I.D. Nugroho, Surabaya – Thousands of salt farmers in Sampang, Sumenep and Pamekasan regencies on Madura Island, East Java province, are facing a crisis due to the falling price of salt, in some cases by 50 percent. Aside from the poor quality of the commodity, the influx of imported salt has been blamed for plummeting prices.

Jakarta – The East Jakarta District Court on Thursday ordered the East Jakarta municipal and Makassar district administrations to rebuild houses in Pinang Ranti they had bulldozed in an illegal eviction earlier this month.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Employers and unions have voiced early doubts about whether newly appointed Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Fahmi Idris will be able to improve the country's poor labor conditions and relations.

Muslim militants in Indonesia's capital have vandalised a cafe in an area popular with foreigners because it was serving beer during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.

Evi Mariani, Jakarta – The Jakarta Police announced on Friday that they objected to the the recent vandalism by at least two known vigilante groups who have been conducting raids and trashing entertainment spots across Greater Jakarta during Ramadhan fasting month.

Fedhly Averouss Bey, Jakarta – The International Non-Government Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) believes that the economic team in the Indonesian United Cabinet of newly inaugurated President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) will side with donor and creditor nations.

Sari P. Setiogi, Jakarta – The new government has a lot of work to do and non-governmental organizations are closely watching how Cabinet members will address the myriad problems facing the country.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Although inaugurated three weeks ago, House of Representatives lawmakers will be unable to start their legislative duties until next Wednesday as they are still jostling for chief positions in the House's 11 commissions and auxiliary bodies.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Gen. (ret) A.M. Hendropriyono, widely known for his loyalty to former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, tendered his resignation after Megawati's successor took the oath of office on Wednesday.

Dan Eaton and Muklis Ali, Jakarta – Indonesia's new President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, swore in his cabinet yesterday, appointing a reformist judge as Attorney-General and vowing to root out corruption. However, his choice of finance officials has raised some eyebrows.

Jakarta – Indonesia's new chief economics minister, Aburizal Bakrie, said his office is pro-business and will seek to improve the government's partnership with the business sector.

Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, Jakarta – It was not the best of starts. Stuttering and full of political jostling. For a selection process that began so positively and transparently a week earlier, key decisions were eventually compromised in the final hours before the belated Cabinet announcement.

Abdul Khalik and Jongker Rumteh, Jakarta/Manado – The North Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office asked the police to seek further verification from scientific experts about the methodology that was used by the police lab to conclude that Buyat Bay in Minahasa, North Sulawesi was heavily polluted.

Ridwan Max Sijabat and Ivy Susanti, Jakarta – Indonesia has deemed the amnesty offered by the Malaysian government to illegal migrants ahead of the Idul Fitri holiday a good start to further enhancing bilateral relations between the two countries.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The Jakarta stock market tumbled on Thursday amid reservations from investors over the Cabinet of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, specifically the ministers dealing with money matters.

Some market analysts theorized that the team may be unwilling to push through badly needed economic reform programs.

Suwarjono, Jakarta – Just because they weren't wearing a tie, a journalist was denied entry to the State Palace to cover a cabinet meeting. The in question journalist was in fact a woman.

The incident occurred as the first cabinet meeting was taking place at the presidential offices at the State Palace in Jakarta on Friday October 22.

Jakarta – The structure and makeup of the Indonesian United Cabinet of newly inaugurated President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will not effect any substantial changes because its members are lacking in professionalism, integrity and ability.

The United States challenged newly elected Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to swifty implement judicial reforms and roll back fuel subsidies to regain confidence of foreign investors and spur growth.

Todung Mulya Lubis, Jakarta – Amid the still reverberating vow of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to eradicate corruption, we find ourselves confronting the bitter reality that Indonesia remains among the world's most corrupt countries.

Aziz Tunny, Ambon – After a trial lasting three months, the Ambon District Court handed down jail terms on Thursday to three sympathizers of the Maluku Sovereignty Front (FKM) separatist movement after their conviction on treason charges.

Jakarta – The new coordinating minister for politics, law and security, retired Admiral Widodo Adi Sutjipto, says that all of the ministries which are under his coordination will be prioritising efforts to resolve prolonged conflicts in Indonesia such as Aceh and West Papua.

M. Taufiqurrahman and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The Cabinet lineup of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono drew mixed reactions on Thursday, with an expert upbeat it could deliver significant changes, albeit slowly.

Others said, however, the Cabinet was a result of political compromise as were past Cabinets.

Jakarta – Under the new president, the State Palace has apparently introduced stricter rules on punctuality, which on Thursday resulted in six House of Representatives being denied admission to the inauguration ceremony for new Cabinet members.

Indonesia's newly-installed President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono held his first cabinet meeting, as local media stepped up criticism of his ministerial choices, which they said sent out poor signals.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adi Sucipto

For much of the past week, the nation has been so consumed by speculating about who President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will pick as his Cabinet ministers. The guessing game ended just before midnight on Wednesday with the announcement of the 35-strong Cabinet by President Susilo.

President Susilo retired from active military service in 1999, but deep in his heart he remains a true soldier.

To the surprise of Cabinet ministers and invitees attending the induction ceremony on Thursday, Susilo suddenly ordered them to stand at ease.

Dili – Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, returning to East Timor from Jakarta Friday, said he had held successful talks with Indonesia's new president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

On the sidelines of his visit here to attend the inauguration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, East Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri talked on Wednesday with The Jakarta Post's Veeramalla Anjaiah and Adianto P. Simamora. The following are excerpts of the interview.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is looking to mend ties between Jakarta and Canberra, which have been strained since Australia led a multinational peacekeeping force in East Timor in 1999.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – In a wide-ranging speech to the nation just hours after he had been sworn in as the sixth president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised to lead a government very different from that of his predecessor, Megawati Soekarnoputri.

The Indonesian press has hailed the swearing in of the country's new president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and called on the nation to give him time to prove his mettle.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Almost all private sector broadcasters in the country are failing to comply with the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI)'s standards, which entered into effect late in August.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was sworn in as Indonesia's sixth president, promising to revive a precarious economy by personally leading a war on endemic graft while also tackling terrorism.

Matthew Moore – Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had not even been sworn in as Indonesia's sixth president when the first demonstrators arrived at the parliament's gates.

They carried placards demanding corrupt businessmen be jailed, and while there was no venom in their demands for justice, their presence was another reminder that the people are growing impatient.

Jakarta – Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves as of October 15, reached US$34.81 billion, rising by $91.90 million from the previous week, the central bank reported. "The hike was mainly caused by (higher) oil and gas revenue," it said in a media statement on Wednesday, largely due to the soaring international oil prices.

As Indonesia's new leadership team confronts the challenge of revitalising the country's moribund economy, concern is being expressed in some quarters about how the government plans to implement reform. Indonesia's ethnic Chinese are especially worried that they could be the victims of discriminatory economic policies.

East Timor believes that the Starbucks seal of approval will give its key coffee industry a fillip. The world's leading retailer of speciality coffee on October 10 launched its first single-origin coffee from East Timor at Starbucks branches around Australia and New Zealand, a company spokeswoman said.

Jakarta – Indonesia's new defense minister said Thursday he plans to visit Washington to urge the resumption of military ties with his country – the world's biggest Muslim nation and a key ally in the global fight against terror.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Indonesia remains one of the world's most corrupt nations, despite the current reform era that began after the 1998 fall of president Soeharto, indicates a report from the Berlin-based Transparency International (TI) Indonesia.

Banda Aceh – Thousands of Acehnese refugees from East Aceh regency have not returned to the regency because of the continued conflict here, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

The following is President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's speech, which he delivered at the State Palace after his inauguration on Wednesday at the People's Consultative Assembly:

While it offered little that was exceptional in this kind of address, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's inaugural speech gave us a picture of the concerns foremost in his mind.

Nani Afrida, Aceh – The Acehnese, who long for change, are largely upbeat over the inauguration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as president, as they believe he is more popular and more capable than his predecessor.

Jakarta – As the inauguration ceremony of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla was being broadcast throughout the archipelago, 75-year-old Mardiyem closed the two-and-a-half-page letter she had written in Javanese to the new administration: "The previous administrations have neglected us ...

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) accused former minister for the environment Nabiel Makarim of misleading the public in the Buyat Bay case on Wednesday by releasing a report that had not yet been approved by the team assigned to examine alleged mercury contamination there.

Jakarta – As many as four people and a priest in the Puncak Jaya regency of West Papua were killed by shots suspected to have been fired from a TNI (armed forces) helicopter. Fearing for their lives as many as 500 people living in and around the area where the shooting occurred have sought refuge on Wijaya Mountain.

Paul Barber, London – It is not yet clear whether the election of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as president of Indonesia is a positive development for West Papua and whether he will bring peace and stability to the restive territory any closer. The signals are ambiguous and we simply do not know what policies the new president will pursue when in office.

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta – Despite an extensive campaign against HIV/AIDS in Papua, the number of local people living with the deadly virus continues to increase, making the province one of the regions worst affected by the disease.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri woke up as an ordinary citizen on Wednesday.

She spent her first day as former head of state with her grandchildren at her residence on Jl. Kebagusan in South Jakarta, an opportunity that eluded her during most of her three years and three months as president.