Jakarta – The Indonesian government – which is starved of funds to help the country's poor – will increase pressure on former bank owners to repay billions of dollars in state loans, th

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – More Indonesian banks are converting themselves into Syariah banks as people become "more Islamic" and their trust in the conventional banking system erodes.

Agus Maryono, Purwokerto – Thousands of fishermen in Central Java are slated to meet President Megawati Soekarnoputri later this week to demand her intervention in revoking two separate

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – City Council announced on Tuesday that more than 90 percent of developers in the city have violated regulations, requiring them to set aside 40 percent of their

Jakarta – Police fear the city administration's abrupt decision to close the Kalijodo prostitution and gambling complex in North Jakarta may increase the crime rate in the area as the g

Oyos Saroso HN, Bandar Lampung – An alliance of 36 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has threatened to call for a mass protest against the 2002 Lampung budget, which they say only b

Nana Rukmana, Cirebon – Amid increasing public outrage, authorities in Cirebon have agreed to fully investigate the failed attempt to smuggle luxury cars into Indonesia and allegations

An agreement between the United Nations and Indonesia to pursue those responsible for the gross abuse of human rights in East Timor appears close to collapse.

Ibnu Mat Noor, Banda Aceh – In a rare event in war-torn Aceh, more than 40 traders, all women, held a protest march in Banda Aceh against extortion and the local administration's corrup

Jakarta – Head of the National Investigation Commission (KPN) Koesparmono Irsan said they could not do much to unravel the mystery behind the death of Papua pro-independence leader They

Max Lane – "It was extremely disappointing to see Australian Prime Minister John Howard shake hands so enthusiastically with Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government had a moral obligation to surrender 17 military men and former militiamen to the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), w

Jakarta – Dozens of parents of pupils at Al Azhar school in Kemang, South Jakarta, demonstrated on Tuesday against the laying off of 11 teachers, along with some remaining school teache

Lewa Pardomuan, Sandakan (Malaysia) – Occasional trucks carrying palmoil fruits to nearby mills are the only sound shattering the calm for Indonesian plantation worker Nur Hajirah and h

East Timor's transition government, with little more than three months left before independence, insists that international donors cover its budget deficit over the next three years, es

Dili – Francisco Xavier do Amaral, a Deputy Speaker of the Constituent Assembly, received a second nomination today for president.

Catharine Munro, Jakarta – Militia leader Eurico Guterres today said he would answer charges of crimes against humanity in Indonesia but not in his native East Timor for his role in ant

Geoff Elliott – Telstra will withdraw its services from East Timor, prompting a stinging attack from East Timor foreign minister Jose Ramos Horta.

Yogita Tahilramani, Jakarta – Indonesian officials said they would not hand over 17 men indicted by prosecutors in East Timor on Monday for alleged crimes against humanity, saying that

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – In 1965, Mr Mujiman Jumakir, a member of the now dissolved Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), miraculously survived when Indonesian soldiers dumped him into a ri

A workers' rights group has accused factory managers in several cities of using the notorious Pemuda Pancasila thugs-for-hire group to intimidate and attack laborers involved in trade u

Tangerang – About 850 workers at garment manufacturer PT Hyun Indonesia on Jl. Telesonic No. 1, Jatiuwung, Tangerang, launched a massive strike on Monday.

Jakarta – Forest and ground fires, mainly blamed on land clearing practices, have led to the return of haze over parts of the Indonesian province of Riau in Sumatra island, officials an

Banda Aceh – Plans by a paramilitary group to hold its first mass rally in Indonesia's Aceh province flopped yesterday, following strong objections from separatist rebels and other Aceh

The announcement that Major-General Sjafrie Sjamsuddin is to become the head of public relations and the official spokesperson of TNI, the Indonesian armed forces, has provoked angry de

Jakarta – Corporate governance reform is crucial to the Indonesian government's effort to attract more investors to the country, the World Bank said Tuesday.

Jakarta – One man was killed and 46 other people were arrested following riots in the Kalijodo prostitution complex in North Jakarta on Saturday.

Tangerang – Nine-year-old Mahmud can only stare at the hospital room ceiling with empty eyes. His head looks bigger than it should be, his rib protrude and his stomach is extended.

Jakarta – Indonesia announced Monday its economy grew by 3.32 percent last year, lower than the government's forecast of 3.5 percent but higher than many of its neighbours.

Jakarta – Indonesia's unhusked rice production is forecast to reach 48.65 million tonnes this year, 1.9 percent less than 2001, an Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) official

Christopher Hitchens – In a few weeks, East Timor will be able to celebrate both its independence as a country and its status as a democracy.

Australian researcher Lesley McCulloch meets three teenagers who have become unwitting players in the long running secessionist war in the Indonesian province of Aceh.

Joanna Jolly, Dili – International prosecutors on Monday indicted 17 pro-Jakarta militiamen and Indonesian soldiers for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during East Timor's v

Jakarta – The protracted economic crisis affecting Indonesia since 1997 has swelled the ranks of the country's poor to around 60 percent of the 215 million-strong population, an officia

Widjajanto/Dyah Prabandari, Jakarta – The United States offered to facilitate in solving the Acehnese problem. This statement by US Ambassador to Indonesia Ralph L.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – The government has extended its deadline for 128,000 (sic) Timorese to vacate refugee camps in West Timor until June 20, allowing them more time to decide on t

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – There are about 200 small lakes that function as water catchment areas in Greater Jakarta, but most of them have been damaged and some disappeared.

Tangerang – Some 300 workers, who were dismissed by PT Koinus Jaya Garment last December, held a rally to protest against their dismissal and ask for severance pay at the Tangerang muni

Hamish McDonald and Desmond Ball – As an army major with access to the most highly classified intelligence flowing into Canberra, Chris Jones admits he used to feel tempted when he saw

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – The labor union for the state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) demanded on Thursday that the company's newly appointed board of directors

Jakarta – Indonesia is to establish counter-terrorism units to deal with regional security threats, according to the chief of the nation's armed forces.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Adm.

Daniel Nelson – After 25 years of brutal occupation, culminating in Indonesian-organized murder and mayhem against a referendum on independence, the world's newest country is turning th

Jupriadi and Annastashya Emmanuelle, Jakarta/Makassar – The peace accord for Maluku signed in Malino, Central Sulawesi on February 12, 2001 was tested once again as protesters greeted t

Robert Go, Jakarta – Some recent developments suggest that Indonesia's economy is moving on the right track, but observers also warned that there is no light at the end of the tunnel ye

Jakarta – A series of blasts rocked Ambon a day after a peace pact was signed by the warring Muslim and Christian camps, drawing condemnation from Indonesian Vice-President Hamzah Haz y

Jakarta – American businessmen indicated an interest in investing in Indonesia at a meeting here on Tuesday.

Indonesia's armed forces (TNI) need foreign military cooperation in intelligence exchanges and joint exercises to help fight terrorism, the military chief said.

jakarta – Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda yesterday played down a report by The Straits Times outlining an apparent aborted terrorist plan to launch bomb explosions in Singa

Asip A.