Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Apparently trying to take all opportunities available before their terms end next year, and undeterred by public criticism, city councillors will spend Rp 9.6 billion (US$1.1 million) of taxpayer money for foreign sightseeing tours this year.

Kupang – About 700 members and civil servants who worked for the Indonesian Defence Forces (TNI) when East Timor was an Indoneisn province are still staying in ex-refugee camps here, a top military officer said Tuesday.

Of the number, 600 families had settled in houses the TNI had provided for military personnel, Udayana regional military chief Maj.Gen. Agus Soeyitno said.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – More than 700 families staged a rally again on Monday in Bandung, West Java, to demand that they be compensated or relocated from their current residential areas beneath dangerous high-voltage transmission lines.

Dili – East Timor's attorney-general's office has granted immunity from detention to about 150 former anti- independence militias and pro-Indonesia integrationists to return home temporarily for reconciliation meetings with officials and relatives.

Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – On Monday August 25, the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) sent a letter to President Megawati Sukarnoputri requesting that G30S/PKI(1) political prisoners who are innocent be rehabilitated. The matter was in reference to considerations made by the Supreme Court to provide such rehabilitation.

Moch. N. Kurniawan and Suherdjoko, Semarang/Jakarta – Due to a threat to the water supply of 128 million people living on Java, the government declared on Monday a ban on logging and decided to review farming policies on this densely populated island.

Banda Aceh – Six Indonesian Military aircraft raided on Tuesday the hills of Kuta Baro subdistrict, Aceh Besar, believed to be a stronghold of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Former Armed Forces Commander Wiranto has re-stated his determination to run for the presidency.

Speaking at the launch of his biography, (Testimony in the Middle of the Storm) in Solo on Friday, Wiranto urged his audience not to take wild chances in electing a new president.

Timika – Two people have been killed and 18 wounded as rivals clashed with arrows and stones over the creation of a new province on Indonesia's remote Papua island, witnesses and police said on Monday.

The President of East Timor, Xanana Gusmao, has held the first in a series of reconciliation talks with former militia leaders near his country's border with Indonesian West Timor.

Many ex-militia did not show, but Mr Gusmao took advantage of the border visit to convince refugees to come home.

Jeffrey Smith and David Webster – Four years ago this month, East Timor voted for independence following a quarter-century of brutal foreign occupation. Invaded and occupied by Indonesia in 1975, it finally took its place as the first independent state of the new century.

Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) is of the view that the integrated operation which has continued for three months in Aceh has been characterised by far too many violations of human rights and humanitarian laws.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Yet another prehensile remnant of the Suharto regime's mismanagement of Indonesia's economy – Bulog, the national foodstuffs monopoly – is about to transformed into something hopefully not a piggy bank for whomever is in power. But don't count on it.

Buried somewhere in the lengthy, state-of-the-nation speech by the President, made on August 15 to the House of Representatives, was a casual reference to the situation in Papua.

Maryadi, Jakarta – The Committee to Guard against the New Order (Komite Waspada Orde Baru, KWOB) has put forward 10 conditions for presidential candidates for the period 2004-2009. One of the conditions is that a presidential candidate does not come from one of the New Order [regime of former President Suharto] political parties.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) announced on Thursday the allocation of 550 seats of the House of Representatives for 30 provinces with five new provinces securing at least three seats through the 2004 legislative elections.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Ainur R. Sophiaan, Jakarta/Surabaya – President Megawati Soekarnoputri ordered Cabinet ministers on Thursday to start emergency measures by Monday to help people who are suffering due to the drought across Java.

Baradan Kuppusamy, Kuala Lumpur – After a perilous five-day journey by sea in tongkangs or slow wooden boats, Acehnese displaced by the escalating war in their troubled Indonesian province cross the narrow Straits of Malacca and land on the long west coast of peninsular Malaysia.

Increasing pressure from military hardliners to push President Megawati Sukarnoputri to give extra power to the military-backed intelligence service following the J.W. Marriott Hotel bombing has prompted former President Abdurrahman Wahid to come out against the return of military power.

Kupang – Indonesia and East Timor have agreed to set up nine gateways and seven markets at their border.

The markets are intended to become a center of economic activities among the people of the two neighboring countries, Supartantyo, head of the industry and trade office of Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province, said here Friday.

Kornelius Purba, Jakarta – People in Papua and Aceh need to learn from Americans about the proper way of "reading" their leaders' lips.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Indonesia's plans to use nuclear power to meet its spiralling energy demands have been boosted by the Russian Government's approval of a draft agreement allowing it to build nuclear power plants in Indonesia.

An Indonesian newspaper editor is facing criminal charges after comparing President Megawati Sukarnoputri as a cannibal and leech. The editor of the tabloid-style Rakyat Merdeka is charged with insulting the President, a charge which attracts a possible six year jail sentence. The trial has prompted concerns of a return to the days of government control.

Joao da Silva Tavares, widely regarded as one of the most feared and hated pro-Jakarta militia leaders of East Timor, is these days enjoying retirement in Indonesia's ancient temple city of Yogyakarta.

Tavares is the former leader of Bobonaro district's notorious Halilintar militia and also served as supreme commander of the East Timorese Integration Fighters Legion (PPI).

Canberra – Australia and Indonesia will co-host a terrorism summit early next year, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer announced today.

Mr Downer met with his Indonesian counterpart Hassan Wirayuda in Canberra today, where the two agreed to co-host a regional meeting.

Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has emotionally denied any knowledge of the terror group he is accused of leading and said the "terrorist state of America" had stage-managed his treason trial.

Bashir, in a fiery defence speech, also warned judges they will go to hell if they convict him and told prosecutors to repent for aiding "the infidel enemies of Islam."

Kurniawan Hari and A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Major factions in the House of Representatives (DPR) are to revise the Antiterrorism Law, but aside from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), they are not keen on giving more power to security authorities in the fight against terror.

Jakarta, Kompas – Even though Aceh problem has yet to be resolved, the Indonesian military (TNI) is now categorising the province of Papua as a trouble spot [because of efforts] to separate the province from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.

Meaulaboh – Indonesia's chief security minister said Thursday the government would not hold any kind of peace talks with the separatist movement to halt the war in Aceh province.

Andrew Burrell – So that's it. Indonesia has decided that a grand total of three military men were responsible for the killing spree and destruction in East Timor that captured the world's attention in 1999.

Kurniawan Hari and A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Major factions in the House of Representatives (DPR) are backing moves by the government to revise the anti-terrorism law, despite strong opposition from religious leaders and rights activists.

They also called for an informal meeting with the National Police and the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) to discuss the planned revision.

Jakarta/Bandung – The government has finally decided to dismiss some 6,000 employees of state-owned aerospace company PT Dirgantara Indonesia as part of a restructuring program designed to help lift the ailing company out of years of financial difficulties. The decision was made at a shareholders meeting on Tuesday.

Dan Eaton, Jakarta – When Wiranto, the former head of Indonesia's powerful armed forces, lost a senior cabinet job three years ago it was seen by some as a clear signal the military was being eased out of politics.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Police said here yesterday that suspected terror mastermind Hambali had sent US$45,000 to fellow militants in Indonesia to finance bombings in the country.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The arrest of JW Marriott Hotel bombing suspects has not automatically made Jakarta a safer place, as the National Police admitted on Tuesday that they have been unable to track down explosives and other bombing devices smuggled into the capital from Semarang.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – A leading figure within President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) has been dismissed, fueling tensions within the deeply troubled party.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Apparently without a hint of shame, the 85 already wealthy city councillors have proposed an additional allowance for themselves of Rp 985 million (US$115,882), Rp 434.78 million will be used to buy their clothes and other "souvenirs" before their tenures end next year.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – A solidarity group for Papua demanded on Tuesday that the central government call off its plan to divide the province and keep its promise by immediately establishing the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP).

Four separatist rebels including a suspected senior figure have been killed in Indonesia's Aceh province, the army said, as a military campaign to crush the guerrillas entered its fourth month.

Troops shot dead three of the suspected members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on the outskirts of Lhokseumawe town on Monday, said military spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki.

John Aglionby, Matang Peusangan – The several thousand people gathering in glorious sunshine on the main road in Matang Peusangan to celebrate Indonesia's independence day last Sunday were expecting a chance to relax with their friends and family.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) decided on Tuesday that an electoral district for the regional legislative councils (DPRDs) in regencies and provinces would have on average six to 12 seats.

Aboeprijadi Santoso, 'Radio Netherlands', Amsterdam – A mere three years' imprisonment was the controversial verdict for Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri for his role in the 1999 wave of terror and destruction in East Timor that killed hundreds of people and caused great suffering. Yet there is more to the violence that made him a symbol of impunity.

Indonesia's army chief today welcomed Australian plans to resume links with an Indonesian special forces unit which has been implicated in abuses in East Timor and elsewhere.

General Ryamizard Ryacudu described the restoration of links between the Kopassus special forces and Australian troops as "important," the state Antara news agency reported.

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Denpasar – Around 700 people staged a protest here on Tuesday to demand that the Bali legislative council and the central government postpone swearing in the reelected governor of the resort island, following allegations of bribery during the gubernatorial election.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Despite some progress, the top security minister warned on Tuesday against the reform movement's excesses, saying the poor management of reform could lead to separatism, social disorder and political instability.

Canberra's moves to resume military cooperation with Jakarta, especially with the quasi-state-terror gang Kopassus, in the name of the "war on terror", should strongly be opposed by all those who support the democratic rights of the workers and peasants of Indonesia.

Maryadi, Jakarta – A class action by the People's Lawyers Union (Serikat Pengacara Rakyat, SPR) against President Megawati Sukarnoputri over the declaration of a military emergency in Aceh has been adjourned again. The adjournment, the second one [since the action was launched], was because neither the defendant or their legal council were present.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papua Indonesia integrated Papua into its sovereign territory 40 years ago, but most Papuans are still living in a state of poverty in remote areas, even though the province is rich in natural resources.

Richard S Ehrlich, Jakarta – Former Indonesian president Suharto, safe from prosecution for allegedly embezzling millions of dollars during his 32-year-long, US-backed regime, has decided to give something away for free.

Dili – Civil and military officials in East Timor have recently exhumed the bodies of over 250 people who died during new nation's quarter-century independence struggle against occupying Indonesian forces.