[What could US oil giant Exxon-Mobil have to do with the deadly conflict in the Indonesian province of Aceh? A group of villagers from Aceh have gone to court in the United States, to sue Exxon-Mobil for complicity with Indonesian security forces in committing human rights abuses.

Oyos Saroso H.N., Kalianda, South Lampung – Lampung farmers have demanded the court take a decision on the ownership of local communal land, which they say has been illegally taken over from them by private and state-run estate companies that have not provided them with adequate compensation.

Robert Go, Jakarta – The Indonesian capital is vulnerable to another bout of severe flooding early next year, top public works officials have warned, pointing out that although about US$10 million has been spent on flood prevention this year, many crucial projects remain unfinished.

Mysticism and money have always had a role in Indonesian politics. But when the country's Religious Affairs Minister Said Agiel Al Munawar took the advice of a mystic to hunt for buried treasure that would pay off the national debt, he was clearly going too far.

Surabaya – Twenty-three percent, or 300,000 hectares of forested areas in East Java are in critical condition due to rampant illegal logging, land clearance and the absence of a serious reforestation program, says Governor Imam Utomo.

Choking smoke haze from forest and ground fires persisted over several parts of Indonesia as Jakarta came under pressure from its regional neighbours to tackle the annual problem.

Hundreds of Indonesian schools remained closed, flights were disrupted and many residents of Borneo and Sumatra islands again donned masks before venturing out Friday.

Dan Murphy, Langsa – Nurjannah jumped back when the soldier poked his head out of the early morning sunlight into her kitchen. But she was quickly reassured – his rifle was slung carelessly over his shoulder, and he politely asked her in perfect Indonesian to wake up her husband, Kamaruddin. "Don't worry," the soldier said.

Dili – UN human rights chief Mary Robinson arrived in East Timor on Friday condemning Indonesia's trials over atrocities in the territory in 1999 and said she would take her concerns to the UN Security Council.

Dili – East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao on Friday said the government may consider pushing the United Nations to convene a special war crimes tribunal to try Indonesian officers allegedly responsible for the destruction of the territory in 1999.

Tom Wright, Dili – Try to find coffee from East Timor, barely three months old as a nation, and you'll probably come up empty-handed.

While coffee from neighboring Indonesia is gaining international recognition alongside time-tested Colombian and Kenyan beans, East Timor isn't a name which would register with most coffee lovers.

Nana Rukmana, Kuningan, West Java – Frustrated by declining coffee prices, many farmers in West Java are now cutting down their coffee plants and replacing them with vegetables and other crops in order to survive.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – East Timor's new government faced a second day of protests yesterday, when a dissident political party demonstrated outside government offices.

Among the crowd were remnants of a group of 2000 former independence fighters who held an unauthorised military parade in Dili on Tuesday.

Schools closed and residents donned smog masks as air pollution from forest and brush fires soared way above danger level in one Indonesian region.

Chief of the Australian Defense Force General Peter Cosgrove says his country is keen to intensify future military relations with Indonesia.

Jakarta – The Indonesian minister who said he was personally supervising a treasure hunt to raise money for the state has been forced to tender a public apology and may be investigated for violating a law which carries a 10-year jail term.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Illegal drugs are moving out of Jakarta's inner-city slums into the suburbs.

Recent police raids found that many houses on the outskirts have been turned into simple factories churning out Ecstasy, a drug popular in nightclubs.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Fighting off stiff competition from other low-cost and high-productivity countries such as China and Vietnam, Indonesia is likely to reform some labour laws as part of attempts to stem the outflow of investors and to bring in fresh investments.

Jakarta – A number of trade unions in Central Java have rejected the bill on manpower supervision and protection, and the bill on the settlement of industrial disputes.

Jakarta – An Indonesian army deserter who has been arrested for allegedly masterminding a bombing campaign in the capital may have had connections with an international terrorist network.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Two demonstrators went on trial Wednesday for allegedly insulting the president and vice president by stepping on their pictures during a rally in front of the State Palace on June 24.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung/Jakarta – The Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) and the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) condemned the shooting of two workers in Bandung, West Java, on Monday, saying it showed the security authorities were using violence to deal with industrial disputes.

James Dunn – At last Indonesia's human rights tribunal has begun passing verdicts on the 18 accused who have appeared before it.

The first to be sentenced was Abilio Soares, the last Governor of East Timor under Indonesian rule. Six other officers, including the Polri Chief, Brigadier General Timbul Silaen and Colonel Sediono have been acquitted.

Jakarta – Some 3,000 workers from PT Doson Indonesia, a company which produces Nike athletic shoes, staged a demonstration on Tuesday in front of the US Embassy to protest plans by the giant shoemaker to terminate its contract with the company next month.

As of the end of July, the number of political parties registered with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights for the 2004 general election had reached a staggering 204.

The number of parties far exceeds the figure in 1999, when 149 parties registered for the first election held in the post-New Order era.

Jill Jolliffe – Most of Dili's shops were closed and shuttered yesterday as about 2000 former guerrilla fighters put on a show of force against the Fretilin government of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.

Robert Go, Jakarta – As the number of hotspots in Indonesia rises, Jakarta officials yesterday said that they were unable to do much to stop the fires causing the choking haze in the region.

Their reasons: Lack of funds and personnel, and the public's ignorance about the health, transportation and diplomatic problems fires can cause.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The United States has criticised Indonesia's acquittal of six out of seven people accused of war crimes in East Timor, highlighting the prosecution's failure to build a case good enough to get convictions.

Kornelius Purba and Rita A. Widiadana, Kuta – Indonesia has been successfully dealing with transnational crimes and combating terrorism without much publicity either domestically or internationally, a senior cabinet minister says.

Ainur R. Sophiaan, Surabaya – Already hard hit by the economic crisis that has been assailing the nation since 1997, more Indonesians are now facing the prospect of being plunged into severe poverty due to drought.

Jakarta – Some 2,000 people have taken refuge in safer areas in Poso town following a spate of recent attacks in Poso regency, a senior local official said on Tuesday.

La Remy and Muhammad Nafik, Palu/Jakarta – Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Zainal Abidin said on Monday his office would soon summon at least 16 people suspected of masterminding or provoking unrest in the conflict-torn regency of Poso.

A thick haze from forest and ground fires has blanketed several Indonesian regions on Borneo island, choking residents and disrupting road and air traffic.

One scheduled landing was cancelled Tuesday morning at the airport at Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan and another cancellation was likely later on, said an official there.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Having been in office for a year, President Megawati Soekarnoputri has spent a staggering US$22.8 million on overseas trips, according to a finding revealed by the Alliance for New Indonesia (PIB).

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – An observer has criticized the government's decision to raise the budget allocations for the military and police without obliging them to promote financial transparency.

Jacqueline Koch, Jakarta – Last week's acquittals of six army commanders accused of inciting terror in East Timor graphically illustrate the distance Indonesia still has to travel before its military is brought under firm civilian control, foreign governments and human rights groups say.

[The Ad Hoc Human Rights Tribunal has acquitted six military and police officers charged with crimes against humanity for failing to prevent the bloodshed in East Timor in 1999. The Jakarta Post's Ati Nurbaiti talked about the verdicts to Asmara Nababan of the National Commission on Human Rights.]

Kupang – Police and Army troops, backed by local civilians scuffled on Monday at Maumere, Sikka regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) on the island of Flores, leaving more than 10 people, including seven policemen seriously wounded.

The Maumere police office was also damaged as a gang of Army soldiers and locals stormed the building.

Jakarta – A Christian separatist leader went on trial yesterday for allegedly plotting a rebellion in Indonesia's religiously divided Maluku islands.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The Indonesian government yesterday gave separatist rebels in Aceh a three-month deadline to drop their independence demand and resume peace talks, as part of a new and more conciliatory policy towards the restive province.

Patricia Nunan, Jakarta – About 2,000 factory workers marched through the Indonesian capital Jakarta Tuesday to protest being laid off from their jobs making Nike products. The workers say they want to keep their jobs or else they want more compensation for losing them.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Bandung, the provincial capital of West Java, is still tense following a violent labor rally in which two demonstrators were shot and a police officer was injured.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri has reportedly spent a whopping $22.8 million on overseas trips during her first year in office and no one in parliament is complaining – disgraceful given that one of the excuses used to oust her predecessor Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid was that he spent too much time and money abroad.

The commander of the East Timor Defense Force (ETDF) said Tuesday that the Dili government should build a monument to honor resistance fighters killed in the independence struggle against Indonesia and also clarify who fought as FALINTIL guerillas.

[Australia is to talk to East Timor about Indonesia's acquittal of army officers accused of human rights crimes in East Timor. Australia's Foreign Minister says Canberra is concerned about the decision by Indonesia's Human Rights Court to clear six officers over their role in the 1999 violence.

Jerry Norton, Jakarta – US criticism of Indonesian prosecutors over verdicts in East Timor human rights cases was out of line and would be better directed at judges in the case, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office said on Tuesday.

Jakarta – Human rights activists pledged on Monday to step up a global campaign for the establishment of an international tribunal for those involved in the mayhem in East Timor in 1999, saying Indonesia's human rights court was inconsistent and not independent.

Washington – The United States on Monday criticized the Indonesian prosecutors who failed to secure convictions for six out of seven security officials charged with crimes against humanity in East Timor.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – New government policies expected to be unveiled today for the restive province of Aceh are likely to be a combination of a carrot and stick approach.

Banda Aceh – At least 5,000 people paraded in Aceh province yesterday to celebrate the country's independence in a show of support for Jakarta's rule over the region.

The peaceful rallies in the provincial capital Banda Aceh were a blow to the separatist Free Aceh Movement, the rebel group that has been waging a bloody 26-year war for self-government.

The influential chairman of Indonesia's national assembly says his chances of winning the presidency in 2004 have been greatly improved by the assembly's decision to hold direct elections for the post.

"To be honest, with direct elections my chances have become much better," Amien Rais told Tempo magazine in an interview published Monday.