Jakarta – US Ambassador Robert S. Gelbard and National Police Chief General Rusdihardjo yesterday signed an agreement to provide training, technical assistance and equipment to enhance the professional capacity of the police force.

Michael Backman – Three years ago, Ari Sigit was on the cover of Indonesian magazines trumpeted as Indonesia's business whiz kid. Today, Mr Ari's name tends to be linked more to drugs, sex scandals and cancelled contracts than to alleged business prowess. What happened in the intervening period? His grandfather, Mr Suharto, resigned as president.

Mia Trinephi, Hong Kong – While Indonesia's debt has reached unsustainable levels, the government's immediate options to restructure its debt remain limited, analysts say.

Jakarta – A leading human rights watchdog says four missing activists from the Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA) may have been abducted by hired thugs or assassins.

The annual two-week session of Indonesia's Peoples Consultative Assembly (MPR) from August 7 to 18 witnessed growing collaboration between Golkar, the political machine of the former Suharto military dictatorship, and the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P), led by Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Jeremy Wagstaff, Manado – One day in December 1998, a hearse pulled into the graveled courtyard of the Saint Joseph Catholic church in this port city on the island of Sulawesi. Two men slid a white coffin out of the back of the car and hauled it up the steps to the church door.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid yesterday appointed a retired army general and an economist to key posts in a streamlined Cabinet he hopes will pull Indonesia out of nearly three years of economic, civil and political turmoil.

Jakarta – The new Cabinet has been criticized as having ministers lacking in competence and being poorly supported by major political parties.

People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais gave a thumbs-down on Wednesday to President Abdurrahman Wahid's new team, saying it was even worse than the old one in terms of the quality of its personnel.

Shoeb Kagda – President Abdurrahman Wahid yesterday unveiled a new Cabinet tilted strongly in his favour, catching many observers and market analysts off guard. They had expected some concessions towards Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who, in recent days, had become more strident in pushing her claim to power as well as having a say in the running of the country.

Many hope to see the new team last the full term, but early signs are discouraging, says Yang Razali Kassim

What a way to start off a new Cabinet. President Abdurrahman Wahid has been insisting that he and his vice-president remain the best of friends; it's the media that's been making things up, he charged.

Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid unveiled a new slimmer Cabinet to tackle myriad problems, ranging from separatist unrest to economic woes and corruption.

It has two coordinating ministers, 16 ministers, five state ministers without ministries and three junior ministers

Dan Murphy, Yogyakarta – At a humble mosque on the gentle slopes below one of Indonesia's largest volcanoes, Ja'far Umar Thalib, commander of a Muslim militia accused of terrorizing the Maluku islands, explains what jihad means to him.

Makkasar – Fresh sectarian violence hit Luwu regency, South Sulawesi. Masses clashed sporadically between Monday, August 21, until today, August 23. Gunfire volleys were heard in Luwu, located 600 kilometers north of Makassar. Two other settlements were burned.

Jakarta – The number of unemployment in Indonesia has reached 37 million, a senior official said.

The existing program for jobless eradication was inadequate, Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare and Poverty Eradication Basri Hasanuddin was quoted Wednesday by the Jakarta Post daily as saying.

Max Lane – The current session of Indonesia's parliament, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), began with much criticism of President Abdurrahman Wahid by politicians and threats that he would be deposed, forced to appoint a prime minister or made to surrender significant power to vice-president Megawati Sukarnoputri. None of it happened.

Jakarta – Lawyers defending Indonesian military officers accused of human rights violations in East Timor have vowed to use a controversial constitutional amendment to save them from prosecution.

MMI Ahyani/BI & AH, Bandung – Hundreds supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) have staged a protest in Bandung. Calling themselves the West Java Community Movement Against Phony Reformists, they demand the dismissal of the PDIP faction leader at the House of Representatives, Arifin Panigoro.

Jakarta – Hundreds of members of the Riau Farmers Association (SPR) yesterday demonstrated outside the main branch of Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) in Pekanbaru city, demanding the disbursement of Rp6.7 billion (US$805,000) in rural assistance loans. The farmers marched to the BRI building after rallying at the provincial legislative assembly.

Seth Mydans, Jakarta – Top military commanders have won a skirmish in Parliament to slow their retreat from political influence. At the same time, they seem to be losing control of many of their troops in the field.

Yogyakarta – The Yogyakarta Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) condemned the violence committed against activists and the office of the university student magazine "Arena", Dema, Sena, and the Islamic Religious Endeavor Corps (Kordiska) of Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic Institute (IAIN).

Kafil Yamin, Jakarta – Indonesia's still floundering economy has thrown many families across the country into throes of despair and wreaked havoc on relations between husbands and wives.

Medan – Some 10,000 public transportation drivers paralyzed the North Sumatra capital on Monday with a city-wide strike. The strikers, who were demanding cheaper spare parts, subsidized fuel and an end to illegal fees, brought business and social activities to a virtual standstill.

Anthony Spaeth – If you stand at the harbor of Surabaya, Indonesia's famed port and second-largest city, you can see the island of Madura only 4 km across the water. For a decade, there was a plan to connect the city and the island with a bridge, but financing never came through and the only progress was a few premature concrete pillars that now stand forlornly in the sea.

Scott Burchill – In his first lecture on Indonesian soil after being banished for 26 years, Professor Benedict Anderson spoke about the bewildered expression on the faces of his Indonesian students over the years at Cornell University whenever he asked them "who in Indonesia today do you admire and look up to?"

Jason Tedjasukmana, Pekanbaru – Syaparudin, a former logger, stands next to the Caltex oil pipeline that stretches for 900 km across the central Sumatra province of Riau. Locals call it the "giant snake," and many of them – including Syaparudin – would like to kill it.

Hestiana Dharmastuti/Hendra & LM, Jakarta – The blame for the disappearance of four activists from the parliament grounds is being laid in many quarters.

Jakarta – An average of 1.6 million ha of Indonesia's forests are being destroyed every year, mostly by illegal loggers with powerful connections here and abroad, a report said yesterday.

Forestry Ministry secretary-general Suripto said illegal loggers formed mafia-like international networks and that their operations were hard to track down.

Jakarta – Human Rights Watch on Saturday slammed Indonesia's MPs for passing a law that could let former president Suharto and senior military officers escape punishment for gross human rights abuses, including those in East Timor.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia's discredited military yesterday won a blanket amnesty for past human rights abuses. Human rights activists are furious that a decree blocking prosecution of troops involved in abuses in provinces such as East Timor, Aceh and Irian Jaya was passed by the People's Consultative Assembly with little debate.

Robert Go, Jakarta – One of the most amazing outcomes of the recent MPR session must be that the rupiah continued to strengthen even as legislators bashed President Abdurrahman Wahid's 10-month-old government over the sluggish pace of economic recovery.

Jakarta – Employees of coal mining firm PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) in Sangata regency, East Kalimantan, ended their strike on Friday after assurances were made that the company would not fire them.

Jakarta – Hundreds of people from various groups rallied outside the compound of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to express their disappointment with the results of the Annual Session, which concluded on Friday.

Devi Asmarani and Robert Go, Jakarta – No fire on the streets and smaller fireworks than expected in Indonesia's parliament complex. The first annual session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) ended with an anti-climax yesterday with the last tap of Speaker Amien Rais' gavel.

Jakarta – Concluding its Annual Session on Friday, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) endorsed nine decrees, two of which certified the military's presence at the Assembly until 2009 and the new tasks for Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Jakarta – People across the country, including those in troubled areas, marked the 55th Independence Day on Thursday with solemn ceremonies and traditional games. No reports of violence were recorded.

Irna Gustia/Swastika & LM, Jakarta – A Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) investigation into a foundation owned by the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) has uncovered corruption to the value of Rp 70 billion (US$ 8.4 million). The BPK has promised to complete their investigation next week.

Aulia Andri/Swastika & Lyndal Meehan, Jakarta – The People's Democratic Party (PRD) did not just demo on the final day of the annual parliament session in the capital, Jakarta.

Shinta NM Sinaga/Swastika & LM, Jakarta – The Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggle (FNPBI) led by Dita Indah Sari marked the final day of the annual session of the Assembly by amassing workers and members at the parliament to express their frustration with the so-called representatives of the people.

Abdul Haerah HR/BI, Makassar – Up to a hundred low paid workers and waterside labourers who demanded a 100% pay rise have been forcefully removed from Makassar harbour side in Makassar on Saturday . Security officers from the Makassar Police force have removed the protestors who have been conducting their protest in the area since Friday.

Warren Caragata, Jakarta – If anything represents the uneasy muddle that is Indonesian politics these days, it may well be Golkar, the party of discredited ex-president Suharto.

Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid led on Thursday a solemn commemoration of Indonesia's 55th anniversary on the grounds of the official residence, Istana Merdeka, as students staged noisy demonstrations in the Monas Square nearby the palace.

Jakarta – Six students who pulled down the Indonesian flag at the Attorney General's Office in South Jakarta yesterday could be imprisoned for up to four years.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – A leading armed forces reformer has made an unprecedented attack on corrupt generals.

Lieutenant-General Agus Wirahadikusumah called on the Government to cleanse the military and police of what he called the cancer of corruption. "It's now up to the Government – to act or not to act," he wrote in the latest issue of the magazine Tempo .

Maryadi/Fitri & Lyndal Meehan, Pontianak – Today is Indonesian Independence Day. In West Kalimantan, thousands of people are expected to mark the day with a mixture of celebration and protest involving all elements of society, including Madurese refugees of sectarian violence which erupted in 1997.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Removing the military from politics was one of the key agendas of the reform movement in 1998, yet legislators on a People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) committee recommended this week that the military retain its dual role until 2009.

Jakarta – About 1,000 university students staged a peaceful demonstration in Central Jakarta yesterday, to celebrate Independence Day with calls for further reform.

Hestiana Dharmastuti/Hendra & Lyndal Meehan, Jakarta – Disgraced former dictator Suharto and his cronies can not yet breathe easily. Once again, students gathered together with the City Forum (Forkot) have demanded they be taken to court and again planned to besiege his residence, known as Cendana after the street on which it is located.

Marianne Kearney Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid's pre-Independence Day address to Parliament yesterday began and ended with his trademark humour and, this time, legislators laughed with him, indicating that much of the tension between the two sides had dissipated.

Robert Go, Jakarta – If a recent Tempo Magazine poll is correct, Indonesians have little patience left for the manoeuvrings of Jakarta's political elite. The people crave concrete signs that economic and social conditions are improving.

Surabaya – Dozens of the banners denouncing political figures and parties which have been erected since the start of the People's Consultative Assembly Annual Session are being taken down by police in a bid to cool the climate in the city.