Jakarta - Councillors in Indonesia's second largest city Surabaya are seeking the closure of what is believed to be the only synagogue in the country to protest against Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip, a council member said Friday.

Protestors on Wednesday symbolically sealed the synagogue during a protest against Israel's strikes on Gaza that by Friday had killed 776 Palestinians and injured more than 3,000 people.

"We are asking the city administration to close the synagogue and verify the presence of the Jewish community here," said Ahmad Suyanto, a member of the Surabaya City Council.

Jakarta  - A fire gutted a boarding house in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta early Thursday, killing eight people local media reports said.

The fire broke out at about 3 am (2000 GMT Wednesday) and immediately engulfed the two-story boarding house in West Jakarta suburb of Palmerah, when the residents were sleeping, said Tatang, an officer from the city's traffic police.

Jakarta - An Indonesian court on Wednesday jailed two lawmakers for their

Jakarta - Indonesia's consumer price index in December declined 0.04 per cent against the previous month, driven by lower costs of transportation and communication, a senior government official said Monday.

The 2008 annual inflation rate was 11.06 per cent, said Ali Rosidi, deputy chairman of the Central Bureau of Statistics.

Rosidi said the December deflation was due to a decrease in the price index in the group transport, communications and financial services.

Jakarta  - A series of powerful earthquakes rattled the eastern Indonesian province of West Papua on Sunday, killing at least five people and injuring dozens of others, officials said.

The quake hit at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres at 4:43 am (1943 GMT Saturday), about 135 kilometres north-west of Manokwari, the provincial capital of West Papua, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said.

An aftershock measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, with its epicentre on land about 76 kilometres north-west of Manokwari, struck about two hours later but triggered no tsunami, the agency said.

The US Geological Survey put the initial quake at 7.6 Richter scale and the strongest aftershock at 7.5 on the Richter scale.

Jakarta  - A series of earthquakes rattled the eastern Indonesian province of West Papua on Sunday morning, killing at least one and injuring 26 others, officials said.

An official at Manokwari's general hospital confirmed that one body and 26 injured persons had been sent to the hospital.

The powerful 7.2-magnitude quake struck off the West Papua province at 4:43 am (1943 GMT Saturday). A 7.6-magnitude aftershock rattled the provincial capital town and nearby regions two hours after the initial quake.