Television reports of disasters in the country now come with melancholy tunes, most notably the ballads of Ebiet G. Ade. Since the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Aceh, his song Berita kepada Kawan (News to a friend) seems to have become the official theme song for tragedies.

James Dunn – East Timor's descent into violence and anarchy, and towards civil war, chaos came as a shock, including to this columnist who has been involved in the affairs of this community for more than 4 decades, especially their ordeal during Indonesia's harsh occupation.

Mark Dodd, Dili – East Timor President Xanana Gusmao has assumed sweeping new executive authority, invoking emergency powers under the country's constitution to help resolve the political crisis.

Tom Allard and Mark Forbes in Dili – A humanitarian and political crisis was escalating in East Timor last night, as mobs looted government food warehouses, burnt properties and shot and bashed ethnic enemies.

Tangerang – The Tangerang Saviors Front (FPT), a paramilitary group, became involved in a brawl with locals late Saturday night after protesting the presence of nightclubs in the Pinangsia commercial complex in Karawaci, Tangerang.

The FPT demanded the clubs be closed, in accordance with a controversial local bylaw banning prostitution and the sale of alcoholic drinks.

Prime Minister John Howard had ignored the difficult task facing East Timor in the wake of the ruinous Indonesian occupation, Australian Democrats Leader Lyn Allison said today. Australia should have done more to help, she said.

Tom Hyland – The UN, Australia and the East Timorese Government had multiple warnings of the looming internal security crisis that has plunged Dili into violent chaos.

Kanis Dursin, Banda Aceh – Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the government and the Free Aceh Movement in Helsinki last Aug. 15, several GAM leaders who had lived overseas for decades began to head back to the formerly conflict-torn province.

Washington – A US-based pressure group has warned Australia that its invited military intervention in East Timor to quell unrest did not entitle it to interfere in the country's government.

Yogyakarta – Nothing remains of Cabean hamlet in Sumbermulyo village, Bantul regency. The only sign that it was a thriving community of farmers is the mosque, which now serves as a mortuary.

The simple wooden homes of the hamlet lay scattered across the ground, alongside the bodies of their owners.

Rita A. Widiadana, Sanur – The joint Indonesia-Timor Leste Truth and Friendship Commission will continue its work despite the outbreak of violence in Timor Leste, an official said Friday.

Anthony Deutsch, Dili – East Timor's capital descended into chaos Saturday as rival gangs set houses on fire and attacked each other with machetes and spears, defying international peacekeepers patrolling in armed vehicles and combat helicopters. The prime minister said a coup attempt was underway.

We have watched the unfolding situation in Timor-Leste this past week with deep concern. We do not believe that events had to escalate to this point. Like others, we do not have complete information about the current situation and its causes. Below are our initial reflections:

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The House special committee on the pornography bill will rework its draft to focus on curbing the prevalence of obscene materials, a development that brings the heated discussion about its contents back to square one.

Jakarta – Unlike Soeharto's many VIP guests whose hospital visits have been covered by television stations, the 20 people attempting to visit the ailing former dictator Friday morning might have gone unnoticed if not for the floral display they carried.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – A labor union has accused senior officials at the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry of misusing Rp 30 billion (about US$3.3 million) in funds earmarked for the severance pay of workers with oil and gas companies.

George Quinn – On its independence day almost exactly four years ago, the people of East Timor seemed literally to be singing on the same page. The independence movement had grabbed a massive win in the referendum of 1999. Indonesia's sour response and the brutality of its militias had been a gift to the new country's sense of solidarity.

Indra Harsaputra, Ponorogo – The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) on Friday proscribed any movements, either by individuals, groups of people, institutions or organizations, that threaten national unity.

The decree was one of several decisions taken during a meeting of ulema from across the country at the Gontor Muslim boardinghouse in Ponorogo, East Java.

A look at some deadly earthquakes in Indonesia since 2000:

Ridwan Max Sijabat and ID Nugroho, Jakarta/Jember – Hundreds of supporters of Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid rallied Friday to demand the government disband the militant Islam Defenders Front (FPI), who disrupted an appearance by the former president at an interfaith meeting this week.

Hamish McDonald – Australian warships silhouetted in the calm blue waters, a squat Hercules on the airfield surrounded by young soldiers armed and wired to the teeth, and John Howard warning the nation that it's all very risky.

Aren't we seeing a bit too much of this in our region? What happened to preventive diplomacy and peacekeeping?

Mark Forbes – Wide-eyed youths brandish machetes, armed militias rampage through the streets, terrified civilians flee, soldiers lay siege to police headquarters and your sleep is broken by rifle bursts, heavy machine guns and the thump of grenades. Welcome to East Timor, the world's youngest nation on the brink of becoming its next failed state.

Jakarta – Fashion products have not bounced back from the fuel price increase in October last year, causing earnings from clothing and shoes to decline by 40 percent since January.

Mark Forbes, Dili – The thud of grenades and chatter of machine-gun fire was drowned out by the drone of a huge, grey Australian Hercules yesterday carrying the men locals pray will deliver them from the carnage enveloping Dili.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – For more than 40 years, Hariyanto has been judged by his ethnicity.

During the anti-communist pogrom in the mid-1960s, the native of Tanah Abang was accused of being a communist simply because he was a Chinese Indonesian. Even today, his religion, Taoism, is constantly confused with Confucianism and his ID card says he is a Buddhist.

While former president Soeharto's life hangs in the balance in the hospital, controversy over whether or not the government should proceed with the graft charges against him has set in. The public at large cannot accept the fact that the Attorney General's Office has decided to withdraw lawsuits against Soeharto. The Jakarta Post asked people their views on the issue.

Damien Kingsbury – Australia's renewed intervention in East Timor will help defuse what was growing into an explosive situation, and which threatened the fledgling state.

Jakarta – Religious leaders from the country's major Muslim organizations and activists have demanded President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono crack down on extremist groups that commit violent acts in the name of religion.

Events in East Timor and the response internationally have given rise to a variation on gunboat diplomacy. It is gunboat democracy. In colonial times, a country would position a gunboat off the coast of a minion and that would be enough to sort out the native unrest.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The government will maintain references to religions on identity cards for the time being, the home minister says.

"There has never been a plan to drop religions from ID cards," M. Ma'ruf told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a House of Representatives hearing Thursday.

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) today urged Congress to restore restrictions on military assistance for Indonesia in the FY 2007 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill.

Ambitious politicians misjudge the mood in the military and soon the shooting starts, with the factions fighting over the pathetically small spoils of power. And an impoverished people scrambles to get out of harms way, while watching their aspirations for a better life disappear.

Rory Callinan, Dili – The large rock flying past the windscreen raised the alarm. For the previous two days I had travelled with impunity through the Dili suburbs of Becora and Fatuahi, where residents of the East Timorese capital had been engaged in running battles, armed with knifes, bows and arrows, spears and swords.

Jill Jolliffe and Rob Taylor, Dili – Heavy casualties have been reported in the centre of Dili where a fierce gun battle raged between rival military factions today.

Dylan Welch – Fighting was raging around East Timor's capital today ahead of the promised deployment of up to 1300 Australian troops to restore order.

Mataram/Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Tuesday a "common language" was essential in the fight against corruption as public officials remain fearful of facing prosecution for erroneous policy decisions.

Sydney – Australia on Wednesday denied refugee status to the last member of a group of 43 asylum seekers from the restive Indonesian province of Papua.

Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said the man's application was rejected because he was eligible to live in another country and had not exhausted avenues to seek asylum elsewhere.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) formally announced the establishment of a new political party Tuesday and appointed two independent candidates to take part in the next direct gubernatorial elections in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

Fanny Febiana and Aguslia Hidayah, Jakarta – Muladi, Governor of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas), has suggested that Aceh human rights cases could be resolved through the Commission for Truth and Reconciliation (KKR).

If the cases are to be resolved through the human rights court, there is concern that this could open old wounds.

Jakarta – An non-governmental alliance protecting religious freedoms reported the Religious Affairs Minister to the National Police on Monday, accusing him of defaming the Ahmadiyah sect.

Jon Lamb – Heightened tensions within East Timor and rumours of further violent clashes have subsided with the passing of the Fretilin congress, held in Dili on May 17-19. The congress was a test of support for Fretilin leader and East Timor's Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.

Multa Fidrus and Theresia Sufa, Tangerang – Three Tangerang men were arrested Monday for planning to set up an independent state in West Java.

"State" paraphernalia and documents were found by police at the movement's Tangerang base, a modest house in Jayanti district.

Hundreds of people from various organizations gathered Tuesday at the North Sumatra provincial council building in Medan to announce the formation of the Anti-Communist Community Group.

In its founding declaration, the group promised to remain committed to the consistent implementation of the state ideology Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution.

Radical cleric Abu Bakar Baasyir, who has always denied accusations of leading regional terrorism network Jemaah Islamiyah, is due to be released from jail next month after serving 29 months for his role in the Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people.

Following is a brief look at Baasyir's time in and out of jail over the past 28 years.

Tony Hotland and Urip Hudiono, Mataram/Jakarta – President Yudhoyono confirmed the government's intention Tuesday of repaying ahead of schedule Indonesia's multibillion dollar debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which would be done in two stages and within two years.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Widespread disenchantment with East Timor's government, a poorly led military and widespread poverty and unemployment are fuelling the worst unrest since the small country's 1999 vote for independence, analysts say.

Guido Guilliart, Dili – A surge in violence in East Timor's capital left one soldier dead and seven others wounded Tuesday, the government said, as Australia and New Zealand offered to provide troops to help restore calm.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – After dropping its indictment of former president Soeharto on criminal charges, the Attorney General's Office decided on Monday to build a series of civil cases against the former strongman.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had successfully distanced himself from his past association with former strongman Suharto's corrupt government. Now, he faces a historic decision that could make or break his administration's corruption-busting credibility with the masses who voted him into office on a reform platform.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Legislators have given qualified support to the government's plan to issue a regulation that would protect officials from prosecution for erroneous policies, after many nervous civil servants refused to make decisions.