Jakarta – An Indonesian Islamic party is hoping an anti-pornography bill that has been in parliament for over three years will be passed within a few weeks as a "Ramadan present" for Mu

Banda Aceh – Political parties in Indonesia's Aceh province pledged peace Friday for the first national elections since government and rebel forces signed a deal to end decades of war.

Niniek Karmini, Jakarta – Two small bombs exploded early Friday on a road leading to a massive copper and gold mine in eastern Indonesia and a third unexploded mortar was found nearby,

Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – Red tape delayed Australian soldiers pursuing rebels involved in the February 11 attacks on East Timor's two most senior political leaders, a confidential UN i

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Fatimah Azzahra, the daughter of a 1984 Tanjung Priok massacre victim, shook hands with Paramadina University rector Anies Baswedan after being awarded a scholar

Geoff Thompson, Jakarta and wires – The Bali bombers have enlisted the help of former East Timor militia leader Eurico Guterres in a Constitutional Court bid to save them from the firin

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – A recent survey that says Indonesia has become less competitive is "odd", the government has declared, pointing to improvements in business regulations and a

In East Timor a group claiming to represent 200 former resistance fighters is demanding financial recognition for its contribution to the country's independence struggle.

Senator Bob Brown made the call after claims that Australia's INTERFET troops introduced the pest to East Timor in 1999.

Mark Colvin: The wrong security force may be getting the blame for introducing cane toads into East Timor.

Trial by the press, or the press on trial?

Ni Komang Erviani, Contributor, Denpasar – As of August this year up to 10.16 million or 6.22 percent of the Indonesian population aged over 15 years old are still illiterate despite th

Jakarta – The government published a statement on Thursday debating a conclusion of a survey by the World Bank's investment arm, International Finance Corporation, on Indonesia's invest

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Despite progress in certain areas, Indonesia overall is worse off now than the year before when it comes to doing business, a survey revealed Wednesday.

Aubrey Belford, Jakarta – The old faces of Indonesia's elite look set to dominate next year's presidential election but new blood is needed to end the poverty and corruption plaguing th

Jakarta – The Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI) and its 14 subsidiaries have expressed concern that rampant violence by hard-liner groups is threatening freedom of religion in the

The Australian NGO, the Mineral Policy Institute, has welcomed the Norwegian Government's decision to cut its links with the multi national mining company, Rio Tinto, over concerns abou

Jakarta – The Talangsari incident in Lampung regency in February 1989 is threatened with the same fate as other cases of gross human rights violations.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – A financial watchdog has submitted data on more than 400 traveler's checks allegedly belonging to Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor Miranda Swaray Gultom as

Timika, Papua – Hundreds of workers at heavy equipment maker PT Trakindo Utama staged a protest at the Timika Transmigration and Manpower Agency office on Tuesday.

Ika Krismantari and Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The Indonesian Composite Index slumped Tuesday to its lowest level in 17 months as investors pulled out their money over jitters that low

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Improved tax collection by extending the tax base and modernizing the tax system have boosted tax proceeds by 46 percent during the first eight months of thi

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a long-awaited bill aimed at strengthening the authority of the National Ombudsman Commission (KON) in its superv

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – In what is being denounced as a major blow to press freedom in the country, a court – dubbed "the graveyard for press freedom" – on Tuesday found Tempo guilty

Ignas Kleden, Jakarta – A political party is there, first of all, to transpose the needs and aspirations of its constituents into a political program.

Some analysts have again expressed serious concern over increasing foreign ownership of banks in Indonesia, arguing this makes it more difficult for Bank Indonesia (the central bank) to

Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono defended on Tuesday "brutal" actions committed by the military against insurgents in Talangsari village, Lampung, in 1989.

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – The South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday ruled it would continue with the trial of former top intelligence official Muchdi Purwopranjono, charged with prem

Suherdjoko and Desy Nurhayati, Semarang, Jakarta – National Awakening Party (PKB) members affiliated with Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid have besieged a local elections commission office f

By Budi Wardoyo¹

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – A number of non-governmental organizations in Bandung announced Monday an "anti-rotten" politician campaign, asking people not to vote for politicians who ha

Denpasar – In the campaign to eradicate illiteracy, women need special priority because the illiteracy rate among women is more than twice as high as men.

Suwardiman – The image presented by elite leaders and a political party appears to be the main consideration that will increasingly be taken into account by prospective voters in the 20

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Attorney General Hendarman Supandji continues to defy public pressure to reopen a probe into a huge loan scandal, following the imprisonment of prosecutor Urip T

Skepticism has mounted over whether the Corruption Court bill will benefit the country's fight against white collar crime as some House of Representatives legislators debating it are im

Benget Besalicto Tnb., Contributor, Palangka Raya – Pressures are mounting to save endangered orangutans in Central Kalimantan, where most of the world's only great ape lives under incr

Reports are coming in from all around East Timor that the country's poorest people are missing out on a government rice subsidy aimed at relieving the pressure of the global food crisis

Blamed for pushing orangutans out of their habitat, palm oil companies are being urged to help conserve the endangered species in Kalimantan.

For millions of ordinary Indonesian people, it is difficult to understand how President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the holder of a doctorate degree in agricultural economics from a prest

Jakarta – Indonesia and Australia have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in defense field based on mutual trust to create a regional stability.

Australia's military may be responsible for introducing into East Timor the nation's worst pest – the cane toad.

Aceh – Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Special Detachment anti-terror squad (Densus 88) will investigate the bombing of former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leader Muzakkir Manaf's residence in Ace

Jakarta – The national banking industry appears to be controlled by foreign interests.

Last week's passage of the income tax law is the best Idul Fitri gift the country could provide to our businesses and fellow taxpayers.

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – The Aceh Independent Election Committee (KIP) emphasized Sunday that the planned Koran proficiency test for legislative candidates in the province would

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – The conviction of a state prosecutor for accepting bribes from a businesswoman close to tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim has paved the way for law enforcers to expand

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – At least two development projects linked to the presidential office, which appear to have been hoaxes, have revealed nepotism and cronyism among President Susilo

Jakarta – The Rp 100 billion (US$10.9 million) embezzled Bank Indonesia (BI) funds were used to promote certain people into certain positions for the central bank's benefit, the Corrupt

Lilian Budianto, Jakarta – Public diplomacy used to introduce Indonesia as a democratic Muslim nation overseas had been hampered by the domestic social crisis with radical groups oversh

Hamish McDonald – Younger Australians are less concerned about any security threat posed by Indonesia, according to a new poll, but it remains the country of most concern to all Austral