Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesian immigration officials yesterday freed 29 foreigners, including 18 Australians, who were detained at an international conference in Jakarta, as criticisms grew of police-sanctioned brutality against the organisers.

Hundreds of protesters from the Student Action Front for Reform and Democracy (FAMRED), All-Indonesia Front (FIS), Peoples Action Committee for Victims of Violence (KARAT), and Student Union (IISIP) staged a demonstration in front of Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, this afternoon demanding the dissolution of both Golkar Party and parliament.

Jakarta – The 13 rivers in the Indonesian capital are turning into a major health hazard as factories and families dump untreated toxic waste into the waterways.

Jakarta – Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab claimed here on Monday that the United States government under President George W. Bush had loosened its military embargo on Jakarta.

Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid changed his economics team Tuesday in a bid to rebuild his support ahead of impeachment proceedings and to smooth relations with disgruntled foreign lenders. It was the second major change to his troubled Cabinet in 11 days.

Jakarta – Around 2,500 workers rallied in front of Indonesia's presidential palace on Monday demanding the government drop plans for a 30.1 percent fuel price hike later this month. There were no reports of trouble from the protesters who shouted slogans under the watchful eyes of 200 policemen and dispersed by midday.

The decision by Indonesian police to detain local and foreign participants at a human rights and labor rights seminar on the outskirts of Jakarta has further tarnished the nations international image. Last Fridays raid was seen as a return to the tactics of ex-president Suhartos regime, which routinely used police and thugs-for-hire groups to repress pro-democracy activities.

Craig Skehan, Malcolm Brown and Lindsay Murdoch – Australian diplomats warned protesters last night against inflammatory action as attempts continued to get 18 Australians, accused of visa violations for attending a political conference in Jakarta, out of Indonesia. However, a protest outside the Indonesian Consulate in Maroubra went ahead yesterday as scheduled.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – In a bid to cut down pollution in one of the world's most polluted cities, the government is planning to phase out the fume-emitting and noisy three-wheeled bajaj and replace it with more environmentally friendly vehicles.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Originally imported from India in the 70s as a faster alternative to the motorised rickshaw, the bajaj – similar to Thailand's tuk-tuks – was never officially legalised in many parts of Jakarta.

Robert Go, Jakarta – The economic crisis, as much as fashion, is responsible for the current fad among Indonesians for wearing body-hugging, belly-button-baring clothes.

G. K. Goh, Jakarta – Embattled Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid has stepped up his defiance saying he will not resign and challenged the military and police to try and use force to oust him, media reported on Monday.

Robert Go, Jakarta – For cabby Sutardjo, the petrol-price increase scheduled for this coming Friday could erode his daily take-home earnings of around 40,000 rupiah (S$6.80) by as much as 20 per cent.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia's new Attorney-General pledged yesterday to restart corruption proceedings against former President Suharto, who spent his 80th birthday praying at a mosque and giving out charity packages to orphans.

Soraya Permatasari, Jakarta – Indonesian police said on Saturday that more than 30 foreigners, including a four-year-old girl, detained at a human rights seminar were suspected of immigration violations and would be questioned next week.

Agence France Presse in Jakarta – Disgraced and ailing former dictator Suharto was moved to tears by an orphan when he marked his 80th birthday yesterday, two days after the man he overthrew, founding president Sukarno, would have turned 100.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – In a further sign of the animosity between Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri and President Abdurrahman Wahid, Ms Megawati yesterday snubbed a Cabinet meeting she was supposed to chair.

Susan Sim, Jakarta – Opposition politicians with no skeletons in their closets need not fear the new Attorney-General.

Chris Brummitt, Jakarta – With calls growing for her to lead the nation, Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri lashed out at critics who say she lacks the experience for the presidency.

Surabaya – An investigation team formed by the National Awakening Party (PKB) faction at the East Java provincial legislature claims to have found evidence that people arrested following riots in Pasuruan were tortured during police questioning.

Jakarta – Indonesia's Parliament wants stiffer cuts in petrol subsidies and price hikes more drastic than the 30 per cent jump already slated by the government – a development that could inject additional fuel to the escalated political tension in Jakarta and spark further mass demonstrations later this month.

Sadanand Dhume and Dini Djalal, Jakarta – In most democracies, a president who has lost the confidence of parliament, the army and the business community would be expected to slink away quietly. Not in Indonesia, where President Abdurrahman Wahid continues to cling to office.

Jakarta – Jakarta stocks edged higher on Thursday, but the market was under pressure from rumours, later denied, that politically isolated President Abdurrahman Wahid would sack the armed forces commander in a bid to hang on to the leadership.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – The younger sister of Indonesian Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri lashed out at Parliament yesterday, accusing it of organising a virtual coup d'etat by attempting to impeach President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Jakarta – Legal activists made a fresh call on Wednesday for the abolishment of military courts and joint civilian-military tribunals which, they said, were often used to protect the military's impunity.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – The word being debated among foreign journalists in Jakarta is "mutiny". The police chief sacked last week by President Abdurrahman Wahid has refused to step down and his stance is being interpreted by the security forces as a reason for defiance of their own.

Bagus Kurniawan/HD, Yogyakarta – On Wednesday, around 100 students calling themselves Anti New Order People Front (Frarob) from various universities in Yogyakarta staged a demonstration at the Yogyakarta Provincial Legislative Council (DPRD) aimed at dissolving the Golkar Party and purging the parliament from any New Order elements.

Jakarta – Tensions around Indonesia's leadership crisis seeped into a centenary commemoration Wednesday of the country's founding ruler Sukarno when a partisan crowd cheered his daughter, the vice president, but jeered the embattled leader.

Max Lane, Jakarta – On May 30, an alliance of members of parliament from Golkar (the party of former Indonesian dictator Suharto), the armed forces (TNI), the muslim right-wing Central Axis parties and vice-president Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) passed a resolution in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR, Indonesia's parliament) to hold a

Associated Press in Jakarta – Corruption in Indonesia's law courts is so deeply ingrained that it might take more than two decades to purge them of graft, the newly installed attorney general was quoted as saying by newspapers on Wednesday.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – He was autocratic, plunged Indonesia into a period of economic disaster and widespread poverty and flirted with communism. Yet, Indonesians today can't get enough of Sukarno – Indonesia's founding president.

Thousands are expected to flock to Blitar, his burial site in East Java, for today's celebration of the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Jakarta – The political party of Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid on Tuesday accused the sacked national police chief and his allies of treason for refusing to accept his dismissal by Wahid.

"[General Suroyo] Bimantoro's behaviour amounts to treason," legislator Effendy Choirie of Wahid's National Awakening Party told AFP.

Jakarta – More than 8,000 Indonesian police and troops staged a show of unity and defiance near the presidential palace Tuesday, pledging allegiance to the national police chief sacked by President Abdurrahman Wahid last week.

Jakarta – Indonesia's charismatic founding president Sukarno is enjoying a surge in popularity 31 years after his death, as his country sinks deeper into political and communal squabbling, analysts said.

Djoko Tjiptono/HD, Jakarta – Anti-Golkar Party demonstration keeps to move. This Tuesday, around 400 residents from Jakarta came to the Supreme Court (MA) building on Jl Medan Merdeka Utara, Central Jakarta. They came to demand the disbandment of the Golkar Party. At the same time, second court against Golkar continues aimed at dissolving the Golkar Party.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Observing the behaviour of President Abdurrahman Wahid, it is easy to paint a picture of a crazy, erratic, inconsistent and ailing old man, lashing out wildly at his opponents like a wounded animal trapped in a corner.

Duri – It is a costly cat-and-mouse game played out daily by guards, the workers who install oil-exploration equipment and the thieves who scavenge its metal for scrap.

"We install it, they steal it," moaned Mr Akson Brahmantyo, an engineer at Indonesia's largest oilfield operated by the US energy company Caltex.

Karaniya Dharmasaputra, Adi Prasetya and Wens Manggut – Suddenly the move to force an early session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to impeach President Abdurrahman Wahid is grinding to a halt.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – When President Abdurrahman Wahid feels cornered, he will lash out and strike his opponents.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid had long distrusted three of the four Cabinet ministers he sacked yesterday, regarding them as potential "traitors" to his government, one of his close family members said.

Robert Go, Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid's latest move to avert dishonour yesterday included the appointment of Mr Baharudin Lopa – a loyalist who legislators said would at once dig up corruption cases against opposition leaders – as Indonesia's new Attorney-General.

Jakarta – Students of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) were involved in clashes yesterday with Police and Military who were tasked to safeguard Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri during her visit to the ITB campus to inaugurate a statue of Soekarno, Indonesias first president which was erected on the campus where he studied technical science and obtained his diploma from.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia's political crisis was close to spinning out of control last night after an increasingly isolated President Wahid, desperate to fend off impeachment, sacked four ministers.

Wens Manggut and Andari Karina Anom – Where are all the laughter and hand clapping of yesteryear? They have all but disappeared from Golkar's party headquarters in Slipi, West Jakarta. It's as if the former political vehicle of the Suharto regime is black and blue, within and without.

Bogor – Democratic People's Party (PRD) chairman Budiman Sudjatmiko alleged on Friday that the recent explosions at his parents' home in the Sukaresmi subdistrict of Tanah Sareal was a premeditated act of terror.

Washington – The United States said it was watching events in Indonesia closely as it faces a test to its democracy, and called on the country's leaders to solve its political crisis through peaceful, constitutional means.

US State Department spokesman Philip Reeker told reporters that Washington was "watching events in Indonesia very closely".

Surabaya – As many as 150 people were reported missing in the town of Pasuruan on Thursday as life gradually returned to normal following an interfaith meeting between senior local ulemas and Christian clergymen on Wednesday evening.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Without clear leadership at the top, Indonesia's bureaucracy could break down over the next two lame-duck months, analysts warned. The predictions came despite assurances from senior officials at various ministries, who claim the government will carry on despite impeachment proceedings against President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Susan Sim, Jakarta – Do not say anything, just focus on the G-15 meeting and your new grandson – that is the advice key Cabinet ministers are giving the President the day after impeachment became an inescapable reality.

Hongkong – Despite feeling uneasy over the recent political turmoil in Indonesia, the head of the International Monetary Fund yesterday said he was willing to work with any new policymakers chosen by the nation.