Darwin – A US oil company challenged East Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri to appear in a US court to respond to allegations that he accepted a multi-million dollar bribe from a ri

Dili – A US-based rights group denounced Australia yesterday, saying Canberra should be "ashamed" for allegedly robbing East Timor of much-needed oil and gas revenues from the disputed

Jakarta/Yogyakarta – Political observers expressed discontent on Friday with a group of Muslim clerics, who they said, misused religious teachings to discriminate against a political ca

Robert Go, Jakarta – With a month to go before the July 5 presidential vote, questions have arisen over whether the General Elections Commission (KPU) is up to the task, given its serie

Jakarta – A total of 237 employees of the Nikko Hotel in Central Jakarta staged a protest in front of the Jakarta Manpower and Transmigration Agency office on Friday, against the hotel

Medan – Six women from East Nusa Tenggara province seeking work in Medan left a labor recruitment agency in the city, fearing that they might be sold into prostitution, a police officer

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said on Friday that Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh knew that some procedures had been violated in the purchase of a Ru

While the national authorities are yet to properly deal with child and woman trafficking in several areas in the archipelago, we are jolted by reports of the selling of girl students of

Jakarta – Jakarta shares plunged on Friday amid lingering worries of the sharp depreciation in the value of the rupiah against the US dollar and rising political tension ahead of next m

Farish A Noor – What has upset some sections of the Indonesian political and military elite are not the findings of Sidney Jones and her team, but rather the links and ties they have un

Tony Sitathan – The latest crackdown by the Indonesian government, just one month before presidential elections on July 5, is not being aimed at rebel forces in Aceh, but rather at the

Jakarta – Pertamina may have caused the further depreciation of the rupiah against the US dollar, as it reached Rp9,500 on Wednesday, an official from Bank Indonesia said.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – A range of cheap merchandise, allegedly smuggled from Malaysia and Singapore, can be found on sale openly at Belawan Port, some 20 kilometers from the North Sum

Jakarta – Bank Indonesia's plan to halt rupiah speculation in the banking sector should be helpful in curbing the depreciation of the embattled rupiah, analysts said, but only temporari

Gunawan Mashar, Jakarta – Scores of students in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar from the United Opposition (Front Oposisi Bersatu, BOB) have for the umpteenth time hel

Jakarta – Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea admitted on Wednesday that violence against Indonesian workers overseas was a result of the government's lack of politic

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Less than three months after the House of Representatives approved the water bill amid public outcry, the government has talked about a plan to privat

Jakarta – An Indonesian anti-corruption commission has announced the wealth of five pairs of candidates running for next month's presidential election, reports said.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Professionals, not just politicians, are running the show for the election.

Jakarta – With opinion polls showing her facing electoral disaster, Indonesia's normally aloof President Megawati Sukarnoputri has embarked on an unprecedented campaign of mingling with

Shefali Rekhi, Indonesia's – immediate future is gloomy, if former president Abdurrahman Wahid's forecast is anything to go by.

Surabaya – A gathering of 12 muslim clerics of the East Java chapter of the National Awakening Party (PKB) at the Miftahul Ulum boarding school in Pasuruan district on Thursday reminded

Indra Harsaputra, Pasuruan – Several influential clerics of the country's largest Muslim organization issued an edict on Thursday for its members to vote for Wiranto and Solahuddin Wahi

Jakarta – Human rights group Amnesty International has joined a chorus of criticism against Indonesia's decision to expel a US researcher, saying the tactic was reminiscent of former di

Lisbon/Portugal – East Timor said today it is willing to reach a compromise with Australia to solve a long-running territorial dispute over seabed oil and natural gas deposits between t

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – The sharia police officers here are being criticized over their "sweeps" on women – who have allegedly donned attire deemed inappropriate under Islamic law – w

Jakarta Police arrested on Wednesday two people suspected of organizing a rally to supposedly declare a revolution at the People's Consultative Assembly compound on Jl.

Abdul Khalik and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The National Police here questioned Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh in Jakarta for more than eight hours over a corruption case worth Rp

Arif Shodiq Pujihartom, Jakarta – Scores of activists from the People's Democratic Party (PRD) demonstrated at the National Election Commission on Friday June 4.

Suwarjono, Jakarta – Protests are continuing in response to the deportation of the director of the South-East Asia International Crisis Group (IGC), Sydney Jones.

Catherine Best – Jose Ramos-Horta exudes a warmth and charisma that belies his nation's bloody struggle for independence.

Triono Wahyu Sudibyo, Semarang – Golkar Party vice-presidential candidate Salahuddin Wahid will soon be launch a VCD titled "Gus Solah [Salahuddin's nickname] responds".

Timothy Mapes, Jakarta – Indonesia's move to expel a US citizen, who has become the most highly regarded expert on terrorism in Southeast Asia, could renew questions about the determina

Sian Powell, Jakarta – Indonesia's apparent crackdown on free speech increased yesterday when President Megawati Sukarnoputri abruptly ended a background briefing for Australian editors

Twelve-year-old Julmira Babo collapsed unconscious while playing outside in her village in East Timor's Ermera district.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – President Megawati Soekarnoputri has backed a decision to expel a leading anti-terrorism researcher and has linked the move with Indonesia's right to take actio

This is Indonesia's year of voting frequently. That in itself is extraordinary. Since 1955 Indonesians have enjoyed only three genuinely competitive, democratic elections.

Jakarta – The Indonesian rupiah fell sharply against the dollar Wedneseday, extending early losses to break the 9,500 mark amid concerns over the domestic political situation, dealers s

New York – The State Department expressed concern and disappointment Wednesday at Indonesia's decision to expel a US researcher who work helped expose a network of al-Qaida-linked terro

Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, facing a tough re-election fight next month, has defended her record in an interview and denied she was capitalizing on her father's name.

Denpasar – East Timor Attorney General Longuinhos Monteiro denied reports that his government had closed its investigation into the alleged involvement of former Indonesian military chi

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Amid claims of human-rights violations and accusations it is paying paramilitary forces to silence locals, Australia's biggest independent gold producer, Newcrest

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The Indonesian Government has ordered Sidney Jones to leave the country by midnight tonight.

Washington – Indonesia's decision to expel a prominent American political analyst has raised concerns about the country's crackdown on critical observers ahead of the July 5 presidentia

Indonesia's decision to expel a foreign analyst who has published sometimes-critical reports on terrorism and separatism harks back to the era of dictator Suharto, local and foreign rig

Jakarta – Indonesia's decision to expel terrorism-expert Sidney Jones, the Southeast Asia director of the International Crisis Group (ICG), was welcomed Wednesday by followers of Muslim

The decision of the Indonesian government to expel Sidney Jones and other expatriate staff of the International Crisis Group is a clear attempt to put the clock back, and at the same ti

Tiarma Siboro and Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The challenges to Wiranto's presidential bid have taken another twist after his former aide in the Indonesian Military (TNI) Maj. Gen.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Wearing a blue, body-hugging dress, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri began her first full-scale briefing to journalists in her three years in charge of th

Bekasi – Residents of the Jakarta satellite city of Bekasi who are fed up with the poor condition of roads have again taken action by planting trees on damaged roads.