Landmark Indon polls

Indonesians voted Monday in the country's first direct presidential election, and a former general said he was confident of winning the most votes but not enough to avoid a run-off.

10 firms to be charged over haze

Indonesian authorities will charge 10 forestry or plantation companies with starting fires to clear land and creating choking haze which covered part of Sumatra island last year, an official said yesterday.

Plantation chief feels the heat over forest fires

The director of a plantation company in Minas district, Riau, was arrested on Friday for allegedly ordering the clearing of hundreds of hectares of land by setting fires, which has contributed to the haze now shrouding parts of Sumatra island and neighbouring countries.

Indonesia lost RM8.9b to corruption, says official

Indonesia has lost 22 trillion rupiah (RM8.9bil) in two years because of corruption, an official said yesterday.

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Contents of Sukarno's hotel suite sold for RM8,500

The contents of a hotel suite where Indonesia's founding president Sukarno stayed have been auctioned to a businessman.

Briefly

Ex-envoy jailed for paedophilia in Bali

A court Tuesday jailed a former Australian diplomat for 13 years for having sex with underage boys in Bali.

Small lead for Megawati with 12% of votes counted

A spurt in votes counted in Indonesia's parliamentary elections on Wednesday put President Megawati Sukarnoputri's party neck-and-neck with the former political vehicle of ex-strongman Suharto.

Vote-buying seen as Indon polls wild card

Vote-buying brokers will be busy in the hours just before polling stations open today for Indonesia's parliamentary elections.