Jakarta – Nearly 3,000 volunteers of a militant Indonesian Muslim jihad (holy war) force are still in the riot-torn eastern city of Ambon, a report said Saturday.

Jakarta – The ongoing economic crisis and political instability in Indonesia since mid-1997 have pushed up unemployment to 37.4 million, a local newspaper controlled by the former ruling Golkar Party said Saturday.

A July 12 meeting between Indonesia's top four political leaders was indefinitely postponed at the very last minute. The meeting was to have brought together the president, vice president and speakers of the upper and lower houses of parliament, each from a different political faction, to prepare for the August People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) session.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid is facing yet another threat to his already shaky presidency with the latest bid by his political opponents in parliament to probe into two cases of irregularity in which he is allegedly involved.

Jakarta – Top reform leaders blamed each other on Thursday over last night's aborted meeting between them, boding ill for a speedy resolution to the current political disharmony, despite the tension and strife which is dragging down the country.

Time is running out for Indonesia's first democratically chosen president. The task is vast. Last October Abdurrahman Wahid was given the presidency of one of the world's largest countries, spread across 17,000 islands and with numerous ethnic groups.

Jakarta – A mass brawl broke out again in the Matraman area of East Jakarta on Thursday as residents of the bickering Palmeriam and Berlan subdistricts pelted rocks and threw Molotov cocktails at each other.

H Dharmastuti/SWA & LM, Jakarta – The fate of 14 people abducted in the dying days of the Suharto regime remains unknown.

L Hakim/SWA & LM, Jakarta – Vice Director of the General Crime Division at the National Police Headquarters, Senior Superintendent Makbul Padmanegara, has admitted that their investigations point to heavy military involvement in the 27 July 1996 raid on the offices of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). An officer is set to be called on Monday. Who is he?

Maryadi/FW & LM, Pontianak – Indonesia's most prominent environmental protection group, WALHI, has slammed President Abdurrahman Wahid and the current government for their lack of commitment to environmental issues.

Jakarta – Regional Autonomy Minister Ryaas Rasyid has warned that some local bureaucrats and politicians were using the Indonesian government's new decentralisation policy to blackmail businesses.

John McBeth, Jakarta – For members of a visiting group of US editors, a mid-afternoon conversation with President Abdurrahman Wahid in late June ended in near-complete bewilderment.

Jakarta – Indonesia's central bank said Thursday it can fully implement a new monetary policy only once economic stability in the country is restored.

The appropriate timing for such a policy change has not been determined, Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor Anwar Nasution was quoted as saying by AFX-Asia, an AFP financial affiliate.

North Sumatra – Looting of plantations has become a major headache in Indonesia, hitting bottom lines in the sector and threatening investment and privatization plans.

The problem is compounded by land disputes as plantation companies have been accused of failing to pay compensation for properties that villagers claimed belonged to their ancestors.

C.A Tanjung/SWA & LM, Jakarta – Thick smoke blanketing Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau Province, Sumatra, since Wednesday has been attributed to land clearing activities by businesses holding Forest Concession Rights (HPH), coconut palm oil plantations and small scale farmers all extending the boundaries of their land.

Maryadi/Lyndal Meehan, Jakarta – Smog in and around Pontianak, West Kalimantan, caused by slash and burn land clearing has reached hazardous levels while the local government has yet to even "fly the flag" and inform residents of the dangerous situation.

Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) yesterday appointed three commission members to revise its rejected report on the 1984 massacre in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.

Jakarta – A recent poll conducted by the Center for Electoral Reform showed the majority of Indonesians supported direct presidential elections. Nuri Soeseno of Cetro said on Wednesday the poll showed 72.6 percent of 1,998 respondents in five cities – Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya, Makassar and Pontianak – favored direct presidential elections.

Jakarta – The official number of HIV/AIDS cases in Indonesia now stands at 1,283, although health experts predicted the real figure could be as high as 350,000 or more, a senior official said.

Jakarta – Security authorities have seized thousands of weapons and explosives in a series of arms sweeping operations in Maluku, which remains tense despite the two-week imposition of a civil emergency status.

Dini Djalal, Jakarta – Husein could do nothing when the mob set his son Dian on fire. "If I had protested, they would have killed me too," he says simply. "I held in my emotions." Dian, 24, and three of his friends had been caught trying to steal a motorbike in the town of Jati Murni, West Java.

John McBeth, Talawaan – An ecological disaster looms over North Sulawesi's Minahasa Peninsula. Rampant illegal gold mining is pouring hundreds of tonnes of mercury into the environment. The deadly flow threatens to undermine the economy, contaminate food crops and leave a horrifying health problem for future generations.

John McBeth in South Kalimantan and North Sulawesi – They come equipped with scores of excavators and more than 500 trucks. Their backers have wealth and influence. They have been known to cajole and threaten.

Jakarta – Despite sinister political maneuvers and other efforts to discredit President Abdurrahman Wahid, the one thing in his favor is that there's no one good enough to replace him. That's the result of a new survey which asked respondents who should replace Wahid if he resigns or is ousted before completing his five-year term in office.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Navy said it had captured two boats illegally ferrying weapons to North Maluku. The vessels were heading to Ternate, the main town in the riot-torn province, eastern fleet the State Antara news agency quoted a spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Ditya Sudarsono, as saying.

James Balowski – The sinking of the overloaded Cahaya Bahari ferry on July 6 – which killed at least 481 Christian refugees fleeing the latest outburst of violence in Indonesia – highlighted the scale of the human tragedy unfolding in the north-eastern province of Maluku.

James Balowski – The government of President Abdurrahman Wahid appears to be indulging in a veritable orgy of investigations into human rights violations – ranging from the post-ballot violence in East Timor last September, military abuses in the provinces of Aceh and West Papua and state-sponsored violence against political dissidents during former dictator Suharto's 32-year rule.

Pip Hinman – Indonesia's most prominent left-wing political party, the People's Democratic Party (PRD), has filed a 5.5 billion rupiah (US$617,000) lawsuit against Suharto over the ailing former dictator's role in the July 27, 1996 attack on the offices of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), for which the PRD was falsely blamed.

Jakarta – A defendant in a court trying a 2.1 million-dollar counterfeit money case has testified that Indonesia's army chief had full knowledge of the production of fake bills, a report said Wednesday.

Jakarta – The situation in Dumai municipility, 200 kms from the Riau capital of Pekanbaru, remained tense yesterday, as self-titled commander of Free Riau, Muhammad Sabri, continued to slam the shooting by police on Monday of four local protesters.

Bogor – Hundreds of illegal miners working at gold-rich Pongkor Mountain thronged the Bogor Council building on Monday, complaining about violent measures they had suffered from security officers of mining firm PT Aneka Tambang.

Christine T. Tjandraningsih, Jakarta – The Indonesian parliament Tuesday urged the management of PT Sony Electronics Indonesia, a subsidiary of the Japanese electronics giant, and workers involved in a protracted strike to seek a compromise despite the company's threat to fire them.

Jakarta – The House of Representatives on Monday unanimously passed a new bill on the rights of workers to unionize. Minister of Manpower Bomer Pasaribu and legislators separately said that the law gives more assurance to workers' rights to organize compared to previous laws.

President Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia has ordered the military to safeguard mining operations in the country, following a series of attacks on foreign-owned mines.

Chaidir Anwar Tanjung/Lyndal Meehan, Jakarta – It is a truth (almost) universally acknowledged that outlawing gambling does not stop the practice but rather encourages those with the will, money and right connections to divine more devious means of turning a dirty dollar.

Makassar – At least 124 people were arrested over the weekend for their alleged involvement in communal clashes in the Central Sulawesi town of Poso, local security officers said on Sunday.

Rizal Maslan/Lyndal Meehan, Jakarta – Around 100 members of the Megamendung community of Bogor, West Java, held a noisy demonstration at the parliament complex today demanding the government return around 600 hectares of land seized by former President Suharto thirty years ago.

Jakarta – Pressure has shifted to House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung in the intensifying conflict among the political elite in the country. After President Abdurrahman Wahid's problem with the Rp 35 billion Bulog scandal, Akbar, who also chairs the Golkar Party, will have to stave off allegations of corruption committed in the past.

Jakarta – More than 500,000 houses have been destroyed in Indonesia due to riots and natural disasters over the past three months, according to Minister of Housing and Regional Development Erna Witoelar.

Jakarta – A mob attacked a police post in Indonesia's eastern island of Flores, ransacking it and killing two civilians they accused of trying to infect local dogs with rabies, the military and residents said Monday.

Ambon – In Maluku terms Mrs. Em, a Muslim housewife in this violence-torn city, is lucky. She is alive and so is her husband, although their house in the Sirimau district of the city was burned down by a Christian mob in July last year, and they fled by ship to the Javanese city of Surabaya.

Jakarta – A senior Indonesian regional military officer has slammed the leaders of the country's political parties, saying their self-interests are leading the country to suicide.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – The United States has attacked Indonesia for its double standards over access to the riot-torn Malukus, questioning Jakarta's commitment to openness and democracy. The diplomatic row stems from Indonesia's conflicting policy over access to its trouble spots.

Ambon – Thousands of terrified residents fled the already ravaged village of Waai on Friday, following a murderous overnight raid by a group of heavily armed people.

Jakarta – Indonesia's defense minister has accused supporters of former dictator Suharto of bombing the attorney general's office and inciting fighting across the country, news reports said Friday.

Jose Manuel Tesoro, Jakarta – The Indonesian presidency may be the toughest job on the planet. But for a few months after his October 20, 1999, election, most believed that if anyone could do it, it would be Abdurrahman Wahid.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Indonesian Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono has warned of a recurring wave of violence in the country fomented by people who are unhappy with the government's ongoing probe into the corruption case of former President Suharto.

London – Slowly but surely, and away from the prying of television cameras, Indonesia is starting to fall apart. Doomsayers have been predicting the 'Balkanisation' of the country ever since East Timor managed to wrest itself free of the central government's grasp in October last year.

Jakarta – A Christian crisis group in the beleaguered eastern Indonesian city of Ambon said Friday that troops were withdrawn from a Christian village in the city before it was attacked by thousands of Muslims.

Makassar – Wirabuana Military Commander Maj. Gen. Slamet Kirbiantoro Sulawesi announced here on Thursday that a total of 211 people had been confirmed dead as a result of the recent clashes in the Central Sulawesi town of Poso.