Jakarta – A survey has revealed that faith and ethnicity have become less relevant for the country's young voters who are expected to cast their votes in the 2014 elections.

Abdul Qowi Bastian – A transgender festival in Jakarta was cancelled on Monday night, after the Islamic Defenders Front turned up to the event and demanded the organizers shut it down.

Jakarta – A law think tank wants to protect freedom of speech by scrapping articles in several laws that provide prison terms for defamation.

Protestors rallied against Garut's embattled district chief on Monday in a demonstration that united Islamic students, university groups and women's rights activists in anger against a man who divorced his teenage bride after four days because he doubted her virginity.

Arientha Primanita – Lawmakers on Monday approved an additional subsidized fuel quota of 1.23 million kiloliters this year, adding to the country's subsidy spending by an estimated Rp 6 trillion ($624 million).

Jayapura – The "chief of the general staff" of TPN/OPM, "Major-General" Terianus Santo said that his organisation had celebrated 1 December with prayers and ceremonies to unfurl the Morning Star flag at their headquarters deep in the forest.

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Mahfud MD has been elected the next chief of one of the nation's most influential Muslim organizations, boosting his credibility as one of the strongest potential candidates in the 2014 presidential election.

Rabby Pramudatama, Jakarta – In advance of the birthday of Munir Said Thalib, his family has launched a campaign to push the government to resolve the murder of the slain human rights activist eight years ago.

Faisal Maliki Baskoro – Thousands of people gathered on Sunday in front of the grave of Munir Said Thalib, a prominent human rights champion who was killed eight years ago but whose murder case remains unsolved.

SP/Arnold Sianturi, Medan – A former senior police officer's wife who has been accused of illegal logging has had key items of evidence returned to her despite prosecutors appealing the case to the Supreme Court.

A survey by the Indonesian Youth Alliance (API) shows that among younger demographics, Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan are the most popular candidates for the 2014 presidential election.

Pirime, Papua – Members of the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) were involved in a one-hour shootout with security personnel in Pirime district, Lanny Jaya regency, Papua, at 6 a.m. on Monday.

Robert Isidorus & Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – Armed separatists exchanged gunfire with Indonesian security forces in Papua on Monday as police combed the Lanny Jaya district for those allegedly behind last week's deadly police station attack, a Free Papua Organization (OPM) head said.

Malang, East Java – Dozens of disabled people released a thousand birds in front of City Hall in Malang, East Java, on Monday-which coincides with the International Day of People with Disability, demanding the city administration to improve their access to public services.

Sydney – The Sydney-based Australia West Papua Association has issued a statement that thanks the Leichhardt and Marrickville councils for their support in raising the West Papuan Morning Star at their town halls again this year for West Papuan national Flag Day.

Ainur Rohmah and Kusumasari Ayuningtyas, Semarang/Surakarta – Commemorating World AIDS Day, which fell on Saturday, Dec. 1, commercial sex workers and transvestites in Central Java promoted the use of condoms among their customers in a bid to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – There were no sightings of the Morning Star separatist flag on Saturday in Papua on the 51st anniversary of the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM), which has been marked every Dec. 1 since 1991.

Three leaders of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) who were detained at a West Papuan independence rally on December 1 have been allegedly disappeared by Indonesian security forces, prompting fears of ill treatment at the hands of police.

Pitan Daslani – The past week has seen an extraordinary escalation in Indonesia's political temperature leading up to the 2014 presidential election.

Presidential candidates and prospective candidates are already flexing their muscles at one another while using the mass media to influence public perceptions of their records and acceptability.

Victims of alleged human rights violations in Indonesia, a country where human rights courts set up in 2000 have yet to convict a single case, are facing an uphill battle to bring perpetrators to justice.

SP/Anastasia Winanti – Prabowo Subianto is moving quickly in the race toward the 2014 presidential election.

Kanis Dursin – At the age of 82, former Indonesian political detainee Mudjayin wonders if he will ever see justice served.

Back in 2010, he, along with other victims of state terror, submitted their case to the recently formed human rights commission of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

Jakarta – Preparations for the 2014 general elections have grown more complicated with a ruling by the Election Organizers Ethics Council (DKPP) that allows 18 parties, previously declared unqualified by the General Elections Commission (KPU), to move forward with factual verification.

Jakarta – Political parties need larger amounts of financial aid from the government to help discourage money politics and transactional politics, according to democracy watchdogs.

Lenny Tristia Tambun – Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo on Saturday launched the Jakarta Smart Card initiative, which will grant student holders up to Rp 240,000 ($25) in monthly allowance to support their schooling needs.

Lenny Tristia Tambun – The Jakarta administration's plan to raise the salaries of its civil servants will not be effective in either curbing corruption or boosting their performance, an analyst said.

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has taken a firm stand amid demands from labor unionists to end the international perception that Indonesia is a haven for investors wanting to tap pools of cheap workers.

Lenny Tristia Tambun – Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo said he was just getting started after replacing several senior city officials on Friday in a bid to make the capital's bureaucratic management more efficient.

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – The government has completed its final formulation of the rupiah re-denomination bill and is set to submit it to the House of Representatives to be passed into law.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Recently revealed letters indicate that Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam may have had an ulterior motive in flagging alleged collusion between the House of Representatives and the Defense Ministry, an opposition legislator says.

Amir Tejo & Vento Saudale, Surabaya/Bogor – The groups with the highest risk of contracting HIV in Indonesia has shifted from commercial sex workers to housewives and children.

Emi Yuliana, of the Surabaya Aids Prevention Commission (KPA), said that in the past two years there has been a growing trend in the number of housewives with HIV/AIDS.

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – At daylight, the street outside Tanah Abang railway station is an illegal parking lot. By night, it turns into a red-light district where dozens of women offer themselves for paid sex.

Since the government decided to close down brothels, such as Kramat Tunggak in North Jakarta, sex workers are using the streets as their new bordellos.

Nathanael G. Sumaktoyo, Chicago, Illinois – Much has been written about the incoming elementary school curriculum change, mostly concerns about the disappearance of science, social studies and English. As the subjects are crucial elements of elementary education, many fear that their disappearance will damage the competitiveness of Indonesian students in the global market.

Jakarta – There were no sightings of the Morning Star separatist flag on Saturday in Timika, Papua, on the 50th anniversary of the Free Papua Movement (OPM), which is marked on Dec. 1, despite rumors of the flag being raised in various spots in the city.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Police have detained seven people following the attack on the Pirime police subprecinct station in Lanny Jaya regency, Papua, on Nov. 27, in which three police personnel – Second Insp. Rofli Takubesi, First Brig. Daniel Makuker and Brig. Jefri Rumkorem – were killed.

Jayapura – The separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) called for non-violent actions to free the easternmost provinces from Indonesia as the group on Saturday marked what it considers the 51st anniversary of the independent nation of West Papua.

Jayapura – West Papua National Committee (KNPB) chairperson Victor Yeimo was arrested by police during a protest action in the Waena area, Heram district, in Jayapura city on Saturday. He was arrested along with two other colleagues, Hukum Kiman and Ebes Sala.

Wijaya Kusuma, Yogyakarta – Hundreds of Papuan students from Java and Bali that are part of the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) held an action at the zero kilometre point in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta to commemorate the 51st anniversary of West Papuan independence on Saturday December 1.

Jakarta – Top government officials have agreed that Indonesia must develop the service sector if the country wants to avoid the middle-income trap, a situation that many international analysts fear might hinder Indonesia's objective to sustain its robust economic growth in the long run.

Leonie Tanggahma – For more than 50 years, the Morning Star Flag has been the symbol of West Papua's unity and its quest for Freedom and Justice. Thousands have been inspired by it, as it became the main icon embodying the struggle for Independence. And this flag, just like any other flag of any other country, has a history, a proud history.

In 1975, Jose Ramos-Horta, the then foreign minister of the newly-liberated nation of East Timor, was sent by his country's prime minister to New York. By the time his plane landed in the US, his country had been invaded and annexed by Indonesia.

In a revealing interview, Sir David Frost travels to East Timor to meet the Nobel laureate and hear his remarkable story.

Tom Clarke – Various solidarity gatherings will be held around the world this weekend to mark the 51st anniversary of the first raising of West Papuan "morning star" flag – an act that continues to attract a 15 year prison sentence in Indonesia.

Jakarta – The progress of democracy in the country remains stagnant as some groups and individuals remain in control of the economy and politics, a survey has shown.

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has formally proposed revisions to existing human rights laws, demanding that the rights body be granted stronger authority as well as immunity from legal prosecution.

Robert Isidorus & Arientha Primanita, Jayapura – An official with the Free Papua Movement (OPM) claimed responsibility on Friday for the recent killing of three police officers in the Papua district of Lanny Jaya, refuting an earlier disavowal made by other OPM members.

A criminal gang, led by a man identified only by the initials RM, is alleged to be behind several attacks on the police in the Papua central mountain range area, including the recent murder of three officers at Pirime police precinct.

Jayapura – The Papua Police have strengthened security ahead of the Free Papua movement's (OPM) anniversary, which falls on July 1 but is often celebrated on Dec. 1.

Papua Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. I Gede Sumerta said Friday that police would deploy two-thirds of the officers stationed in Papua to "anticipate the activity of pro-Papua liberation supporters".

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – In a fall from grace, Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie has failed to appear on Forbes magazine's 2012 list of the country's 40 richest men for the first time since the magazine began producing a list for Indonesia in 2006, adding another blow to his presidential bid.

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – A House of Representatives' lawmaker has visited the family of Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and apologized for saying that the late former president was impeached for his involvement in a series of corruption scandals.

Jakarta – The issuance of new lending regulations by the central bank last week will result in fiercer competition to extend loans to local small and medium enterprises (SMEs), bankers have agreed.