Muzakir Nurdin, Central Aceh – The immigration office in Central Aceh in Indonesia's western province of Aceh deported three French nationals on Saturday for allegedly participating in the political campaign of a candidate running for regent.

Jakarta – A glittering ceremony at the North Sumatra Stadium in Deli Serdang on Friday night marked the end of the 21st National Games (PON), but the festivities were too late and too little to make up for the controversies that have marred the quadrennial sporting event.

A'an Suryana and Norshahril Saat – Negative reactions in Aceh to the ritual of rain shamanism do not mask the contradiction of parts of the Islamic community tolerating 'Islamic shamanism' or mysticism and ritual over science and modernity.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has pledged to evaluate the 21st National Games (PON) organization in Aceh and North Sumatra following widespread complaints over poor and incomplete infrastructure.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The Banda Aceh Police are investigating a grenade explosion in front of the house of Aceh gubernatorial candidate Bustami Hamzah in Syiah Kuala district, Banda Aceh city.

The city police's criminal investigation department head, Comr. Fadillah Aditya Pratama, said investigators had gathered evidence from the crime scene, including CCTV footage.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) on Wednesday announced a list of candidates the party will field in the November gubernatorial election, which included the name of the now-dissolved Free Aceh Movement (GAM) commander at the top of the ticket in Aceh.

Jakarta – A Regional Representatives Council (DPD) member form Aceh, Sudirman Haji Uma, has written to Jakarta Metro Jaya Regional Police Chief (Kapolda) Inspector General Karyoto requesting that a transgender beauty contest held recently at a hotel in Central Jakarta be investigated.

Aceh – The Aceh Ulama Consultative Assembly (MPU) has rejected Government Regulation (PP) Number 28/2024 on Health, one of the points being that it regulates the provision of contraception for school-aged children.

Zul Akhyar, Banda Aceh – The Ulama Consultative Assembly (MPU) in Indonesia's northern-most province of Aceh has strongly condemned the Miss Beauty Star Indonesia 2024 transgender beauty contest that was held at the Orchardz Industri Hotel Grand Ballroom in Central Jakarta on August 4.

Haryudi, Aceh – The National Statistics Agency (BPS) recently released surprising data about rape cases in Indonesia. Based on the report "Criminal Statistics 2023" issued by the BPS, Aceh emerged as the province with the highest number of rape cases in 2023.

Chris Jewers – Three men have been brutally caned 42 times today for consuming alcohol and breaking Sharia law on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Pictures showed an intimidating executor, or 'algojo', gripping a rattan before carrying out the public caning against four men in front of Islamic court officials.

Jakarta – An incoming councilor from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) has been nabbed for sabu-sabu (crystal methamphetamine) dealing and drug use.

The arrested politician, Sofyan, was elected in the February legislative election to sit at Aceh Tamiang Legislative Council in Aceh.

Deni Ghifari, Jakarta – Alocal company belonging to a Chinese conglomerate is to build a cement factory in South Aceh regency, despite a nationwide moratorium in place since 2020.

Jakarta – Authorities in Aceh are planning to launch raids on restaurants in the province to seize food containing marijuana, as the conservative Muslim region is set to host the country's largest sports event, the National Games (PON), in September.

Irsyan Hasyim, Jakarta – Flooding due to the Krueng Kulu and Krueng Tadu Rivers overflow in Nagan Raya Regency, Aceh, has gradually receded.

Jakarta – The human remains at Rumoh Geudong are strong evidence of human rights violations. The government has an obligation to uncover the truth and bring justice.

Meulaboh, Indonesia – At a damaged temporary shelter in western Indonesia, Rohingya men slick their hair with gel while women apply make-up and colourful hijabs to look the part for prayers at the start of Eid-al-Fitr festivities.

Johannes Nugroho – The orange truck crammed with 75 Rohingya survivors of a capsized boat was told to hurry along by Indonesian police in Beureugang, West Aceh, as dozens of angry villagers gave chase, shouting "[we] reject the presence of refugees here!"

Antara, Meulaboh, Aceh – An Indonesian ulema has appealed to the people of Aceh to remain wise and uphold human values in responding to Rohingya refugees' presence in the province.

Taufik Kelana, Aceh – Four suspects involved in smuggling 75 Rohingya refugees into the waters of West Aceh have been arrested by the West Aceh District Police. Currently, they are awaiting legal proceedings.

Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) is launching an investigation into the human bones that were discovered at the site of a memorial park in Aceh's Pidie regency to commemorate the victims of the Rumoh Geudong tragedy.

Pizaro Gozali Idrus for BenarNews, Jakarta, Indonesia – For the second time in three months, a belligerent and resentful crowd of locals in Indonesia's Aceh province made authorities move dozens of newly arrived Rohingya refugees from their shelter by storming the facility, officials said Wednesday.

Jakarta – Dozens of Rohingya refugees saved after their boat capsized off Indonesia's westernmost coast last week have been forced from their temporary shelter due to local protests, a United Nations refugee agency official said Wednesday.

Jakarta (Agencies) – The bodies of at least five Rohingya refugees have been recovered off Aceh coast after their boat believed to be carrying around 150 people capsized last week, United Nations officials said Monday.

Jakarta – Rescuers called off the search for Rohingya refugees missing at sea after their boat capsized, despite reports from some of the survivors that dozens of people were swept away.

Zach Hope and Karuni Rompies – More than 60 refugees are feared starved at sea or drowned while possibly trying to reach Australia by boat.

The wooden vessel was carrying scores of Rohingya, a persecuted ethnic minority in Myanmar, when it capsized on Wednesday near the city of Meulaboh in West Aceh.

Jakarta – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in a written statement, expressed their deep concern and mobilized support in response to the tragedy when a vessel transporting 151 Rohingya refugees overturned in Aceh, leading to a significant loss of life.

Jakarta – Fishermen in Aceh were scrambling on Wednesday to rescue dozens of Rohingya after high tides capsized their boat in waters off the province, a regional fishing chief said.

Teras.Id, Kabartamiang.Com, Jakarta – RJ and SL, two residents of Kampung Banjir, Karang Baru, Aceh Tamiang Regency, were sentenced to 100 strokes of the cane for being found guilty of adultery.

Both were convicted of violating the Aceh provincial regulation or Aceh Qanun Number 06/2014 on Jinayat, or Islamic criminal law.

Jakarta – Over 130 Rohingya landed on the shores of Aceh province on Thursday, an official at the UN refugee agency said, the latest in a series of such arrivals that have drawn controversy in the Southeast Asian country.

Rebecca Ratcliffe and Ardila Syakriah – In early December, hundreds of Rohingya refugees walked along the shore of Aceh province in Indonesia, with nothing to guide them but the faint glow of lights in a nearby village. After a treacherous journey by boat, they had already been turned away by locals in one area of Aceh and were seeking refuge elsewhere.

Catholic charity Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) has joined other groups to deplore the ongoing smear campaign on social media sites vilifying Rohingya refugees in Indonesia.

A series of anti-Rohingya posts on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X, formerly Twitter, prompted the Indonesian government and media outlets to publish fact-checked articles over the past few days.

Jakarta – An Indonesian navy vessel in Aceh drove away a boat carrying Rohingya from Myanmar, a military spokesperson said, as growing numbers of would-be refugees from the strife-torn country face hostility from locals.

The wooden boat was encountered in waters near Weh Island, off Sumatra, Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesperson Brig. Gen. Nugraha Gumilar said.

Alif Ilham Fajriadi, Jakarta – North Aceh Regency has been hit by flooding since Sunday, Dec. 24, following high-intensity rain in the upstream area of Bener Meriah District, the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) reported.

Jakarta – Civil society activists from a cross-section of organisations suspect that there is a major effort on social media to spread disinformation or false narratives in order to trigger opposition to Rohingya refugees in Indonesia's northern-most province of Aceh.

Uzair Thamrin and Pizaro Gozali Idrus for BenarNews, Banda Aceh and Jakarta – Human rights activists and some observers on Thursday alleged that university students who stormed a Rohingya shelter in Aceh province the day before had been influenced by an "organized" disinformation campaign, which some even linked to the upcoming general election.

Jakarta – Hundreds of university students in Indonesia's westernmost province stormed a temporary shelter for more than a hundred Rohingya refugees on Wednesday, forcing them to leave in the latest rejection of the persecuted Myanmar minority.

UN News – The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has appealed for action in the wake of a mob attack against refugees in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Wednesday.

Hundreds of young people stormed a building basement where scores of Rohingya refugees were sheltered, according to media reports.

Banda Aceh – Students in Indonesia's Aceh province rallied on Wednesday demanding the government drive away Rohingya refugees arriving by boat in growing numbers as police named more suspects of human trafficking.

Joniansyah Hardjono, Jakarta – For the sake of humanity, the Indonesian government must not be hypocritical or wash its hands of Rohingya refugees.

There is no use in blaming some of the people in Aceh who are refusing to accept Rohingya refugees. What should be questioned is the government's phobia about dealing with these waves of boat people.

Jakarta – The central government must help the people and government of Aceh deal with the ongoing influx of Rohingya refugees and, if necessary, take over their humanitarian burden. The beleaguered Rohingya, our Southeast Asian neighbors, have fled their homes and shelters to escape systematic ethnic cleansing and seek a better future.

Nivell Rayda, Lhokseumawe, Indonesia – For two weeks, Mr Mohammad Ershad, his wife and two sons were crammed inside the hull of a wooden fishing boat with 218 others.

To avoid detection by the authorities, the Rohingyas were told by people smugglers to stay below deck for the majority of their 1,800km journey across the treacherous Andaman Sea from Bangladesh to Indonesia.

Moh Khory Alfarizi, Andika Dwi, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud Md explained that Indonesia is only temporarily sheltering Rohingya refugees since the country is following humanitarian principles under its constitution.

Some of the more than 300 Rohingya refugees who arrived on the western coasts of Indonesia last Sunday (10) were transferred to a temporary shelter during the visit of a UN representative.

Nabiila Azzahra A., Jakarta – Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi held one-on-one talks with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi.

Antara, Banda Aceh – The Aceh provincial government's plan to shelter 137 refugees at Pidie district's scout campsite was met with resistance from locals on Monday, December 11, 2023, an Indonesian Inter-Residents Radio (RAPI) Task Force personnel said.

Edna Tarigan and Reza Saifullah, Banda Aceh, Indonesia – Indonesia said Tuesday it is appealing to the international community for help after more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees have arrived on its shores by boat since November.

Riri Rahayu, Daniel A Fajri, Jakarta – Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno hopes that the arrival of Rohingya refugees will not tarnish the image of Indonesian tourism, especially Aceh's tourism.

Reza Saifullah and Edna Tarigan, Aceh Besar, Indonesia – Two boats carrying more than 300 Rohingya Muslims, including emaciated women and children, arrived at Indonesia's northernmost province of Aceh on Sunday morning after being adrift for weeks.

Jakarta – Dilapidated boats carrying an estimated 400 ethnic Rohingya arrived in Indonesia's Aceh province on Dec 10, the chief of a provincial fishing community has confirmed, adding to a recent surge of Myanmar's Muslim minority arriving in the country.