As the talks progressed, heavily-armed troops patrolled Jayapura, the capital of Papua, also known as Irian Jaya, in a show of force. Today is the last day the separatist Morning Star flag will be allowed to fly in the centre of Jayapura. It will then be banned in all but five of the province's 14 districts. Today is also the 39th anniversary of a unilateral declaration of independence in 1961 by Papuans, before the former Dutch New Guinea became a part of Indonesia. Tensions increased this week, when police arrested the head of the pro-independence Papua Council and two of his colleagues, and charged him with subversion.
Asthma medications face tests.
The election campaign is coming as Australian retailers brace themselves for massive impacts from last month's terror attack in New York. The Anglican Church in Melbourne has attacked Australia's treatment of asylum seekers, with some members of the clergy calling for a royal commission.