Latest Aceh News

Prayers and tears mark 20 years since the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed some 230,000 people

Dec. 25, 2024 19:34 PM EST

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — People started gathering in prayer on Thursday and visiting the mass graves in Indonesia’s Aceh province to mark 20 years since the massive Indian Ocean tsunami, one of modern history’s worst natural disasters. Many openly wept at the mass grave in...

After 20 years, the post-tsunami generation stays vigilant for future disasters

Dec. 24, 2024 21:46 PM EST

LHOKNGA, Indonesia (AP) — Qurrata Ayuni, a 28-year-old survivor of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated her hometown two decades ago, has transformed her resilience into purpose. Defying Aceh's male-dominated coffee culture, she runs a café that serves as a welcoming space for everyone,...

Indonesians mark 2 decades since the tragic tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands

Dec. 20, 2024 22:49 PM EST

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — Two decades after a catastrophic tsunami destroyed her village, Tria Asnani still cries when she recalls how she lost her mother while trying to escape the giant waves. Asnani, now a school teacher, was only 17 at the time. Her father, who was a...

Indonesian fishermen rescue 116 Rohingya refugees

Nov. 30, 2024 08:15 AM EST

LHOKSEUMAWE, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian fishermen on Saturday rescued 116 Rohingya refugees, mostly hungry and weak women and children, after their rickety boat sank, officials said. The group had sailed from the Cox Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh hoping to reach to Indonesia...

About 140 Rohingya Muslims on wooden boat off Indonesia's coast as residents refuse to let them land

Oct. 22, 2024 21:37 PM EDT

LABUHAN HAJI, Indonesia (AP) — About 140 weak and hungry Rohingya Muslims, mostly women and children, were on a wooden boat anchored about 1 mile (0.60 kilometers) off the coast of Indonesia’s northernmost province of Aceh on Tuesday, officials said, and local residents refused to allow them...