Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Indonesia and Malaysia pledged on Friday to use all means possible to defuse tensions, including some "adjustments" to prevent armed conflict, and have agreed on talks to end the border dispute over the Ambalat offshore oil field in the Sulawesi Sea.

Wahyuana, Bekasi – At least 100 residents of the Pasar Kecapi and Jatiwarna subdistricts in Pondok Melati, Bekasi, protested against the Jakarta Outer Ring Road (JORR) project on Thursday after they failed to reach an agreement about land prices.

The protesters burned tires and tore down some construction work along the Hamkam Raya-Jatiasih section.

Yogyakarta – Despite being known as the city of education, the number of children dropping out from elementary schools in Yogyakarta province is high.

Recent data published by the provincial education office shows that as many as 604 of some 300,000 elementary schoolchildren dropped out during 2004, both from private and state schools.

Now that the tsunami relief money for Aceh is on the table, there is a tussle looming over how to spend it. The rosy bilateral glow of January – when Australia made its $1 billion pledge – was always going to dim when it came to the much tougher task of hammering out the details.

Dan Robinson, Washington – US lawmakers have been considering the future of democracy in Indonesia. At a congressional hearing, US officials advocated continuing support for Indonesian democratization, while some lawmakers criticized the planned resumption of US military training aid to Jakarta:

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Conservative religious understanding and cultural elements have hampered the development of the political role of women here, the Women's Research Institute (WRI) revealed on Thursday.

Following are statements made by two former US Diplomats to a congressional hearing on the future of US relations with Indonesia.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been urged to summon Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh over an Army general's acquittal of human rights violations in the 1999 East Timor carnage.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – While the pace of reform of the tax system to prevent corruption is not yet in full swing, the government has revived a controversial idea for providing a tax amnesty for certain tax evaders.

Joseph Nevins – When I saw Paul Wolfowitz's smug grin in the January 17 issue of The New York Times, trouble was clearly on the horizon. The photo showed him in tsunami-stricken Indonesia, accompanying the country's defense minister, Juwono Sudarsono. His visit was under the guise of humanitarianism.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The recent dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia over territory and resources has rung alarm bells for the Indonesian military (TNI) to immediately increase spending to modernize its tattered war machines.

Yuliawati, Jakarta – The Malaysian government has made complaints regarding demonstrations by Indonesians in front of the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta.

The Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia said he hoped that the demonstrations would not get out of hand and lead to any form of anarchy.

Jakarta – Around 50 percent of first echelon government officials are facing imminent reshuffle due to their poor performance, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said.

Kalla told The Jakarta Post in a special interview on Wednesday that the preparations for the reshuffle would take two or three months to complete.

Bandung – At least 15 students in Bandung have begun a hunger strike on Wednesday, as prolonged street protests against the fuel price hike fall on deaf ears.

Jakarta – The fact that no single law exists to ensure the rights of domestic workers is endangering the rights of millions of maids across the country, activists said on Wednesday.

Batam (Riau) – Some 2,000 hotel and entertainment workers in Riau Islands province staged a protest on Wednesday in Batam, demanding that the government raise the minimum wage in the area.

The increase in the minimum wage should follow on the increase of fuel price, the protesters said.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – In the midst of increasing tension over the territorial dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia, it seems that the matter started as a business dispute between multinational oil giants.

Jayapura – Human rights group Elsham Papua has won an international accolade for defending human rights.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – What a parrot says can tell you something about its master. A parrot kept at former president Soeharto's home reportedly still greeted its owner with "Good morning, Mr. President" every single day.

Meanwhile, a certain parrot kept at a house in Bekasi, West Java, portrays a sad reality that sometimes occurs between a husband and a wife.

Jakarta/Makassar/Cirebon – While women in other parts of the world launched rallies to demand equal rights in commemorating International Women's Day on Tuesday, women here launched protests nationwide against the recent fuel price hike.

Niken Widya Yunita, Jakarta – Believing it will be commercialised, the People's Forum for Health Concerns (Forum Rakyat Peduli Kesehatan) held a demonstration opposing the privatisation of the local public hospitals (RSUD) and turning them into limited companies.

Atiek Nur Hidayati, Jakarta – A coalition of non-government organisations (NGOs) has agreed to take cases of human rights violations in Aceh and West Papua to the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva which will be held between March 14 and April 22.

Vincent Lingga, Jakarta – So what! That may be the skeptical reaction of most people to the ruling by the Business Competition Supervisory Commission that state oil and gas company Pertamina and three of its business partners conspired to rig the tender for the sale of two very large crude carriers in mid-2004.

Medan – Severe chemical pollution threatens most lakes in the country and has the potential to create further environmental disasters, a state minister says.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The head of the Papua forestry office, Marthen Kayoi, has been declared a suspect of illegal logging following a high-profile report on the smuggling of 300,000 cubic meters of timber per month from Indonesia – mostly Papua province – to China.

Bandarlampung – Three Bandarlampung councillors have been sentenced to 18 months jail for corruption.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Prominent Muslim scholars threw their weight behind a demand for the revival of the alternative draft Islamic law code, which they say will encourage gender equality in the country.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Demonstrators held a noisy protest outside the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta on Monday, chanting slogans and asserting Indonesia's claim to a disputed area off the coast of Malaysia's Sabah state and Indonesia's East Kalimantan province in the first territorial dispute since Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took office last October.

Indonesia urged Malaysia to cease "aggressive" claims and negotiate a territory dispute that has seen warships and fighter jets deployed to oil-rich waters off the coast of Borneo.

Yuliawati, Jakarta – A.M. Fatwa, a founder and the chairperson of the National Mandate Party (PAN), believes that the formation of the Muhammadiyah Mandate Party (PAM), which is to be launched this afternoon, is a warning for his party.

Zakki P. Hakim, Jakarta – Lack of investment in manpower skills, infrastructure and research and development in Indonesia's manufacturing industry over the past three decades have slowed down the country's industrialization process compared to its neighbors.

There is a common joke among government officials that attempts to explain the supposedly assertive nature of the Acehnese people: "When 10 Acehnese gather to work out a consensus, they will come up with at least 11 different opinions." That yarn reflects the impatience, and sometimes the frustration, that central government officials and other outsiders often endure when trying to

Indonesia is ranked as the most corrupt country in Asia by foreign businessmen in the region, raising fears about how billions of dollars in post-tsunami aid will end up, a new survey shows.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Women activists are seeking to revive an alternative draft for an Islamic code of law (KHI), which they say would help reduce domestic violence cases.

They urged the government on Monday to revoke its decision to annul the controversial draft issued by the Ministry of Religious Affairs in October last year.

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – On Tuesday March 8, dozens of students from a number of groups in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta held actions opposing fuel price increases. They also called on Yogyakarta people not to be influenced or provoked by the Ambalat dispute(1) between Indonesia and Malaysia to the point where the issue of fuel price increases disappears.

Ahmad Yunus, Bandung – Around 100 women and farmers from the People's Struggle Front (Front Perjuangan Rakyat) held an action commemorating International Women's Day. In their action, the demonstrators who originate from Pengalengan in West Java, also opposed fuel price increases.

Muchus Budi R., Solo – International Women's Day (IWD) which fell on March 8 was commemorated by demonstrations in the Central Java city of Solo. The actions was organised by two small groups with the same aims, opposing fuel price increases which they believe will further worsen the economic conditions of the people. Ambalat(1) was no included among the issues raised.

Wahyuana and Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta/Bekasi – Many residents of Bekasi had to take a day off work on Monday to clean thick mud from their houses following what is claimed to be the biggest ever flood in the municipality and upstream areas on Sunday.

The water in several areas had started to subside on Monday.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Evacuation of landslide victims at the Leuwigajah dump site in south Cimahi and Bandung regency ended on Monday, with 137 bodies being recovered and six more being left buried in the 25-hectare area affected by the disaster.

Dian Intannia, Jakarta – The executive director of Garuda airlines, Indra Setiawan, will be questioned by police next week as a witness in the case of Munir's death.

Darlis M., Palu – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's warning not to act violently against demonstrations opposing fuel price increases appears to be only words. Police in the Central Sulawesi city of Palu were unable to restrain themselves, attacking and beating students who were demonstrating in the centre of the city. As a result, it caused traffic jams and chaos.

The government has cut fuel subsidies, but raised subsidies for other things including health and education for the country's poorest families. The Jakarta Post asked for comments from residents about the low-income assistance fund.

Indonesia's government will offer incentives for public transport operators to keep their fares down in an effort to quell widespread protests following major fuel price hikes, a report said.

About 30 members of the House of Representatives have asked the legislature to exercise its right of inquiry into the government decision to raise on March 1 fuel prices by an average of 29 percent.

Indonesia says its deployment of fighter jets and warships to an area of ocean close to Malaysia is not meant to worry its neighbour. The action preceded a visit by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to the joint border area of eastern Borneo.

Palembang – Over 23 hectares of wetland in Palembang have been illegally reclaimed, the head of Palembang's public works office, Kira Tarigan, said on Friday. The wetland areas had been drained without permits, and many were being used for building purposes.

Agus Supriyanto, Jakarta – At a press conference in Jakarta on Sunday March 6, seven mass organisations declared that they are launching a class action against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY). According to the plaintiffs, SBY has acted improperly in increasing the price of fuel.

Astrid Felicia Lim, Jakarta – Those traveling around the city of Jakarta need be ready to be held up by traffic jams because of actions opposing fuel price increases which are being organised by members of the public and activist groups. Actions in the capital city against price increases continued on Sunday March 6.

Two men on a motorcycle threw a hand grenade at a crowd near a church in the restive eastern Indonesian city of Ambon, injuring three people, a report said.

The grenade was thrown in front of the Sejahtera Church in the village of Lateri in Ambon early on Saturday, Police Chief Leonidas Braskan was quoted by the Kompas newspaper as saying.

Jakarta – Prices at traditional markets remained relatively stable three days after the government raised fuel prices by an average of 29 percent, as they had slightly increased after the government floated the idea last month.