Meulaboh – The two-faced attitude of United States troops in the province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami has been revealed. Apart from carrying out humanitarian missions, the troops from the US have been caught out providing logistical aid to the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Calang, the capital of Aceh Jaya District.

It has been exactly one month since the magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami devastated parts of Aceh and North Sumatra.

Such time should be sufficient for us to assess and absorb the implications of this unprecedented calamity, not only for those directly in the path of the disaster, but also for the rest of the nation.

Vincent Lingga, Jakarta – The President's lack of leadership to act firm and fast in resolving the government's four-year dispute with Cemex over the Mexican company's investment in the state-controlled Semen Gresik Group (SGG), could cost the government half a billion dollars and longer delays in the return of foreign direct investment.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – he government-sanctioned fact-finding team, which is "assisting" the police investigators over the alleged murder of human rights campaigner Munir, has asked for information from intelligence agencies about a Garuda pilot, who they suspect could be working on behalf of another state institution.

Iman D. Nugroho, Surabaya – Protected turtle species in East Java are on the brink of extinction due to the rampant poaching of their eggs, says an environmental expert.

"People are tempted to take the eggs due to their high price," said researcher Ninil R. Miftahuljannah.

Jakarta – Almost half a million Acehnese may suffer depression, anxiety and sleep disorders due to last month's tsunami disaster, but only five psychiatrists are on hand to treat them, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.

Jakarta – Convinced that mining company PT Newmont Minahasa Raya (NMR) is guilty of polluting Buyat Bay in North Sulawesi, the government aims to seek financial compensation from the US-based firm.

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta – The government said on Monday it would use some unconventional methods to cope with post-tsunami legal issues related to citizen documentation as well as for banking and court systems in Aceh and North Sumatra.

Jakarta – The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that health conditions in the disaster area of Aceh were improving, and that no major epidemics were likely, but all parties involved in medical relief should remain alert to possible outbreaks.

Rebels fighting for the independence of Aceh province are willing to engage in peace talks with Indonesia but say the country is not serious about negotiations, a senior guerrilla said from his rural hideout.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Both the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) must capitalize on the outpouring of sympathy for the Acehnese in the post-tsunami aftermath to reach a peaceful solution to the protracted conflict, a former government negotiator said.

Jakarta – International financial institutions paid about $35 million in the late 1980s to build the highway that meanders from Jakarta's international airport to the city, crossing picturesque rice paddies and fish ponds.

Yogyakarta – Dozens of disabled people in Yogyakarta staged a protest on Monday to demand equal treatment and an end to discrimination by the authorities, and the enactment of special legislation to ensure their rights were protected.

Our correspondent from Mbaliem (Wamena) reported today of a military brutality against civilians in Wunin District, Wurineri Village, Tolikara Regency, Jayawijaya, West Papua by The Indonesian military.

Damien Kingsbury, Melbourne – It is a truism in politics that a cathartic experience can result in unrelated change. Conflict, chaos or natural disaster has been the handmaiden to many political changes, not least Indonesia's monetary crisis producing democratization.

On 20 January, Filip Karma, a West Papuan, went on trial in Jayapura for rebellion. He is charged with seeking to separate Papua from the Indonesian state for which he faces a possible life sentence or a 20-year sentence, under Article 106 of the Criminal Code.

The military chief in Indonesia's Aceh province described foreigners providing relief aid for tsunami survivors in the region as insolent for refusing to follow directives given by local officers.

Jakarta – The government said on Sunday that the emergency situation in tsunami-ravaged Aceh is now nearly over, and that foreign troops should gradually be replaced by civilians.

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab said it was "only logical" for foreign militaries to start withdrawing their personnel from Aceh.

Matthew Moore, Banda Aceh – More than three weeks after the tsunami that wiped out much of Aceh's west coast, aid was continuing to arrive in a chaotic manner. Lack of water, sanitation and food was causing relief experts deep concern.

Jay Solomon and Andrew Higgins, Banda Aceh – Government authorities here said they are investigating claims by an Indonesian anticorruption watchdog that the number of refugees in some Aceh camps has been significantly inflated by local officials seeking to get more aid – an early signal that graft might compromise some tsunami-relief work.

Banda Aceh – Villagers cross a river on a makeshift ferry as Indonesian soldiers work to reconstruct a bridge which was swept away by last month's tsunami in Loknga, near Banda Aceh. Agence France-Presse photo

Jakarta – An American journalist will be deported from Indonesia after immigration officers said he entered the country illegally, despite granting him a visa when he arrived three weeks ago, the immigration department said.

Barbara Demick, Banda Aceh – From behind a rickety wooden crate on which he has spread out cans of Coca-Cola and cigarettes, Mohammed Yunus warily eyes the bare legs of a blond woman in khaki shorts as she helps carry a ladder.

A welter of emotions flickers over his face. Until three weeks ago, this sleepy provincial capital was about as far off the beaten track as it got.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Papuan leaders urged the central government to cancel a plan for direct elections in the newly created, but controversial West Irian Jaya province, as they believe it could cause serious conflict in the resource-rich area.

Jakarta – The development of Indonesian democracy after more than six years of transformation from an authoritarian regime has failed to usher in significant change in the country's political landscape, with corruption and power abuse still dominant, a study has found.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Pematang Siantar – North Sumatra has long been known for its large oil palm, cocoa and rubber plantations, but they have contributed little to the local people's welfare over the centuries.

The Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, or GAM) was founded on 4 December 1976 by Hasan di Tiro – a descendant of the last sultan of Aceh.

The group has grown from an initial membership of just 150 rebels to a military strength now estimated at between 3,000 and 5,000.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The many promises and projects offered by the government during last week's Infrastructure Summit apparently were not enough to ease the fears of cautious investors, who still want to see the promises translated into real action amid the country's weak bureaucracy and rampant corruption.

Jakarta – With US helicopters dropping noodles instead of bombs and soldiers carrying rice rather than guns, the United States was confident its enormous efforts to help Asian tsunami victims would boost its tattered image in the Muslim world.

Philip Cornford, Banda Aceh – "They come as angels. They are our friends," said Almascaty after the fundamentalist's first meeting yesterday with an Australian army captain.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – In a bid to speed up the investigation into the alleged murder of top human rights campaigner Munir, members of the government-sanctioned fact-finding team have recently fixed their sights on 11 transcripts containing testimonies of witnesses questioned by the police.

Businessman Ian Melrose has recommenced his campaign of television commercials criticising the Australian Government's unfair treatment of East Timor, branding the $1.5 billion Australia has already taken in disputed oil and gas revenues from the Timor Sea as "Stolen Goods."

Indonesia ramped up its peace bid for tsunami-hit Aceh, saying it would consider anything except independence in talks with separatist rebels, while trying to reassure the world that relief aid was safe from endemic corruption.

Vaudine England – Father Fernando, aged 70, is more comfortable speaking Indonesian or his native Italian, rather than English. A resident of Aceh for almost two decades, he runs the Catholic church and adjacent school, serving a flock of mainly Chinese-Indonesians.

Ridwan Max Sidjabat and Nethy Dharma Somba, Jakarta/Jayapura – Papua's provincial leaders have expressed concern over a rumor that the central government will include West Irian Jaya province on the list of more than 95 regions that will hold direct elections of regional heads this year.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Employers, labor unions and the government have agreed to eliminate the high-cost economy in an endeavor to help repair the investment climate and improve workers' welfare.

Jakarta – Ali Imron, who is serving a life sentence for the 2002 Bali bombings, testified in the trial of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir on Thursday that the cleric had not influenced his actions in carrying out the attack.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – A rift between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his deputy, Jusuf Kalla, has reached a critical stage and if not kept in check could hamper the way to effective governance, analysts say.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Foreign creditors grouped in the Consultative Group for Indonesia (CGI) have reiterated their calls for the government to intensify measures to fight corruption and curb illegal logging, in a bid to restore their confidence in the country.

Sian Powell – The Indonesian military has a toxic reputation, based on a long history of gross human rights abuses across the archipelago, particularly in Papua, Aceh and the former province of East Timor.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – State Intelligence Agency (BIN) head Syamsir Siregar has called on the government to be alert to possible spying from foreign forces deployed in tsunami-devastated Aceh for relief aid operations.

Rebels in Indonesia's tsunami-devastated Aceh province accused the government of abandoning an informal cease-fire after the military said it had killed scores of suspected guerrillas to protect aid deliveries.

The Indonesian government will consider anything except independence for tsunami-hit Aceh province as it tries to broker a peace with separatist rebels, a senior minister says.

"We will entertain any demand short of independence," Social Welfare Minister Alwi Shihab, who is overseeing relief operations in Aceh, told reporters in the devastated capital of Banda Aceh.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has reiterated his support for press freedom, promising that the government would settle disputes with the media out of court.

Kobe, Japan – Political constraints in Indonesia are discouraging international non-governmental organizations from assisting victims of Asia's tsunamis, activists at a global conference on disasters said on Saturday.

Deborah Cameron, Jakarta – The tears pool in her deep, wise eyes. Yes, parcels of baby food and milk have been sent, but the greatest of all needs – a family and a future - does not come condensed in a bottle. If it did, Rin Tjiptono could stop worrying.

Andre Vltchek – Mr. Peter M Baki has been interviewed while attending UNESCO EFA (Education for all) Forum for the Pacific, held in the city of Nadi in Fiji. Interview was conducted on the 21st October 2004.

Veronica Brooks, Canberra – Australia is hopeful East Timor will in the next week or two accept its invitation to return to the negotiating table to settle ownership of vast oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea.

Dili – Former pro-Indonesian militiamen are gradually slipping back into East Timor and resorting to banditry, a military source in Dili told Lusa Friday.

The officer said the latest evidence of the infiltration from Indonesia West Timor came from an ex-militiaman captured by police after a firefight Tuesday.

Manuela Badawy, New York – A US Muslim group on Thursday accused evangelist Jerry Falwell of using money donated for tsunami relief to convert people in South Asia to Christianity and called on the Bush administration to denounce his actions.