Anita Rachman – Nongovernmental organizations on Sunday urged the government to participate in an International Labor Organization plan to adopt an international convention on the protection of domestic workers.

Max Lane – The first major political incident after the July 8 Indonesian presidential election were two co-ordinated suicide bomb attacks on Jakarta's Marriot and Ritz Carlton luxury hotels on July 17, which killed seven people, including six foreigners. These were the first suicide bomb attacks in almost five years.

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The government defended Friday its decision to approve the creation of an ASEAN regional human rights body which has been widely criticized for being toothless as it lacks the power to investigate and punish the culprits.

Jon Lamb - August 30 marks 10 years since the UN-sponsored referendum on Indonesian-occupied East Timor's political status.

Kafil Yamin – Drought has dried up the groundwater in several places throughout West Java's Bandung district, forcing residents to cut back on bathing and other usage.

Pumps in houses take longer and produce less water than they did a month ago. Many residents have no water at all.

Max Lane – For 17 years, from 1990 through to 2007, I regularly contributed articles on Indonesian politics to Green Left Weekly, a newspaper published by the Democratic Socialist Party (Democratic Socialist Perspective since 2005).

Agus Maryono, Purwokerto – Hundreds of protesters rallied Thursday in Purwokerto, Central Java, to demand Banyumas Regent Mardjoko resign for what they claimed was his failure to make good on his campaign promises.

April Aswadi, Farouk Arnaz & Ferry Irwanto – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday said the July 17 bombings of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels were setbacks that must not be repeated.

Police have charged five more suspects in a spate of deadly shootings at the Indonesian gold mine of US company Freeport, but the motive for the attacks remains a mystery, officials said Friday.

In a doorstop interview following Friday prayers, National Police Headquarters spokesman Nanan Sukarna said that police had now apprehended five additional suspects.

Ari Saputra, Jakarta – At least 30 West Papuans demonstrated at the offices of PT Freeport Indonesia at the Plaza 89 building in the Kuningan area of South Jakarta, demanding that the Freeport mine in West Papua be closed down.

Tom Allard, Jakarta – A former leading figure in the Jemaah Islamiah who knew Noordin Mohamad Top says he doubts the authenticity of a statement posted on the internet under the name of the fugitive terrorist leader.

Muhamad Al Azhari – Annual inflation is expected to have eased further in July after falling to its lowest level in nine years in June, on the back of falling food prices and also due to the dissipation of the inflationary effects of high fuel prices last year, according to local and foreign economists surveyed by the Jakarta Globe.

Jakarta – The original drafters of the state secrecy bill say that both legislators and the executive branch have ruined the bill by turning it into a weapon to limit public access to information.

Farouk Arnaz – Activists from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute and other nongovernmental organizations are planning to submit a letter to the National Police today protesting the arrest and assault of two of the institute's legal counselors by the North Jakarta Police earlier in the week.

Heru Andriyanto – The Banten High Court has ordered the Tangerang District Court to retry the defamation case against Prita Mulyasari, a top provincial judge said on Thursday.

The ruling came as a surprise to the 32-year-old mother of two, who has been struggling to forget the three weeks she spent in detention in the wake of the case and return to her normal life.

Ade Mardiyati – In the parking area of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Sulastri sits gazing into the distance. Beside her is a basket filled with boiled eggs, fish and chicken, individual portions of each packaged in transparent plastic bags. Two medium-sized bags are filled with crispy tempeh.

Tom Allard Herald, Jakarta – A message posted on the internet and purporting to be from the fugitive terrorist Noordin Mohammed Top has claimed responsibility for the twin hotel bombings in Jakarta, justifying the mass murders as an attack on American interests and labelling the Manchester United football team that was due to book into one of the hotels as "Crusaders".

Bangkalan, Madura – The regional coordinator of the Madura Ulema Association in Bangkalan has come out in support of a proposed bylaw that would require female students to wear Islamic veils.

"We agree with the proposal that female students aged 9 and above must wear the hijab or Muslim clothes to school," Imam Buchori Cholil said in Bangkalan on Wednesday.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – After the economic boom from rebuilding projects in the wake of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami, growth in the non-oil and gas sectors in Aceh has dropped as reconstruction activities draw to a close.

The World Bank released this conclusion in data made public on Wednesday in Banda Aceh.

Amanda Ferdina, Jakarta – Four demonstrations will be organised this morning on Wednesday July 29. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) will be the favorite target for most the protest actions.

Fidelis E. Satriastanti – As the haze from burning forests and plantations continues to choke Riau, nongovernmental organizations are pointing the finger at the Sinar Mas Group and urging it to take immediate action to deal with the disaster, an environmentalist said on Tuesday.

Bogor – Thousands of the world's frog species are on the brink of extinction and efforts to conserve them are urgently needed, the president of the Association of Southeast Asian Zoos said on Wednesday.

Jakarta – Antigraft activists, officials and judges all admit that the network of corruption within the judicial system, known as the "court mafia", is becoming more prevalent.

Patra M. Zein, chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI), said the network of corruption runs counter to the constitutional principle of equal legal rights for every citizen,

Jakarta – Human rights activist, Usman Hamid, is adamant that Muchdi Purwopranjono, a former Intelligence Agency (BIN) general was involved in the murder of Munir Said Thalib, even though Muchdi is trying to sue him for defamation.

Members of the National Liberation Army of the Free Papua Movement are reported to have raised an independence flag in the border region between Indonesia's Papua Province and Papua New Guinea.

The Indonesian newspaper, Kompas Cyber Media website reports that the group raised a Morning Star Flag and demanded open dialogue regarding Papuan independence.

The Supreme Court is publicly perceived as a corrupt institution and it is no wonder that the public has little trust in the country's highest judiciary institution.

Indonesia, Asia's third-fastest expanding major economy, needs to gradually build its foreign reserves and follow a "cautious" monetary policy stance to keep investor confidence, the International Monetary Fund said.

The federal government is warning of a risk of further violence near the Freeport mine in Indonesia's restive Papua province.

Three people have been killed, including 29-year-old Australian mine technician Drew Grant, and more than a dozen wounded in a series of ambushes near the Grasberg mining complex in recent weeks.

Agnes S. Jayakarna, Surabaya – Laborers grouped under the Workers Alliance of Struggle (ABM) are demanding objectivity in the decision over the 2010 regional minimum wage (UMK), arguing many of their basic needs have always been neglected by the provincial payment council.

Ismira Lutfia – Though journalists have long reported on labor struggles across the country, efforts to improve conditions in their own industry have only recently started gathering steam, a new coalition of media unions said on Sunday.

Jakarta – Human rights activist Usman Hamid says he will not withdraw a statement linking former Deputy Chief of State Intelligence Agency (BIN), Muchdi Purwopranjono, to the murder of prominent activist Munir Said Thalib.

Janeman Latul – The country's biggest state-owned social security provider, PT Jamsostek, says it will have to allocate as much as an additional Rp 2 trillion ($202 million) to cover unemployment insurance payouts this year after layoffs in the first half of 2009 ate up almost 80 percent of its annual allocation for that purpose.

Christian Motte, Jayapura – The Papua Church Council is investigating the recent spate of violence in the province, especially near the PT Freeport Indonesia mining concession, the head of the council said on Tuesday. It also called for security and law enforcement to halt intimidation, arrests and violence against local residents.

Lisa Thomas – Siti Hajar's face – scarred with red blisters and scabs – told of the horror. For the past three years, the 33-year-old Indonesian domestic worker from West Java says she was abused by her Malaysian employer, being beaten, doused by boiling water and caned.

Shamim Adam – Indonesia will announce initiatives to spur investment, improve infrastructure and enhance social safety nets within the first 100 days of the next administration taking office, Vice President designate Boediono said.

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The rupiah may continue to strengthen in the second half of this year as exports look likely to improve due to a global rise in demand, following the possibility of worldwide economic recovery, the central bank says.

Benget Besalicto Tnb, Jakarta – Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand – the world's three largest rubber producers – may further cut their rubber exports this year due to the continuing slump in demand, a director of the Indonesian rubber association said.

"Considering the continuing decline of prices in the international market, we may cut our exports further.

Nivell Rayda – A peaceful rally at Corruption Eradication Commission headquarters on Tuesday turned violent when an unknown group of men attacked demonstrators who were demanding the arrest of a provincial governor, leaving one of them badly injured.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The campaign team of Megawati Sukarnoputri and Prabowo Subianto has lodged legal action demanding that the Constitution Court annul President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's sweeping victory and order fresh elections, or "at least" order elections to proceed to the second-round runoff.

Camelia Pasandaran – The National Commission on Human Rights said on Tuesday that the General Elections Commission had violated human rights by denying "millions of unregistered eligible voters" their right to participate in the presidential poll.

Jakarta – All presidential candidates have allegedly broken the General Elections Commission rules on campaign funding, having received donations of more than Rp 5 billion (US$500,000), a nongovernmental organization said Monday.

Nurfika Osman, Farouk Arnaz & Candra Malik – Investigations into the July 17 suicide bombings in Jakarta suffered two major setbacks on Sunday.

In the first, police in South Sulawesi said a man arrested over the weekend in Makassar was not, in fact, Malaysian terrorist leader Noordin M Top, the chief suspect in the attacks.

Nurfika Osman – The number of women in the country who reported experiencing physical and sexual abuse in 2008 was double that of the year before as more and more women became aware of their rights and reported their cases to police, a discussion heard on Monday.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Stephanie Tangkilisan – Moves are afoot within the once all-powerful Golkar Party to replace its unpopular leadership with young reformists in the wake of its thumping legislative elections defeat.

Tom Allard, Jakarta – Indonesian authorities have detained a suspected financier of the terrorist bombings of two Jakarta hotels 10 days ago.

A swoop on a home in the Indonesian city of Makassar uncovered what police said were fake identification cards, passports and evidence of a lucrative bank fraud operation.

Candra Malik, Solo – A Corruption Eradication Commission pilot program for schools in Solo, Central Java, is creating panic among school principals who are concerned that they could face jail sentences for accepting gifts from the parents of their students.

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The Trade Ministry estimates the contraction in the volume of exports will be smaller than previously forecast due to improving global economic conditions.

Camelia Pasandaran – Four parties who lost House seats due to a recent Supreme Court decision are asking the General Election Commission to reject the ruling.

Markus Makur, Timika - Police have named seven suspects, including an employee of mining company PT Freeport Indonesia, for their involvement in a series of shootings in the vicinity of the company's mining concession in Timika, Papua, which killed three people.

John McBeth, Jakarta – Despite skepticism that a business breakfast was always the primary target, there is one indisputable fact about the July 17 attacks on Jakarta's Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels: not since the 2002 Bali bombing have so many foreigners been killed in such a focused way.