Indonesia's house speaker submits resignation

[JAKARTA] Indonesia's house speaker resigned on Wednesday in a letter to a parliamentary council charged with determining whether he had committed ethical violations in a meeting with executives from Freeport McMoran Inc's local unit.

House Speaker Setya Novanto has been at the centre of a probe into allegations he used President Joko Widodo's name in an effort to extort shares worth US$1.8 billion in Freeport Indonesia. "Starting Dec 16, 2015, Setya Novanto declared his resignation from the position of house of speaker," Surahman Hidayat, the chairman of the council, said.

REUTERS