Indah Setiawati – The Bali Manpower and Transmigration Agency will unlikely be able to meet its target unemployment rate of 3.5 percent due to the global economic slowdown caused in part by the US sub-prime mortgage debacle.

Aboeprijadi Santoso, Banda Aceh – The top leader of former rebel group the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), Teungku Chik Hasan Muhammad di Tiro, may be the founder of Indonesia's longest proactive separatist movement, but when he came home it was not as a rebel, but still with a cause.

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – Human rights groups have cast doubt on the effectiveness of the newly enacted law against racial and ethnic discrimination, citing its narrow coverage.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Papua – Around 100 protesters from the International Parliament for West Papua (IPWP) staged a rally Monday against an alleged increase in militarism in Papua outside the Provincial Legislative Council building.

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Inflation eased in October, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), providing leeway for the central bank to hold its interest rate steady after raising it for six straight months.

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – New political parties are stepping up pressure for a revision of the newly passed presidential election bill, with potential candidate Wiranto vowing to lead the way.

Muhammad Nur Abdurrahman, Makassar – Scores of students from Papua demonstrated in front of the Mandala monument on Jl. Jenderal Sudirman in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar on November 3.

Jakarta – A series of three explosions, damaging administration and council buildings, occurred about 02:30 a.m. local time in Ternate, North Maluku on Monday, Antara reported.

Jakarta – A Malaysian council has detected activities of the Indonesian Islamic State Movement (GNII, Gerakan Negara Islam Indonesia) in Selangor State.

Selangor Council of State Security said in its report that the GNII was a popular and active underground movement in the state.

Jakarta – People swarmed the East Jakarta Immigration office, jostling in and out of different rooms just to get a small yet important gateway book, the passport.

Susan Harris Rimmer – Will the date October 30 mark the last best chance for justice for survivors of occupation in East Timor?

Laurencius Simanjuntak, Jakarta – Leaders from the Communion of Christian Churches (PGGK) covering five regencies and municipalities in West Papua province went to the House of Representatives (DPR) on Monday November 3 to declare their opposition to the recently enacted law on pornography. The leaders from the 40 Church denominations were received by DPR speaker Agung Laksono.

Simon Montlake Simon Montlake, Jakarta – Once a byword for corruption, Indonesia has begun to fight back against the well-connected bribers, brokers, and embezzlers who have for decades fed off its public sector.

John Lyons – John Howard braced himself for the possibility of up to 30 Australian soldiers being killed by the Indonesian military when he made his decision to send troops to intervene in East Timor.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Senior politician Theo L. Sambuaga looked uneasy when asked why his Golkar Party, which boasts a nationalist platform, voted for the controversial pornography bill.

"Personally, I don't agree with the bill as it endangers our national unity. But what can I do? The majority said it was in the party's interests," he said Saturday.

The world's "post-conflict" areas are a living laboratory with ever changing experiments, the Aceh Reintegration Agency (BRA) and the local population being among its guinea pigs.

Critics say that approaches such as that of the BRA which only distributes funds to verified individuals to ensure their accountability, are ineffective and further weaken "strong communal ties".

Jakarta – Presidential hopefuls retired generals Wiranto and Sutiyoso expressed their disappointment Sunday against the newly passed presidential election bill, saying they would support a judicial review of the law.

Wiranto and Sutiyoso both said the required threshold set out by the law to nominate a presidential candidate was too high.

Tom Allard, Jakarta – For three men who say they welcome death, the Bali bombers have spent a lot of time trying to avoid it. In the five years since Mukhlas, Amrozi and Imam Samudra greeted their guilty verdicts and death sentences with fist-pumping glee and shouts of "Infidel die", they have fought at every turn their moment with the firing squad.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – For Santi, a 29-year-old staffer at a Jakarta law firm, the fun and carefree days of hanging out at a mall in a shoulder-exposing tank top may well be over.

Despite the comfort and confidence she says her attire gives her, Santi is wary of inadvertently violating articles in the recently approved anti-pornography bill.

Ika Krismantari, Jakarta – The stock market main index extended gains Friday for the third day this week, hovering above 1,200 on the back of good sentiment from global markets and the better-than-expected financial results of several top companies.

Tom Allard, Jakarta – The Bali bombers have been isolated in their prison wing, separated from the nine other convicted terrorists who live with them, as preparations intensify before their impending executions.

Richard Macey – On the eve of their executions, the Bali bombers have called for revenge against the West and have warned the US to expect defeat.

In separate letters on October 22, and posted on an Islamic website, Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra have urged Muslims to attack non-believers.

Andra Wisnu, Denpasar – In a move of defiance against the controversial pornography bill, Bali's governor and speaker of the provincial legislative council declared Friday the province would not be able to enforce the newly passed law.

Andra Jackson – Jill Jolliffe knows that often in wars it is the heroes who are remembered while the suffering of ordinary people goes unnoted. But the Australian journalist, who has spent more than 25 years reporting on the East Timorese independence struggle, has found a way of ensuring that the memory of these silent sacrifices will be preserved.

Fadli, Batam – Limited transportation and communication between remote islands and the main island of Batam in Riau Islands province is responsible for the low skills of the workforce in those areas, especially among women, says an activist.

For centuries Jakarta has been plagued by floods because of its geographical position. For centuries the rainy season has begun in the same month every year. And for centuries Jakarta residents and local authorities have prepared themselves for the annual deluge long before the rainy season sweeps the city, of course.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Women are unlikely to win many legislative seats in next year's legislative elections as six parties have fallen short of the female representation quota and many others have stuck their female candidates at the bottom of their pecking orders.

Tifa Asrianti, Jakarta – Several provinces have announced a significant rise in workers' minimum wage, but the amount of the increase is facing opposition from certain business groups.

Workers in Jakarta will get a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage, from the current Rp 972,604 (US$89.22) to Rp 1,069,865 next year.

Ivana Prazic, Yogyakarta – "You married?" This frequently asked question is one of the most typical ways to break the ice when chit-chatting with everyone from a complete stranger next to you on a bus, a newly made acquaintance, or a shop assistant. Even for a foreign Ph.D.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the contentious anti-pornography bill, defying months of protest from artists, pluralists and human rights groups.

Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – East Timor's President, Jose Ramos-Horta, has found the man who shot and almost killed him, instantly recognising him during a visit to Dili's Becora jail.

"I stared at him. He turned away, embarrassed and couldn't look me in the eye," Mr Ramos-Horta told the Herald yesterday. "I have been waiting for him to come forward and confess his crimes."

Jakarta – Hundreds of members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) clashed with police outside a Central Jakarta court and attempted to force the closure of a nearby Ahmadiyah mosque after their leader, Rizieq Shihab, was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – Two police detectives testified Thursday at the trial of former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy head Muchdi Purwopranjono, denying pressuring witnesses and manipulating testimonies in the defendant's dossier.

Nana Rukmana, Cirebon – Thousands of street children in Cirebon are at risk of physical and sexual abuse and often subject to exploitation that forces them to become scavengers and beggars, says a child activist.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Surabaya – Army Chief Gen. Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo has asked the newly appointed chief of the Brawijaya Military Command, Maj. Gen. Suwarno, to secure all assets in the province belonging to the Indonesian Military (TNI).

Jakarta – The Jakarta stock exchange's main index rose 5.4 percent on Thursday as the rupiah gained against the dollar, showing signs of life following a heavy battering for most of the week.

Dicky Christanto and Ni Komang Erviani, Denpasar – Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika expressed concern about the House of Representatives' decision to pass the controversial porn bill into law during a plenary session in Jakarta on Thursday.

Dili – Timor-Leste is addressing ancient land disputes created by centuries of occupation and confusion over land titles.

Preventing the sexual exploitation of children and protecting women's rights are societal duties of surpassing importance. There can be no qualms about that.

But where is the moral right, the disciples of the Pornography Bill, when a middle-aged religious figure weds a minor or polygamy is openly consented to?

The deadline for the Indonesian Military (TNI) to relinquish its businesses is only one year away. Yet discourse regarding all forms of military business that need to be taken over by the government have yet to be finalized, with proposals still on the table asking that military cooperatives be excluded from the list of targeted businesses.

Ruth Ratcliffe – "They've been trying to solve problems by using only money, but not to solve the political problems through political means, that they've failed", Fretilin leader Mari Alkatiri, told Radio Australia on October 26.

"The government has failed at all levels, and they're trying to blame others for their own mistakes", Alkatiri continued.

Yansen, Queensland – In the observance of World Food Day on Oct. 16, attention was given to the effects of climate change and bioenergy on the poor. This theme emphasized the results from the High Level Conference on World Food Security in Rome (June 3-5, 2008), which focused on the challenges of climate change and bioenergy.

Abdi Purmono, Jakarta – Around three hundred teachers demonstrated outside the Regional Education Office in Malang East Java on Thursday to demand a permanent status for thousands of temporary teachers in the region.

Wasti Atmodjo, Denpasar – At least 110 participants from 15 Asian countries grouped under the Kartini Asia Network (KAN) will discuss various gender issues, including the current controversial pornography bill, in a conference in Bali from Nov. 2 to Nov. 6.

Jakarta – Indonesian lawmakers rammed a far-reaching anti-pornography law through parliament Thursday despite howls of protest by artists and religious minorities who say it threatens national unity.

Irwan Firdaus, Jakarta – Indonesia's parliament passed a bill banning pornography Thursday, ignoring opposition from lawmakers and rights groups who worry it will be used to justify attacks on artistic, religious and cultural freedom.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Nine Christian leaders in Papua have suggested the government hold a dialogue with the Papuan people to find the best solution for the ongoing dispute over the 1965 people's self-determination vote (Pepera).

Andra Wisnu, Denpasar – Laborers gathered under the Bali chapter of the National Front for the Struggle of Indonesian Workers (FNPBI) rallied in Denpasar on Wednesday opposing a recent joint ministerial decree allowing companies to cap their wages.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – At least 15,000 employees of West Java's export-oriented companies have been laid off, with the decline in productivity caused by the current global economic crisis, a business association says.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Massive forest conversions, rising demand for timber and infrastructure projects are the main causes for Indonesia's world-leading rate of deforestation, a new study has found.

The study by the Indonesian Forest Watch (FWI) categorically blamed deforestation on forest conversions into palm oil plantations conducted by big companies.