Islamic leaders on Monday called on police to arrest a group of young people who attacked Shariah Police officers in Aceh after their music event was disbanded.

Rangga Prakoso – Authorities have closed nine churches and six Buddhist temples in Banda Aceh in the last week, following mounting pressure from local Islamist groups, activists and church officials said on Sunday.

Theophilus Bela, chairman of Jakarta Christian Communication Forum, said that the churches' priests were forced to sign a statement to close their churches.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Security officials on Wednesday destroyed 973 illegal firearms that had been collected over the past seven years from former pro-independence militiamen in Aceh.

Nurdin Hasan & Farouk Arnaz, Banda Aceh – Two men believed to have been behind a grenade attack on the home of the Bireuen district head in Aceh last month have been arrested with a large cache of weapons, police said on Monday.

Banda Aceh – Three men accused of violating Shariah law were flogged on Friday at Al-Munawwarah Mosque in the Aceh district of Aceh Besar.

The three men, identified as Z. A., 43 years old, M. S., 42, and Al, 40, reportedly received the punishment for gambling.

James Balowski, Jakarta – A suicide in Indonesia's northernmost province of Aceh by a teenager who was publicly humiliated by the province's abusive sharia police has again put the spotlight on laws that discriminate against women.

Hotli Simanjutak, Banda Aceh – Local journalists want the Press Council to investigate reports that Aceh's media reported unconfirmed allegations voiced by local sharia police that led a teenage girl to kill herself.

Ismira Lutfia – The Aceh provincial legislature's decision to further delay the setting up of a truth and reconciliation commission is a major setback to end impunity in the region, a leading human rights group says.

Ismira Lutfia – The suicide this week of a teenage girl in Aceh after she was arrested and apparently humiliated by the province's Shariah police has again put the spotlight on laws that discriminate against women.

Index: ASA 21/036/2012

Jakarta – The apparent suicide of a teenage girl in Aceh should prompt officials to rethink harsh penalties imposed by sharia, a member of the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) says.

Aceh's Shariah Police continued their crackdown on punks on Tuesday, arresting five youths in a raid on an internet cafe in the provincial capital that had allegedly become a hangout for local punks, according to Antara News Reports.

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Ayah Din and Raja Muda, both members of the Aceh Party (PA), were reportedly shot by unidentified assailants while traveling home from the swearing-in ceremony of the new Aceh governor in Banda Aceh on Monday.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Tensions between Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah and his predecessor Irwandi Yusuf appear to have outlived the fraught election last April, with Zaini's supporters attacking his rival during Monday's inauguration ceremony.

Banda Aceh – Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi inaugurated newly elected Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah and his deputy, Muzakir Manaf, at a ceremony here on Monday.

The swearing-in was held in conjunction with the Monday plenary session of the Aceh Legislative Council (DPRA) and was attended by some 6,000 guests, including members of the DPRA.

Nurdin Hasan & Ezra Sihite – A mob of about 300 men vandalized a store that was being used for a church service by dozens of Bethel Christians in Aceh on Sunday. There were no casualties reported in the attack.

Zakir Hussain, Jakarta – Indonesia says several churches in Aceh were ordered shut not because of deepening religious conflict or intolerance, but because they did not have local permits.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – A 16-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital after being beaten by an angry mob in a raid on a group of teenagers suspected of having an orgy outside a village in Aceh on Wednesday.

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The discovery that a regent in Aceh ordered 20 places of worship closed in April is raising concerns that growing intolerance will trigger communal conflicts.

The closures were ordered by Aceh Singkil Acting Regent Razali AR in a letter signed on April 30 that also ordered members of the congregations to tear down the churches by themselves.

Ezra Sihite – Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi said that he was disheartened by "rumored" demands to close 20 churches in Aceh, explaining that local residents need to accept that Indonesia is a pluralistic nation with more than one recognized religion.

Jakarta – Twenty churches in Singkil regency, Aceh, have been closed down and are likely to be demolished by the local administration.

According to a lawmaker from House of Representatives Commission III on human rights, Eva K. Sundari, the commission received complaints about the forced closure of 20 churches from the United North Sumatra Alliance on Monday.

Jakarta – Representatives of Christian worshipers from Aceh Singkil regency, Aceh, demanded on Tuesday that the government take action against what they say is the wrongful closure of their churches.

Michael Bachelard – In 2007, young Australian entrepreneur Dorjee Sun began a mission to save the world. He criss-crossed the globe with a documentary crew, inserting himself into climate change negotiations in a way which eventually made him one of Time magazine's "Heroes of the Environment".

Ahmad Pathoni, Banda Aceh – Shops in Indonesia's Aceh province, where Islamic law is in force, will soon be banned from selling tight-fitting clothes, an official said on Thursday.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Aceh Party politician Syukri Abdullah and his female business colleague were shot dead on Tuesday night as they were driving through the district of Bireuen to their respective homes in the neighboring province of Lhokseumawe. A third passenger in the victim's vehicle sustained minor injuries.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Another Christian house of worship has been sealed off in Aceh Singkil district, bringing the total since last week to 17 and marking a new low for religious intolerance in the staunchly Muslim province, a rights group said on Wednesday.

Aceh, North Sumatra – Sixty-two young women were detained in a raid for wearing tight clothing in Wilayatul Hisbah, Bireuen, Aceh on Tuesday evening.

Four of the 62 women detained are sales promotion girls who were promoting cigarettes near the area, and were wearing tight black pants, white tops and red jilbab (veils).

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – The Aceh administration has shut down at least 16 Christian places of worship since May 2, alleging they were being run without permits and had been drawing complaints from locals.

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Having failed to get reelected in the Aceh gubernatorial election on April 9, Irwandi Yusuf has established a new political party.

The National Aceh Party (PNA), which was registered on Tuesday, is chaired by Irwansyah, known as Teungku Muksalmina.

Langsa, Indonesia – Sharia police in Aceh, the only Indonesian province to practise the Islamic law, caned a homeless "punk" couple nine times Friday after they were caught having pre-marital sex in public.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Newly elected Aceh governor Zaini Abdullah, on Tuesday vowed to make stability and the economy his priorities during his time in office.

Hotli SImanjuntak, Banda Aceh – A return to the polls in at least five of the 17 regencies and municipalities across Aceh is being demanded to address claims of "cheating" in the April 9 election.

The five regions are Banda Aceh, Lhok Seumawe, Southeast Aceh, Central Aceh and West Aceh.

Muhammad Nazar, one of a number of candidates running for the Aceh governorship, was surprised when he was informed that he had barely gathered 8 percent of total votes in the unofficial "quick counts" in Monday's election.

On last Monday, voters in Aceh went to the polls to elect a governor, a deputy governor and 17 mayors and regents. It was only the second gubernatorial election in the province since the peace accord between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist insurgency was signed in 2005.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Police have arrested two former Free Aceh Movement members for allegedly masterminding a string of armed attacks in Aceh ahead of the province's recently-completed elections.

Jakarta – More than 69,000 registered voters in the capital of Aceh province, Banda Aceh, did not cast their votes in the April 9 regional elections (pilkada), according to an Aceh official on Friday.

Michael Bachelard – When pentecostal pastor Danny Nalliah thundered that the 2009 Victorian bushfires were caused by God's wrath at that state's decision to decriminalise abortion, he was an outlier even among radical Christians.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – The ruling Aceh Party is expected to win the gubernatorial, mayoral and district head polls due to the party's strong structure of command right down to the village level, analysts said on Tuesday.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Just a day after Monday's largely peaceful elections, protests flared up in Aceh over allegations of cheating.

Arlina Arshad – In Indonesia's only province ruled by strict Islamic law, the sight of the "morals police" prompts women to quickly adjust their headscarves and male and female companions to move apart.

Michael Bachelard – By western standards, the rooms are dingy, but Aceh's love hotel is doing a roaring trade.

"Fauzi", 45, who regularly brings his 25-year-old girlfriend to this motel-style hideaway in the suburbs of Banda Aceh, says he's not interested in luxury anyway. "All I need is a bed, air conditioning and a toilet."

Indonesia's only province ruled by hard-line Sharia law elects its governor on Monday, in polls watched by militant Muslims pushing for an Islamic government nationwide.

The elections in Aceh are the second since the province suffered 170,000 fatalities in the Asian tsunami of 2004, and since a 30-year war against Indonesian rule ended in 2005, having claimed 15,000 lives.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – An Aceh election official has warned of potential dirty tricks and intimidation in the province's remote areas during the vote count that will follow Monday's elections.

Michael Bachelard – One of two candidates likely to win the election in Indonesia's troubled westernmost province of Aceh has accused the other of authorising up to 13 murders in the lead-up to Monday's poll.

Farouk Arnaz – The security situation in Aceh remains largely trouble-free as campaigning for next Monday's elections winds down this week, police said on Tuesday.

Jakarta – As the situation in Aceh becomes more volatile ahead of the local election, the National Police are stepping up security measures in the country's westernmost province.

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Islamic sharia remains the main political sales pitch among gubernatorial candidates to enable them to win the upcoming Aceh regional election scheduled for April 9.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Wider implementation of Shariah law, greater economic empowerment and better governance were among the platforms espoused on Friday by the five gubernatorial candidates in Aceh.

Farouk Arnaz – The police's elite counterterrorism unit has arrested five people in Aceh and North Sumatra believed to be linked to a spate of politically motivated attacks in the lead-up to elections in Aceh next month.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Five men accused of gambling were caned six times each while hundreds of people watched in Aceh on Friday.