Tom Allard Herald, Jakarta – The radical Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir presided over the funerals yesterday of two men linked to the terrorist cell that bombed the JW Marriott and Rit

Nana Rukmana, Cirebon – Hundreds of pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) located in the northern coastal area of West Java have declared an anti-terrorism movement in an effort to preve

Tangerang – Praying is meant to be a simple act, but not in Indonesia, which proclaims itself the world's biggest God-fearing democracy, and refuses to be called a secular nation.

Jakarta – Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono says the public need not worry about the State Secrecy Bill, citing democratic progress.

Jakarta – The Information and Electronic Transactions Law may become a tool of political censorship, journalists and lawyers attending a regional seminar organized by the Alliance of In

Febriamy Hutapea & April Aswasdi – The Golkar Party on Thursday agreed to hold its national congress, which will be critical in deciding the party leadership for the next five years

Camelia Pasandaran – A human rights watcher on Friday criticized police and media for their actions during last weekend's raid on a suspected terrorist hideout.

Purwokerto – Hundreds of students at the University of Soedirman (Unsoed) staged a demonstration on their campus on Thursday against their rector.

Dicky Christanto – Authorities have said the recent hotel bombings and subsequent police raids in Temanggung, Central Java and Jatiasih, Bekasi, were evidence that terrorist groups repr

Camelia Pasandaran – The Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday said it was examining the effectiveness of decentralization and preparing new rules on how regions should manage their financ

Anita Rachman & Candra Malik – A hero's burial accorded by hard-line Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir for two suspected terrorists shot dead in a recent police raid was dismissed by m

Lilian Budianto, Jakarta – Civil groups, legislators and experts expressed regret over Indonesia's decision to cancel a meeting held by members of the Burmese government in exile in Ja

Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia's key rate is yet to affect lending rates despite its drop by 300 basis points to 6.5 percent since late 2008, says the House of Representativ

Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – The second quarter of this year saw the manufacturing sector grow at its slowest rate since the start of the crisis, regardless of the increase in domestic s

Arientha Primanita – The city administration launched a string of raids against people without valid identification cards on Thursday, as part of efforts to improve security following t

Indonesia Raya, the national anthem, is played at every state ceremony, but on Friday during the House of Representatives General Assembly to commemorate Independence Day, it was notic

Jakarta – Human rights and environmental activists deem the government as powerless when it comes to dealing with big corporations after the police stopped its investigation against Lap

Anita Rachman – Regional autonomy has been a failure, with just 10 percent of about 500 districts and municipalities in the country having developed successfully since the policy was in

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Farouk Arnaz – Indonesia's most wanted terrorist, Noordin M Top, may disguise himself by wearing a women's Islamic headscarf and a burqa, a former head of Jemaah Islamiah (JI) said duri

Jakarta – The Press Council says the current State Secrecy Bill is an ironic twist on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's election commitment to uphold democracy and the rights of all

Fadli, Batam – Over 90 percent of the 350,000 workers employed in Batam, Bintan and Karimun Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in the Riau Islands province have no access to adequate housing

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Lilian Budianto and Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – The police on Wednesday banned an international meeting organized by members of the Burmese (Myanmarese) government-in-exile in Jakarta

Camelia Pasandaran – To fight terrorism fight poverty, Islamic scholars said on Thursday.

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Ismira Lutfia – After enduring a police raid on Wednesday, exiled Burmese pro-democracy leaders in Jakarta managed to meet again on Thursday and agree on a proposal for reconciliation a

Ni Komang Erviani, Denpasar – Society still strongly refuses to accept the lifestyle choices of gay men in Indonesia, causing many to lead double lives, a US scholar says.

Anthony Deutsch, Jakarta – Indonesia's government has stopped a group of exiled Myanmar opposition activists from holding a conference in the country, officials said Thursday, a day af

Jakarta – The Constitutional Court unanimously dismissed on Wednesday the complaints of Megawati Soekarnoputri and Vice President Jusuf Kalla over the July 8 election.

Jakarta – The Constitutional Court issued a verdict on Wednesday against losing presidential candidates Megawati Soekarnoputri and Jusuf Kalla and their respective running mate Prabowo

Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) issued a report Tuesday alleging that suspended Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Antasari Azhar committed a series of ethical

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Nusa Dua, Bali – Papua has intensified its campaign promoting the use of female condoms, after reports emerged of an increase in HIV/AIDS infections among residents.

Shohib Masykur, Jakarta – Thirteen protest actions will be held in Jakarta today. As usual, it seems that traffic jams will be unavoidable, particularly on roads such as Jl.

Luh De Suriyani, Nusa Dua – A number of youth groups at the International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) made a stand today for the rights of young people living with

Suherdjoko, Semarang – There are 1.23 million people in Central Java unemployed says a manpower agency official.

Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – The National Commission on Human Rights will go ahead with its lawsuit against the President and PT Lapindo Brantas Inc, despite police having suspended the

Candra Malik, Solo – There's an environmental drawback, after all, to the rising trend toward ecological tourism, where nature lovers flock to pristine natural sites.

Putri Prameshwari – Despite the official peace agreement and apparent calm in Maluku, violence has continued to bubble beneath the surface of the province over the past eight years, a W

Anthony Deutsch, Jakarta – A suspected militant slain during a 16-hour siege with counterterrorism forces last week was not Indonesia's most-wanted militant Noordin Muhammad Top, police

Suherdjoko, Semarang – Military officers will be deployed to monitor the closure of an illegal mining site on Mt. Merapi, Central Java, a legislator said Tuesday.

Jakarta – The Java and Lampung chapters of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) have issued a fatwa that debus, the Banten traditional martial art, is haram or forbidden under Islamic law

Makassar – Some 50 students from the Makassar Solidarity for Polongbangkeng Residents group staged a protest on Tuesday before the office of state plantation company PT PTPN XIV, demand

Candra Malik & Febriamy Hutapea, Yogyakarta – Aggrieved nurses from around the country are expected to demonstrate outside the House of Representatives in Jakarta and in other city

Makassar – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said Monday that police officers had committed human rights violations during a clash with local residents over a land di

Febriamy Hutapea – Experts and activists have warned that the country's fight against corruption will suffer a serious blow if the House of Representatives fails to pass the antigraft c

Heru Andriyanto – Although mention of "the communist threat" has disappeared from government propaganda since the downfall of long-serving President Suharto in 1998, prosecutors are sti

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The military would not try to influence President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in any decision he made to choose a new defence minister, Military Chief Gen.

Tom Allard, Barung (West Java) – Dani Dwi Permana was a conscientious, basketball-loving young man, a solid student from a troubled family who, nonetheless, seemed to have a lifetime of

Takalar – A clash between local residents and police at a sugarcane plantation in Takalar regency, South Sulawesi wounded 10 people on Sunday.