Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) has threatened to delist 35 firms, including bluechip state-owned telecommunications company PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), from the stock market if they fail to submit their 2003 audited financial reports by mid-June.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – A purge has taken place in the top ranks of the Indonesian police force after a bloody clash last week between students and security forces in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

Abdul Khalik and Andi Hajramurni, Jakarta/Makassar – One high-ranking and eight low-ranking police officers will stand trial while over 30 others will face the police disciplinary committee for their involvement in Saturday's attack on university students in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi.

ID Nugroho, Surabaya – Child trafficking and violence against children remain a cause for concern in East Java, particularly in Surabaya and Malang, the two biggest cities in the province.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – The central bank announced on Wednesday a decline in the banking sector's non-performing loans (NPLs) in March, but warned of a rise in months to come.

Bank Indonesia deputy governor Maman Sumantri said in March, the NPL level (gross) stood at 7.8 percent compared to February's 8.2 percent.

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – Hundreds of local residents have cut down mangrove forests in 2,800 hectares of coastal land in Sungai Burung, Seputih subdistrict, Central Lampung regency, which belonged to aquaculture firm PT Central Pertiwi Bahari (CPB).

At least 833 residents occupied the land and constructed their own shrimp ponds there.

Robert Go, JaKarta – Mr Fektur claims he earns 20 million rupiah (about S$3,900) a month – a sum that firmly puts him in Indonesia's middle class.

All that the 24-year-old needs is a computer hooked up to the Internet for three to four hours a day so that he can collect information from chatrooms.

Khairul Ikhwan, Medan – Calls for President Megawati Sukarnoputri to sack Indonesian chief of police General Da'i Bachtiar have been raised again. [This time] the demands were made by two groups of demonstrators in an action held at the North Sumatra parliament on Jalan Imam Bonjol in the provincial capital of Medan on Wednesday May 5.

Fredolin Adhysa Pelupessy, Jakarta – On Wednesday May 5, demonstrators from a number of Islamic mass organisations went to the national parliament to demand the dismissal of Indonesian police chief Da'i Bachtiar.

Slamet Susanto and Rusman, Yogyakarta/Samarinda – Hundreds of students staged protests in Yogyakarta and Samarinda, East Kalimantan, on Tuesday to demand the government pay more attention to education in the country.

The impact of Indonesia's election has been widely debated, but little attention has been paid to the movements for change in the country. Green Left Weekly's Vanessa Hearman spoke to Gigih Guntoro, the general secretary of the Indonesian National Students' League for Democracy (LMND), during his recent tour of Australia, about what is happening.

Dean Yates, Jakarta – The United States is pleased Indonesian police have re-arrested militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir but Washington should not have to apologise for the controversy over its view of him, the US envoy to Jakarta said.

The country's exports increased by 3.43 percent in March to US$5.07 billion from $4.90 billion in February, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported on Tuesday.

The agency said that the increase was driven by higher exports of oil and gas commodities and non-oil and gas products.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Despite praise from the international community, the April 5 legislative election is unlikely to bring about significant political and social changes, a seminar concluded.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri has decided to team up with the leader of the country's largest Muslim organisation in a bid to boost her support base for the July presidential election.

The Golkar party of former dictator Suharto officially won Indonesia's parliamentary election but now faces a tougher battle for the presidency in July.

Golkar took 21.58 percent of the vote in the April 5 election compared to 18.53 for President Megawati Sukarnoputri's ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the national election commission announced.

Bogor – More than 230 mostly female staff laid off from the PT Sahabat Unggul Internasional textile factory staged a protest at the Bogor City Council on Tuesday about their dismissal.

The workers said management had dismissed them after a dispute about about employee insurance payments and allowances on April 23.

Makassar, Kompas – On Tuesday May 5, massive demonstrations and rallies by thousands of students from almost all schools of higher education in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar brought activities in the city to a stand still for the entire day.

Budi Hartadi, Surabaya – Scores of activists from the Indonesian National Student Movement (Gerakan Mahasiswa Nasional Indonesia, GMNI) in Surabaya, East Java, held a demonstration [on May 5] rejecting presidential candidates with a military background. They also called on the people to be on their guard against ex-military officers becoming involved in politics.

Fitri Wulandari, Jakarta – Foreign arrivals in the country hit a six-year high of 1.03 million in the first quarter of this year despite the introduction of a stricter immigration policy and security concerns due to the general election.

Jakarta – Twelve years after a law was passed forcing drivers to wear seat belts, police in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Wednesday began enforcing it.

"We are, starting today, enforcing the law that requires drivers and front-seat passengers to wear seat belts," said a national police spokesman, Zainuri Lubis.

Jakarta – Thousands of students across the country hit the streets on Tuesday to condemn a brutal police attack against university students over the weekend in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar.

Lawyers protesting at the arrest of terror suspect Abu Bakar Bashir have won support from several members of Indonesia's parliament.

The lawyers, accompanied by representatives from the Indonesian Muhjahedeen Council which Bashir heads and the Surakarta Muslim Youth Front, met members of a parliamentary commission.

Dian Intannia, Jakarta – Actions by police on the campus of the Indonesian Muslim University (UMI) in Makassar, South Sulawesi continue to attract protests.

Taufik Wijaya, Palembang – On Tuesday May 4, thousands of students from Palembang in South Sumatra held an action over the attack on the Indonesian Muslim University campus in the South Sumatra provincial capital of Makassar [in which scores of students were wounded by police on May 1]. They demanded that the Indonesian chief of police be sacked.

Ahmad Fikrij, Bandung – On Tuesday May 4, hundreds of students blockaded the intersection of Jalan Wastu Kencana and Jalan Taman Sari in Bandung, West Java. The demonstration was organised as a solidarity action over the violence against Indonesian Muslim University (UMI) students in Makassar, South Sulawesi, [when police stormed their campus on May 1.]

Budi Hartadi, Surabaya – Although the South Sulawesi chief of police has been dismissed, actions condemning police violence at the Indonesian Muslim University (UMI) in Makassar continue. In an action on Tuesday May 4, calls for Indonesian police chief Da'i Bachtiar to resign form his post continued to grow.

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – Police investigators named nine police personnel as suspects on Monday, following a brutal police attack on Saturday at the Indonesia Muslim University (UMI) that seriously injured 65 students.

Dadan Wijaksana, Singapore – Indonesia's pulp and paper industry still has plenty of room for improvement if it wants to be internationally competitive, according to a major player.

Martha Warta Silaban, Jakarta – Hundreds of students and elements from the social movements held a demonstration in front of the national police headquarters at 1pm on Tuesday May 4.

Jakarta – Indonesia's annualised inflation rate rose to 5.92 percent in April due to higher food prices compared to 5.11 percent in March, the Central Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.

The consumer price index (CPI) was up 0.97 percent month-on-month, said bureau deputy chairman Slamet Mukeno. He said all items in the index recorded price increases in April.

The police chief of Indonesia's Maluku province has been replaced following week-long Muslim-Christian battles in which 38 people died and hundreds of buildings were torched.

Brigadier General Bambang Sutrisno has been shifted to a new assignment at police headquarters in the capital Jakarta, national police spokesman Paiman announced on local radio.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – In marking World Press Freedom Day on Monday, a press organization noted that the press here is still regarded as "the enemy". Also, it noted that under martial law in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) was just as bad as the Indonesian Military (TNI) and police as regards intimidating the media.

M. Azis Tunny, Ambon – A meeting of Christian and Muslim leaders and National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar ended in disarray here on Monday, after conflicting parties failed to reach an agreement to cease the renewed clashes in Ambon, Maluku.

Jakarta/Medan/Surabaya – Thousands of workers across the country took to the streets on Saturday to demand the government revoke rules and regulations that fail to protect workers and their welfare.

Ilham M, Jakarta – The coordinator of the United Opposition Front (Barisan Oposisi Bersatu, BOB), Dita Indah Sari, says that the dismissal of the Makassar provincial police chief does not mean that the bloody Indonesian Muslim University (UMI) incident in South Sulawesi has been resolved.

Muhammad Fasabeni, Heru C.N., Jakarta – Hundreds of people from a number of organisations such as the Greater Jakarta Student Executive Council (BEM-Sejabotabek), the United Opposition Front (BOB), the National Student League for Democracy (LMND) and the People's Dem Party (PRD) held a demonstration in front of the faculty of medicine at the University of Indonesia in Salemba, Centr

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – The political fortunes of Indonesia's Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono are on a high as his soaring popularity has made him the favourite to win the presidency in July.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Presidential aspirant Amien Rais is fading into the background as his competitors step up their campaigns ahead of the July 5 election.

Ilham M., Jakarta – On May 3, 50 activists from the United Opposition Front (Barisan Oposisi Bersatu, BOB) held a free speech forum on the University of Indonesia (UI) campus in Salemba, Central Jakarta.

Devi Asmarani – It was a week before the April 5 election and a group of women was attending a workshop on political empowerment in Tentena, a charming highland in Central Sulawesi that has turned into a refugee town after religious conflicts in neighbouring Poso.

Nicholas Gilby and Richie Andrew – The Government says "our position on human rights is clear and unequivocal", and that it "does not want to see British-built military equipment contribute to human rights abuses or fuel conflict overseas".

Jakarta – Around 1,000 workers from scores of different organisations demonstrated in front of the national parliament in Jakarta on Saturday May 1. During the action, the workers shouted and listened to a series of speeches by a number of labour activists.

Istiqomatul Hayati, Jakarta – Thousands of workers came out into the streets to commemorate May Day on Saturday May 1. Demonstrators began gathering at three points in the city, at the parking lot of the Danamon Aetna building, the national parliament and the Hotel Indonesia roundabout then began linking up in front of the Radio Republic Indonesia radio station at 11.30am.

Indonesian police re-arrested radical Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir moments after he stepped free from prison and said he would be charged with the Bali bombings and other terror attacks.

Jakarta – Indonesia's Supreme Court yesterday rejected former president Abdurrahman Wahid's appeal for a judicial review of a health rule for candidates.

The decision dealt another blow to his hopes of making a comeback.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – City Governor Sutiyoso is under fire with groups lobbying to unseat him.

Even President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is after him and is blaming his controversial policies for the party's defeat in the capital city.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The ad hoc rights tribunal sentenced on Friday a retired general to 10 years in prison for committing gross human rights violations in the massacre 20 years ago, which killed, according to official accounts, at least 14 protesters and injured dozens of others.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – A sense of deja vu surrounded the astonishing news that an Indonesian court has once more declared a major foreign enterprise bankrupt, despite its healthy financial state.

Jakarta – US lawmaker who authored a bill freezing military ties with Indonesia following violence in East Timor in 1999 said Thursday an indicted general running for president should be brought to justice for his alleged role in that conflict.