Rhoma Irama of the band Soneta is seen in this video being told to cut his performance by a Deep Purple roadie on March 10, 2023.

Rhoma riffing to Deep Purple hit sparks row over copyright

In a short cellular phone video posted by @swetermerah, which has been viewed 832,100 times on Twitter, Rhoma Irama and his Soneta band, started off their opening slot for Deep Purple by performing the now-legendary power chord of "Smoke On The Water" before a member of the road crew jumped on stage and told Rhoma to cut his performance.

3 years ago

People

What I’ve Learned: Yanuar Nugroho, former deputy chief of staff to the President

If activism takes a million forms, Yanuar Nugroho knows the ins and outs of 999,999 of them. ...

3 years ago

Culture premium

In Iraq, Saddam's ageing superyachts attest to legacy of excess, war

Frozen in time for 20 years, two superyachts lie at the confluence of Iraq's Tigris and Euphrates rivers, bearing witness to the false glories of former dictator Saddam Hussein. ...

3 years ago

The Latest

Pope Francis waves from the window of the apostolic palace during the weekly Angelus prayer on March 12, 2023 in The Vatican.

People premium

Pope marks 10 years with podcast and a diplomatic row

Pope Francis marked 10 years as head of the Catholic Church on Monday with a podcast, a private mass and a series of interviews.

3 years ago

Jamie Lee Curtis, James Hong, Ke Huy Quan, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Wang, Daniel Kwan, Stephanie Hsu, and Daniel Scheinert, winners of the Best Picture award for ’Everything Everywhere All at Once’, pose in the press room during the 95th Annual Academy Awards at Ovation Hollywood on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California.

Entertainment

Oscars ratings tick up again as 'Everything Everywhere' triumphs

Oscars television ratings increased for the second year in a row, as 18.7 million viewers tuned in to watch hit sci-fi Everything Everywhere All At Once dominate a well-reviewed ceremony.

3 years ago

Michelle Yeoh said she knew Harvey Weinstein was a bully and not always honorable.

People premium

Anwar Ibrahim lauds Michelle Yeoh's success at Oscars 2023

"In creating history by being not just the first Malaysian but the very first Asian actress to win in this category, we take enormous pride in her achievement, adding to a long list of successes and capping a critically acclaimed acting career spanning decades," Anwar said in a statement on his Facebook page.

3 years ago

Lead singer of Indonesian band Radja, Ian Kasela, performs on stage during a gig in Johor, Malaysia on March 11.

Entertainment premium

Indonesian rock band Radja receives death threats in Malaysia

Police in Johor have arrested two individuals for making death threats and are looking for possible motives behind the action.

3 years ago

US actor Brendan Fraser (R), winner of the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for “The Whale“, and Canadian makeup artist Adrien Morot, winner of the Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for “The Whale“, attend the 95th Annual Academy Awards Governors Ball in Hollywood, California on March 12, 2023.

Entertainment

Brendan Fraser caps 'Brenaissance' with best actor Oscar win

The former star of 1990s hits such as The Mummy endured a decade in the Hollywood wilderness before winning over Academy voters with his portrayal of a reclusive teacher who eats compulsively as he is tormented by grief.

3 years ago

Audrey Kim, curator and artist, talks about the piece “Genesis: In The Beginning Was The Word“ by Eurypheus at the Misalignment Museum on March 8, 2023 in San Francisco, California. A new exhibition titled the Misalignment Museum opened to the public in San Francisco on March 9th, 2023, featuring funny or disturbing AI art works, supposed to help visitors think about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence.

Science & Tech

At San Francisco expo, AI 'sorry' for destroying humanity

The pieces in this temporary show mix the disturbing with the comic, and this first display has AI disburse pithy observations to the visitors that cross into its line of vision.

3 years ago

US producer Jonathan Wang (L), winner of the Oscar for Best Picture for “Everything Everywhere All at Once“, US director Daniel Kwan (C) and US director Daniel Scheinert (R), winners of the Oscar for Best Director for “Everything Everywhere All at Once“, attend the 95th Annual Academy Awards Governors Ball in Hollywood, California on March 12, 2023.

Entertainment

Bizarre, beloved 'Everything Everywhere' wins best picture Oscar

With its unique blend of action, humor and existential angst, the adventure of a Chinese American laundromat owner battling a multiverse-hopping supervillain entered the Academy Awards as the clear favorite.

3 years ago

Michelle Yeoh accepts the Oscar for Best Actress for “Everything Everywhere All at Once“ during the Oscars show at the 95th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 12, 2023.

Entertainment

Michelle Yeoh wins best actress Oscar for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'

Yeoh, 60, was widely regarded as the front-runner for the award after claiming a Screen Actors Guild honor and a Golden Globe award for the role. This was her first Oscar nomination.

3 years ago

Pipe dream: A still from Lucky Kuswandi's Dear David, released on Netflix on Feb. 9. (Courtesy of NetflixID)

Culture

Local adults-only fiction, anyone?

Do Indonesians these days know, or read, any erotic fiction by local writers?

3 years ago

Helping hands: Bajuri (left), Nikmatul Hanik, Den Hasan, Tama and Fatih Naufal (right) are all volunteers at Rumah Belajar Ilalang community. (JP/Sylviana Hamdani)

Environment premium

Protecting Indonesian rivers with wayang

An activist in Jepara fights to protect rivers from pollution with puppets.

3 years ago

Film student Ja'saray Juarez poses on campus of the Edward R. Roybal Learning Center at the in Los Angeles, California, on March 8, 2023. Music, camera angles, characters: Juarez, 14, is working with classmates on the recipe for a successful commercial as part of the Roybal Film and Television Production Magnet training program at the school was launched in September 2022 by actor George Clooney and others, like Eva Longoria and Don Cheadle, to foster diversity in Hollywood.

Entertainment

In LA, Clooney-backed school works to boost Hollywood diversity

In a few years, the freshman hopes to launch her career behind the camera, thanks to a special program at her Los Angeles high school for hundreds of young people from underrepresented communities looking to break into showbiz.

3 years ago

(L-R) Harry Shum Jr., Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, James Hong, Michelle Yeoh, and Jamie Lee Curtis, recipients of the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture award for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once,' pose in the press room during the 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on February 26, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Entertainment

Hollywood's Asian stars welcome 'long overdue' breakthrough at Oscars

Among many records tumbling this awards season, Malaysian Everything Everywhere star Michelle Yeoh is only the second Asian best actress nominee in 95 years of Oscars history, with a strong chance of becoming the first winner Sunday.

3 years ago

Tian (left) and Alif, players of Garuda Lions FC, pick up rubbish on the field as they have been taught to do at the club.

Health premium

Free of charge: Local soccer club gives underprivileged kids chance to play

Moved to do good for the community, a married couple founded a soccer club for underprivileged kids to play in for free.

3 years ago

Rwandan midwife Christine Musabyeyezu (R) speaks to a patient about a thermal coagulator, a cost-effective alternative to cryotherapy, at Remera Health Centre in Kigali on March 7, 2023.

Health premium

The technology fighting Rwanda's silent killer of women

When Rwandan villager Lillian was diagnosed with cervical cancer, she feared that her life was over. But a new gadget offered her hope.

3 years ago

In this file photo dated on April 10, 2003 US marines take position near a portrait of late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in a stadium in Baghdad.

People premium

Shock and awe: the toppling of Saddam Hussein 20 years ago

It took just three weeks for the decades-old regime of Iraq's feared dictator Saddam Hussein to fall in one of the most controversial foreign military interventions of modern times.

3 years ago

A person walks out of the Apple Store in Annapolis, Maryland, United States, on February 2, 2023.

Science & Tech

Apple to launch app dedicated to classical music

Apple said it will start streaming classical music from a stand-alone app on March 28 as it seeks to distinguish itself from rivals Spotify and specialist platforms.

3 years ago

In this file photo taken on September 14, 2022 Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex walks behind the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II during a procession from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster, in London.

People

UK's King Charles grants brother Edward Duke of Edinburgh title

Britain's King Charles III on Friday awarded his younger brother Edward the title Duke of Edinburgh.

3 years ago

A visitor takes a picture with his mobile phone of an image designed with artificial intelligence by Berlin-based digital creator Julian van Dieken (C) inspired by Johannes Vermeer's painting 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' at the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague on March 9, 2023.

Art & Culture

Girl with AI earrings sparks Dutch art controversy

At first glance it seems to be just a modern take on Johannes Vermeer's masterpiece "Girl with a Pearl Earring". But look more closely and things get a little strange.

3 years ago

Deep Purple's lead singer Ian Gillan speaks during a press conference in Surakarta, Central Java, on Thursday.

Entertainment premium

It's good to be back in Indonesia: Deep Purple's Ian Gillan

"Of course it's nice to come back. A lot has changed in Indonesia since 1975," Gillan said, referring to the year Deep Purple first performed in Jakarta, during which one of their hired bodyguards, Patsy Collins, was killed when he tumbled down an elevator shaft.

3 years ago

Pieces of the past: Atika, of the National Library, displays a newspaper from the library’s archive (JP/Kate Newsome)

Culture

Digitizing Indonesia’s newspapers before they fall to pieces

As Indonesia’s historic newspapers perish in the archives, the country risks forever losing the voices of its past.

3 years ago

Lock the chaos: 'Suzume' tells the story of a high school student who is set on a journey to lock 'doors' across Japan to prevent impending chaos. (Courtesy of CoMix Wave Films/Toho)

Entertainment

Suzume review: Makoto Shinkai's road trip is a chaotic tearjerker

The Japanese auteur, known for global box-office hits such as Your Name, leaves his signature style intact as he addresses the difficulty of accepting what is beyond human understanding.

3 years ago

This handout photo taken on December 8, 2021 and obtained on December 10 from the Western Australian Department of Fire and Emergency Services shows a firefighter at work near Margaret River.

Environment premium

Massive Australia wildfires increased Antarctic ozone hole: study

Smoke from monster wildfires in Australia caused a chemical reaction that widened the ozone hole 10 percent, researchers said.

3 years ago

In this file photo taken on July 27, 2022 Governor General of Canada Mary Simon speaks during a meeting with Pope Francis at the Citadelle de Québec in Quebec City.

People

Canada's first Indigenous governor general decries online abuse

Canada's first Indigenous governor general, Mary Simon, denounced Wednesday racist and sexist abuse that led her to block comments on her official social media accounts.

3 years ago

Argentine lawyer and former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno Ocampo, speaks during an interview with AFP in Malibu, California, March 6, 2023.

Entertainment premium

Oscar hopeful 'Argentina, 1985' offers lessons on democracy: prosecutor

Luis Moreno Ocampo was just 32 years old when he was summoned to prosecute Argentina's generals in 1985 after a disastrous military dictatorship -- a story retold in an Oscar-nominated film.

3 years ago

Photo illustration created March 8, 2023 in Washington, DC shows an editor looking at online information about vasectomy procedures.

Community premium

'Snip-snip! Hooray!': TikTok trend dispels vasectomy myths

A TikTok trend is helping dispel misinformation about vasectomy, a procedure whose demand has soared following US upheaval over abortion rights.

3 years ago

This picture taken on March 3, 2023 shows Crunchyroll CMO Gita Rebbapragada (L) and COO Brady McCollum (R) posing for photographs following an interview with AFP in Toyko.

Entertainment premium

From sharing site to anime giant, Crunchyroll marches forward

Once a semi-legal sharing site, Crunchyroll is now a streaming giant credited with helping Japanese anime transform from a nerdy subculture into a lucrative global industry.

3 years ago