Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Demonstrators held a noisy protest outside the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta on Monday, chanting slogans and asserting Indonesia's claim to a disputed area off the coast of Malaysia's Sabah state and Indonesia's East Kalimantan province in the first territorial dispute since Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took office last October.

Indonesia urged Malaysia to cease "aggressive" claims and negotiate a territory dispute that has seen warships and fighter jets deployed to oil-rich waters off the coast of Borneo.

Zakki P. Hakim, Jakarta – Lack of investment in manpower skills, infrastructure and research and development in Indonesia's manufacturing industry over the past three decades have slowed down the country's industrialization process compared to its neighbors.

There is a common joke among government officials that attempts to explain the supposedly assertive nature of the Acehnese people: "When 10 Acehnese gather to work out a consensus, they will come up with at least 11 different opinions." That yarn reflects the impatience, and sometimes the frustration, that central government officials and other outsiders often endure when trying to

Indonesia and East Timor have agreed to set up a commission to deal with atrocities surrounding East Timor's 1999 vote for independence, despite criticism led by the United Nations.

Human rights activists have accused East Timor of putting diplomacy before justice after the fledgling nation agreed to drop charges against accused war criminals under a deal signed with Indonesia.

The United Nations, which oversaw East Timor's violent break away from Indonesian rule six years ago, has also criticised the accord.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The Indonesian Government has decided staff of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees will be allowed to remain in Aceh province after March 26 to continue reconstruction work helping victims of the tsunami.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Hundreds of people from 14 villages in Aceh Besar regency and Banda Aceh municipality gathered in Lam Isiek village here on Tuesday to pledge to rebuild their homes, which were destroyed by the tsunami.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – What a parrot says can tell you something about its master. A parrot kept at former president Soeharto's home reportedly still greeted its owner with "Good morning, Mr. President" every single day.

Meanwhile, a certain parrot kept at a house in Bekasi, West Java, portrays a sad reality that sometimes occurs between a husband and a wife.

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – On Tuesday March 8, dozens of students from a number of groups in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta held actions opposing fuel price increases. They also called on Yogyakarta people not to be influenced or provoked by the Ambalat dispute(1) between Indonesia and Malaysia to the point where the issue of fuel price increases disappears.

Ahmad Yunus, Bandung – Around 100 women and farmers from the People's Struggle Front (Front Perjuangan Rakyat) held an action commemorating International Women's Day. In their action, the demonstrators who originate from Pengalengan in West Java, also opposed fuel price increases.

Muchus Budi R., Solo – International Women's Day (IWD) which fell on March 8 was commemorated by demonstrations in the Central Java city of Solo. The actions was organised by two small groups with the same aims, opposing fuel price increases which they believe will further worsen the economic conditions of the people. Ambalat(1) was no included among the issues raised.

Wahyuana and Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta/Bekasi – Many residents of Bekasi had to take a day off work on Monday to clean thick mud from their houses following what is claimed to be the biggest ever flood in the municipality and upstream areas on Sunday.

The water in several areas had started to subside on Monday.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Evacuation of landslide victims at the Leuwigajah dump site in south Cimahi and Bandung regency ended on Monday, with 137 bodies being recovered and six more being left buried in the 25-hectare area affected by the disaster.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Women activists are seeking to revive an alternative draft for an Islamic code of law (KHI), which they say would help reduce domestic violence cases.

They urged the government on Monday to revoke its decision to annul the controversial draft issued by the Ministry of Religious Affairs in October last year.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – A group of people, claiming to be representatives of the Aceh people, stepped up pressure on the government on Monday to review its blueprint on post-tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction of Aceh.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The provincial offices of the General Elections Commission (KPUD) in Papua said they were unprepared to organize the direct elections for regional heads in June due to limited preparation time.

Indonesia is ranked as the most corrupt country in Asia by foreign businessmen in the region, raising fears about how billions of dollars in post-tsunami aid will end up, a new survey shows.

Reporter: Ian Melrose

Mark Colvin: Negotiations between Australia and East Timor on a seabed boundary resumed in Canberra this afternoon, with oil and gas reserves worth tens of billions of dollars at stake.

Australia is offering East Timor a cash-for-sovereignty deal – put aside a final boundary settlement and take an extra $3-billion.

Darlis M., Palu – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's warning not to act violently against demonstrations opposing fuel price increases appears to be only words. Police in the Central Sulawesi city of Palu were unable to restrain themselves, attacking and beating students who were demonstrating in the centre of the city. As a result, it caused traffic jams and chaos.

Jakarta – Despite the government ban, out-of-court adoptions of children living in refugee camps across tsunami-stricken Aceh remain a cause for concern and could actually be child smuggling, a children's commission says.

Canberra – Canberra and Dili entered a new round of negotiations – the third so far in a year – as Australian and East Timorese officials on Monday again deliberated on how to divide up oil and gas deposits under the Timor Sea.

Roy Eccleston – Senior members of the US Congress have stepped up pressure on the Howard Government to settle the dispute with East Timor over the rights to billions of dollars worth of sub-sea oil and gas between the two countries.

Dian Intannia, Jakarta – The executive director of Garuda airlines, Indra Setiawan, will be questioned by police next week as a witness in the case of Munir's death.

World War II veterans will appear in ads on Anzac Day aimed at embarrassing the federal government over the carve up of oil and gas reserves with East Timor.

East Timor has argued it is being cut out of billions of dollars through an incorrect understanding of the sea boundaries.

Palembang – Over 23 hectares of wetland in Palembang have been illegally reclaimed, the head of Palembang's public works office, Kira Tarigan, said on Friday. The wetland areas had been drained without permits, and many were being used for building purposes.

The government has cut fuel subsidies, but raised subsidies for other things including health and education for the country's poorest families. The Jakarta Post asked for comments from residents about the low-income assistance fund.

Indonesia's government will offer incentives for public transport operators to keep their fares down in an effort to quell widespread protests following major fuel price hikes, a report said.

Indonesia says its deployment of fighter jets and warships to an area of ocean close to Malaysia is not meant to worry its neighbour. The action preceded a visit by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to the joint border area of eastern Borneo.

About 30 members of the House of Representatives have asked the legislature to exercise its right of inquiry into the government decision to raise on March 1 fuel prices by an average of 29 percent.

Astrid Felicia Lim, Jakarta – Those traveling around the city of Jakarta need be ready to be held up by traffic jams because of actions opposing fuel price increases which are being organised by members of the public and activist groups. Actions in the capital city against price increases continued on Sunday March 6.

Agus Supriyanto, Jakarta – At a press conference in Jakarta on Sunday March 6, seven mass organisations declared that they are launching a class action against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY). According to the plaintiffs, SBY has acted improperly in increasing the price of fuel.

Two men on a motorcycle threw a hand grenade at a crowd near a church in the restive eastern Indonesian city of Ambon, injuring three people, a report said.

The grenade was thrown in front of the Sejahtera Church in the village of Lateri in Ambon early on Saturday, Police Chief Leonidas Braskan was quoted by the Kompas newspaper as saying.

An Australian academic banned from Indonesia said yesterday that incorrect reports he had links to separatist rebels in Aceh province could have been the reason he was refused entry this week.

Government's decision to continue the civil emergency status and the joint operation (security recovery operation) in Aceh is actually a part of civil emergency in Aceh. This was stated by the Coordinating Minister of Politics, Law, and Security – Widodo AS – after leaving from the coordination meeting on politics, law, and security.

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – A lack of hard evidence remains a major obstacle in the investigation into the death of rights activist Munir, despite irregularities found in several documents that could possibly link Garuda airline to the case, police said.

Jakarta – Indonesia's military said Saturday it killed 30 separatist rebels in tsunami-ravaged Aceh province in the space of a week. The development threatened a fragile truce agreed on after the Dec. 26 natural disaster.

Shawn Donnan, Jakarta – Indonesia is considering asking the UNHCR to leave Aceh by the end of this month, saying the United Nations refugee agency may have outlived its usefulness and may be straying outside its mandate in the tsunami-stricken province.

Tiarma Siboro and Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Survivors of last December's tsunami asked the Aceh authorities on Friday to review their new policy of restricting the number of foreigners who have been helping them after the devastating catastrophe.

Jakarta – Prices at traditional markets remained relatively stable three days after the government raised fuel prices by an average of 29 percent, as they had slightly increased after the government floated the idea last month.

Jakarta – People began to feel the bite of the fuel price hikes on Friday on the beaches and in the streets, with some fishermen abandoning their boats in coastal areas, while in the cities passengers fought with bus drivers over increased fares.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – A top human rights activist criticized the move by the immigration office to ban Australian academic Edward Aspinall from entering the country, describing it as an "irresponsible act" by the government.

Whatever others may say about it, here in Indonesia the trial and subsequent conviction on Thursday of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir to 30 months' imprisonment for partaking in the "evil conspiracy" that culminated in the October 12, 2002, Bali nightclub bombings is likely to remain a topic of heated contention for a long time to come.

Jim Lobe, Washington – Two major environmental groups are charging that BlueLinx, the largest US building-products distributor, is knowingly importing legally disputed, undocumented timber out of Indonesia's endangered rainforests.

Jakarta – The Constitutional Court's (MK) Panel of Judges have decided To reject a judicial review on the human rights court legislation proposed By the former governor of East Timor, Abilio Jose Osorio Soares. The Rejection was read out by the chairman of the Panel of Judges, Jimly Asshiddiqie, on Thursday (3 March) at the Constitutional Court House.

Zakki P. Hakim, Jakarta – Over the last three decades, major Asian countries have managed to improve exports from basic manufacturing products to more sophisticated goods, with one major exception – Indonesia.

Aside from natural resource-based products, Indonesia's top manufacturing exports still revolve around textiles, clothing and footwear.

Jakarta – Protests over the fuel price hike continued on Thursday in several cities across the country, though the number of protesters was smaller than on previous days.

Public transportation drivers continued their protests and students increased the pressure by blocking off roads and setting fire to tires.

Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono was on a mission impossible that cold wintry week in Washington, DC, on March 12-19, when temperatures hit close to zero degrees Celsius. His objective was to thaw military relations between Indonesia and the United States.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The death of respected human rights activist Munir last September was very likely the result of a conspiracy, a government-sanctioned fact finding team said.

Jakarta – Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander General Endriartono Sutarto has welcomed the resumption of the International Military Education Training (IMET) program by the US government.

However, Sutarto requested the US government not to burden the program with conditions that would "disturb the national dignity" of Indonesia.