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World Headlines: Indonesia Recalls Australia Envoy Over Spying Claims

News reports say Australia's security services tried to spy on Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Made Nagi
/
EPA /LANDOV
News reports say Australia's security services tried to spy on Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Indonesia, Jakarta Post

Indonesia has recalled its ambassador to Canberra following news reports that Australia's security agencies spied on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. and Britain's Guardian newspaper reported that Australia had targeted the phone lines of Yudhoyono, first lady Kristiani Herawati and government ministers and officials. It's the latest revelation from documents leaked by Edward Snowden, a former contractor for the U.S. National Security Agency, about U.S.-led spying operations worldwide.

ABC and the Guardian reported Monday that Australian intelligence attempted to listen to Yudhoyono's conversations at least once, and tracked his mobile phone activity for 15 days in August 2009.

At a news conference in Jakarta on Monday, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said Primo Alui Joelianto, Indonesia's envoy to Australia, was being recalled for "consultations."

"[The alleged wiretapping] was not a clever thing to do. It was not smart [...] It was an unfriendly act," he said. "We are hurt by these revelations."

Relations between the two countries are already strained over the issue of migrants as well as previous allegations of spying.

Earlier this month, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry summoned Australia's ambassador following news reports that the Australian embassy in Jakarta was used as part of a U.S.-led spying network.

Russia, RIA Novosti

A Tatarstan Airlines Boeing 737 plunged almost vertically when it crashed onto an airport runway in the Russian city of Kazan, killing all 50 people on board.

Among those killed in the crash on Sunday were Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov's son, Irek, and Alexander Antonov, the head of Russia's FSB security service in the region.

Russian investigators said they had located the flight recorders. Investigators said they did not know what caused the crash, but ruled out terrorism.

The Kazan-bound flight had taken off from Moscow with 44 passengers and six crew members.

Chile, El Mercurio

Former President Michelle Bachelet has failed to secure enough votes to avoid a runoff in the Chilean presidential election.

Bachelet, the left-wing candidate, won nearly 47 percent of the vote. Her main rival (and childhood friend) Evelyn Matthei, the center-right candidate, won 25 percent. Fifty percent of the vote would have avoided a runoff. A second round is scheduled for Dec. 15.

Bachelet, Chile's first female president, left office in 2010 with high approval numbers. She was constitutionally barred from seeking a second consecutive term.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Krishnadev Calamur is NPR's deputy Washington editor. In this role, he helps oversee planning of the Washington desk's news coverage. He also edits NPR's Supreme Court coverage. Previously, Calamur was an editor and staff writer at The Atlantic. This is his second stint at NPR, having previously worked on NPR's website from 2008-15. Calamur received an M.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri.