The latest in Jakarta

Indonesia says understands Obama trip delay

2010-03-19T01:30:10Z

<div><p>JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia understands the reason for President Barack Obama's last-minute cancellation of his visit to Jakarta and Bali, officials in the Southeast Asian nation said on Friday. But ordinary Indonesians ...

Obama's Jakarta home district sees shift in Islam

2010-03-18T02:30:06Z

<div><p>JAKARTA (Reuters) - Some things in the central Jakarta district of Matraman have barely changed since the late 1960s, when United States President Barack Obama lived and played there.</p><p>Old men train their racing pigeons on the badminton ...

U.S.-funded Detachment 88, elite of Indonesia security

2010-03-18T01:45:07Z

<div><p>JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia has won praise for cracking down on Islamist militants behind a string of deadly attacks and at the core of the fight have been the heavily armed black-clad officers of its anti-terrorism unit -- Detachment 88.</p><p>A symbol of improved security cooperation with Western nati...

Indonesian militants recruit fighters in video

2010-03-16T21:00:10Z

<div id="subtitle">Video shows militants training at camp in western Indonesia that was raided last week</div><div><p>From the safety of a forest camp, a commander of a new Indonesian militant group looks into a camera and ridicules the notorious extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah: They are not violent enough, come and join us, he shouts, an automatic rifle in one...

Obamas Indonesia

2010-03-16T06:17:03Z

FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2010, file photo an Indonesian man plays with his son under the statue of President Barack Obama as a 10-year-old boy at Menteng Park in Jakarta, Indonesia. Memories of the four years Obama spent in Jakarta are set to be stirred further next week when he returns to the city for what is believed to be the first time since h...

CAPITAL CULTURE: Indonesia remembers young Obama

2010-03-15T21:15:22Z

<div id="subtitle">CAPITAL CULTURE: Obama's return to Indonesia stokes anticipation, memories of his childhood</div><div><p>Somewhat bluntly, Barack Obama's former teacher sums up the neighborhood thinking when the future American president turned up with his family in Indonesia's capital more than 40 years ago.</p><p>"His mother was white, his father was ...

US-Indonesia military deal uncertain ahead of Obama visit

2010-03-15T16:16:10Z

<div><p>The United States said Monday it could not predict when it would resume full military ties with Indonesia, as it laid out the details of President Barack Obama's trip to Jakarta and Bali next week.</p><p>Obama spent fo...

Anti-terror exercises launched in Indonesia

2010-03-13T00:15:48Z

<div><p>Indonesian police and the military launched a series of anti-terror exercises on Saturday, a week ahead of a visit to the country by US President Barack Obama.</p><p>The exercises were expected to be held in several places, including the capital's main international airport, the stock market building, upmarket hotels, and an area of sea north of Jakarta.</p>...

Malaysian prince wins defamation suit against teen wife

2010-03-12T19:45:07Z

<div><p>The estranged wife and mother-in-law of a Malaysian prince were ordered Thursday to pay 1.8 million dollars after alleging he had raped and abused his teenage bride, his lawyer said.</p><p>Tengku Temenggong Mohammad Fakhry, a prince from northern Kelantan state, won the defamation suit by default last November after the two women failed to file a defence.</p><p>The prince's lawyer Haaziq Pillay said the H...

Slain Islamist militant leader buried in Indonesia

2010-03-12T01:15:42Z

<div><p>Slain Islamist bomb-maker Dulmatin was buried in his Indonesian home village Friday as a large crowd of mourners chanted "God is greater" and acclaimed him as a holy warrior.</p><p>The crowd of more than 2,000 shouted "Allahu Akbar" as the Jemaah Islamiyah bomb specialist was laid to rest in the village of Pemalang in Indonesia highlights battle against resurgent extremists</div><div><p>The death of a senior terror suspect in a gunfight with police has been both a trophy for Indonesia and an unsettling reminder ahead of President Barack Obama's visit that the country's battle against resurgent extremists is far from over.</p>&...

Obama visit fuels anti-terror raids in Indonesia

2010-03-10T07:16:01Z

<div><p>US President Barack Obama's planned visit to Indonesia this month has lent new impetus to raids that have left one top militant dead and his band of Islamist extremists on the ropes, analysts say.</p><p>"The most important and powerful leader in the world is coming to Indonesia, so the authorities have to tame any possible attack by jihadists," CANBERRA/JAKARTA (Reuters) - A suspected mastermind of the Bali bombings was killed in a police raid in Indonesia in the latest blow to an Islamist militant movement in the world's most populous Muslim country.</p><p>D...

Indonesian president confirms terror man's death

2010-03-09T20:16:39Z

<div><p>Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono confirmed Wednesday that suspected terror mastermind Dulmatin had been killed in a police raid in Jakarta.</p><p>The president, on a three-day visit to Australia, said a raid against militants hiding out on the outskirts of the capital had result...

Indonesia believes top wanted JI militant killed

2010-03-09T05:45:07Z

<div><p>JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian police believe they</p><p>have shot dead a top fugitive militant, wanted over the 2002 Bali bombings, in what could be a major coup in the country's fight against Islamist radicals, police and analysts said on Tuesday.</p><p>Police sources said two raids in Pamulang, in

Bali bomb mastermind believed killed in Jakarta

2010-03-09T04:16:00Z

<div><p>Indonesian counter-terrorism forces on Tuesday killed a man believed to have been one of the masterminds of the 2002 Bali bombings during a raid in the capital Jakarta, police and reports said.</p><p>The man was among three people killed in two raids on the city's outskirts.</p><p>Police did not disclose the identities of the three, saying "a forensic examination was ...

Top JI militant believed killed in Indonesia: police

2010-03-09T04:15:59Z

<div><p>Indonesian anti-terrorism forces Tuesday killed a man believed to be one of the masterminds behind the 2002 Bali bombings, Dulmatin, during a raid on the outskirts of Jakarta, police said.</p><p>Gunfire was heard as police raided a two-storey shophouse at around 11:00 am (0400 GMT) in Pamulang city west of the capital, witnesses told local television.</p><p>Witnesses ...

Indonesia Terror Raid

2010-03-09T03:00:28Z

Indonesian police officers and hospital workers carry the body of a suspected militant killed in a raid in Banten province upon arrival at the main police hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, March 9, 2010. Anti-terror police shot dead the suspect and arrested another two in the raid on the main Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrived in Australia on Tuesday for a three-day visit during which he will be given the rare honour of addressing the country's parliament.</p><p>Yudhoyono, who will also speak to business leaders in Sydney, was greeted by <...

Indonesian students protest Barack Obama's visit

2010-03-05T06:15:35Z

<div id="subtitle">Muslim students protest in Jakarta against Barack Obama's first Indonesian visit as president</div><div><p>Scores of Islamic students staged protests outside Jakarta's parliament and in at least three other major Indonesian cities on Friday against President Barack Obama's upcoming visit to this predominantly Muslim country.</p><p>The studen...