Jakarta - Caving in to pressure from hardline Muslim groups, the provincial government of South Sumatra banned a minority Islamic sect branded "heretical" by the country's top clerics, media reports said Tuesday.

Acting Governor Mahyudin NS announced Monday that his administration had decided to prohibit the Ahmadiyah movement in the province on the grounds that it was "not compatible with Islamic teachings."

Jakarta - Millions of Muslims in Indonesia - the world's most populous Muslim country - on Monday begin fasting for the holy month of Ramadan, local media reported.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs announced the government's decision on Sunday evening that Monday is start of the fasting month of Ramadan after a meeting with leaders of Islamic organizations in the country, including the two largest ones, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah.

Jakarta -

Jakarta - An Indonesian Islamist hardliner went on trial amid tight security Friday over an attack on a rally for religious tolerance in June in which dozens of people were injured.

Government prosecutors charged Munarman, who, like many Indonesians, goes by one name, of committing harassment and destruction of property belonging to supporters of the interfaith rally.

Munarman, who is in custody, faces a seven-year sentence if found guilty in the attack that shocked moderate Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country.

Members of the Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI), many clad in Islamic robes and headscarves, were caught on video attacking men, woman and children with bamboo sticks at the June 1 demonstration in Jakarta.

Jakarta - Thousands of Indonesian Muslim hardliners took to the streets of Jakarta Wednesday to demand the government immediately outlaw a minority Islamic sect branded "deviant" by top clerics.

Activists from the Islamic Defenders Front protested against the Ahmadiyah sect in front of the presidential palace and demanded the release of their leader Habib Rizieq Shihab from custody.

Jakarta- Hundreds of homeless residents from East Java province demanded compensation for their properties destroyed by a massive mudflow caused by an industrial accident.

More than 14,000 homes, 33 schools, 65 mosques and an orphanage have been buried since May 2006 when a "mud volcano" began oozing to the surface following an oil-drilling accident in East Java district of Sidoardjo, an industrial suburb.