Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Meeting 60-year-old Daruna as she chews betel nut in front of the piles of rubbish that are her main source of income, it is hard to see any evidence of Indonesia's economic upturn.

Jakarta – The government-sanctioned National Ombudsman Council received on Thursday a complaint of corruption in the Supreme Court.

Bogor – Indonesia's forests are disappearing at a rate of 4,000 hectares a day and the government appears to be unable to do anything about it, experts said.

"The situation is getting worse and we should do something," said Jeffrey Sayer, director general of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).

Makassar – Street rallies by disgruntled students protesting the dismissal of Minister of Industry and Trade Yusuf Kalla here started Wednesday off with a renewed threat to break away from the republic.

Susan Sim, Jakarta – Mr Stanley Fischer, the world's chief economics tutor, may find out today if he has a student so compliant he wants to give him all credit for his decisions.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – A Christian religious leader yesterday said the latest outbreak of violence in the Malukus may not have been accidental, but timed to coincide with the three- day visit to the region by Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Jakarta – The government has agreed to raise teachers' functional allowances by 100 percent, far below various demands made by protesting teachers.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Air Force will receive six new Hawk jet fighters from the United Kingdom in June. They will be stationed at Supadio Air Base in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. "We expect the six British-made tactical attack aircraft will be sent soon.

Vaudine England – Finding seizable assets in Mr Suharto's own name may prove difficult for investigators.

During an official probe in 1998, Mr Suharto said he had 22 billion rupiah (HK$24.2 million) deposited in three private banks and that his personal property included two houses in Jakarta and five hectares of land.

Jakarta – The spokesman for the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) yesterday defended the military's business ventures, saying it would be impossible to survive on state funds alone.

Jakarta – The Indonesian economy, battered by two years of financial and economic crisis, will post growth of four percent in 2000, up from 0.2 percent this year, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) predicted Wednesday.

Jakarta – Almost half of the country's mangrove forests have disappeared since 1982, causing land abrasion by the sea and threatening biota living in that environment, activists said on Tuesday.

Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid faced anger among coalition parties within his already fractious six-month-old government yesterday after he fired two key financial ministers.

Several senior politicians raised the prospect of withdrawing their factions from the Cabinet in protest.

Vaudine England – The latest phase in the Government's continuing reshuffle signals a further consolidation of power by President Abdurrahman Wahid.

His technique is also impressive. He announced Monday's sackings while International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Stanley Fischer was in town, leading many to assume the fund had demanded the changes.

Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid said April 25 that foreign submarines must not sail through Indonesia's territorial waters without permission.

Jakarta – Some 1,000 teachers of kindergarten to high school across Jambi staged a noisy rally in front of the provincial legislative building on Saturday. They demanded a 300 percent raise in their salaries and 500 percent in extra allowances.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – A man described by his friends as a "likable mafioso" has been scooped up in recent legal moves against people suspected of attacking Megawati Sukarnoputri's party headquarters in 1996.

Jakarta – The government has started seizing assets belonging to former President Suharto, a spokesman for the Attorney-General's Office said yesterday. "His assets in various forms have been seized," spokesman Yushar Yahya told the Indonesiakini online news service.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – National Assembly (MPR) chairman Amien Rais said that Indonesia's highest legislative body will not hold a special session this year amid speculation that several groups were working behind the scenes to support one to topple President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Thousands of becak drivers took to the streets of central Jakarta yesterday to demand that their pollution-free form of transport again be allowed to ply Jakarta's central streets.

Klaten – President Abdurrahman Wahid rebuked criticism of his support for the revocation of MPRS Decree No. 25/1965, saying Communist political parties should be banned not the ideology. "I need to put this in the correct perspective. Our constitution does not prohibit communism.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – In the face of strong public criticism, the Attorney-General has reorganised staff and departments to give greater priority to the corruption case against former president Suharto.

The most obvious move has been taking the head of the investigating team, Chairul Imam, off the case pending his planned retirement.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government is shifting two-thirds of the judges in Jakarta to other courts outside the island of Java in response to public pressure and criticism of some court rulings.

The massive reshuffle is set to affect 50 to 60 per cent of judges throughout Jakarta, including all the chiefs and deputies in the capital's five district courts.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – The fate of Kartini bin Karim acquires special symbolic importance today. Diplomatic efforts are under way to free the Indonesian migrant worker from a death sentence of stoning in the United Arab Emirates for alleged adultery.

Agence France Presse in Jakarta – Armed forces commander Admiral Widodo Adi Sudjipto reassured the nation yesterday that the military had no desire to return to politics, and would dismiss anyone who did.

The Laskar Jihad, a 10,000-strong force, is preparing to travel to Indonesia's Maluku province in a stated attempt to end the simmering sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians. An initial 3,000 volunteers are to arrive as early as April 23, threatening to fuel problems in the strife-torn province.

Jakarta – Five non-governmental organizations criticized on Friday the government's draft of the law on the establishment of an anticorruption body, arguing it did not give enough power to the body to combat the crime.

Jakarta – Conduct will soon be added to grades to determine whether an Indonesian student achieves a pass mark, press reports said yesterday.

Besides a good academic performance, the education authorities will also consider a student's conduct or ethics to decide whether a pass mark is warranted, the Kompas daily said.

Jakarta – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday that an independent body to oversee the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) must be established in a bid to ensure transparency and restore public trust in the agency.

Jakarta – Political divisions are slowing economic reform in Indonesia, but this is unavoidable given the size of the nation's political transformation, State Enterprises Minister Laksamana Sukardi has said.

"What makes Indonesian progress and recovery so slow, compared to Thailand and South Korea, is that our leaders are not united," Mr Laksamana told a business forum.

Jakarta – Thousands of teachers in Jakarta and other cities yesterday continued to protest over their low salaries, threatening to boycott this month's national exams, despite the government's promise to significantly increase their pay.

Jakarta – Head of the feared Pemuda Pancasila organization Yorrys Raweyai, who was on Tuesday arrested by police, yesterday admitted the Jakarta Military Command had ordered him to mobilize his forces ahead of the July 27 riots of 1996.

May Sari, Jakarta – A three-day strike by 1800 workers employed at the PT Isanti shoe factory in Semarang, Central Java, forced the company to grant 23 out of their 25 demands on April 11.

The strike was organised by the Central of Semarang Workers (PBS), affiliated with the militant independent union, National Front for Indonesian Workers' Struggle (FNPBI).

Palu – Sectarian riots continued sporadically in the Central Sulawesi town of Poso on Tuesday despite the heavy presence of security personnel. Antara reported that smoke was seen billowing from buildings across the paralyzed town. Markets and shops were closed as fearful residents stayed indoors.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Six months after becoming Indonesia's first democratically elected president, Mr Abdurrahman Wahid, is facing mounting criticism from some of his once strongest Muslim allies, including the influential parliamentary Speaker, Dr Amien Rais.

Jakarta – Some 10,000 teachers Tuesday flooded the grounds of the national parliament compound here in a mass protest to demand at least a 100 percent increase in their salaries.

The teachers crowded the parliament compound and buildings, shouting and waving posters urging the government to pay heed to their plight.

Tempo, Jakarta – The existing forest resource management system, which has been regularly exploited and abused, will be replaced by a balanced and sustainable forest management system.

Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid returned from a nine-day foreign tour on Monday amid rumors of intensive backroom dealings between major political parties to try to remove him from office.

Jakarta – Underpaid teachers will see a 300-per-cent increase in allowances, reports said yesterday as teachers in parts of the country began a three-day strike to demand better pay.

Hongkong – President Abdurrahman Wahid said Indonesia, China and India should go forward together with the help of Japanese and Singaporean "capital, know-how and technology" to create a mutually beneficial loose association.

Bogor – After a one-day delay, thousands of members of Laskar Jihad (Jihad Force) vacated the military-style training camp in Munjul village under tight police security in the early hours of Monday.

Jakarta – State Minister of Women's Empowerment Khofifah Indah Parawansa revealed on Monday that 30 percent of 3.5 million babies born in the last two years had serious malnutrition.

Jakarta – Standard and Poor's said Tuesday it had downgraded Indonesia's long-term foreign currency issuer credit rating to "selective default" from CCC+ in the wake of last week's debt rescheduling by Paris Club donor countries.

Jakarta – State companies remain highly vulnerable to exploitation as cash cows for political groups like they were under previous political administrations, informed sources said on Monday.

Jakarta – At least 16 foreign mining companies have delayed their activities due to uncertainty in security or financial problems, a senior government official said on Monday.

Jakarta – Two witnesses on Tuesday testified in favor of Time magazine in a hearing of the 27 billion dollar defamation suit filed against the the US weekly by former Indonesian strongman Suharto.

Paul Lashmar and James Oliver – The world's press was systematically manipulated by British intelligence as part of a plot to overthrow Indonesia's President Sukarno in the 1960s, according to Foreign Office documents. The BBC, the Observer and Reuters news agency were all duped into carrying stories manufactured by agents working for the Foreign Office.

Jakarta – The United States prevented Indonesia's presidential airplane carrying President Abdurrahman Wahid and his entourage from making a refueling stop in the country, forcing the plane to make a stop-over in Canada, the Indonesian Observer reported yesterday.

Jakarta – Three elements of the Central Axis, the main supporters of President Abdurrahman Wahid in the latest general session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), have hinted that they may withdraw their support for Wahid's administration.

Jakarta – The House faction of the Muslim Crescent and Star Party (PBB) called on the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) on Friday to hold an emergency session to demand the accountability and possible impeachment of President Abdurrahman Wahid, popularly known as Gus Dur.