Ungaran, Indonesia – Indonesian prosecutors on Thursday demanded a wealthy Muslim cleric who took a 12-year-old girl as his unofficial wife be convicted of sexually abusing a child and

By now there may be only a few of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's 34 Cabinet ministers who are confident that their positions are secure.

Peter Alford, Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono finished the first year of his second term yesterday beset by criticism from every direction.

Farouk Arnaz & Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Indonesian prosecutors have thrown the book at pop star Nazriel Irham, charging him with a raft of controversial and obscure charges relati

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The Golkar Party has announced it will fight for a higher parliamentary threshold in the legislative body in the interests of forming a stronger and more e

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The thorny question of censorship has kept the Attorney General's Office busy in the past year.

What a difference a year makes. Just 12 months ago there was so much hope and optimism when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took the oath of office for his second five-year term.

Armando Siahaan & Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – The government and the House of Representatives have agreed on a plan to cover the Rp 50 trillion ($5.6 billion) shortfall need

Nurfika Osman, Jakarta – Women participating in the anti-poverty National Program for Community Empowerment, or PNPM, have jumped to its defence after its effectiveness was questioned e

When President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was sworn in for his second term on this day a year ago, he promised to boost prosperity, justice and democracy.

Presi Mandari, Jakarta – Hundreds of antigovernment protesters hurled stones and sticks at police who answered with tear gas outside the Presidential Palace in the Indonesian capital Ja

Nurfika Osman, Jakarta – The Indonesian Survey Circle on Wednesday gave President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's cabinet failing grades in most fields of policymaking.

Bilhuda Haryanto, Jakarta – High commodity prices, job insecurity, weak law enforcement and unresolved human rights issues were just some of the grievances aired on the capital's street

Camelia Pasandaran, Farouk Arnaz & Zaky Pawas – The first anniversary of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono starting his second term passed relatively peacefully on Wednesday with t

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – The opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle on Wednesday lambasted the House of Representatives' decision to continue with the much-criticized plan t

Jakarta – The Indonesian government should begin making plans for an increasing population, as uncontrolled growth would lead to a multi-dimensional crisis, experts say.

Zaky Pawas, Rahmat, Ismira Lutfia & Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's visit to Makassar on Tuesday was marred by hours of violent clashes betw

Adianto P.

Jakarta – The Democratic Party should be wary following findings from a new nationwide survey that indicated public support for the country's ruling party was dwindling, pundits say.

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's deputy chairwoman, Puan Maharani, has stressed it would remain a steadfast opposition party, despite last week hav

Rahmat & Antara, Jakarta – National Police have reiterated a ban animals being used during the expected nationwide protests on Wednesday against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's

Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono flew into restive Makassar on Tuesday, a day after violent protests against Yudhoyono's government in the South Sulawesi capital.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – The House of Representatives on Tuesday said it would not seek funds for so-called aspiration houses and would instead focus on a new office tower fo

Fitri, Mataram – Dozens of villagers have stopped construction of the Lombok International Airport by blocking the road to the site in protest of unfair hiring practices, unpaid wages a

Tom Allard Jakarta and Kirsty Needham – The conduct of Indonesia's security agencies was sometimes "not up to our standard", the head of Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs, Denni

Anita Rachman – Apparently undeterred by harsh public criticism of lawmakers' frivolous overseas visits, the House Ethics Council is planning a trip to Greece, to learn about legislativ

Jakarta – The nation's cities are experiencing a housing crisis fueled by overpopulation, a lack of new homes, and poor access to lending, all of which have the greatest impact on the l

Nusa Dua, Bali – Indonesia on Monday called for greater vigilance and cooperation in the fight against terror, as counter-terrorism chiefs from around the world met in Bali.

Peter Alford, Nusa Dua, Bali – Indonesia's military will be "activated" to support police fighting terrorism, says the chief of the government's new National Counter-Terrorism Agency.

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – The House of Representatives rubber stamped the decision of House Commission III for security on Tuesday, paving the way for controversial Comr. Gen.

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – National Police spokesman Insp. Gen.

Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – How can a graft suspect stop a criminal case in its tracks?

Nurfika Osman, Jakarta – Are education councils effective? Activists on Monday said no.

Jakarta – Indonesia harbors nearly a third of the world's neglected tropical diseases, despite there being cures for many of them, largely due to poor sanitation and unhealthy living, t

Panca Nugraha, Mataram – Hundreds of farmers in West Lombok have protested against an almost completed water pipeline project, fearing water shortages for crops.

Jakarta – The Islamic People's Forum (FUI) demanded that the National Police do not release pop star Nazriel "Ariel" Irham from detention.

Ulma Haryanto & Anita Rachman, Jakarta – Vice President Boediono has received cautious praise after calling on the "silent majority" to take a stand against a growing radicalism tha

The newly-formed union SPK-PPBI (Security Workers Union, aligned with the United Movement of Labour Indonesia) is calling for solidarity from unions and individuals.

Bilhuda Haryanto, Jakarta – The nation's most prominent antigraft watchdog, Indonesia Corruption Watch, says capital punishment is not the way to go in preventing corruption, pushing li

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Anita Rachman & Fidelis E.

Dessy Sagita, Jakarta – Activists have slammed the government for not allocating more funds to aid poor students while preparing to spend billions on its vehicle fleet and laptops.

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie insisted on Sunday that the party would stay inside the ruling coalition, despite complaints by some party stalwarts that

Dessy Sagita, Jakarta – Naming former President Suharto a national hero would spark controversy across the country, as the jury is still out on his role as Indonesia's "Father of Develo

Fidelis E Satriastanti, Jakarta – International environmental group Greenpeace is denying accusations that it is waging a foreign-funded campaign aimed at sabotaging the palm oil indust

Farouk Arnaz, Jakarta – Angry human rights activists are set to carry their opposition to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's choice of Comr. Gen.

Nivell Rayda, Bogor – For the past two weeks, 35-year-old Ahmad Nuryamin has been sharing a four-by-six meter cell with 11 other detainees at the Bogor Police headquarters, some of them

Radicalism is a cancer that is slowly devouring our nation.

Ismira Lutfia, Jakarta – Though activists and businesspeople have welcomed a ministerial decree ending a dispute between two bodies with overlapping mandates on migrant workers, many do

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – Tantalizing suggestions from the upper reaches of the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle that it may join forces with the government were shot d

Jakarta – Indonesians say they want five political parties to vie in the next general election to make the voting process simpler, a recent survey says.