Panca Nugraha, Mataram – Malnutrition has claimed 20 lives in West Nusa Tengarra over the past six months, according to a local health office.
Malnutrition affected as many as 466 toddlers in the same period, a decrease from 1,667 cases and 52 deaths in 2007, according to data from the Mataram health office.
Ahmad Junaidi, Semarang, Purwokerto – A nationalist agenda and a focus on gender issues have pushed Bibit Waluyo and running mate Rustriningsih to an early lead in Sunday's Central Java gubernatorial election.
Dili – Joni Marques, former leader of East Timor's notorious Team Alfa militia, was released on parole earlier this month after controversially having a 33-year prison term commuted. He gave a long interview to Lusa Monday in a Dili refugee camp where he now lives with his family.
Dili – Former East Timor militia chief Joni Marques, pardoned and released on parole this month after serving part of a long prison sentence for leading a massacre of nuns and priests in 1999, said Monday he was "repentant" for his crimes.
Jakarta – Lawmakers are putting pressure on the National Police to summon ex-top intelligence officers in a bid to find the masterminds of the murder of human rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib.
Singapore – Regional officials on Monday praised Indonesia's efforts to reduce a haze caused by forest fires which regularly choke Southeast Asia.
The blazes, set by large plantations and farmers, send smoke into Indonesian skies and across boundaries into neighbouring countries each year during the May to October dry season.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The 2001 law on special autonomy has been implemented over last seven years in Papua, but its journey has lacked clear direction, a discussion concludes.
Jessie Wright, Dili – Buried deep in a neighbourhood of tin-roofed shacks, between a Christian church and an English-language school, sits one of the few mosques in East Timor.
Adianto P. Simamora And Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – A 65-year old farmer from Banten province still has no idea why he was put in prison for five years, as his family cultivated their land that was later taken over by a state-owned forestry firm.
Sara Schonhardt, Jakarta – Thirteen-year-old Yulianto has spent half his life in an orphanage, but not because his parents are dead.
Dili – East Timor's recent decision to pardon and release a former militia leader responsible for several murders has undermined the country's human rights commitment, a local watchdog said on Friday.
Jakarta – Radical Muslims have intensified their campaign for the government to ban Ahmadiyah and for followers of the sect to return to the fold of mainstream Islam.
Police in Ahmadiyah enclaves across the archipelago have beefed up security in anticipation of attacks on Ahmadis and their property.
Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Attorney General Hendarman Supandji may have lost credibility among the public following a major bribery scandal implicating his deputies and other top prosecutors, but Vice President Jusuf Kalla has rejected calls to dismiss him.
Philip Dorling – Declassified ASIO files on East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta shed new light on the complex diplomatic and intelligence games before and after Indonesia's invasion of East Timor in December 1975. The files also provide a rare insight into ASIO's highly sensitive foreign intelligence collection role.
Philip Dorling – The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation has declassified hundreds of secret intelligence reports relating to the President of East Timor and Nobel Peace laureate Jose Ramos-Horta.
Jakarta – A student from National University (Unas) died Friday after being detained by police for 13 days and then treated at two Jakarta hospitals another two weeks, Pertamina Hospital officials said.
Maftuh Fauzi was among 31 students arrested at dawn on May 24 and detained for almost two weeks at the South Jakarta Police station.
Antara, Wamena, Papua – Home Affairs Minister Mardiyanto officiated Saturday five new regencies in Papua as well as installing five temporary regents.
The five new regencies were Central Mamberamo regency with five districts with Kobakma as the regental seat. Created by the Law No. 3/2008, the first regent is David Pagawak.
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Police are being urged to widen the probe on the murder of human rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib following the arrest of ex-State Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy chief Maj. Gen. Muchdi Purwopranjono.
Rafiqa Qurrata A., Jakarta – The deputy chairperson of the House of Representatives Commission III on law and human rights, Soeripto says the plan to assassinate Munir was put together during a National Intelligence Agency (BIN) meeting in 2004. At the time, Munir was included in the category 'G" list or a 'problem'.
Rafiqa Qurrata A, Jakarta – The plan to eliminate Munir was reportedly hatched during a National Intelligence Agency (BIN) leadership meeting that took place in 2004. Muchdi Purwo Prandjono – who at the time was Deputy Chief V at BIN – was actually nothing more than the executor.
Nanang Sutisna, Purwakarta – Domestic Violence has increased every year. Activist from the Functional Group (Golkar), Nurul Arifin, said domestic violence and human trafficking to only Juni 2008 has reached 15,000 cases. Last year, it was 25,000 cases for one year.
Jakarta – Former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy chief Muchdi Purwopranjono said he did not know former Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, who was convicted of murdering human rights activist Munir Thalib.
Jakarta – Former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy chief Maj. Gen. Muchdi Purwopranjono was detained by the National Police late Thursday, a day after being named a suspect in the murder case of human rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib.
Jakarta – The naming of former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy Muchdi Purwo Prandjono as a new suspect by police in the murder of human rights activist Munir should be commended.
Jakarta – With the naming of former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy Muchdi Purwo Prandjono as a suspect in the Munir murder case, it is appropriate that police be commended.
Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Attorney General Hendarman Supandji admitted Thursday he approved the plan for his office to detain bribery suspect Artalyta Suryani following the arrest of state prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Violence by members of a radical Islamic group earlier this month has damaged the international image of Indonesian Muslims, chairman of the country's second-largest Muslim group said.
Malang – Munir's family, who live in the East Java city of Malang, have expressed their appreciation to the government for the progress made in the investigation of the murder of the human rights activists. It is hoped that the uncovering of a new suspect in the case – Muchdi Purwo Prandjono – will be able to bring all of the central actors in the murder before the courts.
The arrest yesterday of Muchdi Purwopranjono to face the charge of the murder of human rights activist, Munir, is a major step forward in efforts to end the culture of impunity in Indonesia.
Tara Ravens – Rebel leader Alfredo Reinado would still be alive today if his Australian lover had not stopped him from surrendering, says East Timorese President Jose Ramos Horta.
Angelita Pires, 33, was the first person to be arrested over the February 11 attacks which left the president critically wounded. Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao escaped a separate ambush unharmed.
Nanang Sutisna, Subang – Hundreds of fishermen from Java's northern coast at Blanakan, Subang district, West Java, are unable to work for a month as they cannot afford to buy fuel any more. They now work as fish carriers or transportation drivers with motorbikes.
Jakarta – Indonesia is good at attracting international trade with its relatively competitive tariff barriers, but our border controls and distribution channels create major obstacles, a report says.
The Enabling Trade Index in the 2008 Global Trade Report published Wednesday by the World Economic Forum compares 118 countries' openness and international trade capabilities.
This last week has seen the release of convicted militia leader Joni Marques, and others, from Dili's Becora prison.
Following Timor-Leste's first trial for crimes against humanity, in 2001, Marques was sentenced to 33 years 4 months jail. Marques led the Team Alpha militia who, in 1999, conducted attacks on civilians in the Lospalos area.
Jakarta – Anglo-Australian giant BHP Billiton and an Indonesian firm announced Thursday a massive nickel mining partnership that has environmentalists raising concerns about a protected island paradise.
The 50-50 joint venture between BHP and state-owned Antam in eastern Indonesia has raised fears for marine life in the rich waters off Gag Island in West Papua province.
Jakarta – More than a thousand protesters swarmed the State Palace and the Jakarta Police headquarters in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, demanding the release of Rizieq Shihab, leader of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), and Munarman, leader of Islam Troop Command (KLI).
Cianjur – Around 150 militant Muslims have swept through housing complexes where members of the Ahmadiyah sect live, sealing off and vandalizing four mosques belonging to the sect.
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Moderate Muslim organizations and political parties have come under fire for failing to demonstrate their religious tolerance following a government decree against an Islamic minority sect.
Jakarta – A coalition of legal advocacy groups urged Indonesia Thursday to honor a promise to join the international Criminal Court by 2009.
The world's first permanent war crimes tribunal, based in The Hague, Netherlands, has the backing of more than 100 countries, including the entire European Union, but just six nations in Asia.
Angus Grigg, Jakarta – As soaring oil prices hit consumers and rattle global financial markets, one of the world's poorest nations, East Timor, is cashing in.
Thanks to the near-record cost of oil, East Timor has been transformed into a middle-income economy in just three years.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Proposals for the establishment of two new provinces in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam have met with criticism from a prominent activist and a local politician.
Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office has been accused of trying to protect bribery suspect Artalyta Suryani by conspiring to help her evade arrest by the graft body.
The scenario formed part of a major conspiracy between AGO prosecutors and those suspected of embezzling Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) funds, experts and activists said Wednesday.
Jayapura, Papua – In a bid to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, the National AIDS Commission (KPAD) in Merauke has marked red light districts and entertainment centers employing workers infected with HIV/AIDS with red flags.
Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) is conducting an internal probe into several top officials implicated in the Artalyta Suryani-Urip Tri Gunawan bribery scandal.
However, the move raised questions over the credibility of such a investigation since it was being carried out by an internal team of the corruption-tainted AGO.
Presi Mandari, Jakarta – Indonesia's Supreme Court has come under the spotlight of an aggressive anti-corruption drive which has already shamed the attorney general's and customs offices, officials said Wednesday.
Lisa Macdonald, Sydney – Tim Anderson's new documentary on the East Timor-Cuba health cooperation program is an inspiration. The Doctors of Tomorrow, which was launched at a screening on June 12 hosted by NSW Greens MLC John Kaye, was filmed in both countries, and documents the human face of Cuba's profound international solidarity.
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Civil society groups have warned the government against including provisions dealing with defamation in the revised draft of the Criminal Code, saying the move would violate the amended 1945 Constitution.
Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – The new West Java governor's plans to revive a number of infrastructure projects were opposed Tuesday by environmentalists who said the foreign loans used would overburden the community.
Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – The disbursement of school assistance (BOS) funds has failed to prevent 125,850 children from having to drop out of school in Surabaya, East Java, a municipal councilor says.
Data Brainanta – Fuel price hikes have always sparked widespread mass protests in Indonesia since the overthrow of the dictator Suharto in a popular uprising in 1998. However, the timing this year was special.
Jakarta – Lawmakers are using their policy monitoring right for the political benefit of their parties rather than for evaluating government public policies, experts said Tuesday.