Hundreds of protesters staged an anti-communism rally at the National Monument (Monas) Park in Central Jakarta on Sunday in commemoration of the bloody 1965 abortive coup, which is blamed on the now defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

[Slavery was abolished years ago, but the plight of some housemaids today shows that inhumane attitudes never die. The recent self-immolation by a housemaid who endured ill-treatment from her employers in Jakarta has brought attention once again to the problem of domestic helpers denied their basic rights.

Jakarta – Indonesia's plans to win back foreign investment for its troubled economy could falter as the United States and other governments fear for the safety of their diplomats and citizens in the world's most populous Muslim country, analysts said Friday.

Jakarta – Trafficking in women is rampant here due to inadequate legal instruments and weak law enforcement, a researcher said on Thursday.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military chief's proposal to establish a new antiterrorist agency has sparked fear among human rights activists of a resurrection of the New Order regime's dreaded internal security agency (Kopkamtib).

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Frustrated residents in outer Jakarta have seized two water trucks and refused to pay increased water rates after their erratic water supply slowed to a trickle.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The Indonesian Police force has been branded as cowardly for its reluctance to rein-in radical Muslim groups.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Unemployed, impressionable, and reckless, 26-year-old Taufiq Abdul Halim is the face of the next wave of foot soldiers being deployed to fight the cause of religious extremism in the region.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Small groups of Indonesians are signing up to join a holy war against the United States. A minority is even claiming links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda organisation.

Jakarta – The Jakarta city council has postponed plans to buy garbage trucks and other essential vehicles because the budget must be used to buy cars for councillors.

Jakarta – Tension was high in the Glodok area in Kota, Central Jakarta, on Thursday, after Taman Sari Public Order Officers demolished VCD vendors' stands along the road during a raid on the vendors on Wednesday night.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – The US, "deeply disappointed" by the failure of the Indonesian authorities to act against intimidation by hardline Muslim militants, has told Americans to consider leaving the country.

Jakarta – President Megawati Soekarnoputri said on Thursday that the government was committed to continuing its deregulatory measures in the economic sector.

Daniel Cooney, Jakarta – Opposition to potential US strikes against suspected terrorists in Afghanistan is growing in Indonesia, and President Megawati Sukarnoputri could face a test of resolve after pledging support for Washington's fight against terrorism.

Up to 1,663 illegal immigrants are known to have entered Indonesia in the past two years, Justice and Human Rights Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said yesterday.

Jakarta – Some 10.3 trillion rupiah (S$2.06 billion) in state funds was misused in the 18 months up to the end of June this year, local media reported yesterday.

Jalil Hamid, Jakarta – Indonesia's struggling stocks are bracing for rougher times because of a growing anti-US mood in the country, the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Jakarta – A hardline Muslim youth group warned on Thursday anyone backing Washington's self-declared war on terrorism should leave Indonesia, or risk being forced out.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Indonesia's longest-running television station is struggling to stay on the air with depleting financial resources, and there are calls to commercialise the station.

Jakarta – Indonesians do not read books because they are expensive; publishers do not produce books because demand is low.

Gde Anugrah Arka, Jakarta – Indonesia is set to introduce a new excise tax scheme which could significantly alter the make up of the lucrative cigarette industry and affect two of the biggest and most widely held locally-listed firms.

Edith M. Lederer, New York – Indonesia's president offered Tuesday to cooperate with the United States in fighting terrorism and warned that terrorists are making a "big mistake" if they think they can destroy America.

Jakarta – Former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid, also known as Gus Dur, was found guilty of defaming a former state official and was ordered to pay US$52,000 in compensation, court officials said yesterday.

Jakarta – At least one island near Jakarta still boasts of dazzling corals and plenty of fish, and the people owe the Suharto family for its conservation. For years, Pulau Pemagaran in the Thousand Islands area north of Jakarta Bay was one of the former ruling family's quick getaway spots.

Jakarta – Leaders of oil-producing districts predicted potential trouble over a new oil and gas law as President Megawati Sukarnoputri courted oil barons in the United States, reports said Tuesday.

Jakarta – Indonesia's top Islamic authority called Tuesday on all Muslims to wage a jihad (holy war) if the US launches an attack on Afghanistan and warned President Megawati Sukarnoputri not to support any such retaliation.

Jakarta – A hardline Muslim youth group in Indonesia said on Tuesday more than 200 of its members had signed up to participate in a possible holy war against the United States in Afghanistan.

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – Elok Sulistianingsih, covered with a traditional Muslim headscarf, tells her young charges to love all religions as she teaches them to recite the holy Koran at a mosque in the Indonesian capital.

Jakarta – Indonesia Tuesday promised to take firm action against Muslim militants who have threatened retaliation against Americans here for any US attack on Afghanistan.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Police snipers guard buildings housing United States government agencies and businesses. Sales of T-shirts bearing the face Osama bin Laden are brisk. Mobs of Islamic radicals search hotels for Americans, threatening to expel them. And security is high at the Australian Embassy after newspapers played up Saturday's attack on a mosque in Brisbane.

Jakarta – Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto's proposal to disarm the nation's police has received a big thumbs down. Observers say that, if unarmed, the police would be dysfunctional and their lives placed in danger because of the number of hardcore criminals brandishing guns nowadays.

Jakarta – The police were again made a promise by fugitive Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, who has been on the run for more than 10 months, that the latter planned to surrender himself to them provided they could guarantee him both security and justice.

Jakarta – The National Police Headquarters announced on Friday a reshuffle involving 50 high-ranking police officers.

Jakarta – A series of explosions rocked the parking lot of a busy shopping centre in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on Sunday morning, police said.

The blasts caused moderate damage but there were no immediate reports of injuries and the cause of the blasts was not known. A bomb exploded in the same shopping centre on August 1.

Jakarta – Groups of militant Indonesian Muslims on Sunday showed up at five international hotels in the Central Java city of Solo, demanding to know if any American citizens were staying there.

Six groups of Muslims, each of about 25 to 30 men, separately checked the five hotels and the city's airport, Detikcom online said. No US citizens were found.

Jakarta – Hardline Muslim groups stepped up their anti-American campaign on Saturday, with several hundred Muslim students rallying in Surabaya, East Java, and Palu, Central Sulawesi, protesting US plans to wage war against Afghanistan.

Jakarta – Are there any strings attached to the promised military and financial aid from the United States? A number of analysts believe there are not.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Militant human-rights activists selected as candidates for the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) are finding opposition within the splintered commission, as some members are not happy with their "pro-Western, anti-military, NGO-approach".

Jakarta – Bribery is so rife in Indonesia's parliament that legislators consider the system to be normal, a report said Friday.

Washington DC – The United States government has pledged to assist President Megawati Soekarnoputri's government in building a stable, united and democratic Indonesia, according to a joint statement between the two countries' leaders here Wednesday night.

Jakarta – Sales of T-shirts bearing the picture of Muslim militant Osama bin Laden have surged in Indonesia, home of the world's largest Islamic population, since Washington named him as its chief suspect in last week's attacks.

Jakarta – Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network has supplied money and weapons for Indonesians and other Islamic fighters waging a "holy war" against Christians in the Malukus, an expert said Friday.

Jakarta – Some 30 Muslim students set fire to two US flags outside the US consulate in Indonesia's second largest city of Surabaya Thursday during a protest against any plans to attack Afghanistan, police said.

Agencies in Jakarta and Baradan Kuppusamy in Kuala Lumpur – A radical Indonesian Muslim group said yesterday it would attack the US Embassy and seek the expulsion of Americans in Jakarta if Washington carried out revenge strikes against any Islamic nation.

Jakarta – An elite Indonesian army unit has sacked two top officers as well as 20 soldiers from the battalion following a deadly street battle with police in an East Java town. Lieutenant-General Ryamizard Ryacudu, chief of the Kostrad strategic reserve, ordered the sackings.

Jakarta – Vigilante justice rules the streets of an Indonesian city near here, with at least 42 suspected petty criminals burnt alive or beaten to death by mobs so far this year. Criminologists say the attacks reflect a widespread loss of faith in the police and the justice system. Police say they do not condone the lynchings but can do little to prevent them.

Jakarta – Muslim communities in Indonesia are playing down a call for a jihad by Taliban rulers in Afghanistan against the United States should the US attack Middle East countries.

Tangerang – Vigilantes here are increasingly regarded as more effective in curbing crime than the police.

Violent mobs have killed at least 42 criminals in the last nine months, while police turn a blind eye and even seem to applaud the bravery of residents who kill criminals.

Jakarta – Preliminary questioning of alleged bombers revealed that they planted bombs to incite terror and sow hatred between people of different religions in the country, an officer said on Saturday. "So far we've had a confession that the arrested bombers wanted to see people of different religions blaming and fighting each other," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr.

Jakarta – Two civilians were shot dead yesterday when police battled soldiers in the streets of an East Java town after a dispute at a petrol station.