The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) spoke out against the Ministry of Health's refusal to ban female circumcision on Monday, calling the practice, which is tolerated in some communities, a form of gender discrimination.

Herman Wainggai – It is likely that most US citizens who consider themselves informed about global events are aware of the genocides in Rwanda, Bosnia and East Timor, yet it's likely that few people in the US are aware of the ongoing genocide in West Papua, New Guinea.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – A 19-year-old woman was allegedly forced to take methamphetamine and then have sex with a police officer while two other cops watched in a case local police refuse to call rape.

Jakarta – An environmental group in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) said that it would file a report to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) over alleged gratuities given by Thailand-based oil and gas producer PTTEP Australasia to a number of parties in Indonesia.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) and a number of Islamic mass organisations oppose attempts to ban female circumcision by any groups on the grounds that it represents a religious teaching, the implementation of which is a human right protected by the Indonesian constitution.

A senior Indonesian judge will face an ethics tribunal for saying rape victims enjoyed the act, an official said on Monday, after a judicial commission recommended his dismissal.

Rabby Pramudatama, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has forged ahead in its investigation of the Koran procurement case at the Religious Affairs Ministry, by requesting travel bans for former high-ranking officials at the ministry.

The Indonesian government announced on Monday that the moratorium on hiring new civil servants was lifted at the end of December, 16 months after it was instituted, but that stringent recruitment policies would be maintained.

ID/Grace Dwitya Amianti, Gita Rossiana & Tito Summa Siahaan – Companies and consumers have started to calculate damages and losses from the widespread floods that hit Jakarta last week, claiming at least 17 lives, displacing thousands from their homes and afflicting capital residents with water-borne illnesses.

Ezra Sihite – Indonesia has sent a team to London to negotiate the purchase of warships from Britain, Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said over the weekend, several days after meeting with his British counterpart Philip Hammond in Jakarta.

Jakarta – In response to the current inundation affecting parts of Jakarta, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's actions in recent days have prompted many to speculate that he is competing with the popular Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta – Different people take different paths on the road to prominence or success.

Many opt or even race to be included in highly recognized organizations in an attempt to be categorized as prominent or successful persons. This is obviously a common path that many people take.

East Timor is striking out on its own after 13 years of UN protection, facing the daunting challenge of how to retool its economy and ease its dependence on energy to tunnel out of poverty.

Jason South – It was a beautiful moment, amid despicable terror. She stood in the late-afternoon light nursing her baby in a quiet corner of a crowded refugee camp in the East Timorese seaside town of Liquica. When I lifted my camera the baby stopped slurping, looked at me and blinked.

A January 19 demonstration of over 500 people asserting Papuan rights to freedom of expression defied a police ban on gatherings in the remote town of Oksibil, in the Pegunungan Bintang (Star Mountains) Regency, close to the Papua New Guinea border.

A parliamentary watchdog has called on the majority of Indonesia's lawmakers not to run in the April 2014 legislative election due to poor performance during their current term of office.

Brooke Nolan – At the launch of the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate project in 2010, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced that the agribusinesses involved would "feed Indonesia, then feed the world."

A noted political scientist has thrown his weight behind Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo over the motives of political parties' assistance to flood victims, saying that helping with ulterior political overtures must be rejected.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Depok – The condition of the environment in Jakarta and the upstream areas of West Java have contributed to the current floods, the worst since 2007, experts say.

Agnes Winarti, Bali Daily, Denpasar – Although known as a paradise island, Bali has yet to be a paradise for Balinese women and children. Over the years, the number of domestic abuse cases toward Balinese women remains high, while cases of sexual violence toward children have soared at an even higher rate.

Bandung – Dozens of graft convicts detained in different cities across the country have been gradually transferred to Sukamiskin Penitentiary in Bandung, West Java, since Friday night.

They were initially detained in Jakarta, Central Java, Yogyakarta, Banten and North Sulawesi. Of the total detainees, 21 prisoners from Jakarta arrived on Friday night.

Francezka Nangoy, Dili, East Timor – Telekomunikasi Indonesia aims to gain a 60 percent market share of cellular phone users in East Timor by 2015, while preparing to enter Australia's call center business.

SP/Yeremia Sukoyo – Prabowo Subianto, the former Army general who tops most polls of prospective presidential candidates, says he is working to get the endorsement of the country's academic community.

SP/Robertus Wardi – The hidden fees of doing business in Indonesia are a major factor keeping investors at bay and undermining the country's economic competitiveness, an analyst says.

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The faces of celebrities will likely continue to fill the House of Representatives after the 2014 polls as political parties rush to recruit local actors, models and singers as their legislative candidates.

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – More than 18,000 people have been displaced by the floods that have struck Jakarta. Some report facing hunger, dysentery and poor sanitation. Others have taken shelter in Transjakarta bus stops.

Rangga Prakoso – The Attorney General's Office says it will work with the national rights commission to direct the latter's constant attempts to get prosecutors to open an inquest into past rights abuses by the state.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) went to the National Police headquarters on Friday to remind the police force to uphold human rights principles in dealing with extremists in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

Farouk Arnaz – The new national human rights chief has vowed to work closely with police to address concerns about excessive use of force during ongoing counterterrorism raids in the Central Sulawesi district of Poso.

Buchtar Tabuni, the Chairman of the pro-independence National Parliament of West Papua, was released unexpectedly from Abepura prison around 12pm West Papua time today, to a waiting group of about fifty of his supporters from the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), according to multiple sources.

Andreas D. Arditya, Jakarta – Three days into the state of emergency and many affected Jakartans have yet to receive government aid despite the central and local governments' claims that flood relief was a high priority.

Ina Parlina and Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The Home Ministry says it will review more than 2,500 bylaws in 2013 following a proposed sharia rule in Aceh to ban women from straddling motorcycles.

"We will verify all bylaws, the old ones and the new ones," Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi told reporters in his office on Thursday.

Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – The Catholic Diocese of Surabaya, East Java, is saying that the local office of the Religious Affairs Ministry has misrepresented its position on the religious education of Muslim students at Catholic schools.

Lindsay Murdoch – Wailing in grief, Lucia Pina stood over the body of her murdered 17-year-old nephew and threw her hands in the air. "I was in shock and pleading with God to protect innocent Timorese," she remembers.

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The government has decided to give ad hoc corruption judges a pay rise in an attempt to make them less vulnerable to committing the crime they are supposed to be resolving.

Brooke Baskin – A Melbourne pensioner charged with planning to travel to West Papua as a mercenary fighting against the Indonesian government had his matter briefly heard in the Brisbane Magistrate Court on Friday.

Gerard Michael Little, 45, was remanded in custody following his arrest at Brisbane International Airport on December 4.

Banjir Ambarita, Jayawijaya, Papua – At least eight people were injured and dozens of vehicles were set on fire after a campaign event in Jayawijaya, Papua, turned violent on Friday.

Well over 1000 people engaged in a colourful and vibrant demonstration calling for West Papuan independence on Manokwari on January 17, despite Indonesian police banning the march and the display of the Morning Star Papuan Independence flag.

Kendari, S.E. Sulawesi – A member of the Southeast Sulawesi regional legislative assembly described, alleged butchering of fishermen in Papua by members of TNI (Indonesian National Military) as despicable and immoral.

Although flooding in the capital city is a regular occurrence every rainy season, many were caught by surprise on Thursday. The capital's current flood emergency rivals the floods of 2007, when 50 died and 300,000 people fled their homes when the waters began to rise.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Jose Luis Guterres said Timor-Leste will continue to accept Timorese who sought refugee status in Indonesia even though the time limit has expired.

According to the Timor-Leste Coalition for Education national schools are still lacking the basic facilities needed to facilitate teaching and learning.

"What I mean is laboratories, books, desk and chairs as well as other facilities which would make learning easier," said TLCE program manager David Bendito da Silva in Becora, Dili.

Andreas D. Arditya and Multa Fidrus, Jakarta/Tangerang – The number of Jakartans forced to leave their flooded homes increased to at least 9,374 on Wednesday afternoon, increasing from around 6,100 on Tuesday according to the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), as rain continued to fall across the city and the upstream areas of West Java.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The displaced Shiite community in East Java continues to face pressure to convert to "true" Islam if they wish to return to their homes in Sampang district on Madura island, human rights group Amnesty International (AI) has said.

Ronna Nirmala – Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo on Thursday placed the entire capital under emergency status following the massive flooding that paralyzed the city.

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – As Amnesty International called on the government to guarantee the safe return of members of the Shia community in Sampang, Madura, the local government has once again decided to cut off food and medical supplies for the displaced victims.

Bhimanto Suwastoyo – Activists and experts on Wednesday said that the national government, including its officials and laws, were to blame for rising intolerance in the country.

Indonesia, a pluralist nation spread over thousands of islands, has been witnessing rising intolerance that has led to violence against minorities, including religious ones.

Rabby Pramudatama, Jakarta – A new report from Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) says that the alleged embezzlement of the haj fund overseen by the Religious Affairs Ministry caused state losses to the sum of US$438 million.

Heavy monsoonal rains triggered severe flooding in large swathes of the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Thursday, with many government offices and businesses were forced to close because staff could not get to work.

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – A coalition of NGOs has called on the authorities to protect the rights of rape victims, saying that the existing standard operating procedures to deal with victims further violated their rights.