Almost all religions forbid homosexuality as can be seen in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Bible or the people of the Prophet Luth in the Koran. According to a recent study, however, homosexuality can be found even in religious institutions, including in pesantren (Islamic boarding schools).

John D'Arcy May – Now the pretext that the war in Iraq was a war on terror has worn thin, and the US President and the Australian Prime Minister face elections in which their manipulation of intelligence to justify the war is an issue, it is worth focusing on two much larger questions that were obscured at the time by political hype.

Banda Aceh – The Indonesian military said separatist rebels had killed seven civilians in the war-torn province of Aceh, according to a report Saturday.

Indonesia's Presidential election could herald significant changes to the way the government runs the country. The historic direct Presidential poll will cement the democratic constitution with Indonesia's future. If opinion polls are correct and former military general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wins, he will have a firm mandate to pursue his policy agenda.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The Central Jakarta District Court found Tempo weekly guilty on Thursday of publishing false material and libel, and sentenced chief editor Bambang Harymurti to a suspended one-year jail term. The court, however, acquitted the journalists who wrote the article in question.

Sari P. Setiogi, Jakarta – International and domestic observers lambasted on Thursday the guilty verdict against Tempo magazine's chief editor Bambang Harymurti and called it a setback for the country's press freedom and democracy.

Jakarta/Surabaya/Madiun – The National Police announced on Thursday that they had arrested at least eight people allegedly linked to last week's deadly blast outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, which killed 10 people and injured over 180 others.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The government must establish a "country borrowing strategy" and improve the distribution mechanism of foreign loans to regional administrations to ensure the efficient and effective use of the loans in the future.

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta – While the current trend of maternal mortality rate (MMR) shows a decreasing pattern, it may be difficult for Indonesia to achieve the target of MMR of around 125 per 100,000 births set by the United Nations' Millenium Development Goals, an expert says.

Pekanbaru – Haze returned on Thursday to the skies of Pekanbaru, raising concern over new breathing problems spreading in the city.

Pekanbaru Deputy Mayor Erwandy Saleh said that the quality of the air in the city was poor.

Jakarta – Amid reports of a continuing slump in foreign direct investment (FDI), Indonesia is in for even gloomier prospects after the recent Australian Embassy bomb attack, according to Indonesian-Australian Business Council chairman Noke Kiroyan.

Kurniawan Hari and Luh Putu Trisna Wahyuni, Jakarta/Mataram – Golkar politicians suspended from the party for refusing to back Megawati Soekarnoputri in Monday's presidential election runoff, continued on Thursday in their activities in support of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Jakarta/Indramayu/Jayapura – While not declaring a controversial quiz a violation of campaign regulations, the Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) demanded its halt on Thursday.

Donggala – Central Sulawesi General Election Commission (KPU) has fired the chief of Donggala Municipality KPU Abdullah Malabang and his four subordinates for vote markup in the July 5 legislative election.

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – The Makassar District Court began hearing on Thursday the case of six student and labor activists charged with insulting President Megawati Soekarnoputri during a protest in April.

Gandhi Sukardi, Jakarta – The September 9 bomb explosion in front of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, could have been prevented if the police and the intelligence services, had an army of secret informers, who are well-paid and full-time, not doing the job as a pastime or amateurs.

Tiarma Siboro and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – A number of national figures, grouped in the newly launched Cultural Movement for Reform, signed a declaration on Thursday to support the Susilo-Kalla ticket in the upcoming presidential runoff.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – A group of suspected Free Papua Movement (OPM) rebels attacked on Tuesday 15 Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers in Lima Jari subdistrict, Puncak Jaya regency, leaving one rebel dead and one soldier severely injured.

Kupang – The Indonesian Military (TNI) is ready to provide protection for UN agencies that reopen in East Nusa Tenggara province, the western part of Timor island, a local commander said on Wednesday.

"Actually, it is the duty of the police, but we are ready to help the police guard the country," Wirasakti Military Resort Commander Col. Maswardi Moesanip said.

Jakarta – In a departure from the general legal trend that has characterized the Tempo saga and coming ahead of the verdict expected on Thursday from the Central Jakarta District Court, a high court ruled in favor of the Tempo Media Group in its appeals against two lower court rulings.

In what was seen as a test case for press freedoms in newly democratic Indonesia, a court cleared two journalists of libel but said the article they wrote was defamatory.

Damien Kingsbury – Jakarta has always been a city of intrigue, and for every significant political event there are usually any number of theories to explain it. Usually, one or even a couple of these explanations is close to the truth.

With only three days to go before balloting begins in the country's final round of its first direct presidential elections on Monday, Indonesians can draw little comfort from official assurances that everything is being done to ensure that the situation remains under control.

Ong Hock Chuan, Jakarta – There has been a fundamental shift in how President Megawati Soekarnoputri communicates. The Megawati we saw during Tuesday night's presidential "dialog" was definitely a different one from the Megawati in the first round of presidential dialogs weeks ago.

Low competitiveness in the country's manufacturing products is a major obstacle in the efforts to push economic growth, according to a senior economist.

Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) economist Mari E. Pangestu said on Wednesday that low competitiveness had hampered both exports and investment, two key factors to accelerate economic growth.

The Honorable Colin L. Powell
Secretary of State
US State Department
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Mr. Secretary,

Zakki P. Hakim, Jakarta – The two presidential candidates and their running mates were forced to address what may be the toughest economic challenge next year – raising fuel prices at home – when they met a group of economists during a televised dialogue late on Wednesday.

Jakarta/Surabaya/Makassar – Confronted with a limited campaign period and the vast expanse of the country, candidates of the September 20 runoff have decided to turn to print and electronic media to lure voters.

Jakarta – Two foreign agencies officially registered to monitor the presidential election runoff have arrived here to observe the poll from the opening until vote counting.

The Atlanta-based Carter Center said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that it would deploy a team of 57 personnel for the mission.

Kurniawan Hari and Suherdjoko, Jakarta/Semarang – The Golkar Party dismissed Jusuf Kalla, a member of the party and the running mate of election front-runner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, from his post as a Golkar advisor on Wednesday, and suspended the membership of 11 other party members indefinitely for refusing to support Megawati Soekarnoputri in Monday's election runoff.

With surveys favouring her suave presidential poll rival, Indonesia's Megawati Sukarnoputri has sought to shed an aloof and uncaring image and rebrand herself as a go-getting and attentive leader.

More than 70 representatives of US organizations wrote to Secretary of State Colin Powell today opposing Bush administration plans to expand military assistance to the Indonesian military (TNI).

Max Lane – I condemn the bombing outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta on September 9, which has taken at least nine lives and injured more than 180 Indonesians – mainly people doing business at the embassy and passers-by. I express my full sympathy to all those who have lost loved ones and who have suffered injury.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The much-awaited dialog involving the presidential candidates and their running mates failed to draw much public interest on Tuesday, with less than half of the around 600 seats available being occupied by the supporters of the two camps.

Reporter: Anne Barker

Mark Colvin: A few short years ago East Timor lost hundreds of thousands of people to death and deportation in the militia-led violence of 1999. But today there's a remarkable turnaround. Results from the first national census show a population heading for one million by next year - one of the fastest growing populations in the world.

Indonesia's presidential candidates pledged to get tough on terrorism as official campaigning began for the country's first direct leadership polls – a contest overshadowed by a deadly embassy attack.

Jakarta – Indonesia's top security minister has ordered sweeping changes and granted wider powers to its intelligence services following the deadly Australian embassy blast in Jakarta.

Suwarjono, Jakarta – On Tuesday September 14, victims of the 1965 tragedy(1) went to the presidential palace wanting to meet face-to-face with President Megawati Sukarnoputri with the aim of presenting a legal action (Somasi) to the president.

Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta – The hopes of Tas (not her real name) of getting a decent job were shattered after she ended up in a karaoke bar on Batam island. The 14-year old girl, who had just finished elementary school in Pagedongan, Banjarnegara, Central Java, was lured to Batam by her own neighbor, Parwati, 25.

Endy M.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The House of Representatives is scheduled to pass the bill on domestic violence on Tuesday, although women activists say it is not strong enough to serve as a deterrent, as it does not set minimum penalties for perpetrators.

Jakarta – The rupiah, having weathered a huge shock last week following the latest bomb attack in the country, is likely to move within a narrow range this week with pressures slowly dwindling, analysts said on Sunday. The local unit closed on a positive note last week at 9,280 per dollar after dropping to above 9,400 the day earlier just after the bombing.

Although the financial market in Jakarta did not panic after Thursday's bomb attack – ear the Australian embassy compound, it is no longer business as usual in so far as the market's perception of Indonesia's country risk is concerned.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The rejection by several political parties and non-governmental organizations of the contentious bill on the Indonesian Military (TNI) is a reflection of the public's hatred of military personnel's involvement in crime and of military institutions' involvement in socio-political affairs.

Mujiburrahman, Paris – Over the past two decades, debates and controversies have abounded among Indonesian Muslims on the interpretations of Islamic theological and legal doctrines on interreligious relations. The variety of Muslim opinion stems from their different methods of interpretation, socio-political developments in the country and transnational interactions.

Jakarta – Twelve junior high school principals were found to have charged extra fees aside from – hose that had been set between school boards and parents, an official of the Jakarta Education Agency said on Monday. "They have violated regulations, because the city education agency has given the period from July 29 to Aug.

Devi Asmarani, Kupang – The provincial legislature building on this eastern Indonesian island some 2,000km from Jakarta looks abandoned just days after new councillors took over.

Salim Osman – Retired colonel Poedjiyono is a picture of confidence as he entertains guests at his house in Margorejo on the outskirts of Surabaya.

The 59-year-old retired army officer speaks to them individually about their requests and offers them his counsel.

East Timor's leaders will seek public support against moves to establish an international tribunal over alleged human rights violations during Indonesia's 24-year occupation, Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta said Tuesday.

Palu – The level of heavy metals in Palu Bay has surpassed tolerable standards – ollowing the unchecked, daily dumping of liquid waste by local residents, an environmental study has found.

"At least seven kinds of metals have polluted the bay," a study conducted by Tadulako University's Environmental Research Center (PPLH-Untad) and the Palu administration said on Sunday.