Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – As politician after politician attacked President Abdurrahman Wahid during this week's general assembly for failing to care for the welfare of Indonesia's "little people", the irony was not lost on these "little people".

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Amid loose talk of a constitutional coup, President Abdurrahman Wahid says he will run his Government through a gang of four.

On July 10, a new labour rights bill was unanimously passed by the Indonesian House of Representatives. It still requires President Abdurrahman Wahid's approval to become law.

Jakarta – Indonesian police on Wednesday said they had identified 22 suspects in connection with a violent military-backed attack on the then-party headquarters of Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri in 1996.

James Balowski – After months of delays, false starts and a performance to rival Christopher Skase's "Now I'm sick, now I'm not", former president Suharto is finally to stand trial for embezzlement of Indonesian state funds.

Chris McCall, Pekanbaru – When Indonesia's politicians and pundits talk about the separatist movements that plague the country, two provinces on the opposite ends of the archipelago are mentioned first: Aceh and Irian Jaya. But tagged on to the end of the discussion is Riau.

Jakarta – After eight relatively peaceful and calm days outside the Parliament building, the ninth day of the current annual general session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) yesterday was marred by a major turnout of demonstrators.

Jakarta – Over 1,000 people from different groups rallied on Monday in front of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), voicing various demands ranging from support for the government of President Abdurrahman Wahid to the expulsion of the military/police faction in the nation's highest law-making body.

Djoko Tjiptono/BI & LM, Jakarta – A large metal gate at the parliament was torn down by members of the City Front (Front Kota) student group when their protest turned tense and nasty after a lively demonstration at the parliament building on Tuesday.

Jakarta – Workers' protests at gas company Vico Indonesia Ltd might cause a total cut in the natural gas supply to the country's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer PT Badak in Bontang, East Kalimantan, a spokesman of state oil and gas company Pertamina said here on Saturday.

Arifin A/Lyndal Meehan, Jakarta – NGOs and students in the province of Jambi, Sumatra, have called on the Minister of Forestry and Plantations, Nurmahmudi Ismail, to immediately close PT Inhutani V due to the extensive environmental damage caused by the state-owned enterprise and that the local Forestry Ministry official be sacked for corruption.

Jakarta – Jakarta City Councilmen questioned on Saturday the absence of police officers on several raids conducted recently by local officials against gambling dens in the capital.

Council Deputy Speaker Djafar Badjeber of the United Development Party said the presence of the police during such operations is necessary to avoid any unexpected obstacles.

Bagus Kurniawan/BI & LM, Jakarta – The nightmare of unemployment has been weighing on the minds of thousands of members of the state-sponsored civilian security forces, known as Kamra, which are set to be officially disbanded at the end of the year.

Djoko Tjiptono/BI & LM, Jakarta – During the busiest day of demonstrations yet seen during this year's session of the People's Consultative assembly, the Indonesian Parliament grounds have been the perfect arena for democracy activists wishing to become actors, actors pretending to be politicians and politicians disguised as democracy activists.

Ian Timberlake Indonesia – Vigilante mobs have slain more than 100 people on the streets of Jakarta already this year, reflecting a loss of faith in the police since former dictator Suharto stepped down two years ago.

Thomas Omestad, Jakarta – "The old man at No. 8 Cendana Street sits by his satellite TV, watching local sitcoms and nature shows on the Discovery, National Geographic, and Animal Planet channels. After three strokes, he is on a low-fat, low-stress regimen, and his doctors think it best that he avoid newspapers and magazines.

Matthew Draper – Political elites who sit on a low-profile committee of Indonesia's highest legislative body, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), are jeopardizing the nation's attempts at constitutional reform.

Ambon – Ambon was still tense on Sunday following clashes between troops and armed rioters at the border between Batu Merah and Mardika areas that left at least six people dead and 18 others wounded, officials and witnesses said.

Jakarta – Members of the Indonesian Workers Prosperity Union (SBSI) yesterday continued their blockade of a coal mining company's site in East Kalimantan. Officials at PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) said the industrial dispute at the Sangatta site had entered its 10th day.

Michael Sheridan, Manado – The martyrdom of the village of Duma began with the gathering of spectral figures in white shrouds chanting about holy war and death. By the time it ended, 208 Christian villagers taking refuge in a church had been slaughtered by Muslims who call themselves the Laskar Jihad, or holy warriors.

Jakarta – Scores of people who witnessed and survived the 1984 massacre at Tanjung Priok, yesterday rallied outside the Attorney General's Office in Blok M, South Jakarta, demanding that action be taken against retired generals who ordered the slaughter of an estimated 400 Muslims at the North Jakarta port area.

Jakarta – Indonesia's national assembly is expected to shy away this week from committing itself on controversial amendments to the country's 55-year-old constitution, including a proposal to cement the military's place in politics, observers and politicians said.

Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Jakarta – Shortly after taking office in the autumn, President Abdurrahman Wahid, who is nearly blind, quipped to group of visitors in the presidential palace that he and his taciturn vice president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, made "the best team". "I can't see," Mr. Wahid chortled, "and she can't speak."

Indonesia is in a mess, but President Wahid's latest attempts to ease the turmoil have backfired. Lindsay Murdoch reports.

Indonesia is rumbling. And the political tremors are more alarming to the country's 210 million people than the infrequent earthquakes that shake Jakarta's high-rise buildings.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) became the latest organization on Friday to criticize the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) for its reluctance to end military and police representation in the legislative body.

Bandung – Two groups of Bandung students greeted Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Friday with a demonstration, criticizing the government for failing to uphold law enforcement.

Jakarta – The number of student rallies has increased since the Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly opened on Monday with at least 300 students staging rallies in front of the Assembly complex here on Friday.

Jakarta – Indonesian soldiers shot dead at least five people who defied warnings and attacked soldiers attempting to disperse Christian and Muslim mobs from a street in conflict-torn Ambon on Friday, Indonesia's state-run news agency Antara reported Saturday.

Rayhan Anas Lubis/Lyndal Meehan, Jakarta – In an effort to improve the welfare of motorised pedicab drivers and cap the number of the vehicles serving the public in the troubled province of Aceh, 1500 drivers have formed a new union.

Santa Fe, New Mexico – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid will harm his country's stature if he follows through on plans to visit Iraq this year, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Saturday.

Jakarta – The first trial of a lawsuit filed by the Democratic People's Party (PRD) against Soeharto regime was postponed on Thursday after only four lawyers showed up.

On the fourth day of the annual session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) demonstrations were held by a number of organisations and students.

Facing a hostile parliament and a deteriorating national economy, Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid handed over a portion of his duties to Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri on August 9.

Tom McCawley – A patter of applause from the floor of the 700- member People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) greeted the appointment this week by Abdurrahman Wahid, Indonesian president, of Megawati Sukarnoputri to manage the day-to-day affairs of the cabinet.

Jay Solomon, Jakarta – Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri's appointment to manage the Indonesian government's daily business has calmed legislators who feared political gridlock if President Abdurrahman Wahid didn't overhaul his beleaguered administration.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – A proposed article in the Constitution that stipulates the implementation of the Islamic Law for Indonesian Muslims has received little support from legislators in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid's "rainbow" Cabinet is losing its lustre. Other than yesterday's resignation of top Economics Minister Kwik Kian Gie, five other ministers have resigned or been dismissed from the Cabinet.

Kuala Lumpur – Some 120 Indonesian maids fleeing physical abuse or attempted rape by employers or agents have taken refuge at their country's consulate in an east Malaysian state, a report said Thursday.

Jakarta – Two Muslims accused of spying for Christian militias were lynched on Wednesday by Muslim mobs in the war-ravaged Ambon town.

Jakarta – Hundreds of youths who call themselves Jakarta Student Consortium (KMJ) were demonstrating in front of legislature complex on Thursday, at about 1pm. They demanded the People's Consultative Assembly to reject the progress report of President Abdurrahman Wahid, popularly called Gus Dur.

Jakarta – Once powerful Indonesian business tycoon Mohammad "Bob" Hasan, who was former President Suharto's confidante and cabinet minister, was formally charged with corruption Thursday, Jakarta's Provincial Prosecution Office said.

Jakarta – Former president Suharto has been charged before the South Jakarta district court of allocating 419.593 million US dollars to cover losses of Bank Duta in the early 1990s, with the funds taken from one of his social foundation funds, court documents said.

Tim Dodd, Jakarta – Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid is a politician who thrives on chaos. Remember how he disposed of General Wiranto early this year.

Jakarta – The following is a brief chronology of the main events in Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid's nine months in power.

Wahid announced Wednesday that he would hand day-to-day running of the government to vice president Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Jakarta – The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) may reject President Abdurrahman Wahid's call to revoke the 1965 decree prohibiting communism, but books on communism and leftist figures were the most popular sellers at a book kiosk on the Assembly compound.

On July 27, peaceful student protesters in the central Java city of Yogyakarta were attacked by baton-wielding thugs. At least 21 people were badly hurt. The students were commemorating the military-backed attack on Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) four years ago in Jakarta. The thugs are believed to be members of the Indonesian military.

Jakarta – Some 150 Indonesian students rallied on Wednesday near the home of former president Suharto to demand that he be immediately put on trial for massive corruption and abuse of power.

Bandung – Indonesia called on Monday for a review of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) antidumping regulations, saying that these regulations have been manipulated by industrialized countries to become protectionist measures.

Jakarta – Representatives of about 20 non-government organizations yesterday visited parliament to convey their disgust with legislators for failing to terminate the militarys hallowed role in politics.

Geoff Spencer, Jakarta – In an apologetic speech, President Abdurrahman Wahid on Monday promised lawmakers he would prevent fierce sectarian and separatist conflicts from tearing Indonesia apart.

Admitting his shortcomings, the embattled Wahid pledged in a state of the nation address "to find out what we want for our country and what our country should be."