Jakarta – Indonesia's president has not achieved all he set out to in his first year as leader, but unforeseen events, in particular December's catastrophic tsunami, have not helped, analysts said.

Jakarta – In implementing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's verbal request to the TNI (Indonesian military) to take effective measures to prevent, combat and act against terrorism, the TNI has begun a counter-terrorist campaign using street banners.

Jakarta – It is hoped that moves to lift the arms embargo on Indonesia by the United States will be done gradually. In addition to this, the degree of reform within the Indonesian military (TNI) must also be balanced against this.

Vincent Lingga, Jakarta – Judged against the strong political mandate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono obtained in last September's presidential election, Indonesia's economic performance during the first year of his administration has been quite disappointing.

Jakarta – The National Police has yet to demonstrate its full support for the drive against corruption as none of the graft and bribery cases involving its officers have been handed over to the Attorney General's Office, a police watchdog says.

Anton Aliabbas, Jakarta – Many people have been shocked by the government's plans to imitate the New Order regime in combating terrorism. They believe it will kill off the democracy which only just been built.

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – Businessman Probosutedjo's admission that he gave money to his lawyer to bribe judges handling his graft case, and a similar move by a lawyer of suspended Aceh governor Abdullah Puteh a few months ago, highlight the country's corrupt and weak judicial system, experts say.

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) needs to be internally strengthened if it wants to cope with increasingly sophisticated environmental problems, observers say.

Jambi – Almost 2,000 timber workers have been laid off in Jambi during the past few weeks because of slow business there, with workers complaining their severance pay was illegally low.

Among those laid off were 1,300 former workers of PT NPP, which operated in Muarojambi regency, Jambi province.

Arie Rukmana – Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) executive director Chalid Muhammad (left) talks with former minister of the environment Sonny Keraf during a ceremony held to celebrate the organization's 25th anniversary.

Chalid urged on Saturday environmental organizations to get a greater portion of the public involved in advocating environmental issues.

Jakarta – Global conservation organization World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has warned the government that establishing the world's largest oil palm plantation in Kalimantan could have disastrous consequences for the area's ecosystem.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – A network of wildlife protection groups will report three high-ranking officials from the Jakarta's Natural Resources Conservation Agency to the police for their alleged involvement in the trade of protected animals.

The activists announced on Friday that they had sufficient evidence to file the report.

Adianto P. Simamora and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government said on Friday it would work on improving the country's counterterror capabilities, including upgrading the existing antiterror desk and enacting tougher antiterror laws akin to Malaysia's Internal Security Act (ISA) following several deadly bomb attacks here over the past few years.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – With the fuel price increases, the tsunami disaster in December and reports of bird flu and polio, affordable, quality health care is out of reach for more and more people, resulting in the reemergence of diseases that have disappeared completely in other countries.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – A spate of recent church closures and attacks on the compound of a sect has highlighted a debate raging within the Indonesian Muslim community over religious freedom and tolerance.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Several Aceh separatists were shot as GAM began a second round of weapons decommissioning on Friday as part of a peace deal to end three decades of fighting in the province.

Sudirman Nasir, Melbourne – It is crucial that Acehnese, men and women, be directly involved in all stages of rehabilitation programs in the province. Women's participation is also critical since it has become apparent that the civil war and the tsunami disaster have affected women more severely than men.

Banda Aceh – A rebel in Indonesia's Aceh province has been shot and wounded by a soldier during a disarmament ceremony aimed at ending decades of violence in the tsunami-hit conflict zone.

Jakarta – Indonesia may strengthen its anti-terrorism law following suicide bombings at three crowded Bali restaurants that police say indicate an al-Qaida-linked militant group is adopting new tactics that are harder to predict, officials said Friday.

Jongker Rumteh, Manado – The trial of a local subsidiary of US-based Newmont Mining Corp resumed at the Manado District Court on Friday, with its American president director insisting the company had nothing to do with a baby's death after the tearful mother showed the court a photo of the girl.

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Malang – Since its inception two months ago, the Commission of Truth and Friendship has reported no progress in its mission to identify those responsible for past human rights violations in what was then East Timor.

Cynthia Banham – An East Timorese human rights group that criticised the Federal Government over its negotiations with the fledgling nation on maritime boundaries has been stripped of it funding.

Kornelius Purba, Jakarta – People in the rather slummy neighborhood units were a little envious seeing Miswan opening an impressive, official-looking envelope. They thought the security guard in a housing complex near their area might have received another Rp 300,000 worth of fuel compensation assistance from the government.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Top human rights groups slammed the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday for failing to protect human rights during its first year in office.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – For his work at a shoe company in Tangerang, Banten province, Parluhutan Simbolon is paid Rp 1.3 million (US$103) a month, a wage he once considered decent.

But since the government raised fuel prices on Oct. 1, it has been a struggle to make ends meet as the prices of basic goods have also increased.

Dili – The first newspaper to be published in East Timor's two official languages – Tetum and Portuguese – has ceased publication after failing to achieve sufficiently high circulation.

The weekly "Lia Foun" disappeared from newsstands Friday in Dili after being launched in May leaving only one weekly title, the Portuguese-language "Jornal Nacional Semanario".

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Defense and intelligence analysts are ruing poor team work among intelligence units and unpopular government policies for a string of terrorist attacks that have rocked the country over the last three years.

Greg Barton – Three years after the horror of the first Bali bombing and four years after the shock of the September 11 attacks, most Australians are mystified about why doubts about Jemaah Islamiah persist in Indonesia.

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – Two drivers calmly gave themselves up to the police when they were apprehended in Bandarlampung recently with trucks laden with meranti and kruing timber.

Wahjoe Boediwardhana, Malang – Further reports emerged nationwide on Wednesday of the inaccuracy of data used to determine who is eligible to receive cash assistance from the government to offset higher fuel prices.

Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – The fuel price hikes have severely affected industries in East Java with more than a 40 percent of firms in the province in danger of collapsing by the end of the year, a research institute says.

Sydney – It's been 30 years since five Australia-based newsmen were gunned down in the East Timorese border town of Balibo. It's been 30 years since their bodies were dragged into a room, doused in petrol and set alight.

Bandung – Hundreds of workers from the West Java Nusantara Workers Union staged a noisy protest at Bandung's City Hall and provincial council building on Wednesday, demanding a 100 percent rise in minimum wages.

The protesters said the current minimum wage was no longer enough to cope with workers' escalating living and transportation costs.

Emmy Kuswandari, Jakarta – The minister of defense, Juwono Sudarsono, says that the civilian authorities are not yet strong enough to ensure political stability and national security. The presence of the TNI (Indonesian military) therefore is still needed, particularly in handling terrorism.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Indonesian Military Chief (TNI) Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said on Wednesday that the plans to reactivate the much-criticized military's territorial function to help in the fight against terrorism would not extend to allowing soldiers to make arrests.

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – After a year in power, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono seems unable to improve his political communication skills so as to sustain his popularity, some experts say.

John Pilger – "The propagandist's purpose," wrote Aldous Huxley, "is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human."

Reporter: Nick McKenzie

Peter Cave: The Defence Force is being accused by one of its own of misusing national security and secrecy laws to stop the publication of a book, because it was deemed overly critical of the Federal Government.

Muhammad Nur Hayid, Jakarta – The plan to reactivate the territorial commands (Koter) down to the village level continues to spark polemic. Even the speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), Hidayat Nurwahid, has asked the government to consider the objections that have surfaced among the public.

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – The peace process in Indonesia's Aceh province could soon be irreversible, the head of a European Union-led team monitoring implementation of a truce between the government and rebels said on Wednesday.

Jakarta – The chief peace monitor in Indonesia's Aceh urged exiled separatist rebel leaders on Wednesday to return as soon as possible to help strengthen the peace process in the province.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government has delayed indefinitely the establishment of the much-awaited Papuan People's Assembly (MRP), blaming a dispute among local religious leaders and local authorities over the composition of the assembly.

Max Lane – An eight-month election process for village councils has finished in East Timor. Although the village councils have no power and are primarily vehicles through which local people can articulate their opinions, the elections were contested by almost all parties.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Prosecutors will have to work harder to prove that key suspect Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto was among the murderers of human rights advocator Munir Said Thalib.

Throughout the trial which has gone on for the past two months, prosecutors were unable to present strong material evidence and witnesses to testify against the defendant.

James Balowski, Jakarta – On October 1, under pressure from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced massive cuts to fuel subsidies. The average cost of domestic fuel rose by almost 125% as a result, and the price of kerosene, which Indonesia's poor use for cooking, rose by 185%.

The family of a Scots journalist brutally murdered in a war zone are demanding that Tony Blair helps them get justice – 30 years after his death.

Today – as you would almost certainly know – is the third anniversary of the first Bali bombing and our major report tonight provides an alarming twist to the ongoing terror campaign being waged in Indonesia.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Debate is stirring among government officials following President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's request that the Indonesian Military (TNI) actively help crack down on terrorists last week.

Hasrul, Kendari – Kendari district court on Tuesday sentenced 23 former city councillors to one year and six months in jail, adding to the long list of councillors around the country who have been incarcerated for graft.

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – Former president Soeharto's half-brother Probosutedjo admitted on Tuesday to giving his lawyer Rp 6 billion (US$600,000) to bribe the Supreme Court chief and other court officials dealing with his appeal against his graft conviction.