Jakarta – The presidential ambitions of United Development Party (PPP) chairman Suryadharma Ali encountered a major stumbling block as a number of local party branches decided to back f

Laurencius Simanjuntak – Founded on July 22, 1996, or when Suharto's New Order regime was still savage and cruel, it was not an easy time for the People's Democratic Party (PRD).

The Tourism Ministry has announced plans to award Indonesian parks for their clean public toilets, which officials hope will make Indonesia a more attractive tourist destination, and wi

Ulma Haryanto & Jonathan Vit – As a capital city and seat of government, Jakarta attracts frequent protests, for better or for worse.

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's call for his ministers to resign their posts if they are preoccupied with preparing the 2014 election rings hollow, as h

Rangga Prakoso & Heru Andriyanto – With pop star Nazril "Ariel" Irham's release on parole after serving two years of his three-and-a-half-year sentence over leaked sex videos, legal

Bandung – Two and a half years since homemade sex videos with his celebrity girlfriends became one of the biggest controversies in the conservative Indonesian society, Nazril "Ariel" Ir

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The number of acts of violence against children, particularly cases of sexual assault, in North Sumatra has increased by 55 percent as compared to last year, re

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The United Development Party (PPP) is seriously considering naming former Vice President Jusuf Kalla as its presidential candidate for the 2014 presidential r

Tito Summa Siahaan – Freeport Indonesia has agreed to raise its royalty payment to the government, according to a statement from a top economic minister on Monday.

Jalalludin NGOko – The political party Greater Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) recently announced its 314-strong leadership structure.

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Novia D.

Farouk Arnaz – A document released by the police's elite counterterrorism force, Densus 88, alleges that two suspected would-be suicide bombers arrested early this month in Poso, Centra

An Islamic organization and the Indonesian Police Watch (IPW) have both gone on record to say that fringe organizations should not conduct operations to "fight against vices" during Ram

The Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency has called for an investigation into an untendered office space procurement by state upstream oil and gas regulator BP Migas that it says co

As the call to prayer sounded over Jakarta on Thursday night, there was a greater urgency than usual to the traffic as the faithful hurried home to prepare for the first day of the fast

Jakarta – A number of politicians have been implicated in the graft case surrounding the Rp 1.52 trillion (US$161.12 million) project, and most of them have been questioned.

Kupang, West Timor – A prominent US expert in oil spill recovery said in Kupang on Saturday that Indonesia needs to craft a program to deal with the lingering and largely over-looked ef

Khairil Azhar, Jakarta – "What is your conclusion?

Peter Alford, Jakarta – Political normalisation is finally at hand in East Timor, despite last weekend's sudden outbreak of rioting that marred at the last moment the young nation's thi

More than one-third of 24,000 junior high school graduates in Central Java's Banyumas are unable to afford their tuition fees, the Banyumas Education Agency reported.

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – The growing numbers of HIV infections and the maternal mortality rate pose serious threats to the nation's efforts to achieve the Millennium Development

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Jakarta – Monopolistic media ownership in Jakarta is to blame for insensitive and biased reporting on conflicts beyond the island of Java, critics have said.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) called on the National Police to start an investigation into the death of a protester, shot during a protest over gold mining plans

Tatyana Shumsky, New York – Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.'s (FCX) Indonesia operations are approaching "normal" levels after a first quarter marked by labor disruptions, chief

Esther Samboh, Jakarta – The chiefs of local commercial banks are the highest paid among their peers in four Southeast Asian nations surveyed, according to the central bank.

Esther Samboh, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia's move to limit bank ownership is not likely deter foreign investors, although the move will expose it to lobbying and political pressure to gran

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – A human rights activist says he was fired from his position as a lecturer at a Defense Ministry-owned university after criticizing the government's decision t

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Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – Excessive use of imported hybrid seeds in local farming to boost rice production will affect local plant varieties and eventually lead them to extinction

The police in Papua forcibly dispersed a humanitarian action taking place when Papuans were out collecting money to help political prisoners.

Selwyn Moran – West Papua, the easternmost island under Indonesia's control, is a land beset by troubles.

Bayu Marhaenjati – The Betawi Brotherhood Forum on Tuesday attempted to launch an attack on the rival Pancasila Youth group – but unwittingly vandalized property belonging to a third gr

Novia D. Rulistia, Jakarta – More married women in the city were infected with HIV and AIDS in 2011, Jakarta AIDS Prevention Commission (KPAP) says.

Ismira Lutfia – Communication and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring said on Wednesday that the government should not be defeated by groups that resort to violence.

Farouk Arnaz – The National Police have arrested two more suspects in connection with plot to use a military escort to smuggle 45 Iranian and Syrian asylum seekers to Australia, police

Jakarta – The government needs to show its authority and power in their actions toward religious violence carried out by radical organizations, otherwise minority groups will remain the

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Arya Dipa, Bandung – The pornography case involving Bandung-based pop band Peterpan frontman Nazriel Irham, better known as Ariel, seems to have drawn not only strong media interest, bu

Ulma Haryanto – Former East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta stressed the need to maintain border security with Indonesia as a key part of improving the already close relations with

Protests over a gold mining plan in Balaesang Tanjung, Donggala regency, Central Sulawesi, turned into a brawl as local residents fought with police officers on Wednesday.

Michael Bachelard – In the space of a few minutes at the start of his visit to Indonesia, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bob Carr, outlined two apparently contradictory ambitions.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The trial of Buchtar Tabuni, 32, human rights activist and leader of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), began at the Jayapura District Court.

Jayapura – The Papuan Street Parliament (Parjal) insists that it is the responsibility of the Indonesian government to safeguard the right to life of Papuans who are still behind bars.

Indonesia's Communication and Information Ministry plans to up efforts to scrub pornographic websites from the nation's Internet in time for Ramadan, Communication and Information Minis

Tunggadewa Mattangkilang, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan – A land dispute in East Kalimantan saw hundreds of families gather outside the local government office in South Balikpapan on Tues

Arientha Primanita – Police blamed Bogor's Ahmadiyah community on Tuesday for inciting violence against them by being "introverted" and not being involved in social activities.

Ulma Haryanto – The government needs to do more to combat religious violence and improve prison management to better combat terrorism, the International Crisis Group said in its latest