Australia's spy agencies have attempted to listen in on the personal phone calls of the Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and have targeted the mobile phones of his wife, senior ministers and confidants, a top secret document from whistleblower Edward Snowden reveals. The document, dated November 2009, names the president and nine of his inner circle as targets of the surveillance, including the vice-president, Boediono, who last week visited Australia.

The 13th meeting of ministers of the Indian Ocean Rim Association in Perth yesterday was the first chaired by Australia in the organisation’s 16-year history. Australia succeeded India and Indonesia became the new vice-chair. The IORA consists of 20 member states. They reflect the remarkable diversity of our Indian Ocean region and represent from small island countries, such as Comoros and Seychelles, to G20 members such as India, Indonesia and Australia.

Three West Papuans who entered the Australian consulate in Bali overnight have left the compound after being warned by the consul-general that the Indonesian army would be called, the group says. Markus Jerewon, 29, Yuvensius Goo, 22 and Rofinus Yanggam, 30, scaled the two-metre high fence of the Australian compound in Bali’s Renon district at 3.20am local time (6.20am AEST) on Sunday morning.

Relentless diplomatic pursuit is needed in seeking solutions to global challenges, from achieving peace and security to advancing social progress and economic prosperity, says Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa. Addressing the 68th UN General Assembly in New York on Friday, Marty underlined that Indonesia had an enduring belief in the efficacy and effectiveness of diplomacy, maintaining peace and security, advancing social progress and economic prosperity, and in promoting democracy, human rights and tolerance.

With 250 million people the fourth most populous country in the world, Indonesia will soon elect a new leader. Prabowo Subianto is a man transformed, driven by a persistent ambition to serve the Indonesian people as its head of state. Once the feared head of Indonesia’s notorious special forces known as Kopassus, now Prabowo puts those days firmly behind him.

Australia's new government-elect prepared for a tranfer of power Sunday, with policies to cut foreign aid and roll back greenhouse gas reduction measures in moves the new leaders say will help balance the nation's books. Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott also plans to visit Indonesia soon in part to discuss controversial plans to curb the number of asylum seekers reaching Australian shores in Indonesian fishing boats.

Every time I travel for work in Indonesia, I'm tempted to describe the journey. The road to (insert destination) was smooth or twisting or pockmarked and broken. I passed roadside stands selling fruit and fried snacks. The traffic was horrendous, more stop than go, or people passed us like maniacs, swerving at 75 miles an hour on snaking back roads. Such details give a sense of place and remoteness. They also convey the vastness and contradiction that is Indonesia, the world's largest island country by population, and the dysfunctional state of its infrastructure.