Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Two home-made bombs exploded near the airport hours before President Megawati Sukarnoputri's lightning visit to Aceh yesterday, adding urgency to her pledge to restore security to the province.

[Indonesia is moving to settle its maritime border issues with East Timor and is keen to see Australia do the same, according to a senior government advisor. East Timor is keen to renegotiate its maritime boundaries with Australia to maximise its share of the rich Timor Sea oil and gas resources, a move Australia is resisting.

[This article was distributed on September 25 on an online discussion list of academics focusing on Indonesia and appears here via the Joyo Indonesia News Service.]

Dili – East Timor's Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta has said that despite his country's 24-year struggle for freedom from Indonesian rule, it would not support independence movements in Aceh, Papua and other restive parts of Indonesia.

Surakata – About 1,500 militant Muslims from various regions in Java and Sumatra attended a mass anti-US rally in Surakata on Wednesday and declared they were ready to wage a jihad against Washington.

Ray Brindal Canberra – East Timor has been poorly dealt with by Australia and companies wanting to develop vast natural gas resources in the Timor Sea, John Imle, a former president and former vice president of US- based energy company Unocal Corp., said this week.

Jakarta – Thousands of farmers across the country marked National Farmers' Day on Tuesday with protests demanding comprehensive land reform and protection from the relentless onslaught of the free market.

But an agricultural analyst said that the country needed agrarian reform and not land reform as demanded by farmers.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Residents in several parts of Java and the Indonesian capital are suffering from a water shortage – the result of a drought caused by the extremely dry El Nino season in the country.

Dean Yates, Solo – Abu Bakar Bashir ambles around the grounds of an Islamic school in Indonesia's central Java in white robes and a skull cap, chatting with students and looking every bit the avuncular teacher he claims to be.

[A group of Indonesian politicians has called for President Megawati Sukarnoputri to address the parliament on US intelligence reports that Islamic extremists have twice unsuccessfully tried to assassinate her.

Jakarta – The Federation of State Enterprises' Labor Unions (FSP-BUMN) threatened on Tuesday to file a class action against State Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi should he proceed with the ongoing privatization of state enterprises.

Jakarta – After conflicting statements made about a deadly grenade explosion near a house belonging to the US Embassy on Monday, the police have linked the fatal incident to a loan dispute, quelling allegations that the case may have been an act of terrorism.

Robert Go, Jakarta – The anti-US backlash in Indonesia is approaching a feverish pitch.

Dr Amien Rais, Speaker of the country's top legislative body, wrote yesterday in his nationally syndicated column which appeared in many newspapers, that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has cooked up "misleading information in order to provoke trouble in Indonesia".

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – Thousands of workers from various labor unions continued their rowdy rallies on Tuesday to voice their opposition to the two controversial labor bills, a move labor experts claim will backfire on the workers themselves.

The rallies turned ugly when the police called up water cannon as the workers began shaking the House's entrance gate.

Jakarta – The National Mandate Party (PAN) urged the police on Tuesday to question a gubernatorial candidate who reportedly gave 10 cheques worth Rp 450 million each to 10 of the party's coucillors to vote for him as governor during the recent election.

Tim Dodd – Indonesia's Foreign Ministry has a message for Australia that it evidently wants to be heard loud and clear, rather than in the confines of normally discreet diplomatic communication.

The leading human rights group in Indonesian Papua, Elsham, has released a report on its investigation into last month's killing of one Indonesian and two American schoolteachers, at the American owned gold and copper mine Freeport. Suspicion for the attack fell initially on the Free Papua Movement's armed wing, the OPM.

James Balowski – Three weeks after the fatal shooting of two Americans and an Indonesian from the Freeport gold and copper mine in Indonesia's eastern-most province of West Papua, the identity of the perpetrators is still unclear.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – A fortnight after the former University of Tasmania lecturer Lesley McCulloch and a friend were picked up by police in Indonesia's Aceh province, two things look increasingly likely: Ms McCulloch will be sentenced to jail and travel for Westerners to Aceh will become more restricted.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – After nine months without a permanent director, the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI) elected on Tuesday Munarman its top executive.

Munarman, who formerly headed the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), pledged to consolidate the foundation members as his first move.

Robert Go, Jakarta – The United States envoy told moderate Muslim leaders in Jakarta yesterday that the Al-Qaeda network is present here and urged all Indonesians to tackle the problem.

Cimahi – Around 2,000 workers demonstrated at the Leuwigajah market in Cimahi, West Java on Tuesday. Thirty two demonstrators were arrested by police because they were said to have demonstrated without asking for permission from security forces.

Jakarta – Thousands of demonstrators from a number of groups demonstrated in front of the parliament in Jakarta on Tuesday afternoon. The workers were rejecting the Draft Law on the Resolution of Industrial Disputes and the Draft Law on Establishment of Labour Efficiency.

About 60 per cent of Indonesia's four million civil servants are reportedly unqualified for their jobs.

The state administrative reforms minister Feisal Tamin says studies by his office and other parties show that only 40 per cent of Indonesia's civil servant force are qualified.

Maros – Around 300 workers from the Indonesian National Front For Labor Struggle (Front Nasional Perjuangan Buruh Indonesia, FNPBI) clashed with Mobil Brigade (Brimob) troops in the area of the Hasanuddin airport in the Moros regency of South Sulawasi on Monday.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak and Jupriadi, Jakarta/Makassar – Following the indefinite delay to the endorsement of two bills on labor issues, the House of Representatives offered on Monday to mediate between employers and workers, both of whom are upset, in a bid to improve the draft laws.

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – Some 6,800 locked-out workers of PT Doson Indonesia, a subcontractor for shoe giant Nike, staged a rally on Monday in front of the company factory. They protested that the management had closed the company suddenly without giving them any advance warning.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – About 2,000 bus drivers, conductors and other employees of state-owned Djakarta Transportation company (PPD) went on strike on Monday morning, causing thousands of commuters to be left stranded at bus stops and stations during rush hour.

About 1,000 Indonesian workers have stormed the parliament building in a protest against a draft labor law which they said favors employers.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Traffic on the roads was as chaotic as any other day, offices and shops were open for business and people made their way about the city unperturbed.

Jakarta – The calls for Mr Akbar Tandjung to quit as Golkar chief are growing louder. In the second serious blow to his grip over the party, his right-hand man Agung Laksono joined the ranks of those demanding his ouster.

Jakarta – Noted economist Syahrir declared on Monday the formation of the New Indonesian Association Party (PIB) at Hotel Indonesia and was observed by some 3,000 people.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – For more than 10 years Australians have often seen "Made in Indonesia" labels inside their sports shoes, but now there are signs that these are steadily being replaced by similar labels from China, Vietnam and Burma.

Ellen Nakashima and Alan Sipress, Yogyakarta – Abubakar Baasyir is a wanted man in Malaysia and Singapore. The Bush administration is weighing whether to add him to its terrorist list for what intelligence officials say is his leadership of a militant Islamic network linked to al Qaeda.

Rowan Callick – Indonesian Embassy in Canberra is investigating claims by the Institute of Public Affairs that "taxpayer-funded Australian non-government organisations are supporting independence movements".

Detained British academic Lesley McCulloch and American Joy Lee Sadler are "private intelligence" agents determined to see Aceh split from Indonesia, Jakarta intelligence sources say.

The pair were detained September 10 emerging from what authorities say is a known concentration of support for the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Tapak Tuan regency, South Aceh.

Raymond Bonner, Jakarta – "Beware of US Propaganda." That front-page headline in one of the leading newspapers here this morning spoke to far more than just the article below it.

The leader of East Timor's Catholic community, Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, appealed Monday to Portugal's people to give more help to his country, whose situation, he said, is "worse than before independence".

Jakarta – Choking smog worsened in Indonesian parts of Borneo island on Monday but rains cleared much of the haze that had been blanketing Sumatra, officials said.

Visibility was again reduced to tens of metres (yards) in at least two of Borneo's provinces and many schools and offices remained closed as transport continued to be disrupted.

Don Greenlees, Jakarta – On June 5, alleged al-Qa'ida operative Omar al-Faruq was arrested by Indonesian intelligence officials and handed over to the CIA. Al-Faruq's arrest and deportation were kept quiet from the Indonesian public; the national police were not even informed.

Robert Go, Jakarta – There is a growing backlash here against perceived attempts by the United States and neighbouring South-east Asian nations to pressure Indonesia into cracking down on domestic Islamic militants.

Visitors to Jakarta's Shangri-la Hotel last week were confronted by a reincarnation of the labor dispute that closed the hotel for three months at the beginning of 2001, providing symbolic evidence of the fragile nature of Indonesia's labor relations.

Canberra – The threat of a terrorist attack had receded enough to allow a full reopening of the Australian Embassy in East Timor, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today.

The decision to reopen the embassy came as an international terrorism expert warned Australia could be a target because it was part of the global economy.

The Federal Defence Minister says Australian military commitment to peacekeeping in East Timor will be phased out over the next 18 months.

Senator Robert Hill was in Darwin yesterday to farewell soldiers heading to East Timor in a peacekeeping role. Included in the battalion is Alpha Company, manned largely by reservists.

A report that Muslim radicals are plotting to assassinate President Megawati Sukarnoputri was an attempt to pressure Indonesia into cracking down on militants, analysts believe.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – An alliance of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has said it uncovered numerous lies in the country report delivered by the government in the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSSD) in Johannesburg earlier this month.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Lesley McCulloch, a former University of Tasmania lecturer, will wake up today on a mattress on the floor of a windowless office in Banda Aceh police station at the start of her 12th day in captivity.

John Aglionby, Jakarta – A British academic and her American friend detained in Indonesia 12 days ago for allegedly researching the separatist conflict in Aceh province while on tourist visas have accused their police interrogators of falsifying their statements, their lawyer said yesterday.

Kuala Lumpur – Haze from forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia blanketed the northern parts of peninsular Malaysia, reducing visibility to as low as three km, a newspaper and residents said on Saturday.

Canberra – Executive Director of the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), Dr. Mike Nahan, disclosed here on Friday that a number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Australia have given their support to separatism in Indonesia, particularly in "West Papua".