Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The Indonesian government is being slammed for keeping the public in the dark about the spread of bird flu despite being aware of it since last November.

Researchers, poultry farmers and parliamentarians said the damage could have been curtailed if the government had admitted much earlier that the avian influenza was killing millions of chicken.

Rusman, Samarinda – A local non-governmental organization activist lashed out on Monday at the East Kalimantan provincial government for allocating a budget to build houses for council officials that far exceeds the market price.

Yogyakarta – Actions rejecting the 2004 general elections and calls to golput [white movement, not to mark the ballot paper] are becoming lively in Yogyakarta, Central Java. On Tuesday January 27, demonstrators from the People's Democratic Party (PRD) openly rejected the 2004 elections.

Karima Anjani, Jakarta – Indonesia's government came under fire from farmers on Monday over its handling of a bird flu outbreak that has killed millions of chickens, while officials saidtake days to determine if it is dangerous to humans.

Starting on Monday, the police will begin enforcing the extended three-in-one traffic policy, with offenders facing sentences of up to a month in jail and a fine of Rp 1 million (US$119). The city administration enacted the new policy to clear the way for the Trans-Jakarta busway, which will begin full operation on Feb. 1.

Sebastiaan Pompe, Jakarta – It is accepted theory that reliable law enforcement and legal certainty are critical for investment recovery. This has been a mantra of international donor organizations for almost a decade.

John McBeth, Jakarta – PT Freeport Indonesia has cut its 2004 sales forecasts by nearly one-third after a second landslide in three months forced it to reconfigure the slopes of its giant Grasberg mine in Indonesia's Papua province.

Rais Hidayat, Jakarta – The Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) is special because it is the only party representing the Protestant and Catholic minorities, which passed the selection by the General Election Commission (KPU).

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – All workers, whether in the formal or informal sectors, will receive a monthly pension upon retirement, according to the national social security system (NSSS) bill, provided that they have been participating in the national social security program for at least 15 years.

Jakarta – A young Islamic militant accused of involvement in last year's bombing of a US-run hotel in Indonesia told a court on Monday he had targeted Americans and regretted that all but one of those killed were his countrymen.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Hundreds of flood victims in Bahorok claimed on Saturday that the disbursement of aid from the government had been marked by irregularities.

Indra Hasyim, 41, one of the victims of the flash flood that swept through the area last year, said that the irregularities were first noticed in the list of people entitled to receive aid.

Irvan NR, Palu – At least two persons were killed, eight suffered stab wounds and 39 homes werethat erupted in Banggai regency, Central Sulawesi, following the alleged theft of a chicken, police and witnesses said on Sunday.

Hundreds of local residents fled their homes to the nearby jungle and other places of safety following the disturbances on Saturday.

Jakarta – President Megawati Soekarnoputri has signed Law No. 2/2004 on the settlement of labor disputes, which replaces Law. No. 22/1957.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said the President signed the law on Thursday, but that it would only take effect in January 2005.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The most detailed count of wild orang-utans in the past decade has found 50,000-60,000 of the great apes left on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo – twice as many as thought.

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – A large percentage of firms in large cities across the country are denying women their legal rights in the workplace, a survey by the Women's Journal Foundation (YJP) has found.

ID Nugroho and Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – Hundreds of workers are taking indefinite vacations after fire destroyed a petrochemical plant in Gresik, East Java, while police continued to probe the cause of the accident.

Yogyakarta – A senior minister said here on Saturday the General Elections Commission (KPU) had the authority to decide regarding indications of legislative candidates' involvement in the former Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Everywhere they go, leaders of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) find themselves repeatedly having to convince people of their friendly ideals for the country.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) vowed on Friday to report to police any political parties displaying logos or election numbers during public gatherings, saying that any violation of the election campaign regulations should be dealt with firmly.

Rais Hidayat, Jakarta – If there is something new in Indonesia's current political outlook, it is the persistent growth in influence of a new party that has virtually no roots in the country's political history: The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The Indonesia Military (TNI) pledged on Thursday to maintain its neutrality in this year's elections in accordance with its professed intention to get out of politics for good.

Jakarta – The Jakarta Police began a two-day training program on Wednesday for 90,000 city-employed community unit guards on how to handle possible disturbances at polling booths leading up to the general elections.

Djoko Tjiptono, Jakarta – The 2004 general elections will not be able to provide a solution to the various problems which are being faced by the Indonesian people. This is because in terms of the political parties' programs, the majority are rotten.

Ruslan Sangadji, Palu – Sectarian fighting erupted in Donggala regency, Central Sulawesi, leaving one person dead, two others seriously injured and four houses burned.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Thousands of fishermen from Tanjung Balai regency, North Sumatra, have gone on strike for five days in a protest against abductions by unidentified gunmen operating in waters off the eastern coast of Asahan.

They said on Friday that they would continue striking indefinitely until they felt it was safe to go fishing again.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) says it has found preliminary evidence of human rights violations by former president Soeharto during his 32-years of iron-fisted leadership, but has yet to decide whether or not to recommend prosecution.

Frans H. Winarta, Jakarta – Indonesians, and especially those of Chinese descent, have just celebrated Chinese New Year. Chinese-Indonesians who, for over 30 years during the New Order regime, were forced to celebrate this event behind closed doors, are now free once again to celebrate it publicly.

Defying common sense, the South Jakarta District Court chose to denominate the damages in US currency rather than rupiah in its verdict on Tuesday.

Yogyakarta – Muslim scholar and presidential hopeful Nurcholish Madjid held a closed-door meeting with Sultan Hamengkubuwono X late on Tuesday night.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting that lasted for almost five hours until early Wednesday, Nurcholish, or Cak Nur, as he is popularly known, said that there were a lot of ideas discussed during the meeting.

ID Nugroho and Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – Tuesday's devastating fire at a petrochemical plant in Gresik, East Java, in which two people were killed and more than 50 others injured, also appears to have caused serious environmental damage to neighboring areas.

Brooklyn, New York – The US Congress on Thursday restored a ban on International Military Education and Training (IMET) for Indonesia, just months after President George W Bush cited a "changed attitude" among legislators that would permit further military cooperation.

Jakarta – President Megawati Soekarnoputri joked about her age as she celebrated her birthday on Friday with hundreds of workers at the Jababeka industrial zone in Bekasi, West Java, some 40 kilometers east of Jakarta, as well as local university students and residents. "I have yet to turn 57. I am only 27 plus," she quipped.

Leony Aurora, Jakarta – The country's commercial banks are expected to see slower growth in time deposits and savings this year due to continuing declines in interest rates and other factors, according to a senior official of the central bank.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The United States had confidence this year's elections in Indonesia would run as safely, freely and fairly as the previous polls in 1999, Ambassador Ralph L. Boyce said this week.

Alan Sipress, Jakarta – An Indonesian court has handed down a record libel judgment against one of the country's most prominent newspapers, ordering Koran Tempo on Tuesday to pay $1 million in damages to an Indonesian businessman for reporting last year that he had planned to open a casino despite laws banning gambling.The case is one of a series of libel suits by businessmen, polit

Banjarmasin – President Megawati Soekarnoputri has warned all the governors not to slash the fund allocated for the forest and land rehabilitation program (RHL) in an attempt to prevent dry and parched land in Indonesia from expanding.

Slobodan Lekic, Jakarta – Indonesian generals, on the defensive since the ouster of the dictatorship they supported for 32 years, are becoming kingmakers again as the campaign for presidential and parliamentary elections heats up.

Shawn Donnan, Jakarta – Indonesia is planning to hire 1 million new civil servants over the next three years despite concerns expressed by foreign investors, donors and institutions such as the World Bank that it already has a bloated government bureaucracy.

Congress today restored a ban on International Military Education and Training (IMET) for Indonesia, just months after President Bush cited a "changed attitude" among legislators that would permit further military cooperation.

Medan – Indonesian prosecutors on Wednesday demanded prison terms ranging from four months to 30 months for 18 police officers allegedly involved in the killing of two students in 2000, officials said.

Jakarta – The United States has denied that it issued a travel ban against Gen. (ret) Wiranto, as was reported in The Washington Post.

A fire which destroyed an Indonesian petrochemical plant, killed two people and caused tens of millions of dollars in damage, officials said.

Police had earlier put the death toll as rising to four after the blaze at the Petro Widada complex in the town of Gresik in East Java.

Jakarta – Greenpeace is sending its flagship, the "Rainbow Warrior," on a campaign to stop illegal logging in Indonesia, the environmental pressure group said on Wednesday.

Jakarta – Indonesia's General Elections Commission (KPU) will open registration on Wednesday for international observers wishing to monitor the implementation of the general elections this year, the commission's deputy chief said.

Ramlan Surbakti said the KPU had already sent an invitation to all foreign embassies that wished to send observers.

Slamet Susanto and Ruslan Sangadji, Yogyakarta/Palu – Forty-two legislative candidates in Yogyakarta are believed to have been linked with the outlawed and now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), a poll official said on Tuesday.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – As Indonesia prepares for an April general election and its first-ever direct presidential election in July, the government is busy trying to establish policy credibility in the eyes of the market.

Indonesian police say they have found almost 30 bombs plus guns and ammunition in a district where Muslims and Christians have battled in recent years.

The bombs and weapons were found on cocoa plantations in the Poso district of Central Sulawesi on Monday, said Police Sergeant Major Pangeran.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The leading Koran Tempo daily yesterday lost the first of a series of legal battles against businessman Tomy Winata and was ordered to pay the powerful tycoon US$1 million (S$1.7 million) in a defamation suit.

Muklis Ali, Jakarta – Militant groups may be planning to disrupt Indonesian elections this year with attacks on political rallies, police said on Tuesday. Indonesia is due to hold parliamentary polls in April and its first direct presidential election in July. Campaigning will begin in March.

Jakarta – Indonesia's General Elections Commission (KPU) yesterday released lists of legislative candidates from 24 electoral contestants.

"Even though we are not required to publicize the lists of legislative candidates, the public is entitled to know them," chairman of the KPU's working committee for scrutinizing legislative candidates, Anas Urbaningrum, said yesterday.