Ina Parlina and Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – After taking the oath of office on Oct.

Shalailah Medhora – Labor may keep the practice of turning asylum boats around if it wins office at the next election, signalling what could be a major policy backflip.

Andrew Buncombe – Over the years, Maureen Tolfree has grown used to the lies and obfuscation, the tiny steps of progress followed by further setbacks.

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – As the time for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to announce his Cabinet lineup nears, activists have heightened appeals for the new President not to compromis

Chris McCall – More than a decade on from gaining independence, East Timor has made gains in health but still faces an uphill battle to achieve universal health coverage and access.

Michael Bachelard, Jakarta – Two French journalists have been sentenced to two months and 15 days imprisonment in an Indonesian jail for reporting in the West Papua province while on a

Jayapura – Two French journalists were on Friday handed short jail terms for illegally reporting in Papua, sparking calls for the new Indonesian government to lift long-standing restric

Phelim Kine – Indonesia's media freedom sustained a worrying blow on Friday when a court in Jayapura, on the country's easternmost island of Papua, convicted French journalists Thomas D

Rizal Harahap, Pekanbaru – A plan by the Riau provincial administration to purchase official cars for councilors has sparked criticism, with the cost being considered too expensive.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Batam/Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) is preparing for regional head elections, slated to be held simultaneously in seven provinces and 181 regencie

Hans Nicholas Jong, Batam – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's vow to protect the environment has come under question following his plan to merge two complimentary entities, the Forestry

Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – Yogyakarta Police banned a media literacy workshop about Islamic fundamentalism scheduled to be held on Friday morning after threats were circulated by an

Judith Ugwumadu – The government of Timor-Leste must further strengthen its public financial management in order to smooth spending over the long term to avoid a 'fiscal cliff', the Int

Adelia Anjani Putri & Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court rejected on Thursday a judicial review of the controversial regional elections law on account of a presi

David Fogarty – Out of the jungles of East Borneo in Indonesia comes the fire that fuels Asia's burgeoning economies: coal.

Banjir Ambarita, Jakarta – Two French journalists arrested in Papua for operating without journalism visas should serve four months in jail and face a cursory $200 fine, prosecutors in

Jakarta – After successfully seeing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla inaugurated on Monday, Jokowi's volunteers are expanding their movement with the purpos

Jakarta – Representatives of Muhammadiyah, one of the largest Muslim organizations in the country, testified on Wednesday at the Constitutional Court that Islam did not recognize interf

Jakarta – Hundreds of residents of Tulungagung district in East Java rallied on Wednesday to protest the establishment of a local chapter of the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front, a thu

Wellington (Dominion Post/West Papua Action Auckland/Pacific Media Watch) – The New Zealand government is coming under pressure to have the Australian Federal Police reopen the war crim

Jakarta – Indonesia has been re-elected as the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council member representing the Asia-Pacific region for the period of 2015-2017, the Indonesian Permanent

Efforts by Indonesia's new President to solve political, social and economic issues in Papua region may be restricted by a lack of support from national parliamentarians.

Sita W.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo should use his first official visit to Papua and West Papua on Thursday to endorse specific measures to address serious human rights problems on

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The Jayapura District Court resumed on Tuesday a trial of two French journalists, Thomas Charles Dandois and Marie Valentine Bourrat, hearing from three w

Johnny Langenheim – Snarled traffic, city hotels and rubbish-strewn beaches are not images most associate with Bali.

One of the first issues to confront President Joko Widodo after taking office is the proposed plan to drastically cut fuel subsidies.

Paulina Quintao – Tuberculosis is on the rise in Timor-Leste with new patients registered every day, says Bairo-Pite clinic director Dr Daniel Murphy.

Paulina Quintao – Members of Parliament (MPs) have criticized health directors who they say are prone to walking off the job during office hours.

Margareth S.

West Papua activists are calling on the new president of Indonesia to begin addressing Papua's human rights grievances during his first official visit there tomorrow.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who won election on a vow of clean government, said on Wednesday he would have to find new people to fill some of his cabinet posts after the

Yuliasri Perdani and Ina Parlina, Jakarta – In the wake of revelations that some of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's ministerial candidates could have questionable histories, the countr

Haeril Halim, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said on Tuesday that it would summon People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Zulkifli Hasan to clarify a stateme

The son of New Zealander Gary Cunningham, who was killed with four other newsmen in the Timorese town of Balibo almost 40 years ago, wants the case re-examined.

Athena Yenko – Former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam advocated a cover-up of the Balibo Five East Timor controversy, Shirley Shackleton believes.

Rizky Amelia, Jakarta – The Indonesian Justice and Rights Ministry on Wednesday withdrew its approval for a reduction in the prison term that had been granted due to long-term illness f

Jakarta – A civil society organization comprising mainly lawyers filed a lawsuit against House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto on Wednesday, saying that Setya still had questio

Gough Whitlam was a good leader who made one "terrible" mistake: never acknowledging the Indonesian military's invasion of East Timor.

Sherr Rinn – On Monday October 20, the Student Struggle Center for National Liberation (Pembebasan) held protest actions in several Indonesian cities including Jakarta, Medan and Sianta

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The Jayapura District Court in Papua commenced a trial on Monday involving two French television journalists, Thomas Charles Dandois and Marie Valentine L

Pekanbaru – In an effort to prevent forest fires, a government-sanctioned team has warned six regencies and municipalities as well as 17 companies in Riau to improve their compliance wi

Millions of Indonesians in Jakarta and across the country held a merry festival to welcome their new President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Indonesia has never had a president closer to the people than Joko Widodo. After his inauguration on Monday, for instance, he simply walked onto a crowd of people and talked with them.

Anggi M.

Hasyim Widhiarto and Ina Parlina, Jakarta – Foreign leaders congratulated Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Monday on his presidential inauguration, saying that they were looking forward to worki

Jakarta – Supreme Court Chief Justice Hatta Ali has sworn in four new justices – Amran Suadi, Is Sudaryono, Purwosusilo and Sudrajat Dimyati – in a ceremony at the court in Jakarta on T

Jakarta – Jakarta and Bogor topped a list issued by the Transportation Ministry of Indonesian cities with the worst traffic conditions, according to media.

Haeril Halim, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) revealed Monday that a probe had found that some of the 43 ministerial candidates proposed by President Joko "Jokowi"

Kusumasari Ayuningtyas and Andi Hajramurni, Surakarta, Central Java/Makassar – The swearing-in on Monday of Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Jusuf Kalla as President and Vice President, respect