Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The researcher regarded as the leading expert on the South-East Asian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah has been stopped from working in Indonesia and has been told the visa that allows her to stay in the country will not be renewed.

Jakarta – Revered Indonesian author Pramoedya Ananta Toer, 79, won the Norwegian Authors' Union award for his contribution to world literature and his continuous struggle for the right to freedom of expression.

Jon Lamb – Solidarity protests took place across Australia on May 20, the second anniversary of East Timor's independence. The actions condemned the Australian government for its refusal to negotiate a fair and just maritime boundary and for its ongoing theft of East Timor's oil and gas resources.

Jakarta – The United States government will support whoever will be elected as Indonesia's next president, US ambassador to Indonesia Ralph Boyce said after meeting Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Wednesday.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – "It's all over for Cemex, and as far as we're concerned they can go back to Mexico," said Titi Nazif Lubuk, deputy leader of the West Sumatra legislative assembly.

Ambon – Two bomb explosions shook Ambon, Maluku's provincial capital, on Wednesday striking fear into the hearts of the local population.

Jakarta – A number of political parties are ready to declare their support for National Mandate Party (PAN) presidential candidate Amien Rais, PAN secretary general, Yasin Kara said Thursday.

Shefali Rekhi – Indonesia's economy might be improving, but this has not translated into a "feel good" factor among the people on the ground.

A. Junaidi, Jakarta – Activists and experts supported on Wednesday an antipornography bill, but urged the government and the House of Representatives to drop several controversial articles in the bill, including those banning of erotic dances and kissing on the lips in public.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – The city administration was slammed on Wednesday for what critics said was its harsh treatment of sidewalk vendors, while at the same time turning a blind eye to businesses being run out of houses not designated for commercial or business purposes.

Jakarta – Six suspected separatist rebels were killed in Indonesia's Aceh province Thursday, as Amnesty International said the continuing military campaign there had caused "a marked deterioration" in the province's human rights situation.

Pip Hinman – Jakarta's decision to lift martial law in Aceh, in favour of an "emergency status", won't change the lives of ordinary Acehnese for the better, according to a leader of the Acehnese community in Australia. Nurdin, who was once imprisoned and tortured by the Indonesian army, said that Jakarta's troops must be forced out of Aceh.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Despite earlier assurances that the governor of Nanggroe Aceh Darrussalam would remain in charge of the civil emergency administration, a presidential instruction to be issued on Thursday will effectively curtail his powers.

An advocacy group pleaded Wednesday for the release of dozens of women it said were arrested by government forces and falsely accused of treason in the war-torn province of Aceh.

Abdul Khalik and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The National Police and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) separately announced on Tuesday they would investigate corruption cases in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) that allegedly involve Governor Abdullah Puteh.

Jill Jolliffe, Darwin – Officially it was a day of celebration, but there was an undertone of pessimism at ceremonies in Dili last Thursday marking East Timor's second independence anniversary and the drastic cutback of the United Nations' peacekeeping mission.

Sister Susan Connelly This anniversary is tinged with a lot of embarrassment for us as Australians. Despite all East Timor has been through, more often than not with Australian connivance and reluctance to help or tell the whole truth, today the Australian government is once again in the role of spoiler regarding the just sharing of the resources of the Timor Sea.

[The following is abridged from a statement issued on May 20 by the Movement Against the Occupation of the Timor Sea (MKOTT).]

Dear Australian people,

Warm solidarity greetings from East Timor!

Dennis Shanahan – Australia has pressured the leadership of the fledgling state of East Timor, warning it that more public attacks over oil rights could severely damage the relationship.

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Denpasar – Around 300 former refugees of Balinese descent stayed overnight in tents at Niti Mandala square in front of the Bali governor's office on Tuesday, demanding compensation for their property abandoned in 1999 when East Timor broke away from Indonesia.

Jakarta – Indonesian presidential candidate Wiranto, who has been charged with condoning atrocities in East Timor in 1999, hopes to meet East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao this weekend to discuss the abuses, a Wiranto aide said Wednesday.

Andrew Burrell – Sprawling across the entire 21st floor of one of Jakarta's ritziest office towers, the campaign headquarters of presidential contender Wiranto is filled with solemn loyalists plotting the strongman's campaign.

Indonesia's presidential candidates are gearing up for the official start of campaigning next week. Five pairs of candidates will contest the July 5th election. The front runner at this stage is controversial former military chief, General Wiranto, representing Golkar.

Presenter/Interviewer: Sen Lam

Jakarta – Indonesia's former president Abdurrahman Wahid is suing the General Election Commission for US$110 million (S$189 million) after it disqualified him from the July presidential race on health grounds.

Australia says it's refusing to deal with some officers of Indonesia's notorious Kopassus special forces. The Australian military is applying the veto to officers accused of human rights violations while still trying to rebuild links with Kopassus. The Defence Minister says it's a difficult balancing act but in Australia's national interest.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao says he has told his country's top law officer it is not in East Timor's interests to try to prosecute Indonesia's former military commander Wiranto for crimes against humanity.

East Timor's independence hero is furious with Australia, he tells Peter Hartcher in Dili.

Xanana Gusmao, the President of East Timor, has accused the Australian Government of pursuing a policy on the rich seabed oil reserves between the countries that "offends our intelligence".

Australia, already exploiting the wealth of the Timor Sea, has bright prospects of much more to come. East Timor, still waiting and dependent on aid from Australia and elsewhere, is impatient. Its determination to win a better deal on Timor Sea resources is straining relations with Australia in a way not seen since it won its independence, with Australia's help.

New York – A wide range of US organizations today urged President Bush not to offer military assistance to Indonesia when he meets President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono tomorrow.

Jakarta – The Supreme Court said on Monday it upheld a conviction of crimes against humanity by a special tribunal against three Indonesians officials for their roles in the church killings of 27 East Timor independence supporters in 1999.

Sian Powell, Jakarta – Backs straight, arms swinging, faces set: the East Timorese troops and police officers marched slowly past the assembled dignitaries at this week's independence celebrations in Dili's football stadium.

In the Indonesian province of Maluku, road blocks and barricades have been erected in several parts of Ambon after two weekend bomb blasts. Local police say the attackers are trying to provoke violence between the muslim and christian communties. There are also claims that those responsible have a clear political agenda.

Presenter/Interviewer: Sen Lam

Rachel Harvey, Banda Aceh – After a year of military operations aimed at wiping out a rebel secessionist movement, the Indonesian province of Aceh is now back in the hands of civilians.

The status of the province has been downgraded from martial law to a state of civil emergency.

Slamet Susanto and M. Taufiqurrahman, Yogyakarta/Jakarta – Presidential candidates are set to spend billions of rupiah in the one-month campaign period slated to begin on June 1, seeking financing from supporters and the business community, with some willing to empty their own pockets.

Jakarta – Fishermen in Cilincing, North Jakarta, demanded the city administration close factories located on the northern coast, which they said were polluting the sea with unprocessed waste.

In a protest at City Hall on Wednesday, the fishermen said the factories should be prosecuted.

A. Junaidi, Jakarta – While public participation in the fight for good governance has increased in the current regional autonomy era, the role of women in public affairs remains marginalized, research by The Asia Foundation (TAF) says.

Tangerang – Hundreds of residents attacked on Thursday the houses of Lontar village officials, who they accused of taking bribes to allow offshore sand mining to resume in the area.

Leony Aurora, Jakarta – More than 40 percent of poor Jakartans, whose health care services are supposed to be covered by the government, claim they still have to pay part of their hospital medical bills.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Vice presidential candidate Solahuddin Wahid defended his running mate Wiranto on Wednesday, saying the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) had no proof the retired Army general had committed any human rights violations.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The country will mark on Friday the sixth anniversary of president Soeharto's resignation – and the failure to bring him to court for his alleged involvement in a number of graft cases.

Legal observers say the whole nation is responsible for the inability of the country's legal system to touch Soeharto.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – A police disciplinary committee in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, ordered 18 officers to be detained on Thursday for only six days for their role in a shooting incident last March on Flores island that killed six people.

However, the committee exonerated another low-ranking officer of all charges over the shooting in Manggarai regency, Flores.

Jakarta – Indonesia could face new bloodshed between Christians and Muslims in the Maluku islands ahead of July's national presidential election, an international think-tank warned yesterday.

Former president Soeharto quit on May 21, 1998, amid a chaotic security and economic crisis after he had ruled for three decades. His resignation led to the reform era, which, after six years, many say has yet to rehabilitate the country's economy and the nation's integrity. The Jakarta Post asked a few residents their opinion about the changes that have occurred since then.

Muchus Budi R., Solo – Commemorating six years since the fall of Suharto, students and non-government organisations (NGOs) held a demonstration in Solo, Central Java, on Friday May 21. During the action they declared their opposition to presidential candidates form the military, the neo-New Order [regime of former President Suharto] and the fake reformists.

Gunawan Mashar, Makassar – The fall of President Suharto six years ago was also commemorated by hundreds of Makassar students in South Sulawesi who held simultaneous demonstrations at four different locations on Friday May 21.

Danang Sangga Buwana, Jakarta – National Mandate Party presidential candidate Amien Rais has promised himself that he will not use negative campaign methods in the presidential elections because as well as not being educational it will create an acrimonious atmosphere.

John Aglionby – "Ferry Bebas" (Ferry is Free) was all Media Indonesia needed as its main headline on Monday to tell its readers the news.

Gede Suardana, Denpasar – Although anti-military demonstrations in Jakarta have proceeded safely, it wasn't so in Denpasar Bali.

Jakarta – Discontent with a regulation detrimental to the comeback bid of its presidential candidate Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, the National Awakening Party (PKB) disclosed a backroom deal made among parties that would allow him to run for the top job.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Public polls are a much-sought device in Indonesian politics these days.

Several polling groups have emerged since last year and, for the first time, their surveys of public expectations are being taken seriously by contenders for the presidency.