Indonesia

The chief assumption underlying James Flanigan's Aug. 4 column ("Garment Industry Awaits Welfare Recipients") is fundamentally flawed. He argues that sweatshops flourish in Third World countries because U.S. retailers want to offer American consumers low-priced goods. Nike is but one giant corporation shopping around the world for cheap labor. This Oregon-headquartered firm doesn't produce a single shoe in the U.S. Instead its payroll for 12,000 workers in Indonesia was $5 million in 1994.

Eleven members of an elite Indonesian military unit were behind the slayings of four detainees at the Cebongan prison last month, military investigators told reporters this week. Brig. Gen. Unggul K. Yudhoyono said the prison killings were a revenge attack after a member of Kopassus, a military unit that conducts special operations, was fatally stabbed at a cafe, Indonesian media reported. The slain men had been arrested after his death. Masked gunmen stormed into the prison March 23 and fatally shot the four suspects.

THE BEST WAY TO BOROBUDUR, INDONESIA From LAX, connecting service (change of planes) to Yogyakarta is offered on Singapore, Thai, Air China, China Southern, Korean, Qantas, Philippine, Asiana and All Nippon, connecting to Garuda. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $1,299, excluding taxes and fees. TELEPHONES To call the numbers below from the U.S., dial 011 (the international dialing code), 62 (country code for Indonesia) and the local number. WHERE TO STAY Manohara Center for Borobudur Study, Jalan Badrawati, Borobudur, Magelang 56553; 293-788-680, http://www.borobudurpark.co.id . A small, charming guest house originally built for archaeologists and researchers on the grounds of Borobudur with a good restaurant, introductory video and sunrise tours; doubles start around $76, including temple admission, breakfast and tea. Amanjiwo, 293-788-333, http://www.amanresorts.com/amanjiwo/home.aspx . A luxurious Aman resort hidden above Borobudur with a silver leaf-covered ceiling in the restaurant, graceful limestone pool and other-worldly suite; rates start around $750 a night.

MALUKU ISLANDS, Indonesia - Perched on the edge of a skiff, I felt a trickle of sweat inch down my cheek. A heavy scuba tank pulled at my back as I adjusted my mask, feeling claustrophobic in all this gear and anxious about making this dive. How did I get here? I had come a long way to be sitting on this gunwale under a brilliant sun somewhere in Indonesia's Banda Sea: flights from Los Angeles to Bali and Flores, then motoring on calm seas past volcanic islands and coral atolls, white beaches and palm trees.

The monkey, shackled to an iron stake, paced a narrow strip of dirt filled with its own excrement. As people laughed and pointed, the creature bared its teeth and lunged at the end of its line. "He gets angry," said one trader at the teeming animal market here. "Like a little person." Irma Hermawati gets angry too. The 31-year-old Javanese native is an investigator for the nonprofit group ProFauna, which lobbies on behalf of what she believes is Indonesia's most precious resource: its indigenous wildlife.

THE BEST WAY TO THE MALUKU ISLANDS, INDONESIA From LAX, Cathay Pacific, Singapore, Virgin AustraIia, Malaysia Airlines, China Airlines and EVA offer connecting service (change of planes) to Denpasar International Airport on Bali. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $950, including fees and taxes. I recommend going a few days early to explore Bali before the official trip begins. The Seven Seas will arrange domestic flights from Bali to Flores to meet the ship, as well as the return, and will include hotel layovers at an additional cost.

For decades, Uni Histayanti has performed the enigmatic movements of her country's traditional pendet pendet dance. She learned the rhythms as an infant and years ago opened a dinner theater here in the Indonesian capital where, dressed in native costume, she performs nightly. As she flutters her arms bird-like, darts her eyes and tilts her head at exotic angles, she invokes the welcoming spirit of the Hindu-majority Bali island where it originated centuries ago. That's why it floored her to hear that neighboring Malaysia had reportedly tried to seize the pendet as its own. It's pure cultural piracy, Histayanti insists.

For four long years, Reni Sualeha has lived in the shadow of a monster, a menacing chemical flow of fetid gray mud that belches unchecked from the bowels of the earth near her home. Known as the Lusi mud volcano, its spread is so relentless — burping noxious gas, swallowing communities, killing 14 people and forcing the evacuations of 60,000 — that some say it could star in its own sci-fi thriller. Those in the United States who are wondering just how long the ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico could possibly keep gushing should listen to Sualeha's cautionary tale.

Powerful earthquakes struck Indonesia and Japan, triggering tsunami alerts, but no wave was reported in Indonesia and Japan's measured just 4 inches. No damage or injuries were reported immediately. Indonesia's preliminary magnitude was 6.6 and Japan's was 7.

Do primates eat, pray, love? This monkey, photographed by Stephanie Huynh, seems to think so. Huynh, who recently moved to Yokohama, Japan, from San Diego, was in Bali earlier this month celebrating her fifth wedding anniversary. While she was visiting the Ubud Monkey Forest, this character and bowl caught her attention. "I really liked the essence of this shot …as the monkey appears to be much more human-like," she said. Huynh used a Canon EOS Rebel T1i. View past photos we've featured . To upload your own, visit our reader travel photo gallery . When you upload your photo, tell us where it was taken and when.

THE BEST WAY TO THE MALUKU ISLANDS, INDONESIA From LAX, Cathay Pacific, Singapore, Virgin AustraIia, Malaysia Airlines, China Airlines and EVA offer connecting service (change of planes) to Denpasar International Airport on Bali. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $950, including fees and taxes. I recommend going a few days early to explore Bali before the official trip begins. The Seven Seas will arrange domestic flights from Bali to Flores to meet the ship, as well as the return, and will include hotel layovers at an additional cost.

A British woman who tried to smuggle several pounds of cocaine into Bali was sentenced Tuesday to death, a far more severe punishment than the 15 years behind bars sought by Indonesian prosecutors.  The court found there were  "no mitigating circumstances" to allow leniency for Lindsay Sandiford, Agence France-Presse reported . Her actions could tarnish Bali as a tourist destination, the judges reportedly said. Sandiford, 56, is the second British citizen in recent months to receive a death sentence for drug crimes in Indonesia.

An Indonesian Supreme Court hopeful may have torpedoed his chances at the job after suggesting that women might enjoy being raped, infuriating a wide array of critics. Daming Sanusi made the inflammatory remarks Monday while being interviewed by a parliamentary panel for a seat on the Supreme Court.  When asked whether rapists should be put to death, Daming joked that because both the rapist and the victim “enjoy it,” the court should think twice about imposing the death penalty.

Walt Disney Co. is implementing a new policy to use less paper from environmentally threatened areas, a year after it was targeted by environmental protesters. In May of 2011, activists from the Rainforest Action Network hung a banner outside Disney's Burbank headquarters charging the entertainment giant with "destroying Indonesia's rainforests. " At the time, Disney called the protest a "publicity stunt" and said it had already made a commitment to "sustainable paper" in a 2010 corporate citizenship report.

Here's a $946 round-trip fare from LAX to Jakarta, Indonesia, on China Airlines, but the booking window is short: The fare must be bought by Friday. The fare, which includes all taxes and fees, is subject to availability for travel Mondays-Thursdays from Sept. 3 until Nov. 29. There's a maximum stay of one month. Info: China Airlines , (800) 227-5118 Source: Airfarewatchdog

MOSCOW - A new Russian passenger plane with 50 people aboard went missing Wednesday during a demonstration flight over Indonesia, officials said. The Sukhoi Superjet 100, on a South Asian promotional tour, disappeared from radar screens 20 minutes into its second flight from Jakarta. The crew last spoke to ground control while over Mt. Halimun Salak National Park in West Java province, the Rossiya 24 television network reported. "Before communication was lost with the plane, there was no information about the malfunction of the systems," said Vladimir Prisyazhnyuk, president of Moscow-based Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co. "The plane has conducted about 500 flights with the overall flight time over 800 hours [and]

The government here has banned a controversial Australian-made film that depicts the Indonesian military's reported 1975 execution of six foreign journalists in East Timor. Indonesia's film censorship board announced last week that all screenings of the political thriller "Balibo," which documents the killings of the so-called Balibo Five, are forbidden. The five -- two Australians, two Britons and a New Zealander -- were working for Australian television networks when they were allegedly murdered by Indonesian troops during the 1975 invasion of East Timor.

The trial of Playboy Indonesia's editor in chief was closed to the public Thursday, angering dozens of Islamic hard-liners who threatened to break down the Jakarta courtroom doors if they are not granted access to the proceedings. Erwin Arnada went on trial three weeks ago on indecency charges and could face 32 months in prison if convicted. Under Indonesian law, indecency trials are closed when witness testimony is being heard to avoid obscene material or discussions being made public.

HONG KONG — It's a warm, humid day halfway into the city's International Film Festival, and Edwin — a rising Indonesian indie filmmaker with his single name born of tradition rather than manufactured Hollywood artifice — is trying to explain how he shapes the aesthetic of his films. It all begins with a single image. For "Postcards From the Zoo," an ethereal fairy-tale-like story of a child abandoned at Jakarta's Ragunan Zoo that is in competition, it was raindrops on an elephant's hide.

Nissan Motor Co. is bringing back the storied Datsun brand, but American drivers are unlikely to see any new vehicles adorned with the name whose popularity in Southern California served as a springboard to international prominence. Nissan is positioning Datsun as a lower-cost brand in emerging markets. The new line will go on sale in India, Indonesia and Russia in 2014. The Datsun brand dates from 1931 as the nameplate of Japan's DAT Motorcar Co., which was purchased by Nissan in 1933.