Hera Diani, Jakarta – People in Aceh and Nias have expressed little satisfaction in the progress of reconstruction and rehabilitation work in tsunami-hit areas, despite the government's claim that the pace of rebuilding is picking up, according to a survey.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Jakartans can easily recount the promises made by media-savvy Governor Sutiyoso for the city in 2005 by delving into his well-documented statements in various media.

But, asking which promises and plans have been materialized by his administration raises more concerns on unfulfilled promises and unmet plans than satisfaction over achievements.

Banda Aceh – Indonesia's president is under threat of assassination, his spokesman said, amid stepped-up security nationwide for the New Year holiday period over fears of extremist attacks.

Jakarta – Those detained in raids this year numbered 14,549 people, with Rp 133 million (about US$13,523) being collected in fines, Jakarta Population and Civil Registration Agency head Abdul Kadir Kamil said on Friday.

Mark Forbes, Jakarta – Indonesia's military has announced plans to deploy more than 10,000 troops in Aceh to speed tsunami reconstruction, a move that threatens the province's brittle peace.

A'an Suryana, Banda Aceh – A year after the tsunami, signs of recovery are evident among Acehnese children, but many challenges remain, a UN body has said.

Banda Aceh – Some parents in tsunami-ravaged Aceh province are still clinging to hopes for a miracle, placing photos of smiling children in newspapers on the chance they might still be alive.

A'an Suryana and Tiarma Siboro, Banda Aceh/Jakarta – The government has drawn strong criticism for its plan to deploy 15 battalions, or about 15,000 soldiers, to help speed up reconstruction in Aceh.

Banda Aceh – Bustari Mansyur shrugs wearily when asked how many bodies his workers retrieved from the mangled wreckage of last December's tsunami. The question seems irrelevant.

Sian Powell, Banda Aceh – Tensions between fundamentalist Muslims and Western aid workers have begun to erupt in Aceh as the tsunami-devastated Indonesian province slowly recovers.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will not establish a new team to investigate Munir's murder case.

According to Yudhoyono, it would be better if the existing institutions carry out their respective functions.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – In what is seen as further proof that corruption is entrenched in Indonesian society, up to 30 percent of Indonesian adults may have bribed officials in 2005 for speedy government service in obtaining either an ID card, a driver's license or a business permit.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Mounting public criticism over a visit by lawmakers to Egypt appears to have taken its toll on their maturity.

A game of cat and mouse with journalists at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Friday appeared to be first on the agenda for the returning legislators.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The Jakarta Police have arrested members of a gang and their leader Hercules in relation to the attack on the office of Indo Pos daily in South Jakarta last Tuesday.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said on Friday that Hercules and 12 other men were arrested on Thursday evening and were being held at city police headquarters.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – The new law on domestic violence passed last year has encouraged more abused women to seek help, a crisis center's report says.

Before the enactment of Law No. 23/2004, police, prosecutors and even hospital staff frequently ignored women's claims of abuse when they were brave enough to make a complaint.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Key economic ministers asserted that there was no plan to seek rescheduling on the payment of government debts and interest from overseas creditors, since the country was not in a desperate position to warrant seeking such a facility.

Mataram – Inhabitants of Belu and Timor Tengah Utara (TTU) districts located in the border area shared by East Nusa Tenggara and Timor Leste urgently need the government's help to get out from their misery.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Director Rudi Soedjarwo was furious, but nervous at the same time.

The Film Censorship Board (LSF) recently ordered the withdrawal of the poster for Rudy's upcoming film Sembilan Naga (Nine Dragons) before it had even been released.

Ahkmad Kusaeni, Jakarta – A decision made during an emergency situation could make a history. If Xanana Gusmao who was arrested in 1992 were executed, East Timor might never secede from Indonesia and the leader of the security disturbance group, Fretilin, would not become an East Timorese president.

ID Nugroho, Surabaya – Her answers are barely audible and her eyes cast down at the floor as she holds tightly to the arms of her chair.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) is preparing to deploy 15 battalions of troops to speed up reconstruction efforts in tsunami-hit Aceh.

A'an Suryana, Banda Aceh – One year after the Indian Ocean tsunami, children in Indonesia are recovering at a slower pace compared to children in other countries affected by the destructive waves, a survey has found.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered law enforcement officials to continue their investigation into the murder of human rights activist Munir to determine who orchestrated the killing.

Jakarta – Indonesia's president has ordered a probe into last year's poisoning of human rights activist Munir after a court convicted a pilot for the murder.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also urged government bodies to cooperate in the investigation, he said, amid suspicions the national intelligence agency was involved.

Jakarta – Indonesia will not buy more jet fighters and submarines for 10 years despite the United States lifting its arms embargo on the country, the defense minister said Thursday.

Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said Indonesia will make its priority the purchase of transport aircraft to serve the thousands of islands that make up the vast Southeast Asian nation.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi) urged the government on Wednesday to immediately cancel forest concession rights that have been given to logging companies operating in Southeast Aceh and Aceh Singkli, saying that it would only worsen the deforestation problem in the tsunami-devastated province.

John McBeth – It was five years ago. Sitting at the kitchen table in a small, nondescript house on Dili's sun-baked foreshore, the soon-to-be president of Timor Leste was talking about the future.

A'an Suryana, Banda Aceh – "I'm tired. I have been writing a lot about reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in Aceh but the progress here has been slow. Many people are still living in tents and barracks, despite the sheer amount of funds injected by the world," an Acehnese journalist has complained.

Banda Aceh – Former Aceh rebels watched on Wednesday as international peace monitors fed a final batch of their weapons into a circular saw, a symbolic end to the nearly three-decade of civil war in the province.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Dozens of people barged into Graha Pena, the office of Indo Pos daily, in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta on Tuesday evening, occupying the building for several hours and injuring two reporters.

Ainslie Chandler – Despite its war-ravaged past, East Timor has all the hallmarks of a tropical paradise. Swaying palm trees, pristine beaches, coral reefs, misty mountains, hot springs and stunning architecture are dotted around the chaotic landscape that is the world's newest nation.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – While the President has set out to clean up politics, it seems the air in the nation's capital is only getting dirtier.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Most Islamic boarding schools or pesantren are more than just educational institutions – they are also community drop-in centers and citizen's advice bureaus, which can offer a range of services from marriage counseling to drug rehabilitation.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Thousands of people affected by the closure of churches will be able to attend Christmas services at schools and other buildings owned by Muhammadiyah, the country's second largest Muslim organization.

Jakarta – The decommissioning and dispersal of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) military wing is inadequate for the Indonesian Military (TNI). TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto has requested GAM to make an official statement regarding its dissolution.

In one tsunami-devastated area of Aceh, a visitor asked a medical team, "Where are the midwives?" There were none, while only a few weeks after last December's tragedy, an official with the United Nations Population Fund revealed that at least 800 births were at risk.

Marcus Tanner, Banda Aceh – There can't be many guerrilla leaders with escape stories like Yusuf Irwandi's. One of several hundred separatist fighters in the province of Aceh jailed by the Indonesian military, his nine-year sentence came to an abrupt end at 8am on 26 December last year, when the tsunami washed away his prison.

Suherdjoko, Semarang – Around 10,000 employees in Central Java could lose their jobs by the end of the year, most of them working for textile factories, an official said on Tuesday.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Labor activists have accused employers and the government of treating workers inhumanely by underpaying a great number of them. Jacob Nuwa Wea, chairman of the Confederation of All-Indonesian Workers Union (KSPSI), said the recent massive labor demonstrations were an expression of frustration over poor work conditions and unfair treatment.

Dili – Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri acknowledged Wednesday that his FRETILIN party forces committed "errors" and "excesses" during East Timor's brief civil war in 1975, but he vehemently denied an official report's findings that 3,000 people died in that conflict.

An Indonesian court has sentenced Garuda Airlines pilot Polycarpus Priyanto to 14 years jail for the murder of prominent human rights activist Munir Thalib. Munir was poisoned during a flight to Amsterdam in September, 2004.

Presenter/Interviewer: Peter Cave

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is under pressure to widen investigations into the murder of human rights activist Munir Thalib. The Central Jakarta District Court sentenced airline pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto to 14 years in jail for poisoning Munir on a Garuda flight to Amsterdam in September 2004.

Presenter/Interviewer: Sen Lam

The widow of a murdered Indonesian rights activist called Wednesday for a stepped-up probe into allegations that the man convicted in his poisoning death had links to the state intelligence agency.

Jakarta – The US government urged Indonesia to release the results of an independent probe into the murder of a prominent rights activist, and to prosecute all those involved in the crime, a statement said Wednesday.

Sydney – The sister of one of the Balibo Five journalists shot dead in East Timor 30 years ago wants their remains exhumed for examination.

Maureen Tolfree, sister of Brian Peters, whose death is the subject of a NSW coronial inquest, believes the remains may hold clues about the manner and cause of the men's deaths.

Kathy Marks – An off-duty pilot with the state-owned carrier Garuda Indonesia has been jailed for 14 years for his part in the murder of the country's foremost human rights activist, who died after eating an in-flight meal of fried noodles laced with arsenic.

The murderer of Munir has been found guilty. Pending his appeal, Pollycarpus B. Priyanto is facing a 14-year incarceration for lacing the activist's food with arsenic during a flight to Amsterdam in September.

Two Garuda cabin crew members also face separate trials for their alleged roles in the murder.

Denpasar – The increase in the number of applications for domestic and foreign investment shows Indonesia is recovering from a slump in investment, said the Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Muhammad Lutfi.

Thousands of Indonesian troops have begun withdrawing from Aceh province in the last phase of a peace plan agreed with the rebels. The pullout was finalised after the Free Aceh Movement surrendered their final batch of weapons, fulfilling the terms of the pact reached in August.

Presenter/Interviewer: Marion Macgregor

Fitraya Ramadhanny, Jakarta – Around 200 demonstrators from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) held an action in front of the State Palace demanding that the government uncover the mastermind behind Munir's murder. The action – that ended at 3.45pm – was closed by a speech by Munir's wife, Suciwati.