Batam (Riau) – About 650 docksiders working for two shipping companies in Batam protested outside the city council on Monday, demanding the firms pay them the meal, overtime and transportation allowances they were entitled to.

A group of twenty men and women who are victims of human rights violations in 1965 have called for the Commission on Truth and Reconciliation (KKR) to be disbanded until such time as there has been a proper historical account of the G30S/PKI. (G30S - September 30 Movement)

Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – The trouble with praise or accolades is that when you get too much, you get too high. And at the ongoing 61st session of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, Indonesia is getting plenty of praise, and deservedly so, one might argue.

Suherdjoko, Semarang – Businessman Soetrisno Bachir took over the National Mandate Party (PAN) leadership on Sunday from founding chairman Amien Rais, as the party seeks to modernize itself.

Some positive statements made by both sides ahead of the Aceh peace talks, which resume today, suggest a historic agreement may be in the making.

Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, Jakarta – Even before the new National Mandate Party (PAN) leader, Soetrisno Bachir, was elected in Semarang, Central Java, over the weekend, a close confidante of its charismatic outgoing leader Amien Rais, spoke ominously of the party's future.

ID Nugroho, Surabaya – Siti, a 50-year-old woman, is one of thousands of people living in modest rented houses in the village of Lebak Jaya in Kenjeran, Surabaya, East Java, situated near the factory walls of PT UBS.

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – The probe into the death of a noted human rights campaigner has suffered another setback, with top Garuda Indonesia officials denying any role in the case and giving conflicting statements regarding pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto's assignment letter.

Jakarta – Claims reported in The Jakarta Post that the New Zealand Green Party paid protesters to rally outside New Zealand's Parliament are an outrageous lie, the party's Co-Leader Rod Donald says.

Matthew Moore – As is usually the case with those watching him for the first time, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono left few people unimpressed. On just the third trip ever by an Indonesian president to Australia, Yudhoyono pushed every button he could to reassure his neighbours he knows how they think and understands their concerns.

Suherdjoko, Semarang – Violence marred the second day of the National Mandate Party's (PAN) national congress on Friday after a significant number of participants failed to obtain registration cards.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Since its establishment five years ago, the National Ombudsman Commission has experienced many dark moments in their offices, quite literally.

Jakarta – Sutinah and her husband, residents of Rawa Badak, North Jakarta, have to feed six children, not to mention her parents, who all live in the same house. Rundown and crammed with cheap plastic furniture, their 30-square-meter dwelling represents the family's difficult economic condition well.

Jakarta – The Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) is looking into allegations that the city administration has violated regulations on hypermarket development in the capital.

Jakarta – A new survey shows that the amount of poor people in the country was 66 percent higher than was earlier predicted. Why? It emerges that the country's poor couldn't afford to be counted in the last survey – because it was too expensive.

Puji Santoso, Kampar – New rounds of protests have broken out in Kampar regency on Thursday following a report that a minister had given his approval for ousted Kampar Regent Jefri Noer to resume office. The protesters came from two different camps; one group supporting the minister's decision, the other opposing it. Each group consisted of around 20 people.

Rendi A. Witular, Wellington – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono began his two-day visit on Wednesday to New Zealand aimed at boosting trade and regional security, amid two separatist protests against Indonesia that marred his arrival.

M.

Jakarta has denied visas to three commissioners appointed by the United Nations to review the justice process in Indonesia and East Timor. The three experts from Fiji, India and Japan were to review Timor war crimes prosecutions and assess why a 1999 Security Council Resolution to try those accused of war crimes failed.

Presenter/Interviewer: Bruce Hill

Green MPs Rod Donald and Nandor Tanczos welcomed Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono this afternoon with the flags of West Papua and Aceh, two "nations" Indonesia continues to occupy and oppress.

Indonesian authorities have named two more Garuda crew members as suspects in the case of the murdered human rights activist, Munir aboard a flight on the national airline last year. The two, who have not been arrested, are being questioned by police about the food served to Munir who died as a result of arsenic poisoning while travelling to Amsterdam.

Imagine you are playing soccer, then at half-time the game is switched to rugby. How many of the team will run back on and try to play by the same old rules? This is how the former Indonesian ambassador to Australia, Wiryono Sastrohandoyo, describes the abrupt end of authoritarian rule in Indonesia and the uneven transition since to democracy.

Andrew Burrell – John Howard gushes that he is an "impressive man" of "immense grace and character" who represents Indonesia's "future, not its past". If only Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Indonesian president who ended his two-day visit to Australia yesterday and pledged a "new era" in bilateral relations, were that easy to categorise.

Samarinda (East Kalimantan) – More than 50 print and television journalists gathered on Tuesday in front of Samarinda City Hall to protest an alleged assault on a Kaltim Post journalist by employees of the city's Sanitation and Gardening Agency.

The protesting journalists demanded that tough action be taken against those involved in assaulting Agus Susanto.

Reporter: Tanya Nolan

Tanya Nolan: The Australia-Indonesia relationship has been tense at best since East Timor's transition to independence.

Things have improved slightly since the Boxing Day tsunami and the Nias earthquake, which has seen Australia commit money, aid and resources to help the country rebuild.

Separatist leaders from the Indonesian province of West Papua say they are not troubled by Australian Prime Minister John Howard's latest statement that Australia will recognise the territorial integrity of Indonesia. Mr Howard reiterated the policy on Monday as part of a joint declaration on partnership with the visiting Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Critics of the military are worried that the government's proposal to increase the defense budget this year would be used to expand the Army's much-criticized territorial function.

This week Prime Minister Helen Clark will meet with the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The Indonesia Human Rights Committee has urged the Prime Minister to take the opportunity to reaffirm that New Zealand will maintain the ban on military ties, which was imposed in 1999.

Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
President Republic of Indonesia

Via Facsimile: +62 21 3452685/5268726/3457782

Dear President Yudhoyono,

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono hailed a "new era" of relations with Australia here as a spate of shared tragedies brought the once-rival neighboring nations closer together.

Following talks with Prime Minister John Howard, Yudhoyono announced that he would press his fellow Southeast Asian leaders to accept Australia into Asian-bloc talks later this year.

Jakarta – The government has called on local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to obey the laws governing the establishment of such groups, and has asked foreign NGOs to obtain official permission to carry out work in the country.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Poor Jakarta residents cannot look forward to improved access to affordable health care after the central government decided to exclude the capital from a subsidized health care program.

Richel Dursin, Jakarta – Campaigners against smoking are pressuring the Indonesian government to embrace an international anti-tobacco treaty and warn that if it fails to do so the country could fast become the "ashtray of Asia".

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The city police have received over 100 reports of bomb threats since the Australian embassy bombing that killed 10 people last September, an officer has said.

Zakki P. Hakim, Jakarta – Indonesia and the United States met and revived bilateral talks on trade and investment here on Friday – a move that could lead to free trade negotiations between the two countries.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Human rights activists criticized on Friday the Indonesian Military (TNI)'s recent promotion of senior Army officers close to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and several allegedly linked to human rights violations. They said the promotions were a setback to TNI's reform efforts.

Jambi – Dozens of students claiming to be from the United Regional Students Movement have urged the Jambi administration to investigate the ownership of two luxury cars still being used by former Jambi governor Zulkifli Nurdin.

John Roberts – Despite its limited character, the official investigation into the murder of Indonesian human rights activist Munir Said Thalib last year has exposed evidence indicating a high-level conspiracy in what has all the hallmarks of a politically-motivated assassination.

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – The Dutch parliament on Thursday pledged to push its government to closely observe the ongoing investigation of the murder of prominent Indonesian human rights activist Munir.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Dwi Atmanta, Denpasar – It was a Hollywood film type of happy ending for most of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) members attending its second national congress here, which concluded on Thursday night.

ID Nugroho, Surabaya – Lina's nimble hands, as if programed, were busy packing a stack of hand-rolled cigarettes, her left hand positioning a piece of paper between a wooden device for the soft pack of the Dji Sam Soe kretek cigarettes and her right hand feeding the cigarettes horizontally into the pack.

Jakarta – Activists here criticized the media for contributing to the tension between Indonesia and Malaysia over the disputed Ambalat offshore oil block in the Sulawesi Sea.

The Indonesian media failed to promote peace in its coverage of a dispute that prompted the two neighboring counties to deploy warships to the disputed maritime area, the activists said.

Seattle – Evidence has emerged that Tuesday's massive earthquake off Indonesia generated a significant tsunami.

American scientists who arrived on the scene yesterday said a tsunami estimated at almost half the size of the one that struck Thailand on December 26 hit some areas along the north-west coast of Sumatra.

Louise Williams – A proposed new security treaty between Australia and Indonesia is likely to face political sniping in Jakarta, despite the goodwill generated by Australia's response to the Boxing Day tsunami and this week's earthquake.

M. Taufiqurrahman and Dwi Atmanta, Denpasar – Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) leader Megawati Soekarnoputri was unanimously reelected for another five-year term on Thursday, two days before the party's national congress was scheduled to close in Bali.

Jambi – The Jambi provincial police have named 25 people as suspects for their alleged involvement in illegal logging in the province. They were arrested during a number of police operations in three regencies of Jambi this month, said Jambi Provincial Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Djoko Turrochman on Thursday.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Judges at the South Jakarta District Court have jailed a swindler for life for his part in the embezzlement of Rp1.2 trillion (US$126 million) from state-controlled Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI).

Jambi – Sixteen small parties are eyeing the possibility of a coalition after a Constitutional Court ruling allowing small parties to nominate their own candidates during the direct election of local government chief executives.

Jakarta – The Central Jakarta District Court threw out on Wednesday a civil lawsuit filed by youth organization Pemuda Panca Marga (PPM) against Tempo magazine, ruling that the suit was "not grounded in law".

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – While the Jakarta Council is still considering the idea of legalizing prostitution and gambling as suggested by former governor Ali Sadikin, a hand grenade exploded at the Boker prostitution complex in Ciracas, East Jakarta, late on Tuesday.