ID Nugroho, Surabaya – Drops of water trickle down from the shoulder-length hair of Sekar (not her real name), as she enters one of the fast food eateries in Central Surabaya on Tuesday afternoon.

Irman G. Lanti – The fourth round of peace talks between the separatist Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (also known as GAM or the Free Aceh Movement) and the Indonesian government ended last week in Helsinki. The talks, initiated and mediated by the Crisis Management Initiative led by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, are set to resume on July 12.

Mathew Moore, Jakarta – A businessman from one of Indonesia's wealthiest families has escaped with a seven-year jail sentence after murdering a waiter who told him a credit card had been rejected.

Michael Richardson – It has been a rollercoaster ride of more than two years of sometimes acrimonious talks between Australia and East Timor on how to share energy reserves in the Timor Sea.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Former BIN chief A.M. Hendropriyono has missed his chance to clarify the facts obtained by the fact-finding team investigating the murder of rights campaigner Munir, as the Thursday deadline set by the team has passed.

Barry Neild, Banda Aceh – While most Indonesian child tsunami victims are being cared for by family or friends six months after the disaster, new fears are emerging that young survivors living in tightly-packed camps are being exposed to new dangers.

Bandar Lampung – Hundreds of workers of PT Sweet Indo Lampung protested outside the sugar producer's factory complex in Gedungmeneng, Tulangbawang on Tuesday.

Jakarta – As the end of its tenure nears, the fact-finding team probing the murder of top human rights activist Munir dealt another blow on Wednesday when it was accused of exceeding the scope of its jurisdiction.

Along with foreign and local volunteers, the Indonesian Military has been instrumental in rebuilding Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam following the total destruction brought about by the Dec. 26 tsunami. The following is an interview with Maj. Gen.

Jakarta – Room to maneuver by the former director of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) Hendropriyono is shrinking after BIN formally wrote to him telling him to fulfil the summons by the Fact Finding Team (TPF) investigating the death of human rights activist Munir.

Jakarta – The former director of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), AM Hendropriyono, says there is no requirement for him to fulfill the summons from the Fact Finding Team (TPF) investigating the murder of human rights activist Munir. According to Hendropriyono, with regard to the TPF's summons it is acting unfairly towards him as an ordinary member of the public.

Katherine Torres, Washington – The US renewal of military aid and training assistance to Jakarta continues to spark criticism and activists accuse elements of the Indonesian military of continuing to kill and violate human rights.

Rendi A. Witular and Yuli Tri Suwarni, Jakarta/Bandung – After his private mobile phone crashed just a day after its number was made public last week, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made public on Thursday a new phone number, 9949, through which members of the public can directly forward complaints and information.

Andi Hajramurni and A'an Suryana, Makassar/Jakarta – Building a clean government! This was the vision expressed by Ichsan Yasin Limpo, a candidate running for regent, when he delivered his manifesto to Gowa regental councillors a few days ago in an attempt to prove his anticorruption credentials ahead of the June 27 local leadership election in the regency.

Commenting ahead of the East Timorese Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri's visit to Melbourne today, Timor Sea Justice Campaign co-ordinator Tom Clarke labelled the Australian Government's proposal on how to split gas and oil in the Timor Sea as miserly, deceptive and short sighted.

Bloomberg – East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao said his country shouldn't rush to settle a dispute with Australia over offshore oil and gas fields before the three-year-old nation can handle the royalties, which may exceed $14 billion over two decades.

Lisbon – A leader of East Timor's Roman Catholics warned Thursday that although the recent dispute between his powerful church and the Dili government is resolved, "nothing is definitive in these types of misunderstandings and conflicts".

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – One of the greatest smear campaigns ever committed in the country's modern history was the one that was waged against the country's first president, Sukarno.

Aguswandi, London – Irresponsible statements from politicians in Jakarta is the last thing Acehnese need at this time, post-disaster. Yet this is what we hear from members of the House of Representatives in Jakarta, as they issue statements criticizing the peace talks in Helsinki.

That is, arguably, the most famous cellular phone number in the country – along with a few popular TV reality show and game show phone-in numbers, of course.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in a display of public relations bravado blurted out his private number, which he has had for several years.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – The current outbreak of malnutrition that is affecting thousands of children in some provinces might be considered a slap in the face for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, not only because such reports have been concealed from him, but also because the reports have dealt a major blow to his government's poverty eradication programs.

Jakarta – Indonesia's High Court on Thursday upheld a 10-year-jail sentence for the governor of the nation's tsunami-ravaged Aceh province for skimming state funds – a key victory in the government's campaign against corruption, a media report said.

Jakarta – Investigators in Indonesia arrested a lawyer Thursday for allegedly bribing a court official in a bid to overturn the conviction of the governor of Aceh province in a high-profile corruption case.

Jakarta – The chairperson of the Association of Families of Missing Persons (Ikohi), Mugiyanto, says the 14 activists who disappeared between 1997-98 are dead. This was confirmed by the former minister of defense/armed forces chief retired General Wiranto during a secret meeting with a team investigating the disappearance of activists in 1997-98.

John Roberts – Talks in the Finnish capital Helsinki between the Indonesian government and the exiled leadership of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) ended on May 31. The outcome of the meeting, the fourth since the devastating Boxing Day tsunami, has been praised by spokesmen from both sides and the Finnish mediators as a major step forward. A final deal by August is mooted.

Cirebon, West Java – Some 4,000 children in Cirebon regency are suffering from malnutrition, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

Poverty has left many parents unable to provide their children with nutritious food, leading to rampant malnutrition, said Retina Sri Sedjati, the chief of the Cirebon Health Agency.

Jakarta – If a province is wealthy enough to allocate Rp 12 billion (US$1.26 billion) for the renovation of its governor's residence, why do its children continue to suffer from malnutrition?

Matthew Moore Herald, Jakarta – Imron Cotan has been told he will be returning to a new position, having barely completed half of his three-year term that began in November 2003.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's decision to bring him home in favour of his own candidate is a sign of the President's determination to strengthen ties with Australia.

The babies could not wait – they died before our honorable legislators were able to complete their ongoing revision of the state budget, which would then determine the figures of "compensation funds" to the poor, derived from funds earlier used to subsidize motorists.

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Padang – Thirteen out of 45 Padang councillors were sentenced to four years in jail each on Tuesday following their convictions on graft charges.

Ahead of a visit by the Prime Minister of East Timor, Mari Alkatiri, to Melbourne this week, the Australian Council of Trade Unions has renewed its calls for East Timor to gain a fairer share of the benefits from gas and oil development in the Timor Sea.

Commenting on the visit by East Timor Prime Minister, ACTU President Sharan Burrow said:

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – Although the time limit for Fact Finding Team's (TPF) investigation into the Munir case is almost up it seems that it has failed to gain access to documents and information from the National Intelligence Agency (BIN). It has been repeatedly said that BIN's director Syamsir Siregar has forbidden his members from giving access to the TPF.

Eva C. Komandjaja and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Documents setting out methods and plans to kill human rights activist Munir have been discovered by the government-sanctioned fact finding team investigating his murder, supporting initial speculation that the killing was part of a conspiracy.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The twin problems of school dropouts and child labor in the country have been blamed on widespread poverty.

Jakarta – Indonesian police found a partly assembled explosive device at a south Jakarta train station on Wednesday and a bomb squad was called in to dismantle it, a spokesman said.

Police were also seen stopping and searching vehicles outside another train station in the central part of the city early on Wednesday.

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Denpasar – The jailing of a university student for insulting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is a reflection of the government's reluctance to accept public criticism, an observer says.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last week ordered the country's governors to revive the Regional Intelligence Coordinating Body (Bakorinda), a network of intelligence offices last used to quell dissent in the Suharto era, amid criticism that Indonesia's intelligence bodies had failed to anticipate terrorist attacks in the country.

Jakarta – Reports on corruption and offerings of lucky charms were among the text messages received by the President via his cellular phone not long after he publicly disclosed its number.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was sent over 2,000 messages on Saturday, with some of them being read out to him by his assistant, before the system crashed.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – In an attempt to finish a major backlog of big city projects, Governor Sutiyoso has set a deadline of six months for senior officials to shape up or ship out.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Association of Families of Missing Persons (Ikohi) is urging retired General Wiranto to clarify his statement that 14 activists who were disappeared between 1997-1998 and who's whereabouts are still unknown are in fact dead.

Jakarta – The Fact Finding Team (TPF) investigating the death of Munir has found documents containing four plots to kill the human rights activist.

"It would be a great pity if these documents had been thrown away", TPF chairperson Police Brigadier General Marsudhi Hanafi told journalists at police headquarters in Jakarta on Tuesday June 14.

Jakarta – A team set up by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to investigate the abduction of prodemocracy activists between 1997 and 1998 failed to question four middle-ranking police officers on Monday.

Despite its strong association with the New Order regime of former president Soeharto, the Golkar Party managed to dominate not only the last legislative election, but also direct regional elections held in several regencies. The Jakarta Post's Slamet Susanto discussed this with Riswandha Imawan, a political analyst at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta.

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – With the sixth graders facing final exams and the new academic year about to start in July, officials at a state elementary school in Sepatan district, Tangerang regency, were wondering what to do about the classrooms.

Tim Johnston – Indonesia's commitment to free speech and civil rights was questioned yesterday after a Balinese student was sentenced to six months in jail for showing disrespect to the president.

Ahmad Dani, Jakarta – Slightly built human rights activist Munir appears to have been the target of a huge conspiracy by a 'rogue' group. The evidence, four attempts were planned against his life. And one of the methods was certainly not 'intellectual': using black magic.

Medan – Two soldiers and a staff official with the province's Bukit Barisan Military Command were dishonorably discharged from the military on Monday for their involvement in drug trafficking. Bukit Barisan military commander Maj. Gen.

It is easy to become increasingly pessimistic about the ability of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's economic team to continue economic reforms – especially when new evidence emerges indicating how incoherent the policy stance of his economics ministers is.

Paul Dalton and Fergus Kerrigan, Jakarta – Since 1998, foreign observers have followed with hope and concern the progress of Indonesia on its uneven path towards democracy, the rule of law and accountability in government. While the challenges are many, there have been impressive achievements, including significant reforms of the legal system.

John McBeth, Jakarta – Indonesia's elite have always preferred to bury unsavoury events, such as those from the bloody upheavals of the mid-1960s.