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The Kongsberg NASAMS adapts the Raytheon AMRAAM as a ground-based air defense system. (Photo: Kongsberg) Indonesia has become the first country in Asia to acquire the Kongsberg Norwegian advanced surface-to-air missile system (NASAMS) , a medium-range surface-to-air missile system based on the Raytheon advanced medium-range, air-to-air missile (AMRAAM). Announced on October 31 by the Norwegian arms maker, the $77 million contract will be for one complete unit of the NASAMS, including “command posts, radars, launchers, radios and integration, and training and logistics support.” Although it is unclear how many launchers were requested, Kongsberg literature suggests that a standard network consists...

when agriculture minister Alexander Tkachev suggested exporting pork to Muslim-majority Indonesia, Putin saw the funny side. "Indonesia is a Muslim country, they do not eat pork..." Putin said giggling. "Ok. South Korea then," responded Tkachev. "Production growth is a result of increasing... It does not matter!"

Indonesia’s parliament on Tuesday endorsed a presidential decree that gives officials sweeping powers to ban organizations deemed as threats to national unity. The decree, signed in July by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, has already been used to ban Hizbut Tahrir, an Islamic organization that advocates for a global caliphate. It required parliamentary approval to become permanent law. […] The decree allows officials to sidestep the courts when banning organizations it deems contrary to the country’s constitution. It was issued following months of sectarian tensions in the world’s most populous Muslim nation that shook the government and undermined its reputation for...

The left has been seriously embarrassed by the stories of communist atrocities, corruption and monumental failures that have been pouring out of Eastern Europe since the collapse of the communist regimes there. The carefully cultivated image of communists as honest humanitarians dedicated to helping the poor and downtrodden has been thoroughly demolished. But American leftists are fighting back, trying to counter these stories by calling attention to the alleged sins and crimes of the United States. Hence the success of a recent disinformation operation that resulted in a spate of stories in U.S. newspapers and magazines charging that the our...

Life is great if God is at the center, even if we are poor, says former Muslim. Balut Island: Her parents' religion did not prevent Evangeline Musaling-Pacinabo to embrace the Catholic faith and help spread the Good News on a remote island in the southern Philippines. Evangeline's Muslim parents migrated from Indonesia to the small island of Balut in the southern province of Davao Occidental in the 1940s, during the height of World War II. As years passed, some of the migrants and their children became Catholics with the blessing of their non-Catholic parents.

The US knew people were being "delivered for slaughter" during a political purge in Indonesia during the 1960s, declassified documents reveal. At least 500,000 people were killed between 1965 and 1966, after the army and local Muslim militia went on a rampage following an attempted coup. It was one of the worst massacres of the 20th century, but, at the time, Washington remained silent. But these newly released memos reveal they had detailed knowledge of events. The documents show US staff describing them in telegrams as "slaughter" and at times "indiscriminate killings", exposing an intimate knowledge of the Indonesian army's...

The KAPLAN MT Modern Medium Weight Tank, first tank-class vehicle exported by Turkey's defense industry, was presented to the public Thursday by the Indonesian Army in Cilegon during an official parade on National Armed Forces Day. The parade in the coastal West Java city included nearly 6,000 soldiers and Indonesia's most modern imported weaponry including warships, helicopters, submarines and the KAPLAN MT tank. Pindad Chairman Abraham Mose told Anadolu Agency he is pleased by the completion of the tank project. "This project is the proof that we can produce high technology defense vehicles with our own efforts without being dependent...

Mount Agung in Bali is experiencing unprecedented levels of seismic activity and could erupt in a “matter of hours” if tremors continue, Indonesia’s volcanology centre has said. More than 75,000 people have been evacuated in the last few days as Agung, the highest point of the island, has experienced hundreds of internal volcanic earthquakes. “Instrumentally we have never recorded such high energy or seismicity from Mount Agung,” Devy Kamil Syahbana, a seismologist from Indonesia’s centre for volcanology and geological hazard mitigation, told the Guardian. Data showed that Mount Agung experienced 844 volcanic earthquakes on Monday, and 300 to 400 earthquakes...

Vehicles laden with food, masks and bedding have been dispatched to help more than 75,000 people who have fled a volcano on the tourist island of Bali, as rising magma and increased tremors fuel fears of an imminent eruption. Mount Agung, about 75 kilometres (47 miles) from the Indonesian tourist hub of Kuta, has been rumbling since August, threatening to erupt for the first time since 1963. "The chance that an eruption will happen is quite big. But it cannot be predicted when it will happen," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the disaster mitigation agency, said. The increased frequency of...

The hijab and abaya have taken centre stage on the New York runway as up-and-coming Indonesian designers kicked off an increasingly diverse fashion week, hoping to change prejudices in the west. “We’re not oppressed and we just want to show the world that we still can be beautiful and stylish with our hijab on,” said designer Dian Pelangi, 26, who has 4.8 million followers on Instagram. She was one of five Indonesian designers who presented collections at the show in Chelsea on the first day of fashion week. Two of the five fell into the category “modest fashion” – in...

The Indonesian Navy (Tentara Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Laut) has commissioned its first attack submarine in over three decades this week. The first out of three ordered Type 209/1400 Chang Bogo-class (a license-built variant of the German Type 209 sub) diesel-electric attack submarine was handed over by South Korean defense contractor Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) on August 2. The new boat was subsequently inducted into the Indonesian Navy in a commission ceremony at the Okpo shipyard shipyard in Geoje Island, in the southeastern part of South Korea attended by senior Indonesian officials including Indonesian Minister of Defense Ryamizard Ryacudu on...

Husbands in Purbalingga are apparently neglecting their wives because they are too busy with their racing pigeons. As a result, dozens of married women have filed divorce petitions because they have become jealous of their husbands’ intimacy with the animal.

Former President Barack Obama delivered a speech overseas Saturday, warning that some nations are becoming too nationalistic. Speaking to a crowd in Jakarta, Indonesia, Obama argued some countries had adopted “an aggressive kind of nationalism,” adding that there has been an “increased resentment of minority groups.” Though he largely stayed away from discussing President Donald Trump, Obama spoke out against the isolationism and increased nationalism that he sees as a global problem. “We start seeing a rise in sectarian politics, we start seeing a rise in an aggressive kind of nationalism, we start seeing both in developed and developing countries...

Former President Barack Obama on Saturday warned against “aggressive” nationalism and the loss of tolerance and respect for others, pushing back against President Donald Trump’s policies without mentioning his successor by name. “The world is at a crossroads,” Obama said at a speech opening the Fourth Congress of Indonesian Diaspora in Jakarta. He said the world must fight “discrimination against people based on race or ethnicity or religion.” Without that, Obama said, “We start seeing a rise in sectarian politics.” “We start seeing a rise in an aggressive kind of nationalism,” he said. “We start seeing both in developed and...

Former United States president Barack Obama arrived in Bali on Friday evening for a family vacation. His Gulfstream G-V N50JE aircraft landed at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali at 6.52 p.m. local time, or a bit late from its initial schedule of 5.55 p.m. Wearing a blue T-shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers, Obama was seen relaxed and smiling when he embarked from the plane, witnesses reported. Meanwhile, former First Lady Michelle Obama, who wore a white T-shirt and blue jeans walked by his side. Obama's daughters, Malia and Sasha, also joined the vacation. Journalists did not...

Obama kicks off tropical holiday in Indonesia [AFP] AFPJune 23, 2017 Soldiers gather for security prepartions in Denpasar on Indonesia's resort island of Bali, on June 23, 2017, ahead of a visit by former US president Barack Obama Soldiers gather for security prepartions in Denpasar on Indonesia's resort island of Bali, on June 23, 2017, ahead of a visit by former US president Barack Obama (AFP Photo/SONNY TUMBELAKA) Barack Obama kicked off a 10-day family holiday in Indonesia that will take in Bali and Jakarta, the city where he spent part of his childhood, officials said on Saturday. The casually...

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...