Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Gloom fell over Megawati Soekarnoputri's private residence in Kebagusan, South Jakarta, as a small group huddled around the television set, hours after the election runoff on September 20.

Allan Behm – The pundits might want to dismiss Alexander Downer's thinking out loud on a security agreement with Indonesia as a volte-face or the cynical repackaging of a Keating legacy.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Hundreds of members of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) checked in at the Mulia Hotel on Monday despite calls by their chairman Hidayat Nur Wahid to lead a simple lifestyle.

The prospect of an openly negotiated security treaty with Jakarta is welcome.

Veronica Brooks, Canberra – Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Tuesday headed to Jakarta to witness the swearing in of Indonesia's new president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, hoping his presence will spur a deeper strategic partnership between the two nations.

Andi Hajramurni and Yuli Tri Suwarni, Makassar/Bandung – After two days of relative calm, violence broke out again in Aralle district, Mamasa regency, killing one man and injuring another.

Hananto Wiryo, Mataram – The Cabinet of president-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono must ensure that in designing its health programs focuses on servicing and reaching grassroots by truly optimizing existing health infrastructures, improving affordability and awareness of health services, and also eliminating malpractice.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Contrary to police findings, a joint government team comprising 14 agencies has concluded that Buyat Bay in North Sulawesi, where PT Newmont Minahasa Raya stopped operations late August, is not contaminated by heavy metals.

Jongker Rumthe, Manado – Three newly reelected North Sulawesi councillors stood trial at the Manado District Court here on Monday on charges of misusing some Rp 9.6 billion (US$1.06 million) from Manado's 2003 budget.

Rusman, Samarinda – Thick haze from forest fires in Central and East Kalimantan provinces continued to blanket some cities in Kalimantan on Monday, but heavy downpours over the weekend helped ease the fog in some cities in Sumatra.

In Samarinda, East Kalmantan, visibility has been reduced to one kilometer because of the haze.

Indra Harsaputra, Malang – Set in the mountains, the picturesque and cool city of Malang, East Java, is now getting hotter according to locals and not, they say, for a good reason.

The City Population Agency will launch a two-week raid a week before and a week after the Idul Fitri holidays, targeting in-house maids, nannies and private company workers who do not possess Jakarta or newcomer identity cards.

Jakarta – President-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) is being urged to form a clean and productive government.

In an example of prudence in the search for justice, the underused Press Council issued on Friday a momentous decision that should reignite freedom of expression's dimming light.

Luhur Hertanto, Jakarta – Two days before his inauguration as president, some 100 students from the Indonesian Muslim Students Action Front (KAMMI) and the Greater Jakarta Student Executive Council (BEM Jabotabek) held a demonstration against president-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY). They failed however to meet directly with SBY.

Tiarma Siboro and M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Signs of cracks in the coalition of political parties that support president-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono are emerging as they question his choice of several ministerial candidates.

Eka Saprianawati, Jakarta – The inauguration of president and vice-president elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla (SBY-JK) on October 20 will be greeted with demonstrations. As many as 25 non-government organisations (NGOs) and student groups plan to demonstrate calling on SBY-JK to keep their election promises.

A new security treaty between Indonesia and Australia would symbolise the increasingly close relationship between the two countries. The question is whether we really need such a symbol, when practical co-operation has yielded excellent results in the absence of one.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Observers demanded on Sunday a thorough investigation into officers allegedly involved in the escape of Adrian Waworuntu, a key suspect in the Rp 1.7 trillion (US$185 billion) BNI scandal, saying it could reveal widespread bribery involving the police.

Jakarta – The streets of central Indonesia's Sulawesi town remained tense yesterday after new communal conflict erupted, leaving at least two dead, the top local police official said.

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – Tension was still high on Sunday in a village in Aralle district, some 400 kilometers from the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, after two people were reported killed and dozens of homes burned down in a communal clash over a dispute on the formation of a new regency there.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The draft bill on intelligence provides the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) with excessive powers, say rights campaigners, and will put civil liberties in peril.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta/Bogor – Outgoing President Megawati Soekarnoputri's decision to skip the inauguration of her successor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will backfire and further damage her image, political analysts said on Sunday.

Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – Yulianti, a bartender at a nightclub in Surabaya, had a busy couple of nights before Ramadhan started on Friday. On Wednesday night, the club was packed and there was a huge demand for drinks. Pouring a beer was one thing, but some of the cocktails were complicated to mix.

Indonesia's Megawati Sukarnoputri, under increasing fire in her last days as president for failing to admit poll defeat, has come under new criticism from the country's military chief over controverisal promotions.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The number of credit card users here is expected to grow by at least 20 percent next year, driven by a more robust growth in consumer spending and an expected improvement in people's income.

Megawati Sukarnoputri has won plaudits for smoothing Indonesia's path to democracy, but in her final days as president the taciturn leader is in danger of leaving a lasting image as a sore loser who refuses to bow out gracefully.

Rita A.Widiadana, Denpasar – The number of foreign tourists visiting Bali has continued to increase over the past few months, thanks to the improved security situation.

Jakarta – Thick haze began disrupting flights in Central Kalimantan province on Saturday, with an airplane from PT Dirgantara Air Service (DAS) reportedly rerouted after it was unable to land at Beringin Airport, North Barito regency, due to dangerous visibility levels.

Australia is considering talks on a new security treaty with Indonesia to replace a pact abandoned during the bloody fallout from East Timor's independence ballot in 1999, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Sunday.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – After many delays, state prosecutors finally submitted the file on Abu Bakar Ba'asyir to the South Jakarta District Court on Friday, charging him with masterminding the Bali bombings and the JW Marriott Hotel attack.

Jakarta, Kompas – In examining the Draft Law on the Fundamentals of Intelligence, the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) has the potential to became a body which will be inseparable from the state. The stipulations in the law could turn BIN into a super-body, with excessive powers and a tendency to take over judicial functions.

Jakarta – The Islamic fasting month of Ramadan started yesterday and the Indonesian entertainment industry is grumbling over local edicts to close nightclubs, massage parlours and amusement centres for the entire period.

Semarang/Medan/Banda Aceh/Indramayu – Millions of Indonesian Muslims, who account for some 85 percent of the total 220 million population in the country, began fasting dawn-to-dusk on Friday, the first day of Ramadhan.

Jakarta – The central bank expects the rupiah to strengthen against the US dollar leading up to the year-end on the back of a better economic outlook and high hopes for the new government of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Tiarma Siboro and M. Taufiqurrahman, Bogor – Five prospective candidates who would likely fill posts in the Cabinet of president-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono were summoned for interviews on Friday, the first time such a mechanism has been used in the selection of ministers, at least in the public eye.

Jakarta – Parts of Indonesia have been enveloped in one of the worst days of haze this year, officials said, as residents donned face masks to ward off thick, choking fumes.

The haze, caused by forest and ground fires across the country, descended on the province of South Kalimantan on Wednesday, reducing visibility and filling the air with noxious burning smells.

Martin Jenkins, Jakarta – In Indonesia, much debate has recently centered on how the government should tackle the problem of rising fuel subsidies as the price of crude oil on the international market moves ever higher.

Andi Hajramurni and ID Nugroho, Makassar/Sidoarjo – Police here named at least 14 of 75 South Sulawesi legislative council members as suspects on Thursday in a graft case, while East Java prosecutors sought a six-year jail term for Sidoarjo legislature speaker on similar charges.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Director of the National Police economic crimes division Brig. Gen. Samuel Ismoko will soon be questioned for allegedly taking a bribe worth US$20,000 to allow Adrian Waworuntu, one of key suspects in the Rp 1.7 trillion (US$185 million) Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) scandal, to escape.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Despite the growing democracy over the last six years, the people still harbor deep concerns over the role of the military in public life, which they say has spurred the prevalence of violence, a study has found.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Wearing face masks and unfurling banners, some 100 students from 21 elementary schools throughout Jakarta made an impassioned plea for cleaner air in the metropolis at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle on Wednesday.

Yogyakarta – A student protest marred the inauguration of the Sunan Kalijaga Islamic State University on Thursday in Yogyakarta, with students calling on the government to prevent education from being commercialized by "irresponsible parties".

The protest was held as Minister of National Education Malik Fadjar was presiding over a ceremony at the university.

Bogor – Indonesia's President-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said yesterday he would pick a non-military defence minister as part of efforts to rein in the powerful armed forces through civilian control.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Indonesia's global competitiveness has improved over the past year, and yet it is battered by an inefficient bureaucracy, inconsistent policies and corruption, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The Central Jakarta District Court sentenced on Wednesday eight officers from the Central Jakarta Police's riot squad to three months and 12 days in prison for assaulting student protesters in February.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Low-income workers have endured hard times since the economic crisis hit the country in 1997, and many have come to expect nothing better.

Jakarta – Traffic along Jl. Letjen Suprapto in Central Jakarta was in complete chaos on Wednesday morning, as hundreds of members of the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) blocked off the entrance to the International Trade Center (ITC) Cempaka Mas.

Parts of Indonesia have been enveloped in the worst haze yet this year, officials said as residents donned face masks to ward off thick, choking fumes.

The haze, caused by forest and ground fires across Indonesia, descended on the province of South Kalimantan on Borneo island, reducing visibility and filling the air with noxious burning smells.

Sjofiardi Bachyul and Ruslan Sangadji, Padang/Palu – Thousands of Muslim students and activists held protest demonstrations in various cities nationwide on Wednesday in a bid to pressure the government and businesspeople to close all nightspots and gambling dens during Ramadhan.