Indonesia

Countries meet in Bali to discuss people smuggling

Countries meet in Bali to discuss people smuggling Bali Island, Indonesia - Ministers and officials from 40 countries began a two-day meeting on the Indonesian resort island of Bali Tuesday to discuss people smuggling and the fate of migrants from Myanmar's Rohingya ethnic group. The meeting, co-hosted by Indonesia and Australia, will discuss Asia-Pacific solutions to people smuggling and trafficking and ways to improve border security.

Opposition parties allege Indonesian elections rigged

Jakarta - Political parties led by the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle said Tuesday that last week's elections were rigged, calling the vote the "worst" since the fall of autocratic president Suharto in 1998. The Democratic Party of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was leading in early vote counting after Thursday's parliamentary elections, and pollsters said the party would win about 20 per cent of the total votes.

Former presidents Megawati Sukarnoputri and Abdurrahman Wahid as well leaders of smaller political parties met at Megawati's house on Tuesday to forge a common stance on alleged election irregularities.

Indonesian man arrested for smuggling heroin

Indonesian man arrested for smuggling heroin Jakarta - Police arrested an Indonesian man Tuesday for trying to smuggle three kilograms of heroin estimated to be worth about 270,000 dollars into the country. The Indonesian citizen, identified only as W, was arrested by anti-narcotics police at the parking lot of Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International airport, after he arrived on an AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Brigadier General Harry Montolalu, director of the national police's criminal investigation department, said the man successfully got through the airport's security checkpoints.

Indonesian party leaders intensify coalition talks

Indonesian party leaders intensify coalition talks Jakarta - Leaders of Indonesia's political parties Monday intensified talks to form alliances for the July presidential election July, as criticism over widespread irregularities in last week's parliamentary polls mounts. The Democratic Party of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the big winner of Thursday's election, is expected to ink a coalition pact with other parties by this weekend.

Final election results are not expected until May, but first counts put the Democrats ahead with about 20 percent of the votes.

New orangutan population discovered in Indonesia

New orangutan population discovered in IndonesiaLondon, April 13 : Conservationists have recently discovered a new population of orangutans in a remote area of Indonesia, giving a rare boost to one of the world’s most endangered great apes.

A team surveying mountainous forests in eastern Borneo counted 219 orangutan nests, indicating a “substantial” number of the animals, Erik Meijaard, of the US-based charity The Nature Conservancy, told the Guardian.

“We can’t say for sure how many,” he said, but even the most cautious estimate would indicate “several hundred at least, maybe 1,000 or 2,000 even”.

Indonesia votes amid concerns over logistics, voter lists

Indonesia votes amid concerns over logistics, voter listsJakarta/Jayapura, Indonesia  - Indonesians went to the polls Thursday for parliamentary elections amid concerns of logistical problems and alleged widespread fraudulent voter lists.

Voting began at 7 am (2200 GMT Wednesday) in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua in the sprawling archipelago nation of more than 17,000 islands spanning three time zones.

Hours before polls opened, violence hit Papua, home to a low-level separatist insurgency, leaving one person dead, Papuan police chief Bagus Eko Danto said.

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