Pramoedya Ananta Toer: The banned author of Indonesia
In 1969, Indonesian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer was imprisoned without trial in the notorious labour camp on Buru Island. He spent 10 years there.He is best known for his novels about the rise of Ind...
15 Aug 202510min
Jakarta’s ban on dancing monkeys
In 2013, Jakarta's governor moved to outlaw the use of dancing monkeys on the city’s streets.The Indonesian tradition saw macaques made to perform for passers-by - often restrained by chains and dress...
14 Aug 202510min
Discovery of the 'Hobbit'
In 2003, archaeologists on the island of Flores, in Indonesia, discovered the skeleton of a new species of human - Homo floresiensis.It was nicknamed the 'Hobbit', because they were just over a metre ...
13 Aug 202510min
Borobudur Temple
In 1983, Borobudur Temple in Indonesia reopened. The worlds’ largest Buddhist monument is in the shadows of an active volcano and was once lost to the jungle. In 1973, major restoration work started o...
12 Aug 202510min
The Santa Cruz Massacre
On 12 November 1991, Indonesian troops opened fire on independence activists in East Timor's capital, Dili.During a protest march to the Santa Cruz cemetery after a memorial service for an independenc...
11 Aug 20259min
1965 Singaporean independence
On 9 August 1965 Singapore announced it had left the Federation of Malaysia and become an independent sovereign state. Explaining the separation at a news conference, the prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew,...
8 Aug 202510min
Brazil’s biggest bank heist
In August 2005, a gang of theives tunnelled their way into a Brazilian bank vault in a heist straight out of the movies.Three months before, the thieves had set up a landscaping business, Grama Sintet...
7 Aug 202510min
The Assam-Tibet earthquake
On 15 August 1950, an 8.6 magnitude earthquake shook the Himalaya mountains – wiping out whole villages in Tibet and north-east India.The death toll was estimated to be about 4,800.The late British bo...
6 Aug 202510min
