Jakarta – Calls for a national boycott on taxes and utility bills, and for the resignations of President Megawati Soekarnoputri and her deputy Hamzah Haz, mounted across the archipelago on Thursday as nationwide protests heated up against fuel, electricity and telephone price hikes.

Australia's foreign minister Alexander Downer has meet his East Timorese counterpart, Jose Ramos Horta, to discuss recent unrest in the developing nation.

Four people were killed recently when a gang armed with automatic rifles stormed villages in East Timor. It was the worst violence in the country since 1999.

Jakarta – The non-governmental organization, The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), condemned on Thursday the government's decision to allow controversial pulp plant PT Toba Pulp Lestari to restart operations, Antara reported.

Jakarta – Hundreds of workers grouped in the workers union of many companies joined in a rally in protest of the increase in fuel oil prices, telephone and electricity tariffs in front of the State Palace on Thursday.

Dili – The East Timor Defense Force (ETDF) is currently mounting counter-insurgency operations in an attempt to capture presumed anti-independence militiamen who raided two villages Saturday and killed several inhabitants, the ETDF's commander said Thursday.

Dili – East Timor police said Thursday they arrested two former pro-Jakarta militiamen on weapons charges but declined to say if the men were linked to a recent surge in violence in the newly independent country.

Evi Mariani, Jakarta – About 150 becak (trishaw) drivers united in the Daya Manunggal Becak Driver Group (PBDM) visited the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) office in Central Jakarta Wednesday, pressing for their right to operate legally in Jakarta.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputi faces one of her toughest challenges today as Indonesia's businessmen join thousands of their employees here in a rare alliance to protest against the recent price hikes.

Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta – Some 25,000 workers are expected to hit the streets of Jakarta on Thursday in what will likely be the biggest demonstration so far against the utility price hikes.

Jakarta – The government has announced a plan to restrict foreign researchers' access to conduct field work in Papua and Aceh, saying that many came with intentions other than academic goals that could amount to an interference in Indonesia's domestic affairs.

Jakarta – Indonesia's foreign direct investment pledges slumped 35 per cent last year compared with 2001, a bad sign for economic growth and a reminder of the nation's reputation as a tough place to do business.

State investment agency BKPM said in a statement on Tuesday that foreign investment approvals last year fell to US$9.74 billion from US$15.06 billion in 2001.

Jakarta – The police reiterated once again that they would take very strict actions against demonstrators, if they planned to insult state symbols, Antara reported.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – With a glut of new parties set up ahead of next year's general election, disputes are breaking out over the right to use some of the most popular Indonesian signs and symbols.

Jakarta – In another show of deep cracks within the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), five functionaries in Lampung have been dismissed from their posts for defying directives on the recent gubernatorial election.

Jakarta – Unable to accept the burning of her effigy, President Megawati Soekarnoputri urged the people not to insult state symbols when expressing their aspirations, Antara reported.

Jakarta – A lawyer for a Christian gang suspected of deadly bombings and shootings in Maluku said Wednesday some attacks had been assisted by special forces soldiers, AFP reported.

Jakarta – Hundreds of students burned tyres and pictures of President Megawati Sukarnoputri yesterday when protests against fuel, telephone and electricity price hikes were held in 10 Indonesian towns and cities.

Surabaya – In the midst of a heated situation following the recent shooting of civilians, about 4,000 TNI Indonesian National Military Forces personnel from the navy, air force and army were mobilized to Papua Irian Jaya as part of their 2003 amphibious operations programme.

Recent unrest in newly-independent East Timor which claimed five lives is a purely domestic problem and has nothing to do with former ruler Indonesia, Jakarta's foreign minister said.

"It's their internal problems; social-economic problems, high unemployment and the public's too great expectations for economic improvement," Hassan Wirayuda told reporters.

A new report claims Indonesia's booming paper industry is responsible for widespread attacks on indigenous communities in Sumatra. The New York-based group Human Rights Watch also alleges police are helping suppress protests against the seizure of forest land, claiming land seizures and "brutal" assaults on local residents are commonplace.

The recent furore over Singapore Technologies Telemedia's purchase of a major stake in Indonesia's Indosat is just a case of domestic political bickering, a former Indonesian minister said yesterday. Former trade minister Arifin M.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia could be building nuclear power plants by the end of this decade, as part of government efforts to provide alternative energy sources to the country's power-hungry households and businesses, said senior officials yesterday.

Dili – East Timor's defence force is to send 180 soldiers to a district where attackers killed four villagers over the weekend, a defence source said yesterday.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – It comes as no surprise that a handful of legislators are seeking an inquiry into the S$1.2 billion purchase of a major stake in telecommunications firm Indosat by Singapore Technologies Telemedia (STT).

Richel Langit, Jakarta – Dozens of people suspected of plotting the deadly Bali bombing have been arrested, and the head of the joint international team investigating the terrorist attack, Inspector General I Made Mangku Pastika, has been declared the Asian Newsmaker of the Year by the US magazine Time, but the terrorist network operating in the world's largest archipelagic country

Jakarta – The country's booming paper industry is responsible for widespread attacks on indigenous communities in Sumatra, said a Human Rights Watch report released Monday.

According to the report, which was quoted by AFP, police are helping suppress protests against the seizure of forest land.

Jill Jolliffe, Darwin – United Nations officials and East Timorese government leaders are re-assessing security after a weekend border attack with all the hallmarks of a militia incursion from West Timor.

Jakarta – Papuans demanded on Monday that the venue of the murder trial for local separatist leader Theys Hiyo Eluay be moved from the East Java capital of Surabaya to their province in order for justice to take place.

Jakarta – Mass strikes by public transportation drivers commenced in a number of cities on Monday as street protests against recent hikes in utility prices continued in several parts of the country.

James Dunn – It is hard to feel sanguine about the latest acquittal of the Indonesian Human Rights Tribunal, which has been hearing charges against TNI (Indonesian armed forces) officers and militia leaders in relation to events in East Timor in 1999.

Dili – Screaming "We are coming back for you", a gang armed with automatic rifles raided two villages in newly independent East Timor, killing four people and injuring eight, witnesses said yesterday.

Hundreds of Indonesians took to the streets here to protest the government's decision to raise electricity and telephone rates and fuel prices, while elsewhere in the country higher fuel costs were likely to cause transport disruptions.

Jakarta – In a mainly Muslim nation dominated by Javanese culture, few Indonesians know much about the remote and mainly Christian province of Papua, beyond the stereotype of tribesmen living in the forest.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia's businessmen and labour unions have formed a rare alliance to protest the government's New Year price hikes – paving the way for a mass nationwide strike this week.

Labour activist and union chief Dita Indah Sari said employers have not only backed, but also encouraged, union plans to strike against the latest series of price hikes.

Xanana Gusmao's first new year's address as president of an independent East Timor encapsulated the fragility of his young nation. At the heart of Mr Gusmao's message was an appeal for peace.

Tom Hyland, Jakarta – The relentless techno beat is so loud your insides vibrate. Strobe and laser lights flash out across the crowd of maybe 5000 that surges in waves across the vast dance floor. It's 2am on a Saturday and amid the noise and crush, the mood in this north Jakarta nightclub is a strangely mellow mix of joy and energy.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Employers remain committed to implementing a 7 percent increase in the minimum labor wage despite a simultaneous utility price hike, said an industry leader.

Bill Guerin – Indonesia's largest supermarket chain PT Hero Supermarket plans to open three hypermarkets on the outskirts of Jakarta this year to stem a steady drop in the chain's market share against very strong competition from foreign retailers.

Debbie A. Lubis, Jakarta – The government's decision to hike fuel, electricity and telephone charges has drawn a strong public rejection, with many protesters demanding President Megawati Soekarnoputri step down.

Makassar – Hundreds of students of the State University of Makassar on Friday staged a demonstration at the provincial legislature here, demanding President Megawati Soekarnoputri to immediately resign for her incompetence in leading the nation.

Jakarta – The killing of civilians has dropped sharply in Indonesia's Aceh province since the signing of a landmark peace accord between the central government and rebels, a Geneva-based organisation that brokered the deal said.

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – Jailed American nurse Joy Lee Sadler was rushed to hospital on Friday but was rejected by all hospitals in Banda Aceh for fears that her HIV illness would spread to other people.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Women, beware. Every five hours, a woman is raped in Indonesia. Every day, at least one rape case in Jakarta is reported by the media, not to mention the unreported ones, which may be triple the number.

Jakarta – A number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) launched a campaign on Thursday against the much-criticized government policy of exonerating some former bank owners from their past banking crimes.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – Those East Timorese living in camps in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) whose refugee status ended on December 31 have automatically become Indonesian citizens, a senior government official has said.

Jakarta – A former militia leader who is facing a jail term in Indonesia over atrocities in East Timor said Friday he plans to send a delegation to the new nation to promote reconciliation.

Damien Kingsbury – The sentencing of Australian-based academic researcher and sometime Asia Times Online contributor Dr Lesley McCulloch to five months' imprisonment in Indonesia has sent a clear signal that the Indonesian military's tolerance for what it regards as foreign interference in domestic issues has come to an end.

Heri Retnowati, Surabaya – Seven Indonesian special forces soldiers went on trial on Friday for the killing of an independence leader in Papua in what is seen as a test of Jakarta's ability to tackle rebellion in the remote province.

Jakarta – Indonesia's year-on-year inflation was 10.03 percent in December against 10.48 percent in November, the statistics bureau said on Thursday.

The bureau said month-on-month inflation in December was 1.2 percent compared to 1.80 percent in November, still showing the impact of increased spending for year-end religious festivities.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Indonesia is drawing a line in the sand in its dealings with Aceh and Papua, warning that attempts to secede will be met by force.