Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said Tuesday that East Timor's judges and court officials are to be trained in Portuguese and rejected a reported preference by the UN for the use of Indonesian by the judiciary.

East Timor Action Network/US (ETAN) said today that it was "deeply disturbed" by East Timor's decision to give US troops in the new nation immunity from prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – A multi-million-dollar scandal involving an agro-business company has put several Indonesian officials, including Vice-President Hamzah Haz, under the spotlight for publicly endorsing investment schemes that have now left thousands broke.

Jakarta – Jailed Indonesian businessman Tommy Suharto has complained about night-time mosquito bites but is otherwise adapting to simple prison food and the lack of privileges at his new prison on the island of Nusakambangan.

Jakarta – An Indonesian group protesting Kuala Lumpur's decision to whip illegal immigrants toppled the main gate of the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta on Monday, AFP reported.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Indonesian business leaders and politicians are privately unhappy with what they see as Malaysia's harsh treatment of illegal foreign workers in the country.

Jakarta – Dozens of human bones have been found in a 67 metre deep hole in a village in East Java.

Residents of the Lorejo Village were aware of the presence of the human remains for more than three decades but chose to stay silent, Kompas daily reported yesterday.

Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta – Calls to reshuffle the Cabinet are again mounting. Analysts have blamed the development on the Cabinet's poor teamwork and asked whether a reshuffle would benefit President Megawati Soekarnoputri. The answer appears to be both yes and no.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Incidents of mob justice have become almost daily occurrences in Jakarta, as residents frustrated with a justice system that is seen as anything but just take the law into their own hands to mete out harsh punishments on suspected criminals.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Fed up with Jakarta's inability to control haze-inducing fires and to help residents of two provinces smothered by smoke, environmental groups are taking matters into their own hands.

Matthew Moore – In the grimy rooms of Jakarta's Hotel Borneo, a dwindling bunch of mostly Afghan asylum seekers sit around and wait for the end of another slow day.

Jakarta – Indonesia said on Monday more peace talks with Acehnese rebels could be useful, only four days after playing down chances of dialogue by saying the separatists would have to accept a special autonomy package first.

Vincent Lingga, Jakarta – The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) seems not to be fully aware yet that credibility and accountability should be its basic capital in executing its primary task, which is disposing of the billions of dollars of distressed assets under its management.

A document drawn up by the United Nations Mission in East Timor says that the training of judges and support to courts and Timorese jurists should be undertaken in Indonesian, a policy that the UN mission denied last week.

The paper, "A Strategic Action Plan for the East Timor Judicial System", was written by the No. 2. administrator of UNMISET.

Washington – The newly independent state of East Timor has signed an agreement exempting US military personnel from prosecution in the International Criminal Court, the US State Department said on Monday.

[Indonesia's troubled province of Aceh may see an escalation in conflict, if the government and separatist rebels fail to agree on conditions for peace talks. The rebel Free Aceh Movement, or GAM, is open to holding talks. But, Jakarta says there'll be no negotiations unless GAM accepts the autonomy package that was introduced late last year.]

Andrew Perrin – The former custodians of the Hotel Flamboyan in Baucau, the picturesque seaside town on East Timor's northeast coast, had a lot to learn about hotel management.

Jill Jolliffe, Suai – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson rode into the eye of East Timor's human rights storm at the weekend when she visited the scene of the September, 1999, Suai church massacre.

Jakarta – Schools reopened and residents went without masks in parts of Kalimantan and Sumatra yesterday as rain cleared smoke-filled skies that had hung over the region during weeks of raging forest and brush fires.

Officials in West Kalimantan said the haze had lifted, allowing students to return to schools that had been shut because of the smoke.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – Gender-biased politics in Indonesia could be substantially changed if political parties were required to let women make up 30 percent of legislative candidates, analysts said on Saturday.

They demanded that the proposal be accommodated in the general elections bill now being deliberated in the House of Representatives.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesians are crazy about academic degrees and will spend money to get fake ones, prompting top educators and politicians to suggest a crackdown against those who sell or buy such accreditations.

In East Timor, the Bishop of Dili has called for the creation of an international tribunal to try crimes committed during the independence vote three years ago.

The call by Bishop Carlos Belo comes after an Indonesian court acquitted six military and police officers of gross human rights violations in East Timor in 1999.

Jakarta – Many foreign manufacturers have shut down or relocated their businesses in Indonesia to other countries due to lingering labour conflicts, Industry and Trade Minister Rini Suwandi has said.

Jakarta – Indonesia has raised more than US$2.5 billion from the sale of bad loans that it took over following the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

Gde Anugrah Arka, Jakarta – The UN's human rights chief visited an East Timor massacre site on Saturday and was told by victims' families an international tribunal was needed to examine human rights violations in the former Indonesia province.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

[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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.