Indonesia on the news

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived on Indonesia’s Bali island on Thursday for a summit where a regional maritime dispute with China is expected to top the agenda.

President Barack Obama arrived on the Indonesian island of Bali early Thursday morning to start economic talks with Asian leaders, whose countries account for more than half of the world's GDP.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono used his opening speech at the Asean Summit in Bali on Friday to urge nuclear-weapon states the United States, France, China, Russian and the United Kingdom to immediately ratify the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone treaty.

Indonesia has emerged as one of the leading Asian countries for economic growth post-global financial crisis and looks set to lead the Southeast Asian growth story for the next decade, according to a new Rabobank report.

Indonesian has the potential to become an international language, more so than many European languages, the Indonesian Commission for UNESCO says.

BOGOR PLANS ‘COW HOTEL’

DENPASAR The Bali authorities have ordered a clampdown on beggars in the run-up to the ASEAN Summit and US President Barack Obama’s visit. The Denpasar and Badung authorities have been conducting sweeps of local streets since the weekend, focussing on intersections with traffic lights, popular spots for beggars and itinerant hawkers to target motorists.