New York – Presidential front-runner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono could strengthen bilateral ties between Indonesia and Timor Leste, Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta said here on Thursday.

Conn Hallinan – Behind a recent, highly controversial indictment by the US Department of Justice, the administration of President George W Bush is maneuvering to revive military ties with the Indonesian armed forces (TNI, for Tentara Nasional Indonesia), one of the world's most oppressive institutions.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Walking one or two days to vote is not usual for the people of Papua, Indonesia's easternmost province.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – About 120 polling station guards in Jayapura, Papua, have seized three ballot boxes to protest what they claim is the authorities' failure to pay them for their work in Monday's presidential election.

Indonesia's outgoing President Megawati Sukarnoputri has addressed the nation's highest Assembly, the MPR, detailing her achievements over three years in office. Mrs Megawati has refused to concede her loss until official results from Monday's election.

Jakarta – The ability of Mr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is poised to become the country's sixth president, will be sorely tested when he comes to grips with the country's fuel subsidy policy.

Former general, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono remains on track for a landslide victory in Indonesia's first direct presidential election. After an election campaign characterised more by personalities than politics, the challenges facing Indonesia's first democratically-chosen leader are substantial.

Presenter/Interviewer: Sen Lam

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – Following a green light from the Central government, Lampung Prosecutor's Office will soon question 69 councillors from Lampung provincial council for their alleged roles in the Rp 19.5 billion (US$2 million) graft case.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) will sit out its final session from September 23 through September 27, during which it will hear and comment upon the accountability report of President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Sian Powell, Jakarta – As the votes in Indonesia's first direct presidential election were tallied yesterday, President Megawati Sukarnoputri remained tight-lipped over her resounding defeat.

Patrick Walters – Early on Monday evening, Indonesia's next leader sat down in a comfortable armchair beneath the large pendopo, or open-air pavilion, inside the family compound at Cikeas, west Java, to view the election results on a large television screen.

Matthew Moore, Indonesia – Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono met his supporters yesterday in the first discussions on the shape of his new government following his landslide win in Monday's election.

As the vote count rolls on it has become clear that Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his running mate Jusuf Kalla are going to win in a landslide and lead the nation for the next five years. The results are showing a stunning defeat for the incumbent President, Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Sari P. Setiogi, Jakarta – After almost four months of hectic political activities as the running mate of presidential candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri, Hasyim Muzadi will return to the top post in the country's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) on Wednesday.

Kevin Bogardus, Washington – Former Sen. Bob Dole, the Kansas Republican who ran for President in 1996, is known for his dry wit and television commercials after 45 years of public service. What he is not known for is his work as a powerful lobbyist in the nation's capital for Indonesia.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – With their five-year term ending in roughly a week, members of the House of Representatives are rushing to finish deliberations of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and regional autonomy bills.

Donggala – Hundreds of residents staged a protest in front of the – ffice of General Elections Commission (KPU) in Central Sulawesi, demanding that KPU officials in the province annul the installation of a local councillor.

Max Lane – In a move criticised by Indonesian human rights organisations, interim home affairs minister Hari Sabarno announced on September 15 that officers of the National Intelligence Body (BIN), a civilian agency reporting directly to the president, would be given powers of arrest. Under Indonesian law at the moment, only police officers can make arrests.

Greens MLC Lee Rhiannon's motion to recognise the importance of the Timor Sea Boundary negotiations for the future of East Timor passed through the NSW Upper House today with unanimous support.

"The Greens are heartened to receive the full support of all parties on such a vital issue for East Timor." said Ms Rhiannon.

Jakarta – Indonesian presidential front-runner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday called for a peaceful end to Indonesia's bloodiest internal conflict, the 28-year separatist war in Aceh province.

Banda Aceh – The Aceh government started on Tuesday its third "re-education" course in nationalism for former separatist rebels who had been captured or surrendered during the one-year military crackdown on the province. The course involves 340 former rebels who were previously in military jails.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – The case file on First Lt. Simorangkir, a member of the Navy Military Police who shot five fellow soldiers in late August, has been submitted to the Military Court in Aceh for prosecution.

Adam Tyson, Toronto – Aceh has always been an essential part of the vast Indonesian archipelago, being of great historical, economic and symbolic importance.

Jakarta – The city was quiet as a whisper on Monday, with no jams on the streets, most shops closed and even air traffic reduced, as 38 flights to and from Soekarno-Hatta airport were delayed. Meanwhile, all the action was taking place at polling stations, with Jakartans turning out in droves to vote.

Jakarta – A leader of the insurgents fighting Indonesian rule in Aceh province said Tuesday he expects the war to continue even if a former peace negotiator is elected as Indonesia's new president.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The Golkar Party dismissed on Monday nine key Golkar members for defying the executive board's order to support presidential candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri and her running mate Hasyim Muzadi in Monday's election runoff.

Slobodan Lekic – The retired four-star general heading for victory in Indonesia's presidential elections, may use his background to succeed where the country's post-dictator Suharto politicians have so far failed, bringing the powerful military brass under civilian control.

Jane Perlez, Jakarta – Indonesia's next president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, moved swiftly up the military ranks during the authoritarian rule of Gen. Suharto and then played a back-seat role in the undoing of that government.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – Waves of optimisms greeted the trouble-free runoff vote on Monday, with experts hailing the smooth process as a powerful starting point towards the much-needed revival of investor confidence in the economy.

Michael J. Webdell, Jakarta – Nike, Samsung, Tommy Hilfiger, Guess, Sony: These are just a few brands popular to people across the world. In shopping malls from Jakarta to London, and New York to Seoul, they are symbols of a lifestyle consumers pay premium to be part of.

Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta – A lack of effective regulations governing the standards of electronic goods in the country is hurting the industry at a time when ASEAN is set to liberalize the sector by 2007, according to an industry leader.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – Indonesia's first direct presidential election has ended with a Bambang and a whimper. Surveys of results announced at the more than 500,000 polling stations give former general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono more than 60% of the vote in Monday's runoff election against President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Official results won't be released until early next month.

Among the foreign observers here for the runoff of Indonesia's first direct presidential election on Monday, the largest contingent consists of the 220 members of the European Union Election Observation Mission. The following are excerpts from an interview with its chief observer, Glyn Ford, who spoke to The Jakarta Post's M. Taufiqurrahman.

Jakarta – Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPUD) Muhamad Taufik said Sunday that the number of registered voters for Monday's presidential election declined by 103,528 to only 6,617,980, while the number of polling stations is reduced by 10 from 224,224 stations into 224,214.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – A survey by the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program (SOCP) found at least 1,000 orangutans in North Sumatra and Aceh provinces are disappearing each year due to poaching and loss of habitat.

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – Bandarlampung municipal administration is planning to demolish some 5,000 stilt houses in Lampung Bay, in line with its plan to implement the so-termed Waterfront City Project.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) withdrew on Friday its proposal to insert an article into the military bill being deliberated by the House of Representatives banning newly retired military personnel from politics.

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Padang – Two non-governmental organizations (NGOs), joined by Padang's North Siberut Alliance for the Preservation of Mentawai Culture (AMAPM), are urging the government to put a stop to logging activities on the island of Siberut, which is among the Mentawai Islands.

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – Hundreds of shrimp farmers who manage some 2,000 hectares of shrimp ponds along the northern coast of Tangerang regency complained of industrial waste in Cisadane River destroyed their shrimp farms.

Manjit Bhatia – In Indonesia's July 5 direct presidential poll – the country's first since the corrupt Suharto dictatorship's downfall in 1998 – contender Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono thumped incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri into second place. Yudhoyono won 33.58% of the popular vote, Megawati 26.29% and ex-general Wiranto 22.21%.

Jakarta – Over 100 million people are expected to flock to hundreds of thousands of polling stations on Monday to cast their votes in the final round of the country's first-ever direct presidential election.

Former Australian peacekeepers in East Timor accused the federal government of stealing from the fledgling nation today as talks resumed over the carve-up of gas and oil reserves in the Timor Sea, five years to the day since the first peacekeepers arrived.

Soothing and strong with a Mr. Clean image, US-trained former general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is expected to win Monday's run-off poll in Indonesia and become the country's next president.

Reporter: Peter Lloyd

The bombing of the Australian embassy in Jakarta has elevated terrorism, as an election issue, from a shade above nowhere to a point just visible on Indonesia's political horizon.

But the hopes and priorities of Indonesian voters, as they head to the polls on Monday, will be vastly different from those held by anxious regional neighbours.

[The following statement was issued by the HAK Association, Haburas Foundation, Oxfam Australia, Alola Foundation, La'o Hamutuk (East Timor Institute for Reconstruction Monitoring and Analysis), East Timor Community Radio Association (ARKTL), the Mirror of the People (Labeh), Forum Tau Matan (FTM) and the East Timor Students Association.]

A deadly attack on Australia's Jakarta embassy days before Indonesia's presidential polls may help a former general unseat President Megawati Sukarnoputri but is unlikely to prove the poll's tipping point, analysts say.

Jakarta – Two days before the presidential election runoff on Monday, the campaign team for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was kept busy countering allegations that could harm its candidate.

A tabloid called Fakta (Fact) hit the streets in Jakarta on Saturday, running one-sided stories about what it called Susilo's "public deception".

Suwarjono, Jakarta – Don't miss an opportunity, that's the journalist's motto and this includes the final moments in the lead-up to the "finals" of the second-round of the presidential election.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – As the projector flickered, people in interfaith relationships told their stories.

Indah said she and her siblings were labeled illegitimate and mocked because their parents were of different religions.

A married couple claimed there was never a problem; the differences, in fact, helped their children become more tolerant.