Canberra – East Timor's government accused the opposition Fretilin party of stoking security tensions in the restive country Wednesday, as Australia announced plans for a limited troop withdrawal.

Rendi Akhmad Witular and Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The central bank has been accused of misleading local and foreign banks by providing a guarantee letter for its Netherlands-based Indonesische Overzeese Bank N.V. (Indover) unit to get loans.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Temperature rises of three to four degrees Celsius, phenomena that should take decades to complete, have been recorded in Indonesia in a matter of days, a leading climatologist said Tuesday.

Dili – A move to soften tough abortion laws in mainly Catholic East Timor is stirring opposition from the powerful Church.

Activists are backing a proposed law that would loosen the country's blanket ban and allow abortions for women whose lives are in danger.

Indonesian police say they have arrested five suspected Muslim militants plotting to attack a major fuel depot.

National police spokesman Sulistyo Ishaq said Wednesday anti-terror operations also netted bomb-making materials, weapons and ammunition.

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed the state ministry bill, which limits the number of ministries to 34 and allows ministers to have deputies. The passage ends a three-year deadlock in deliberations over the bill.

During the deliberation process, the House had proposed a limit to the number of ministries to only 25.

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) said Tuesday it had found some irregularities in Indonesia's energy sector that might indicate corruption, after auditing the 2007 financial reports of government agencies and ministries.

Sydney – Australia will reduce its troop deployment to East Timor because of the improved security situation, Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said Wednesday.

Australian troop numbers in the fledgling country peaked earlier this year in the wake of attacks on the tiny nation's president and prime minister.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The internal bickering within the Golkar Party could develop into a bitter split, following its failure to address local branches' demands for the party to name its own presidential candidate, political experts warned Monday.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The fear of losing in voting on the presidential election bill is forcing factions in the House of Representatives to seek compromises.

The most contentious issue in the bill centers on the threshold – the minimum percentage of House seats a party or coalition of parties needs in order to be allowed to nominate its own presidential candidate.

Dili – In the high, craggy mountains south of East Timor's capital, Dili, a tangled blanket of wild, unkempt coffee trees is blooming. If the flowers, now tiny flecks of white against the dark green trees, do well, it could mean more than 7 million dollars in the pockets of some of the poorest people on earth.

18 West Papuans were arrested on Monday the 20 October for taking part in a peacefully rally held in front of the local legislative council in Jayapura.

Nethy Dharma Somba and Dian Kuswandini, Jayapura/Jakarta – Police on Monday arrested separatist leader Buchtar Tabuni as he was about to attend a massive rally in Jayapura, Papua, to show support for the newly created international parliamentarian caucus for West Papua in London.

Jakarta – Indonesia's parliament on Tuesday ratified the Southeast Asian charter committing ASEAN member nations to promote democracy and human rights, clearing the way for its formal adoption before year's end.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has decided to postpone the deliberation of the anti-pornography bill until late November, with two groups still at odds over the bill's definition of "pornography".

Anton Aprianto/Heru Triyon, Jakarta – Two Papua residents who had asked for political asylum in Australia came to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) office for protection.

Jakarta – Islam Defenders Front leaders Rizieq Shihab and Munarman claimed innocence in the attack on religious-tolerance activists in June, and asked the Central Jakarta District Court Monday to acquit them of charges of involvement in the attack.

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – Challenges await 11 Acehnese villagers who have succeeded in bringing giant company ExxonMobil Corp. to a US Federal Court, with the judge handling the case resigning from his post amid fears that revealing their identities might endanger their lives.

Jakarta – Two Papuan asylum seekers today said they travelled to Australia seeking a university education, rather than asylum for human rights abuses.

Hana Gobay, 23, and Yubel Kareni, 22, returned to Indonesian voluntarily last month, two years after they were granted temporary protection in Australia.

Dicky Christanto, Denpasar – The East Denpasar Police has summoned a group of young artists for using symbols of the now defunct communist party during an art exhibition organized last September.

Indonesian police detained at least 15 people and stopped over 2,000 people from participating in a planned independence rally in resource-rich Papua province on Monday, a Reuters witness said.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – In an attempt to boost its showing in next year's elections, the Golkar Party has assured its supporters it is serious about implementing an open system to determine its legislative candidates.

Under the system, Golkar legislators will win seats at the House of Representatives based on the most votes won in the 2009 legislative elections.

Dili – East Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao threatened Monday to arrest protesters who respond to opposition calls for a mass antigovernment rally, amid concerns for the country's stability.

"We will arrest those involved in any protests for the sake of the nation's security," he said when asked about the rally planned by opposition party Fretilin.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's popularity is on the rebound after previous polls put him behind rival Megawati Soekarnoputri, but is facing a new threat from the global financial meltdown, a new survey reveals.

Ken Yunita, Jakarta – It has become like a 'regular customer', traffic crossing Jl. Warung Buncit Raya in South Jakarta from Ragunan in the direction of Mampang Prapatan is invariably congested in the mornings.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – A week away from its Oct. 24 deadline to announce the final list of eligible voters, the General Elections Commission (KPU) has yet to finish updating voters' data from its regional branches.

As of Saturday, the KPU listed 169 million people eligible to cast their votes in the April 9, 2009, legislative elections.

Abdul Khalik and Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Political parties' ambitions to cling to power and their attempts to improve on their bargaining position ahead of the 2009 elections have dominated and delayed the deliberation of the presidential election bill.

Jakarta – In the lead up to the 2009 general elections, the House of Representatives (DPR) Special Committee on the 1997/1998 Abduction of Activists has been revived again. Moreover, within a short time, the special committee plans to summon Wiranto, Prabowo Subianto, Sutiyoso and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who are alleged to be involved in the case.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Public support for older parties are expected to stagnate, paving the ways for new political groups to seize significant backing from millions of swing voters by flooding them with media advertisements, according to a survey.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta – When Acehnese independence hero Hasan di Tiro visited the grave of his rebel organisation's former military commander this week, tears flowed.

Abdullah Syafi'ie, who stood with Mr di Tiro at the 1976 declaration of Acehnese independence, died in a fierce battle with Indonesian soldiers in 2002, cut down alongside his own wife and bodyguards.

Desy Nurhayati and Ika Krismantari, Jakarta – With a trio of state firms exploring the possibility of buying a stake in the Bakrie group's PT Bumi Resources, the government has rejected claims the plan is meant as a helping hand for the Bakrie family's most prized company.

Novia Chandra Dewi, Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) believes that plan to summon former generals by the House of Representatives' (DPR) Special Committing for Missing Persons is ridden with political motivations. The DPR should wait and decide whether or not to establish an ad hoc human rights court first.

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The central bank – which has just been equipped with a legal basis to facilitate reactions, including injecting liquidity, in the event of a potential financial crisis – pledged Friday there would not be a repetition of the misuse of funds that occurred in the 1990s crisis.

Bruce Gale, Senior Writer – During a visit to Jakarta in August, Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith described relations between Indonesia and Australia as having reached a 'historic high'. The two countries, he said, were entering the dawn of 'a new partnership'.

Abdul Khalik and Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – A voting mechanism will be legislators' last resort to pass the presidential election bill, with most major factions at the House of Representatives sticking to their guns on the contentious point of nominating a president.

Usman Hamid and Syaiful Haq, Jakarta – In his remarks during the ceremony to mark the 63rd anniversary of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in Surabaya on Tuesday, TNI Chief Gen. Djoko Santoso reported briefly on the five-point implementation of TNI's internal reform agenda over the past 10 years:

Aubrey Belford, Ngruki – An Indonesian Islamic cleric linked to the three extremists awaiting execution for the Bali bombings said Thursday the 2002 attack which killed more than 200 people was the work of the CIA.

Abu Bakar Bashir told AFP the US intelligence agency had fired a nuclear missile at the Bali tourist strip from a ship off the coast.

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – The House of Representatives' special committee debating the controversial pornography bill will allow tourists to wear bikinis at tourist resorts in a bid to ensure tourism is not negatively affected by the controversial legislation.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Legislator Ferry Mursyidan Baldan of the Golkar Party is undoubtedly an experienced politician, but in terms of popularity he is far behind comedian Eko Patrio of the National Mandate Party (PAN), a survey shows.

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The Bakrie family, headed by welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie, is unlikely to go bust any time soon, as the government ponders allowing state firms to buy stakes in the clan's companies to help avoid a possible debt default.

A failure by the family to secure immediate funding means it could risk losing the ownership of its crown jewel companies.

Agus Maryono, Purwokerto – A group of farmers in West Ajibarang, Banyumas regency, on Wednesday set fire to seven tons of unhusked rice, claiming they had been betrayed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

The farmers said the party had promised to buy their harvest at a high price, but had instead done nothing.

Mustaqim Adamrah and Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The government has unveiled plans for aggressive nontariff barriers aimed at protecting the domestic industry from an influx of overseas goods in light of slumping exports that will force local companies to rely on domestic demand.

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The government and lawmakers have set a "compromise" 6 percent target for next year's economic growth, as part of a revision to the 2009 budget assumptions. This reflects the global financial crisis, projecting a possible world economic downturn.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Despite an earlier pledge to cut military spending this year, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has promised the Indonesian Military (TNI) modern equipment to enhance its capacity to defend against foreign attacks.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) is still processing public feedback, including complaints, on its recently published preliminary list of legislative candidates.

As of Wednesday, the poll body had received complaints about 85 legislative candidates from 26 political parties.

Triwik Kurniasari, Jakarta – The accountability and transparency of city administrations across the country, including the Jakarta administration, have decreased in the past four years, the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) reported Wednesday.

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – Former Bank Indonesia (BI) governor Burhanuddin Abdullah has accused former deputy Aulia Pohan of masterminding the misappropriation of an Indonesian Banking Development Foundation (YPPI) fund.

Angus Grigg – In less than two months, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari will rise in Oslo's City Hall and formally receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Norway's King Harard V will be there to see the peacemaker receive his medal, diploma and a cheque for $US1.5 million ($2.2 million).

Dili – Last week on eBay a search for East Timor would have come up with a black, wooden, hand-carved statue of a male, not quite a metre high.

Jakarta – The HIV/AIDS infection rate is exploding in Indonesian prisons because intravenous drug users are being kept in the same overcrowded cells as other inmates, officials said Thursday.

"There should be a separation between people who have been convicted of drug-related crimes and other types of crime," National AIDS commission head Nafsiah Mboi said.