Medan – Hundreds of students at North Sumatra University (USU) staged a protest on Friday in front of the USU rector's office, demanding that the rector punish two university police officers who, earlier in the morning, assaulted two students.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Malaysian bomb-maker Azahari Husin stood by the bedside of his cancer-stricken wife and told her: "I have a greater cause in life. It is to serve God." These were his parting words to his wife, who had just given birth to their second child and found, soon after, that she was suffering from throat cancer.

Jakarta – Indonesian soldiers who killed a senior separatist leader in the conflict-hit province of Aceh are to receive a reward equivalent to US$16,000, an official said on Saturday.

East Aceh Regent Azman Usmanuddin said he would make good on an earlier promise to reward anyone who caught rebel leader Ishak Daud "dead or alive".

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Lack of coordination among security officers has been blamed for what has been seen as a poor early warning system, which is one reason they were unable to prevent Thursday's bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.

Leony Aurora, Jakarta – Syahromi got on his feet in a daze and saw a colleague, Anton Sujarwo, lying motionless near the door of the Australian embassy guard post where they worked as security guards.

Wedged in between Anton's body and pieces of glass was a little girl, with her clothes blown off. Syahromi carefully picked up five-year-old Elisabeth Manuela Bambina Musu.

Jakarta – Indonesia's Muslim leaders have called for a united stand against terrorism, which they said was tarnishing the nation's image.

Nahdlatul Ulama, the nation's largest Muslim organisation, urged the authorities to find those responsible for Thursday's blast which killed nine people and 'punish them severely'.

Jon Afrizal, Jambi – Many more schools were closed on Friday in Jambi province as choking haze continued to blanket the area.

Haze also enveloped other provinces in Sumatra and Kalimantan provinces, while local authorities in Central Kalimantan province even sought help from the central government.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – The Indonesian currency and stock markets staged a quick recovery on Friday, as hopes are high that the deadly bombing a day earlier will not undermine the economy or sabotage the presidential election.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – On September 9, 2003, Governor Sutiyoso launched the distribution of 50,000 16-page manuals containing information on some antiterrorist tips in a ceremony at Plaza Senayan, Central Jakarta. The event was widely covered by the media and attended by hundreds of people.

Sidney Jones, Singapore – Indonesia has more victims to mourn after yet another attack that killed and maimed ordinary civilians. The same criminals behind the Christmas Eve bombings, the Bali bombs, and the Marriott attack, and numerous equally lethal bombings in the Philippines, are the likely perpetrators.

Jakarta – An Indonesian general indicted for war crimes in East Timor has been appointed to lead a probe into the shooting deaths of two American schoolteachers at a gold mine in Papua province two years ago, news reports said Saturday.

Relations between Indonesia and Australia are going through another testing time following the bomb attack outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta on Thursday. There is no doubt that the perpetrators were targeting Australia, either the property or the people inside it.

Tiarma Siboro and M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The bulk of Muslim voters will choose Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over Megawati Soekarnoputri in the September 20 election runoff on the basis of his personality rather than his religious affinity, scholars say.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta/Mark Forbes, Canberra – At least nine people have been killed and 182 injured by a massive bomb attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta, in the first direct terrorist attack against Australian interests.

Jakarta – At least seven were confirmed killed and over 180 injured in a bomb explosion outside the Australian Embassy on Thursday morning, just 11 days ahead of the presidential election. Officials said eight died and that some 150 from 182 victims had been released from hospital.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri called for calm and urged people to remain on the alert following Thursday's huge bomb blast in front of the Australian Embassy in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

Abdul Khalik and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – It didn't take the police long to pin the blame for the deadly blast in front of the Australian Embassy here on Thursday on fugitive Malaysian bomb experts Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Moh. Top.

Ibnu Mat Noor, Banda Aceh – The death of Munir has shocked activists and leaders in the nation's capital, as well as many Achenese, whose rights he fought for.

Many Achenese have said his presence in the war-torn province emboldened them, after living amid conflict for years.

Sidney Jones, Singapore – When I think of the people who had the most impact in bringing about a democratic Indonesia, Munir would be up there near the top. He was everything a human rights champion should be: principled, tough, smart, funny, and fearless. He stood up to people in power, he made them angry, he got threat after threat after threat, and he never gave up.

David Jenkins – General Benny Moerdani, who has died in Jakarta at the age of 71, was a special forces officer who went on to become the head of Indonesia's widely feared intelligence services and the architect of his nation's brutal subjugation of East Timor. He was for many years the second most powerful man in Indonesia, after his mentor, President Soeharto.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – Jakarta stocks and rupiah closed lower on Thursday on the back of renewed security fears stemming from the deadly bomb blast in front of the Australian Embassy.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The House of Representatives will unlikely be able to finish deliberating the Indonesian Military (TNI) bill before ending its five-year term early next month, as many contentious issues remain unresolved, lawmakers say.

Jakarta – Thursday's bombing at the Australian Embassy, which killed at least seven people, drew strong nationwide condemnation, with many saying the latest terror attack would further tarnish the predominantly Muslim country's image.

The Malaysian government has again deported Indonesian illegal workers, which has added to the unemployment issues here.

Jakarta – Indonesian security forces killed 11 suspected rebels during gunbattles in the country's restive Aceh province, a military spokesman said Thursday.

Munir's life and career exemplify that of a man who answers his calling to the end. The diminutive rights activist championed a great cause during an extremely difficult period in Indonesian history.

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – Another former military chief, Gen. (ret) Andi Mohamad Jusuf, died on Wednesday, just a week after the death of Gen.(ret) L. Benny Moerdani on Aug. 29.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Six years after a banking bail-out that cost some US$60 billion (Rp555 trillion), Bank Permata, Indonesia's second-largest bank and the last of the nationalized banks taken over during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, is up for grabs.

The death of Indonesia's most outstanding human rights activist, Munir, while still in the prime of life, is a profound loss to the NGO community, civil society and the people of Indonesia.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Attempts to heal the wounds of those victimized by large scale human rights violations in the past should be the priority of the truth and reconciliation commission, which is due to be set up next year, activists said.

Irwan Firdaus, Jakarta – General Andi Muhammad Jusuf, a former Indonesian army chief who played a pivotal role in the rise to power of former dictator Suharto (news – web sites) nearly four decades ago, has died. He was 76.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – In order to ensure fairness within the Indonesian Military (TNI) forces, several factions in the House of Representatives proposed on Wednesday that the TNI chief's position should be alternated regularly between the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Jakarta – General Andi Muhammad Jusuf, a former Indonesian army chief who played a pivotal role in the rise to power of former dictator Suharto nearly four decades ago, has died. He was 76.

Gen Andi, a retired four-star general, died late on Wednesday from kidney failure and other complications in the central city of Makassar, his doctor, Dr John Adam, said yesterday.

Indramayu – Almost twenty-five percent of school buildings are damaged in Indramayu regency, West Java province, it was reported recently.

Almost 200 elementary school buildings, or some 25 percent of the total 869 school buildings in the regency, are on the brink of collapse due to old age and damage due to natural disasters, an official said on Wednesday.

Indonesia will investigate atrocities including the East Timor slaughter after agreeing on a truth and reconciliation commission.

Parliament agreed to set up the panel yesterday after a three-month row sparked by the military's objection to the inclusion of "truth" in its title.

Tiarma Siboro and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Condolences poured in on Wednesday for the family and relatives of top human rights campaigner Munir who died on board a Garuda flight to Amsterdam, while the precise cause of his death remained a mystery.

Last week was the fifth anniversary of the independence vote in East Timor and the Indonesian atrocities that followed. At the time of the killings there was an international uproar and some confidence that the perpetrators would be prosecuted. That confidence has now turned to dust. As promised, Indonesia put its own military on trial.

Jon Afrizal, Jambi – The haze in Jambi and Central Kalimantan provinces worsened on Wednesday, prompting local authorities, particularly in Jambi province, to close several schools.

Jane Perlez and Evelyn Rusli, Uyat Bay Beach – First the fish began to disappear. Then villagers began developing strange rashes and bumps. Finally in January, Masna Stirman, aided by a $1.50 wet nurse, gave birth to a tiny, shriveled girl with small lumps and wrinkled skin.

Papang Hidayat and Usman Hamid, Jakarta – Amid the fanfare and bustle of this year's general elections, the trial of the gross human right violations in 1984's Tanjung Priok incident has gone almost unnoticed by the public. While the elections seem to promise a brighter future, the trial is a reminder of a dark past that few will remember with fondness.

East Timor's foreign minister reaffirmed his opposition to an international rights tribunal Wednesday, telling parliament that the country's economic future depended on good relations with its former occupier.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Defying criticism from human rights activists and victims of rights abuses, the House of Representatives unanimously endorsed the bill for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Tuesday.

Jakarta – Indonesian troops shot and killed five alleged separatist rebels – all but one of them unarmed – in the country's westernmost province of Aceh, a military spokesman said Wednesday.

The men were gunned down in separate incidents Monday and Tuesday, said Lt. Col. Asep Sapari. Soldiers seized one handgun and ammunition from the men, he said. He gave no more details.

Munir was in a class by himself. He had an electric intelligence and an encyclopedic memory. In meetings, he was able to draw on a kaleidoscope of detailed fact and sharp analytical insight to present a clear image of what needed to be done.

ID Nugroho and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Two weeks to go before the election runoff on September 20, both presidential candidates are availing of every opportunity they can to woo the voters.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) blamed on Monday flawed campaign regulations for "disguised campaigning" by the presidential candidates' election teams.

Kiki Verico, Jakarta – On July 31, 2004 in Geneva, Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi successfully led the meeting of 147 WTO member governments to approve "the package of frameworks and other agreements" considered as vital in supporting the Doha round.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The government demanded on Monday that the Indonesian Military be granted the power to take preemptive measures against groups suspected of threatening national unity before they were capable of launching an armed rebellion.

Samarinda – Hundreds of Mulawarman University students held a rally on Monday here, demanding that the local government allocate a greater budget for education.

The students said the provincial administration had allocated only Rp 2.6 billion of the Rp 3 trillion 2004 provincial budget toward education, or only 0.087 percent.

Jakarta – Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) clerics have issued conflicting statements to voters grouped in the country's largest Muslim organisation in the run-up to the September 20 presidential poll.