Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The much-awaited dialog involving the presidential candidates and their running mates failed to draw much public interest on Tuesday, with less than half of the around 600 seats available being occupied by the supporters of the two camps.

More than 70 representatives of US organizations wrote to Secretary of State Colin Powell today opposing Bush administration plans to expand military assistance to the Indonesian military (TNI).

Max Lane – I condemn the bombing outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta on September 9, which has taken at least nine lives and injured more than 180 Indonesians – mainly people doing business at the embassy and passers-by. I express my full sympathy to all those who have lost loved ones and who have suffered injury.

Jakarta – Indonesia's top security minister has ordered sweeping changes and granted wider powers to its intelligence services following the deadly Australian embassy blast in Jakarta.

Jakarta – Over 70 lawyers have pledged to defend a coalition of five non-governmental organizations that has been reported to the police by the General Elections Commission (KPU) for defamation.

Endy M.

Although the financial market in Jakarta did not panic after Thursday's bomb attack – ear the Australian embassy compound, it is no longer business as usual in so far as the market's perception of Indonesia's country risk is concerned.

Jakarta – The rupiah, having weathered a huge shock last week following the latest bomb attack in the country, is likely to move within a narrow range this week with pressures slowly dwindling, analysts said on Sunday. The local unit closed on a positive note last week at 9,280 per dollar after dropping to above 9,400 the day earlier just after the bombing.

Suwarjono, Jakarta – On Tuesday September 14, victims of the 1965 tragedy(1) went to the presidential palace wanting to meet face-to-face with President Megawati Sukarnoputri with the aim of presenting a legal action (Somasi) to the president.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – The twin-engine Fokker swooped down in the afternoon heat, kicking up yellow dust that snaked across the bumpy airport tarmac.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri, dressed in her trademark flowery batik, emerged from the plane to the cheering hundreds in West Nusa Tenggara. She waved at the crowds before heading to the VIP room for some tea and kueh.

Salim Osman – Retired colonel Poedjiyono is a picture of confidence as he entertains guests at his house in Margorejo on the outskirts of Surabaya.

The 59-year-old retired army officer speaks to them individually about their requests and offers them his counsel.

Devi Asmarani, Kupang – The provincial legislature building on this eastern Indonesian island some 2,000km from Jakarta looks abandoned just days after new councillors took over.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The rejection by several political parties and non-governmental organizations of the contentious bill on the Indonesian Military (TNI) is a reflection of the public's hatred of military personnel's involvement in crime and of military institutions' involvement in socio-political affairs.

Mujiburrahman, Paris – Over the past two decades, debates and controversies have abounded among Indonesian Muslims on the interpretations of Islamic theological and legal doctrines on interreligious relations. The variety of Muslim opinion stems from their different methods of interpretation, socio-political developments in the country and transnational interactions.

Jakarta – Twelve junior high school principals were found to have charged extra fees aside from – hose that had been set between school boards and parents, an official of the Jakarta Education Agency said on Monday. "They have violated regulations, because the city education agency has given the period from July 29 to Aug.

Palu – The level of heavy metals in Palu Bay has surpassed tolerable standards – ollowing the unchecked, daily dumping of liquid waste by local residents, an environmental study has found.

"At least seven kinds of metals have polluted the bay," a study conducted by Tadulako University's Environmental Research Center (PPLH-Untad) and the Palu administration said on Sunday.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – "A visitor staying for over 24 hours must report to the neighborhood unit (RT) chief," read notices posted all over the city. However, many residents simply turn the other cheek.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The House of Representatives is scheduled to pass the bill on domestic violence on Tuesday, although women activists say it is not strong enough to serve as a deterrent, as it does not set minimum penalties for perpetrators.

Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta – The hopes of Tas (not her real name) of getting a decent job were shattered after she ended up in a karaoke bar on Batam island. The 14-year old girl, who had just finished elementary school in Pagedongan, Banjarnegara, Central Java, was lured to Batam by her own neighbor, Parwati, 25.

B. Raman – In looking at the car bomb explosion outside the Australian Embassy in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta last Thursday, one must avoid an over-interpretation and over-assessment of the blast, which caused the death of nine persons and injured more than 100 others, most of them civilians.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – "Oh my, we were just starting to recover and we have been thrown on the floor again," Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri was quoted as saying over the weekend in response to the bombing last week outside the Australian Embassy.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – On September 9, 2003, Governor Sutiyoso launched the distribution of 50,000 16-page manuals containing information on some antiterrorist tips in a ceremony at Plaza Senayan, Central Jakarta. The event was widely covered by the media and attended by hundreds of people.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – The Indonesian currency and stock markets staged a quick recovery on Friday, as hopes are high that the deadly bombing a day earlier will not undermine the economy or sabotage the presidential election.

Jon Afrizal, Jambi – Many more schools were closed on Friday in Jambi province as choking haze continued to blanket the area.

Haze also enveloped other provinces in Sumatra and Kalimantan provinces, while local authorities in Central Kalimantan province even sought help from the central government.

Alan Boyd – Terrorism thrives on symbolism, and investigators did not need to look hard for signposts after Thursday's bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – It was billed as the wedding of the year. President Megawati Sukarnoputri and her husband Taufik Kiemas were in the royal palace in Brunei for the marriage ceremony of its Crown Prince when news broke that a powerful car bomb had gone off outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The Golkar Party's central board has issued a circular ordering all regional chapters to support the reelection bid of President Megawati Soekarnoputri in the election runoff on September 20.

Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung said on Friday all party executives and members must adhere to the circular, otherwise they could face party sanctions.

Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta – Taufik Kiemas, the powerful husband of incumbent President Megawati Soekarnoputri, has continued distributing donations across the country, a move that has been criticized as a thinly veiled attempt to buy votes before the legal campaign period begins.

Jakarta – Fifteen former councillors in Depok municipality were named suspects on Friday in a Rp 9 billion (US$970,141) graft case. They will be summoned for questioning on Tuesday, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Community-based movements have proven effective in overcoming reoccurring problems in neighborhoods as revealed by some subdistrict chiefs.

Sidney Jones, Singapore – Indonesia has more victims to mourn after yet another attack that killed and maimed ordinary civilians. The same criminals behind the Christmas Eve bombings, the Bali bombs, and the Marriott attack, and numerous equally lethal bombings in the Philippines, are the likely perpetrators.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The government and the House of Representatives, and an alliance of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are divided over the contentious bill on the protection of migrant workers, and how to minimize violence against them.

Medan – Hundreds of students at North Sumatra University (USU) staged a protest on Friday in front of the USU rector's office, demanding that the rector punish two university police officers who, earlier in the morning, assaulted two students.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Malaysian bomb-maker Azahari Husin stood by the bedside of his cancer-stricken wife and told her: "I have a greater cause in life. It is to serve God." These were his parting words to his wife, who had just given birth to their second child and found, soon after, that she was suffering from throat cancer.

Jakarta – Indonesia's Muslim leaders have called for a united stand against terrorism, which they said was tarnishing the nation's image.

Nahdlatul Ulama, the nation's largest Muslim organisation, urged the authorities to find those responsible for Thursday's blast which killed nine people and 'punish them severely'.

Leony Aurora, Jakarta – Syahromi got on his feet in a daze and saw a colleague, Anton Sujarwo, lying motionless near the door of the Australian embassy guard post where they worked as security guards.

Wedged in between Anton's body and pieces of glass was a little girl, with her clothes blown off. Syahromi carefully picked up five-year-old Elisabeth Manuela Bambina Musu.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Lack of coordination among security officers has been blamed for what has been seen as a poor early warning system, which is one reason they were unable to prevent Thursday's bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.

Relations between Indonesia and Australia are going through another testing time following the bomb attack outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta on Thursday. There is no doubt that the perpetrators were targeting Australia, either the property or the people inside it.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri called for calm and urged people to remain on the alert following Thursday's huge bomb blast in front of the Australian Embassy in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

Abdul Khalik and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – It didn't take the police long to pin the blame for the deadly blast in front of the Australian Embassy here on Thursday on fugitive Malaysian bomb experts Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Moh. Top.

Jakarta – Thursday's bombing at the Australian Embassy, which killed at least seven people, drew strong nationwide condemnation, with many saying the latest terror attack would further tarnish the predominantly Muslim country's image.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – Jakarta stocks and rupiah closed lower on Thursday on the back of renewed security fears stemming from the deadly bomb blast in front of the Australian Embassy.

Ibnu Mat Noor, Banda Aceh – The death of Munir has shocked activists and leaders in the nation's capital, as well as many Achenese, whose rights he fought for.

Many Achenese have said his presence in the war-torn province emboldened them, after living amid conflict for years.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta/Mark Forbes, Canberra – At least nine people have been killed and 182 injured by a massive bomb attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta, in the first direct terrorist attack against Australian interests.

Sidney Jones, Singapore – When I think of the people who had the most impact in bringing about a democratic Indonesia, Munir would be up there near the top. He was everything a human rights champion should be: principled, tough, smart, funny, and fearless. He stood up to people in power, he made them angry, he got threat after threat after threat, and he never gave up.

David Jenkins – General Benny Moerdani, who has died in Jakarta at the age of 71, was a special forces officer who went on to become the head of Indonesia's widely feared intelligence services and the architect of his nation's brutal subjugation of East Timor. He was for many years the second most powerful man in Indonesia, after his mentor, President Soeharto.

Jakarta – At least seven were confirmed killed and over 180 injured in a bomb explosion outside the Australian Embassy on Thursday morning, just 11 days ahead of the presidential election. Officials said eight died and that some 150 from 182 victims had been released from hospital.

Tiarma Siboro and M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The bulk of Muslim voters will choose Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over Megawati Soekarnoputri in the September 20 election runoff on the basis of his personality rather than his religious affinity, scholars say.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The House of Representatives will unlikely be able to finish deliberating the Indonesian Military (TNI) bill before ending its five-year term early next month, as many contentious issues remain unresolved, lawmakers say.

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – Another former military chief, Gen. (ret) Andi Mohamad Jusuf, died on Wednesday, just a week after the death of Gen.(ret) L. Benny Moerdani on Aug. 29.