Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – Children are full of wonders: even in a dilapidated classroom, the sound of their laughter and cheerful chatter fills the air and spills outside.

The children are third graders at Rancagong State Elementary School in Legok district, Tangerang. They played a guessing game while they waited for their teacher in the morning.

Malang – The Malang chapter of the All-Indonesia Workers Union Federation (KSPSI) has rejected a call from the federation's headquarters to launch a three-day strike.

Jakarta – Politicians and analysts have rebuked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for accusing his political rivals of orchestrating Wednesday's violent labor rally in Jakarta.

His comments showed the government was uneasy in handling labor affairs, they said Friday.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The labor movement, which evolved from communities of railway and plantation workers during Dutch colonialism, has enjoyed highs and suffered lows along with the changing administrations in the country.

Jakarta – Union leaders have called off a rally planned for Friday in Jakarta after a similar march Wednesday ended in violence, which they claim was instigated by outside parties seeking to sow chaos.

Indra Harsaputra, Banyuwangi – Ulemas organized a mass rally Thursday to demand Banyuwangi Regent Ratna Ani Lestari resign within 24 hours for allegedly blaspheming Islam.

The mortality rate for pneumonia among children under five remains high in the country because parents don't know how to quickly spot the killer disease, an expert says.

Pediatrician Mardjanis Said said that about 300 children under five died of pneumonia here every day; with it accounting for 41 out of every 1,000 infant deaths.

Jakarta – Poor students continue to be denied education because the government is not properly monitoring how schools spend their education budget allocations, consumer groups and activists say.

Jakarta – Every humiliating moment of that day is etched in Lilies Lindawati's memory. She still smarts at the indignity of being branded a prostitute as she stood before a jeering crowd in a "show trial" for Tangerang's new prostitution bylaw.

M. Azis Tunny, Ambon – Students rallied at the Maluku governor's office and the local prosecutor's office Wednesday to protest the alleged misappropriation of reconstruction and resettlement funds.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military (TNI) will for the first time take part in a joint military exercise with Thailand, the United States, Japan and Singapore in Konayo, Thailand, on May 15-26, 2006.

Jakarta – Three of five Corruption Court judges walked out of a bribery trial session Wednesday after the presiding judge refused to summon Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan.

The incident flared up when presiding judge Kresna Menon denied the prosecutor's request to change the trial agenda to include testimony from the chief justice.

Tangerang is firmly in the spotlight after the issuance of a controversial bylaw to eradicate prostitution in the municipality. It also issued another bylaw that bans liquor. Syafi'i Anwar, executive director of the International Centre for Islam and Pluralism (ICIP), shared his views with The Jakarta Post's Ridwan Max Sijabat on what is happening in the region.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The traditional view that most Indonesians live in rural areas will soon be turned upside down. Rapidly increasing urbanization and uncontrollable urban population growth will drive more and more of Indonesia's population into cities.

Two key US Senators recently criticized the Bush Administration's "premature" use of a waiver to allow weapons exports to Indonesia.

Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) expressed concern "that this waiver, unattached to any clear strategy or specific benchmarks, sends the wrong message to the Indonesian Government and to other countries."

Michael Vatikiotis, Singapore – Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who died in Jakarta on Sunday at the age of 81, never won the Nobel Prize for Literature that he was nominated for more than once toward the end of his life.

Jakarta – Hundreds of thousands of workers rallied in major cities and towns nationwide Monday, with revisions to the labor law their collective target of protest on International Workers Day.

Although the government relented to massive labor union pressure about changes to the 2003 law, workers fear their demands will eventually be pushed aside in a subsequent draft.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Multa Fidrus and Theresia Sufa, Jakarta/Tangerang/Bogor – It was dreaded by some and eagerly awaited by others, but the peaceful World Labor Day rally Monday surprised all, turning Jakarta into a sea of color despite the traffic snarls it caused.

Jakarta – Two Indonesian businessmen are on trial in Michigan, the United States, for attempting to illegally smuggle weapons into Indonesia. The company they were working for was a recognized weapons seller to the Indonesian Air Jakarta Post's Ridwan Max Sijabat and Tiarma Siboro issues behind the case.

Jakarta – Business in the North Sumatra capital Medan ground to a halt Monday, with many companies unable to operate as normal because their employees were taking part in rallies to mark International Labor Day.

Ridwan Max Sijabat – Workers have found shared causes for concern and a renewed sense of activism in rejecting proposed revisions to the 2003 Labor Law and hardships they say have been caused by the government's economic policy.

They also know they need to build stronger political bargaining power to fight for their rights.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The smoldering, bloody sectarian conflict in Maluku and ethnic warfare in Kalimantan may flare up again unless the government addresses injustices and lingering tensions, an expert says.

Jakarta – Acclaimed author Pramoedya Ananta Toer spent much of his life alone, in his solitary art, his years of imprisonment and also as an unyielding voice proclaiming what made the archipelago a nation today.

Michael Vatikiotis – I first met Pramoedya Ananta Toer when he was still restricted to a small house in a Jakarta suburb in the dying days of the Suharto regime that had first jailed him, then sent him into internal exile, and finally allowed him to live under 'city arrest'. There was an air of disarming humility about the man. He liked to smoke clove cigarettes, as did I.

Shawn Donnan – In recent years, the Indonesian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who died yesterday at age 81, came to be known as a chain-smoking curmudgeon and consistent critic of the corrupt legacies of the Suharto regime and western-style consumerism.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has joined calls by international press freedom groups for a thorough inquiry into the recent murder of an Indonesian journalist who was investigating corruption allegations against officials in East Java province.

Jakarta – East Java Police chief Brig. Gen. Herman Suryadi has issued a shoot-on-sight order for rioters following the massive wave of vandalism by disgruntled supporters of a candidate in the Tuban regental elections.

Tuban Police intensified their hunt for the masterminds of the violence, Herman said, with a curfew imposed for an indefinite period of time in the area.

Rini Kustiani, Jakarta – The Head of the Central Executive committee of the Voice of Human Rights News Center, Atmakusumah Astraatmadja, said that press freedom in Indonesia declined drastically in 2005.

Hasrul, Kendari – The chairman of a local Ahmadiya group says dozens of unidentified people have vandalized the Nur Rabwah mosque belonging to Ahmadiyah followers at Ranowila village, Konda district in the South Sulawesi regency of South Konawe.

Jakarta – Indonesia's most celebrated novelist Pramoedya Ananta Toer has died at the age of 81, his family said. Relatives said Pramoedya died at his East Jakarta home at 8.55 am Sunday.

Jane Perlez, Jakarta – Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who chronicledd Indonesia's battle for independence against the Dutch in a quartet of sharply drawn novels composed in prison, died Sunday at the family home here. He was 81.

Emmy Fitri, Jakarta – A week after a rally by cultural communities and artists to protest against the anti-pornography bill, activists and artists involved in the demonstration said they were being subjected to various forms of "intimidation".

Jakarta – When a labour scout visited 18-year-old Siti Mariam's Indonesian village offering her a job as a factory worker on the outskirts of Jakarta, she thought her prayers had been answered.

Jakarta – For the second time this month, hundreds of workers of Sogo department store protested the dismissal of their six colleagues.

The protest was held Thursday in front of the city manpower agency office, to push the city administration to force the company to go back on its decision.

Zakki Hakim, Wonosobo – One of Southeast Asia's most-wanted militants escaped a raid on his suspected hideout Saturday, but two of his accomplices were killed during an hour-long shootout, police said.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Malnutrition in the country is caused by more complex factors than just poverty, experts say.

Latifahsa, a volunteer at a Bogor community health service post, said one of her clients, Atikah, 25, a resident of Sukaraja district in the city, has a six-year-old child and 19-month toddler who have suffered from malnutrition.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – For those people who wonder why the sectarian conflict in Poso, Central Sulawesi remains smoldering, local Muslim and Christian peace activists have a theory.

Nana Rukmana, Cirebon – Thousands of contract employees in the Cirebon municipal administration and at state enterprises in the city are demanding action over their low salaries. The employees also have expressed anger that they had not received permanent worker status despite in some cases having been in their present positions for more than five years.

Jakarta – The House of Representatives should stop drafting the state secrecy bill because it will limit public access to important information and legitimize abuses of power, a coalition of human rights groups says.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Hard work still lies ahead for the government despite its expectations of higher growth this year on more investments, with official figures showing actual overseas investment slowing down and a decline in proposals during this year's first quarter.

Denpasar – After losing a grueling and sometimes violent Star Reform Party (PBR) leadership battle here over the weekend, a morose faction leader Zaenal Ma'arif now plans to resign from his post as deputy speaker at the House of Representatives.

Kerryn Williams – The Indonesian government withdrew its draft labour law revisions on April 8, pressured by a wave of workers' protests.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Since he was laid off several months ago, Maryadi, 48, has started to behave strangely, at least as far as his wife, children and neighbors are concerned.

Jakarta – State power utility PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) has reported a 2005 loss that is more than double that of the previous year after higher fuel prices increased its electricity generating costs.

Jakarta – The Business Competition Supervisory Agency (KPPU), the nation's official antimonopoly watchdog, has urged the government to stop granting new monopolies so as to ensure equal opportunities for all business players.

Jon Afrizal, Ujungjabung – Coastal erosion is continuing at a steady rate along the east coast of Sumatra, especially in East Tanjungjabung regency in Jambi, due to the destruction of mangrove forests.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Environment Forum (Walhi) plans to build a green political front as an alternative political force. The environmental political block will be based on popular and organised political forces.

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Mentawai Islands – The indigenous people of Mentawai Islands in West Sumatra have demanded that the central and local governments recognize their rights as an ethnic group, rights accorded to other ethnic groups across the country.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Academics and unionists have criticized the President's instruction to five universities to study the government's new labor legislation, calling the idea a waste of time.

M. Azis Tunny, Ambon – Despite tight security in Ambon city, supporters of the self-proclaimed South Maluku Republic (RMS) managed to hoist four of the separatist movement's flags in Maluku province.

The flags, three of which were found in capital city Ambon and another in West Seram regency, were hoisted without the police being alerted.