The insistence of House Speaker Akbar Tanjung on retaining his position in Golkar and in the House is likely to provoke post-power syndrome groups to continue to radicalize the anti Megawati-Hamzah movement.

Marian Wilkinson, Washington – A confidential FBI report revealing that a key member of the extremist group Jemaah Islamiah planned to bomb Westerners in bars and nightclubs from Thailand to Indonesia is believed to have been distributed to America's allies almost two months before last year's Bali bombing.

Pip Hinman – When Indonesian judge Asril Marwan on December 30 sentenced Joy-Lee Sadler to four months' jail and Lesley McCulloch to five months, he declared that McCulloch should have received a harsher sentence because her actions "could have threatened national security and the territorial integrity of the Republic of Indonesia".

Max Lane, Jakarta – On the evening of January 15, senior Indonesian cabinet ministers announced the postponement of a proposed 22% increase in telephone charges and the postponement and review of proposed increases to electricity and petrol prices.

Joanne Collins, Bali – Indonesia would not need to "beg" for money from the international community if it tackled the corruption costing the cash-strapped country some $28.4 billion a year, an outspoken minister said.

The former head of Indonesia's national human rights commission says the agency's independence is under threat because of recent legislative changes. Asmara Nababan was a founding member of the commission and served as its General Secretary from 1999 until last year.

Bill Guerin – International aid donors led by the World Bank may, just may, put more pressure on Indonesia to reform its forestry policy. Management of Indonesia's remaining forests is among the topics on the agenda of the 12th meeting of the 30-member Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) in Bali this week.

Mathew Moore, Jakarta – Despite certain criticism from its international financial backers, Indonesia's Government is set to abandon a series of fuel price rises introduced on January 1 as small but persistent protests around the country enter their third week.

Matthew Moore – In a nation where conspiracy theories and rice are two of life's staples, Indonesians appear to be changing their habits. You can still get rice with your Kentucky Fried, but conspiracy theories are suddenly harder to find, at least as far as the Bali bombing is concerned.

Bali – Indonesia's moves to reduce earlier announced rises in fuel prices were very understandable and would not compromise its goals of keeping its budget deficit under control, an IMF official said on Tuesday.

A World Bank official said separately he thought there was an understanding spirit among donors at the Consultative Group on Indonesia meeting here.

Students, workers and employers vowed on Monday to continue their street rallies to force the government to make radical changes to economic policies aimed at bailing the country out of its multidimensional crisis.

Joanne Collins, Bali – Indonesia's government said on Tuesday it wanted an end to IMF funding this year, seeking to break a financial lifeline in place since the Asian financial crisis savaged the country five years ago.

Sri Wahyuni, Yogyakarta – Police fired warning shots and beat hundreds of anti-CGI protesters with batons, while representatives of Indonesia's traditional foreign donor countries and institutions held a closed-door meeting with government officials here on Sunday.

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang As the sun sets, some factory workers rush to their boarding houses to refresh themselves. They take off their uniforms and replace them with miniskirts. Heavy makeup is smeared on their faces.

Those young women are not going to a party. They work at nightspots in the Lippo Pinangsia office complex in Karawaci.

Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta – Corruption charges against politicians and state officials abound, but analysts say they probably have more to do with attacking political foes rather than with eradicating corruption.

Nana Rukmana and Kurniawan Hari, Cirebon/Jakarta – The move to clip House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung's wings has taken a new turn following a Jakarta High Court verdict against him with at least 75 legislators demanding his suspension.

Jakarta – Indonesian activists vowed yesterday to hold more protests against recent price rises despite government promises to delay some increases and review others.

The protests, which erupted this month and have sometimes been violent, may worry donors and investors and affect fund flows to the world's fourth most populous nation.

Joanne Collins, Jakarta – Happy with Indonesia's fight against terror and its efforts for peace in Aceh, international donors look set this week to pledge the $2.8 billion in aid that the country is seeking.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Novi had to rush to her factory because she was afraid of being late for her night shift and it never occurred to her that something awful was going to happen at work.

Jakarta – Intelligence information has uncovered a plot to use the current protests against fuel and utility price hikes to overthrow the government, Indonesia's top security minister said yesterday.

Leo Wahyudi S – Drug abuse is one of the serious problems facing the country, especially big cities like Jakarta. Under the antidrug laws which allow the death penalty for drug traffickers, 21 people have been sentenced to death. But none have been executed. The Jakarta Post talked to several people about the government's efforts to deal with drug problems.

Jakarta – Speaker of the House of Representatives Akbar Tandjung insisted that he would retain his position despite the fact that he has been convicted twice by two different courts for graft.

Jakarta – The National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) demanded on Thursday the Attorney General's Office charge former president Soeharto and his generals suspects with crimes against humanity committed in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta 19 years ago.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – Residents of Kelapa Gading district, North Jakarta, lost on Thursday their class-action suit against Governor Sutiyoso at the Jakarta State Administrative Court.

Bogor – Eight people, including a man in military uniform, ran amok at a cafe in the district of Kemang in Bogor early Thursday morning, damaging the establishment and injuring the cafe owner and his father, as well as two employees.

La Remmy, Palu – Police here said on Thursday they had arrested at least 30 people suspected of involvement in an attack on the headquarters of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's party in Palu, Central Sulawesi.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – Widespread illegal logging costs US$609 million annually in environmental destruction throughout the country, an expert has said.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Millions of Indonesians face poverty as investors continue to desert the country largely because of rampant corruption and collapsing infrastructure, a new report says.

Bill Guerin – The Indonesian government raised fuel prices, electricity rates, and telephone charges at the start of the year in an effort to slash expensive subsidies and help ailing state-owned utilities.

Tim Shorrock, Washington – The US Congress may vote as early as this week to restore a military training program for Indonesia despite uncertainties about the Indonesian military's human-rights record, according to House and Senate aides and observers of US-Indonesian relations.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Indonesian managers, and professionals such as doctors and lawyers could find themselves competing with their foreign peers for jobs here in the near future if the government surrenders to pressure to open the country's labor market.

Jakarta – The recent protest involving only about 3,000 workers in Jakarta, instead of the threatened 25,000 people, is further proof of how weak the labor movement in Indonesia is, and of its failure so far to harness its potentially powerful political leverage, say labor experts.

Kurniawan Hari and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The House of Representatives (DPR) moved to save face in the price hike controversy on Tuesday, urging President Megawati Soekarnoputri to take into serious consideration the protests against the recent utility and fuel price increases.

Bogor – Some 2,000 workers in Bogor regency, West Java, staged a protest on Tuesday demanding minimum wages the same as for workers in the nearby regions of Jakarta, Bekasi and Tangerang, at the regent's office.

Jakarta – President Megawati Soekarnoputricanceled a trip to Central Sulawesi on Tuesday following the latest wave of protests around the country over higher fuel and utility prices, AP reported.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has said that people would have difficulty in obtaining water if the government went ahead with its plan to privatize the natural resource.

It said water shortages might become a major disaster this year as droughts, floods, forest fires and landslides are expected to continue.

The Human Rights Watch annual report has singled out the government of Indonesia for failing to address human rights abuses by the military. It says human rights workers have faced increased persecution especially when they sought to investigate abuses in regions like Aceh and Papua.

Jakarta – Nationwide protests against increases in utility prices entered their second week on Tuesday, turning more militant in some provinces as protesters blocked roads and occupied government offices.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – On New Year's Eve, I pulled into my local Pertamina station. While waiting for my tank to fill, I asked the attendant about gasoline prices for January; for the past year, the Indonesian government has adjusted the cost of fuel on a monthly basis and usually announces the new prices a few days in advance. "Belum tahu," he replied; he didn't know yet.

Karawang – The Indonesian Military (TNI) on Monday said it was the right of citizens to protest over recent price hikes but warned against hidden agendas, including toppling the government by calling for the establishment of a presidium to rule in the place of the president.

Jakarta – Some 5,000 women staged a rally on Tuesday outside the presidential palace in Central Jakara, protesting the government's decision to increase fuel prices and electricity and telephone rates, Antara reported.

Carrying kitchen utensils and banners, the women, led by the Muslim Women's Solidarity Forum for the Poor, marched along the streets under the hot sun.

Jakarta – Violence erupted again on Monday as thousands of people embarked on a second week of protests nationwide against the steep rises in fuel prices, and electricity and telephone charges.

However, most of the street rallies proceeded peacefully across the country.

Achmad Sukarsono and Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – Thousands of protesters rallied in more than a dozen Indonesian cities on Tuesday and knocked down parliament's gates in the capital, maintaining pressure on the government to review its recent fuel and utility price hikes.

[The following is a by Jeffrey Winters, Northwestern University, via Joyo Indonesia News Service.]

I would like to offer the following observations:

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) headed by President Megawati Sukarnoputri has joined the chorus of protesters calling on her administration to review its price increases for fuel and utilities.

Rachel Harvey, Jakarta – Rampant corruption in Indonesia is hampering attempts to tackle the problem of illegal logging, according to a report.

Indonesia's forests, home to endangered species, such as the orang-utan and Clouded Leopard, are being stripped. Campaigners claim up to 70% of Indonesia's timber comes from illegal sources.

Jakarta – Shortly after several cabinet ministers arrived in Ambon, Maluku, an unidentified man threw bombs at passing cars, which exploded and damaged the rear end of a public minivan on Tuesday, Antara reported.

The first bomb, which was thrown at a private-owned car, failed to explode, but the second did. No casualties were reported during the incident.

Jakarta – The government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri has restored some political stability but failed to address human rights abuses by the military and endemic corruption, Human Rights Watch saidTuesday in its annual report.

The watchdog said human rights campaigners faced increased ersecution especially in the rebellious provinces of Aceh and Papua.

Mengwi – President Megawati Sukarnoputri yesterday defended her decision to raise fuel and power prices, arguing they were needed to end the country's reliance on foreign debt.

Jakarta – Riding the momentum initiated by mounting anti-government protests, several individuals representing different groups have become united in their efforts to unseat President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Vice President Hamzah Haz.