Indonesia and China discussed defence cooperation, exploring ways for Jakarta to obtain new arms supplies as the Southeast Asian country struggles to rebuild military ties with Washington.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government has said it hopes that the re-election of George Walker Bush as the new US president would help in normalizing military cooperation between the two countries.

Newly-installed Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono pledged to take "strong action" against illegal loggers decimating his country's forests, promising they will be severely punished.

Canberra – The Australian government should not make any move to strengthen military ties with Indonesia's elite Kopassus army special forces on Thursday, an Australian think tank said on Thursday.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The Ministry of Finance is preparing a government regulation that will enable state-owned banks to write off bad loans owed by small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) in an effort to accelerate the recovery of their businesses, a government official said.

Indonesia's controversial special forces, known as Kopassus, have not reformed their evil ways and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) should not renew ties, a new study says.

Melly Febrida, Jakarta – The poor performance of the People's Representative Assembly (DPR) has provoked four non-government organisations (NGOs) to launch the NGO Coalition for Clean and Effective Parliament (Koalisi LSM untuk Parlemen Bersih dan Efektif).

Sari P. Setiogi, Jakarta – The elderly Muslim cleric who is on trial for the bombings in Bali and at the JW Mariott Hotel in Jakarta, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, mocked the court on Thursday and challenged it to pile on the charges.

Ba'asyir said in his defense plea that the charges addressed to him was a mere joke, made only to satisfy the United States.

The country has been through an enormous political transformation in the last few weeks. On October 20, a new president was sworn in and, on October 1, a new batch of House members were installed. But rather than immediately buckling down to their jobs, House members quickly became embroiled in a power struggle that has paralyzed the House for weeks now.

Jakarta – A hearing at the South Sulawesi provincial legislature about the handling of illegal migrant workers returning from Malaysia turned ugly on Thursday, with councillors accusing government officials of lying.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Jakarta's provincial minimum wage increase is likely to be approved at 6 percent, a wage of Rp 711,843 (US$78.23), after the provincial wage council voted at a meeting on Thursday, minus all seven members of the Workers Association.

Abu Bakar Bashir has rejected as a joke, charges that he masterminded the Bali and Marriott hotel bombings, turning his latest court appearance into a political soapbox.

A militant Islamic cleric on trial in Indonesia on terrorist charges including over the Bali bombings warned President George W. Bush's reelection victory spelled "disaster" for the United States.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – A human rights watchdog urged the Attorney General's Office (AGO) on Wednesday to prioritize the investigation of rights cases submitted to the office by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

Denpasar – Bali is the first province in Indonesia to have carried out a comprehensive survey on the implementation of the new visa-on-arrival (VoA) policy as a quick response to government requests for the island's tourist industry to provide "real data" on the impact of the policy, which has been effective since Feb. 2004.

Suryani Ika Sari, Jakarta – The debate on the Jakarta provincial minimum wage (UMP) continues. In a meeting which was held by the Provincial Council for Wage Affairs this afternoon, Thursday November 11, employers and the Jakarta provincial government agreed to a UMP of 711,000 rupiah per month.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – At the end of his sermon, a Muslim preacher in South Jakarta switched to a favourite subject: Kristenisasi, or the Christianisation of fellow believers.

Ruslan Sangadji, Donggala – A clash between two ethnic groups broke out in Donggala regency, Central Sulawesi province, on Wednesday, leaving two people dead and dozens of others severely injured, including two police personnel. The two fatalities were local residents Asdin, 28 and Asdar, 30, who were shot dead by police personnel after the clash.

Jakarta – Amid the ongoing internal scuffle and criticism of their idleness after a month in office, members of the House of Representatives made official visits and met with the public.

A 17-strong House delegation linked to the People's Coalition and representing Commission V on transportation and public works visited Senen station in Central Jakarta.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – Indonesia's military scored a major victory this week without firing a shot. The re-election of US President George W Bush ensures restoration of full military ties between the US and Indonesia, including millions of dollars in aid, and also ensures that US demands for military reform will remain muted.

Tiarma Siboro and Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta – The government is streamlining the procedures for procuring arms and will exclude the Indonesian Military (TNI) from the process in a bid to avoid corruption and mark-ups.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu (left) relinquishes the command baton to the new chief of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), Lt. Gen. Hadi Waluyo. in a ceremony held on Wednesday at the Kostrad headquarters, Central Jakarta.

Arin Widiyanti, Jakarta – Around 100 students from the Anti-Corruption Student Network (Jaringan Mahasiswa Anti-Korupsi, Jamak) held a demonstration at the Attorney General's office in South Jakarta on Thursday November 4 demanding the arrest of a number of cabinet ministers.

Jakarta – While the two opposing camps in the House of Representatives have opened a line of communication with each other, they are still at loggerheads on how to resolve their weeks-old deadlock.

Leony Aurora , Jakarta – In a bid to keep standards for customs and practices in issuing and using letters of credit (L/Cs) up-to-date with current developments, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is preparing to revise the existing standards.

Jakarta – Around 200 students and activists staged a demonstration at National Police Headquarters on Tuesday, demanding the police investigate an alleged financial scandal involving three steel mills of the Gunawan Steel Group in the East Java capital of Surabaya, believed to have caused more than Rp 1.2 trillion in state losses.

Ridwan Max Sijabat & Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, Jakarta – We all knew this would happen. A political impasse pitting the majority opposition coalition against the minority coalition aligned with the President. But few would have predicted it would happen this soon. Even fewer thought it would erupt over an issue so seemingly trivial.

Jakarta – Parcel vendors who for years enjoyed a thriving business are feeling the heat of a new political reality that frowns on the giving and receiving of holiday gifts.

Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) announced on Tuesday it was still waiting for more than 100 legislators to submit reports declaring their personal wealth.

Nadirsyah Hosen, Jakarta – Corruption is closely linked to the way in which governments conduct their affairs, and, therefore, also to the growth of governments' economic activities. It is unlikely that corruption can be substantially reduced without modifying the way in which governments operate.

Leony Aurora, Jakarta – With the new government holding marathon meetings to resolve the problem of ballooning fuel subsidy spending, an economist has presented a scenario in which a 10 percent to 15 percent hike in domestic fuel prices next year would reduce subsidy spending and limit the adverse effects on the economy.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) rose to a record high on Tuesday as investors scrambled to buy telecommunications, banking and cigarette blue chips following strong third quarter profit reports and easing oil prices.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Santo looks much older than 21. His emaciated body, attacked by the HIV virus, rotting teeth and patchy skin testify to years of drug abuse.

Bogor – Hundreds of villagers in Jonggol district, Bogor regency, protested on Tuesday against frozen and dry food producer PT Belfoods Indonesia for polluting Cibodas River.

Jakarta – Indonesia should sort out its legal system and aim to reduce fuel subsidies to free up spending for other areas, but it has been doing well in fiscal policy and financial-sector reform, the IMF said yesterday.

Pekanbaru – The Pekanbaru municipal government warned on Tuesday that government officials would shave sex workers' heads, if they were found operating during Ramadhan. The statement was made following the arrest of 17 sex workers in various places in the city in the past week.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Jakarta's provincial tripartite wages council failed to reach a compromise on the planned increase of the 2005 provincial minimum wage (UMP) on Monday.

Harry Bhaskara – The new members of the House of Representatives have become embroiled in a power struggle less than a month after taking their seats. The People's Coalition in the 550-strong House urged government officials over the weekend to ignore invitations from its rival Nationhood Coalition.

Suliyanti, Jakarta – The deputy chairperson of the People's Democratic Party (PRD), Lukman Halim, has proposed that the People's Representative Assembly (DPR) commissions be temporarily frozen in order to cool down the increasingly sharp dispute developing between the parliament and the government.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ruled out allowing Australian troops to be stationed on its soil or letting them carry out pre-emptive strikes against extremists on its territory.

A month after being sworn in, Indonesian lawmakers have yet to begin work amid a bitter dispute that could threaten efforts by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to improve security and cure the country's economic ills.

Palu – Fearing corruption charges, former Donggala councillors returned some of what they had taken on Monday to the Central Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office.

Former councillor Hafip Ponulele handed over a motorcycle last Friday, while former councillor Peterson Tampusu handed over a Yamaha motorcycle and Rp 5 million (US$532) cash to provincial councillors on Monday.

Jakarta – Prices rose at a slower rate in October mainly because of an abundant supply of rice that helped ease inflationary pressures caused by the soaring oil price and weaker rupiah.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Leaders of the Indonesian Military (TNI) stressed on Monday that regardless of what the House of Representatives (DPR) said about the leadership change, they would only obey President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's decision on the issue.

Jakarta – Foreign tourist arrivals in the first nine months of this year increased by around 28 percent over the same period last year, despite the terrorist bombing incident in front of the Australian Embassy here in September, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported on Monday.

Jakarta – As well as having the potential to violate human rights, the revisions being made to Law Number 15/2003 on Eliminating Criminal Acts of Terrorism which are being considered by the Department of Law and Human Rights are far more repressive and are a step backwards in terms of efforts to respect and uphold values of human rights in Indonesia.

Jakarta – Very few property developers in Jakarta have built public and community facilities in accordance with a requisite for obtaining land-use permits, an official of the City Asset Management Agency revealed on Monday.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – As he faces a second trial on terrorism charges, Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir has taken on symbolic value far beyond his real importance. To the West, Indonesia's handling of Ba'asyir, the alleged head of the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terror group, is a crucial indicator of Indonesia's commitment to fighting terrorism.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – An international election monitoring team suggested on Monday that election regulations deemed discriminatory should be amended to ensure greater public participation in future polls.

On 7 September, the Indonesian House of Representatives passed a long-awaited Law on the Commission on Truth and Reconciliation ("the Truth Commission").