Jakarta – The government is working on a draft regulation aimed at improving the rights of housemaids and to provide legal certainty for the domestic workers generally in Indonesia.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The draft of an independent bill has suggested all corruption cases in Indonesia should go to a specialized court run by judges who have been carefully selected

Jakarta – For the sake of democracy, the Press Council has asked the government to cancel its plan to revise Law No.

Indonesia's state intelligence agency asked the country's national airline Garuda to transfer one of its pilots to its corporate security unit shortly before a mid-air murder, a court w

Tony Iltis – On August 6, East Timorese President Jose Ramos Horta appointed his predecessor, Xanana Gusmao, prime minister and asked him to form a government without Fretilin, the larg

Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – The country may have celebrated its 62nd anniversary last week, but the scavengers of East Java feel far from in charge of their lives.

Jayapura – Papua is home to 10 percent of the world's remaining Intact Forest Landscape, but 2 percent of that is at risk of forest conversion, according to an NGO.

[Shakedown: Australia's grab for Timor oil. By Paul Cleary. Allen & Unwin, 2007. 336 pages, $29.95. Reviewed by Vannessa Hearman.]

[East Timor: Beyond Independence. Edited by Damien Kingsbury and Michael Leach Monash University Press, 2007. 302 pages, $36.95. Reviewed by Jon Lamb.]

Jakarta – Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) Commander Air Chief Marshal Djoko Suyanto said that the theft and burning of Indonesian flags in Aceh were not separatist actions.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Eight of the 10 factions at the House of Representatives have criticized the government's 2008 budget bill as being overly ambitious and failing to support the e

Ternate – At least four people were wounded by gunshots as police repelled thousands of protesters, some throwing rocks and glass shards, at an airport in eastern Indonesia, officials s

Jakarta – Many of the people living under city turnpikes are anxious over the news they will soon be relocated as they have gotten no wind of alternative arrangements.

Jakarta – Labour representatives from the Workers Challenge Alliance (AMB) demonstrated at the Supreme Court on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara in Central Jakarta on Monday August 20.

As part of the commitment on the bilateral agreement that was signed by the two countries on 1 December 2006, Russia will provide one billion USD in loan for Indonesian armament procure

Jakarta – Chief of the Iskandar Muda Regional Military Command Maj. Gen. Supiadin A.S.

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The air forces of 19 Pacific nations started maneuvers here Monday for the 2007 Pacific Airlift Rally, a joint military exercise aimed at honing the forces' ab

Jayapura – Some 300 protesters who said they were from the Coalition of People and Students Care of Papua held a rally at Papua Legislative Council on Monday demanding the provincial go

Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – Australian troops in East Timor stole flags of the deposed Fretilin party, tore them up and wiped their backsides with them, Fretilin claimed yesterday.

Jakarta – An Indonesian court on Tuesday rejected a class action lawsuit filed by hardline cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, who had sought the disbanding of the police's anti-terror unit.

Indra Harsaputra, Sidoarjo – The government-appointed agency in charge of dealing with the Sidoarjo mudflow disaster in East Java decided Monday to continue dumping mud into the Porong

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – It was President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's third state-of-the-nation address, but whopping figures and complicated words go in one ear and out the other for tho

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Boosting infrastructure development to help drive growth and create jobs, while improving education and public health services, will be the government's priority

Nana Rukmana, Indramayu – A controversial proposal to conduct virginity tests on female high school students in Indramayu regency, West Java, has been dropped following strong objection

There is concern being expressed about the statement by the Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, linking Papuan separatists to terrorism.

Slamet Susanto, Gunungkidul – For Karso Suwito, Independence Day is always a time of great pride, as well as pain, as he inevitably recalls his past.

Jakarta – The Indonesian people still need nationalism, albeit of a different kind, when facing a globalization movement "fueled by capitalism", says an academic.

Nabiha Shahab, Jakarta – Indonesia and Japan inked a wide-ranging free trade pact Monday during a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is on the first stop of a three-nation

Fitri Wulandari and Lewa Pardomuan, Langkat – Palm oil prices might be going through the roof and making investors and businessmen rich, but the soaring prices have not improved the lot

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – Though independent for 62 years, the country still witnesses frequent attempts to disrupt religious harmony, leaders of various faiths said Saturday.

Jakarta – Foreign joint venture companies, with greater capitalization at their disposal, dominated the country's non-bank financial services last year, controlling the majority of tota

Alice Coster, Jakarta – The Indonesian court system was the worst of all Indonesian government institutions and required a "complete overhaul", said a foreign lawyer speaking at a panel

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Thursday the four basic pillars of the state – Pancasila state ideology, the 1945 Constitution, the unitary state (

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid said Thursday Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf should be held responsible for a recent incident in the provin

There was a time when thousands of people would gather to hear president Sukarno deliver the annual state of the union address in person, and millions more across the country would be g

Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – Mixed verdicts greeted President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's speech on the 2008 state budget bill Thursday, which highlighted figures and assumptions many analyst

Jakarta – The State Intelligence Agency (BIN) has been implicated in the murder of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib after prosecutors submitted new evidence in the case review of

Jambi – Most Jambi women still prefer to give birth with the assistance of traditional midwives instead of putting their trust in doctors, a survey has found.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Indonesia has demanded Malaysia investigate and punish employers suspected of killing or abusing Indonesian workers after another Indonesian maid was allegedly t

Erica Vowles – The rights and revenue that were supposed to flow from West Papua's Special Autonomy Law – implemented by the Indonesian Government in 2001 – are yet to transpire for the

Mark Forbes Herald, Jakarta – The Indonesian intelligence agency BIN ordered several assassination attempts against the human rights activist Munir Thalib, including the use of black ma

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has warned his Government will not tolerate interference from those who want to slow down the development of Papua.

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – The 62nd anniversary of Indonesian independence failed to prevent student and non-government organisations from demonstrating.

Ari Saputra, Jakarta – Workers had their own way of commemorating the anniversary of Indonesia's independence.

Mohamad Rayan, Banda Aceh – Two years have passed since the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding was signed on Aug. 15, 2005.

Adianto P.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Despite political obstacles, the Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam provincial administration is considering establishing a truth and reconciliation committee (KKR)

Cpl. Juan D.

Craig Skehan – The diplomatically sensitive Morning Star independence flag was flown outside the Australian Parliament yesterday by a group of West Papuans – some of whose successful as

Purwokerto, Central Java – Hundreds of taxi drivers grouped in the Kobata Taksi cooperative in Purwokerto to stage a rally Wednesday demanding fairness from Banyumas Transportation Offi