Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – While welcoming the government's most recent plan to improve the country's investment climate by reducing the time required for an investment permit to just 30 days, analysts are questioning how the government will actually implement the plan.

Lachlan Colquhoun in Sydney and Shawn Donnan in Jakarta – Woodside Petroleum, Australia's biggest oil and gas producer, said on Wednesday it would halt its investment in the A$6.6bn (US$5.2bn) Sunrise project in the Timor Sea following the breakdown of talks between Australia and East Timor over how to split the revenues.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court's recent ruling on Papua should prompt a revision to Law No. 21/2001 on special autonomy for the province that will justify the establishment of West Irian Jaya as a separate province, an expert says.

Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adi Sucipto said that the latest string of violent acts in Poso regency, Central Sulawesi, could be classified as acts of terrorism.

Max Lane, Sydney – Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific (ASAP) is deeply concerned at the news that 38-year-old Indonesian human rights campaigner Munir, who died in September aboard a flight to Amsterdam, was murdered, according to an autopsy performed by the Netherlands Forensic Institute.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The extension of the civil emergency in the troubled province of Aceh is now a foregone conclusion as the House of Representatives has thrown its support behind the government.

James Balowski, Jakarta – The new government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono faces a staggering array of problems – rampant corruption, continuing human rights abuses by the military, massive unemployment, crumbling infrastructure, and a judicial and law enforcement system that is little more than a legalised mafia.

Widespread concern about continuing restrictions on international access to Aceh and West Papua and a recent ban on foreign journalists has led to an urgent call for greater openness and freedom of movement in the conflict-ridden provinces.

Jakarta – Taxi driver Tadi wrongly decided to rush back to Jakarta from his hometown in Tegal, Central Java, expecting less competition and lots of passengers during Idul Fitri, which fell on November 14 and November 15.

Jakarta – About 500 sidewalk vendors at the Tanah Abang textile market in Central Jakarta have lost their right to space in the market following relocation to the market's Block G, formerly the Kebon Jati traditional market.

Evan Jones, Batam – It is welcoming news to see that our new State Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik is looking at extending the number of countries whose tourists will be eligible for a visa on arrival, albeit a visa that costs US$25 and is only valid for 30 days.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has stated his commitment to overhauling the country's sprawling capital. Jakarta's facelift will center on managing its most pressing problems: traffic, garbage and waterways.

Officials in Jakarta denied that Indonesian militants might be among Islamic insurgents fighting US forces in Iraq.

The denial came amid reports that jihadist texts written in Indonesian have been uncovered by US Marines fighting in the rebel stronghold of Fallujah.

Jana Wendt: Now to our cover story, and a rare glimpse into the shadowy world of espionage. The past two years of terrorism in this region have brought the intelligence agencies of Australia and Indonesia closer than ever before.

Irwin Arieff, United Nations – The Security Council extended the life of a UN peacekeeping mission in East Timor for a final six months on Tuesday after Secretary-General Kofi Annan argued the fledgling nation was still too fragile to stand up on its own.

Jakarta – Indonesia's government is expected to announce fresh anti-corruption initiatives, including a review of the rules that let former president Suharto avoid prosecution by pleading ill-health.

Canberra – Australian political and military figures had their telephones bugged by Indonesia during the diplomatic crisis over East Timor's independence ballot in 1999, a former Indonesian intelligence chief said yesterday.

Canberra – Australia staked its claim Tuesday to its vast undersea continental shelf, asking the United Nations to grant it rights to minerals and other resources under a tract equivalent to almost half the country's land mass.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – A post-mortem examination in the Netherlands has left Indonesian police with a classic whodunit mystery and human-rights advocates in Jakarta fearing for their lives. Like any of British mystery writer Agatha Christie's famous novels, this mystery has a body, evidence of poisoning, and motives galore.

Sian Powell – Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla, although regarded as one of Indonesia's most effective peacemakers, says he will never allow foreign nations to interfere in peace negotiations for the warring province of Aceh.

Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie has declared 1.19 trillion rupiah (S$219 million) in assets, making him perhaps the richest serving state official.

The country's Corruption Eradication Commission published the wealth reports of Mr Aburizal and four fellow ministers, out of 25 Cabinet ministers who had declared their assets.

Brendan Nicholson, Canberra – In an extraordinary admission Indonesia says it bugged Australia's embassy in Jakarta during the East Timor crisis and has tried to recruit Australians as spies.

Sandra O'Malley, Canberra – Australian spies are revealing secrets to Indonesia, according to one former spy, amid revelations Indonesian agents bugged politicians, the military and Australia's Jakarta embassy.

Sydney – Two former Indonesian presidents expressed reservations about Canberra-Jakarta relations Sunday, as Indonesia's former intelligence chief revealed his spies had tapped Australian politicians' telephone conversations during the East Timor crisis in 1999.

Jakarta – The Indonesian police have launched a criminal investigation into the death of rights campaigner Munir two months ago after a Dutch hospital reported finding excessive amounts of arsenic in Munir's body.

Ricky Binihi – Vanuatu chiefs at the recent Melanesian Trust conference held in Tanna have unanimously agreed with other Melanesian representatives that Independence is a God-given right to the people of West Papua.

Jakarta – Governor Sutiyoso insists that his administration will go ahead with the plan to demolish the Tanah Abang textile market, although the City Council has established a special team to look deeper into the protracted problems amid opposition from the traders.

Derwin Pereira – Indonesia's trouble-prone regions are flaring up yet again, casting a shadow over President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's three-week-old administration.

Rusman, Samarinda – A wooden vessel maneuvered to dock at a pier on Mahakam Ulu River, Kutai Kartanegara regency, East Kalimantan, the sound of its whistle wailing far and wide. Behind it, the vessel was pulling hundreds of logs that covered most of the 75-meter-wide river.

Jakarta – A survey showed yesterday that many Indonesians support the implementation of strict Islamic law. Nearly 60 per cent said they want adulterers whipped and 40 per cent were in favour of cutting off a thief's hands.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The government has extended the state of civil emergency in Aceh, but is still undecided for how long the extension will last and what areas of the province will be included in the order.

Semarang, Cairo – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is considering embracing separatist groups in Aceh and Papua (Irian Jaya) in order to collectively develop the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – In a bid to attract badly needed foreign investment, the government is aiming to drastically reduce the time needed for investors to obtain their necessary licenses, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie said on Friday.

Jakarta – Indonesia would have to cut energy subsidies at the beginning of next year despite probable protests unless oil prices retreat, Vice-President Jusuf Kalla said on yesterday.

Jakarta – After months of speculation, the new government confirmed on Thursday it would reduce the fuel subsidy for next year, making a hike in domestic fuel prices in the near future inevitable.

Jakarta – Bank lending this year is expected to grow by more than 20 percent, partly driven a by steady but slow improvement in the domestic business climate, Bank Indonesia deputy governor Maman H. Sumantri says.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Despite the general rejection of violent acts carried out in the name of Islam, a large percentage of Indonesians were not tolerant toward people of different faiths, a survey revealed on Thursday.

Jakarta – The Central Jakarta administration will evict hundreds of street vendors from Jl. Kramat Raya and Jl. Salemba soon after the Idul Fitri holiday.

The administration officials have informed the vendors about the plan and advised them to move, the city administration's official news portal Beritajakarta.com reported on Thursday.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Fearing a massive influx of migrants after the Idul Fitri holiday, Governor Sutiyoso again warned would-be job seekers against coming to the city.

A Dutch autopsy has found that arsenic poisoning killed a high-profile Indonesian human rights campaigner on a flight to Amsterdam two months ago.

The victim's group, Tapol, claimed the man was murdered. It joined the Dutch Foreign Office in calling for a high-level criminal inquiry into his death.

Jayapura – Papuan rebels went on a rampage in Puncak Jaya regency causing Rp 19 billion in damages, a top government official said on Thursday.

The alleged rebels attacked and set fire to residential houses and government offices, said Elieser Renmaur, the regent of Puncak Jaya.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court was established in 2003 to provide legal certainty in the face of conflicting laws, but its ruling on Papua's division on Thursday is likely to create more legal ambiguity in the country's easternmost province.

Oct. 4, 1999: Law No. 45/1999 issued to establish West Irian Jaya and Central Irian Jaya provinces, the regencies of Paniai, Mimika and Puncak Jaya, and the Sorong mayoralty. Jan. 1, 2001: Law No.

Pandaya, Jakarta – In recent years Indonesia has sadly been witnessing a wide variety of religious conflicts that have corroded the glue that keeps this multiethnic, multi-religious nation together.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – The Jakarta administration said on Wednesday it had locked up 6,943 people in a crackdown on homeless people, beggars, street urchins, sex workers and other members of the city's dispossessed from January to November.

During a similar operation last year, the city detained 2,300 people.

Jakarta – Two oil and gas firms plan to make new investments next year in what seems to be a positive development in the country's oil and gas sector, which has seen output declining due to a lack of investment.

Tiarma Siboro and Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – As the November 19 deadline for the end of the civil emergency draws near in the troubled province of Aceh, the new government is urged to return to an inclusive dialog with all representatives of the people.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The Indonesian Government has barred all foreign journalists from the troubled provinces of Aceh and Papua, the first such ban for at least four years.

Jakarta – It is hoped that the government can resolve the conflict in Aceh peacefully in the lead up to the end of the period of civil emergency on November 18. Furthermore the government is being asked to reduce the state of civil emergency in Aceh to one of a civil authority.

Jakarta – Indonesia said yesterday its new Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono will soon visit the United States to lobby for an end to an arms embargo imposed over the Indonesian military's role in atrocities committed in the former East Timor.

Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said it would take place early next year at the latest.