US Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has charged Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir is deeply involved in terrorism after Indonesia's top court halved the militant's jail sentence.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The Muslim cleric accused of a lead role in the group blamed for the Bali bombings is set to be released from jail within weeks after a Supreme Court decision to cut his jail sentence by half.

Jakarta – The central bank, Bank Indonesia (BI), has predicted that the country's economy will, in the first quarter of the year, grow by 4.2 percent to 4.7 percent on the back of low inflation, the stable rupiah exchange rate and declining bank interest rates.

David Fullbrook, Jakarta – Unnoticed by most, a quiet revolution took place in Indonesia in 1999. Its consequences were plunging air fares and dozens of new airlines. Air travelers are doubling every three years. Indonesia was low-fare, no-frills way before those shimmering phrases grabbed headlines elsewhere in Asia.

Anton Doni, Jakarta Post – Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, who served as minister and secretary-general of the then ruling party Golkar, during the Soeharto era, was very confident that the new Regional Representatives Council (DPD) would play key role in the country's political system despite its weak legal position.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Indonesian plywood products may be allowed to enter the British market again after officials met with British buyers to clarify allegations the plywood was made from illegal timber.

Haidir Anwar Tanjung, Pekanbaru – A local government official said on Tuesday that tens of thousands of people would take to the streets of Kampar regency on Wednesday to protest the central government's sluggishness in handling the controversy surrounding the Kampar regent.

Kornelius Purba, Jakarta – When the nation held its first ever election in 1955, the atmosphere was euphoric. The feeling was justified since it was the first democratic election and just 10 years after the nation won its independence. It turned out to be the only election during the presidency of the nation's first president Sukarno.

Cirebon/Surabaya – A plenary meeting of influential Muslim clerics (kyai khos) of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) has mandated Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid to run for president as a candidate of the National Awakening Party (PKB).

About 30 kyai, who head Islamic boarding schools across the country, attended a meeting at the Buntet boarding school in Cirebon, West Java on Tuesday.

Hasrul, Kendari – The Kendari General Elections Commission (KPUD) has barred four political parties from campaigning on the grounds that they failed to register the names of their campaigners to the KPUD before the March 7 deadline.

Robert Go, Jakarta – The 24 political parties that will contest the Indonesian election on April 5 pledged yesterday to keep tight control of their followers and to conduct peaceful campaigns.

Max Lane – Of the 19 parties contesting the July Indonesian presidential elections that are not currently represented in the parliament, eight are regarded as critical of the major parties.

Fadli, Batam – The Batam Mayoralty is planning to conduct raids on couples living together out of wedlock.

Head of the social office, Azwan, said on Monday the raids would begin on March 16. The number of unwed cohabiting couples had reached an alarming level in the area, he said.

Jakarta – In order get a message across to the public who will soon be under a new administration, around 20 children between 7 and 12 years of age from Cijeruk, Tapos and the Bogor Regency, participated in a demonstration commemorating International Women's Day 2004 in Jakarta on Monday March 8.

Jakarta/Surabaya – International Women's Day was commemorated across the country with a public call not to vote for any political party which does not promote women's rights during the next general election.

Jakarta – A coalition of non-governmental organizations called on the government to immediately appoint a minister to represent them in the discussion of the bill on the protection of migrant workers and their family members with the House of Representatives (DPR) before their tenure expires.

Activists displaying the freshly severed heads of two dogs outside the Jakarta offices of Indonesia's Election Commission (KPU) yesterday in a gruesome protest against the commission's alleged incompetence in organising upcoming polls.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – Experts warned the central bank against seeking an instant solution to the slow growth in bank loans to the corporate sector, as aggressive lending without proper risk management would cause another financial crisis.

Indonesia's Supreme Court has halved a three-year prison sentence imposed on militant Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, a court official said.

The ruling means that Bashir, who is said by foreign governments to have led the Al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror group, could be free within weeks or months.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Journalists, experts, activists and artists gathered on Monday at the Tempo office building on Jl. Proklamasi, Central Jakarta, to commemorate an attack on the weekly by around 200 protesters, who claimed to be from the Artha Graha Group and the Indonesian Young Bulls, a year ago.

A deadly dengue fever outbreak which has killed almost 400 people has spread across Indonesia, the health ministry said.

At least 30 out of 32 provinces in the country had reported cases of dengue fever to the health ministry on Monday, said Dr. Rita Kusriastuti, an official with the ministry's research department.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – An ad hoc human rights tribunal announced a plan to summon Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, the youngest son of former president Soeharto, to testify in the trial of 11 Army officers accused of the Tanjung Priok massacre in 1984.

Verrianto Madjowa and Dian Yuliastuti, Manado – International Women's Day (IWD), which falls on March 8, was also commemorated in Manado, North Sulawesi. Distributing leaflets, scores of women's activists gathered at the Manado National Unity Park.

Nurul Hidayati, Jakarta – Around 1000 activists from Greater Jakarta are expected to commemorate International Women's Day at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout on Monday March 8.

Triyono Wahyu Sudibyo, Semarang – Scores of women's activists have demanded that the quota of women representatives in the National Election Commissions list of legislative candidates be raised to 50 per cent. They consider that the current 30 per cent quota has not been effective.

Danang Sangga Buwana, Jakarta – Monday March 8 is International Women's Day (IWD), and a number of groups from the pro-democracy movement held actions to commemorate the day.

Jafar G. Bua, Palu – International Women's Day was also commemorated in Palu. Interestingly, women in Palu protested against the marriage law and the issue of polygamy.

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – In commemorating International Women's day which fell on Monday March 8, women from a number of different groups in Yogyakarta accused the political parties participating in the elections of not fighting for the rights of women. They also rejected discrimination and violence against women in Aceh and West Papua.

Jakarta – Couples caught kissing passionately in public in Indonesia could spend five years in jail.

Budi Hartadi, Surabaya – International Women's Day (IWD) was also commemorated in Surabaya, East Java. Around 100 students from the Poor People's Front for Struggle demonstrated in front of the governor's offices at the Grahadi State Building on Jalan Gubernur Suryo on Monday March 8.

Campaigning starts this week for Indonesia's general election, with a resurgent Golkar party that backed former dictator Suharto hoping to capitalize on disenchantment with President Megawati Sukarnoputri's administration.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Electoral Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) said misuse of state facilities by government officials for party interests might be widespread ahead of the general election, but sadly it had no power to take action against it.

Jakarta – A group of teachers representing schools in Kampar regency threatened to return to the streets on Monday unless Home Minister Hari Sabarno approved the proposed dismissal of regent Jefri Noer and his deputy A. Zakir by, at the latest, Saturday.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) slammed the Attorney General's Office on Friday for declaring that there were no serious human rights violations in the 1998 May riots.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Playing down public criticism and without the knowledge of its partner in the project, the Jakarta Public Works Agency will start widening sections of Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta, early next month to allow more space for private cars.

Jakarta – Indonesia's intelligence chief Hendropriyono has sparked off a controversy by allowing himself to be listed as a national campaigner for the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the coming election.

Moch. N. Kurniawan and Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Just 30 days ahead of the April 5 legislative election, only 47 percent of the country's population is actually aware of that date, according to a survey by the International Foundation for Election System (IFES) and the Polling Center.

Jakarta – Indonesia Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto and Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) chief Maj. Gen. Ng Yat Chun ended on Friday their two-day talks on defense cooperation between the two neighbors.

Fitri Wulandari, Jakarta – After being considered a pariah nation for years by power investors, Indonesia has started to regain investor confidence, largely due to the successful resolution of disputes with independent power producers (IPPs), a senior official said on Friday.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Friday that the government had succeeded in retaining market confidence three months after the expiration of the Fund-backed special lending program.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The House of Representatives (DPR) wound up its seven-week long session on Friday with only about 50 legislators showing up at the plenary meeting to hear the closing speech of House Speaker Akbar Tandjung.

Syaiful Amin, Yogyakarta – On Friday March 5, at least 100 students from a number of schools of higher education held an action warning against the reemergence of the New Order [regime of former President Suharto].

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – President Megawati Sukarnoputri herself closed the book on the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency last Friday, thanking IBRA officials for their work. According to most observers and by virtually every measure, it was not a job well done.

Jakarta – Indonesian environmental activists filed a police complaint against plans to build a road network through a huge conservation area in Sumatra island.

Indro Tjahyono, coordinator of the Network for Forestry Conservation, said he filed the complaint in Jakarta against Infrastructure Minister Sunarno and the governor of Aceh province, Abdullah Puteh.

Smoke was hampering rescue efforts after a blaze at an Indonesian gold mine in which at least 12 people, mostly illegal miners, are feared to have died, an official said.

Gunawan Mashar, Makassar – Actions protesting rotten politicians and political parties are still happening. In Makassar, at least 500 students warned of the dangers posed by rotten politicians and political parties.

An Islamic militant who shielded a key member of the Bali bombings plot has been jailed for nine years, the last in a series of trials arising from the atrocities that left 202 people dead.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – The collapse of the rupiah in 1998 left Indonesian telecommunication companies barely able to pay their dollar-denominated debts, let alone fund new investment.

Kurniawan Hari and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Ansor, a youth group of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's largest Muslim organization, has announced that it will not support the possible presidential candidacy of former NU chairman Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.

Jakarta – Although optimistic, the chief of the Indonesian armed forces (TNI), General Endriartono Sutarto, has said that there is no guarantee that the 2004 general elections will proceed without security disturbances.