A giant python has suffocated and killed a security guard at a luxury beachfront hotel on the holiday island of Bali, Indonesia.

Powerful bursts of hot ash and gravel erupted from a rumbling volcano in western Indonesia early Monday (local time), sending panicked villagers streaming down the sides of the mountain.

When one is caught red-handed, a prompt and unequivocal apology is usually the best response. How Tony Abbott must now regret not saying sorry to Indonesia earlier.

What else will American whistleblower Edward Snowden pull from his massive bag of secrets?

Indonesia has withdrawn its ambassador from Canberra following revelations that Australian intelligence bugged the phones of President SBY, his wife and a number of senior ministers in August 2009.

Mt Sinabung in north Sumatra has been spewing ash and lava 4km into the sky this week, forcing up to 4,300 people to evacuate.

Schapelle Corby's half-brother will plead guilty to cocaine possession charges, his lawyer says.

The name of the beer here in Bali is a tad corny, Bali Hai, the haunting tune from the musical South Pacific.

Authorities have grave fears for up to 70 asylum-seekers feared drowned after their boat sank en route to Australia.

PM Tony Abbott is steaming into a rapidly developing storm with Indonesia over his policies to turn back asylum-seeker boats, bribe villagers for information and buy vessels to prevent their being used by people smugglers.

Each week, Flight Centre's team of experts answers your travel questions.

Racism is no part of the issue, writes Hussein Rawlings. Nor should we fear the accusation of "protectionism". Are Indonesia, China, or Thailand challenged on their land ownership laws?

A New Zealand-born archaeologist involved in the discovery of a new species of people, known as "hobbits'', has died.

The Togian Islands off the northern Indonesian island of Sulawesi offer some of the best diving spots on earth.

It has been controversial right from the time of the first pilot project five years ago, but our Government seems set to continue giving aid to the police in Indonesian-controlled West Papua.

Australia has offered Indonesia an "official guarantee" that convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby will not breach parole if she is released from jail.

Ann Huston took her sons on a voyage to Borneo’s Tanjung Puting National Park to meet their orange relatives.

A Kiwi teenager has died after drinking a methanol-laced drink while celebrating New Year in Indonesia - and his grandfather says the death is "murder, really".

Indonesian police will continue their investigations into the mysterious death of a Queensland woman who was working in the Indonesian tourist hotspot of Bali.

As John Key wraps up an important Burma visit, he talks to Herald Political Editor Audrey Young about what he's learned and seen.

The chance to experience life in the depths of a rainforest appears on the wish list of many travellers. Borneo, with its rich history of tribal life and vast natural resources, is a place where that wish can become a reality.

Diana Plater ditches the hotel buffet for authentic, cheap and sumptuous street cuisine.

Though the places we sleep in are often quickly forgotten, food will be at the heart of the stories that, years later, we tell about our travels.