Jakarta – Head of the Intelligence Agency Syamsir Siregar said Saturday the increasing number of religious scholars and leaders entering into politics has caused rift among and neglect

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – The Bandung District Court has convicted and sentenced 17 alleged members of the Islamic State of Indonesia (NII) to between two-and-a-half and three years i

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono remains popular for his performance in national security and legal affairs, but is facing a challenge to improve Indonesia's economy, a rece

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – The amendment of the military tribunal law has hit a deadlock at the House of Representatives with the government adamant that civilian police cannot be autho

Tom Allard, Jakarta – It is a pernicious malady that infects all levels of Indonesian society.

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – A gloomy outlook is overshadowing much-demanded reforms within the country's judiciary, after lawmakers endorsed a new law limiting the Judicial Commission's

Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – Industry players say a collapse in many sectors next year is not likely, but warn a drop in revenue is very real, with some industries to be hit harder than

With many industries resorting to production cuts amid weakened demand, hurting their revenue, layoffs next year could reach far more than 1.5 million, business associations are warning

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – Former top spy Muchdi Purwopranjono made a last-ditch effort Friday to defend himself against charges of planning the murder of noted human rights activist Mu

Jakarta – Some 2,000 public complaints lodged with the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) in 2008 have still not been settled.

Jakarta – Although admitting that they may contains some truth, statements by a number of public officials on human rights violations during the National Human Rights and State Defense

Agus Maryono, Purwokerto – The association of tour guides at the Baturraden holiday resort in Banyumas, Central Java, has blamed the much-decried anti-pornography law for a slew of rece

Adianto P.

The rapid expansion of traditional shrimp farms in Lampung has not only damaged mangrove swamps but forced local fishermen to seek their catch in the open sea due to the scarcity of fis

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has passed a controversial bill on the Supreme Court, defying opposition from two factions over a much-decried extension of the r

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – The House of Representatives passed a welfare bill into law Thursday, requiring all social organizations, including foreign-based ones, to register their oper

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Some Islam-based parties are pushing for a political coalition to win next year's elections, but others are questioning the relevance of such a sectarian allianc

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The looming termination of many labor-intensive programs in Aceh, combined with the remnants of its conflicts and rebellion, is putting the tsunami-devastated pr

Melody Kemp, Nusa Tenggara – In eastern Indonesia's litter of islands, the remote Lembata seems an unlikely site to for a public battle over mining, replete with paid assassins, black m

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Critics and education experts are up in arms after the House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill on educational legal entities, which detractors say w

Lindsay Murdoch – Many complaints against Australian soldiers in East Timor remain unresolved because there is no formal means to deal with them, Australian MPs have been told.

JP/Suherdjoko – The global economic meltdown has slowly taken a toll on Indonesia as 250,000 of the country's migrant workers have returned home, exacerbating the already high jobless r

Seth Mydans, Renokenongo – Her children insist, so every week or two Lilik Kamina takes them back to their abandoned village to look at the mud.

Jakarta – Poor sanitation has cost the state in terms of both health and wealth, a World Bank expert said Thursday, citing annual revenue losses estimated at Rp 56 trillion yearly.

Panca Nugraha, Mataram – West Nusa Tenggara was ranked 32nd among 33 provinces in the Indonesian Human Development Index (HDI), since its illiteracy and maternal and infant mortality ra

Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta – Merti Nusantara, an organization made up of 18 community groups representing hundreds of people, was established Wednesday to back Yogyakarta Governor Sulta

Jakarta – The United Development Party (PPP) has begun screening presidential hopefuls in a bid to select a candidate for nomination in the 2009 election.

Mark Dodd – An Australian businessman in East Timor says he has received death threats after he questioned an allegedly corrupt $3.1 million government fuel contract.

Havana – Timor-Leste carried out its second National Literacy Teaching Graduation, a campaign developed with the Cuban program Yes I Can.

Sara Webb, Jakarta – When Indonesia's president delivered his independence day speech to parliament, stressing the need to eradicate corruption, it was clear to many onlookers that the

Niniek Karmini, Jakarta – Indonesian lawmakers passed a new mining law Tuesday that will give the mineral-rich nation greater control over its resources, though analysts warn it could d

Women's rights activists in Bandung have largely failed to empower female victims of domestic violence to defy their husbands and seek legal means to protect themselves and their childr

Ni Komang Erviani and Andra Wisnu, Denpasar – The Bali Tourism Workers Union, particularly in the Badung regency where over 200,000 workers depend on tourists for their livelihood, is b

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Indonesia, along with most countries in the world, has seen the gap between the salaries of its workers widen in the past two decades, a condition that is protr

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – An ineffective relief and recovery system has led to uneven distributions of disaster-relief funds for reconstruction projects post the tsunami disaster in 2004

Jakarta – The House of Representatives' Commission III overseeing legal affairs approved a controversial bill on the Supreme Court on Tuesday, except for the article on justices' retire

Anton Muhajir, Denpasar – Bali's human rights organizations were still embroiled by classical, internal problems diminishing their capability to implement their agendas, an activist sai

Aprizal Rahmatullah, Jakarta – It is as if Jakarta is never free from the bustle of protest actions.

Novia Chandra Dewi, Jakarta – The 2009 legislative and presidential elections are within sight.

Luh De Suriyani and Claudia Sardi, Denpasar – The Bali Commission for Children's Protection (KPAI) and Yayasan Bali Sruti, a local women's rights NGO, have warned local media to stop pu

Jakarta (Dtc/Lampost) – The Star Reform Party (PBR) is continuing to select presidential candidates who are suitable for support at its convention.

Panca Nugraha and Yuli Tri Suwarni, Lombok, Bandung – Few residents of West Lombok regency, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), bothered to turn up to polling booths Monday to vote in the second

Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – The government forecasts that manufacturing sector output will only grow by 3.6 percent to 4.6 percent next year, lower than this year's revised growth targe

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papua's provincial legislative council has decided to postpone the endorsement of the Papua HIV/AIDS Handling bylaw planned for approval this Monday, afte

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights has urged the government to give more protection to the rights of indigenous people marginalized by rapid development.

Adianto P.

Jakarta – The city administration must make greater efforts to create green spaces in the capital, the Jakarta branch of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has said.

Alexander Downer – With the death of former Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas, Australia has lost a good friend who was also a decent bloke.

Activists and researchers on women's rights came together in Bali last month to address among other things the effects of extremist views.

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – The deliberations of a Corruption Court bill have hit a wall as lawmakers struggle to finalize the terms of the draft law before the deadline by the end of ne