| top news | Activists Cry Foul as 35% of Forests Avoid Permits Freeze Sighs of relief from activists on Thursday that a long-awaited two-year moratorium on forest clearance permits had finally been signed were drowned out on Friday after it emerged that more than a third of Indonesia's forest area will not be covered. Fidelis E Satriastanti | 12:39 AM May 21, 2011  An illegal logger cuts down a tree to be turned into planks for construction in a forest south of Sampit, in Indonesia's Central Kalimantan province. Indonesia is one of the world's leading emitters of the greenhouse gas blamed for global warming, but activists say a new moratorium on forest clearance omits a third of all forest area. (Reuters Photo) |
 | FIFA Suspension Looming After PSSI Vote Chaos Indonesian football's stumbling path to leadership reform was derailed yet again on Friday when a congress convened for a long-awaited election of top officials was halted by the special committee organizing it. Wimbo Satwiko | 12:18 AM May 21, 2011 Judge Blasts Nazaruddin for 'Money Gifts' Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin was accused of yet more misconduct on Friday, with a chief justice saying the lawmaker had threatened to "trash" the Constitutional Court if a court official did not accept envelopes of cash. Arientha Primanita, Heru Andriyanto, Zaky Pawas& Anita Rachman | 12:29 AM May 21, 2011 Jakarta Won't Bow to Central Govt In Tussle Over Toll Road Truck Ban The Jakarta administration has no plans to lift its ban on heavy trucks using inner-city toll roads, saying it will use the regional autonomy law to make sure that the central government does not shoot down the policy. Dofa Fasila, Zaky Pawas & Elisabeth Oktofani | 12:38 AM May 21, 2011 |  |
| | business | Government to Increase Power Rates by Up to 15% in 2012 Year The government is planning to jack up electricity rates again next year to trim the power subsidy, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo said, drawing mixed reactions from businesses as well as economists. Faisal Maliki Baskoro, Anita Rachman & Ririn Radiawti Kusuma | 9:40 PM May 20, 2011  A PLN customer in West Java topping up his power. Indonesia has some of the lowest electricity rates due to huge state subsidies. (Antara Photo) |
 | Ministry Want Sweeteners to Spin Investors' Wheels The Industry Ministry is seeking tax incentives for manufacturers like Daihatsu to encourage production of economical cars for the growing middle class in Indonesia, a top official said. Faisal Maliki Baskoro | 8:55 PM May 20, 2011 Is Google Making Money Off Illegal Ads? Washington. They're impossible to miss online: all those ads hawking cheap drugs, penny stock fortunes, low mortgage rates and instant wrinkle-zapping solutions. For consumers, it's not always obvious which operators are legitimate. Jia Lynn Yang | 8:49 PM May 20, 2011 |  |
| | sports |  Judging by its star-deprived lineup, Indonesia might have to wait a little longer to break its Sudirman Cup drought. (AFP Photo) |
 | Proliga Outsiders Look to Make Final History One relatively new team and another that was mired in the cellar last season are on the verge of making history in the Indonesian Professional Volleyball League. Ami Afriatni | 8:48 PM May 20, 2011 |  |
| | life & times | Joko Widodo: The Best Mayor in Indonesia? Is Solo's Joko Widodo the best mayor in Indonesia? The government thinks so. The Ministry of Home Affairs presented him with the "Best Mayor 2011" award last month. Candra Malik | 6:12 PM May 20, 2011  Joko Widodo, the mayor of Solo, Central Java, taking part in a parade to celebrate the opening of Klithikan Notoharjo market. Joko has gained nationwide fame for his successful relocation of the city's food vendors to centralized locations, and picked up the 'Best Mayor' award this year from the Home Affairs Ministry. (JG Photo/Candra Malik) |
 | All in a Day's Work for Versatile Depp Johnny Depp is back in the scarves, jewels and eyeliner, bumbling his way from one adventure to the next as the insouciant Captain Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides." It's the fourth movie in the popular Disney franchise and it's given Depp one of his signature characters. Christy Lemire | 5:22 PM May 20, 2011 Three Jakarta Restaurants to Get Your Noodle Fix Jakartans love mie (noodles), be they fried, boiled or served in soup. So far, so obvious. But the city gobbles up an apparently infinite variety of different kinds; from street vendors selling budget noodles draped in orange chilli sauce to streetside rukos (house-shops) with their own secret recipe for mie ayam (chicken noodles) and on to upscale hotels adding twists of exotic new ingredients, there are plenty of variations for Jakarta's noodle junkies to slurp up. Here are a few fine examples you should know about. Marcel Thee | 7:38 PM May 20, 2011 Photographs That It Takes a Wall to Hold There are some people out there who don't think photography qualifies as a fine art. After all, they say, photographers just have to point their camera and click a button, unlike painters, who must create their works one painstaking stroke at a time. Katrin Figge | 6:27 PM May 20, 2011 |  |
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