will be conducted as a mass vaccination program is still taking place to achieve a target of 70 percent herd community. "To achieve it [herd immunity] is not easy

KOMPAS.com • March 23, 2021

The Absence of Indonesia in 2021 All England Open

KOMPAS.com - No winning medal was brought home by the Indonesian badminton team from the All England Open this year, but they won the hearts of the nation who welcomed them as heroes upon their arrival at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport near the capital. "Praise God that the All England team finally arrived. If I may say, they are the true Indonesian fighters they have left and participated in the competition,” said secretary general of the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) Listy

KOMPAS.com • March 22, 2021

President to Inaugurate Indonesia's North Halmahera Airport Terminal This Week

TERNATE, KOMPAS.com - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is scheduled to inaugurate the new terminal of Kuabang Kao Airport in North Halmahera Regency on Wednesday, March 24, an official said recently. To ensure the smooth running of the event, all preparations and supporting facilities have been done by the North Maluku Provincial Government by holding a joint meeting with relevant agencies and the North Halmahera Administration on Saturday, March 20. "Several agreements related to the event have

KOMPAS.com • March 20, 2021

Tubing Down the River at Sindangkasih Garut Tourism Village

KOMPAS.com - As an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, 300 ethnicities, and countless natural landscapes, Indonesia is an intriguing country that never runs out of surprises. One of the most practical, cost effective ways to get an authentic feel of the archipelago's various cultures and traditions is by going to any one of a number of tourist villages throughout Indonesia. For travelers from Jakarta, Bandung and other cities in the region, the Homestay Sindangkasih Tourist Village in the

KOMPAS.com • March 19, 2021

Groundbreaking of New State Palace to be Held Next April

SAMARINDA, KOMPAS.com - Indonesia is moving a step closer to building its new capital in East Kalimantan province, as President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will lay the first stone of the new, hitherto unnamed city in early 2021. "We will start the groundbreaking ceremony for the new presidential palace, which is the center of the new capital, next April," said East Kalimantan governor Isran Noor, as quoted by the East Kalimantan Provincial Administration on Thursday. "East Kalimantan's heterogeneous

KOMPAS.com • March 18, 2021

Ex-Dream Theatre Drummer Mike Portnoy Applauds Indonesian YouTuber Who Plays Instruments Out of Recycled Waste

BENGKULU, KOMPAS.com - Indonesian YouTuber Deden Pramana, 29, who goes by Deden Noy, posted some covers of Dream Theatre songs on his YouTube account, showing his talents to play a drum set which is made out of recycled materials. The recycled materials comprise a bucket, plastic water bottles, and tin cans. His cymbal is made out of circle-shaped metal that is usually used for cooking. Besides Dream Theatre, he has also covered rock genre and heavy metal such as Avenged Sevenfold, System of D

KOMPAS.com • March 16, 2021

Singapore Mulls Reopening Borders by Year-End, Says Singapore PM

KOMPAS.com - Singapore would reopen its borders by the end of 2021 as more countries had begun the Covid-19 mass vaccination programs to contain the spread of the virus. "Hopefully by the end of this year or next year, the doors can start to open, if not earlier," channelnewsasia.com quoted Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's interview with BBC on Sunday, March 14. Lee hoped that by the end of the year, more people will be vaccinated so that countries could reopen borders for people t

KOMPAS.com • March 15, 2021

Indonesia Scheduled to Hold Isbat Meeting on April 12

KOMPAS.com - The Religious Affairs Ministry, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and other related institutions in Jakarta will hold an isbat (confirmation) meeting on April 12 to determine the start of the holy month of Ramadan 1422 Hijriah or 2021. "The isbat meeting will be held on April 12, 2021," the ministry's director general of Islamic Community Guidance Kamaruddin Amin told Kompas.com on Sunday, March 14. The results of this meeting will determine the first day of the fasting month. Th

KOMPAS.com • March 13, 2021

Indonesian Tourism Minister Hails Karangrejo's World-Class Homestays

mi MAGELANG, KOMPAS.com - Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy [Menparekraf] Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno has given rave reviews to the homestay lodgings of the Karangrejo Village Economic Center (Balkondes) in Magelang, Central Java, near the Borobudur temple. "This is probably one of the best homestays I have ever seen with world-class standards," Sandiaga said during his visit to the place on Friday, March 12. It did not take long to see why he spoke highly of the place. Set in a green, coo

KOMPAS.com • March 12, 2021

Indonesia to Focus on Sei Ular Border With Malaysia

NUNUKAN, KOMPAS.com - Indonesia is particularly focusing on its border with Malaysia along the estuary of the Sei Ular river in North Kalimantan province's Nunukan regency, after Malaysian authorities repeatedly nabbed Indonesian nationals for illegally crossing the border. Indonesian officials went to Sei Ular last Wednesday to see the maritime boundaries firsthand. The officials came from the National Border Management Agency (BNPP), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemenlu), the Ministry of

KOMPAS.com • March 11, 2021

Some Citizens Have No National Identity Document, Says Indonesian Minister

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Indonesian government through Social Affairs Ministry and Home Affairs Ministry are identifying vulnerable populations in an effort to provide social protection programs for them. The vulnerable populations include the homeless and indigenous people who have yet formally registered and have no national identity document. "The citizens who have not received their civil rights in the form of identity document include the homeless and beggars in urban areas as well as th

KOMPAS.com • March 9, 2021

Internal Dynamics of the Democratic Party in Indonesia

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The internal dispute of the Democratic Party continued after a handful of senior cadres successfully held an extraordinary congress, or known as KLB, in Deli Serdang, North Sumatera on Friday, March 5. The KLB appointed presidential chief of staff Moeldoko as chairman of the party to unseat Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) from the party leadership. Moeldoko's appointment was then challenged by AHY, saying that the congress was illegal and unconstitutional as it did not foll

KOMPAS.com • March 8, 2021

Indonesian Authorities Thwart Smuggling of 23,000 Lobster Seeds

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - A joint operation by the Indonesian Police and other law enforcement agencies thwarted the smuggling attempt of 23,942 lobster seeds through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang near Jakarta on Friday, March 5. The lobster seeds were disguised as garment products, according to the police official website humas.polri.go.id. The Fish Quarantine Agency, Quality Control and Safety of Fishery Products (BKIPM) head, Rina, said that the lobster seeds were being ship