Edward Cody, Bung Bak Yok – Rukaiyah's right arm has swollen dangerously, pus leaking from an angry gash along the inside of her elbow. The skin has yellowed on a forearm puffy all the way to the wrist.

Unchecked infection has led to the threat – and maybe the onset – of gangrene.

Six days after the tsunami waves swept the coast of the Indonesian province of Aceh and part of North Sumatra, causing the loss of at least 80,000 lives, the victims are still lacking access to relief supposedly distributed by the state apparatus.

Jakarta – Many of the planned New Year's celebrations will become charity events in the wake of Sunday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake and deadly tidal waves in Aceh and other nations on Indian Ocean that killed at least 80,000 in Aceh alone as of Thursday night.

Danang Widoyoko – The new government has vowed to take real action against corrupt officials in its first 100 days as a form of "shock therapy" in an effort to gain public trust. But properly enforcing the law against such a widespread problem, with so many involved, is nothing short of a monumental task.

Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – Bodies are still scattered on the streets and under the rubble in Banda Aceh, Meulaboh and many other towns in Aceh. Tens of thousands of survivors are still without food, clean water, medicines or even clothes to change into. Their ordeal and suffering continue.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) was again urged on Thursday to prohibit government officials from holding double positions in an effort to fight corruption.

The death toll in the tsunami tragedy that swept Indonesia, in Aceh and North Sumatra is feared to have killed nearly 40,000-80,000 people.

The Indonesian military says it is continuing to launch raids against separatist rebels in tsunami-devastated Aceh, despite having earlier called a ceasefire to help aid efforts.

Lindsay Murdoch, Meulaboh – The suffering in this once-bustling seaside town of 40,000 on Sumatra's west coast is unimaginable.

Five days after the massive earthquake struck beneath the seabed only 60 kilometres south-west of here, most survivors have received no food, drinking water, medicines or outside help.

Donald Greenlees, Banda Aceh – The home that Epayani left behind at Meulaboh, on the west coast of Indonesia's Aceh province, now lies under the sea.

Her last memory of the concrete cottage in a military compound is of waves crashing against the roofline before she was thrown into the swirling water.

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – The way school textbooks are procured leaves the door open to corruption in elementary and junior high schools, involving not only principals but also teachers and school committees, a survey revealed.

US-based groups with a long record of experience in the region today called on the Indonesian government to not let politics override the needs of people in tsunami stricken Aceh. The groups include the East Timor Action Network (ETAN), International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) and Nonviolence International (NI).

Sidney Jones – Indonesia continues to be plagued by astonishingly diverse forms of violence: vigilantism, communal conflict, armed insurgencies and counter-insurgency responses, terrorism, land and resource disputes, and shoot-outs between the army and police. That's not counting the occasional high-profile murder of a beloved public figure like Munir.

Rizal Sukma – This article examines recent changes in Indonesia's politics, perceived and real, since the election of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, affectionately called SBY, as Indonesia's sixth president in October 2004.

Agus Widjojo, Jakarta – The term de-politicization is central to the whole concept of reforming the Indonesian Military (TNI). However, it should be mentioned that this reform is not only about de-politicization.

Lindsay Murdoch, Simeulue – From the air, it could be Hiroshima – a town hit with such devastating force it has literally been flattened.

Lone buildings and palm trees inexplicably left standing are all that remains of the Indonesian town of Meulaboh – about 60 kilometres north-east of the epicentre of Sunday's earthquake.

Sian Powell, Aceh – It was the stuff of nightmares in Aceh's capital city yesterday but it was an essential step to preventing epidemics of cholera and other diseases – an excavator working overtime scooping corpses into a truck for rapid transfer to a mass grave.

Stephen Fitzpatrick and Patrick Walters – The first shocking images of Sumatra's devastated west coast emerged yesterday, leading authorities to dramatically increase the estimated toll from Sunday's disaster and increasing the pressure on Australia to take a leading role in the reconstruction of tsunami-hit Indonesia.

Maire Leadbeater – The year is ending tragically for hundreds of thousands of our Southeast Asian neighbours. The only hope to be drawn from the sad situation is the thought that the international community is geared to respond with urgent aid.

Alan Sipress, Banda Aceh – At the Indonesian military's primary airfield here, cartons of instant noodles, bottled water and medicine were stacked high inside a hangar Wednesday, awaiting delivery to camps filled with desperate tsunami victims.

Jakarta – Shocked and grieved by the massive devastation and loss of life wrought by the earthquake and tsunamis that hit Aceh and North Sumatra, Indonesians have turned out in droves to donate money to aid agencies.

Christine Susanna Tjhin, Jakarta – President Susilo's decision to spend Christmas in Papua (Dec. 26, 2004) may well be a very sympathetic yearly ritual. And the recently signed presidential regulation on the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) has been considered by many as one of the wonderful Christmas gifts all Papuans could get.

Phelim Kyne, Jakarta – Rampant corruption will take a massive bite out of millions of dollars in aid to Indonesia's earthquake-stricken province of Aceh unless the government tightens control mechanisms, government officials and analysts warned Wednesday.

Erlangga Djumana – Vice President Jusuf Kalla announced on 29 December that the civil emergency status has been lifted in Aceh, following the virtual breakdown of the local government in the province, as a result of the earthquake and tsunamis that have struck the region since 26 December.

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – Tangerang regency councillors' protest on Monday was condemned by a religious leader and labor activist, who said the councillors had disappointed their constituents.

Chaerudin, a religious leader in the regency, said the councillors had shown that their goal was to enrich themselves.

A massive earthquake December 26 in the Java Trench off Sumatra spawned tsunamis that have killed tens of thousands in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, the Maldives, Thailand and east Africa. The embattled Indonesian province of Aceh, home to a militant separatist movement, was hardest hit.

Jakarta – A group of rights activists lamented on Tuesday the government-sanctioned fact-finding team that will probe the death of rights campaigner Munir, which they claim was powerless.

Amy Goodman, host

Jakarta – Golkar, which elected Indonesia's Vice-President Jusuf Kalla as its chairman earlier this month, will replace its faction chief in the House of Representatives.

Mr Mohammad Hatta's replacement will harmonise party policies with those of the legislators in the House, Golkar's deputy leader Agung Laksono said on Monday.

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta – The anticorruption call made by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) ahead of Idul Fitri has proven effective, and the city's parcel business is slowing down, even as New Year nears.

The KPK had called on state officials to refrain from receiving gifts and parcels in an effort to combat bribery.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Dismissed Golkar politician Marzuki Darusman is heading back to the House of Representatives after the party's new central executive board annulled a previous decision to fire him.

Jakarta – Three Buyat Bay residents have withdrawn a US$543 million civil lawsuit filed against PT Newmont Minahasa Raya for allegedly causing heavy metal poisoning.

From Sabang to Merauke, Indonesians acted without deliberation to support their brothers and sisters facing Sunday's calamity. A spontaneous show of solidarity that was both encouraging and touching to witness.

Max Lane, chair of Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific, condemned the departure today from Brisbane of the sixth Australian Defence Force Security Detachment to Bagdad.

He said Australian troops should be deployed to assist the tens of thousands of tsunami victims in Asia, rather than help create more mayhem in Iraq.

Lindsay Murdoch, Banda Aceh – They have blank stares and don't speak. We walked together, among black and bloated bodies still lying in the streets of Banda Aceh three days after 25 minutes of terror tore apart a sunny holiday morning.

"We thought it was the end of the world," said Sofyan Halim, 37, who has lost 15 members of his family.

Sunday morning, December 26th 2004, Tsunami waves hit Aceh and North Sumatra. It was the biggest disaster in Indonesia since the last 40 years. The Tsunami was caused by an earthquake of 8,9 Richter scale.

A law regulating demonstrations and assemblies passed by East Timor's parliament violates basic rights to free expression and assembly, Human Rights Watch said today. President Xanana Gusmao should refuse to sign this law.

The Indonesian government announced today that the status of civil emergency has been lifted in Aceh because of the situation in the region in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunamis which struck on 26 December. However, it is clear that restrictions will remain in force.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government on Monday warned 42 companies, some of them state-owned, to radically improve their protection of the environment within six months, otherwise they would face severe punishment, including a freeze on their operations.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Indonesia and Australia, long known for their love-hate relationship, are now again seeing a period of unity – at least for the time being – by a common concern: terrorism.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Following the issuance of a presidential decree on the Papua People's Council (MRP), the Papua provincial government is now preparing the establishment of a team that will discuss MRP election.

Jakarta – Tectonic earthquake followed by tsunami that swept through Aceh and North Sumatra is the greatest disaster hit Indonesia for the last decade. Recently, Aceh is still in paralyzed condition. The electricity and telephones break down caused difficulty to access information to the impacted areas.

Tim Johnston – For the people of the northern province of Aceh, Sunday's earthquake brought a two-fold disaster. First they were hit by tremors that brought down buildings and damaged roads. Then came the tsunamis.

The massive tsunami that hit Aceh province has brought a temporary halt to fighting between rebels and government troops in the region, and could spur efforts to settle the decades-long conflict, analysts say.

After 25 years of repression and persecution, the tiny country of East Timor is racked with poverty and in desperate need of rebuilding. John Vidal on the efforts being made to help the Timorese stand on their own two feet

The oil-rich Indonesian province of Aceh was one of the few places hit by both southern Asia's massive earthquake and the tsunamis it caused – a double blow that killed thousands and wreaked so much devastation that separatists fighting a decades-long insurgency called a temporary ceasefire.

Zakki P. Hakim, Jakarta – The popular issue blanketing the textile and clothing industry, both at home and overseas, throughout the year 2004 was the termination of the global textile quota system.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – As thousands of Acehnese were killed in the most devastating natural disaster in the country's history, Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh went on trial on Monday on corruption charges in Jakarta.