Penny Crisp and Dewi Loveard, Jakarta – It was, said President Abdurrahman Wahid, an incident designed to embarrass him.

Bruce Haigh, Sydney – Critics of the Federal Government's failed policies towards Indonesia and East Timor have been targeted by the Government. The Federal Police have issued warrants to search for documents in the homes of people suspected of dealing with "secret" information relating to Indonesia and East Timor. I am one of those people named.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Several soldiers are among six suspects being questioned by Indonesian authorities over the murder of UN relief workers and an East Timorese militia leader in West Timor, it emerged yesterday.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid yesterday dismissed a second senior general as his government raised the ante to try and solve the growing violence in Indonesia.

Mark Riley, New York – Indonesia has ordered the West Timorese militia to surrender their arms or have them forcibly removed, as the Wahid Government moves to avert the threat of economic and military sanctions.

John McBeth, Jakarta and Michael Vatikiotis, Washington – It was a humiliating moment for Abdurrahman Wahid.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia's tycoons are privately selling millions of dollars worth of assets to their foreign partners, but government officials who are just becoming aware of the trend want to clamp down on such deals.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – The trial of former president Suharto's golfing partner, Mohammad "Bob" Hasan, opened yesterday but was adjourned for a week after prosecutors outlined corruption charges against him. The prosecution accused Hasan of "enriching himself" at the state's expense. If found guilty, he faces up to 20 years' jail.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government is to open its railways sector to outside capital, allowing foreign investors to hold up to 95 percent stakes in new rail lines, a report said Thursday.

Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world and a cornerstone of security and economic development in Southeast Asia, is a continuing source of international concern amid worries that President Abdurrahman Wahid is not in control.

Simon Butler – Nike is the world market leader in sports shoes. Its profits amounted to US$965 million in 1999. This huge figure in part flows from the sales generated from the vast volume of advertising Nike subjects the planet to. But mostly, Nike's profit margins are huge because it thoroughly exploits its workers.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – An Indonesian Army auditing team has cleared a general of corruption allegations after it concluded an investigation that sceptics suspect is a mere cover-up.

Sydney – Leading figures in the Indonesian Government have said some extraordinary things about events on both sides of the Timor border over the years, but nothing to match recent comments by the new Defence Minister, Mr Mahfud.

Suwardjono/Fitri & GB, Jakarta – In Indonesia, the appearance of leaked documents outlining high-level plots to promote the interests of certain groups is becoming a regular feature of the political wranglings of the President and his enemies.

Lindsay Murdoch – Probably more than any other country Indonesia needs international help as it undergoes a historic and difficult transition from dictatorship to democracy. But its leaders are showing deep resentment to outside criticism, particularly from Western countries, and a propensity to blame others when the Government falters.

Jon Land – When news of the killings in West Timor of workers from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) by pro-Jakarta militia reached Prime Minister John Howard, he acted quickly to show support for the Indonesian government and defend the ability of the Indonesian military (TNI) to resolve the crisis.

Max Lane – Prime Minister John Howard's Coalition government has released foreign affairs documents relating to the 1974-76 period in a cynical ploy to use Australian people's outrage at the 1975 invasion and occupation of East Timor to score points against the "opposition" Labor Party.

Andrea Hopkins, Canberra – Secret files released on Tuesday show the Australian government lied about its knowledge of the murder of five journalists in East Timor weeks before Indonesia invaded in late 1975, political analyst Des Ball said.

Banda Aceh – A series of explosions and arson attacks rocked the capital of the troubled Indonesian province of Aceh overnight but caused no casualties, police and residents said Tuesday.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government said Tuesday it plans to extend the repayment period for millions of dollars in emergency liquidity extended to banks in 1998 if the bank owners inject additional assets and offer personal guarantees.

David Lague – Four key government intelligence experts on East Timor were named in the warrant police used on Saturday to search a Federal Opposition staff member's home in an inquiry into official leaks that last year embarrassed the Howard Government.

Jakarta – Hundreds of people of different professions rallied at the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) building on Monday, condemning last week's bomb attack at the building which left at least 11 dead and dozens injured.

Jakarta – Two people died and 19 others were wounded on Tuesday when a ferry carrying 100 Christians was attacked in the bay of Indonesia's strife-torn city of Ambon, hospital staff and a report said. The two died of gunshot wounds, a duty anesthetist at the intensive care unit of the state Haulussy hospital told AFP.

Jakarta – Around 300 demonstrators from various non-governmental organizations and other group of society staged protests near Hotel Indonesia, Central Jakarta, yesterday urging all parties to stop committing violence throughout the country.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Hunting for an apartment in Jakarta is a walk in the park, unless the objective is to land the priciest of the available bunch.

Banda Aceh – Three Indonesian soldiers, a policeman and a rebel were killed in separate incidents of violence in the restive Indonesian province of Aceh on Monday, police said.

Jay Solomon, Jakarta – The US is taking an increasingly hard line toward President Abdurrahman Wahid's government as Washington tries to promote democracy and accountability in Southeast Asia's largest country.

Jakarta – The Plantation and Forestry Department is set to bring a score of timber tycoons to the arbitration court for failure to repay Rp 96.9 billion in loans taken from the department's reforestation funds (DR).

Shoeb Kagda, Jakarta – A major turf battle for control of Indonesia's state-owned enterprises is unfolding between chief economics minister Rizal Ramli and the junior minister for national economic restructuring, Cacuk Sudarijanto, who is also chairman of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (Ibra).

Jakarta – The Indonesian government's plan to resettle pro-Jakarta militias and more than 100,000 refugees on an island just 60 km north of East Timor has been rejected by several leaders of the group, who argue that the move would not solve their problems.

Jakarta – Corrupt village heads in Indonesia's Riau province are reportedly making a fortune selling falsified marriage certificates to men who wish to take second wives. Although the country's 1975 marriage law permits Muslim men to take up to four wives, polygamy is generally not common.

Jakarta – Some 150 youths protested at the US consulate in the second city of Surabaya against Washington's criticism over the killings of UN aid workers in West Timor, news reports said Saturday. The protestors pulled down the consulate flag and burned it, and threw stones at the building during the Friday protest in the capital of East Java, the reports said.

Banda Aceh – Violence in restive Aceh province in the last year cost over Rp 42,8 billion (US$5.1 million) in material losses, the province's governor Ramli Ridwan said on Friday.

Associated Press in Banda Aceh – The head of an Islamic university in the restive Aceh province was shot to death on Saturday, police said.

Jakarta – Some 100 stock traders and executives staged a demonstration in front of the bomb-hit Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) building yesterday, demanding that the government step up security at crucial economic institutions, witnesses said.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – The announcement of an arrest order for Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra by an embattled President Abdurrahman Wahid may have redrawn the political map, at least for a day.

Robert Go, Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid was greeted with cheers yesterday when he disclosed the order to arrest a member of the Suharto clan in connection with Wednesday's bomb blast at the Jakarta Stock Exchange building. The response underscores the distrust and hatred many Indonesians harbour towards the former First Family.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The Indonesian police said yesterday they were having difficulties finding proof to link the series of bomb attacks in the capital in the past three months to groups that some government officials suggest are related to the army.

Vaudine England – On the surface, Indonesia appears to be spiralling out of control, with the killing of United Nations workers in West Timor 10 days ago, a bomb in central Jakarta three days ago and a presidency assailed by critics both at home and abroad.

Alan Ramsey – It was never a secret. If you were around at the time with your eyes and your brain open, you'll remember. If you weren't or didn't, then go back and look at the headlines. They weren't all about the political hysteria of sending the Whitlam Government to the stake. East Timor was big news, too.

Mark Dodd, Dili – United Nations police in East Timor have opened a formal investigation into the 1975 killing of five Australian-based journalists at Balibo and say they may lay charges within the next month.

Jakarta – State Minister of the Environment Sonny Keraf announced mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia misled the public in recent advertisements by not revealing the full results of its environmental audit.

Jakarta – Despite its waning political influence, the military – especially the Army – retains several "political resources" which could enable it to come back in the future, an international policy research group warned in a recent report.

Susan Sim, Jakarta – As strategies go, there is a certain sick brilliance in the targeting choices of whoever is behind the bombing campaign being waged here.

Vaudine England – Whoever is behind the killings and bomb attacks in the country, brought dramatically to the centre of economic life in Jakarta, has succeeded brilliantly – if such was their plan – in weakening President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Jakarta – The government pledged on Thursday to get to the bottom of a series of bomb attacks here and was cautiously suggesting that remnants of the New Order regime or wayward military personnel might be behind the senseless acts.

Bertil Lintner, Maliana – An Australian soldier holds his finger tightly on the trigger of his automatic rifle, watching with his unit for movement in the brush across the stream that separates East and West Timor. The threat is real.

Jakarta – Indonesia's defense minister has accused foreign powers of inciting rioters to murder three UN aid workers in West Timor last week, media reports said Friday, ostensibly to stop East Timor from returning to Indonesian rule.

Khairul Ikhwan D/Fitri & GB, Medan – Efendy Panjaitan, North Sumatra Executive Director of the Indonesian Forum on Environment, known as Walhi, said they, environmental activists and the local community continued to oppose the reopening of the infamous PT Inti Indorayon Utama (PT IIU) pulp and paper factory.

MMI Ahyani/Swastika & GB, Bandung – Around 2,000 factory workers in West Java staged a rally at the Governor's office demanding a pay rise and the establishment of a National Workers Council.