Nivell Rayda & Kinanti Pinta Karana – Just two days after she lost an appeal in the Banten High Court over a civil defamation suit brought against her by Omni hospital, Prita Mulyasari has been promised three-quarters of the Rp 204 million ($21,600) in damages she has been ordered to pay.

Khairul Saleh, Palembang – Eleven residents in Renggas village, Payaraman district, Ogan Ilir regency, South Sumatra, were wounded when members of the local police Mobile Brigade Unit and provincial police fired on them in an apparent attempt to quell a riot on Friday.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The Medan District Court on Thursday sentenced a former North Sumatra legislator and a journalist to a four-year jail term each and a youth leader to 10 years imprisonment for planning a riot.

The Indonesian government has supported the decision of the country's censorship board to ban the film "Balibo" with the Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik stating that it is not fit to be screened in cinemas.

"For the sake of the country, the movie is not fit for playing in theaters. The movie is political," Jero said at the State Palace on Friday.

Prodita Sabarini, Jakarta – A human rights organization has filed an amicus brief with a district court to support plaintiffs in a class action on forced evictions at Papanggo Ujung, North Jakarta.

Indonesia says it expects the 78 Tamil asylum seekers who spent almost a month on Australia's Oceanic Viking to start being resettled as early as next week.

Stephen Fitzpatrick – Indonesia's national journalists association plans to defy a government ban on the movie Balibo, kicking off a countrywide "roadshow" tour for the film with a free public screening in Jakarta today.

Fidelis E Satriastanti – Indonesia has a lot to gain from a deal at Copenhagen on the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation scheme. But its hopes of being the poster child for REDD will not work without the inclusion and participation of the country's indigenous communities, activists said.

Fidelis E Satriastanti – Residents of Teluk Meranti in Riau are seeking the expulsion of forestry industry companies operating in the district, claiming the companies have brought nothing by misery.

"We want our forests back," Yusuf, a chief of the Paliang tribe, an indigenous ethic group in Teluk Miranti district, said in Jakarta on Friday.

Jakarta – Prolonging the debate over the Film Censor Institute's (LSF) ban on Balibo – the Australian film about the killings of five Western journalists in then East Timor in 1975 – the House of Representatives Commission X on arts and cultural affairs is planning to summon Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik and LSF officials for questioning.

Irvan Tisnabudi & Camelia Pasandaran – While Indonesian textile producers have been lamenting the industry's lack of preparedness for a region-wide free-trade agreement with China that begins on New Year's Day, Chinese textile producers have been quietly securing space in the largest textile markets in Jakarta and Surabaya for their imports.

New York - The Indonesian government should rescind its censorship of a film depicting a military atrocity prior to Indonesia's 1975 invasion of East Timor, Human Rights Watch said today.

Human Rights Watch called on the government to revoke the censorship board's sweeping powers to restrict the right to freedom of expression.

Irawaty Wardany and Novan Iman Santosa, Jakarta – The government and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) are still in dispute on the planned government regulation on lawful interception with the KPK concerned by the complex bureaucracy it would have to face prior to wiretapping.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Anita Rachman – The Indonesian Armed Forces said on Friday that it expected everyone to respect the decision of the Film Censorship Institute (LSF) to ban the Australian film 'Balibo,' claiming that the people had voiced their decision through the censors.

This weekend, the 11th Jakarta Film Festival kicks off again with exciting promises for movie buffs. Despite tight schedules and congestion in the rainy season, they will try their utmost to enjoy the offerings.

Forbes Magazine published on Thursday the 2009 list of Indonesia's 40 richest people. The owners of the Djarum group, Budi and Michael Hartono, still topped the list with estimated wealth of $7 billion.

Students from Hasanuddin University in Makassar, South Sulawesi, took to the streets on Thursday, burning images of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Vice President Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani to demand a thorough investigation into the Bank Century bailout.

Kudus – A group of at least 1,500 workers from cigarette companies in Kudus, Central Java, staged a protest Wednesday rejecting the new cigarette excise imposed by the government.

The demonstrators urged Finance Minister Sri Mulyani to resign for having issued the policy. "The finance minister does not support small cigarette firms," protester Eny Mariyanti said.

Indonesia's journalists on Thursday vowed to defy a ban on the screening of Australian movie "Balibo", saying the film depicting alleged war crimes by Indonesian forces in East Timor is educational.

Lilian Budianto, Jakarta – The Indonesian government anticipates an international backlash over its recent ban on the screening of the movie Balibo, but expects this will not hurt Jakarta's overall image, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa says.

Dion Bisara & Janeman Latul – As the Corruption Eradication Commission formally announced its own probe into the controversial Rp 6.7 trillion ($710 million) state bailout of PT Bank Century on Wednesday, economists warned the fallout from the investigation could have serious consequences for the economy.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Human rights groups this week were assured by the government that it would strengthen the security of persons who would come forward as witnesses to a crime.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Indonesia would find it impossible to impose a moratorium prohibiting companies from logging production and industrial forests, a study by Greenomics Indonesia says.

Riyadi Suparno and Nani Afrida, Nusa Dua, Bali – Despite environmental concerns, Indonesia plans to continue the expansion of its much-contested oil palm plantations to cover a total area of 18 million hectares, from the current 9.7 million, to generate more employment and improve people's welfare.

Amir Tejo, Surabaya – The Sidoarjo Mudflow Management Agency said on Wednesday that it was closely monitoring a 500-meter fault line that has appeared in the middle of the Lapindo mud pool in Sidoarjo, East Java.

Nurfika Osman – Poor sanitation habits have led to the large-scale contamination of the country's water supplies, which in turn has led to massive financial losses for the nation.

Febriamy Hutapea & Heru Andriyanto – Legislators have slammed an alleged behind-the-scenes attempt to position an ally of the president at the head of special committee to investigate the government's controversial Rp 6.7 trillion ($710 million) bailout of PT Bank Century.

Indonesia's film censor says Balibo is a great film but he had to ban it because of its potential to spark trouble.

Mukhlis Paeni, head of Indonesia's Film Censorship Agency (LSF) – which banned the acclaimed Australian film just hours before its Jakarta premiere this week – said Balibo was artistically extraordinary but politically dangerous.

Anita Rachman – Indonesia will ratify the UN convention protecting migrant workers within two years, Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar announced on Tuesday.

He said the government, which has delayed ratification of the 1990 convention despite having signed it in September 2004, was preparing the necessary regulations.

Camelia Pasandaran – The Corruption Eradication Commission is warning the government to anticipate increased financial losses to the state through graft next year given its increased procurement budget and the pervasive corruption that continues to cost the nation many millions of dollars every year.

The controversial case against Chandra M Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto was officially halted on Tuesday, paving the way for their triumphant return as deputy chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission.

After weeks of denials about alleged links between the PT Bank Century bailout and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's campaign, members of his re-election team came out swinging on Tuesday.

Three cabinet ministers and Democratic lawmaker Edi Baskoro, Yudhoyono's son, filed a defamation complaint against the People's Democratic Defense, better known as Bendera.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Military Chief Gen. Djoko Santoso said on Wednesday that the nation's armed forces would not interfere with any political processes dealing with the Bank Century scandal, saying that the military has no authority to keep a stable social and political situation in the country.

Mega Putra Ratya, Jakarta – A number of protest actions will colour Jakarta today with at least nine demonstrations expected to inundate various parts of the capital. Watch out for traffic jams!

Febriamy Hutapea & Dion Bisara – A House of Representatives inquiry into the controversial government bailout of PT Bank Century overcame its first hurdle on Tuesday when an overwhelming majority of lawmakers backed it, as fierce jostling to join the team that will conduct the probe was already taking place.

The number of female employees and job seekers declined in the year to August 2009, the Central Statistics Agency's (BPS) Jakarta bureau announced Tuesday, at a rate not mirrored by male workers.

"The decrease in the number of working residents was dominated by women," said bureau head Agus Suherman.

Sara Schonhardt, Jakarta – The image of a giant condom draped in Indonesia's national red and white colors towered over the opening ceremonies of National Condom Week in Jakarta.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Putri Prameshwari – The banning of Australian film "Balibo" showed that there was no real democracy in Indonesia, film activists said on Wednesday, although government and military officials welcomed the ban.

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Indonesia's job market improved in August as the jobless rate fell to 7.87 percent from 8.39 percent a year earlier, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced Tuesday.

The number of registered unemployed reached 8.96 million people, out of a workforce of 113.83 million, BPS data showed. The population figure for August was 231.83 million.

Adam Gartrell, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has defended its censors' decision to ban Balibo, labelling the Australian film "negative propaganda".

Indonesia's censorship board, the LSF, announced the ban on Tuesday, just hours before Robert Connolly's acclaimed film was due to premiere in Jakarta.

The local premiere of the acclaimed Australian film, "Balibo," which recounts the murder of five journalists allegedly at the hands of Indonesian soldiers during the 1975 invasion of East Timor, was stopped on Tuesday after the censorship board banned the movie.

Bruce Emond, Jakarta – The Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club (JFCC) decided to "err on the side of caution" in canceling a private screening Tuesday of Balibo, a movie about the death of five Australian journalists in the then East Timor in 1975, said JFCC president Jason Tedjasukman.

Ramadhian Fadillah, Jakarta – The Indonesian military (TNI) is cited as the party that murdered five Australian journalists in the film "Balibo". The TNI however does not plan to make a rival film to straighten out what actually happened.

Irwan Nugroho, Jakarta – The Indonesian Film Society (MFI) believes that the banning of a film about the deaths of five Australian journalists in East Timor or the Balibo Five makes no sense, saying it was surprised over why the government is so afraid of the film being seen by the Indonesian public.

Wasti Atmodjo, Denpasar – Thousands of people gathered at Puputan Margana Square Tuesday to commemorate World AIDS Day, which falls every Dec. 1.

NGO activists, school students and even traditional market traders in Denpasar took part in the mass campaign to raise public awareness of the dangers of HIV/AIDS.

Adam Gartrell – Australia and other countries should avoid carbon trading with Indonesia unless it cracks down on widespread corruption in its forest industry, a new report warns.

Camelia Pasandaran, Febriamy Hutapea & Muninggar Sri Saraswati – Party lines, and interests, have been drawn as a House plenary session opens today to investigate the government's controversial bailout of PT Bank Century, a day after the Democratic Party officially signed the House of Representatives' motion to investigate the case.

Ardian Wibisono & Nivell Rayda – Flexing its muscles ahead of the expected return of its two suspended deputies, the Corruption Eradication Commission has begun examining the central government's bailout of PT Bank Century, its chairman revealed on Monday.

The head of the health department in Solo on Monday said curbing the rate of HIV/AIDS had become more difficult after the closure of the city's main red-light district in 2002 because keeping tabs on prostitution had become more difficult.

Camelia Pasandaran – Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo is drawing intense criticism from rights activists, experts and even Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi for stopping a scheduled antigraft protest on Sunday.