Manila – About 300,000 Indonesian survivors were impoverished after a deadly earthquake struck the center of densely populated Java island last month, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) study says.

"The earthquake is estimated to have impoverished an additional 67,000 households and increased the poverty head count ratio by 1.6 percent in the affected areas," the report said.

Chazizah Gusnita, Jakarta – At lease six non-government organisations (NGOs) have declared their full support for 259 PT Securicor Indonesia employees who's future's are now uncertain. This support is necessary because the employees are confronting a large foreign owned company.

Irwan Firdaus, Solo – A militant cleric who served two years in prison for conspiracy in the 2002 Bali bombings described the blasts Thursday as "God's will" and called those who carried out terrorist attacks across Indonesia holy warriors.

Mark Forbes, Jakarta – A beaming Abu Bakar Bashir walked out of the gates of Cipinang jail yesterday, pledging a renewed campaign to impose sharia law on Indonesia in front of hundreds of chanting devotees.

The United States and Australian governments expressed disappointment and concern at the release of a founder and leader of the terrorist network Jemaah Islamiah.

Jakarta – A decision to replace three Anticorruption Court judges after they ruled Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan should testify in a graft trial is unfair and irregular, a lawyer and antigraft activist says.

Three non-career judges, Akhmad Linoh, Dudu Duswara and I Made Hendra Kusuma, have boycotted the graft trial of lawyer Harini Wijoso since May 3.

Solo – A firebrand Indonesian cleric who served time for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings has reportedly called Islamic extremists "misguided" holy warriors, as Australia's prime minister called for him to be monitored.

It is a place where the usual rules do not apply. Inmates can be held indefinitely, their fate decided without recourse to the accepted legal and administrative processes. No, not the American prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, but Nauru under Australia's revised detention regime for asylum seekers. Even a Government-dominated Senate committee has had no option but to condemn it.

Scott Burchill – The Howard Government's decision to subcontract the processing of asylum seekers to Australia's poorest neighbours is more than simply a dereliction of its sovereign responsibilities.

With its efforts to combat money laundering becoming increasingly feeble, Indonesia faces the risk of being internationally blacklisted again as a haven for dirty money and a high-risk country for international financial institutions.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – In response to the lack of involvement of women in the peace and integration process in Aceh, several women's rights activists have formed the Aceh Women's League to accommodate the political aspirations of women in the area.

A group of visiting Indonesian MPs say they are not concerned that Papuan refugees recently granted asylum in Australia don't want to meet them.

The 42 refugees had been frightened by a request to meet the Indonesian parliamentary delegation accompanying Indonesia's ambassador to Australia, Hamzah Thayeb, and had refused, their lawyer said on Thursday.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Journalists Association has condemned a Tuesday attack on a group of journalists by a gang of more than a dozen men in Kutai Kartanegara on Tuesday.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Calls for the central government to scrap sharia-inspired ordinances adopted in many of the nation's regencies and cities have received a cautious response from top officials.

Home Minister Muhammad Ma'ruf said Wednesday he would first let the country's 33 governors decide whether the bylaws contradicted the Constitution or higher laws.

Jakarta – Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid has been reported by conservative clerics to the police for allegedly desecrating the holy Koran.

Mark Forbes, Jakarta – Attempts to rehabilitate the reputation of the former Indonesian dictator Soeharto and his family have suffered a further blow, with a botched effort by his ambitious daughter to host nationwide World Cup coverage.

Jon Lamb – Political tensions within the East Timorese elite continue to simmer amidst preparation for the first sitting of parliament since the arrival of the Australian-led international security force. The parliament is expected to discuss and debate the next measures to resolve the nation's political and social crisis.

Decisions about immigration policy must be made independently from concerns about our relationship with Indonesia.

Peter Boyle – Among the cynical circles of Australian foreign policy "experts" committed to Australia playing a neo-colonial role in the Asia-Pacific region, there are some differing views on the Howard government's military intervention in the East Timor crisis.

Abu Bakar Bashir, the firebrand Islamic cleric accused of inspiring the first Bali bombings, has walked free from Jakarta's main prison and into the arms of hundreds of jubilant militant supporters.

Lifting his hands in the air an otherwise subdued Bashir muttered "I thank Allah" as he was mobbed by adoring fans, many in black "mujahidin" jackets.

Robin McDowell, Jakarta – A reputed top leader of an al-Qaida-linked terror group that has been blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings and other deadly attacks walked free from prison Wednesday to cries of "God is great" from cheering supporters.

Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has been released from a Jakarta prison, where he served two years for conspiracy in the 2002 Bali bombings. Bashir is viewed by the West as the spiritual leader of the regional militant network, Jemaah Islamiah. He has now been taken back to his home town of Solo in West Java.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The Jakarta Military Commander's recent remark that the House of Representatives has been infiltrated by sympathizers of the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) was not politically motivated, Army Chief Gen. Djoko Santoso says.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Concerned by the creeping Islamization of the country's secular state, 56 national legislators are urging President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to abolish sharia-based bylaws already in place or risk the country's disintegration.

Jakarta – The House of Representatives should drop its deliberations of the controversial pornography bill because it is dividing the country, says a coalition of activists against the legislation.

Jakarta - A number of non-government organisations from the Aceh Working Group (AWG) are urging the Aceh Rehabilitation Agency (BRA) to give greater focus to its task and initial role as mandated in Section 3.2 of the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding on the stages of the reintegration process.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The country's state-owned-enterprise (SOE) sector is still in poor shape, with its overall financial performance in 2005 only showing a slight improvement over the previous year.

Benget Simbolon Tnb., Jakarta – Most regencies and municipalities are still lagging in creating attractive investment conditions five years after the regional autonomy law gave them greater power to manage their economic affairs.

The World Bank, the coordinator of the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI), has again reminded the government of the vital importance of reform for the generating of sustainably high economic growth.

Chazizah Gusnita, Jakarta – Non-government organisations (NGOs) are urging the government to immediately acknowledge the existence of militia groups in Aceh. Without such an acknowledgement, the reintegration process in Aceh will be obstructed.

Jakarta – The South Jakarta District Court ruled Monday that a decision to drop graft charges against former president Soeharto was invalid, and ordered the case reopened.

"I hereby declare that the decision of the Attorney General's Office in stopping the prosecution of the case against Haji Muhammad Soeharto on May 11 is illegitimate," Judge Andi Samsan Nganro decreed.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – Last week was a rough one for jihadis in Indonesia. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration launched a long-overdue comprehensive campaign against violent Islamic extremists.

Rendi Akhmad Witular, Jakarta – Despite the declared wide-ranging crackdown on corruption, Indonesia remains a haven for money launderers lured by rampant opportunities.

Weak law enforcement, a notoriously slack bureaucracy and the recent slowdown in the drive against money laundering have contributed to a rise in the number of suspicious financial transactions.

Rendi Akhmad Witular, Jakarta – As a world heavyweight in corruption, Indonesia may be a haven for novice corruptors and white-collar criminals around the world to learn how to launder money derived from illicit sources.

Rendi Akhmad Witular, Jakarta – The uncovering last year of suspicious financial transactions involving the bank accounts of 15 police officers is believed to be only the tip of a corruption iceberg of monumental proportions that is slowly sinking whatever credibility the national force retains.

M. Taufiqurrahman and Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Soccer fans glued to televisions, anxiously awaiting the opening match between Germany and Costa Rica received an unexpected shock Friday night, when former president Soeharto's daughter Titiek appeared as the show's host.

Natalie O'Brien – The scheduled release this week of Abu Bakar Bashir, alleged spiritual leader of the extremist group Jemaah Islamiah, could spark a fresh round of terror strikes.

Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Centre for Terrorism and Political Violence Research, said the early release of Bashir on Wednesday would send a dangerous message to terror groups.

Chazizah Gusnita, Jakarta – The Aceh Reintegration Agency (BRA) continues to be criticised with its poor performance considered to be threatening the peace process.

Adi Warsidi, Banda Aceh – Yesterday (11/6), the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) resigned from the committee of the Aceh Reintegration Board (BRA), the organization for Aceh reintegration, which was part of the peace agreement in Helsinki.

Jakarta – In a rally attended by thousands of people, religious leaders reaffirmed their allegiance to the state ideology Pancasila in a show of solidarity to counter a growing Islamic radicalism.

Jakarta – An Indonesian judge has ruled that the dropping of a long-running corruption case against former dictator Suharto was illegal and ordered the case reopened.

Makassar – Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri challenged critics Saturday to prove accusations that the political party she leads, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), had been infiltrated by communists.

Estevao Cabral and Julie Wark – At a panel on the state of the world's media hosted by Columbia University in New York last April, the veteran journalist Robert Fisk expressed outrage at the semantic distortion that bedevils understanding of events that affect us all and, worse, affect a great many people in ways that are unimaginable, (thanks to media versions) in homes where the m

Tom Hyland – Listen carefully: that scratching you hear is the scribbling of commentators, furiously re-writing history. And if you look closely, you might glimpse a hint of schadenfreude among those who argued all along that East Timor could never be free and are now saying: we told you so.

Ridwan Max Sijabat and Rendi Akhmad Witular, Jakarta – The government and legislators have agreed to revise the 1985 law on the freedom to organize to allow the disbanding of hard-line organizations deemed to have disrupted security and public order, the home minister said Friday.

Sudimoro – Cramped in a single tent sheltering 41 people, survivors of last month's Indonesian earthquake at this hamlet complain they receive only one meal a day with assistance still slow to fully flow here two weeks after the disaster.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Most governors, mayors and regents who have come to power in direct regional elections across the country received less than 50 percent of the popular vote, a recent study says.

Jakarta – Citing the 1979 Iranian Revolution as a model for change, a group of opposition politicians has launched a national movement to counter what it believes is increasing foreign influence in national politics.

Annemarie Evans – Australian armoured vehicles patrol the streets of East Timor's capital, Dili, amid the burned-out shells of houses and food warehouses looted by marauding gangs, who for weeks have laid waste to neighbourhoods and forced tens of thousands of terrified civilians into refugee camps.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – House of Representatives lawmakers are unhappy with the performance of the Aceh-Nias Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR).

It is no secret that public trust toward police has been falling, and the recent threats and the version of terrorism carried out by groups claiming to represent certain ethnicities and religions have apparently made things worse.