Michael Casey – Thousands of protesters across Indonesia marked the seventh anniversary of the fall of former dictator Suharto on Saturday by burning his portrait and demanding his prosecution on corruption charges.

Indonesian State Minister for Research and Technology Kusmayanto Kadiman said on Friday that the government would develop nuclear technology by 2017 for various peaceful purposes, including power generation. Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world.

It is now seven years since General Suharto was forced to resign on 21 May 1998, following a wave of student demonstrations across the country, bringing to an end the bloodiest era in Indonesia's modern history.

Anthony Paul – At first glance, the latest news from Aceh seems promising: On Wednesday, Jakarta lifted the state of emergency declared a year ago, when the army stepped up its campaign against militant separatists. Peace talks between the government and GAM, the separatist movement, will continue.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – A team hunting the killers of Indonesia's leading human rights activist says the country's main intelligence agency was in close contact with the chief suspect.

Jakarta – The Fact Finding Team (TPF) in the case of the death of rights activist Munir believes that the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) is being uncooperative in solving the case. In conducting their duties, BIN has behaved in such way as to make it difficult for the team that was formed by a presidential decree.

Jakarta – Seven, for some, is a lucky number. Seven years since the reform movement kicked off a new era of democracy, the nation has only seen a tiny spark of hope, but many problems remain, activists say.

Jakarta – State Minister of State Enterprises Sugiharto finally disclosed on Thursday 16 state enterprises allegedly riddled with corruption, following demands from lawmakers who wanted to make the allegation widely known.

Jakarta – The government's plan to provide free education for elementary and secondary school students must be a long-term policy and not a short-term move to counter political pressure, activists say.

M. Azis Tunny and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Ambon/Denpasar – Two of the eight people who attacked a police post on Monday on Seram island were active police personnel, a top officer in Maluku said on Thursday. Seven people, including five police officers and one of the attackers, died in the incident.

Riyadi Suparno, Jakarta – After more than a week of assessment, the International Monetary Fund has praised Indonesia's overall economic performance and the policy directions pursued by the government and the central bank, but has sounded warnings over a number of challenges, especially the likely increase in inflation this year.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – As the expiry date of the contract between the city administration and PT Jakarta Monorail draws near without agreement, transportation activists are calling for an end to the agreement, arguing the project is simply not feasible.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The fact-finding team tasked to assist the investigation into the death by poisoning of Munir Thalib Said revealed incriminating evidence of the involvement of the State Intelligence Body (BIN) in the case, saying the main suspect in the murder kept in touch with a top BIN official after the rights activist died.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono approved on Wednesday a proposal for an increase in the country's military spending this year despite earlier opposition amid concern over the widening state budget deficit.

Jakarta – The Central Jakarta District Court ruled on Wednesday that former members of the now-outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) could proceed with a class-action lawsuit against the President.

Meidyatama Suryodiningrat – This goes beyond a simple case of an "oddball" preacher in Malang leading prayers in Arabic and Bahasa Indonesia. The controversy over the preacher from East Java performing prayers in two languages is, unwittingly, part of the growing enlightenment that rejects the traditional dogma of state-sponsored religion.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Two former military operations chiefs in Aceh received strategic posts in the latest military reshuffle, which affected several other high-ranking officers overseeing security in other provinces.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The House of Representatives is well on its way to failing in its lawmaking function, with zero laws passed and only a few bills drafted since its 550 members took office in October.

Jakarta – More witnesses and suspects have blamed General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin for corruption at the national election organizer, making it more difficult for him to shrug off allegations over his role in the high-profile case.

Jakarta – A splinter group of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) filed a police report against party leader Megawati Soekarnoputri on Monday for her dismissal of 12 PDI-P members opposed to her leadership.

Ambon, Jakarta – Seven people, including five police officers, died during a predawn attack by unidentified gunmen in troubled Maluku province on Monday.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Fewer labor strikes were recorded during the first quarter of this year, indicating that businesspeople and workers might be beginning to better understand their obligations under labor regulations, a report said.

Jakarta – The draft revision of the Criminal Code has sparked new concerns about gender questions, specifically with regard to female and morality issues, a scholar said.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – General Elections Commission (KPU) chief Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin was once again dealt a body blow on Monday that should make it harder for him to prove his innocence as another senior KPU official corroborated his role in alleged massive graft at the commission.

Bandar Lampung – Hundreds of journalists and activists rallied here on Monday to protest the use of Criminal Code to imprison two local tabloid editors for defamation recently.

Jakarta – Dubbed a country undergoing the transition to democracy, Indonesia still appears unable to make a clean break with the old perceptions that consider the ruler and symbols of the state sacrosanct.

Normalcy is a luxury for most Acehnese. Their province has practically been in a perpetual state of war for as long as most people can remember. War after war has been waged and fought between the Indonesian Military and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), with the civilian population caught squarely in the middle.

Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – The ongoing corruption investigation into the General Election Commission (KPU) centers more on who among its members got how much money. Naturally, the focus is on the men and women on the commission because they were picked for their clean reputation and track records.

Tiarma Siboro and Hera Diani, Jakarta – A group of human rights activists and victims have published a book aimed at remembering the victims and recalling the terror that stalked Jakarta during the 1998 May riots, one of the most traumatic of the long list of events that have colored Indonesia's history since independence.

Jakarta – What could be more ironic than being opposed by fellow women when one intends to defend women's rights in matrimony?

Jakarta – While many Indonesian businessmen wanted for graft find refuge in Singapore, the city state is a place of grief for some Indonesian migrant workers, a study says.

Indonesia's high court has upheld a 2 1/2 year prison sentence for accused terror chief Abu Bakar Bashir for conspiracy in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings, a court official said.

Merle Ricklefs – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has just announced a new Coordinating Team for Corruption Eradication consisting of 51 prosecutors, police and financial officers.

Jakarta – State Minister for State-Owned Enterprises Sugiharto said that Indonesian government has planned to increase its budget for Indonesian Military (TNI).

Jayapura – A number of political parties in Papua have established a tariff for anyone wishing to nominate themselves as a regent, deputy-regent, mayor or deputy-mayor. The provision is an internal party matter so the amount of the tariff will vary, as there are no precise regulations on the illegal collection of money by political parties.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Noting a staggering Rp 8.82 trillion (US$929.32 million) missing from the 2003 state budget, the House of Representatives is likely to order the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) to carry out an investigative audit in hopes of clarifying the use of the funds.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is facing demands to step up security in Indonesia's eastern island chain, the Malukus, or the "Spice Islands" to romantics, amid concerns that a nationwide terror operation may be in place.

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Padang – A coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGO) has supported the Mentawai regent's decision to revoke 17 licenses for the right to undertake and profit from logging in forests on the Mentawai islands, West Sumatra.

Jakarta – Confronting the fact that illiteracy in women is two times higher than that in men, the Office of the State Minister for Women's Empowerment, the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Home Affairs signed on Thursday a joint decree spelling out their commitment to halving the rate by 2009.

Environmental agencies say the government crackdown on illegal logging in Indonesia's Papua province has failed to catch those behind the lucrative trade.

In a press statement, the Environmental Investigation Agency and its local anti-logging partner, Telapak, say while the crackdown has cut shipments to China and arrested 173 suspects, none were influential figures.

Kornelius Purba – My hands were clasped at waist level in a submissive, defensive posture, as one of Soeharto's most feared aides told me in a hotel in Cairo that Soeharto was very angry with me for misquoting the then-president in saying that he was ready to end his 32-year tenure. "It's not my fault Pak," I said desperately, trembling.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – As the Jakarta administration completes construction of two new busway corridors this year, a non-governmental organization is warning about flaws that could undermine the operation of the corridors, including the failure to integrate the Senen railway station into the system.

Jakarta – The government must continue strengthening Indonesia's economic fundamentals if it wants to sustain average economic growth of 5 percent per year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says.

John McBeth, Jakarta – Indonesia's newly-fashioned strategic relationships with China and Australia stem from its political and economic weakness, says Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono.

Nethy Dharma Somba and Sjofiardi Bachyul, Jayapura/Padang – A Papuan scholar criticized on Thursday the Indonesian military's (TNI) decision to allow its personnel to become candidates for political office in the upcoming regional elections, saying that it could undermine democracy.

Jakarta – Rigid labor contracts are needed to protect up to 3.7 million Indonesian domestic workers, including some two million employed overseas, who are locked up, or exposed, to forced labor, a seminar has concluded.

Bogor – Representatives of about 6,000 workers of textile producer PT Great River Indonesia staged a rally at the Bogor Council on Wednesday, demanding that councillors force the company to reemploy their colleagues.

"We will continue the strike until we reach an agreement with the company," a worker, Martanto, said.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – The parents of four Trisakti University students shot dead during a protest in May 1998 said on Wednesday that they had lost faith in the government's resolve to punish those responsible, but vowed to continue fighting for justice.

Jakarta – As Soeharto left hospital on Wednesday after seven days of treatment for intestinal bleeding, the government has been urged to bring the former dictator to justice rather than granting him a possible amnesty for the alleged abuses he committed during his 32-year rule.

Hera Diani and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – As the May 1998 riots remain unfinished business amid four administrations and two independent investigations, activists say that the ball is now in the House of Representatives' court.