DENPASAR, Indonesia (AP) — A court on the Indonesian resort island of Bali sentenced a Swiss tourist on Thursday to one year in prison for insulting a sacred Balinese Hindu observance.
Luzian Andrin Zgraggen, 26, was found guilty of violating Indonesia’s new criminal code by posting social media messages about the Day of Silence, when people are required to stay home and are urged to remain silent and meditate.
The Denpasar District Court determined that he posted the messages even after staff at the villa where he was staying informed him of the restrictions.
“What the defendant did offended the Balinese people, hurt their faith and provoked public outrage,” said presiding judge Tjokorda Putra Budi Pastima. “The defendant must be held accountable for his actions.”
The Day of Silence, locally known as Nyepi, usually falls in March. For a day, the island's world-famous beaches and streets are empty of people except for special patrols meant to ensure silence is observed. The airport in Bali, a predominantly Hindu island in Muslim-majority Indonesia, shuts down and the internet is switched off. The restrictions apply to everyone regardless of religion or nationality.
Zgraggen boasted in Instagram posts that he had defied restrictions that prohibit residents and visitors from leaving their homes or accommodations except for emergencies.
In video clips shared online, Zgraggen smiled at the camera and described walking to a beach during the observance. In one, he called the tradition “crazy” and used an expletive.
The posts were widely reposted on social media, triggering condemnation from Balinese residents who considered them disrespectful. Authorities tracked him down following public complaints, and he was arrested at a villa in Legian, a popular tourist spot near Kuta Beach.
During his trial, which began in June, Zgraggen told the court he had never intended to insult the Hindu holiday or the Balinese people. He said he made the posts while hungry and frustrated that he could not obtain food during the shutdown. He said he had not fully understood the extent of the restrictions.
“I deeply regret what I did, I apologize to the Balinese people,” Zgraggen said in his defense plea.
While authorities have previously detained foreign and domestic tourists for venturing outside during Nyepi, those cases were generally resolved without prosecution.
Swiss tourist Luzian Andrin Zgraggen, back to camera, right, who is accused of insulting the Balinese Hinduism's sacred Day of Silence in social media posts sits on the defendant's chair with an interpreter during his sentencing hearing at the district court in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo)
Swiss tourist Luzian Andrin Zgraggen who is accused of insulting the Balinese Hinduism's sacred Day of Silence in social media posts covers his face upon arrival at the district court in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo)
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart experienced the slowest growth in comparable sales at U.S. stores in six years in its most recent quarter and it offered a cautious outlook for the year, sending shares down 6% before the opening bell Thursday.
Comparable sales in U.S. stores, which measure sales at stores open at least a year along with online sales tied to those locations, rose 2.6% in the second quarter. They rose 4.1% in the previous quarter.
Some of the slowing growth was related to how pharmacies are regulated in the U.S., including those in Walmart stores. Federal legislations require pharmacies to dispense some high-cost Medicare drugs at capped prices, the retailer said.
Excluding the wellness category that includes Walmart’s pharmacies, comparable sales increased 3.4% in the second quarter. However, even accounting for regulations, the sales were still below industry analyst expectations for a 3.8% increase, according to FactSet.
Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce business, which has become an engine of growth for the retailer, rose 24%, trailing the first-quarter pace of 26%.
Walmart is among the first batch of major retailers to report second-quarter results, which could offer industry analysts and economists another read on whether ongoing price pressures from the conflict in Iran have impacted consumer behavior.
Walmart is considered a barometer of consumer spending given its vast customer base. More than 150 million customers are on its website or in its stores every week, according to Walmart.
That may draw even more attention this quarter after U.S. data released Friday showed that retail sales were surprisingly weak in July and a new read on consumers from the University of Michigan revealed growing pessimism about the economy, with so many Americans struggling with higher costs for gas, groceries and just about everything else.
The new figures from Walmart revealed the smallest gain in comparable store sales since a 1.9% gain for the quarter ended Jan. 31, 2020, according to FactSet.
That has broadened Walmart’s customer base and the retailer has begun capturing a larger share of wealthier Americans. The biggest gains in market share for Walmart are coming from households with annual incomes over $100,000.
Walmart’s quarterly net income was $6.37 billion, or 80 cents per share, in the three-month period ended July 31. Adjusted per-share results were 81 cents, easily topping the 74 cents Wall Street had expected, according to FactSet.
Sales rose 5.9% to $187.94 billion. Analysts were predicting $186.62 billion, according to FactSet.
For the third quarter, Walmart expects earnings per share of 62 cents to 64 cents. It projects sales to be up 3% to 3.5%. That would put sales in a range of $184.88 billion to $186.23 billion. The forecasts are below analysts’ expectations of 68 cents per share and sales of $188.19 billion, according to FactSet.
For the full year, Walmart now expects earnings per share to be in the range of $2.80 to $2.87 while sales should be up anywhere from 4% to 5%. That would mean a forecast for sales in the range of $741.7 billion to $748.8 billion, according to FactSet.
Analysts expected $2.90 per share and sales of $752.06 billion for the year, according to FactSet.
The Walmart logo is displayed on a store, Aug. 14, 2025, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
