Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The government is planning to revoke the visa-free service currently given to a handful of countries and regions outside the Association of the Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN), in addition to providing the visa-on-arrival for 16 new countries and extending the maximum stay period.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Following the recent fuel price increase, the country's fuel consumption has declined by 16 percent compared to the previous month.

State oil and gas company Pertamina said in a statement on Wednesday that fuel consumption this month averaged 158,000 kiloliters per day, compared to last month's 189,700 kiloliters per day.

Samarinda, East Kalimantan – Though East Kalimantan is rich in natural resources, many of the schools in the province have fallen into disrepair from neglect.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has urged the government to set up mechanisms to control the conduct of police amid a rising trend of human rights violations by law enforcers in various parts of the country.

Bob Burton, Canberra – The Australian government has been accused of hypocrisy in its attempt to draw maritime boundaries with its neighbors. While setting a mid-point boundary with New Zealand, after ratifying a treaty, Canberra has refused to adopt the same standard with East Timor, which lays claim to rich oil and gas deposits beneath the Timor Sea.

Tony Hotland and Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – A brawl among legislators ended the second day of the House of Representatives plenary session to discuss the government's fuel hike policy, leaving the public disgusted by the immaturity of their representatives.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – The food and beverage allowance for the West Java governor and deputy governor for fiscal year 2005 has been increased by more than 60 percent to Rp 1.138 billion (US$126,450).

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Provincial election commissions (KPUD) are facing a number of problems, including a lack of clear guidelines, in organizing the country's first direct elections for local government chief executives.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The House of Representatives questioned on Wednesday the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) in a closed-door meeting to determine what knowledge the agency had regarding the murder of prominent human rights activist Munir.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government has moved to restore the rights of and provide compensation for former political prisoners exiled on Buru Island in Maluku between 1969 and 1979.

Most were accused of having links to the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

Jakarta – National flag carriers Garuda Indonesia has fired its entire 13-member board, in a government move to improve the management of the carrier and its financial performance, a minister said.

The government, which owns Garuda, dismissed six commissioners and seven directors of the Jakarta-based airline on Tuesday, said State Minister of State Enterprises Sugiharto.

Police in Indonesia's tsunami-hit Aceh province will rejoin the military pursuit of separatists because the rebels have started regrouping.

Mulia – When Sofyan Mahdi needed crushed cars removed from his tsunami-devastated neighborhood last month, he called the United Nations, which quickly took care of the problem. By contrast, it took 10 trips to Indonesia's state utility to get electricity, and he is still waiting for local officials to fix the water system.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Rudy, a Banda Aceh resident, breathes a sigh of relief. He has just acquired a document that substitutes for his land title certificate that was lost as a result of the tsunami on Dec. 26 last year. For Rudy, the substitute land title certificate is very important, as it is all his family has left. The family's house was leveled by the disaster.

Brendan Nicholson – Indonesian troops in West Papua used resources earmarked for humanitarian aid and development in the province for an offensive against rebels of the Free Papua Movement, SBS's Dateline has claimed.

These days, most Australians are well and truly aware of the suffering that the people of East Timor went through before they finally gained their independence from Indonesia back in 1999. Much of the repression and violence in that conflict, of course, was attributed to militia groups formed and backed by the Indonesian military.

Sydney – A new report from Australia's aid watchdog AID/WATCH, 'International Response to the Indian Ocean Disaster. A Donor Analysis: Focus on Australia', finds that the $1 billion tsunami aid package from Australia is not as generous as most Australians had expected.

The report launched on the eve of the Indonesia-Australia summit finds:

Astrid Felicia Lim, Jakarta – The Fact Finding Team in the case of Munir which was formed by national police headquarters has said that two perspective suspects in the murder are officers of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN). BIN chief Syamsir Siregar says that if there is evidence that his people are involved legal action will be taken against them.

Agus Supriyanto, Jakarta – National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Syamsir Siregar has objected to remarks that BIN is involved in the murder of human rights activist Munir. There are suspicions that the murder is part of a criminal conspiracy and that BIN in involved.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Already the subject of widespread criticism from liberals, the draft revision of the Criminal Code has sparked further protests for being too harsh on crimes committed by citizens but failing to deter the state from practicing violence.

Jakarta – Indonesians must change the way they perceive domestic chores and show their maids more appreciation, activists say.

Tati Krisnawati of the National Commission of Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) said that the way domestic workers were treated needed a "revolution" in gender perspectives.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) found 2,128 cases of irregularities in the management of state funds during the second semester of last year, with potential losses to the state totaling Rp 7.12 trillion (about US$765 million).

Tony Hotland and Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Despite President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono saying that the fuel price increases were final, seven of 10 factions at the House of Representatives continue to convey their rejection of the government's policy.

James Balowski, Jakarta – International Women's Day rallies, held in most major Indonesian cities on March 8, were dominated by protests against fuel subsidy cuts, which were announced by the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on March 1.

Zakki P. Hakim, Jakarta – The much-hyped Ambalat dispute has encouraged the Indonesian Military (TNI) to renew its demands for more up-to-date weaponry, with the constraints on the military budget forcing it to look for new funding sources. In response, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) chairman Mohammad S.

The arguments made by several factions at the House of Representatives to support their stubborn demands for the total cancellation of the March 1 fuel price hikes not only miss the whole point of good energy policy and prudent fiscal management but also have little to do with what they claim to be the interests of the people.

Jon Lamb – "We went to East Timor to help those people, and now we are slapping them in the face and stealing their oil." This is what Chip Henriss-Anderssen, a former major in the Australian military who served with the International Force for East Timor, told reporters on March 7. "We thought we were doing something decent.

Yemris Fointuna and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government promised on Tuesday to provide free rice and labor-intensive jobs for people in several drought-stricken East Nusa Tenggara regencies.

Jerry Norton, Jakarta – Indonesia's expulsion of two foreign experts on the country shows freedom of expression should not be taken for granted in the fledging democracy, a prominent attorney said on Monday.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – A government decision to restrict the presence of international aid agencies in Aceh would force them to abandon their unfinished work in the province just as it started to return to some semblance of normalcy nearly four months after December's devastating tsunami.

The model for the proposed Commission of Truth & Friendship ("CTF") between Indonesia and Timor Leste was settled on 9 March 2005 when the respective governments signed its Terms of Reference ("ToR").

Jon Afrizal, Jambi – The champions of democracy in Jambi province are no longer consistent in upholding their principles, with many of them getting involved in campaigning for candidates contesting the upcoming gubernatorial elections, a leading think tank has claimed.

A man who served as East Timor's temporary leader in 1975 before it was invaded by Indonesia resigned Monday from his country's legislature, citing the government's failure to attract foreign investment and saying he wants to prepare for 2007 elections.

Kornelius Purba, Jakarta – Soon after reading a magazine cover story about the alleged poisoning of human rights activist Munir during a Garuda flight, a woman came up with a suggestion to help the airline convince future passengers they weren't being poisoned.

Every time the government raises domestic fuel prices closer to their real economic cost, businesspeople always raise a rumpus, urging the government to deal firmly with the old problems of red tape, illegal levies, and corrupt tax and customs services to offset the additional burden on business.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The Ministry of Defense is considering a system that will enable the three branches of the Indonesian Military (TNI) to share equipment to save money.

Sian Powell, Dili – Pigs nose about in the flooded playground of Rumpia primary school in Caecoli, a poor suburb of Dili. None of the classroom windows has any glass, some of the children have no shoes.

"Pity them," says teacher Carlota Morilius da Silva. "There are those families who can afford shoes and books, and there are those who can't."

Joseph Moakley, a member of the US Congress from the Republican Party, has said: "The US must get out of the business of training the foreign military.

Matthew Benns – Eighty-two days after the tsunami swept through Indonesia, bureaucrats will finally sit down to work out how to spend the billion Australia has pledged in aid.

Australian and Indonesian officials meet on Thursday amid warnings that the money could turn into "boomerang aid" where the cash ends up in the pockets of wealthy Australian companies.

The identity of the gunman at Mile 62 is still a mystery. Indonesian Police do not have any evidence with which to arrest the FBI's suspect.

The attack in Timika in August 2002 not only wounded Patsy Spiers, it also killed Rick Spiers, her beloved husband of 20 years. But the former teacher who taught at the American school in Tembagapura, West Papua, does not want to dwell on tragedy.

Badriah, Jakarta – Workers claim that as a group they are suffering most because of the government's decision to increase the price of fuel on March 1 which has flowed on to increases in the price of basic goods.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Indonesia's legal system itself is in the dock following the seemingly light sentence given last week to its best-known militant, Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir. On March 4, Ba'asyir was convicted by a Jakarta court to 30 months in jail for his part in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people.

Jakarta, Kompas – Victims of the 1965 tragedy – who are still stigmatised as members of the Indonesian Communist Party or its affiliated organisations – are suing Indonesia's five presidents, former presidents Suharto, B.J. Habibie, Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Sukarnoputri, and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Jakarta/Banda Aceh – Confusion surfaced on Friday as top government officials issued conflicting statements over whether the presence of foreign aid agencies, including non-governmental organizations, and journalists in tsunami-ravaged Aceh would be limited.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Indonesia and Malaysia pledged on Friday to use all means possible to defuse tensions, including some "adjustments" to prevent armed conflict, and have agreed on talks to end the border dispute over the Ambalat offshore oil field in the Sulawesi Sea.

Yogyakarta – Despite being known as the city of education, the number of children dropping out from elementary schools in Yogyakarta province is high.

Recent data published by the provincial education office shows that as many as 604 of some 300,000 elementary schoolchildren dropped out during 2004, both from private and state schools.

Wahyuana, Bekasi – At least 100 residents of the Pasar Kecapi and Jatiwarna subdistricts in Pondok Melati, Bekasi, protested against the Jakarta Outer Ring Road (JORR) project on Thursday after they failed to reach an agreement about land prices.

The protesters burned tires and tore down some construction work along the Hamkam Raya-Jatiasih section.

Azas Tigor Nainggolan, Jakarta – On March 1 the government raised the prices of most fuel products despite many protests from the community. The present price hike, the government said, was necessary to cut the subsidies, which have become too costly, and do no benefit the poor or the little people, who actually deserve them.

An Indonesian militant arrested in the southern Philippines late last year allegedly "planned and executed" the blast outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta in September, a top Philippine police intelligence official said today.