Gunawan Mashar, Makassar – Like pelting the holy wall with stones to excise evil.

Iqbal Fadil, Jakarta – Commemorating May Day on May 1, thousands of workers inundated the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Central Jakarta resulting in a massive traffic jam on Jalan Sudir

Ahmad Yunus, Bandung – May Day was also commemorated by workers in the West Java provincial of Bandung.

Tony Hotland and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's introduction of concrete antigraft measures at state institutions will have little impact unless

Reporter: Rachel Carbonell

Indra Harsaputra, Madura – Eyes glistening with tears, Lina (not her real name) slowly, painfully recalled for her visitor the horrors she had suffered in Batam, where the 13-year-old M

Hera Diani, Jakarta – After 10 years of implementing the declaration of the United Nations conference of women in Beijing, most Asian countries including Indonesia have yet to meet the

Jakarta – Police investigators questioned on Friday another Garuda stewardess in connection with the poisoning death of human rights activist Munir aboard a Garuda flight from Jakarta t

Jakarta – Vice-President Muhammad Jusuf Kalla has requested the Phillippines government not to interfere in Indonesia's internal affairs in relation to the problem of Papua.

The government of the Philippines and the University of the Philippines say they do not support a meeting discussing the issue of independence for West Papua.

Women and children in East Timor will continue to suffer in poverty unless the nation is able to determine its own wealth, East Timor's first lady Australian-born Kirsty Sword Gusmao sa

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Activists have warned that the government blueprint for the reconstruction of tsunami-stricken Aceh and North Sumatra, may be inaccurate and prone to embezzlement.

The United Nations will stay in East Timor (Timor Leste) for another year under a new political mission that will significantly reduce the UN troop presence there.

Otto Syamsuddin Ishak, Jakarta – Law enforcement is one of the Indonesian government's strategies for the settlement of the war in Aceh. Which law does the government seek to enforce?

A strong quake measuring at least 6.0 on the Richter scale has hit Indonesia, causing panic on Nias island, which was hit by a giant earthquake last month, seismologists said.

Nana Rukmana, Indramayu – Fishermen on West Java's north coast have complained that their operating costs since the increase in fuel prices have become unbearable, and said they hoped t

Hera Diani, Jakarta – They fight "infidels", they rail against city nightlife, and now they have turned their overzealous worldview against popular soft rock band Dewa.

Jakarta – Representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from Indonesia, Peru, Ghana, Romania, and the United States state of Nevada called on Wednesday Newmont Mining, the wo

Abdullah Alamudi, Jakarta – The controversial bill that seeks to revamp the Criminal Law is turning back the clock 90 years to the time when Dutch colonial rulers and government officia

Indonesia is open to be a partner of a commission set up by the UN Security Council to review the prosecution of human rights abusers in East Timor in 1999, when East Timorese voted for

Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is facing an imminent split, with members opposed to the leadership of Megawati Soekarnoputri ready to set up a new party s

Budi Hartadi, Singosari – Although the TNI's (armed forces) interest in participating in regional elections has drawn criticism, army chief of staff Lieutenant General Djoko Santoso has

Banda Aceh – Attacks by separatist rebels in the tsunami-hit Indonesian province of Aceh have intensified in recent weeks despite a renewed peace dialogue, military officials said Thurs

ID Nugroho, Surabaya – Five private companies in East Java have been included on the environment office's blacklist of polluters, State Minister of the Environment Rachmat Nadi Witoelar

Jakarta – "Do you believe that the Rp 41 trillion in funds apportioned to finance the rehabilitation and reconstruction of disaster-devastated Aceh and Nias in North Sumatra, will not b

Lisbon – East Timor's government and the nation's powerful Roman Catholic Church have settled a dispute over an end to compulsory religious classes in state schools, East Timorese Prime

Zakki P.

Ridwan M.

Popular rock group Dewa has been reported to city police by a number of Muslim organizations led by the Islamic Defender Front (FPI) for using the Arabic script of Allah on the cover of

Jakarta – National Police (Polri) Chief Da'i Bachtiar said here Wednesday (27 April) setting up police stations in conflict areas and regions bordering other countries was to be have to

We heard resolute words from Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Wednesday – that in three years, there should be no more elementary school buildings on the verge of collapse.

Malcolm Brown – Fifty East Timorese who came to Australia 10 years ago or more as refugees, settled in the country and sent their children to school, have now been told they are no long

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government issued on Wednesday a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) that will enable the postponement of direct regional elections for

Aguswandi, London – Oppression is bad for a government's image, especially a government such as Indonesia that is still struggling to repair its reputation internationally.

The commercial television networks have refused to screen advertisements lambasting the federal government over Timor Sea oil and gas negotiations, East Timor advocates said today.

Australia and East Timor appear to remain at loggerheads over multi-billion dollar oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea, with no resolution announced at the end of three days of talks.

Max Lane, Sydney – On April 26, a new round of negotiations will start between the Australian and East Timorese governments over the maritime boundary between the two countries.

Jakarta – Coordinating Minister of People's Welfare Alwi Shihab says that one of the clauses which is currently being prepared for foreign non-government organisations (NGOs) working in

On Saturday April 25, hundreds of people from the Liberation Front against the Oppression of Papua (Front Pembebasan Penindasan Papua, FP3) went to the Papuan Provisional Parliament in

Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta – It's been seven months since rights activist Munir Said Thalib, popularly known as Munir, died of arsenic poisoning on a flight to the Netherlands, while the

Tom Allard – Australia and East Timor are close to a historic agreement on sharing the revenue from the lucrative gas and oil fields in the Timor Gap after a multibillion-dollar offer b

Agus Supriyanto, Jakarta – TNI (armed forces) chief General Endriartono Sutarto has again said that he will allow active TNI members to be nominated to run in regional elections.

Jon Lamb – A series of rallies organised by the Catholic Church in East Timor is another sign of the simmering discontent and frustration held by many East Timorese.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – The city administration has been urged to prepare a concrete action plan to make Bylaw No. 2/2005 on air pollution control enforceable.

Reporter: Tony Jones

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – Fresh violence broke out on Sunday in Mamasa regency in West Sulawesi province, leaving four people dead and two others seriously injured.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – With the walls around the alleged massive corruption in the General Elections Commission (KPU) starting to crack wider open, the commission is on the verge of lo

Sydney – Australia "isn't just a charity" and would protect its own interests in a territorial dispute with East Timor involving potentially billions of dollars from oil and gas reserve

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – At least 756 people, including five foreigners and several members of the Indonesian military (TNI) and police, have been arrested during month-long anti-drug ra

Jakarta – Several Islamic organizations, led by well-known vigilante group the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), have reported popular rock band Dewa to the city police for alleged blasphemy