Milla Sundstrvm, Helsinki – "Amid all the destruction and loss the mood was high. People were making bricks, digging fishponds, building fishing boats. And people were sitting in coffee shops late into the night just as if there had never been any war."

Max Lane – Protest demonstrations continue to sprout every day across Indonesia on almost every kind of issue – socio-economic injustice, political abuse, administrative arbitrariness and ecological damage. Poverty and economic hardship still probably make up the cause driving the majority of these protest actions.

Jakarta – An Indonesian court dismissed on Wednesday a blasphemy case against an editor who published controversial cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohammad last year, saying the prosecution used a wrong legal article.

Jakarta – Indonesian TV shows that feature scantily dressed women are more dangerous than bombs, a militant Muslim cleric who served a jail term for links to the Bali bombings was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Isaac Nicholas – The media delegation accompanying Barnabus Suebu, the Governor of Papua province in Indonesia, was chased away in a confrontation with the West Papua community at their 8 Mile settlement on Monday.

Banda Aceh – Hundreds of Indonesian protesters vented their anger on Wednesday against the state body tasked with reconstructing tsunami-hit Aceh province, throwing stones at police and the agency's office.

Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Jakarta – The Education Ministry has rewritten school history books once again, restoring the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) as the sole culprit of the aborted 1965 coup and the bloodletting that followed, in which tens of thousands of people died.

Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara – A campus demonstration by angry students rallying to demand the resignation of their university rector turned violent Monday when the students clashed with security guards.

Hundreds of village heads from across the country took to the streets in Jakarta on Monday, demanding what they called an improvement in their living standards.

Indra Harsaputra, Sidoarjo – A government team set up to deal with the massive mudflow in Sidoarjo, East Java, said Monday the disaster had not yet reached a level of danger that would justify dumping untreated mud into the sea.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Bogor – Following its decision to drop the plan to revise the 2003 Labor Law, the government says it will soon issue a regulation detailing termination procedures and severance payments for workers to give them more job certainty.

Michael Vatikiotis, Jakarta – Two years into his five-year term, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono presents himself as a sincere, hard-working reformer, a long-distance runner pacing himself on a marathon run. But many Indonesians think the country needs a sprinter.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Indonesia has significantly reduced its child mortality rate over the past two decades and is on the right track to meet its millennium goals, the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) says.

Andi Haswidi, Batam – Some 500 activists gathering in Batam grouped under the International Peoples Forum called Monday on all nations to hold international financial institutions (IFIs) such as the IMF and World Back fully accountable for the social impact they have on developing countries.

Fadli, Batam – Activists have criticized the lack of transparency in World Bank and IMF policy-making and accused the Singaporean government of violating human rights by preventing activists from attending the meetings of the two financial bodies in the city-state.

The Declaration of The preparatory committee of National Liberation party of Unity (KP-Papernas) at the East Java Branch on Sunday (17/09) was intimidated by the militia group, called themselves as "Tauhid anti-communist movement" (Gertak).

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) Headquarters is currently drawing up internal regulations or guidelines that will assist soldiers in exercising their right to vote in future elections.

Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Jakarta – The government's plan to reinstate history textbooks that blame the Indonesian Communist Party for the violence after the 1965 coup attempt is reminiscent of dictator Soeharto's New Order education syllabus, historians say.

Andra Jackson – Thirty-seven years ago former Papuan politicians Clemens Runawery and Wim Zonggonau boarded a plane on an urgent mission that might have changed the political fate of their now Indonesian-ruled province.

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – Environmental activists staged a protest Saturday against gold mining operations in Tanggamus regency, asserting that the illegal mining had damaged the protected Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park.

Indra Harsaputra, Sidoarjo – Another mud retaining pond in Sidoarjo, East Java, collapsed Sunday, prompting a government team to recommend the immediate dumping of water from the mudflow into the sea.

The pond, located only 150 meters from Lapindo Brantas Inc.'s Banjar Panji-1 gas exploration well that has been gushing mud since May 29, collapsed around 11:30 a.m.

Indra Harsaputra, Sidoarjo – Hundreds of people recently made homeless by hot mudflows camped on Sidoarjo's main turnpike Saturday as the regency gave the go-ahead for the disaster relief team to dump untreated water from the disaster into the Porong River.

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Pope Benedict XVI apologized Saturday to Muslims who were offended by a speech he gave in Germany, saying his comments were misinterpreted and stressing his utmost respect for the Islamic faith.

The 3rd Annual National gathering for the Australian Coalition of West Papua Support Groups affirms the right of the people of West Papua to Self-determination [1] and Decolonization. The gathering condemns the colonial abuse, exploitation and state-sponsored crimes against humanity still being committed by Indonesian military, police and now militia forces.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Leaders of small political parties are fiercely objecting to a plan to increase the electoral threshold from 3 percent to 5 percent. The move is part of a draft amendment to the electoral law.

The beginning of Ramadhan is only one week away and most Muslims traditionally welcome it with great pleasure. However, for many Jakartans, especially those working in cafes, night clubs and entertainment centers, the coming of the fasting month can mean fear, chaos and the loss of income.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – The Jakarta administration's emissions testing campaign ends next week, but there are signs that the city plans to issue further regulations to enforce testing.

Indra Harsaputra, Sidoarjo – Two ponds built to contain the Sidoarjo mud flow burst Friday, forcing more residents to flee the area, while protesters blocked the nearby Surabaya-Gempol turnpike.

Jayapura – The Jayapura District Court sentenced Friday three of the last seven defendants on trial for their involvement in the deadly Abepura clash to four and five years in prison.

John Martinkus – Violence that ran over four days in May in East Timor and led to the resignation of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri was part of a plan instigated by the President Xanana Gusmao, according to new claims in Dili.

Jakarta – Former Indonesian president Suharto, who escaped trial for corruption on health grounds, appeared healthy as he attended the wedding of one of his grandsons.

Andi Haswidi, Batam – Only the rich nations that are not affected by IMF policies benefit from the institution's reforms, a speaker at Batam's International Peoples Forum said Friday.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – A new study recommends transferring the job of rebuilding Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam to the incoming provincial administration, in order to bypass problems in the current reconstruction programs.

Pontianak (Agencies) – The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia Saturday expressed its concern about the expel of five Australian journalists from Papua when they were carried out their jobs in the province.

Jakarta – In contrast to Indonesian pollsters who have recently reported poor approval ratings for the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono administration, an Australian pollster said Thursday the public felt the government had done a good job of improving conditions in Indonesia.

Ayapura – The Jayapura District Court on Thursday sentenced two of seven remaining defendants to five years in prison for their part in a fatal clash with police on March 16 in Abepura.

The clash took place during a protest against mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia. Four police officers and a member of the Air Force died in the violence.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – While in the past businesses in Jakarta have largely had their way on environmental issues, that could change as the city administration discusses tightening rules on development.

Jakarta – Six of the seven Papuans detained for allegedly killing two US nationals and an Indonesian near the PT Freeport gold mine in Timika, Papua, have gone on a hunger strike to protest their trial.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Dozens of teachers complained to the House of Representatives on Thursday that local officials had intimidated them after they uncovered ugly truths behind the national exam.

Andi Haswidi, Batam, Riau Islands – Activists said Thursday they had received threats from people claiming to represent local NGOs warning them to call off a planned international antiglobalization forum on Batam island.

Jakarta – Although calls to get to the bottom of the murder of human rights activist Munir have come from the very top, the National Police say no one should be getting their hopes up.

"We want the case resolved too, we're not protecting anyone," said National Police chief Gen. Sutanto on Thursday.

Panca Nugraha and Fadli, Mataram/Batam – More than 50 Mataram residents rallied outside the PLN building in West Nusa Tenggara on Thursday over the rotating blackouts imposed in the city in the last two months.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Prosecutors have named two staffers of the Aceh and Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR) as suspects in alleged corruption involving the publication of a book by the national agency.

Jakarta – A record-breaking increase in revenue has failed to alleviate high levels of poverty in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, according to a new report.

Jayapura – Five Australian TV journalists were being deported from Indonesia on Thursday after traveling to restive Papua province on tourist visas, police and witnesses said.

Theresia Sufa, Bogor – Almost a thousand Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) students rallied in front of the campus' rectory Wednesday demanding a recent decision to raise tuition fees be reversed.

The ongoing showdown within the Attorney General's Office could raise further doubts about its commitment to law enforcement.

Jakarta Prosecutor's Office chief Rusdi Taher officially challenged Tuesday a decision by Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh to suspend him in connection with sentence irregularities in the case of suspects caught with drugs.

Jakarta – They are everywhere, the men in helmets sitting on motorcycles at the side of the road; waiting and watching day in and day out.

Most Jakartans are familiar with the inexpensive motorcycle taxi known as the ojek but few fully understand the important role the drivers play or the risks they take on Jakarta's dangerous streets.

Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara – About 80 hotel workers protested near Senggigi Beach on Monday in a show of solidarity with two colleagues recently fired by Senggigi Reef Resort Hotel.

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Six of the seven Papuan men standing trial for allegedly killing two Americans and one Indonesian in 2002 objected to testimony by US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents Tuesday.

The agents, Ronald C. Eowan and Paul Ryan Mayers, helped arrest the seven suspects, including alleged ringleader Antonius Wamang, in Timika, Papua, in January.