Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Anti-graft watchdog NGO Indonesia Corruption Watch says it is not necessary for the House of Representatives to elect the chairman of the Corruption Eradicat

Guido Goulart, Dili – An East Timorese court on Wednesday convicted and sentenced 24 rebels to up to 16 years in prison over the attempted assassinations of the fledgling democracy's pr

Wasti Atmodjo, Denpasar – Around 70 million Indonesian people have no access to sanitation facilities, an official confirmed.

Tito Belo, Dili – An East Timor court jailed on Wednesday 27 people for between nine and 17 years over the attempted assassination of President Jose Ramos-Horta and an attack on the pri

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – A solidarity group for the murdered activist Munir has given the President a list of legal options to unravel the mystery behind the murder after the l

At least two factions in the House of Representatives were booed and labeled as "banci," or transvestites, for not delivering a firm decision in the final plenary hearing into the Bank

In the wake of another case of allegedly "misguided" Islamic teachings that contravene the nation's blasphemy law, the Ministry of Religious Affairs on Tuesday said there were about 70

Camelia Pasandaran – The president on Monday mounted a startling 11th-hour defense of Vice President Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, blamed by political parties for

Jakarta – Jakarta Police said Monday they would no longer tolerate people bringing animals to demonstrations and using them to "make a mockery of state officials".

Camelia Pasandaran – A drawn-out battle between the Election Supervisory Board and the General Election Commission on Tuesday finally entered another phase as the board filed a request

Jakarta – Whether the late former president Soeharto deserves to be named a national hero should be left to the public to decide, says his youngest son, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra.

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – With the marathon hearings of a judicial review request of the blasphemy law still going on, activists have questioned whether the Constitutional Court

Tom Allard, Jakarta – Sanjeev "Alex" Kuhendrarajah, who gained fame as spokesman for 254 Sir Lankan asylum seekers who refused to leave their boat after being intercepted on their way t

Febriamy Hutapea and Anita Rachman – An Indonesian House plenary meeting on the Bank Century scandal fell apart in spectacular fashion on Tuesday when members erupted in anger over Hous

Jakarta – Police fired tear gas after hundreds of protesters pelted them with stones on Tuesday outside Indonesia's parliament as a demonstration over a controversial bank bail-out turn

Ulma Haryanto – Traffic in front of the Parliament Building on Jalan Gatot Subroto was paralyzed on Tuesday when demonstrators stole police barbed wire and used it to block the street.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Kamaruddin approached his wife and told her that he would go out and try to catch fish for their next meal.

Fidelis E Satriastanti – A fight is brewing over a new environmental law that business interests warn will harm much-needed investment in the country.

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Indonesia's exports in January slowed 13 percent from December, despite booking a year-on-year increase of 59 percent due to a low base in January last year,

Arti Ekawati & Fidelis E Satriastanti – Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan on Tuesday defended a presidential decision to open protected forests to development, saying only undergroun

Rizal Harahap, Pekanbaru – Illegal conversion of conservation areas into oil palm plantations remains rampant in the Tesso Nilo National Park, Riau, allegedly involving high military fi

Camelia Pasandaran & Nivell Rayda – The political marriage between the Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party seems to be heading toward a messy divorce.

Aloysius Unditu and Novrida Manurung – Indonesia's inflation accelerated to the fastest pace in nine months amid rising commodity and food prices, putting pressure on the central bank t

From March 23 until May 3, Zely Ariane will be touring Australia, speaking at Direct Action forums, at universities, to trade union meetings and at other venues.

Sam King – An Australian company has a significant but little-known role in the creation of the world's largest mud volcano, located in the densely populated Sidoarjo district of Indone

P.M.

Nivell Rayda – Liberal religious and human rights activists on Monday called on the government to overturn the 1965 law on blasphemy and replace it with one that better protected freedo

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has signed a decree to allow mining, power plants and other projects deemed strategically important to take place in protected forests.

Sri Lankan refugees inside an Indonesian detention centre have entered the second week of a hunger strike aimed at winning them a resettlement deal like that given to the Sri Lankans in

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Officials have said the US plan to fully resume its military and counterterrorism cooperation with Indonesia showed that the world's biggest economy appreciated

Jakarta – The National Family Planning Coordinating Agency (BKKBN) insists the involvement of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in its national campaigns is not to coerce people into partic

The Vanuatu Free West Papua Association says the government needs to clarify its position on the independence of Papua.

Terrorism commentators are divided over the recent arrest of terror suspects in Aceh, with one saying the suspects were linked to Noordin M.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – A security analyst on Monday questioned claims that four men recently arrested in Aceh were linked to the regional terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah.

Febriamy Hutapea – The People's Consultative Assembly on Monday enacted detailed procedures to impeach a vice president but claimed that the move had nothing to do with Vice President B

Camelia Pasandaran – Following a tumultuous weekend in which aides to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and a lawmaker from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) traded allegations of cor

Camelia Pasandaran – By instructing his own staff members to put the Humpty Dumpty governing coalition of parties back together again, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono seems to be sho

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Three political parties are in a war of words with the Palace after Presidential aides reported attempts to lobby the president, allegedly to clear party member

Putri Prameshwari & Antara – The search for victims of the landslide at the Dewata tea plantation near Bandung will be halted at noon today, even though a dozen people are still mis

Anita Rachman & Ismira Lutfia – Local and international rights advocates will detail the government's lack of progress in protecting human rights at the UN Human Rights Council's pl

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Tension is building three days before the parliament's plenary session on the Bank Century bailout inquiry, with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's aides b

Lilian Budianto, Jakarta – Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on US President Barack Obama to press Indonesia over rights progress, military reform and religious freedom during his visit t

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Malang, East Java – Their salaries might be too small to suffice daily needs, but loyal cigarette workers are ready to extend a helping hand as their employers fac

Nani Afrida, Jakarta – The ministry of energy and mineral resources has proposed that the government postpone the implementation of the 2009 law on environment for two year on fears it

Suwardiman – After nine years, support by various elements of society for special autonomy (otsus) is weakening.

The Solidarity for Peace in Diversity (Solidaritas) on Thursday launched a website titled Nusantara Online, aimed at providing complete and constantly updated legal data on the country'

Jakarta – The government should be aware that there is more than just one source of carbohydrate in the diet of Indonesians, activists said Wednesday.

Febriamy Hutapea & Ulma Haryanto – While the odds so far seem to be stacked against the Democrats after most of the factions in the House of Representatives declared indications of

Dion Bisara – The government plans to increase this year's subsidies for energy and other basic commodities in what some analysts see as a populist policy to help prop up its sagging po

Surabaya – During the colonial era communism flourished in Indonesia.