Hera Diani, Jakarta – The internal strife in the United Development Party (PPP) appears to be worsening after members gathered for informal talks over the weekend demanded that the party bring forward its congress to the end of the year from the scheduled 2007, citing the need for reform and regeneration in the party.

[The following is an abridged translations of a selection of articles from Detik.com which were posted on its web site on February 28, the day before the Indonesian government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice -President Jusuf Kalla (SBY-JK) took the highly unpopular decision cut fuel (BBM) subsides.]

Murray Hiebert, Washington – The US has taken a key step that lets it restore, at least for this year, a military assistance program with the Indonesia military that had been curbed for 13 years because of American concerns about human-rights violations.

Wahyoe Boediwardhana and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Denpasar/Jakarta – Aware that his popularity rating is likely to plunge over planned fuel price increases, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Sunday his administration would never issue a policy that favored the rich at the expense of the poor.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The Ministry of Forestry has decided to drop its plan to raise its logging quota this year after discovering that unscrupulous timber companies were deliberately misreporting their demand.

Sian Powell, Jakarta – Indonesia has welcomed the Bush administration's decision to resume a training program for the Indonesian military that has been suspended since 1992.

Ellen Bork – Bush administration officials want to upgrade ties with Indonesia's military. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has told Congress that the Indonesian military is cooperating in an investigation of the 2002 murders of two Americans and an Indonesian in Papua.

Jakarta – In a corner of a kiosk in suburban Jakarta, a young man brags about how he managed to escape being imprisoned after paying Rp 1 million (US$107) to a police officer who had arrested him for possession of a small amount of marijuana.

The East Timor Action Network (ETAN) today condemned Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's decision to resume full International Military Education and Training (IMET) for Indonesia. Yesterday, the State Department announced that Secretary Rice had "determined that Indonesia has satisfied legislative conditions for restarting" IMET.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) on Sunday welcomed a US decision to resume training members of the Indonesian military after a 14-year hiatus, a military spokesman said.

"The TNI welcomes any form of cooperation which can concretely enhance professionalism in the military field," TNI deputy spokesman, Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki, told AFP.

Rendi A. Witular and Leony Aurora, Jakarta – The government is aiming to revitalize the country's capital market industry by trying to streamline bureaucracy and improve legal certainty, and make the industry one of the key drivers in the country's economic growth.

Some say the best way to stop corruption among state officials and officeholders is to pay them better salaries. During a conversation some years ago, the then chairman of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) confronted a post-Soeharto president who advocated this approach.

Bandung – Flooding in the past few days has damaged several thousand hectares of rice fields in several regencies in West Java, which will mean little or no harvests this season in the affected areas, a senior official has said.

The terrorism trial of Indonesia's Abu Bakar Bashir wrapped up in characteristically fiery fashion, with the Muslim cleric telling judges they would face God's punishment if they convicted him.

Jakarta – Radical reform of the Indonesian administration and bureaucracy is imperative to help curb endemic corruption among civil servants, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report has said.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Friday that the government was focusing its antigraft efforts on the prevention of corruption in the future rather than pursuing graft cases that took place in the past.

Budi Sugiharto, Surabaya – A declaration of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya has been marred by a fist fight. Six youths, supporters of PDI-P chairperson former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, forcibly broke up the event. PDI-P Reform Movement leader Sukowaluyo Mintohardjo was spat on in the face.

Bill Guerin – Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono this week pledged an "integrated crackdown" on military and police personnel and officials from the ministries of forestry and immigration suspected of involvement in the world's biggest timber trafficking racket.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – For seven months Jakarta's motorists have waited patiently in traffic even heavier than normal as they watched the latest public transport dream take shape in Asia's most congested city.

Jakarta – Out of all the planes owned by the Indonesian Air Force, only 40 percent can be operated optimally. The remaining 60 percent cannot be operated optimally because of several problems, including the lack of engines for Hercules planes.

"With a sincere heart, I must say that I am very happy today that I officially handed over the Army's command baton to Pak Djoko. He is my junior and my former deputy. We've been together since our military academy days.

Jakarta – Political observers questioned on Friday Governor Sutiyoso's motives in granting Rp 15 million (US$1,620) monthly housing allowances to each of 71 city council members, and Rp 20 million allowances for city leaders, arguing that they did not deserve such generous facilities due to their poor performance.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – A team of four experts from the Office of the State Minister for the Environment has been assigned to determine whether the management of the Leuwigajah dump was responsible for the garbage collapse on Monday that buried more than 100 residents.

Puji Santoso, Pekanbaru – Historically thick haze from forest fires and burn-offs blanketed several parts of Riau on Friday, including the capital of Pekanbaru, disrupting flights and forcing schools to close.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – City councillors now have every reason to smile. Governor Sutiyoso has set councillors' monthly housing allowance at Rp 20 million for leaders and Rp 15 million for members, tripling their income from the previous Rp 6.5 million to over Rp 20 million.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – The Cimahi Police have started questioning officials in charge of the Leuwigajah dump in south Cimahi, where mountains of garbage collapsed on Monday killing 67 people. A total of 89 others are still missing.

Hoping to restore closer links with the west, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appears to be preparing to block the rise of a hardline general to the country's top armed forces job.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – In an apparent attempt to lobby for the job as new Indonesian Military (TNI) commander, outgoing Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu invited retired and active Army officers for a gathering on Thursday to brief them on his "achievements" while leading the Army.

Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – Amid growing public discontent over the lack of progress in punishing those involved in corruption, a new study says that because corruption is largely systemic, or institutionalized, the key to solving the problem is to reform the system and improve governance.

Jayapura – Over 150 people claiming to be timber company employers staged a protest on Thursday in Jayapura, demanding the government put an end to rampant extortion against them.

In the protest, held in front of the Papua provincial council, the protesters said they were routinely charged illegal fees when they were transporting logs into town.

Medan/Jambi/Pekanbaru – Haze thickened on Thursday in several parts of Sumatra, causing flight delays and school shutdowns. The flight delays affected many people, including the Minister of Forestry M.S. Kaban, who is partly responsible handling the haze problem.

Bandung/Yogyakarta – Heavy rain over the last two days has increased the area under water in south Bandung regency, with 18 out of 45 districts inundated on Thursday in what is said to be the worst flooding in the last 10 years.

Jakarta – Despite potential objections from the House of Representatives, the government will press ahead with its plan to increase domestic fuel prices, saying it is only trying to fulfill the fuel subsidy allocation as required by the 2005 state budget.

Jakarta – A day ahead of the national gathering of the United Development Party (PPP), a survey by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) revealed on Thursday that the popularity of the country's largest Islamic political party may further tumble at the next general election unless changes are made in the party's leadership.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Lawmakers nearly got into a brawl on Thursday after failing to agree on a plan to disclose alleged irregularities in the settlement process of a dispute between the government and Mexican cement giant Cemex SA involving a broken contract with a state-owned company.

There never was a good war or a bad peace. Despite the incremental pace of negotiations, the positive mood at the conclusion of a second round talks in Helsinki between the government and representatives of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) should be welcomed by all.

Sunariah, Jakarta – Around 40 members of the People's Representative Assembly (DPR) for the period 2004-2009 are suspected of being involved in corruption. Most originate from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (15), the Golkar Party (10) and the United Development Party (8).

Jakarta – A coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) unveiled on Wednesday a possible corruption case involving the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) secretariat general in accommodating 118 Regional Representative Council (DPD) members last year.

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Tabanan/Bali – Indonesia is mourning the passing of yet another prominent artist. Semsar Siahaan, a socialist-realist painter, passed away early on Wednesday at the Tabanan Hospital. He was 52.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – For the past few weeks, M. Isa, a survivor from Meulaboh, has been trying in vain to help his son get an artificial limb after his leg was badly injured during the tsunami and later amputated.

A. Junaidi, Jakarta – Semsar Siahaan was a powerful artist who revealed the complexities and injustices of society with a clear eye.

Born on June 11, 1952 in the North Sumatra capital of Medan, Semsar died on Wednesday at Tabanan Hospital in Bali after suffering a heart attack.

Edward Aspinall – The international community needs to be cautious in welcoming signs of an apparent breakthrough in the recent Aceh peace talks in Finland. Some of the signs are very positive, but the devil will be in the detail.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – A discussion here on Wednesday identified shortcomings in Law No. 27/2004 on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR), and called for amendments to its articles in order to make the much-touted commission actually work.

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – The investigation into the murder of top human rights campaigner Munir suffered another setback as national carrier Garuda Indonesia canceled a scheduled preliminary reconstruction of the case.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Mismanagement at the Leuwigajah dump in south Cimahi was to blame for the collapse of mountains of garbage on Monday, which killed over 55 people and flattened 70 homes, with 101 people still unaccounted for, an official says.

It has taken Indonesia many years, and an international scandal, for the country to finally wake up to the immensity of the looting that has been going on for decades in its lush tropical rain forests. But now at least it seems that action may finally be taken to do something about it.

Urip Hudiono and Sri Wahyuni, Jakarta/Yogyakarta – To hike or not to hike. That is the question – and the fuel for many arguments currently raging about what the price of fuel should be come April 1.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Outgoing Air Force Chief of Staff Marshall Chappy Hakim has suggested that the President consider a high ranking Air Force officer as the next commander in chief of the Indonesian Military (TNI), saying that a rotation among the three forces in leading the TNI was in line with the spirit of the existing law on the military.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – A number of international human rights observers have expressed their pessimism that offering amnesty for human rights violators would be effective in revealing the truth of their wrongdoings.

A survey of 1,305 businesses and top managers of local and multinational firms here named Jakarta as the most corrupt city in the country. The survey was conducted last year by Transparency International Indonesia at a time when the city administration was making much-publicize noises about turning Jakarta into a "service city".