Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The government reaffirmed on Wednesday its support for combating global terrorism, but warned that the continued US strikes on Afghanistan were endangering world peace.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that the prolonged assault would also give rise to Islamic radicalism worldwide.

Marianne Kearney, Batu Keras (West Java) – This town is situated in one of Indonesia's most devout Muslim provinces.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Declaring a jihad or holy war against America and its citizens in Indonesia has become a surefire way for radical Muslim groups to gain their 15 minutes of fame and maintain their position in Indonesia's unsettled political landscape.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – For the first time, nine private companies in North Sumatra have withdrawn from the social security programs due to their dissatisfaction with the compulsory insurance scheme for workers.

Yemris Fointuna, Atambua – At least 800 East Timorese refugees, formerly grouped under the Mahidi militia group from Ainaro regency, returned to their homeland on Wednesday and received a special welcome from East Timorese leaders.

Over 500 refugees crossed the border this morning in the second day of mass refugee returns from camps in Indonesian West Timor.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Golkar chief and Parliament Speaker Akbar Tandjung has come under fire on allegations of corruption, which observers said may be a move from within his own party to unseat him from the coveted leadership post.

Jakarta – Long criticised for its lack of action, the Indonesian government has moved to lower vehicle-emission levels in major cities.

Jakarta – At least half of the factories in Indonesia face bankruptcy if the country cuts diplomatic ties with the United States, sending millions more workers out of work and disrupting economic recovery program, analysts and business leaders warned.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Despite separation between the National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) since 1999, a reform bill currently being deliberated at the House of Representatives by a special committee, has failed to promote a spirit of reform, observers said on Wednesday.

Jeremy Page, Shanghai – A senior Indonesian minister denied on Thursday that President Megawati Sukarnoputri had condemned US-led strikes on Afghanistan and said Jakarta had not wavered in its support for a war on terrorism.

Jakarta – A mob ransacked and torched a church in the south of Indonesia's Sumatra island, a report said Wednesday.

Ramani de Silva, Dili – The Constituent Assembly elected in September had been in place for less than two weeks when on September 26 a demonstration of around 300 people demanded that its deliberations be opened to the people through public hearings.

Jakarta – East Timor's foreign minister Jose Ramos Horta has supported the US-led air attacks on Afghanistan, saying his people have personal experience of the "scourge of terrorism."

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Thousands of employees of state-owned aircraftmaker PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) staged a strong protest at the dismissal of the chairman and the secretary of the Employee Communication Forum Arif Minardi and A.M. Bone on Tuesday.

Jakarta – A Muslim group waging a "holy war" against Christians in Maluku said yesterday it would not join rallies against the US military attacks on Afghanistan. "We have never staged anti-US demonstrations and we will not do so. We are not good at organising demonstrations," Laskar Jihad spokesman Wirawan Adnan told a press conference.

Craig Skehan – The Prime Minister, John Howard, has cautioned Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri against her growing criticism of United States-led military attacks on Afghanistan. Ms Megawati said on Monday that "blood cannot be cleansed with blood".

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Idi, East Aceh – Yasdi, 40, has abandoned his job as a truck driver because he can no longer endure the rife extortion by security personnel on the streets in the province of Aceh. Sitting relaxed in his coffee shop in Idi, East Aceh, Yasdi, of Acehnese descent, recalled how local policemen and soldiers treat motorists and travelers.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Banda Aceh – There seems no right policy for Aceh. Whatever policy is pursued by the government seems to reach a dead end. The Acehnese say this failure stems from the fact that policies are introduced when violence is continuing unabated.

[This is a special report of The Jakarta Post's reporter Ridwan Max Sijabat and photographer R. Berto Wedhatama, on their recent journalistic trip to Aceh.]

Banda Aceh – Indonesian troops shot and killed a former negotiator for separatist guerillas in Aceh province after he resisted arrest, a military spokesman said yesterday.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri has condemned the United States-led air strikes on Afghanistan as her Government continues to take tough action against radical groups that have threatened to attack Western interests in the country.

Leo Wahyudi S, Jakarta – The government should retake the initiative in reforming the nation's defense sector from the hands of the Indonesian Military (TNI), the International Crisis Group (ICG) has said.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – Dozens of people were injured and 12 were arrested as some 1,500 people who staged an anti-US rally in front of the House of Representatives building clashed with police officers on Monday.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri yesterday ordered her deputy to meet several Muslim clerics and leaders of militant groups to defuse growing anti-American sentiments that were undermining foreign investor confidence in Indonesia.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – City councillors could possibly commit corruption, but not on the same scale as that which may have been committed by their predecessors, a deputy chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-Perjuangan) hinted on Saturday.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, in comments indicating a degree of discomfort with the United States-led strikes on Afghanistan, said last night that violence must not beget violence.

Frida Berrigan – Things seemed to be looking up for Indonesia in July, when President Abdurrahman Wahid, widely viewed as corrupt and incompetent, finally was voted out of office – and Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri assumed leadership.

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – Indonesian policemen often do a double-take when they wheel bloodied corpses in to Oktavinda Safitry at Jakarta's central morgue. They soon give the devout Muslim woman and veiled coroner approving nods.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Hamzah Haz, in his capacity as chairman of the Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP), urged the US on Saturday to stop its military campaign in Afghanistan.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – With about 20 people killed in fighting between separatist and government forces in Aceh in under a week, the Government's claims of pursuing dialogue are fast losing credibility. Parliament called on President Megawati Sukarnoputri to focus on the issue.

An Indonesian general has been found guilty in an American court. Is there any resounding impact?

Jakarta – Many Indonesians regard Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden as a fighter for justice and support efforts by the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan to shelter him, according to a survey published on Sunday.

Dean Yates, Jakarta – Two German tourists have been kicked and punched after being mistaken for Americans on Indonesia's Lombok island while other foreigners are being harassed there, state media and a tour operator said on Saturday.

Slobodan Lekic, Dili – When the Indonesian army helicopter suddenly appeared above a rebel camp hidden in East Timor's towering mountains, Agostinho Sidabatur didn't hesitate. The sentry raised his century-old, bolt-action Mauser rifle, aimed at the Bell Huey clattering overhead and squeezed off a single round.

Grace Nirang, Jakarta – Indonesian police said on Sunday they had arrested 65 anti-American demonstrators in Jakarta and would charge them with weapons offences, triggering angry scenes involving hundreds of Muslims outside the police headquarters.

Tomi Soetjipto, Jakarta – Step inside a McDonald's restaurant in Indonesia's capital, scene of daily anti-American protests over US-led strikes on Afghanistan, and the first thing you see is not a Big Mac but a large Islamic poster. McDonald's crew still scurry about – but the women wear elegant Muslim clothing with matching veils while men sport prayer caps.

Robert Go, Jakarta – One in three Indonesians living in big cities are suffering from some form of mental illness because of increased poverty and bloody sectarian conflicts in some areas of the country, the latest government survey showed. Not all cases are severe enough to require hospitalisation and a majority of them involve depression, stress and other minor neuroses.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung denied stealing any money from the 40 billion rupiah in non-budgetary funds of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) while he was state secretary in 1999.

Jakarta – Amid growing anti-American sentiment in some parts of the country, some 400 farmers from Bali's Pacung Baturiti village staged a rally in front of the provincial legislative council building on Thursday to protest any action against foreigners visiting Indonesia's world-renowned tourist island.

Makassar – Hundreds of students from the Indonesian Muslim University (UMI) in Makassar sent an ultimatum on Thursday for the Japanese government to withdraw its support for the US attacks on Afghanistan, or else they would expel Japanese from the city.

Jakarta – As a group of former Shangri-La workers continued its demonstrations in front of the hotel demanding their jobs back, the hotel management said on Thursday that re-hiring was not a viable option.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Hundreds of drivers and owners of public minivans remained in their offices in Medan on Tuesday, some even choosing not to work temporarily despite their absence from the road on the previous day, when they gathered before the North Sumatra governor's office to launch a protest against unfair levies.

Yogyakarta – Hundreds of students from various universities in Yogyakarta staged two separate rallies on Wednesday to protest the US-led attack on Afghanistan, burning an effigy of US President George W. Bush and "sealing" popular American fast-food restaurants.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The local administration is considering a reversal of a 23-year-old ban on gambling to profit from the billions of rupiah that illegal gambling businesses reportedly rake in here and to curb the crimes that are linked to them.

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – About 1,000 Indonesian Muslim students rallied outside parliament on Wednesday, with some trying to knock down the gates leading into the complex in the biggest anti-American protest in Jakarta this week.

Despite mounting public pressure from small, vocal groups for the government to sever ties with the United States, the government said on Wednesday that it would maintain good relations with the US and its allies.

Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to the revision of key assumptions in the 2002 state budget draft, to ease Indonesia's budget targets in the face of a global economic recession.

Annastashya Emmanuelle, Jakarta – The Central Jakarta District Court ruled on Tuesday in favor of a class action filed by Kapak LPG against the state-run oil company Pertamina for arbitrarily raising the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) last November.

Dili – In its first concrete step toward drafting a new constitution, East Timor's national assembly Wednesday set up four commissions tasked with preparing sections of the national charter.

The assembly has until mid-December to pass the nascent nation's first constitution so that it can be in place before the UN-administered territory achieves independence next year.