Indonesia's stock market watchdog has issued a ruling allowing mainly listed firms to make substantial transactions without shareholder approval as part of efforts to revive the indebted corporate sector.

Three days after mobs torched some 100 houses in the town of Selat Panjang in Riau, the village is now a ghost town as most of the 6,000-odd ethnic Indonesian Chinese have fled north to Pekan Baru and elsewhere to seek refuge.

Most of the women and children fled on Tuesday, said a Singaporean whose Indonesian-born wife and family hail from the town.

Jakarta – A retired Indonesian general accused of killing five Australian-based journalists in East Timor in 1975 told a parliamentary hearing here Thursday that new witnesses in the case were lying.

Jakarta – The police have found indications of the commission of a crime in an alleged land scam linked to House of Representatives Speaker and Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung, National Police Spokesman Brig. Gen. Didi Widayadi said on Wednesday.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – The thousands of students who have been protesting across Indonesia in the past few weeks might argue that replacing President Abdurrahman Wahid is the only way to save Indonesia from its economic and political morass.

Makassar – Makassar District Court commenced on Wednesday the trial of deputy South Sulawesi governor Masnawi on corruption charges.

Prosecutor Daud Kinu accused Masnawi of having violated Article 1 of the anti-corruption Law No. 3/1971 on enriching oneself at state expense. The Article carries a maximum punishment of life sentence.

Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid fired another shot in the battle against corruption on Wednesday, approving the establishment of a special court to try graft cases.

No sooner after President Abdurrahman Wahid had pledged "zero tolerance" for past corruptors this month, the Attorney General's Office went into full gear to prosecute top business leaders and government officials for their alleged past misdeeds.

Warren Caragata – Wimar Witoelar, the spokesman for Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, has said that decision-making within the Indonesian government is not quite like turning on a light switch. In other words, there are times – which occur far too often – when you can stand there forever flicking the switch and nothing happens.

Surabaya – The situation in Sampang regency, Madura Island, has become increasingly tense as opposing forces of elected regent Fadhilah Budiono on Wednesday look set for a showdown.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Jakarta plans a crackdown on separatist movements in Aceh and Irian Jaya that observers say will almost certainly end reconciliation talks promoted by President Abdurrahman Wahid and dramatically escalate violence across the country.

Jakarta – Indonesian military observers have warned the country's newly-empowered MPs pose a serious threat to the armed forces' attempts to extricate itself from politics.

Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has found irregularities involving over Rp 260 billion (about US$27.36 million) in insurance firm PT Tugu Pratama Indonesia, which is owned by state oil and gas company Pertamina.

Mark Dodd, Dili – The Australian wife of the independence leader Mr Xanana Gusmao has blasted Indonesian authorities over their lack of action in securing the freedom of an East Timorese teenage girl raped then abducted by a militia leader as a sex slave.

Danielle Knight, Washington DC – Indonesian pulp and paper facilities, supported in the 1990s by financial institutions in Europe, Japan and North America, have caused widespread deforestation and human rights abuses, according to a new report released here.

Jakarta – A member of the Indonesian Military/National Police faction in the Aceh provincial council said rogue forces in the province had exacerbated tensions between security forces and separatist rebels.

Max Lane – The Indonesian political elite is becoming increasingly fearful of a radicalisation of the country's masses, which is being provoked by a right-wing campaign to destabilise President Abdurrahman Wahid's government. It's turning to trusted methods: like threatening to repress the left-wing People's Democratic Party, the PRD.

Jon Land – The Australian government is attempting to prevent East Timor from gaining full sovereign rights over vast oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea that are expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties over the next 20 to 25 years.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Prosecutors yesterday began questioning the eldest daughter of former dictator Suharto over corruption allegations involving Indonesia's state oil and gas company.

Separately, Mr Suharto's half brother, Probosutedjo, was named as being involved in corrupt reforestation projects.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Dozens of Indonesian maids working in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia have fled their jobs due to sexual harassment or violence at the hands of their employers, a non-governmental organisation says.

Jakarta – Indonesia said yesterday that a number of mining companies have suspended exploration due to uncertainty over new regional autonomy laws and warned that this could hit the economy.

Indonesia's top economics minister left yesterday for crucial talks with the International Monetary Fund, after an advisory panel warned that the country's fragile economy would not recover unless key reforms were made.

Jakarta – The civil servant who set off a national corruption scandal when he released 3.9 million dollars of state funds a year ago was convinced he was acting on the orders of Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, a court heard Tuesday.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – The renewal of a ceasefire between secessionist rebels and the Government in Aceh was greeted by more violence, but human rights activists say the peace pact reached in Geneva last week is still better than nothing.

Jakarta – House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung ruled out on Monday independence for Irian Jaya, dealing a blow to separatist rebel leader Willem Onde during his visit here.

Akbar suggested that Onde and the people in the province draft a bill on special autonomy for their natural resource-rich territory.

Banda Aceh – At least two people were killed and 10 others were wounded in the latest violence to hit the troubled Aceh province despite a new peace deal, police and rebels said Tuesday.

Jakarta – Indonesia's economy grew 4.77 percent last year but is likely to slow to around four percent this year, the government said Tuesday.

The full year growth in gross domestic product (GDP) last year was despite a 0.72 percent quarter-on-quarter contraction in the last three months of 2000.

Jakarta – After days of rallies – some of them violent, the capital enjoyed an arts performance on Sunday aimed at easing the political tension. No less than 500 people took part in the celebration, which ranged from a parade to a music festival that lasted into the evening.

Djoko Tjiptono/Hendra & GB, Jakarta – Students grouped in the Golkar Disbursement Alliance (ABG) wanted to take over the Jakarta offices of the Golkar Party but apparently have not been successful.

Around 100 security officers from the Jakarta city police are on alert at the site. Head of the Jakarta city police, Inspector General Mulyono Sulaiman, is there too.

Jakarta – Police have increased the number of personnel guarding offices of the Golkar Party following an attack by hundreds of students on the party's branch office on Jl. Cikini, Central Jakarta on Friday.

Mark Dodd – One of East Timor's most notorious militia leaders will today meet representatives of the community he left devastated to discuss his return home to face justice.

Jakarta – Eighteen syndicates of illegal loggers operating from Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan cost the state an annual Rp1.2 trillion (US$125 million) in lost revenue. All 18 gangs in the logging mafia have special connections with police and local governments.

Jakarta – Chairman of the executive board of the Corps of Indonesian Muslim Students Alumni (KAHMI), Fuad Bawazier, warns of resurgent communism.

Jakarta – Pro-reform organizations across Java and Sumatra yesterday stepped up their demands for the former ruling Golkar Party to be dissolved and investigated over its involvement in corruption and human rights abuses.

Tual – Humanitarian activists slammed on Saturday the Social Welfare Agency in Southeast Maluku for allegedly swindling approximately Rp 698 million (US$73,500) in meal allowances which were supposed to have been distributed to refugees in the strife-torn regency.

Derwin Pereira, Karta – Prominent international economic advisers yesterday called on Indonesia not to sever ties with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), even if pressure for reform is upsetting Jakarta.

Yogyakarta – Twelve students were arrested by Yogyakarta Police on Saturday following a protest against the political elite to mark the visit of Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri to the Gedung Agung on Jl. Ahmad Yani here in the afternoon.

Geneva – Indonesian officials and rebel leaders from Aceh have agreed to extend their ceasefire indefinitely and to hold broad political dialogue to end the conflict in the separatist province.

Ambon – The Military Joint-Intelligence Task Force (SGI) stationed in Ambon seized on Friday hundreds of weaponry during an afternoon raid at a house in Tanah Lapang Kecil area, Nusaniwe district, Ambon.

Yogyakarta – After eulogizing about the long road to democracy which Indonesia must travel, President Abdurrahman Wahid found out later on Friday that not all roads are open to him after students blocked streets preventing his visit to the Gadjah Mada University (UGM) campus.

Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office named former president Soeharto's daughter Siti Hardiyanti "Tutut" Rukmana on Friday as a suspect in a corruption case over a US$306 million project involving state oil and gas company Pertamina.

Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – It was a poignant moment, full of irony. Megawati Sukarnoputri dons army fatigues and beret and climbs aboard a Scorpion tank.

The Vice-President has plenty of reason to despise Indonesia's armed forces, which have been accused of widespread repression and plunder during the 32-year Suharto dictatorship.

Geneva – Indonesian government representatives and separatist Aceh rebels agreed Friday a security pact to replace the current ceasefire in the troubled province, sources close to the talks said.

Banda Aceh – Resolute rebel group Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has threatened to create trouble nationwide if the joint police and military operation to restore order in the province continues.

Jakarta – The country could see another round of political probes into financial scandals if the National Awakening Party (PKB) has its way by setting up a special committee to investigate financial improprieties involving the Golkar Party.

Jakarta – Thousands of students took to the streets of three Indonesian cities Friday, calling on President Abdurrahman Wahid to resign, police and witnesses said.

Jakarta – Minister of Home Affairs and Regional Autonomy Surjadi Soedirdja installed Tursandi Alwi on Friday as acting Governor of Gorontalo and inaugurated the region as the country's 32nd province.

Jakarta – Some 500 students from various groups attacked Golkar Party's city chapter office on Jl. Cikini, Central Jakarta on Friday evening, throwing at least five molotov cocktails at the office.

Jakarta – Pressure over a housing scam allegedly involving Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung is growing with National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf on Thursday suggesting that Akbar could be questioned pending the emergence of further evidence.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Anti-corruption activists are backing government calls for the former ruling party, Golkar, to be investigated for alleged misuse of state funds in the 1999 election.

The allegation against Golkar came first from Defence Minister Mahfud Mahmoddin and has been repeated by other ministers loyal to President Abdurrahman Wahid.