Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Interfaith leaders condemned on Friday the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) for its issuance of fatwas on Thursday that outlawed liberal Islamic thought and pluralism, while urging Muslims to resist the orders.

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – Police say they detained on Thursday four people accused of inciting a riot in Kaur regency, Bengkulu province, involving thousands of people protesting the result of the recent regental election.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has prepared a contingency plan to anticipate possible violations of the Aceh peace agreement scheduled for signing on Aug. 15.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Labor exporters are urging the government to utilize billions of dollars collected from labor exports and foreign workers to finance training and retraining programs that Indonesian workers need to compete in the global labor market.

Jakarta – A coalition of environmental organizations are demanding that timber firms on Sumatra island that are operating based on licenses from local chief executives stop clearing forests there, as the central government is reviewing these permits.

Jakarta – Although no-one can ever be absolutely certain, it is estimated that there are about 800 children aged 14 to 18 years old who are employed as sex workers in the red light cafes of Bambu Apus, East Jakarta.

Jakarta – More prudent budgeting and the removal of fuel subsidies are important challenges ahead for the government, if it wants to consolidate the progress Indonesia has made in recent years, the International Monetary Fund says.

Jakarta – In what was widely seen as an apparent campaign against freedom of thought and religion, the state-sanctioned Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued on Thursday a fatwa outlawing liberal Islamic thoughts.

Jakarta – Megawati Sukarnoputri, the former president of Indonesia, says she does not agree with the existence of local parties in Aceh.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The government's plan to increase the take-home pay of the President, Vice President, ministers, and high-ranking state officials met with mixed reactions on Wednesday amid the government's appeal for the public to be thrifty.

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – Scores of people calling themselves the Commandos for the Defense of the Fatherland (Komando Bela Tanah Air, Kombat) demonstrated at the offices of Vice President Jusuf Kalla. The demonstrators were urging the government to end negotiations with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Agus Supriyanto, Jakarta – Hundreds of youths from the Commandos for the Defense of the Fatherland (Komando Bela Tanah Air, Kombat) demonstrated in front of the offices of Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan in Jakarta.

Washington – The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday it welcomed the continuing improvement in Indonesia's economy in recent years.

Karima Anjani, Jakarta – The world's largest gold miner goes on trial in Indonesia next week in a dispute over pollution that has left the government torn between environmentalists and potential investors in the fourth most populous country.

Jakarta – Regional offices of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) are calling for strong measures to prevent Muslims from converting to other religions.

Reports presented to a plenary meeting by delegates to the MUI congress on Wednesday reflected general concerns over the issue of conversion.

Theresia Sufa, Bogor – "If they call for war, I will step in to protect the area we live in," proclaimed Saidah, a homemaker of Kampong Rawajeler in Bojong, Bogor.

She was one of hundreds of women and children who on Wednesday were preparing to stop a planned trial of the controversial Bojong waste treatment plant.

Jakarta – Supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government to restart investigations into the bloody July 27, 1996, mob attack on their former headquarters as they commemorated the incident on Wednesday.

The Timor Sea Justice Campaign (TSJC) is holding a series of public meetings next week ahead of the anticipated signing of a resource sharing agreement between the Governments of Australia and East Timor about the Greater Sunrise gas field.

Bandung – No Indonesian province is now free from HIV infection, with the recorded number of people living with the virus in the country standing at 7,098.

Head of the HIV/AIDS Eradication Commission Alwi Shihab said on Wednesday the commission had remained unable to significantly curb the growth rate of HIV infections one year after its reinstatement.

Primastuti Handayani, Beijing – Since opening a special PO Box and call center over a month ago, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has received 2,500 letters and 140,000 text messages from people offering advice and suggestions.

Most of the text messages contained reports of corruption cases.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – After wrapping up his Friday prayers with a hasty request for prosperity, Arman – not his real name – rushed to the canteen to meet his colleagues.

Roger Maynard, Sydney – A report on the future of East Timor by the World Bank has painted a bleak picture of a nation in danger of imploding as it copes with the twin pressures of poverty and corruption.

Mark Dodd, John Kerin – A sobering World Bank report warning East Timor's Government to tackle corruption or face civil conflict has been rejected by a "furious" Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri but warmly welcomed by public advocacy groups in Dili.

Dili – Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri unveiled an enlarged government Wednesday in East Timor as part of his drive to improve the performance of the Dili executive and decentralize power in the world's newest nation.

Ali Imran, Meulaboh – People in Meulaboh, West Aceh, are again starting to feel concerned after the appearance of a sticker which they are obliged to buy and display on their motorbikes. This has been felt especially by those who own motorbikes who are racing to get hold of the sticker to ensure they are safe from sweeps by local security forces.

Sian Powell, Jakarta – Separatist rebels in Aceh claim their hard-won draft peace agreement with Jakarta has been endangered by an accelerating military campaign of intimidation and violence in the tsunami-ravaged Indonesian province.

Jakarta – The Acehnese people are looking forward to the signing of the peace deal scheduled for Aug. 15 but fear a repetition of the short-lived calm and freedoms that followed earlier botched agreements.

James Balowski, Jakarta – A historic peace agreement has been reached between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) following a fifth round of negotiations in Helsinki, Finland, which ended on July 17.

The government's decision to allow the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and other groups in Aceh to set up their own local political parties has been called quite controversial. The Jakarta Post's Sri Wahyuni talked to political expert Pratikno of Gadjah Mada University about the issue. The following are excerpts from the interview.

Jakarta – The US ambassador to Indonesia on Tuesday called on Jakarta to improve its judicial system, saying many foreign investors still questioned the fairness of the courts.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Indonesia may not be able to immediately benefit from the opening of the labor market in the Southeast Asian region next year due to poor preparation and the low education of the majority of its workers, experts have said.

Jakarta – Some 10,000 people went on a rampage on Monday in Kaur regency, Bengkulu province, setting fire to government offices and houses in the area to express their disappointment with the regental election result, which elected Syaukani Saleh and Warman Suwardi as regent and deputy regent.

East Timor's foreign minister countered claims that his tiny country was riddled with graft and burdened by poverty that could one day lead to civil conflict.

The Australian newspaper quoted a World Bank report as saying that newly independent East Timor was at a "crossroads".

Jakarta – Muhammadiyah lent support on Monday to mounting calls for the government to revoke the new presidential regulation that allows authorities to acquire private land without a deal being reached with its owner.

"Presidential Regulation No. 5/2005 should be revoked," Muhammadiyah leader Din Syamsuddin was quoted as saying in a press statement.

Jakarta – A former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) official was sentenced to four years in prison on Monday for his involvement in printing counterfeit bank notes.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Several leaders of the House of Representatives have expressed support for the government's plan to allow members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to set up local political parties, a key GAM demand for a lasting peace deal in Aceh but which has been opposed by some lawmakers.

Mark Dodd – East Timor is in danger of imploding into civil conflict, with corruption likely to erode the benefits of the billions of dollars that will flow to the fledgling nation from the development of gas fields in the Timor Sea.

Jakarta – After earlier inviting a number of figures from the political parties to discuss the Helsinki negotiations, on Monday July 24, Vice President Jusuf Kalla held follow up discussions with a number of party faction leaders from the People's Representative Assembly (DPR) at his official residence on Jalan Diponegoro.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Sharia police said on Sunday they had rounded up at least 36 unmarried women and men for dating in secluded, poorly-lit areas in Bireuen regency, Aceh province, where 15 men convicted of gambling were publicly caned last month.

Tom Allard – A vital intelligence database shut down during the East Timor conflict was restored only on the condition army intelligence officers ceased reporting on Indonesian-backed militia activities in West Timor, Lieutenant-Colonel Lance Collins has revealed.

Jakarta – Freedom from any form of exploitation topped children's demands conveyed to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during the National Children's Day celebration on Sunday.

Chris Brummitt, Jakarta – An international watchdog group claimed Monday that the local unit of an American gold-mining company appeared to have paid an Indonesian general accused of rights abuses almost US$250,000 to protect its mine.

Thousands of residents living in the vicinity of Bojong dump in Bogor and students from Bogor universities gathered on Sunday in a mass prayer to object to the trial operation of the dump slated for next Wednesday.

"We will form human blockade to prevent the dump trucks from entering the location," a resident of Bojong village, Naih, said.

Jakarta – While other teenagers of her age are either strolling around the city's malls or sitting quietly at home, 15-year-old Kartika (not her real name) spends her nights with guests at a cafe in the capital.

Kartika, a newcomer to the commercial sex industry, who comes from Karawang, West Java, more often than not ends up in hotel rooms with clients.

London and Washington, D.C. – The relationship between mining company Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold and the Indonesian military – controversial since the unexplained killings of three teachers working for the company in 2002 – comes under renewed scrutiny today in a report by Global Witness.

Jakarta – Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono has acknowledged that the budget to maintain major equipment of the weapons system of the Indonesian Military (TNI) was still limited.

However, Sudarsono declined to comment on any connection between the maintenance budget and the the plane crashes in Aceh and Malang, East Java, on Thursday (21/07).

Theresia Sufa, Bogor – A member of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said on Friday that looking at the preliminary evidence, last week's attack on the Ahmadiyah complex in Parung, Bogor, was a rights violation.

The government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) are scheduled to sign a peace deal on Aug. 15 in Helsinki, Finland. The Jakarta Post's Tony Hotland spoke with Imam Syuja, an Acehnese legislator from the National Mandate Party (PAN) about peace prospects in the war-torn province. The following are some of the highlights of their conversation:

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government said on Thursday that not all members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) would receive amnesty, with those being jailed for criminal offenses remaining in jail.

State Minister of Communications and Information Sofyan Djalil said that only political prisoners would be released.

Jakarta – Shortly after its petition was rejected by the Constitutional Court, the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) said on Thursday it planned to file a new one with additional evidence in a determined bid to challenge the water resources law.