Jakarta – The political parties contesting the 2004 general election will not be allowed to file the names of any more legislative candidates following the expiry of the deadline on Monday, December 29 at 12 midnight.

Jakarta – Indonesian police will deploy up to 24,000 personnel to safeguard legislative and presidential elections in restive regions next year, a report said Tuesday.

The officers will be posted to Aceh, Central Sulawesi, Papua and Maluku provinces, national operations director Inspector General Dewa Astika was quoted by Koran Tempo newspaper as saying.

Yogyakarta – Some 20 students of the Indonesian Students Association (HMI) and the Proletarian Student Community (Kompor) here Tuesday staged a rally to reject general elections and sealed the Yogyakarta office of the General Elections Commission (KPU).

Michael Casey, Indonesia – Gunfire crackles and smoke wafts across a valley as an elite police unit storms a house filled with terrorists, rescuing the hostages and shooting dead the abductors.

Banda Aceh – Rebels in Indonesia's Aceh accused the military on Tuesday of executing a local television reporter who was found shot dead in the troubled province following a clash between separatists and marines.

International and local journalist groups have called for an independent investigation into the killing by Indonesian troops of a television reporter in Aceh province, six months after he was kidnapped by separatist rebels.

Ambon – Army Chief General Ryamizard Ryacudu has wondered why Alex Manuputty, a criminal who has been convicted for subversive activities, can be easily welcomed in the United States.

According to General Ryacudu, ordinary Indonesian residents who plan to go to the United States will not easily get visa despite clear and good intention.

Evi Mariani, Jakarta – Squatters facing eviction from their homes on Jl. Tanah Merah, North Jakarta, and Pinang Ranti, East Jakarta, have turned down compensation money offered by land owners, demanding a higher figure.

Jakarta – Syamsudin Haris, a political observer from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), predicts that 60-70 per cent of old politicians will win seats in the People's Representative Assembly in the 2004 elections.

Denpasar – TNI-AD (army) chief General Ryamizard Ryacudu has again reminded his officers to take a neutral stand in the coming elections, and not take sides with any of the political parties.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – The City Council plans to approve the 2004 city budget of Rp 12.16 trillion (US$1.43 billion) on Tuesday, but several councillors and analysts say there is no guarantee that the budget will be free from irregularities.

Jakarta – The newly established Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) began on Monday its four-year term, but fell short of deciding on cases to prioritize.

Jakarta – Old names are still dominating the candidate members for the People's Representative Assembly (DPR) in the lists submitted on Monday, December 29, to the General Election Commission (KPU) by the political parties who will participate in the 2004 general elections.

Indonesia, the world's largest Islamic country, is often described as a crucial ally of the United States in the war against terrorism.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – The Bus Rapid Transit system, or busway, has attracted strong opposition from transportation experts and observers since it was first introduced by the Jakarta administration in early 2002.

The experts argued that the busway would not be able to resolve chronic traffic congestion in the capital and poor-quality public transportation services.

Theresia Sufa, Bogor – Dozens of vendors pelted PT Jasa Marga Jagorawi toll road officers with stones and chased after them with machetes and sticks on Sunday at about 4 p.m. at the South Sentul entrance ramp.

Jakarta – The leader of a new Indonesian anti-corruption body was sworn in Monday, vowing never to bow to pressure and promising to act swiftly to halt graft.

Andi Hajramurni and A'an Suryana, Makassar/Jakarta – Around 100 angry rank-and-file Golkar Party supporters held a demonstration here on Saturday to protest the change in priority numbers given to some of its legislative candidates for the 2004 election.

Fedhly Averouss Bey, Jakarta – The University of Indonesia (UI) Student Executive Council (BEM) together with BEMs throughout Indonesia have formed the National Student Alliance in the lead up to the 2004 general elections which has the aim of ensuring the elections are "luber" (direct, open, free and confidential), "jurdil" (honest and fair) and free of money politics.

Jakarta – Dozens of activists and public figures have launched a national movement which will urge Indonesians not to elect "rotten" politicians in next year's legislative and presidential elections.

Kurniawan Hari and Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) will launch on Monday a nationwide information campaign on politicians running for office.

Religious figures, politicians and non-governmental groups (NGOs) are expected to support the campaign, which aims to rid the country of unscrupulous politicians.

Doubts that the upcoming general election next year can bring significant changes for the better to this country's political landscape are growing as the General Elections Committee (KPU) is giving political parties a final chance to list their legislative candidates today.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) is expecting an extra-heavy workload on Monday, as all 24 political parties contesting the 2004 elections will rush to beat the deadline for registration of legislative candidates.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Prominent Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid is pursuing his presidential bid next year by launching a book on nation-building titled Indonesia Kita [Our Indonesia].

The 157-page book was launched on Saturday, containing a 10-point political platform to rebuild Indonesia should he be elected president in 2004.

Barus – Starvation has begun to threaten some 140 traditional fishermen in Pasar Tarandam village, Barus subdistrict, Tapteng district, North Sumatra, because of the presence of Thai trawlers in their district's sea.

Jepara – Vice President Hamzah Haz has called on the people not to be carried away by the notion that the New Order era was a much better time because, he said, the regime's mistakes in development had plunged the country into the present prolonged crisis.

East Timorese freedom campaigners are mourning the death of a leading Australian human rights activist, Dr Andrew McNaughtan.

The 50-year-old was found dead in his Mosman home in Sydney's north on Christmas Eve after friends and neighbours noticed he had not been seen for some days.

Jakarta – The total number of foreign intelligence agents in Indonesia is far greater than the estimation given by the army chief of staff General Ryamizard Ryacudu who said that there are 60,000 people.

Fitri Wulandari, Jakarta – The power crisis, which started several years ago, became worse this year and the problem is likely to continue haunting the nation in upcoming years.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – After much debate and public criticism since November over a 30 percent tap water rate hike proposed by the city administration, councillors have decided that Jakartans will kick off the new year with an increased water bill.

Evi Mariani, Jakarta – More than 2,500 families will be evicted from their houses along Jl. Tanah Merah, Rawa Badak subdistrict, North Jakarta, and Pinang Ranti subdistrict, East Jakarta, in January.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – President Megawati Soekarnoputri signed on Friday two decrees, one on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and another on the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI), allowing the new institutions to commence their work.

Jakarta – There is concern that the organisation of the general elections in Aceh will face a number of serious complications because there are a number of contradictory legal stipulations which cannot be resolved in terms of laws which regulate a military emergency and those which regulate elections.

Jakarta – At least 1732 state civil servants from a number of departments are still members or heads of political parties. This violates Government Regulation Number 13/1999 on State Civil Servants which is an enhancement of Government Regulation Number 5/1999.

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – Growers have blamed the high cost of locally-produced sugar on the old and inefficient manufacturing facilities of producers, and accused them of deliberately organizing damaging and misleading campaigns designed to put the blame on growers in order to obtain profitable import licenses.

After withdrawing as a presidential contender for Golkar Party, Muslim intellectual Nurcholish Madjid seems to have run out of room to move in his efforts to seek a strong political party as a vehicle.

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – A local reporter working for SCTV private television station, Muhammad Nasier, filed a complaint on Friday with the Aceh Military Operation Command in Lhokseumawe, North Aceh, after a soldier slapped him across the face the previous day.

Robert Go, Jakarta – The Indonesian military (TNI) has escalated its security crackdown on rebels of the Free Aceh Movement with the dispatch on Christmas of three battalions of the newly-formed elite Raiders Unit to the troubled province.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – It has been six years since the banking sector started its restructuring efforts. Still, while improvement in its financial health is undeniable, certain flaws remain – indicating that the recovery process is still a long way off.

Jakarta – A warning by the Indonesian army's chief of staff that troops would be deployed if next year's general election turned into bloody chaos shows that the military wants to make a political comeback, says a human rights organisation.

Kompas – A reexamination, evaluation and refinement of People's Representative Assembly (MPR) Decree Number VI/MPR/1999 and MPR Decree Number VII/MPR/1999 is being carried out by the department of defense and members of the People's Representative Assembly (DPR).

Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – Indonesian Human Rights Watch director, Munir, has said that the statement by army chief General Ryamizard Ryacudu that 60,000 foreign agents have entered Indonesia in order to weaken the military represents an endeavour to create new tensions. This could also damage foreign diplomatic relations.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) has so far handed over Rp 26.1 trillion (about US$3.1 billion) to the state coffers from its assets sale programs this year, slightly exceeding the target of Rp 26 trillion.

Fitri Wulandari, Jakarta – The government expects investment in oil and gas, as well as power sectors, to improve next year on the back of attractive oil and gas resources and the liberalization programs in the power sector.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the government expects to sign 15 new oil and gas contracts next year.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Despite their pledge to fight for the aspirations of the public at large, legislators in the House of Representatives continue to display a willingness to betray their constituents in order to further their own interests.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – How tragic and terrible has been the violence against a great number of Indonesian women employed overseas this year! Not only were they harassed, physically abused or even raped but were also sent home without proper payment or traded from one employer to another.

Banda Aceh – The Indonesian military on Friday accused separatist rebels in Aceh province of kidnapping eight civilians, including three village chiefs.

Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members seized the three chiefs at Pante Bidari in East Aceh on Thursday, said provincial military spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – A middle-aged lady carrying a stack of papers rushes into the National Police Headquarters' detective building, mumbling almost hysterically as bystanders try to understand.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Down but not out, is perhaps the idiom that fits the Indonesian Military (TNI) the most after the reform movement in 1998 put an end to three decades of undemocratic rule, placing much on security for the sake of economic growth.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia's Religious Affairs Minister Said Agil Al Munawar is under fire after the government admitted errors and cancelled bookings for 30,000 Muslims who had registered to undertake the haj next month.