Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Terrorism and piracy were on the agenda but a restoration of full military ties with the United States was uppermost among Indonesia's concerns, with its military chief calling for cooperation to be "reawakened".

Dean Yates, Jakarta – Indonesian and US defense officials Thursday wrapped up security talks that covered issues from terrorism to piracy, marking a step forward in relations after military ties were slashed in 1999.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) has replaced its navy and air force chiefs in a routine military reshuffle, the head of the military announced yesterday.

Navy Chief of Staff Indroko Sastrowiryono was replaced by Admiral Bernard Kent Sondakh, currently inspector-general of the armed forces, Admiral Widodo Adisucipto told reporters at a press conference here.

Jakarta – Former Indonesian military chief Wiranto, who launched a solo album of classic Indonesian love songs last year, will soon provide the voice for a cartoon character.

General Wiranto will lend his voice to an elephant character in a local folk tale.

Bogor – About 100 alleged prostitutes were netted in a series of operations launched separately by the police and the local administration on Monday and Tuesday night following Saturday's attacks on a number of hotels and suspected brothels in Cipayung, part of the Puncak resort area.

Hundreds of loyalist Muslims staged a noisy protest in Indonesia's eastern city of Ambon against independence supporters flying flags attached to air balloons to mark the anniversary of a separatist group.

Jason Tedjasukmana – Here's why Iwan Fals matters: because boy bands don't take on dictatorships. They don't stand up when everyone else is hunkering down. They don't put to song what others are afraid to put in print. Pop stars should give a damn-when they do, remarkable transformations are possible.

Pramoedya Ananta Toer – Grandmother Satima and mother Saidah, according to Pramoedya Ananta Toer, made him who he is.

Two women gave me life. Two women of one flesh and blood, but sundered by fate. Two women who then defied that fate. Two women who taught me that the individual matters, above anyone or anything else. Two women who are my heroes.

A mob of protestors including Islamic students torched and vandalised six suspected brothels and injured four people during a rampage at an Indonesian hill resort, police and reports said.

Following the adoption of a statement on East Timor by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (the Commission) in Geneva last Friday, Amnesty International expressed its disappointment that once again the Commission has succumbed to pressure from the Indonesian Government not to address either the grave human rights situation in Indonesia or its poor record on holding perpetr

Grace Nirang, Jakarta – Indonesian farmers may be fed up with the low prices they get for their coffee but young people in the world's fourth most populous country can't get enough of the trendy bean.

Farmers in the world's fourth largest producer desperately want out of coffee, but plans are brewing in the big cities for even more trendy cafes serving the stuff.

Jakarta – The mother of an Indonesian suspected of links to international terrorism said Thursday she was "shocked" to hear he had been jailed for up to 12 years in the Philippines.

Jakarta – US ambassador Ralph Boyce has urged reform of Indonesia's "ineffective and corrupt" legal system to help attract badly needed foreign investment.

Jakarta – Indonesia is planning new incentives to raise foreign direct investment after a slump last year, an official said Thursday.

Actual foreign investment last year totalled 50 million dollars compared to approvals of nine billion dollars, said Investment Coordinating Board chairman Theo Tumion.

Jakarta – A witness in the trial of Tommy Suharto, a son of the former Indonesian dictator, on Wednesday admitted that he had lied in court and received 210 dollars from a defense lawyer, the official Antara news agency said.

An Indonesian judge murdered 10 months after sentencing Tommy Suharto to jail, had told his wife of a threat from Tommy and a bribery attempt by his lawyer, a court heard.

Jakarta – The former chief of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command, Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto, has urged all elements of the nation not to keep pointing their fingers at the Indonesian Military for all that is happening in the country because the TNI is the "glue that binds the country's unity".

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – The Army Special Force (Kopassus), a much feared unit within the Indonesian Military (TNI), has a long history of ups and downs.

Kopassus was born when the Indonesian Army was struggling to put an end to a separatist campaign waged by the South Maluku Republic (RMS) in 1950.

Jakarta – Hundreds of workers from some 15 labor unions representing workers in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) staged an anti-privatization protest in Jakarta on Tuesday as part of a campaign to pressure the government to abandon the program, which is seen as being crucial to the country's economic recovery hopes.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Resistance from workers, leading politicians and labour leaders threatens to derail the Indonesian government's ambitious privatisation programme and slow down the recent positive turnaround for the economy.

Bandar Lampung – Hundreds of villagers in Lampung province ended a protest against the detention of their representatives with violence as they clashed with police and attacked Bandarlampung Prosecutor's Office.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Seven defendants went on trial on Tuesday for attacking the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) office building on Jl. Mendut, Menteng, Central Jakarta, last month.

Yulie Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Bandung Police detained on Monday seven student protesters for allegedly violating measures taken by police to secure President Megawati Soekarnoputri's official visit to Bandung on Monday.

Jakarta – Hundreds of Bank International Indonesia (BII) employees demonstrated in front of the bank's headquarters on Jl. M.H. Thamrin in Central Jakarta on Monday, demanding the management provide better welfare.

Monday's protest was part of a series of protests staged by the BII worker's union in demand for a better salary and welfare support, El Shinta radio reported.

Bogor – Thousands of laborers of PT Truba Raya Trading, the producer of FILA shoes, staged a rally in Ciawi, Bogor, demanding the company raise their wages in accordance with the new provincial minimum wage. They also demanded that PT Truba not impose income tax on the workers.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – The University of Indonesia's Institute for the Study of Social Institutions said on Monday there were 13 large illegal gambling dens currently operating in the city, with a daily turnover of between Rp 2 billion (US$200,000) and Rp 10 billion each.

Jakarta – Indonesian police may arrest defense lawyers for allegedly bribing witnesses to lie during the trial of Tommy Suharto on murder and illegal weapons charges, a report said Tuesday.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government may allow foreign investors to control 100 percent shares in universities and hospitals, a report said Tuesday.

Jakarta – The origins of religious extremism in Indonesia are rooted in domestic issues, such as low education levels and poverty, and not international factors, a prominent Indonesian Muslim figure told US government officials on a recent trip to America.

Jakarta – Indonesia's currency and stock market were higher in early trading Monday after the Paris Club's agreement to reschedule 5.4 billion dollars in government debt.

Jakarta – In a bid to protect their business interests, underground gambling kingpins are pressing for legal casinos to be built in the capital here instead of on a northern island chain.

About 250 fierce-looking protesters from Metro Watch, an organisation allegedly backed by powerful underworld figures, besieged Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso's residence on Saturday.

Jakarta – A coalition of environmental groups here urged the government to withdraw licenses given to mining companies that plan to operate in around one-fifth of the country's protected forests and conservation areas.

Priandono, Jakarta - About 40 million Indonesian people go hungry, according to Bishow B. Parajuli, Deputy Country Director of the United Nation World Food Program.

He went on to explain that the 40 million people account for 17 percent of the Indonesian population.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Over 120 labor activists from around the country warned on Sunday against pursuing trade liberalization and the privatization of state-owned enterprises, arguing that such moves would only inflict more suffering on Indonesian workers.

Paris – Indonesia's foreign government creditors on Friday said they had agreed to re-schedule a portion of the country's external debt service obligations.

Jakarta – The government plans to establish an agency to tackle issues concerning the country's migrant workers, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said.

Jakarta – Almost two-thirds of Indonesian households who answered a nationwide survey reported falling victim to corruption by public officials, according to a report issued Friday.

Traffic police ere considered the most corrupt body, followed by the customs department and the judiciary, said the report from the Partnership for Governance Reform.

Robert Go, Jakarta – A lack of investment in Indonesia's power sector has forced the government to schedule regular blackouts in more than 30 regions across the country.

Leo Wahyudi S, Jakarta – Temporarily employed doctors are winning more support for their plight, with the National Commission on Human Rights charging that the mandatory service required of new medical graduates by the government is a form of rights abuse.

Padang – The Padang administration in West Sumatra has been criticized for appointing around 100 allegedly unqualified teachers as civil servants in public schools.

Annastashya Emmanuelle, Jakarta – Although the government has constantly vowed to eradicate graft and corruption, the level of budget malfeasance remains high as action is rarely taken by the relevant government institutions to follow up on reports of irregularities released by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).

Jakarta – A group of pro-democracy activists voiced concern over the ongoing amendment process of the 1945 Constitution on Wednesday, calling on the Assembly to soon form an independent constitutional commission to avoid a possible constitutional crisis, reports said.

Agus Maryono, Purwokerto – Thousands of fishermen from Central Java canceled their plan to storm Jakarta on Wednesday in protest over the newly decreed fishing taxes, after Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Rohimin Dahuri heeded some of their demands.

Jakarta – Thousands of people in Indonesia's West Nusa Tenggara province staged a rally on Wednesday to protest Israel's sweeping military offensive in Palestine.

Jakarta – The Indonesian capital has been hit by floods again due to clogged drainage channels.

Residents in southern Jakarta complained that their homes were deluged due to the poor condition of drainage channels following the major floods that hit the city in January and February.

Yogyakarta – The provincial police named on Tuesday two other policemen as suspects in the death of Aan Yulianto who died in the hospital after having been "interrogated" in relation to a brawl early this month.

Spokesman for the Yogyakarta police office Adj. Sr. Comr. Sudarsono said the new suspects are Joko Taruno and Adhofir.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – Being accused of espousing "public lies" has apparently offended Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso.

Sumber, West Java – At least 6000 students in the West Java city of Cirebon have been forced to drop out of elementary schools since January due to financial problems and individual values, local officials said on Tuesday.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Witnesses at the murder trial of Tommy Suharto have retracted their previous statements. Withdrawals by three of them have raised suspicions that they are being intimidated with the aim of securing the defendant's release.

Jakarta – Indonesia's economic growth in the next few years will be too low to lift millions of its people out of poverty, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Tuesday.