Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – When reform swept across the country in 1998, forcing authoritarian ruler Soeharto to step down, everybody hoped the movement would improve the life of the nation.

Indonesia has since taken several steps, including four constitutional amendments and direct legislative and presidential elections, to build a thriving democracy.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The US government is trying to persuade Congress to fully lift the military embargo imposed on Indonesia as cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries in the wake of last year's tsunami provides yet further proof of stronger military ties.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – The US is to provide $20 million worth of technical assistance to help reform Indonesia's much-maligned court system. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) last week signed a memorandum of understanding on the assistance with the country's Supreme Court.

Manado – The Manado District Court ruled in favor of mining company PT Newmont Minahasa Raya in a defamation case against an environmentalist on Tuesday.

Ruslan Sangadji, Palu – Three non-governmental groups slammed the Central Sulawesi provincial administration on Tuesday for extending the security operation in Poso, saying the operation had failed to maintain security in the regency.

Jakarta – The ongoing increases in global oil prices and a volatile rupiah exchange rate have become major obstacles for the government to meet its 2005 state budget targets, according to a report.

Hera Diani and Slamet Susanto, Jakarta, Yogyakarta – More condemnation has been heaped on the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) for issuing draconian fatwas outlawing liberal Islamic thought and pluralism, raising the question as to whether the Council should be dissolved.

Jakarta – Noted Indonesian antigraft campaigner Teten Masduki has been named as one of the six recipients of this year's Ramon Magsaysay awards, organizer announced on Monday.

Muhammad Nur Hayid, Jakarta – Support for the Aceh peace negotiations is strengthening. Acehnese non-government organisations have asked the People's Representative Assembly (DPR) to support the negotiations between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki.

Kuala Lumpur – Forest fires in Indonesia's Sumatra province covered Kuala Lumpur and 32 other areas of Malaysia with a smoky haze Tuesday, reducing visibility in some places to a half-mile.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's biggest city and financial capital, traffic slowed to a crawl and the acrid smell of burning vegetation filled the air.

Jakarta – US mining giant Newmont Mining Corp. voiced optimism that it would win a high-profile and protracted legal battle in Indonesia over charges that its local unit polluted a bay near its mine.

Jakarta – A draft law on Indonesia's national intelligence body denies detainees basic rights and violates local and international laws, an international rights group said.

Neles Tebay, Rome – The government is beginning to pay the price for its reluctance to honor its commitment to fully implement Law No. 21/2001 on special autonomy for Papua. And if the government does not take measures to prevent more damage from its blunders in Papua, it will face more international pressure about the country's easternmost province.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The House of Representatives plans to send a four-member delegation to the US to lobby congress in an attempt to block passage of a bill that raises questions about the status of Papua.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papuan leaders reacted cautiously on Monday to the bill recently approved by the US House of Representatives, stressing that Papua is legally part of Indonesia but urging the government to renew its commitment to implementing special autonomy status there.

AK-41, Bandung – The Acehnese community from the Bandung Community of Acehnese Families (Keluarga Masyarakat Aceh Bandung, Kamaba) will hold an all-Java Acehnese Society Dialogue Forum on August 7 in Bandung with the theme "The role and attitude of Acehnese civil society in Java Island on the Helsinki negotiations".

Murizal Hamzah/Emmy Kuswandari, Banda Aceh – Questionnaires to ascertain the public's views on the Helsinki peace process are being distributed in the northern Aceh district of Bireuen. At the top left hand corner of the questionnaire is the writing TNI (armed forces) Psychology Team Sub-Team III Bireuen.

Jakarta – The government should be more serious in handling problems in Papua following foreign intervention like the support given by an American senator for Papuan freedom.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Question: Is it a working visit if it's just a visit without working? Will it still be called a study tour if it's just about touring but no studying? If legislators, the so-called people's representatives, who get caught on expensive shopping expeditions on what are supposed to be study tours abroad cannot justify their trips to the public, then who can?

Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta – A lack of students might cause 53 of the 106 private universities in Yogyakarta go bankrupt this year because they could not afford to meet operational costs.

Concluding its seventh congress last week, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued eleven fatwa that sparked concern over its increasingly conservative stance.

Asia News Network, Jakarta – Indonesia's economy is once again at a crossroads as it enters the second half of the year. Can it sustain the growth it enjoyed in the first two quarters, or will it experience a slowdown due to recent unfavorable circumstances?

The Catholic Church is demanding that an international tribunal investigate human rights abuses during East Timor's bloody breakaway from Indonesia six years ago.

Instead the two governments have announced the makeup of a largely toothless joint truth commission.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Calls for the government to begin training programs for millions of unskilled workers using billions of dollars in dedicated funds may be impossible to answer due to irregularities in the use of the funds over the years.

Canberra – Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network bankrolled last year's bombing outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, a key militant charged for the attack told Indonesian police, the Australian newspaper said on Monday.

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – Twenty-five years after Indonesia ratified a UN convention on the rights of women, experts are criticizing the government for failing to protect women from abuse.

Women activists and legal experts urged on Saturday the government to eliminate existing rulings they said discriminated against women.

Jakarta – Three members of the European Union peace monitoring team arrived in Aceh on Saturday, more than two weeks ahead of the scheduled arrival of the full peace mission.

The three monitors are Dutch national Pieter Feith, and Finns Jaakko Oksanen and Juha Christensen.

Jakarta – The Indonesian National Youth Committee (KNPI) will soon send a protest letter to the US administration through its embassy here against the US Congress adopting a bill questioning the status of Papua.

Jakarta – The US State Department announced on Friday that Washington would not support any effort that would allow Papua to gain independence from Indonesia.

"With respect to Papua, the US reiterates its firm support for the territorial integrity of Indonesia. The US does not support or condone any efforts to promote the secession of Papua from the Republic of Indonesia.

Jakarta is again pondering restricting the number of older cars in the city. It is also mulling the banning of motorcycles from main thoroughfares. Traffic congestion and the environment top the list of concerns in both cases.

Luhur Hertanto, Jakarta – Support for the government on the draft agreement with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) is growing. The National Deliberative Council VII of the Indonesian Ulamas Council (MUI) [Ulama - Islamic religious leader] has declared it support the results of the Helsinki negotiations.

AK-9, Banda Aceh – The Aceh Human Rights Coalition has found 482 cases of human rights violations over the last 14 months. The period investigated by the coalition was between May 2004 to June 2005.

Jakarta/Shenzen, China – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono warned the US not to interfere in Indonesia's domestic affairs after the US House of Representatives recently approved a bill that questions the status of Papua.

Brian McAfee – "The military and Suharto had said their justification for their massive crime was an imminent takeover of Indonesia by the PKI. In recent years documents have proven this excuse to be a fabrication. From 1965 until 1999 the Indonesian dictatorship had received the support of the US government."

Niniek Karmini, Jakarta – Indonesia denied Saturday that any of its security forces trained in the United States had a history of human rights violations, as alleged in a report released by a US congressional investigative office.

Dili – Domingas Casimira has spent the last six years trying to find justice for her husband and brother, gunned down in the Indonesian military's drive against East Timor's independence. But like others who suffered in the rampage that left 1,500 dead, she is starting to lose hope – and not without reason.

Kupang – Two Indonesian soldiers stationed at Nunura in Haekesak village, Raihat district, Belu regency, were attacked by Timor Leste residents on Wednesday.

Ambon, Maluku – Hundreds of displaced persons living in shelters across Ambon are suffering from malnutrition, a health official says.

Ambon City Health Office head Hans Lisaay said Thursday information from community health centers in the city found most malnutrition cases were found near refugee shelters, especially those in Waihaong Park and Batumerah.

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.