Indonesia

A powerful earthquake rocked western Indonesia Wednesday, killing more than 500 people and exasperating international relief groups that have been juggling between two other disasters that struck in the past week.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the latest quake had a magnitude of 7.6 and hit about 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Padang, a coastal city of 900,000 and capital of West Sumatra province.

A total of 529 people were confirmed dead and 440 were seriously injured, the Social Affairs Ministry's crisis center reported. It said 376 deaths occurred in Padang. The rest were in four surrounding districts. more >>

At least 100 people were likely killed by the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked Indonesia's main island of Java last week, an official said Monday.

So far 74 deaths have been officially confirmed, Priyadi Kardono, a spokesman for Indonesia's Disaster Management Agency, told Agence France-Presse.

Another 34 people are believed to have been buried and likely dead under dirt and debris from the earthquake-triggered landslide in the West Java village of Cikangkareng, 80 miles south of the capital Jakarta, the government official added. more >>

Christian relief groups are coming to the aid of the thousands in Indonesia who were affected by the 7.0-magnitude earthquake earlier this week.

Wednesday’s quake, which has so far has resulted in 64 confirmed deaths, flattened or seriously damaged more than 10,000 homes, offices, schools and mosques on the western side of the densely populated island of Java.

The country’s Disaster Management Agency reported Friday that around 28,000 people were in need of shelter, more than 400 injured, and dozens still missing – feared dead. more >>

JAKARTA (Compass Direct News) – Members of several Muslim organizations joined a demonstration on June 27 to protest construction of a Huria Kristen Batak Protestant (HKBP) church building in Plaju, outside of Palembang, capital of South Sumatra Province.

The South Sumatra Muslim Forum (FUI Sumsel) organized the demonstration. Carrying a copy of a mayoral decree dated May 2009 ordering a halt to construction, the protestors gathered outside the building site, listened to speeches and then destroyed a bridge leading to it before demanding that the government ban the building project.

A spokesman from FUI Sumsel who goes by the single name of Umar, said the group objected on grounds that the church had not secured permission from the local Interfaith Harmony Forum nor a building permit; both are required by a Joint Ministerial Decree regulating the establishment of places of worship. more >>

Christians have stood up for their rights in two key cases the last few weeks in heavily Muslim Indonesia.

Members of the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan Church (HKBP) in Cinere village, Depok, West Java appeared in court on June 29 to contest the mayor’s revocation of their building permit in March, while students of the shuttered Arastamar School of Theology (SETIA) demonstrated in Jakarta on June 15, asking officials to honor promises to provide them with a new campus.

HKBP church leaders filed suit against the decision in the state court in Bandung, West Java. Two court sessions have been held so far, on June 2 and June 29, with Depok Mayor Nur Mahmudi Ismail represented by Syafrizal, the head of the Depok legal department and who goes by the single name, and political associate Jhon Sinton Nainggolan. more >>