Indonesian troops have killed nine more separatist rebels in Aceh province, the military said.

Sydney – Australia has denied bullying its tiny Pacific neighbour East Timor Tuesday as the nations prepared for talks on finalising a contentious martime border that will determine how billions of dollars in revenues from Timor Sea gas fields is split.

Nigel Wilson – Australia is refusing to give East Timor a timetable for reaching a permanent maritime boundary between the two countries that could affect ownership of billions of dollars in oil and gas reserves.

ID Nugroho and Tiarma Siboro, Situbondo/Jakarta – Aceh military operation commander Maj. Gen. Bambang Darmono will be replaced after leading the major offensive against rebels for almost six months.

Banda Aceh – Suspected Acehnese rebel commander Efendi Saputra committed suicide in his prison cell in Lhokseumawe district on Sunday, military spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki said onMonday.

"Efendi Saputra, a subdistrict commander of the Acehnese separatist movement in North Aceh, hanged himself with a nylon rope," Basuki said in Lhokseumawe.

Jakarta – Indonesia has slammed the US, Japan and European Union for issuing a statement regretting the extension of martial law in Aceh province.

Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegwawa said the joint statement of the three powers was improper and smelt of interference in Indonesian sovereignty.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Legal and human rights leaders deplored a threat by two civilian security groups, who are apparently linked with Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea, to occupy the office of Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), after the watchdog apparently angered the minister.

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta - Commemorating Hero's Day on Monday November 10, scores of student activist from the Yogyakarta Indonesian Youth Front for Struggle (Front Perjuangan Pemuda Indonesia, FPPI) held an action rejecting the extension of the military emergency in Aceh.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Medan – An investigation by the Leuser Management Unit (UML) concluded over the weekend that the recent flash flood that swept through a North Sumatran resort town, which claimed hundreds of lives, was an indirect result of the rampant deforestation of Mount Leuser National Park.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Samani, a man in his late 40s, works as a night guard at the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta). He had always received his Rp 1 million salary on time, until three months ago when the institute's management told him that they had to cut his pay by 20 percent due to financial constraints.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has no other choice but to disband the many civilian security and militia groups to prevent conflicts ahead of the 2004 elections, an international think tank group says.

Moch. N. Kurniawan and ID Nugroho, Jakarta/Surabaya – An independent election watchdog has alleged that some political parties are charging legislator hopefuls administrative fees of up to Rp 16 million (US$1,900).

The first lady of East Timor, Kirsty Sword-Gusmao, has urged Australia to consider the plight of the fledgeling nation when negotiations begin later this week on establishing maritime boundaries.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia's second-largest political party, Golkar, is working behind the scenes to turn the recent deadly clash between its cadres and supporters of President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle (PDI-P) into a long-running campaign issue.

From a correspondent in Dili – East Timor introduced its own coins today, hoping to spur economic development and create a symbol for the country following its hard-won independence from Indonesia two years ago.

Jakarta - Condemnations against the government's decision to extend the military emergency in Aceh continue to spring up. On Saturday November 8, hundreds of people from Aceh Papua Solidarity (SAP) demonstrated, not just against the policy of extending the military emergency in Aceh but also the division of Papua [into three separate provinces].

Hestiana Dharmastuti, Jakarta - Around 2500 people from Aceh Papua Solidarity (Solidaritas Aceh Papua, SAP) will hold a demonstration rejecting the extension of the military emergency in Aceh. The demonstrators will hold a long march from the Hotel Indonesia roundabout to the offices of the Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security and the Presidential Palace.

Tim Johnston – Indonesia may be gearing up for a new offensive against separatist rebels in the restive eastern province of Papua, observers believe. Analysts in Jakarta have warned that the killing of 10 suspected members of the Free Papua Organisation (OPM) this week could be the first shots in a renewed campaign.

Greg Poulgrain – The Jakarta media yesterday strongly criticised Indonesian army personnel who shot dead nine Papuans in a pre-dawn raid in the highlands of West Papua.

Sandra McLean – During East Timor's independence struggle, few men were more revered than Xanana Gusmao, the leader of the resistance movement. Gusmao was like a god to his people – now he is the president of East Timor, which was declared an independent nation in 2002 after 27 years of Indonesian control.

Louise Williams – The quest for justice for East Timor's victims of human rights abuses under Indonesian military occupation is in effect over. The Government in Dili is making reconciliation with its former ruler an absolute priority.

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – Indonesia warned against foreign meddling on Friday after the United States, Europe and Japan expressed concern over Jakarta's decision to extend martial law in rebellious Aceh province.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – The betting game is on: Who will be Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri's running mate in the 2004 presidential election? Clearly in recent months, the incumbent's choices have narrowed down to three: security czar Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Muslim moderate leader Hasyim Muzadi and possibly a leading Golkar figure.

The separatist movement in Indonesia's Papua province took a major blow this week after the military claimed it killed 10 separatist rebels, including leader Yustinus Murib. But church leaders in Papua say they too have been targetted by the special forces, Kopassus, and subjected to surveillance, intimidation and even murder.

Just four years after the vote for independence in East Timor, the country's first lady, Kirsty Sword Gusmao, believes the country's peace is still too fragile to enter into the politics of the region.

Nethy Dharma Somba and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jayapura/Jakarta – Three more people were reported dead on Thursday, following an attack by unknown assailants in the Papua regency of Paniai, three days ago, bringing the total number of dead to four, with two others missing and three others in the hospital.

John McBeth, Singapore – The US is funding, training and arming specially screened Indonesian policemen in a new pilot program that will ultimately leave Indonesia with a self- contained, 400-strong counterterrorism unit capable of tackling everything from bomb investigations and terrorist acts to hostage-taking and armed assaults.

Dili – East Timor's governing Fretilin party has lost electoral support but retains majority backing after nearly 18 months in power, according to the country's first political poll, sources told Lusa Thursday.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Having consistently failed to reach its privatization targets, and battered once again by a bank lending scandal, the Indonesian government is seeking to sell off yet another of its crown jewels – a major chunk of the state-owned gas distribution and marketing company PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN).

Rob Taylor, Jakarta – Indonesian special forces troops have ambushed and killed 10 alleged separatists in Papua, including a top rebel leader, after they attacked a village in the latest round of independence-linked fighting.

Louis Beckerling – East Timor president Xanana Gusmao warned Asian business leaders yesterday that if people in the poorest countries of the region were left without food, there could be no peace and security.

In Indonesia it's been claimed 10 separatist rebels, including a local leader, have been killed by special Kopassus troops in a pre-dawn raid in Papua. The military says it's killed the leader of the local Free Papua Movement (OPM) Yustinus Murib, in an ambush along with nine of his supporters.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court on Tuesday held its first session to hear lawyers of groups of people seeking a legal review of three laws: On electricity, on oil and gas, and on the government debt instrument.

Linda Mottram: Australian troops in East Timor are preparing for the pull out of UN peacekeepers next year. They're handing over key duties to the country's new military, though there are warnings from East Timor's leaders that the country's fledgling forces are not yet capable of defending their own borders.

Our Correspondent Mark Bowling reports from Dili.

Kupang – A top East Timorese community leader in Indonesia, Armindo Soares, said a lot of East Timorese refugees who participated in the repatriation program returned to Indonesia.

For several years stories have been circulating, mostly unpublished, concerning claims that Australian soldiers were engaged in acts of torture of militia prisoners in East Timor in 1999. All of those claims were dismissed by internal defence force inquiries but no details of the allegations or the evidence have ever been publicly available.

Deborah Snow – Fresh allegations of torture by Australian troops in East Timor will be made in tonight's SBS Dateline program, with former militia members claiming they were beaten, kicked, and had their heads forced down excrement-filled toilet bowls during interrogation.

Tony Sitathan, Jakarta – Idris Kemal, a senior security guard at the famous 1001 Nightclub in the Kota district of West Jakarta, popularly known as Chinatown, has been having restless evenings of late. He listens intently to the evening prayer call followed by the rolling of drums from a mosque nearby symbolizing the end of the fasting day for Ramadan.

Jakarta – Indonesia's environment minister on Wednesday branded illegal loggers as terrorists after a flood disaster blamed on tree-felling killed an estimated 190 people in North Sumatra.

Nabiel Makarim criticised the army and police for involvement in the practice, which is rampant across much of the huge archipelago.

Jakarta/Medan – Government officials have joined environmental activists in blaming inconsistent forest management and poor law enforcement as the main causes of rampant deforestation that resulted in the flash flood which killed at least 103 people on Sunday. Hundreds are missing following the flood in Langkat regency, North Sumatra.

Geneva – Indonesia, Guatemala and Serbia-Montenegro won an award Wednesday for failing to address a massive problem of homelessness and slums, while Scotland was praised for its "rare" protection of the right to housing, an advocacy group said.

Jakarta – Indonesian lawmakers are investigating a claim that the son of President Megawati Sukarnoputri is part of a real estate scam involving state land – an allegation that has surfaced as she prepares for election next year.

Jerry Norton, Banda Aceh – It looks like its going to be a long haul for Indonesian security forces fighting separatist rebels in Aceh.

The government is expected to announce on Thursday an extension of martial law in the province, and security officials in the provincial capital of 400,000 are careful to avoid predicting when it and the military campaign will end.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – In a show of distrust of their current House of Representatives legislators, a large group of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) rank and file members have proposed new names for the legislative candidates for the 2004 election.

Pete Thomas: What footage will you be broadcasting?

Mark Davis: It's a rather extraordinary video that was sent to us last week from the Balian valley, from an OPM rally, which is documenting reports that have been coming out all this year from church groups, but of course no journalists are allowed in there at the moment.

Jakarta – At least 12 people have been killed in clashes between security forces and separatist rebels in Indonesia's troubled Papua province, local media reported on Wednesday.

Eight rebels were killed and several were injured after troops raided a camp in the Wamena region on Wednesday morning, an army officer told El-Shinta radio.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Experts criticized on Tuesday the government's decision to extend military offensive in troubled Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, arguing that the five-month operation had served as a proof that security approach could not resolve the Aceh question.

Jakarta – Gunmen apparently belonging to a separatist rebel group in Indonesia's Papua province attacked construction workers in a remote village, killing one of them and leaving five others missing, police said Tuesday.

Kirsty Sword Gusmao, the Australian-born first lady of the world's newest nation, once shared two of her husband's big dreams for an independent East Timor then, when the long battle had been won, to settle down to a rural life growing pumpkins and breeding animals.

July 6 was the anniversary of one of the shameful events in Australia's relationship with Indonesia. In July 1998 on Biak's tiny island just north of Australia – the Indonesian military carried out a massacre of more than 100 people, mostly women.