Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Military analysts Thursday blasted the military probe into an arms stash scandal as neither transparent nor credible, and urged the House of Representatives to launch an immediate inquiry into the case.

Agus Maryono, Purwokerto – Corruption is a deep-seated and pervasive problem that affects all levels of governance, from neighborhood level up.

The efforts of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other high-ranking officials, as well as police and prosecutors, to eradicate corruption within the government appear to have had little impact at neighborhood or village level.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Weeks after a lawmaker was dismissed for acting as a middleman in a government-funded haj dormitory project, seven lawmakers are accused of pressuring government officials in order to get disaster relief money for their regions.

The Coordinating Ministry for the People's Welfare disclosed the names of the lawmakers Wednesday.

Nothing has changed since John Howard's ill-judged and dangerous migration amendment bill was first introduced into the federal parliament in May to suggest it now deserves support.

Ridwan Max Sijabat and Tony Hotland, Jakarta – A military police investigation found the massive arms hoard of a deceased Army officer was for his personal collection and not politically linked, with the probe zeroing in on low-ranking servicemen and civilians suspected of supplying the weapons.

Jakarta – An Indonesian appeal court has ruled that a corruption case against former dictator Suharto should be dropped, overruling a lower court's order to reopen the case.

Gary LaMoshi, Bali – Another high season after another bomb attack, and another struggle to recover for Bali's tourism-driven economy.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Hundreds of residents of Cipanjalu village in Bandung regency, who have been struggling to survive since 90 percent of them lost their jobs three years ago, have turned down food aid, saying it is jobs they want.

Victor Tjahjadi, Jakarta – Two Indonesian teenagers are confirmed to have died of bird flu, making the nation the world's worst-hit in terms of human fatalities with 44 deaths recognised by the World Health Organisation.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Police arrested at least 15 students Monday during a protest against Israeli military aggression in Palestine and Lebanon in front of the Sate Building on Jl. Diponegoro in Bandung.

Despite sobering statistics about environmental degradation last year, the 2005 State of the Environment report also highlights some welcome news about the stratosphere above the archipelago and more findings of new species.

A grim illustration of the rapid degradation of Indonesia's environment is recorded in 2005 State of Environment, a document published recently by the Office of the State Minister of the Environment.

The report looks at disasters that have ravaged parts of the archipelago and the even greater threats posed by sanitation shortcomings and increased economic globalization.

Environmentalists have praised the government for issuing a transparent report on the state of the nation's environment, but have criticized it for failing to inform the public of the greater threats the environment is facing – weak regulations and the global economy.

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – More than two months after hot toxic mud began to gush out of a gas well in Sidoarjo, East Java, experts warn that no technology may be able to stop it.

They urged the government Monday to consider evacuating and relocating people and businesses in the affected area.

Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has urged the Finance Ministry to revoke the business licenses of a number of accounting and appraisal firms due to malpractice and misrepresentation.

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Critics are accusing the Indonesian media of encouraging intolerance by failing to cover issues thoroughly.

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – Tensions were running high Monday in Makassar, South Sulawesi, as dozens of university students held sometimes violent protests and threatened to expel ethnic Chinese from the city after a Chinese-Indonesian man was accused of attempting to rape his indigenous maid.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas-HAM) has asked the Central Jakarta District Court to use its authority to grill 12 soldiers, including two generals, over their alleged involvement in the disappearance of 14 pro-democracy activists between 1997 and 1998.

Jakarta – The House of Representatives speaker is refusing to submit the names of lawmakers accused of blackmailing government officials for disaster relief funds to the body's disciplinary committee.

Agung Laksono said he had received the names of the lawmakers from the Coordinating Ministry for the People's Welfare.

Windoro Adi – It was just like the good old days when on the afternoon of Friday July 28, RMH Heroe Syswanto NS Soerio Soebagio, who is affectionately called Sys NS, appeared once again in an event at a hotel in Jakarta. Smelling seat, looking fetching and escorted by a young woman, he still prefers to appear in the style of a celebrity even though it was a political affair.

Aside from the increasing threat of natural disasters as a consequence of environmental degradation, the 2005 State of the Environment report also warns of a looming crisis in public health, health experts and environmentalists say.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Governor Sutiyoso's plan to push ahead with massive land reclamation project along 32 kilometers of the city's northern coastline will cause an ecological and economic disaster, the state environment ministry and green activists say.

Jakarta – Indonesian deforestation has been so severe it would take 120 years to regain the 60 million hectares of lost forests, Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban says.

Kaban said in Padang, West Sumatra, on Saturday that 60 million hectares of pristine forests had been lost over the past 20 years due to over-exploitation, land conversion, natural disasters and forest fires.

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – The government should halt all resource exploration on the densely-populated island of Java, since it does not have adequate safety measures to mitigate mining-related accidents, environmental groups say.

Yogyakarta – A team of lawyers representing Yogyakarta earthquake victims plan to sue Vice President Jusuf Kalla for allegedly lying about the provision of relief aid.

Jakarta – Leaders of major religions came together Sunday in a united stance against Israeli attacks on Lebanon, with thousands bringing traffic to a standstill on main thoroughfares in Jakarta.

The rally and most of the ones held concurrently in Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Makassar and Medan were organized by the Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

Dave Hage, Jakarta – If you were an American president scanning the map for allies in the war on terror, sooner or later your finger would surely fall on Indonesia.

Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – Protesters from a wide ideological and religious spectrum demonstrated in cities across Indonesia on Sunday against Israeli actions in Lebanon, but a key rally in Jakarta drew far fewer participants than forecast.

Jakarta – Thousands of Indonesians have held street rallies to condemn Israel's offensive in the Middle East as the capital Jakarta braced for a major protest.

The demonstration in the capital of the world's most populous Muslim nation, dubbed the "action of millions of believers," was to march through the city centre and end up at the US embassy here.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – The passing of the consumer protection law seven years ago was lauded as a landmark step toward allowing public recourse against poor and negligent service.

Jakarta – The National Movement to Prevent Smoking Problems has asked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to stop the expansion of cigarette companies in the country.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – House Speaker Agung Laksono joined growing calls Thursday for the immediate review of production-sharing contracts granted to multinational corporations to ensure they provided optimal benefits to the state and public.

Jephraim P Gundzik – Indonesian government officials and foreign analysts are excessively optimistic about the country's medium-term economic outlook. Economic growth in 2005 was much weaker than indicated by Indonesia's questionable national-accounts statistics. In 2006, economic growth will struggle to reach 3%, while an economic recession appears likely in 2007.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Muslim scholars are questioning a recent survey that suggested there is a relationship between Islam and violence in Indonesia, saying the survey was not based on a true understanding of Islamic doctrines and of economic and cultural factors in the country.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The recent major disasters have not only forced the government to review this year's budget, but have also tempted legislators at the House of Representatives to try to dip into a pot of additional relief aid.

Zely Ariane, Jakarta – On Monday, 31st July 2006, Indonesian Solidarity to Palestine and Lebanon held a solidarity action to protest Israel and America's war against Palestine and Lebanon. There were at least 200 protesters rallied toward US Embassy in Jl. Merdeka Jakarta.

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Anticorruption activists are attacking the Supreme Court for what they call its strong resistance to internal judicial reforms being advocated by the independent Judicial Commission.

Max Lane, Jakarta – On July 23, 1500 people attended a rally at the National Library of Indonesia to publicly launch a new political party – the Preparatory Committee of the National Liberation Party of Unity (KP-Papernas) – for the 2009 Indonesian elections. Most of those attending were from poor districts in and around Jakarta. The majority were women.

Jakarta – Marlise Hutagalung, an employee of state-owned transportation company PPD, cried as she asked to meet the transportation minister and the state minister for state enterprises.

Jakarta – After two days of bad traffic jams in several areas and hundreds of stranded passengers, bus drivers succeeded Tuesday in winning eight months' worth of back salary from the government.

Seattle – Daniel Lev, a leading Indonesia scholar and longtime University of Washington professor, died Saturday following a battle with lung cancer. He was 72.

Officials and city councillors were angered by the sale of 49 percent of water company PT Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja)'s shares. Although the France-based company said the decision was made in an attempt to improve its management, many were skeptical. The Jakarta Post asked two activists their views on the matter.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – After one batch of lawmakers was spotted on a shopping spree in the Middle East, a second group of legislators is set to leave for Latin America later this week.

Rieka Rahadiana, Jakarta – The US Senate Appropriation Committee Bill is discussing an increase of foreign military financing proposed by the US Administration.

Jakarta – Hundreds of bus drivers from state-owned transportation company PPD went on strike Monday over nine months of unpaid salaries.

Jakarta – Economist Faisal Basri and former environment minister Sarwono Kusumaatmaja have both said they will firmly oppose any sharia-based ordinances in the capital city should they be elected governor in the 2007 election.

Jakarta – If Indonesia's economy was a jumbo jet, it would be flying on the single engine of exports at the moment, with the other engines of private consumption, investment and government spending having stalled out.

Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Jakarta – Muhidin, 34, a farmer from Dompu, West Nusa Tenggara, is in despair. The Dompu District Court recently sentenced him to seven months in prison for cultivating a piece of land in the So Ncadu Conservation Forest.

He was found to have violated the 1999 Law on Forestry by crossing into the conservation area to grow cashew trees.

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The government should end the bans on communism and Marxist-Leninism in the new Criminal Code because the restrictions are outdated and repressive, experts say.

Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, Jakarta – If one thought that regional elections would produce a more accurate map of the strengths and ideological leanings of political parties, think again!