Jakarta – Thirty percent of Indonesia's children are underweight and have a lower-than-average height for their age, mostly because of early childhood malnutrition, an expert says.

Ahmad Syafiq, who chairs the center for nutrition studies at the University of Indonesia (UI) in Jakarta, said Thursday those numbers were too high.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) will not ask for any posts in the next Cabinet, but will accept any position that might be offered, chief patron Taufik Kiemas said Friday.

Stephen Fitzpatrick in Merak and Patrick Walters – The Sri Lankan asylum seekers holed up on board a boat in Indonesia intend to end their two-day-old hunger strike and are considering stepping ashore.

Jakarta – An alliance providing legal advocacy on religion freedom is to hold a national symposium in December to discuss common social and human rights problems in Central and Eastern Indonesia.

Jakarta – Gorontalo mayoralty administration has obliged its Muslim civil servants to read the Koran every Friday.

Gorontalo mayor Adhan Dambea said Saturday that he was not yet satisfied with the implementation of his instruction. "Some civil servants are still unable to read the Koran fluently," he said.

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – The Supreme Court Chief Justice Harifin A Tumpa believes most judges under his institution's supervision are not acting independently when handing out verdicts because they often interact with people whose cases they are hearing.

Pandaya, Jakarta – Outgoing legislators may well be remembered for their crude sense of humor, but their last legacy, losing a contentious provision on tobacco from the health bill they endorsed, absolutely deserves not only a good laugh, but also a criminal investigation.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Friday refused to be swayed by hundreds of Sri Lankan asylum seekers who declared a hunger strike after their boat was stopped in Indonesia en route to Australia, even as two were taken to hospital.

Erwida Maulia and Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Around 90,000 families are still homeless in Padang, West Sumatra, two weeks after the 7.9-magnitude quake hit the province as the UN pledges to disburse US$38 million to help victims, the government says.

Sunanda Creagh, Jakarta – Indonesia's tough new environment law, passed last month and aimed at any firm with an effect on the environment, may take as long as two years to implement, a senior government official said on Friday.

The law allows the government to revoke polluters' business licences, which environmentalists said could lead to more effective enforcement.

Janeman Latul & Venisa Tjahjono – Mining industry representatives said on Friday they were confused by a recently issued regulation restricting the work contractors were allowed to perform for mining concessionaires, saying it failed to clearly explain what contractors could and could not do.

Camelia Pasandaran – The smiles, firm handshakes and backslaps that marked Friday's farewell party for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's outgoing cabinet betrayed the fact that despite some commendable achievements, true government reform has failed to materialize.

Kinanti Pinta Karana – A political contract signed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party and five other parties on Thursday night amounts to a conspiracy, one political analyst argues.

"It's a political cartel – different parties with a common goal," Ari Dwipayana of Yogyakarta's Gajah Mada University told the Jakarta Globe.

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – A large area of mangrove forests in Lampung, which acts as a buffer for coastal residents from tidal waves, has been depleted rapidly over the past year, especially in South Lampung, East Lampung and Tanggamus regencies, where only 25 percent of the original forests remain.

Ika Krismantari, Jakarta – As confidence in the economy continues to rise, investors in Indonesia remain bullish about the stock market – already one of the world's best performing bourses – and still expect sharp gains ahead, says a survey.

The stock market's main index has risen by more than 70 percent so far this year, making it the best performing bourse in Asia.

Jakarta – The House of Representatives' two smallest parties – the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) and the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) – have pledged to keep the government in check.

Muhamad Al Azhari & Dian Ariffahmi – A new Trade Ministry regulation issued on Friday will allow alcoholic-beverage makers to supply their products directly to retailers without having to go through distributors, a move that the government hopes will help reduce costs for producers.

On a scale of one to 10, what would be a fair score for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla as they end their five-year term on Monday? We think the pair, and their Cabinet, deserve a mediocre six.

[My Friend the Fanatic: Travels with a Radical Islamist. By Sadanand Dhume. Reviewed by Ioannis Gatsiounis.]

Dicky Christanto and Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – The radical ideology that fueled the recent bombings in Indonesia has a firm rooting in the country's universities and sprouts largely from exclusive religious organizations, according to observers.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Febriamy Hutapea – Despite calls from some former lawmakers to stop the debate over the controversial deletion of a section identifying tobacco as an addictive substance from the newly endorsed health bill, some activists on Friday vowed to file complaints with law enforcement agencies

Jakarta – While President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has promised a more prominent role for women in his next Cabinet, one of his aides says it is still too early for women to hold more strategic posts.

Nurfika Osman – Women activists on Friday criticized Democratic Party's deputy chairman Achmad Mubarok for suggesting that women were not ready to take up strategic ministries in the next cabinet, saying such statement showed that politicians were willing to employ stereotyping to tighten their grip on power.

Anita Rachman – Four districts and a municipality in West Java have submitted reports estimating the total damage caused by the Sept. 30 West Sumatra earthquake at Rp 6 trillion.

The areas do not include the provincial capital, which alone is estimated to have caused damage totalling as much as Rp 6.5 trillion ($694 million).

Fidelis E. Satriastanti – The State Ministry for the Environment on Thursday released its annual list of ratings of 627 companies based on compliance with environmental regulations, and many state-owned enterprises were among the worst.

Jakarta – Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri now faces a bigger task than merely to determine her party's political stance, since her decision could mean she has to face her own husband, Taufik Kiemas.

Jakarta – A series of attacks on followers of the Ahmadiyah religious sect has once again drawn criticism, with an expert in religion and democracy urging the government to exercise its authority when there are violations of human rights.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – The effects of climate change could threaten national security as thousands of outermost and small islands serving as baselines for territorial borders are at risk from being swallowed up by rising sea levels.

Purbalingga – Half of all workers in Purbalingga regency in Central Java are not registered with the state social security company, PT Jamsostek, an executive said Wednesday.

Jakarta – Indonesia has indefinitely suspended the traffic of domestic helpers to Kuwait due to concern over widespread abuse and exploitation by their employers, the labour ministry said Thursday.

Aditya Suharmoko and Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – Economic ministers held their last meeting Wednesday and left plenty of homework for their successors, with unresolved problems ranging from boosting infrastructure, reform of the bureaucracy, to revitalizing the real sector.

Jakarta – The much-awaited presidential regulation on the takeover of military businesses drew criticism due to the lack of detailed information, raising concerns on whether the transfer process would be transparent and accountable.

A recent survey conducted on two islands in the Thousand Islands regency painted a bleak picture of poverty and neglect.

"The problem of malnutrition and anemia cases in these areas requires urgent action," Adi Sasongko from the Kusuma Buana foundation (YKB), an NGO that focuses on health and community building, said Tuesday.

Indraswari, Kuala Lumpur – On Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck West Sumatra, leading to massive destruction in the provincial capital Padang and surrounding areas. More than 800 people are confirmed dead and thousands missing.

Japanese porn star Maria Ozawa, better known as Miyabi, will not be arriving in Indonesia.

The decision to cancel her arrival was the result of a meeting between the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Maxima Productions in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Sidoarjo – About 100 mud flow victims from Besuki Timur village, Jabon district, Sidoarjo, East Java, staged a rally on Tuesday, blocking one of the alternative roads connecting Kalitengah village and the damaged toll road.

The victims demanded the Sidoarjo administration provide public facilities like schools, mosques, sport centers and cemeteries.

Luthfiana Mahmudah, Jember – Every month at the Jember administration-owned RSUD Dr. Soebandi Hospital, at least four children under five years old are treated for malnutrition, a health official said Tuesday.

Public relations officer Judi Nugroho said, as of the first week of this month, the hospital had treated at least 40 children suffering from malnutrition.

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Bank lending will grow at a slower pace than expected this year, but will accelerate next year as the economy recovers, says the central bank.

Lending may expand 17 percent next year, acting Bank Indonesia (BI) governor Darmin Nasution said Wednesday.

Jakarta – Some 200 Indonesian workers gathered peacefully in front of the worker's quarters of the YP Plantation Holdings in Rompin, Malaysia, on Wednesday to protest against attempts by certain groups to create tension between Malaysia and Indonesia, Antara has reported.

Hundreds of people buried by landslides in Indonesia two weeks ago have been registered as dead, raising the death toll from last month's earthquake to 1,115.

Disaster Management Agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono said Wednesday that the search for 300 missing people has ended and that they have been declared dead.

Anticorruption groups have asserted that the naming of two activists as suspects in a defamation case against the Attorney General's Office is simply a step to distract the public's attention from the rift between the nation's antigraft agency and the National Police.

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – Although not counting out the possibility of an independent team to probe the National Police chief of detectives, Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, the National Police Commission said Tuesday it needed to consult first with the police chief on what option to take on the case.

Jakarta – Activists have accused the National Police of intentionally burying major cases, particularly graft-related, under chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, saying they have criminalized graft fighters instead.

Sydney – About 260 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers detained in Indonesia have threatened to blow up their wooden boat if the navy forces them to disembark, an Australian report said on Wednesday.

A spokesman told The Australian newspaper that the group, which was stopped en route to Australia, would explode gas canisters and leap into the ocean to avoid being held in Indonesia.

Jakarta Police's Traffic Management Center has warned drivers that there may be traffic snarls in Jakarta on Wednesday due to several planned protests.

Luh De Suriyani – Thousands of people took part Monday evening in the Gema Perdamaian (Echo of Peace) at the Bajra Sandhi Monument in Renon, south Denpasar.

Nurfika Osman & Antara – A Central Java court on Tuesday threw out child abuse charges against self-proclaimed Islamic cleric Sheikh Puji over his marriage to a 12-year-old girl.

Dessy Sagita & Ulma Haryanto – About 16 million people are likely to lose their state health insurance, known as Jamkesmas, due to a reported decline in the number of people living below the poverty level, a senior minister said on Monday.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The government's plan to place the management of the military's cooperatives and foundations under the Ministry of Defense was criticized on Tuesday for not getting to the root of the problem.

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – Antigraft activists Emerson Yuntho and Ilian Deta Sari have been summoned for questioning by police in a libel case filed by the Attorney General's Office (AGO) earlier this year.