An Indonesian passenger plane that went missing two days ago was destroyed when it slammed into a mountain, killing all 54 people on board.

Indonesian officials have dropped a plan to require female students to pass virginity tests in order to graduate from high school and apologised after sparking a public outcry, human rights campaigners said.

Indonesian officials have said that they were confident wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501 had been located after sonar equipment detected four massive objects on the ocean floor.

Surabaya, Indonesia

A massive hunt for the 162 victims of AirAsia Flight 8501 resumed in the Java Sea, with six bodies, including a flight attendant identified by her trademark red uniform, recovered.

A missing AirAsia jet carrying 162 people could be at the bottom of the sea after it was presumed to have crashed off the Indonesian coast, an official said, as countries around Asia sent ships and planes to help in the search.

Objects have been spotted in the sea by a search plane hunting for a missing AirAsia jet, an Indonesian official has said.

An AirAsia plane with 162 people on board lost contact with ground control while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from a provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore.

Rescuers have pulled more bodies from the debris after heavy rain in central Indonesia loosened soil and collapsed a hill, setting off a landslide that killed at least 32 villagers and left 76 others missing under piles of mud.

Up to 80 children were feared to be among the 295 passengers and crew who died after the Malaysian Airways plane was shot down over Ukraine yesterday afternoon.

A rescue operation is under way after a wooden boat carrying 97 Indonesian migrants capsized and sank after leaving Malaysia’s west coast, with 66 people still missing.

Malaysia and Indonesia have banned the biblical epic Noah, joining other Muslim nations in vetoing the Hollywood movie because of its visual depiction of the prophet.

At least seven people died today when a commuter train collided with a truck carrying fuel in Indonesia’s capital, sending a fireball of orange flames and black smoke shooting skywards.

Seven people, including five Chinese tourists, were killed when a bus plunged into a ravine on the island of Bali, Indonesian police said today.

I first learned about the glories of killing aged about 5.

A Lion Air jet carrying more than 100 passengers and crew crashed into the ocean while attempting to land today on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, injuring up to 45 people, officials said.

From his old school in Indonesia to a Japanese beach town that happens to share his name, people around the world have cheered Barack Obama’s re-election as US president today.

Four women’s doubles pairs have been disqualified from the Olympic badminton competition after deliberately trying to lose matches.

Four women’s doubles pairs have been disqualified from the Olympic badminton competition after deliberately trying to lose matches.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) have launched disciplinary proceedings after four women’s doubles pairs apparently tried to throw matches at London 2012.

Saturnina da Silva doesn’t have a name for her baby boy yet, born just 12 hours before Saturday’s parliamentary election in the tropical half-island nation.

A cruise ship with 1,000 people on board which had drifted for 24 hours after a fire is expected to reach Malaysia following repairs, the ship’s company said.

Thousands of Indonesians protesting at plans to push up fuel prices by more than 30% have clashed with riot police.

Rescue teams searched for survivors today after a busy bridge collapsed in central Indonesia, sending a bus, cars and motorcycles crashing into the river below.

Terror suspects arrested in Indonesia have led police to five massive bombs buried beneath a gas pipeline near a church just outside the capital Jakarta, officials said.

THE Japanese people are likely to feel strong aftershocks for another one to three months following yesterday’s devastating earthquake, according to an Irish expert in Japanese earthquakes.

Nigeria’s military launched a co-ordinated air, naval and ground assault to free 19 hostages held in militant camps in the oil-rich southern delta, apparently routing the gunmen without causing any casualties.

MUSLIMS may be banned from drinking the world’s most expensive coffee – extracted from the dung of a civet cat – over concerns it is unclean.

One Indonesian woman drowned and 14 other suspected illegal immigrants were missing after a boat capsized off Malaysia's west coast, police said today.

A VIDEO of an Indonesian toddler who smokes 40 cigarettes a day has shocked health experts and provides further graphic illustration of the south-east Asian country’s growing addiction to tobacco.

Thousands of Indonesians rallied in the capital of the world’s most populous Muslim nation today to protest against Israel’s plan to expand settlements in disputed east Jerusalem.

A strong earthquake struck deep under the sea in eastern Indonesia today, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, officials said.

Five crew members, including two Indonesians, are missing after a South Korean fishing boat sank in waters off the country’s south-east coast.

Rescuers returned to choppy waters off Indonesia’s Sumatra island today to search for 21 passengers still missing after a ferry sank in a storm.

RESCUERS rushed back into the rubble yesterday after a woman’s cries for help were reported coming from a collapsed hotel six days after Indonesia’s devastating earthquake — but the search was in vain.

Search teams lost hope of finding any more survivors under the rubble left by a massive earthquake as torrential rain held up aid in the remote hills of western Indonesia where several villages were wiped out.

AN Indonesian military transport plane carrying 110 passengers and crew crashed and burst into flames in East Java yesterday, killing at least 98 people on board and on the ground, officials said.

High tides hindered rescuers today as they searched for nearly 250 people missing and feared dead after a ferry capsized off Indonesia’s Sulawesi island.

Three Islamic militants executed for the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, many of them foreign tourists, were buried today before hundreds of emotional supporters. Some shouted “God is great!” and called the men holy warriors.

POLICE on the Indonesian resort island of Bali said security has been stepped up in tourist areas as the execution of the three Bali bombers appears to be imminent.

AT least 23 Indonesians were crushed to death trying to collect $4.25 (€3) in cash handouts from a rich family at a charity event marking the Islamic holy month, officials said. Eight others were critically injured in the stampede.

At least 23 people were crushed to death today when residents of an eastern Indonesia town surged forward while waiting for 40,000 rupiah (€3) handouts from a rich family in an annual tradition, officials said.

SCORES of jubilant villagers trooped to Sarah Obama’s home in western Kenya yesterday to savour her grandson’s victory as US Democratic party presidential nominee.

Islamic hard-liners in Indonesia broke up a religious tolerance rally today, beating demonstrators with bamboo sticks and calling for the deaths of members of a Muslim sect they consider heretical, witnesses said.