Jakarta – Hundreds of becak (pedicab) drivers held a march on Wednesday to demand that the poor be given the right to earn a living in the capital.

Poso, Central Sulawesi – Eight armed men were detained on Wednesday as they were allegedly about to attack residents working on a cacao plantation in Batugincu village, Poso, Central Sulawesi, an official said.

Brendan Pearson – The Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, and Indonesia's President, Mr Abdurrahman Wahid, have pledged to repair a diplomatic relationship marked by discord and bitterness since the East Timor independence vote in 1999.

Tomi Soetjipto, Jakarta – Indonesian Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri's expected rise to power is likely to be clouded by the same opportunistic politicking that has plagued her hapless boss.

Nick Everett & Rebecca Meckelburg, Bandung – Police have arrested six members of the radical People's Democratic Party (PRD) in West Java, in an attempt to repress the largest strike the Indonesian province has seen since the coming to power of Suharto in 1965-66.

Jakarta – Amid the topsy-turvy of preparations for the upcoming special session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), a total of 13 members of the House of Representatives (DPR) and the MPR finally submitted forms on their wealth to the Civil Servants' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN).

Peter Boyle – Indonesian non-government organisations believe the June 8 raid by police on the Asia-Pacific Solidarity Conference, during which 32 foreigners were detained, was "a threat not only for [conference organiser] INCREASE but for all other pro-democracy NGOs". They have launched a lawsuit against the police.

Max Lane – On June 15 the Indonesian police kidnapped eight members of the People's Democratic Party (PRD) and occupied and ransacked the PRD's West Java office. The PRD activists remain in police custody in Bandung and so far have been denied access to lawyers. In Jakarta, the police have also been arresting student activists.

Jakarta – Activists from the Anti-Torture Network visited on Tuesday the headquarters of the city police and the West, North and East Jakarta police, and reported that their detention cells were seriously overcrowded.

Jakarta – After weeks of nationwide, sometimes riotous agitation, Indonesia's labor unions scored a major victory last week when the Wahid government decided to delay implementation of two new decrees criticized for undermining workers' interests.

Jakarta – More than 250 Mayasari Bhakti bus drivers went on strike on Monday, and hundreds of others are rumored to join on Tuesday to demand a bus fare increase to compensate their dwindling income from the fuel price hike.

Hamish McDonald – Within an hour of arriving in Canberra from a gruelling journey from Jakarta, Abdurrahman Wahid was plunged into a succession of discussions and engagements last night.

Bandung – Tens of youths from various youth groups under the umbrella of the former ruling Golkar Party occupied the West Java branch office of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) here on Monday.

Yogyakarta – Revolutionary groups which attack gambling houses and nightspots in the name of religious beliefs are mushrooming here, causing residents to be increasingly fearful.

Is it mere symbolism for the Wahid visit that John Howard has had an apparent change of heart on Asia, asks Gerard Henderson?

Craig Skehan – Australia and New Zealand will press Indonesia's visiting President Wahid to prosecute members of his country's military, and militiamen, over atrocities in East Timor. But the Prime Minister yesterday also pledged support for Indonesia's "territorial integrity" in the face of secessionist conflicts.

Australia and Indonesia had agreed to put behind them the strained relationship which arose over East Timor and move on, Prime Minister John Howard said today, while Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid promised to pursue the perpetrators of human rights atrocities in East Timor.

Jakarta – The IMF said on Tuesday it would resume a vital $5 billion loan programme with Indonesia if the government agreed to delay a debate on controversial central bank law revisions.

MMI Ahyani/HD, Jakarta – Around 1,000 thousands people from various organisations which are Golkar Party's underbouw came to West Java legislative on Jl Diponegoro, Bandung, Monday. They demand West Java legislative to urge the government disbanding organisations suggest a new communist movement.

Jakarta – The death of a woman migrant worker upon her arrival at the Soekarno Hatta International Airport on Thursday has prompted calls for the government to close the special gate at Terminal III for migrant workers.

Jakarta – Dozens of armed men attacked a residential area in the town of Poso, Central Sulawesi, in the early hours of Sunday morning, killing two people and injuring three others. The unidentified men stormed houses and fired randomly during the predawn attack which caused panic among residents. Security personnel combing the area after the attack found two bodies.

Gde Anugrah Arka, Jakarta – Indonesia's floundering president has sacked the widely respected head of the bank restructuring agency (IBRA), in yet another shakeup at one of the troubled country's most vital institutions.

MMI Ahyani/HD, Bandung – National Democratic Students Student League (LMND) is scheduled to file a lawsuit to West Java Police over an arrest of LMND's seven and Democratic People's Party (PRD) for West Java activists. Next week, a pre-trial be submitted since an arrest of those seven activists believed as fabricated.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Eddie, a former waterside thug, is not too worried about a local council's recently declared intention of clearing the city of illegal businesses such as his – a street stall where he sells fake branded bags.

Vaudine England, Denpasar – Bali is supposed to be a powerhouse of support for Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri, but interviews with activists and members of the local elite suggest such support can no longer be assumed.

Lindsay Murdoch – There will be a banquet in Parliament's Great Hall hosted by the Prime Minister, a Governor-General's dinner, red carpet, effusive speeches, toasts and an exchange of carefully chosen gifts.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government wants to collect 3.2 trillion rupiah in unpaid taxes from the fugitive youngest son of former president Suharto but has lost the paperwork. "He has not paid 3.2 trillion rupiah but he is very clever... not only is he missing, even the documents of the supreme court ruling have disappeared," Finance Minister Rizal Ramli said yesterday.

Louise Williams – As the torturous "death watch" over the presidency of Abdurrahman Wahid draws to a close his raucous political opponents will be able to claim only the most hollow of short-term victories.

Agence France Presse in Jakarta – Indonesia's MPs came under fire yesterday after it emerged each is entitled to a 5.8 million rupiah allowance to buy washing machines as part of a package of generous perks.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia would gain an additional 60 trillion rupiah (S$10.8 billion) a year if citizens paid their proper taxes, according to an aide to new Finance Minister Rizal Ramli.

Indonesians were notorious for dodging their taxes by bribing collectors and under-reporting their incomes, said Mr Anggito Abimanyu.

Jakarta – The chairman of Indonesia's Upper House of Parliament Amien Rais yesterday ruled out bringing forward a special assembly session, that could impeach President Abdurrahman Wahid, from its scheduled date of August 1.

jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid warned on Friday he could call early elections and take other measures if the top legislature insisted on making him account for his rule at an August impeachment hearing.

Jakarta – The international workshop on crimes against humanity ended on Thursday in controversy over the need to adopt human rights principles in the military.

Robert Go, Jakarta – It is getting harder to hide the extent of one's wealth in Indonesia these days. Tax collectors, under pressure from their bosses at the Finance Ministry, are stepping up on-the-spot audits. They are directing their activities towards rich neighbourhoods whose inhabitants are likely to display their high-class consumption.

Poso, Central Sulawesi – A band of armed men wearing ninja outfits wounded two villagers during their assault on a minivan in the village of Pinedapa as tension continued to escalate here on Wednesday. A retaliatory strike followed later in the afternoon, seriously wounding two locals.

Agencies in Jakarta – The army chief has weighed into a politicised controversy over what constitutes insubordination in the forces, saying soldiers have the right to disobey unlawful orders. "In certain cases, disobeying an order is justified," said General Endriartono Sutarto in an article published yesterday.

Reuters in Jakarta – Popular Indonesian Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri will skip another cabinet meeting on Thursday in her latest snub to the besieged president.

Dean Yates, Jakarta – Indonesia's military said on Thursday it saw little sign of a political compromise that might save President Abdurrahman Wahid's floundering rule and warned it would not tolerate any violence linked to his fate.

G. K. Goh, Jakarta – Indonesian police fired teargas to disperse a total of 500 student protesters in two separate locations in Jakarta on Thursday in the latest demonstrations over a hefty fuel price hike. The increase at the weekend, by an average 30 percent, has triggered several protests in major cities across the troubled archipelago.

G. K. Goh, Jakarta – Fears of social unrest in Indonesia continued to chip away at consumer confidence in May, state brokerage Danareksa said its latest survey showed on Wednesday. Sentiment about future job prospects fell to its lowest since it started surveys in October 1999, the company said.

Sue Boland – Once the news broke in Australia about the police and militia attack on the Asia Pacific People's Solidarity conference in Indonesia on June 8 and the detention of conference participants, friends and relatives of the detainees in Australia moved into action to publicise what had happened.

Viv Miley & Susan Price – Progressive forces from around the world spoke out and took action as soon as news of the police and militia raid on the international solidarity conference spread.

In Canada, snap protests were organised across the country in solidarity, according to Paul Kellogg, who was one of those detained in Jakarta.

Joanne Collins, Jakarta – The IMF said on Wednesday it was optimistic Indonesia's willingness to revise controversial central bank law amendments would end a six-month deadlock on a vital $5 billion loan programme.

Ahmed Shawki, Columbia, South Carolina – Top US labour leaders gathered for a workers' rights rally here responded immediately to the police crackdown on the Asia-Pacific Solidarity Conference in Jakarta.

An international outpouring of support came soon after from other labour leaders, human rights activists, academics and others.

Susan Price & Viv Miley – One of those detained by authorities after the June 8 raid on the Asia-Pacific Solidarity Conference in Jakarta was Auckland city councillor Maire Leadbeater – prompting a statement from New Zealand foreign minister Phil Goff following her release seeking a formal explanation from the Indonesian government for the police action.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid on Wednesday said blame for past and present human rights abuses by the country's police and military should be attributed to rogue elements, and not to the institutions.

Sean Healy – The only one of the 32 foreign nationals detained after the June 8 raid on the Jakarta solidarity conference to be singled out for official deportation from Indonesia was Farooq Tariq, the general secretary of the Labour Party Pakistan.

Kerryn Williams, Jakarta – "Since the police first arrived there was an increasing [number] of [militia] members and we predicted that after the police left, they would attack", said Yahgun, a member of the People's Democratic Party and one of the Indonesian participants in the Asia-Pacific People's Solidarity Conference raided by police on June 8. He was right.

Makassar, South Sulawesi – A student rally in Makassar welcomed the latest Indonesian Military (TNI) reshuffle on Tuesday, with some 100 Maluku students studying in the South Sulawesi capital demanding that outgoing Pattimura Military Commander, Brig. Gen. I Made Yasa, be tried for human rights violations.

Peter Boyle – At 6pm on Saturday June 9, 24 hours after the detained foreign participants at the Asia Pacific People's Solidarity Conference were first brought to Jakarta's central police HQ, the remaining 30 foreign detainees were allowed to leave. However, our passports were kept by the police and we were instructed to report back to the police HQ at 10am the following Monday.