Sandy George, Film writer – It has taken four years to work out how to turn the story of the Balibo Five, the TV newsmen killed in East Timor on October 16, 1975, into a feature film. But director Robert Connolly (The Bank, Three Dollars) is confident filming can begin.

Jose Ramos-Horta has won the backing of a key powerbroker ahead of next month's presidential vote in East Timor by agreeing to call off a manhunt for a fugitive rebel soldier wanted by Australian troops, party officials have said.

Keiji Hirano, Tokyo – Human right groups in Japan and East Timor have launched a campaign to donate history teaching materials to the newly independent nation that focus on the struggles of women who were forced to provide sex to Japanese soldiers during World War II.

Ambon – A bomb ripped through a bus station on Indonesia's Ambon island late Wednesday injuring six people, witnesses said, amid tight security for a pro-independence rebel anniversary.

One person was seriously wounded in the blast in Ambon city and all six were taken to nearby Al- Fatah hospital, witnesses said. An 11-year-old boy was among the injured.

Mark Forbes, Jakarta – Indonesia's elite special forces unit, Kopassus, has hosted Tommy Soeharto, the disgraced son of the nation's former military dictator, at its 55th birthday party.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – While the government and central bank need to be on alert against the backdrop of a recent surge in overseas borrowing by the private sector, they should avoid doing anything that might constrain Indonesia's open economy, analysts say.

Muslima Hapsari/Irmawati/Sutarto, Jakarta – There are problems being experienced as regards further progress in the Munir murder case.

Donald Greenlees, Manado – An Indonesian court acquitted Newmont Mining Corporation, the American mining giant, and one of its senior executives on Tuesday of charges of polluting a bay here with toxic waste from a now defunct gold mine, in a case that became a litmus test of foreign investor confidence in Indonesia.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Less than two years after the signing of the peace agreement between the Indonesian government and Free Aceh Movement (GAM), residents of Nanggroe Aceh Darusalam have been terrorized by two grenade attacks.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The government has issued a regulation officially renaming West Irian Jaya province to West Papua province, a political decision that may not automatically settle the prolonged dispute over the new province's existence.

Jakarta – The high political cost that has to be borne by candidates to take part in the election of regional heads (pilkada) is generating calls for the accommodation of independent candidates. Regulations allowing candidates from outside of the political parties must be implemented across the board, not just in Aceh.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Southeast Aceh regency was tense Monday evening after the installation of Marthin Desky as acting regent, replacing Rajidin, by Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Governor Irwandi Yusuf earlier in the day.

Both residents and officials at the regency administration strongly opposed the installation, held in Aceh's capital Banda Aceh.

Budiarto Shambazy – On April 12, 1963 rebels in Brunei were involved in an armed contact with British troops in North Kalimantan. The "rebels" (the TNI or Indonesian National Defense Force, Indonesian volunteers and Brunei opposition) launched a subversive rebellion against the sultanate that was considered a British puppet.

Margie Mason, Denpasar – Bird flu has largely flown off the radar of the Western world, but people are still dying from it nearly every week in Indonesia.

Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – A number of legislators are insisting that certain sectors of the economy remain closed to foreign investment despite the fact that the newly enacted 2007 Investment Law guarantees equal treatment for both local and overseas investors.

Madiun – As many as 200 pedicab drivers together with members of the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas) held a demonstration in the East Java city of Madiun on Monday April 23.

They started the action with a convoy through the streets of the city then blockaded a bus route on the Madiun city ring road, which is the main inter-city highway between provinces.

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – A leading environmental group asked the government Sunday to temporarily halt logging operations in the country, insisting that if measures are not taken to curb logging activities, Indonesia's forests could be gone within 15 years.

Adisti Sukma Sawitri and Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Calls for the President to replace incompetent ministers in his cabinet rose over the weekend after he announced that a reshuffle would occur in May.

Ika Krismantari, Jakarta – Modern retail outlets in the country such as hypermarkets and minimarkets do not pose any threat to wet markets and traditional grocery stores despite their massive expansion during the past two years, a survey shows.

Ahmad Pathoni, Dili – Portuguese is one of the two official languages in East Timor, but you can hardly hear it spoken in the streets of the young nation.

The tiny country was a Portuguese colony for more than three centuries, but only an estimated 5 percent of its one million people now speak the European language.

Richard Baker – A former senior Australian Government negotiator has criticised a controversial new treaty between Australia and East Timor that fails to permanently establish a maritime boundary between the two countries.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf warned the government Friday against issuing regulations that may contradict the 2006 Aceh Administration Law without consulting the Aceh provincial administration.

Jakarta – The city's dengue fever prevention program is progressing slowly, with East Jakarta residents reportedly preventing dengue fever prevention teams, which monitor mosquito larvae, from entering their homes. Plans to have schools students inform residents of the need to keep a dengue-free neighborhood are also yet to be realized.

John Pakage, Timika – Thousands of workers at Freeport-McMoRan's Grasberg mine in Indonesia have ended a four-day walkout over welfare that had sent copper prices to seven-month highs, the head of a workers' group said on Saturday.

The mine on the island of Papua produces more than 500,000 metric tons of copper annually and is Indonesia's biggest source of tax revenue.

Oyos Saroso HN, Bandarlampung – "We fought back, child, as well and as honorably as possible."

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced Friday that he would reshuffle his United Indonesia Cabinet in early May, ending months of speculation on the topic. He said the reshuffle would be limited to a few positions.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – After heavy government lobbying, Indonesia's central bank (BI) has agreed to roll back lending restrictions imposed on the banking sector in the wake of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and promote new bank lending targets for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Jakarta – The National Police confirmed Friday that it is protecting key witnesses to the 2004 murder of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib.

Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – Both local and foreign investors are seeking clarification from the government on its commitment to providing a more conducive investment climate amid growing demands for the expansion of the business sectors that are closed to foreign investors.

Many Indonesian citizens, especially those who were born in the 1950s and 1960s, have no birth certificate. Instead, they hold a birth acknowledgment letter, or surat kenal lahir, issued by village or subdistrict heads. The latter only recognizes when and where the holders were born.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – A member of Aceh's sharia police was caught with a teenage girl in a Banda Aceh public bathroom on Thursday night.

Jakarta – Thousands of mine workers in Indonesia's remote Papua province protested for a third day Friday as marathon talks with US firm Freeport McMoRan over pay and benefits showed signs of progress.

"We have reached agreement on several of the main issues," said Betty Ibo from the West Papuan Workers Union involved in the discussions.

Jakarta – The Chinese ambassador to Jakarta says the door is wide open for Indonesia to establish a security and defense cooperation without any hidden political agenda.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has squandered opportunities that could have made him an effective leader during his two-and-a-half years in office, political observers say.

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Malang – Malang residents took a different approach to protesting against the declining amount of green space in the East Java city on Thursday – they wrote letters to the trees themselves.

Irwan Nugroho, Jakarta – Some 25 artists from the Nyai Ontosoroh(1) Theater held a peaceful action at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Central Jakarta today. The action was held in conjunction with the commemoration of Hari Kartini(2) that falls on Saturday April 21.

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb and Khairul Saleh, Padang/Palembang – At least 78 students in Padang, West Sumatra, walked out of the national exams in a protest against cheating practices.

The students of Dhuafa Vocational School say that teachers from state vocational school SMK Negeri 5, where the three-day exams were being held, gave answers to their students.

Medan – A declaration and inauguration by the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas) in the North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan has been canceled. The event was planned to be held on the grounds of the Merdeka Medan Square on Tuesday Afternoon.

Joe Collins from the Australia West Papua Association said there should be no ties with the Indonesian military until it can be proven that the TNI has been reformed.

The Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Commander Marshal Djoko Suyanto is on a visit to Canberra to strengthen military relations between the two nations.

Tuban – A planned regional conference of the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas) in Tuban, East Java on Wednesday April 18 has failed to take place. This was because some 150 members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) held a demonstration opposing the conference in which they set fire to flags with the symbol of the hammer and sickle.

Tuban – A planned declaration of the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas) in the Tuban regency of Central Java yesterday has been canceled. It is understood that this followed threats by a number of Islamic organisations in Tuban and Lamongan regency affiliated with the Anti-Communist Islamic Community Front (FUI-AK).

Jakarta – The National Commission for Human Rights called Wednesday for the government to provide free elementary education to the children of poor families.

Andi Haswidi, Banda Aceh – Aceh is a province that is blessed by abundant natural resources and wealth that have long lain undeveloped due to a 32-year insurgency that only recently came to an end.

Jakarta – Production at a giant US-run mine in Indonesia's remote Papua province has been slashed to 20 percent due to a protest by thousands of workers, a government minister said Thursday.

Jakarta – A legal aid institution and a number of non-governmental organizations are to challenge the constitutionality of the recently enacted Investment Law, which they claim will prejudice the interests of the people.

Tito Belo, Dili – East Timor Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta met with a rebel representative on Thursday to discuss an end to a military operation against a fugitive army renegade.

Max Lane – "The PST has increased its vote slightly on its results in 2000", Avelino Coelho da Silva, secretary-general of the Socialist Party of Timor, told Green Left Weekly by telephone from Dili.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Highly troubled debtors that misused emergency liquidity support from Bank Indonesia during the 1998 regional financial crisis should be barred from new borrowing, a discussion here heard Tuesday.

James Balowski, Jakarta – Indonesian police have named two new suspects in the murder of human rights activist Munir, who died of arsenic poisoning on a Garuda flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam on September 7, 2004.

B. Nicodemus, Jakarta – I was at Abu Dhabi airport few months ago, waiting for my flight to Jakarta. I was chatting with friends when we saw a group of women rush to a small restaurant at the airport. Their faces and language were familiar to us. They were Indonesian women, on their way to work in Arab countries.