A design flaw, inadequate pilot training and poor flight crew performance contributed to a Boeing jet crashing in Indonesia last year, killing all 189 people on board, investigators said Friday, in what one aviation analyst called a "damning" report.The Lion Air disaster was followed months later by a second crash – involving the same model of aircraft – when an Ethiopian Airlines plane went down with 157 people aboard, leading to the global grounding of Boeing's entire 737 MAX

Indonesian President Joko Widodo Wednesday named his election arch-rival – a former general accused of abuses – as defence minister, a move which dismayed human rights activists.Widodo unveiled his new cabinet at an informal presentation, with more than three dozen new ministers in eye-catching batik shirts sitting in front of the imposing neoclassical columns of the Merdeka Palace.Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, beat Prabowo Subianto in April elections to secure another term as president

Families of those killed when a Lion Air plane crashed off Indonesia last year are expected to meet safety regulators on Wednesday to be briefed on a final report into the disaster that could be released within days.All 189 passengers and crew died when the 737 MAX jet slammed into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff from Jakarta last October.The model was grounded worldwide after an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crashed after taking off from Addis Ababa in March, killing 157 people aboard.Prelim

In June 2017, a video of a policeman accepting a bribe in Indonesia went viral. The video was especially intriguing because the bribe came in the form of a durian which the police officers had tried to haggle for from an initially reluctant driver.In 2016, the United States (US) Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor noted that the Indonesian police force was plagued by corruption, and bribery is widespread, presenting companies with higher risks.

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo was sworn in for a second term on Sunday, as helicopters flew overhead and troops kept watch in the capital Jakarta – days after Islamist militants tried to assassinate his top security minister.Foreign heads of state, lawmakers and political rivals looked on as Widodo, 58, and Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, 76, read an oath to start a five-year tenure leading the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation.Outside parliament, red-and-white Indonesian flags dotted pa

Indonesia's human rights commission called for a probe into scores of deaths in Papua on Friday after some of the deadliest violence in years swept the restive region.Dozens were killed when riots broke out in Wamena city last month, with some victims burned alive when buildings were set ablaze, and others stabbed in the chaos.Since mid-August, Papua has been hit by waves of mass protests and violence fuelled by racism against indigenous Papuans by Indonesians from other parts of the arc

A controversial law critics say would weaken Indonesia's anti-corruption agency came into effect Thursday after it sparked nationwide protests that left at least three students dead and scores injured.The new bill was introduced as the Southeast Asian nation is on high alert ahead of President Joko Widodo's second-term inauguration Sunday, after Islamic State-linked militants tried to assassinate a government minister.Under tight security in the capital Jakarta on Thursday, about a

Indonesian leader Joko Widodo ordered beefed-up security measures Friday after two militants from an Islamic State (IS)-linked terror group stabbed his chief security minister, with the politician in hospital recovering from emergency surgery.Police were searching for more suspects in the wake of the assassination attempt on Wiranto, a 72-year-old former army chief who goes by one name.The minister was knifed twice in the stomach as he left his vehicle in Pandeglang on Java island during an o

More than 16,000 scared residents have fled an unrest-hit city in Indonesia's Papua region, the military said Monday, as one of the deadliest eruptions of violence in years sparked calls for an independent probe.Several dozen people were killed when violence broke out in Wamena city last month, with some victims burned alive when buildings were ablaze, and others stabbed in the chaos, according to authorities.Since mid-August, Papua has been hit by waves of mass protests and violence fue

Based on a recent figure by SHARE, a flagship project of the ASEAN Education Sector, there are 7,000 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Southeast Asia with around 12 million students currently being enrolled.