Jakarta – The People's Coalition Against Land Evictions (KRTP) opposes Presidential Regulation Number 36/2005 on the Acquisition of Land for the Purpose of Development in the Public Interest as well as revisions to the regulation that flow out of Presidential Regulation Number 65/2006.

Jakarta – The wife of the late Munir, Suciwati, accompanied by representatives of the Solidarity Action Committee for Munir and senior legal practitioner Adnan Buyung Nasution, met with the head of the Supreme Court, Bagir Manan, on Monday June 26. They were asking the Chief Justice to reexamine the evidence in the Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto case.

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – Rivers awash in chemical pollutants and untreated sewage, denuded forests and smog-choked cities are putting the Indonesian public at risk in an increasingly toxic environment, a new government report says.

Jakarta – A number of Islamic social organisations from the Islamic Community Forum (FUI) have visited the offices of the Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs to ask that the government be on guard against foreign intervention that could divide the nation. The FUI also asked the government to audit the funds of non-government organisations (NGOs).

Sarah Smiles, Canberra – Nearly $1 million of Australia's foreign aid budget is feared to have been used fraudulently in the past four years.

Much of the money was part of AusAID's tsunami aid program in Indonesia, according to an audit report released yesterday. AusAID's total budget for the period was $7 billion.

Patrick Walters – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has pledged to intensify his country's counter-terrorism fight, promising close surveillance and pre-emptive measures against suspected terrorists.

Michelle Grattan – John Howard put on a late-night party for Australian officials and travelling media who wanted to watch the soccer. Those in the little Aussie enclave on the fifth floor of a middling resort hotel at Batam, in Indonesia's far west, clutched stress balls as they cheered and groaned their way through the match.

Jakarta/Batam – The government plans to relax the implementation of the labor legislation in the newly declared special economic zones (SEZs) on three major islands in Riau Island province, says the head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).

Nick Everett – East Timor's current political crisis began when a group of soldiers from the country's west – which grew from 140 to 591 – signed a petition claiming discrimination inside the 1300-strong East Timorese Defence Force (FDTL).

Singapore – Petty regional divisions have been stirred up for political gain in East Timor which is still struggling to define its identity after centuries of foreign domination, analysts say.

The worst crisis since Southeast Asia's poorest nation gained independence four years ago reached its peak Monday when unpopular Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri resigned.

Cynthia Banham in Paris and Phillip Coorey on Bantam Island – The Prime Minister says he welcomes the resignation of the East Timorese Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri, if it meant an end to instability in that country.

Jane Perlez, Tangerang – To a passer-by, the dress and demeanor of Lilis Lindawati would have attracted little attention as she waited in the dark in this busy industrial city for a ride home. Lilis Lindawati, a waitress in Tangerang, Indonesia, was convicted of lewd behavior under a new local law.

James Dunn – The reluctant resignation of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri yesterday may have eased the crisis in East Timor, but the situation will remain very unsettled until the underlying issues have been resolved.

Jakarta – The government wants the new state secrets bill to restrict foreigners access to information that could threaten national security, the information minister said Monday.

Jonathan Head – It was with a characteristically unemotional performance that Mari Alkatiri announced the end of his – and East Timor's – first prime ministerial term.

Jakarta – The continued flow of hot mud from a gas drilling well, which has spread over more than 127 hectares of land in Sidoarjo, East Java, could pose a severe threat to human health and create an ecological disaster, activists and experts have warned.

Slamet Susanto and Blontank Poer, Yogyakarta – Thousands of Muslims thronged a sermon here Sunday by firebrand cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, who served time over the 2002 Bali bombings.

The sermon closed a two-day meeting of the hard-line Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI), which fights for the implementation of sharia law.

Dennis Shanahan, Batam – Australia and Indonesia are expected to take a giant leap forward in restoring relations today with a statement of common principles and an accelerated timetable for the signing of a defence pact.

Mark Colvin: I'm joined now by Damien Kingsbury, Associate Professor at Deakin University's School of International and Political Studies, a close follower of East Timor's politics for many years.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The National Police will take over security at US-owned mining company PT Freeport Indonesia from the military beginning in July, an officer says.

A Catholic human rights group has accused Indonesian police of torturing 23 Papuans arrested after violent protests in March.

The Peace and Justice Secretariat of the Catholic diocese in Papua's provincial capital, Jayapura, alleges cases of physical and mental abuse, and intimidation of prisoners.

Jakarta – The government's move to standardize education in Indonesia through the national exams has been challenged by activists and legislators.

With Australia's Prime Minister John Howard set to meet Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono later today, West Papua campaigners in Australia are pleased but sceptical about reports that the two leaders wont be discussing a new military agreement.

Hamish McDonald – In Timor there is the politics of Dili – this lethargic little seaside capital of low white buildings and tall tropical trees, where Portuguese-speaking political leaders drive from meeting to meeting in dark-windowed luxury four-wheel-drives, followed by carloads of bodyguards.

Jakarta: A coalition of non-governmental organizations criticized Friday the secretive deliberations of the controversial pornography bill.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The House of Representatives and the government have agreed on joint management of oil and gas in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam by the provincial administration and central government, reneging on a promise to let the Acehnese control their natural resources.

Jakarta – Activists are demanding legislators ensure women's political rights are protected in the Aceh governance bill expected to be passed into law by the middle of next month. The bill should allocate quotas for women in local political parties, they said.

Jakarta – The cost of illegal imports in lost revenue to the government almost doubled last year, with Industry Minister Fahmi Idris warning Friday the practice had reached a critical level that endangered the economy.

After much speculation and rumor, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani was replaced after only 22 months in office, handing over his command to Insp. Gen. Adang Firman on Wednesday.

Jakarta – The second International Conference of Islamic Scholars (ICIS) ended with a call for Muslims living in non-Muslims areas to promote their religion as one of moderation and tolerance.

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Ubud (Bali) – Sidelining customary laws and undermining tribal wisdom in managing Indonesia's rich natural resources is certainly not what the 1945 Constitution espouses, therefore reinterpretation of the supreme law is badly needed to promote prosperity among Indonesians, environmental law and management experts say.

Jakarta – The courts should severely punish members of radical groups convicted of violent offenses, National Police chief Gen. Sutanto says.

Sutanto, who has been criticized for being too soft on ethnic gangs and religious vigilante groups, said the police had done their utmost to arrest and legally process offenders from these groups.

Cianjur – Administrations of a dilapidated state elementary school in Gunungmanik village are making pupils wear safety helmets during classes – just in case the roof crumbles in.

Rendi Akhmad Witular, Jakarta – The government will provide subsidies for farmers engaged in planting palm oil, cacao, rubber and corn in an effort to boost the country's plantation output and create jobs.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – It was a day like any other at the Jakarta Transportation Agency on Wednesday, with public transportation drivers arriving in droves to file complaints.

Dozens of drivers of taxis, minibuses and buses gathered in the office, demanding to be heard.

Tangerang – Some 500 workers of plywood producer PT Panah Forest Perkasa at Cikupa Mas Industrial Plant continued their strike Wednesday, bringing production to a halt.

The work stoppage, which started Monday morning, is to demand the company – which is located in Cikupa district, Tangerang regency – improve conditions for workers.

Radzie, Banda Aceh – Civil activists in Aceh are urging the Indonesian government to immediately form an Acehnese Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR) and Human Rights Court in order to resolve problems that took place in the past. The call was conveyed by a number of Acehnese activists after they decided to resign from the Aceh Reintegration Agency.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) has decided to postpone a national bipartite meeting with the country's labor unions supposedly due in June to an unspecified future date.

Apindo secretary-general Djimanto said Thursday said that the association made the decision Wednesday because up to now representatives of labor unions did not have a united front.

Radzie, Banda Aceh – A statement by Indonesia's senior representative on the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), Major General Bambang Darmono, which categorised the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) as an illegal organisation has been condemned by civil activist groups in Aceh.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The Commission for Truth and Friendship (KKP) has identified 14 incidents of gross human rights violations it says occurred in 1999 around the time the former province of East Timor voted to split from Indonesia.

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Malang – The Human Rights Center of Surabaya's Airlangga University revealed Wednesday that seven cases of gross human rights violations in East Java remain unsettled to date through either the judicial system or the human rights tribunal.

John Martinkus – The East Timorese Prime Minister has added to the murk surrounding the country's descent into violence by accusing opposition groups backed by foreigners of conspiring to overthrow his Government in an armed coup.

And his claims have been backed by senior sources within the Defence Force, who say there have been three coup plots in the past 18 months.

Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, Jakarta – Newly installed Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Adang Firman was right when he pledged that combating thuggery would be a priority during his tenure.

But there are question marks on whether he will have the courage to succeed where his predecessors did not.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Leaders of Nadhlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, the country's two largest Muslim organizations, say they are committed to campaigning for moderate Islam to counter the emergence of militant groups.

Jakarta – Conservative religious leaders are marshaling hard-line Islamic groups to counter the growing public pressure for the government to outlaw organizations that commit violence in the name of religion.

Indra Harsaputra and ID Nugroho, Jakarta/Sidoarjo – On Tuesday, Vice President Jusuf Kalla offered soothing words to local residents displaced by a huge industrial accident that has spewed tons of foul-smelling mud into their homes.

Those responsible, he said, would be made to provide compensation at whatever price necessary.

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – Residents of Jatimulya village in Tangerang regency have complained about dust emanating from a nearby plastic pipe company.

"The dust hangs in the air like fog, from midnight to dawn... We are really worried because some of us are suffering respiratory problems and skin diseases," a resident, Husein, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Ahmad Dani, Jakarta – Common crimes committed by members of the TNI (Indonesian military) in Aceh must be tried in civilian courts. Unfortunately, the Draft Law on Aceh Government (RUU-PA) in fact seeking the opposite. Common crimes by members of the TNI will still be processed in military courts.

Jakarta – Unscrupulous officials who fast-track developments without concern for planning laws are favoring big developers over common Indonesians and are choking the productivity of cities, costing the country trillions in lost rupiah, experts say.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Opposition is mounting against the government's plan to issue a decree reviving the authority of state oversight bodies to handle corruption cases involving officials.