Australian trafficker Corby back home amid media storm

Yahoo – AFP, May 27, 2017

Australian Schapelle Corby was jailed after being arrested in Bali in 2004 with
marijuana stashed in her surfing gear (AFP Photo/SONNY TUMBELAKA)

Australian Schapelle Corby returned home Sunday following her deportation from Bali 12 years after her conviction for drug trafficking, as she battled through a media storm in a dramatic end to a saga that captivated her homeland.

Corby and her sister Mercedes avoided cameras when she touched down in the eastern city of Brisbane early on Sunday morning, with live television broadcasts showing a convoy of vehicles believed to be carrying them leaving the airport.

"It is with gratefulness and relief that this morning we mark Schapelle Corby's return to Australia," a member of her security team said, reading out a family statement at Brisbane airport.

"We would like to say thank you to Schapelle's supporters for all the faith, love and support they have shown over the years... Priority of focus will now be on healing and moving forward."

The beauty school dropout hit the headlines in Australia when she was arrested in 2014 at Bali airport with several kilos of hashish stashed in her surfing gear, and was jailed the following year for 20 years.

Corby, now 39, maintained her innocence, insisting the drugs had been planted, and received much support back home where some believed she had been set up or was the victim of a supposedly corrupt justice system.

Her final day on the Indonesian resort island was a blaze of media attention, as she was hustled out of a villa with her face hidden under a scarf, and then chased by a huge pack of journalists before boarding a flight home.

In a final twist, she managed to outsmart the media by heading back to Brisbane on a different flight than had been widely expected, apparently to avoid travelling with a large contingent of reporters.

It was not clear if she was heading to her mother Rosleigh Rose's home in Loganlea, south of Brisbane, or to her sister's residence in the Gold Coast.

Day of drama

Her mother said this week she was worried about how Corby would adjust to living in Australia amid the media frenzy.

The family were also waiting for Corby to return home so she could help scatter her father's ashes at a secret location after his death nine years ago from cancer.

Corby was led out of the Bali villa, hidden under a scarf and wearing a pair of

 sunglasses, before being whisked away in a convoy that included armoured

vehicles. (AFP Photo/SONNY TUMBELAKA)

"Her dad and her were really close," Rose told the Gold Coast Bulletin on Friday.

"When we are all in touch, when it's the right time, we're going to put his ashes where he wanted... We can't do it without Schapelle."

The day of drama was a fitting finale to a story that has fascinated the Australian public like few others in recent times.

Unlike in Australia, Indonesia's press dubbed her "The Ganja Queen" and she received little sympathy from the public, who largely support the country's tough anti-drugs laws.

Corby's sentence was cut due to regular remissions and after an appeal to the president, and she served nine years behind bars. She was released early in 2014 but was required to remain on Bali for three years under the conditions of her parole.

Australian media descended on Bali en masse ahead of her homecoming, camping out outside her villa for several days as Corby did her best to stay hidden.

Hundreds of police were deployed to provide security on Saturday. Corby was led out of the villa in the afternoon, hidden under the scarf and wearing a pair of sunglasses, before being whisked away in a convoy that included armoured vehicles.

She headed first to government offices to fill out documents. "Good bye to this parole paperwork," she posted on her Instagram account, which already had over 67,000 followers just a few hours after being set up.

She later posted a photo of her looking out of a plane window, with the word "Boarded".

Corby then headed to the airport, boarding a flight on airline Malindo Air at 10:00 pm (1400 GMT). She had been widely expected to fly on a Virgin service leaving 10 minutes later. Australian journalists had been booked to travel on the Virgin flight, Australian media reported.

Despite the controversy surrounding her case, Indonesia has stepped up its campaign against drug use since she was jailed.

Authorities have embarked on a campaign of executions targeting drug smugglers, and in April 2015 put to death two Australians along with six other foreigners.

Indonesian men caned for gay sex before jeering crowd

Yahoo – AFP, Nurdin Hasan, May 23, 2017

The two men received 83 strokes of the cane each after being found guilty
of breaking sharia rules in conservative Aceh province (AFP Photo/
CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN)

Banda Aceh (Indonesia) (AFP) - Two Indonesian men were caned Tuesday in front of a jeering crowd as a punishment for gay sex, in a first for the Muslim-majority country where there is mounting hostility towards the small LGBT community.

The pair received 83 strokes of the cane each after being found guilty of breaking sharia rules in conservative Aceh province, the only part of Indonesia that implements Islamic law.

The men, aged 20 and 23, were led onto a raised stage outside a mosque in front of a crowd of thousands, who jeered and booed loudly.

The pair, whose identities have not been revealed, were dressed in white robes and bowed their heads as they were whipped by officials wearing brown cloaks and masks with eye slits.

One of the men grimaced occasionally and the other showed little emotion.

Before the caning, Abdul Gani Isa, a member of the Acehnese clerics' council, told the crowd the caning was "a lesson for the public".

"Lessons carried out with our sharia law are conducted in a very thoughtful way, are educational and do not violate human rights," he said.

Their sentences, which were carried out in the provincial capital Banda Aceh, were reduced by two strokes of the cane due to time already served in detention.

The caning took place in conservative Aceh province but gay sex is not illegal 

elsewhere in Indonesia, which has the world's biggest Muslim population

(AFP Photo/CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN)

The gay men were caught together in March by vigilantes who burst into the house where they were staying.

Shaky phone footage of the raid that circulated online showed the vigilantes kicking, slapping and insulting the men, with one of them slumped naked on the ground during the attack.

Anti-gay sentiment

Public caning has long been common for offences such as gambling and drinking in Aceh, which was given the right to implement sharia law in 2001 as part of a deal with the central government aimed at ending an insurgency.

The punishment is carried out with thin rattan canes, with people still clothed while the strokes are delivered. It causes pain but does not normally inflict permanent damage, and the canings are as much about public humiliation as hurting those guilty of breaking sharia law.

Tuesday's caning was the first time such a punishment has been meted out for gay sex since a sharia regulation came into force two years ago banning the practice.

Eight other men and women were publicly caned on the same day after being found guilty of breaking sharia laws.

Gay sex is not illegal elsewhere in Indonesia, which has the world's biggest Muslim population.

While rights groups have repeatedly expressed alarm over the strengthening of sharia law in Aceh, many of those living in the staunchly Islamic province support the rules.

The two men were sentenced after a trial at a sharia court in Banda Aceh last 

week (AFP Photo/CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN)

Zubaidah, a 20-year-old female college student who watched the couple being punished, told AFP it was the first time she had witnessed a caning.

"I wanted to watch it so it could serve as a lesson for me not to commit any act that violates Islamic teaching," said the student, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

"Homosexuality is a curable disease, it is very forbidden in Islam."

Amnesty International was among groups that had urged authorities not to flog the men, decrying the use of caning as a "cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment".

There has been a growing backlash against Indonesia's small lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community over the past year, with ministers, hardliners and influential Islamic groups lining up to publicly denounce homosexuality.

The caning comes just two days after police in Jakarta detained 141 men including several foreigners for allegedly taking part in a gay sex party in a sauna.

Although homosexuality is not illegal outside Aceh, police said 10 of those arrested at the party could be charged under the country's tough anti-pornography laws.

The backlash against the homosexual community began in early 2016, and activists believe it was triggered by widespread media coverage of a decision in the United States to legalise same-sex marriage.

Jakarta's Christian governor jailed for two years for blasphemy

Yahoo – AFP, May 9, 2017

Jakarta's Christian governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (bottom L), is convicted of
blasphemy and sentneced to two eyars in prison, May 9, 2017 (AFP Photo/
Bay ISMOYO)

Jakarta (AFP) - Jakarta's Christian governor was jailed for two years Tuesday after being found guilty of committing blasphemy, capping a saga seen as a test of religious tolerance in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation.

Presiding judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarto told the Jakarta court that Basuki Tjahaja Purnama was "convincingly guilty of committing blasphemy and is sentenced to two years in prison".

He ordered Purnama, known by his nickname Ahok, to be detained. Purnama said: "We will file an appeal." Islamic hardliners outside the court cheered as news of verdict emerged and shouted "God is greatest".

Purnama was hauled into court last year to face trial for allegedly insulting Islam while campaigning for re-election in a case critics said was politically motivated.

The trial came after a series of major protests against the capital's leader that drew hundreds of thousands onto the streets.

His once unassailable opinion poll lead shrank amid the controversy and he lost the race to lead Jakarta last month to a Muslim challenger, a result that fuelled fears of Indonesia's moderate brand of Islam coming under threat from increasingly influential radicals.

AFP graphic profile of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, Jakarta's Christian governor jailed for two years for blasphemy pic.twitter.com/wOsRDJ9Edv

— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 9, 2017

Show of Support for #Ahok https://t.co/QlBaADOg2j pic.twitter.com/u9xvkg1sBY

— The Jakarta Globe (@thejakartaglobe) May 10, 2017

Borobudur Third on National Geographic's List of Iconic Adventure Tourism Sites

Jakarta Globe, Diella Yasmine, May 02, 2017

Borobudur Temple in Magelang, Central Java, has been ranked in third place
 among 15 iconic adventure tourism sites around the world by National
Geographic magazine. (Photo courtesy of the Tourism Ministry)

Jakarta. Borobudur Temple in Magelang, Central Java, has been ranked in third place among 15 iconic adventure tourism sites around the world by National Geographic magazine.

Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in the world, comprising a total surface area of 2,500 square meters, and decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 600 Buddha statues.

The monument has been recognized by Unesco as a world heritage site since 1991.

"This is such a huge honor for us. Borobudur will help to accelerate tourism development in Indonesia," Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said in a statement on Tuesday (02/05).

The Ministry of Tourism also named Borobudur Temple as a world cultural masterpiece.

"After being featured in National Geographic magazine, Borobudur's fame will be raised, and with a regulation in lieu of law, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo will soon ratify the establishment of a tourism authority body," Arief said.

The minister said the travel article will raise curiosity among readers of the magazine to find more information on Borobudur, which eventually lead them to visit the site.

Arief believes Borobudur will become more famous globally.

"It's like a confirmation that Borobudur is indeed a world-class icon," he said, adding that the site is being developed into a major international tourist destination.

"If we want to be a global tourism player, we have to keep up with global tourism standards and Borobudur has everything necessary to fulfill that," Arief said.

The complete list of National Geographic's 16 iconic adventure sites is as follows:

1. Machu Picchu, Peru

2. Petra, Jordan

3. Borobudur, Indonesia

4. Acropolis, Greece

5. Great Wall, China

6. Sigiriya, Sri Lanka

7. Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

8. Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky

9. Provence lavender route, France

10. Avenue of Baobabs, Madagascar

11. Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet

12. Amber Fort in Jaipur, India

13. Sydney Harbor Bridge, Australia

14. Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy

15. Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany.