Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – Indonesians on Borneo island voted in landmark elections on Wednesday, choosing local leaders for the first time in a process that symbolises the final devolution of authority from the once all-powerful central government.

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – Non-government organisation (NGO) activists have condemned the former chief of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) AM Hendropriyono's attack on the Munir Fact Finding Team (TPF). They believe that Hendropriyono is only seeking to sensationalise the issue and distract public attention from the case.

Palu, Jakarta – Central Sulawesi Police announced on Tuesday that the bombings in the Christian town of Tentena that killed 21 people on Saturday were not carried out by suicide bombers.

There are now suspicions that the attack was aimed at diverting attention from a corruption scandal in Poso regency, Central Sulawesi.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Opposition bloc in the House of Representatives was dealt a major blow as the legislative body voted on Tuesday against creating two special committees to inquire into the government's controversial fuel price hike policy and the auctioning of illegal sugar.

Tony Hotland and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Gen. (ret) A.M. Hendropriyono has further displayed his aversion to a fact-finding team set up by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to probe the death of human rights activist Munir, and equivocated as to whether he would fulfill a summons from the team.

Washington DC – The eradication of acts of corruption in Indonesia continued to be the main topic on the agenda during the visit by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to the USA.

Dean Yates – Indonesia's intelligence and police services came under criticism on Tuesday after twin bomb attacks in a Christian town over the weekend, with some calls for the sacking of the police chief.

Indonesian police say they suspect a gang of agitators behind a string of attacks across sectarian violence-hit eastern islands may be responsible for a weekend bombing that killed 21 people.

Jakarta – A number of non-government organisations (NGOs) are asking police to investigate the relationship between the recent bombing in Poso, Central Sulawesi, and indications of corruption of humanitarian aid for Poso refugees.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Factions in the City Council Monday have given a thumbs-down to Governor Sutiyoso's accountability speech, saying that his administration had failed to reach its 2004 targets and that it was trying to cover up its failures.

Bandar Lampung – Ten police officers were apprehended by Lampung Police's crime and security team in a raid on a drug party at a cafe in Tulusrejo village, Pekalongan district in East Lampung on Monday.

Jakarta – The government campaign for the use of unleaded gasoline nationwide is facing a major obstacle as state oil and gas company Pertamina says the program targets are currently beyond its capacity.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Economic, religious and racial discrimination and cronyism are widespread in Jakarta's public service at the subdistrict level, a new survey says.

A report from the Indonesian Institute for Civil Society (INCIS) also shows that residents here doubt if Governor Sutiyoso has the ability to stop corruption at the local level.

Yuliawati, Jakarta – The former chief of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), A.M. Hendropriyono has lodged a complaint against the Fact Finding Team (TPF) in the Munir case with the People's Representative Assembly (DPR). He is questioning the work of the TPF which was formed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Whether the work of shadowy Islamic extremists from outside the region or local agitants, a deadly bombing on Indonesia's Sulawesi will unravel months of painstaking effort to reconcile warring Christians and Muslims on the island, community leaders say.

Jakarta – The former chief of State Intelligence Body (BIN) Gen. (ret) A.M. Hendropriyono has reported two members of a fact-finding team probing the murder of human rights activist Munir to police for defamation.

Michael Casey – Former President Clinton said Monday he favored easing restrictions on sales of military equipment to Indonesia, maintaining that America should do all it can to help it rebuild after the tsunami.

Sunariah, Jakarta – Two members of the Fact Finding Team (TPF), Rachland Nasidik and Usman Hamid say they regret the actions of the former chief of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), Hendropriyono, who has lodged a complaint against the team with the police on the grounds that they have besmirched his good name.

Dita Indah Sari, Jakarta – The debate over the pros and cons of the fuel price increase has begun to become dreary. Even though in many regions voices of opposition can still be heard, the peak of the debate has already passed.

Jakarta – The National Awakening Party (PKB) is veering away from internal reconciliation as a group of Muslim clerics who helped found the party demanded on Sunday a new congress to elect legitimate leaders.

Ahmad Dani, Jakarta – The National Intelligence Agency (BIN) doesn't need to get into a panic over recent developments in the investigation into Munir's death because it is still uncertain whether BIN is involved in the death of the human rights activist.

Police forensic experts picked through the debris after two bombs ripped through a market in the Christian dominated town of Tentena, killing at least 20 people and leaving dismembered bodies laying amid piles of onions and tropical fruit.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government-sanctioned fact-finding team (TPF) tasked with assisting police in probing the murder of human rights campaigner Munir is complaining that the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) remains uncooperative in the inquiry.

Matthew Moore – A banana, some pawpaw, five slices of white bread and half bowl of vegetables is the daily ration that is supposed to sustain about 20 Westerners like Schapelle Corby serving time in Bali's Kerobokan jail.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – In order to ensure regional autonomy, the government has been urged to amend the law on regional administrations, which still places governors, mayors and regents as subordinates of the central government.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – After seven years, the reported rapes of more than 60 women, mostly Chinese-Indonesians, during the riots in May 1998 remain unresolved.

Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta – A senior police officer was sentenced to 20 months in prison on Thursday for destroying evidence in the murder case of journalist Muhammad Syarifudin, but justice still has not been done as the main perpetrators in the case have still not been identified.

The United States has lifted a ban on the government sale of non-lethal defense equipment to Indonesia as part of a step-by-step process to restore full military ties frozen due to human rights abuses, the State Department announced.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Smita Notosusanto may be petite physically, but it seems she has not lost the energy to articulate the need for reform of the country's electoral system.

Maybe that is a reason why she has been branded a crusader for reform of the electoral system in Indonesia.

Iman Dwianto Nugroho, Surabaya – A loud ring breaks the silence, and in a rush Budi S. quickly picks up his phone. As he reads the incoming short message, he quickly becomes worried.

One of the members of the campaign team for a candidate running in the upcoming elections of regional heads in Surabaya had just received what he claimed was veiled threat.

It has been nine months since the murder of rights activist Munir in September and the government appointed fact-finding team is scheduled to end its investigation next month.

The Jakarta Post's Ati Nurbaiti talked to Munir's widow Suciwati, as she prepares to go abroad next month to speak about her husband's case. Below are excerpts of the interview:

Michael A. Fletcher – President Bush said yesterday that it makes sense for the United States to maintain close military ties with Indonesia, despite the objections of human rights activists who say such coordination should be withheld until Indonesia does more to address human rights abuses by its military.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – A former aide to Indonesia's pro-business President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono took over the reins of Indonesia's powerful Investment Coordination Board (BKPM) last week, at a time when it was officially confirmed that investment approvals in Southeast Asia's largest economy had almost doubled in the first four months of this year.

It has been seven years since Soeharto stepped down as president on May 21, 1998, after 32 years in office. The former president remains "untouchable" despite allegations of human rights abuses and corruption during his reign.

The Jakarta Post's Tony Hotland interviewed political scientist Mochtar Pabottingi about Soeharto. The following is an excerpt of that interview:

Jakarta – More than 2,000 Indonesian workers have staged a strike in a garment factory that produces famous US designer brands to protest ill-treatment and unpaid overtime fees, a labor activist said.

At least 2,500 workers of Katexindo Citra Mandiri, have been on strike since May 14, said Dita Indah Sari of the National Front for Indonesian Workers Struggle group.

The World Bank exposed corruption in the implementation of a 203,000 dollar poverty-busting grant in Indonesia, saying it has blacklisted five individuals and two firms in the scandal.

"The Bank found evidence of misrepresentation of bona fides, bid collusion and kickbacks," it said in a statement.

M. Azis Tunny, Ambon – Fresh clashes have erupted in West Maluku Tenggara regency, Maluku on Friday, killing three people and injuring 51 others, police said on Monday.

Jakarta – A persistently high unemployment rate and the problem of chronic graft in the bureaucracy leading to a high cost economy are overshadowing the current administration's successes in maintaining macroeconomic stability, a government report shows.

Margie Mason – Big tears stream down Siti Fauziah's cheeks as she snuggles her doll and buries her face into her mother's shoulder. She's lost her balance and fallen again, as the 4 1/2-year-old learns what it means to live with polio.

Dozens of Indonesian students have burned a picture of ex-dictator Suharto in a rally to mark the seventh anniversary of his fall after 32 years of iron-fisted rule.

But the rally by students from the state University of Indonesia was a far cry from the tens of thousands of students who stormed the parliament complex seven years ago to celebrate Suharto's resignation.

Jakarta – "History speaks for itself." This was the response a mother of a victim killed during the 1998 Trisakti shooting in West Jakarta gave when asked about the zero law enforcement against the killers.

Jakarta – Thousands of Indonesian Muslims staged rally outside the US embassy in Jakarta on Sunday, condemning the alleged desecration of the Muslim holy book Koran by American soldiers at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Recently disclosed alleged irregularities at 16 state enterprises may have caused more than Rp 2.7 trillion (about US$287 million) in state losses, a report from the Office of the State Minister for State Enterprises says.

Fedhly Averouss Bey, Jakarta – Whoever it was who took Munir's life has yet to be uncovered and police are still investigating it. In order that the case gets more serious attention, it will be taken to the 75th session of the United Nations Working Group.

Salim Osman, Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono hopes to persuade United States legislators to end a ban on selling military equipment to Indonesia on his first trip to Washington this week.

The embargo was imposed in 1991 because of the country's 'poor human rights record'.

Jakarta – About two-thirds of the nation's wood-based industry has collapsed, with a "high cost economy" and aging machinery making them uncompetitive against more efficient economies such as China and Malaysia, said Indonesian Forestry Society (MPI).

Wimar Witoelar, Jakarta – Time stood still for a moment on the morning of May 21, 1998. Millions of hearts skipped a beat upon hearing the announcement on television. President Soeharto was stepping down from power. Disbelief was followed by amazement as pictures appeared of a hastily conducted ceremony at Merdeka Palace.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – The Jakarta administration's plan to build more toll roads connecting busy areas might be seen as a good idea to some people, but transportation experts believe they could cause greater congestion.

Ambon – Residents from the Batumerah subdistrict blocked a main street in Ambon city from Friday night to Saturday morning to protest police detentions of several locals.

Michael Casey, Jakarta – Thousands of protesters across Indonesia marked the seventh anniversary of the fall of former dictator Suharto yesterday by burning his portrait and demanding his prosecution on corruption charges. During his 32 years in power, Suharto muzzled the media, rigged elections and reportedly stole $600 million from state coffers.