Brooklyn, New York – The US Congress on Thursday restored a ban on International Military Education and Training (IMET) for Indonesia, just months after President George W Bush cited a "changed attitude" among legislators that would permit further military cooperation.

Leony Aurora, Jakarta – The country's commercial banks are expected to see slower growth in time deposits and savings this year due to continuing declines in interest rates and other factors, according to a senior official of the central bank.

Jakarta – President Megawati Soekarnoputri joked about her age as she celebrated her birthday on Friday with hundreds of workers at the Jababeka industrial zone in Bekasi, West Java, some 40 kilometers east of Jakarta, as well as local university students and residents. "I have yet to turn 57. I am only 27 plus," she quipped.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The United States had confidence this year's elections in Indonesia would run as safely, freely and fairly as the previous polls in 1999, Ambassador Ralph L. Boyce said this week.

Alan Sipress, Jakarta – An Indonesian court has handed down a record libel judgment against one of the country's most prominent newspapers, ordering Koran Tempo on Tuesday to pay $1 million in damages to an Indonesian businessman for reporting last year that he had planned to open a casino despite laws banning gambling.The case is one of a series of libel suits by businessmen, polit

Banjarmasin – President Megawati Soekarnoputri has warned all the governors not to slash the fund allocated for the forest and land rehabilitation program (RHL) in an attempt to prevent dry and parched land in Indonesia from expanding.

Slobodan Lekic, Jakarta – Indonesian generals, on the defensive since the ouster of the dictatorship they supported for 32 years, are becoming kingmakers again as the campaign for presidential and parliamentary elections heats up.

Shawn Donnan, Jakarta – Indonesia is planning to hire 1 million new civil servants over the next three years despite concerns expressed by foreign investors, donors and institutions such as the World Bank that it already has a bloated government bureaucracy.

Congress today restored a ban on International Military Education and Training (IMET) for Indonesia, just months after President Bush cited a "changed attitude" among legislators that would permit further military cooperation.

Medan – Indonesian prosecutors on Wednesday demanded prison terms ranging from four months to 30 months for 18 police officers allegedly involved in the killing of two students in 2000, officials said.

A fire which destroyed an Indonesian petrochemical plant, killed two people and caused tens of millions of dollars in damage, officials said.

Police had earlier put the death toll as rising to four after the blaze at the Petro Widada complex in the town of Gresik in East Java.

Jakarta – Greenpeace is sending its flagship, the "Rainbow Warrior," on a campaign to stop illegal logging in Indonesia, the environmental pressure group said on Wednesday.

Jakarta – The United States has denied that it issued a travel ban against Gen. (ret) Wiranto, as was reported in The Washington Post.

Jakarta – Indonesia's General Elections Commission (KPU) will open registration on Wednesday for international observers wishing to monitor the implementation of the general elections this year, the commission's deputy chief said.

Ramlan Surbakti said the KPU had already sent an invitation to all foreign embassies that wished to send observers.

Slamet Susanto and Ruslan Sangadji, Yogyakarta/Palu – Forty-two legislative candidates in Yogyakarta are believed to have been linked with the outlawed and now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), a poll official said on Tuesday.

Indonesian police say they have found almost 30 bombs plus guns and ammunition in a district where Muslims and Christians have battled in recent years.

The bombs and weapons were found on cocoa plantations in the Poso district of Central Sulawesi on Monday, said Police Sergeant Major Pangeran.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – As Indonesia prepares for an April general election and its first-ever direct presidential election in July, the government is busy trying to establish policy credibility in the eyes of the market.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The leading Koran Tempo daily yesterday lost the first of a series of legal battles against businessman Tomy Winata and was ordered to pay the powerful tycoon US$1 million (S$1.7 million) in a defamation suit.

Muklis Ali, Jakarta – Militant groups may be planning to disrupt Indonesian elections this year with attacks on political rallies, police said on Tuesday. Indonesia is due to hold parliamentary polls in April and its first direct presidential election in July. Campaigning will begin in March.

Jakarta – Indonesia's General Elections Commission (KPU) yesterday released lists of legislative candidates from 24 electoral contestants.

"Even though we are not required to publicize the lists of legislative candidates, the public is entitled to know them," chairman of the KPU's working committee for scrutinizing legislative candidates, Anas Urbaningrum, said yesterday.

Evi Mariani, Mumbai, India – Indonesian labor activist Dita Sari became one of the stars of the World Social Forum on Monday when she addressed a packed conference on globalization, and economic and social security, along with US Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and Egyptian Neo-Marxian thinker Samir Amin.

Iin Yumiyanti, Jakarta – TNI (armed forces) headquarters has denied that it issued an order to collect data on ex-members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) in the lead up to the 2004 elections. If there has been an order to collect this kind of data it diverges from the duties of the TNI.

Frans Surdiasis, Jakarta – The late Elvis Presley's song It's now or never, perfectly depicts the situation faced by Amien Rais and his National Mandate Party (PAN) in confronting this year's general election. Many people say that this year is plausibly the last chance for Amien Rais to achieve his ambition of becoming the country's president.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – After four months of taking refuge at the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) compound, more than 200 evictees say they have nowhere else to go.

"We don't know how long we'll have to stay here. It appears that Komnas HAM is doing nothing for us," said Saifuddin, 50, who was evicted from Cengkareng Timur, West Jakarta.

Indonesian police are investigating whether a bombing which killed four people in South Sulawesi province this month is linked to previous blasts.

Ardimas Sasdi – Like a body blow to many people who are longing for peace and order after a great dearth of positive news, the government has announced a controversial plan to expand the authority and reach of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) within the country.

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – Learning from the increase in the number HIV/AIDS cases, especially among teenagers, students have urged the government to provide sex education classes where they can also learn about the hazards of injecting drugs.

After decades of official supression, Indonesia's ethnic Chinese minority is now able to openly celebrate the Lunar New Year but discrimination remains for the rest of the time.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – The old New Order appears to be on the rise again in Indonesia.

With just three months to go before the parliamentary elections, surveys show Golkar, the party of former president Suharto, has a very strong chance of winning.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Islamic parties in Indonesia are facing a crisis of leadership.

Torn apart by personal ambition and ideological differences, they have not been able to unite behind a single presidential ticket to challenge President Megawati Sukarnoputri and the secular nationalist bloc in this year's elections.

Ruslan Sangadji and Irvan NR, Palu – Local members of the National Mandate Party (PAN) here objected on Saturday to the central board's selection of politicians to top the party's list of legislative candidates representing Central Sulawesi, as the candidates are not native to the province.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia's Islamic leaders have declared a national war against corruption in politics.

Anti-graft activists have long been complaining that as many as 70 per cent of the country's MPs are "tainted" and do not deserve to be re-elected into office, and now the Muslim leaders have decided to lend their support to the anti-corruption campaign.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Taking the 1999 general elections as a lesson, the Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) has promised to improve supervision of the election process and follow up on any reports of offenses and pass them on to the National Police.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The Jakarta Composite Index skyrocketed on Monday to the highest level in the nation's history, as new investors from the United States and Europe entered the market seeking to capitalize on the rising optimism.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Riau Governor Mohamad Rusli and Minister of Maritime and Fishery Rokhmin Dahuri competed on Friday for President Megawati Soekarnoputri's endorsement of their opposite stances over the sea sand export policy to Singapore.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati & Sandy Darmosumarto, Jakarta – An activist with a rights watchdog, which had reported in December that the national intelligence body was already beginning activities at the district level, questioned a potential overlapping of functions with the military's territorial commands.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – While highlighting improvements in the economy and national stability as its main platforms, the Golkar Party has vowed not to snub the increasingly louder anticorruption voices during the upcoming election campaign.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Manpower and Transmigration Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea said on Friday that the number of unemployed people would increase by about 2.5 million to over 45 million this year.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The Indonesian Museum of Records (Muri) will likely add to its collection thanks to President Megawati Soekarnoputri's generous plan to invite 5,300 people to celebrate her 57th birthday on January 23 at the Jababeka industrial estate in Cikarang, West Java.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Four days after asking bus drivers to make the TransJakarta Busway project launch a perfect one, Governor Sutiyoso was shocked to discover 30 had gone on strike, demanding clarity in their employment contracts and extra allowances besides their basic salaries. "Strike?" he asked, almost speechless.

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta – Former State Logistics Agency (Bulog) head Beddu Amang began serving a four-year prison sentence for graft on Friday after the Supreme Court rejected his appeal.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – As most voters are unaware of the new electoral system, political parties are likely to encourage supporters to punch the logo of political parties on ballot papers instead of marking the names of legislative candidates, a political analyst says.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – The Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) revealed on Friday its suspicion that thousands of legislative candidates had submitted fake diplomas to the General Elections Commission (KPU) among their required application documents.

Andrew Burrell, Jakarta – Sharing lunch with an indicted war criminal accused of overseeing the slaughter of 1500 people is hardly an everyday experience. Neither is it as difficult as it might seem.

Remember the People's Democratic Party (PRD), remember how radical these young people were in the struggling for democracy. Although they admit they are still weak in terms of building a mass base, to this day the PRD is still consistent in its mission of struggle. That is, for the sake of democracy, they are not afraid of death. That's how extreme they are.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia's reform initiatives have failed and the country needs a strong leader "who can do better", said retired General Wiranto.

The Suharto-era armed forces commander has become a serious contender for presidential elections later this year.

Kurniawan Hari and Zakki Hakim, Jakarta – Thousands of people throughout the country took to the streets seeking the cancellation of utility price hikes on Thursday despite a decision by the government to delay the increase in telephone charges.

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – The government will spend much of the budget allocated for research and development over the coming 20 years on developing new rice varieties and alternative energy resources.

Jakarta – Former Indonesian military chief and presidential hopeful Wiranto has shrugged off a reported move by United States to bar him from entry over accusations of rights violations, media reported on Sunday.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The US State Department is to put several serving and former Indonesian military officers, including a leading presidential candidate, on a watch list of indicted war criminals, effectively barring them from entering the US.