Jakarta | Pakistan

India will supply BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and Astra air-to-air missiles to Indonesia, an Indian government official said on Tuesday, as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi started a two-day visit to Jakarta. Indian sources earlier told Reuters that the deal, worth around $630 million, would likely be signed during Modi’s visit. Indonesia would be the third country to sign an agreement to buy the missiles, which are manufactured by BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited. The deal would mark a major expansion of India’s defence exports and deepen strategic ties with Southeast Asia’s largest economy at a time of growing competition with China for influence in the Indo-Pacific. BrahMos missiles, jointly developed by India and Russia, are among the world’s fastest cruise missiles and can be launched from land, sea and air platforms. The Astra beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles can be integrated on Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jets in the Indonesian Air Force. The Indian government did not respond to earl...

Indonesia’s president ordered an investigation Tuesday after a long-distance train smashed into a stationary commuter train overnight, killing 14 people and injuring dozens. Officials ended a nearly 12-hour rescue effort near Bekasi Timur station, east of the capital Jakarta, which saw crews prying open mangled carriages following the Monday night collision. “And this morning… it is all finished,” Mohammad Syafii, head of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) told a news conference Tuesday. “I am certain there are no more victims to be found.” One survivor described the terror of being trapped inside a crushed carriage. “I thought I was going to die,” Sausan Sarifah, 29, said from her bed at the RSUD Bekasi hospital where she was admitted with a broken arm and a deep cut to one thigh. Workers sit at the site of a train collision as rescuers work to save five survivors trapped inside a carriage after a passenger train locomotive pierced through the rear car of a commuter train at Bekasi Timur statio...

Indonesian police found possible explosive powder as they investigated explosions at a mosque in the capital Jakarta, and the suspected perpetrator is recovering, the police chief said on Saturday. Explosions that injured dozens of people during Friday prayers could have been an attack, officials said, with a 17-year-old student the suspected perpetrator. “Several pieces of supporting evidence were found,” police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo told a press conference after visiting the victims at a hospital. “There were written materials and some powder that could have potentially caused an explosion,” he said. “We are gathering other records, including examining social media and family members to gather all the information.” The suspected perpetrator, a student at a school next to the mosque, was recovering after undergoing surgery on Friday, Listyo said. “The suspect’s condition is improving, and hopefully this will make things easier for us when needed,” he said.