Dili – The commander of Australian UN peacekeepers in East Timor has dismissed reports that former anti-independence militiamen have infiltrated from Indonesia and were behind recent attacks on Timorese villages.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military (TNI) is undertaking a major reshuffle of 120 strategic positions, including the three deputies to the chiefs of staff of the army, the navy and the air force.

Moch. N. Kurniawan and Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Workers and employers have inched closer to a workable agreement with regard to several contentious and crucial issues in the labor protection and development bill, which is expected to be endorsed by the House of Representatives this month.

Several hundred protestors scuffled with police during a rowdy demonstration outside President Megawati Sukarnoputri's official residence in Jakarta.

The protestors were calling on the president to resign, and carrying signs showing her as the devil.

Police cordoned off the area, but had to resort to a baton charge when the crowd failed to disperse.

Jakarta – About 1,000 Indonesian students staged a rowdy protest outside the home of President Megawati Sukarnoputri on Thursday calling for her to step down.

Hundreds of police formed a cordon to stop the protesters approaching Megawati's official residence in central Jakarta.

The UN Special Crimes Unit in East Timor has charged former militia commander, Joao Tavares, and four Indonesian TNI, or military, officers for atrocities in the territory before and after a UN sponsored vote for independence from Indonesia in August 1999. They are among 32 people, including 15 TNI soldiers, accused of murder, torture, persecution and other crimes.

The Indonesian military has indicated for the first time that it was involved in the murder of Papuan pro-independence leader, Theys Eluay 14 months ago.

Jakarta – In the first public admission that the military was behind the killing of Papuan independence leader Theys Eluay, an Indonesian army officer told a court martial yesterday that one of his men strangled the politician.

Kafil Yamin, Jakarta – The market is dirty, is chaotic and reeks of animals. Called the Pramuka pet market, its bazaar-like atmosphere, punctuated by the calls of creatures in distress, camouflage well the fact that this untidy sprawl in the eastern part of Indonesia's capital is a key part of a multimillion-dollar smuggling operation.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – The World Bank is calling on the government to proceed with its higly criticized plan to actively involve the private sector in managing clean water services to help improve people's access to water.

Nani Farida, Aceh – Residents of the troubled Aceh are angry about what they see as their exclusion from the peace process, which has yet to bring a complete halt to separatist violence.

Residents say that those in charge of the peace process are sidelining them and their efforts to get involved in implementing the December 9 peace pact.

Jakrta – Indonesian prosecutors demanded on Wednesday that the former military chief in East Timor be jailed for 10 years for failing to halt massacres when the territory voted to split from Jakarta rule in 1999.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – As demands from within Golkar grow for chairman Akbar Tandjung to quit his post, party leaders are now scrambling to save the organization from falling apart by diverting attention away from Akbar's corruption case.

Dadan Wijaksana and Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – In an apparent bid to appease public criticism, the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) started another round of legal action against five former bank owners who have been deemed uncooperative in settling their debts to the state.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – United Nations investigators have indicted ageing militia chieftain Joao Tavares and two senior Indonesian officers for crimes against humanity committed in the Maliana district of East Timor in 1999.

Ralf Scharmann, Darwin – Traditional owners in several Top End communities have offered sanctuary to 84 Darwin-based East Timorese asylum seekers who are facing deportation.

Marie Munkara, traditional owner of Cape Fourcroy on Bathurst Island has opposed the government's attempt to deport the East Timorese.

Warren Fernandez, Jakarta – Brace yourselves – the next 18 months are going to be tense and turbulent as Indonesia heads down a bumpy road to the 2004 polls.

Jakarta – The UN on Tuesday indicted 32 people- including 15 Indonesian soldiers – for murdering and torturing East Timorese during the country's bloody break with Indonesia in 1999.

It was the largest indictment so far by the UN Special Crimes Unit and accuses Indonesian officers of crimes against humanity for taking part in the violence.

Tiarma Siboro, Lhokseumawe – Compensation money is often given in exchange for a loss of property or a relative, but it cannot bring back a loved one, or in many cases, compensate for the bitter feelings felt.

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – With the signing on December ember 9, 2002 of the cessation of hostilities agreement between Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), the Acehnese people began to feel emboldened enough to speak about the crimes committed by GAM in the past, starting with the three mass graves found in Kemukiman Manggamat, South Aceh.

Banda Aceh – Separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province yesterday said that they were ready to start handing over weapons under a December ember peace deal but questioned the army's commitment to the pact.

Jakarta – The Indonesian army announced Tuesday that it will replace its commander in Papua province amid allegations his troops killed two US teachers and a prominent politician.

Sarah Crichton – The Federal Court has ruled it cannot hear a US oil company's multi-billion dollar compensation claim against the Commonwealth for loss of rights to vast oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea.

To East Timor, where a reported militia insurgency has put a spotlight on Australia's peacekeeping efforts in properly securing the border. Local authorities say they're struggling to repel fresh militia raids from West Timor, prompting calls for a tougher Australian stance on border security.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Indonesia's national police headquarters was rocked by a bomb blast early yesterday.

While the explosion injured no one and caused only minor damage, it sent shockwaves through the country's campaign to convince the world that it has implemented effective security measures in the wake of the Bali bombings.

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Agus Maryono, Bandung/Cilacap – State-owned forestry company PT Perhutani has increasingly come under fire for its failure to stop the rampant deforestation blamed for last week's deadly landslides that killed more than 30 people in West Java.

Indonesia's exports rose 1.2 per cent to $US57 billion ($97.3 billion) in 2002 from a year earlier, helped by higher oil and commodity prices as well as a boost in overseas orders for machinery and other manufactured goods.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – The country's export performance turned out last year to be better than many had expected, thanks to stronger exports of agriculture and low-end manufacturing products.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported on Monday that the value of exports rose by 1.21 percent to US$57 billion last year, compared with the level in 2001.

A bomb which exploded at Indonesia's national police headquarters has heightened fears of new attacks in the country, the police chief said.

Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta – Debuts by new Indonesian artists may soon become a thing of the past.

Digital piracy, through the duplication of CDs and VCDs, is rapidly taking over the market and pushing the local recording industry to the brink of extinction.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – The 2003 city budget, which amounts to Rp 10.98 trillion, will better serve the city administration and council, instead of the general public, critics have said.

This year's budget, which was approved by the council's 11 factions on Friday, increased by about 10 percent from last year's budget, which was Rp 9.7 trillion.

Sri Jegarajah, Jakarta – The United States embassy in Jakarta has denied a New York Times report alleging Indonesian soldiers killed two US teachers last August, saying such a conclusion was premature because investigations were still continuing.

Nani Farida, Aceh – The almost two-month-old cessation of hostilities agreement between Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) is under threat by violations committed by both sides.

Both GAM and the military have been found guilty of numerous violations and neither side has taken action against those responsible for the breaches, leading to a loss of mutual confidence.

Jafar G. Bua, Palu – The arrest of student activists has not lessened the number of demonstrations. In an action today, Monday, around 1000 activists from the Central Sulawesi Poor People's Forum (Forum Rakyat Miskin Sulawesi Tengah, FRMST) demanded that President Megawati Sukarnoputri resign and proceeded to burn posters of Megawati.

Jafar G. Bua, Palu – The Central Sulawesi Poor People's Forum (Forum Rakyat Miskin Sulawesi Tengah, FRMST) protested the arrest of 13 pro-democracy activist during a recent incident when the offices of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) were damaged.

Karen Michelmore, Darwin – Players in the multi-billion dollar Timor Gas treaty are hopeful of an outcome within weeks, as negotiations drag on.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Clare Martin today said she was confident the federal government would soon ratify a treaty with East Timor on sharing royalties from the project.

Jill Jolliffe, Hatolia – The United Nations is in a quandary after insecure border villagers demanded that it extend a controversial military operation that has resulted in mass arrests.

Investigators in Indonesia have begun the first formal probe into mass killings that took place more than three decades ago. The massacres occurred in late 1965 and early 1966 in a period of political upheaval that accompanied the rise to power of former dictator Suharto.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The country's forestry-related industry should cut its installed capacity by more than 70 percent in order to protect the country's forests from continued overexploitation, the Ministry of Forestry has said.

Jakarta – Papua New Guinea (PNG) has reportedly expelled members of the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) from its territory after setting a January 19 deadline to do so, Antara has reported.

Kiki Syahnakri, Jakarta – All the parties involved in the recent signing of the peace deal between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) deserve sincere appreciation, especially given the protracted conflict in Aceh and the vast loss of life and material damage there.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – After a series of debates and delays, the steering committee of the House of Representatives agreed on Thursday to bring a no-confidence motion against Speaker Akbar Tandjung back to the House Plenary meeting on February 27.

Washington – Indonesian soldiers were the ones who carried out a deadly ambush that killed two American teachers returning from a picnic last summer, senior Bush administration officials told the New York Times.

The Indonesian military has threatened to use force against Aceh separatist rebels if they fail to disarm starting February 9 as required by a December peace agreement.

The widow of one of two American teachers shot dead in Indonesia's rugged Papua province last year has been lobbying the United States administration and congressmen to halt the recently resumed training of Indonesian military officers.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – The United Nations' police chief in East Timor is refusing to resign despite criticism from Fretilin government officials over his handling of riots in December.

"I'm not a quitter, and the UN wants me to stay, so I'm staying," Commissioner Peter Miller said.

Vannessa Hearman, Melbourne – Fivo Freitas is 28 years old, he sought asylum in Australia after leaving East Timor in 1999. Now he is preparing for his application for asylum-seeker status to be rejected once again by the Refugee Review Tribunal.

Raymond Bonner – Bush administration officials have determined that Indonesian soldiers carried out a deadly ambush that killed two American teachers returning from a picnic in a remote area of Indonesia last August, senior administration officials say.

Kurniawan Hari and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Each faction in the House of Representatives (DPR) agreed to adopt an "open-list" election system for the 2004 elections, paving the way for voters to directly choose individual legislative candidates to represent their aspirations at the House.