Matthew Moore – The South Jakarta District Court is best known as a place where judges give decisions to the highest bidder, but its ruling this week to set aside the Bali bombing charges against confessed terrorist Idris was one any decent court might have made.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – More than 60,000 workers of the Texmaco Group may lose their jobs following the government's refusal to reschedule its huge debts.

Nani Afrida and Yuli Tri Suwarni, Banda Aceh/Bandung – Seventy-four convicted Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists arrived on Thursday afternoon in Bandung amid tight security.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The debate over the military's territorial role looks to dominate the deliberation of the Indonesian Military (TNI) bill, which commenced on Thursday.

Janaki Kremmer, Sydney – Not so long ago, Australians were being feted for helping tiny East Timor, their northern neighbor, gain independence from Indonesia.

East Timor urged the United Nations not to be hasty in withdrawing its peacekeeping forces from the fledgling nation, after the world body said it was considering further cutting back the mission.

Nelson Santos, the secretary-general of East Timor's foreign ministry, said that security along the country's border with Indonesia had improved but remained fragile.

Megawati Sukarnoputri was right. In a pre-independence day address, the Indonesian president rejected intervening in a series of court decisions that have resulted in the acquittal of four security officials in trials related to violence in East Timor in 1999, as well as that of a military officer charged over an incident in 1984 in Indonesia that resulted in 23 deaths.

The inadequate 10-year sentence handed down to self-confessed Bali bomber Idris, after the charges relating to Bali were dropped, is a slap in the face to victims and their families and a setback in the war against terror.

Dadan Wijaksana and Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Renewed debate on whether to retain the hugely costly national fuel subsidy remerged on Wednesday, following a proposal by the government to set aside a whopping Rp 63 trillion (some US$7 billion) for the subsidy this year.

Australia announced a cruise missile programme to give it the region's "most lethal" air combat capacity, a move that further strained awkward relations with Indonesia.

Defence Minister Robert Hill said Thursday the air-to-surface missiles acquired under the 350 million to 450 million dollar (248-317 million US) programme could destroy targets up to 400 kilometres away.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Religious leaders have asked the Indonesian Military (TNI) to sacrifice its interests – at least for the next five years – for the sake of the country's democratic development.

Millions of people nationwide are beginning to feel the effects of the dry season this year, which has led to water shortages and forest fires in many parts in the country.

Rusman, Samarinda – East Kalimantan forestry office firefighters are on high alert as forest and cropland fires spread to coal deposits. As the situation becomes worse by the day, the provincial administration has increased fire watch patrols and field monitoring, and moved in more fire-fighting equipment to fire-prone locations.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Seven months after its launch on Jan. 15, the busway has only managed to attract around 5,600 private car owners, or 14 percent of the busway's 40,000 daily commuters.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – The swearing-in ceremony of 75 city councillors on Wednesday was marred by a rally, involving some 1,000 people, in front of the City Council on Jl. Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta.

The protesters demanded the new councillors act to prevent collusion, corruption and nepotism (KKN) practices in the council.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Although Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is still being touted as the favorite to assume the country's top job, the race remains open for the incumbent president Megawati Soekarnoputri to outshine him in the September 20 runoff, a survey revealed.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is on shaky ground with ethnic Chinese after comments by his running mate Jusuf Kalla were taken as discriminatory.

Mr Jusuf had backed Malaysian-style affirmative action favouring indigenous Indonesians, a stance feared by the Chinese community.

Adhi Pratomo, Jakarta – Activists from the Student and People's Alliances Against RUU TNI (Aliansi Mahasiswa dan Rakyat Tolak RUU TNI) believe that the RUU TNI (Rancangan Undang-Undang Tentara Nasional Indonesia, draft law on the armed forces) represents an endeavor by President Megawati Sukarnoputri to jack-up her votes in the second-round presidential elections by giving political

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – A national meeting of civil society involving around 200 non-government and social organisations has taken a decision not to vote in the second-round of the presidential elections on September 20 because they have no faith in the two presidential candidates who are contesting the election.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – A labor union has cried out against the nationwide trend of outsourcing, labor layoffs and dismissals that have helped employers raise efficiency levels amid the prolonged economic hardship, but have worsened workers' situation.

Jakarta – The Justice and Prosperity Party's (PKS) support for presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) has clearly attracted a great deal of opposition. Aside from the PKS's own cadre opposition has also come from the People's Democratic Party (PRD).

New York – A number of countries have expressed concern about the trial of gross human rights violations in East Timor carried out in Indonesia and in East Timor by the Serious Crime Unit of the UN Mission for Support in East Timor (UNMISET).

Eric Unmacht, Jakarta – Two competing perspectives have long dominated Washington when talk turns to military aid for Indonesia. On one side there are those in Congress who call the country's military brutal abusers of human rights. They want US aid to remain suspended until Indonesia's military is reformed.

New York – Although East Timor continues to make progress towards self-sufficiency, it still requires international assistance for the foreseeable future, a senior United Nations official has told the Security Council.

Jakarta – East Timor urged the United Nations on Wednesday not to be hasty in withdrawing its peacekeeping forces from the fledgling nation, after the world body said it was considering further cutbacks to the mission.

Phar Kim Beng – Indonesia is a country renowned for its far-flung geography and cultural complexities. With 13,000 islands to its name, it cannot claim anything less. Equally complex is the elaborate nature of the country's electoral system, which is only gradually being simplified.

Militant Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir was charged under tough anti-terror laws for a deadly attack on a Jakarta hotel, but despite mounting international pressure Indonesian prosecutors say he will not be tried over the Bali bombings.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Representatives of more than 200 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) began a three-day national conference here on Monday to discuss their roles in society and address concerns that NGOs have failed to adapt to changes during the reform era.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government has no comment to make on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's report to the UN Security Council in which he expressed dissapointment about the outcome of Indonesian court trials of human right violations in East Timor in 1999, a spokesman said. .

New York – As the United Nations readies next year's withdrawal of its mission to East Timor, Dili is making significant progress towards running its own affairs, UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan says in a new report debated by the Security Council on Tuesday.

An Indonesian court jailed an alleged member of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group for 10 years for his role in the deadly bombing of a Jakarta hotel but cleared him of involvement in the Bali blasts.

Niken Widya Yunita, Jakarta – Are you a woman? A worker? Have you experienced sexual harassment in the work place? If the answer is yes you are not alone. It is estimated that 90 per cent of women workers have been victims of sexual harassment in the work place.

New York – United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan has expressed dissatisfaction over the result of the trials conducted by Indonesia's ad-hoc court for human rights violations in East Timor.

Banda Aceh – An Indonesian soldier serving in war-torn Aceh province opened fire on other troops at an army barracks, killing four and wounding one, an army spokesman said Tuesday.

The soldier, whose name wasn't released, has been arrested and is undergoing psychological tests, said Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – After a month in hiding, the guerilla hero known as L-7 has made a triumphal return to the East Timorese capital and supported claims that police shot at him and other demonstrators on July 20.

Indonesia's outgoing parliament is preparing for an historic send-off. Democratic reforms which began with the overthrow of the authoritarian former President Soeharto in 1998 set a timetable for the gradual abolition of reserved parliamentary seats for the armed forces.

Anton Aliabbas, Jakarta – The draft law on the armed forces (Rancangan Undang-Undang Tentara Nasional Indonesia, RUU TNI) is not considered to be in accordance with the TNI's new paradigm, has the potential to bring the dual social and political function of the TNI back to life and contravenes People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Decree Number VII/2003.

Jakarta – Haze from forest fires that is fouling skies over Indonesia and Malaysia may worsen in coming months as farmers continue to torch land to make way for crops, the government was quoted as saying on Monday.

Jakarta – Indonesia's 15-month military offensive against separatists in Aceh province has failed to crush the insurgency and left Indonesian forces in a quagmire from which they cannot escape, a senior rebel commander said Monday.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Defying public protest, 54 of the total 55 councillors of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam council accepted on Saturday the accountability report of the expenditure of Aceh's 2003 budget.

The acceptance paves the way for embattled Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh, who is a graft suspect, to continue as governor until 2005, when his term comes to an end.

Heavyweight political parties have long held sway in Indonesia, but the emergence of a new breed of voter more likely to listen to media or even mystics for guidance has robbed them of their former dominance, analysts say.

Jakarta/Semarang – The leaders of the Golkar Party and Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP) are now facing internal revolts by members who oppose their decisions to back Megawati Soekarnoputri in the election runoff in September.

Banda Aceh – A prosecutor has recommended that the South Aceh District Court sentence environmentalist Bestari Raden, 45, to five years in prison for his alleged attempt to subvert national security and public order, a lawyer revealed on Friday.

Jakarta – Indonesian officials and businessmen have welcomed the government's plan to abolish the unpopular exit tax next year, saying it would facilitate business expansion overseas.

Jakarta – An Indonesian court sentenced an army captain yesterday to three years in jail and 11 of his subordinates to two years each for their roles in a 1984 military massacre of Muslim protesters in Jakarta.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – After weeks of controversy, the government-sanctioned Film Censorship Institute (LSF) pulled local movie Buruan Cium Gue (Kiss me quick) from cinemas.

Alue Gintong – A major military operation to crush a rebellion in Indonesia's Aceh province will be over within a year, President Megawati Sukarnoputri said Thursday, as the rebels vowed a fight to the death.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – A man who lost his attempt to become president of Indonesia now hopes to rule a resort town – if he can kick out the farmers who claim ownership.

Tiarma Siboro and Suherdjoko, Jakarta/Semarang – After failing to win support from the country's major parties, presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his running mate Jusuf Kalla are turning their eyes to other influential nationalist and religious-based parties.

Alan Sipress, Jakarta – President Megawati Soekarnoputri marched along the red carpet dressed in a brown Indonesian Girl Scout outfit. Then, stepping forward to face nearly 1000 uniformed boys and girls, she raised her right hand to her scout's cap and saluted. The television cameras rolled.