Even though it has been almost two and a half years since an eruption of violence in East Timor, not a single Indonesian military and police officer responsible for security in the territory at that time has been prosecuted.

Singapore – East Timor's Nobel Peace Prize-winning foreign minister said Friday he was confident Indonesia would be able to crack down on suspected members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.

Jakarta – Five suspected members of Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network arrived in Indonesia from Yemen last July with a plan to blow up the United States Embassy in Jakarta, a high-ranking US official has revealed.

Jakarta – Religious leaders in Irian Jaya have nominated a number of activists and experts to be included in the planned national commission to carry out an independent investigation into the murder of proindepedence Papua Presidium Council (PDP) Chairman Dortheys "Theys" Hiyo Eluay.

Jakarta – Separatist guerrillas in Aceh will press on with their 25-year-long revolt against Indonesian rule despite the killing of their military commander, Abdullah Syafii, analysts said Thursday.

Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia, which has temporarily halted the recruitment of Indonesian workers after a riot, Thursday deported 22 textile workers, raising to 91 the total of those sent home.

Oyos Saroso HN, Bandarlampung – Activists and the Lampung provincial legislative council clashed on Wednesday after the activists said the province's 2002 draft budget allocated more for the bureaucracy that it did for the poor.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – City councillors are again spending millions of rupiah of public money by conducting a two-day meeting with city officials at the Horison Hotel in North Jakarta to discuss the proposed 2002 budget. At least 15 councillors grouped under the council's special budgetary team and dozens of city officials attended the meeting which started on Wednesday.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Indonesia's armed forces claimed a major victory yesterday with the killing of the commander of the Acehnese separatist rebels, Abdullah Syafei.

Troops said they shot Syafei in the chest during a raid on the jungle headquarters of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). GAM has yet to confirm the killing.

Annastashya Emmanuelle, Jakarta – The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCHR) stepped up its pressure on Wednesday for Indonesia to act swiftly against militiamen and others connected to human rights abuses in East Timor in 1999, promising to send international observers to monitor an upcoming rights tribunal.

Jakarta – Aceh separatist rebels accused Indonesian authorities of tracking their slain military commander by inserting a microchip into an invitation letter for peace talks.

Yogita Tahil Ramani, Jakarta – Long working hours and working without a day's rest may soon be a thing of the past for Indonesia's housemaids, if campaigns demanding greater respect for their legal rights gain more ground.

Primastuti Handayani, Jakarta – Critics condemned the Jakarta administration for continuing its controversial door-to-door ID card raids Wednesday, saying the policy violated human rights, and was also ineffective and ridiculous.

Deddy Sinaga, Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons & Victims of Violence (Kontras) says the death of Tengku Abdullah Syafi'ie, the commander of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) killed in an exchange of gunfire with the Indonesian Military (TNI) this week, shows that the Indonesian government continues to prefer repressive measures for handling problems in Aceh.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Despite the outcry from city residents, the public order agency continued on Wednesday its controversial door-to-door identity card (KTP) raids in Penjaringan district, North Jakarta, arbitrarily arresting some 98 people, mostly low-income workers.

Jakarta – Only 49 of 500 Indonesian legislators showed up on time for a plenary meeting to debate the setting up of an inquiry team to investigate Golkar chairman Akbar Tanjung, clearly demon-strating their reluctance to investigate his alleged role in a financial scandal involving 40 billion rupiah (S$7.1 million).

Riyadi Suparno, Jakarta – The Salim Group is lurking behind the scenes, ready to grab its former jewel in the crown, Bank Central Asia. That's the warning given by various quarters to the government in the sale of its controlling shares in the bank.

Jakarta – Amid mounting concern over the negative impact of its fuel price hike policy, the government said the poor should not be affected as it had allocated to them sufficient compensation funds of Rp 2.85 trillion (US$274 million) this year.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri yesterday celebrated her 55th birthday with hundreds of orphans and homeless children in a modest gathering at her party headquarters in an apparent bid to offset criticism over her husband's lavish birthday bash in the resort island of Bali recently.

Jakarta – Some 500 activists of the Surakarta-based Islam Defenders Front (FPIS) staged a rally in front of the US Embassy on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta on Tuesday morning, protesting the US policy on fighting terrorism.

Max Lane – There has been almost total support in Aceh for the three-day general strike called by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) for January 16-18 to protest against the decision of the Indonesian government to re-establish an Aceh Military Command.

Jakarta – Protests have continued in several cities across the archipelago against the soaring price of staple foods and other commodities, spurred by the recent 22 percent increase in fuel prices.

Max Lane – There have been student demonstrations, involving hundreds of students, in Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Makassar, Denpasar and Jogjakarta against the fuel price increases announced by the Indonesian government on January 16.

Annastashya Emmanuelle and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Pressures mounted on Tuesday against the planned reinstatement of the military command in restive Aceh, but both the government and the House of Representatives turned a deaf ear to the outcry.

Jakarta – The State Logistics Agency (Bulog) said on Tuesday that it would import some one million tons of rice this year, higher than an earlier target of 500,000 to 700,000 tons, to meet domestic demand.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – The city administration revealed on Tuesday that only 32 companies, among 25,000 private firms here, have officially filed objections over the new minimum wage – amounting to Rp 596,266 (US$60) – due to financial problems.

No more companies were expected to file such an objection as the deadline to make the complaint was on Monday.

Thalif Deen, United Nations – Malaysian diplomat Nagalingam Parameswaran has expressed disappointment that the United Nations has "closed the chapter" on his allegations that the institution was racist, and that his duties as chief-of-staff at the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) had become "a white mission, an Eastern mission with a Western face".

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has alerted the Security Council to the potential threat posed to East Timor by Indonesia-based anti-independence militias and underlined the importance of resolving border disputes between Dili and Jakarta.

Jon Land – As East Timor's Constituent Assembly draws closer to finalising the nation's constitution there is increasing debate over whether fresh elections should be held for the proposed Legislative Assembly. Chief Minister Mari Alkatiri is adamantly opposed to such a move, stating that "opting for new elections is openly to want to provoke crises".

Agus Maryono, Purwokerto – The soaring prices of basic commodities caused by fuel price increases have forced people to try to reduce their expenses. Villagers in several parts of Central Java have gone back to using firewood for cooking in place of kerosene.

A'an Suryana and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – After giving a tepid response to the setting up of an inquiry team to investigate House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, legislators said on Tuesday that they were not in a hurry to decide on the issue.

Jakarta – The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCHR) has set a deadline of March 18 for Indonesia to begin trials of suspects accused of gross human rights violations in East Timor in 1999, the commission's chairman said Wednesday.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Though accomplices implicated in crimes allegedly masterminded by Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra are being tried, the fate of former president Soeharto's youngest son remains clouded in uncertainty.

Police restated Tuesday that its cases against Tommy, relating to his involvement in four main crimes, were strong.

Jakarta – An Indonesian human rights court to try those accused of violence in East Timor in 1999 must meet international standards, the visiting president of the UN Human Rights Commission said on Wednesday.

Jakarta – The city administration started its controversial door-to-door ID card raids in the five mayoralties on Tuesday, arbitrarily arresting 1,763 people, even though many of them had the necessary documentation.

The authorities in East Timor have launched a campaign against domestic violence, which they say is widespread in the territory.

The United Nations administrator, Sergio Vieira de Mello, said domestic violence had become a cancer in Timorese society, and should be eradicated.

Jakarta – Indonesian soldiers shot dead a woman in a dispute at a logging company in the easternmost province of Papua, a rights activist said Tuesday.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – A militant Muslim group blamed for killing hundreds of Christians in the Maluku islands has infiltrated the Indonesian province of Papua, where its fighters are training pro-Jakarta militia, human rights activists claim.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Maj. Gen.

Banda Aceh – Two more people have been killed in Indonesia's restive province of Aceh where separatists have been fighting for an independent state since the 1970s, the military and an activist said Tuesday.

Jakarta – Supporters of an Indonesian party chief suspected of corruption have massed in the capital Jakarta to show solidarity with him, a party spokesman said Tuesday.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government Tuesday announced plans to raise telephone charges as protests continued over last week's stiff increase in fuel prices. Phone charges will rise by 15 percent from the end of January, said Transportation and Communications Minister Agum Gumelar.

Jakarta – Some 300 members of a radical Muslim group on Tuesday staged a protest outside the US embassy, accusing the United States and the IMF of aggravating the Indonesian economic crisis.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Fuel subsidies cost the Indonesian government 16 percent of its overalll expenditures in 2001. A total of US$5.3 billion (53.774 trillion rupiah) went down the drain.

Jakarta – The latest biographer of former Indonesian dictator Suharto said Tuesday he believed the ex-president had no part in plotting the 1965 coup that indirectly paved his way to power.

Dili – East Timor's Constituent Assembly today set 9 March as the date for completion and final approval of the nation's first Constitution.

Jakarta – Prosecutors at a court in Jayapura, the capital of Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua, on Monday sought 30-month jail sentences for each of three pro-independence leaders accused of subversion, one of the defendants said.

Banda Aceh – At least five people including a marine and two suspected separatist rebels have been killed in the latest violence in the restive Indonesian province of Aceh, the military and residents said Monday.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – The fate of one of Indonesia's most powerful political figures, Akbar Tandjung, is being weighed today as a plenary session of the House of Representatives focuses on whether to set up a committee to probe his alleged corruption.

A'an Suryana and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Political observers lashed out on Saturday at what they saw as a conspiracy to save House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, a suspect in a Rp 40 billion scandal involving the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), from facing the music, saying the move would severely erode public confidence and support in any future anticorruption initiatives.