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Barack and Michelle Obama, along with their two daughters, are on a five-day luxurious resort holiday in Bali They will be staying at the Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan, Ubud, where villas overlook lush rice fields The former president will travel to the island of Java to speak at the 4th Indonesian Diaspora Congress Obama's stepfather was Indonesian, and the former president lived in Jakarta for a few years in the late 1960s Barack and Michelle Obama, along with their two daughters, are taking a luxury vacation to Indonesia - where the former president lived in the 1960s. Soldiers...

Indonesia — The rotting carcass of a massive sea creature washed ashore and was discovered Tuesday night on an island in Indonesia. The creature, which measures around 72 feet long, washed up on Seram Island and was discovered by resident Asrul Tuanakota, the Jakarta Globe reports. Tuanakota initially thought the creature was a stranded boat. Many residents speculate the remains are from a giant squid or a whale. Mbs Sangadji posted photos of the creature on Facebook Wednesday afternoon. The post reads: “Giant squid discovered by Asrul Tuanakota on May 10, 2017, at 09:00 IEST. The Giant squid was stranded...

KAPLAN MT Modern Medium Weight Tank developed by FNSS and Indonesian company PT Pindad is showcased during the 13th International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF'17) in Istanbul, Turkey on May 09, 2017. (AA Photo) Turkey's FNSS and Indonesia's PT Pindad unveiled the jointly developed medium weight tank, KAPLAN MT, during the 13th International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF) in Istanbul Wednesday. FNSS CEO Nail Kurt said at a news conference the KAPLAN MT program represents not only a new product but also the implementation of a new approach for cooperation in the multinational defense industry. Kurt said that in line with FNSS'...

The Christian governor of Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday for committing blasphemy against Islam. While running for governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, also known as “Ahok,” said his opponents were inaccurately citing the Quran to say voters cannot vote for a non-Muslim. Despite trying to make Islam seem like a more tolerant religion, Purnama’s comments were reportedly edited and shared in a video that caused mass protest and outrage from the Islamic community. On Nov. 2016, at least 200,000 Islamic protesters took to the streets of Jakarta and demanded Purnama be thrown in jail...

An Indonesian court has sentenced the minority Christian governor of Jakarta to two years in prison for blaspheming the Koran at a trial that undermined the country's reputation for practicing a moderate form of Islam.

...Saudi Arabia has, for decades, been making investments of a different sort—those aimed at influencing Indonesian culture and religion. The king’s current visit is the apex of that methodical campaign, and “has the potential to accelerate the expansion of Saudi Arabia’s cultural resources in Indonesia,” .. Since 1980, Saudi Arabia has devoted millions of dollars to exporting its strict brand of Islam, Salafism, to historically tolerant and diverse Indonesia. It has built more than 150 mosques (albeit in a country that has about 800,000), a huge free university in Jakarta, and several Arabic language institutes; supplied more than 100 boarding...

Jakarta - US President Donald Trump will attend three important summits in Asia this November, as a sign of firm and unwavering commitment to building strong foundation shared between US and Asian nations, Vice President Michael Pence confirmed. President Trump is planning to attend the US-ASEAN summit and the East Asia summit in the Philippines, as well as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam. "Our relationship without any doubt has benefited both ASEAN and America, diplomatically, economically and from the standpoint of national security," he said while visiting the headquarters of Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Jakarta,...

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Vice President Mike Pence praised Indonesia's democracy and moderate form of Islam after meeting Thursday with the president of the world's most populous Muslim nation. The comments, though routine, had significance for Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who a day earlier suffered a serious political setback when a political ally was defeated by Islamic conservatives in the election for Jakarta governor. The divisive campaign undermined the image of Indonesia abroad as a generally tolerant Muslim nation. ---snip--- Indonesia is on Trump's trade hit list of nations that he considers the U.S. is losing out to in...

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Jakarta’s first Christian governor in generations lost his re-election bid on Wednesday, according to unofficial results, after a heated sectarian campaign that underscored the influence of hard-line Islamists in the world’s most populous Muslim nation. Although the results were not final, early counts showed a decisive victory for Anies Baswedan, a Muslim candidate whose supporters portrayed the race as a referendum on the power of Islam in shaping the politics of Indonesia’s capital.(snip) The incumbent governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, was known for tough anti-corruption drives and challenges to hard-line Muslim groups that have taken on an increasingly...

My River flows for you my children and not by any works of your hands but it is by my Grace , if nothing else was done by you " Behold I AM complete in my sacrifice for all " ,therefore die to self and just allow Me to be your first fruit in and through all for I AM your very breath and spirit ! Now just abide in Me " The Vine" and allow Me to love on you where you are right now by just releasing your yoke of works to Me for I AM your Glory...

Tens of thousands of Indonesians gathered at the national mosque in the capital on Saturday for mass prayers urging people to vote for a Muslim governor of the city as the country prepares for regional elections next week. The crowds overflowed from Istiqlal Mosque in the heart of Jakarta into the surrounding streets. Clerics gave sermons calling on people to protect Islam and vote for Muslim candidates. Police denied hard-line groups permission to march through the city. […] Protests against the minority Christian governor of Jakarta drew hundreds of thousands of people to the city’s streets in November and December...

Indonesia's military chief says Australia has apologised over "offensive" training materials used at an army base in Perth. General Gatot Nurmantyo accepted the apology from the chief of Australia's army, the Indonesian military said. Indonesia last month said it had put all defence co-operation on hold, before clarifying the suspension was for one language-training programme. The nation said the materials referenced several sensitive topics. They were "soldiers in the past, East Timor, Papuan independence and 'Pancasila'", a reference to Indonesia's founding philosophy, Gen Nurmantyo said last month.

With more than 16,000 students, Universitas Pelita Harapan is one of the largest Reformed Christian universities in the world. Started just 22 years ago, the university offers a law school, medical school, engineering school, and teachers college—all from a distinctly Reformed worldview. “We don’t even have that in the United States or Europe,” said Ric Cannada, chancellor emeritus for Reformed Theological Seminary. “Here it is in Indonesia. Isn’t it just like the Lord to do something like this in the least likely place—the country with the largest Muslim population in the world?” Though Christians compose only 10 percent of Indonesia’s...

“PANCASILA”, a word that embodies the Indonesian national philosophy, is at the centre of a high-profile spat between Australia and its close neighbour. Many Australians may be scratching their heads at the Indonesia’s reaction to an apparent play on words making fun of their national ideology, but one expert has explained why it’s so offensive. According to Indonesia’s Kompas newspaper, the country suspended relations with Australia in early December after an Indonesian special forces trainer who was teaching at an Australian military facility in Perth discovered writing that insulted Pancasila, the national philosophy. Associate Professor Greg Fealy of the Australian...

Indonesia has suspended all military cooperation with Australia, the ABC reports. The move was reportedly made over 'offensive' training materials on display at an Australian SAS base in Perth. Major General Wuryanto has not confirmed the reason for the suspension, saying it was for technical matters, and that there were "ups and downs in every cooperation between two national forces". According to Indonesian newspaper, Kompas, an Indonesian Special Forces instructor took offence to some “laminated material” at the Perth base.

A Catholic group has filed charges against an Islamic leader for insulting Christianity based on a sermon he gave urging Muslims not to allow Christians to greet them "Merry Christmas."

What is happening? Jakarta’s governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known by his nickname Ahok, will face the first day of his trial on charges of blasphemy on Tuesday. Ahok, a Christian of Chinese descent, angered religious conservatives after he referenced a verse from the Islamic holy book, Al-Maidah 51 of the Qur’an, on the campaign trail in September. Ahok rather boldly told voters they should not be duped by religious leaders using the verse to justify the claim that Muslims should not be led by non-Muslims.An edited version of that speech was later posted online with several words omitted, making...

Bomb plot by Indonesian terrorists targeted at Jakarta Presidential Palace: Police Jakarta police spokesman Awi Setiyono showing a photograph of the "rice cooker bomb". Jakarta police spokesman Awi Setiyono showing a photograph of the "rice cooker bomb".ST PHOTO: FRANCIS CHAN JAKARTA - The woman arrested by Indonesian anti-terror police in Bekasi, West Java on Saturday with a home-made bomb, had planned to strike at Istana Merdeka in Jakarta on Sunday (Dec 11). The police said the female suspect, identified only with the initials DYN, was given the 3kg "rice-cooker bomb" by two accomplices to mount a suicide-bombing in the capital....

The capital of the world’s biggest Islamic country was the scene Friday of the latest in a series of mass demonstrations by Muslims demanding that the Christian governor of Jakarta be punished for “blasphemy.” More than 22,000 police officers were deployed to maintain control of the “Defend Islam” rally, which drew an estimated 150,000 people. The protesters already chalked up one victory earlier this week, when the Attorney General’s Office announced that it will proceed with a trial against Gov. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama. Unappeased, they continue to demand his immediate arrest. The U.S. Embassy closed its consular section Friday and...

<p>Indonesian police arrested a third Islamic State-linked militant Sunday accused of plotting to bomb the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta, as anger grows at a violent military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims.</p> <p>The militants -- all from a domestic cell affiliated with the Syria-based jihadist group -- had amassed enough explosives to create bombs more powerful than those used in the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people, police say.</p>