Jeffrey A. Winters, Chicago, Illinois – At the end of July 1997, the World Bank's country director, Dennis de Tray, and the vice president for East Asia and the Pacific region, Jean-Michel Severino, issued an angry press release denying that a large portion of the bank's loan funds routinely leaked into the hands of corrupt officials in the Indonesian government.

William Mccall – Nike shareholders on Wednesday rejected a proposal to tie executive compensation more closely to the wages that are paid at the company's contract factories in Asia.

Shoeb Kagda, Medan – Indonesia's third largest city is bracing itself for further social unrest as between 2,000 and 3,000 farmers are expected to march to the provincial governor's office today demanding land reforms.

Irwan Firdaus, Jakarta – Students protesting the policies of Indonesia's government demonstrated in three cities today, defying troops sent to put down discontent in the Southeast Asian nation.

Jakarta - Students and farmers staged street rallies in several Indonesian cities on Wednesday despite the massive presence of security forces, witnesses said.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military has named a former commander of the troubled territory of East Timor to head the armed forces' command and staff school previously headed by a son-in law of ex-president Suharto, a report said Tuesday.

Jakarta – Indonesia yesterday said that half of the country has been hit by food shortages. Food Minister A. M. Saefuddin told Parliament that 150 out of 308 regencies were facing a food shortfall, and 53 of the 150 were facing a severe shortage. The shortfalls were in 25 of Indonesia's 27 provinces.

Jakarta – The government-sponsored fact-finding team investigating the May riots asserted on Monday that, despite some officials' denials, sexual assaults and rapes did take place in the unrest in Jakarta and other cities which also left 1,200 people dead and led to the downfall of former president Soeharto.

Michael Richardson and Philip Segal, Singapore – As official Indonesian investigators prepare to question former President Suharto for the first time this week about his wealth, experts are cautioning that any criminal wrongdoing will be hard to prove and that the tracing and recovery of money and assets will be equally difficult, especially if they are outside Indonesia.

On Wednesday, 16 September a centre where street children are given refuge under the care of Father Sandyawan Sumardi was attacked for two hours in the middle of the night by a gang calling themselves the Mosque Youth.

Dili – The nephew of an independence rebel leader has charged the Indonesian military were holding the former Fretelin commander and demanded his release, a copy of a statement said here Sunday.

Bombay – Indonesian opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri said the country could break out into a fresh bout of violence if the government dithered on its plan to hold elections or tried to keep her out of the polls.

Jakarta – Deeper instability is threatening Indonesia as confidence in the four-month-old government of President B.J. Habibie wanes, analysts say.

Jakarta – East Timor can use Indonesia's offer of autonomy to the former Portuguese colony to create a "climate of tolerance" to prepare for self-determination, says resistance leader Xanana Gusmao.

Ratna Sarumpaet ignored a police summons which ordered her to appear for questioning today. But the Jakarta police are insisting that she should appear so the director of the Satu Merah Theatre Group received a second summons today ordering her to appear on Monday, 21 September.

Jenny Grant, Jakarta – In the first case in which President Bacharuddin Habibie has taken legal offence at public criticism, Indonesian police have summonsed actress Ratna Sarumpaet as a "witness to insulting the President".

Faced with food riots and student protests, Indonesia's President is tainted by his links with the hated former regime. David Jenkins reports on a country in crisis.

Jakarta - Maj. Gen. (ret) Theo Syafei and Maj. Gen. (ret) Raja Kami Sembiring Meliala led an illustrious pack of former military officers, former Golkar leaders and businessmen who formally joined the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) under Megawati Soekarnoputri on Friday.

Louise Williams, Jakarta – All ministers who served under the former president Soeharto, including President B.J. Habibie, have been ordered to declare their personal wealth ahead of the questioning of Mr Soeharto in the first official investigation into corruption under his regime.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government has set May 26 as the tentative date for parliamentary elections, which will be held under new democratic electoral laws, a newspaper reported Friday.

To Indonesians who can afford it, reform implies political and economic change. To millions of people flung into poverty since the Crisis began, however, the rallying cry of "Reformasi!" has come to mean permission to do whatever they like – loot, flout the law, overthrow officials. In hard-hit Central Java people are willing to do just about anything to survive.

Jakarta – Hundreds of angry villagers in Indonesia's Central Java province went on the rampage Friday and attacked the residences of two village chiefs, burning one to the ground, the state Antara News Agency said.

Jakarta – Hundreds of protesting Indonesian students and youths tested security forces Thursday, stepping up street demonstrations despite warnings from the military.

Jakarta – Indonesia will release 15 East Timorese political prisoners next week, a visiting delegation from the International Federation of Human Rights said here Thursday.

Jakarta – A former military officer in charge of distributing rice in Jakarta has admitted to syphoning off half of the food grain for profit as prices soared beyond the reach of the poor, reports said Thursday.

Jakarta – Indonesia's former president Suharto, facing questioning this week by a government probe into his wealth, says he doesn't have "even one cent" stashed in foreign bank accounts.

Jakarta – Looters will be shot on sight in the densely-populated Indonesian province of East Java on orders from the police chief there, press reports said Thursday.

Jakarta – About 100 people marched down busy streets here on Wednesday demanding that the Indonesian military give up its political role. The protesters marched from the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation towards the Ministry of Defense to protest at the military's "dual function" of the last three decades, witnesses said.

Cindy Shiner, Jakarta – Indonesia-Genoveva Misiati named her son Bima, after a traditional Indonesian shadow puppet character that symbolizes honesty, strength and courage. She apparently hoped it would act as a mystical safeguard against trouble.

Her wish, however, foundered on political upheaval. Bima's life has been reduced to memories and fading photographs.

Bekasi – Idris strokes his grey, straggly moustache apologetically and says he would like to offer the three small pink cakes that have seen better days – but they came from the rubbish. Agus, his seven-year-old son, eyes the cakes jealously. They are for supper.

Jakarta – Rioting mobs burned shops and houses in Bagansiapi-api, a fishing town on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, news reports said Wednesday. Hundreds of people took part in the rampage that began Tuesday evening and ended early Wednesday.

Grainne Mccarthy, Jakarta – Speculation that Indonesia is planning to implement capital controls roiled financial markets despite denials from the country's president and central-bank officials that such a move is in the cards.

Jakarta – Twenty six East Timorese political prisoners ended on Monday their two-week long hunger strike to press for the release of armed resistance leader Xanana Gusmao and other political prisoners in their occupied homeland, according to Jakarta's official news agency, Antara.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military is reviewing its role in the country's political life but has vowed to stay in the legislature where its members are appointed directly by the president, reports said here Tuesday.

Macau – East Timorese Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate Jose Ramos Horta said on Tuesday that Jakarta was sending 3,000 new troops to his occupied home land.

Jakarta – Hundreds of people have looted rice from a government-owned warehouse in East Timor, while police arrested 54 people for looting teakwood in Central Java, a report said Tuesday.

Jakarta – Volunteers working with Indonesian victims of rape, especially those from the May riots, said they and their families are still being terrorised. Mr Sandyawan Sumardi and Ms Karlina Leksono-Supelli of the Volunteers for Humanity told The Jakarta Post that those targeted included gynaecologists.

Jakarta – The government is ready to submit to parliament three draft bills on political parties, elections and the legislature in post-Suharto Indonesia, State Secretary Akbar Tanjung said Monday.

Washington – More than 100 members of the US Congress have asked for the release of East Timor's jailed armed resistance leader Xanana Gusmao in messages addressed to US President Bill Clinton and Indonesian President Jusuf Habibie.

Jakarta – Soldiers and police deployed around Jakarta's central Merdeka square Monday halted a student demonstration to protest the military's role in political life.

Jakarta – Hundreds rioted and looted in Indonesia's third-largest city [Medan] today when a strike by public transport drivers turned violent. And in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, soldiers blocked 300 students who tried to demonstrate outside military headquarters to demand that the armed forces get out of politics.

Jakarta – Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto warned on Friday the military would take repressive measures against street demonstrations which foment public disorder.

For the first time in 23 years, all of East Timor's major political parties have come together to discuss a reconciliation proposal.

David Jenkins, Jakarta – In an attempt to rebuild the prestige of an institution which is coming under mounting public attack, the leaders of the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) have decided to cut the national police force free of military control and reintroduce conventional police uniforms and rank systems, according to well-placed sources in Jakarta.

Jakarta – About 1,500 people looted four hectares (9.8 acres) of ready-to harvest onion fields in the densely-populated island of Java, reports said here Saturday.

Jakarta – About 1,000 student demonstrators staged a noisy but peaceful rally near the Presidential Palace on Thursday, demanding President B.J. Habibie's government lower staple food prices and try former president Soeharto.

Jakarta – A four-day operation by Indonesian police to crack down on teak-wood looting in central Java has left one dead, several injured and forced hundreds of villagers to flee their homes, sources said Friday.

Jakarta – Student and youth protestors from Indonesia's remote Irian Jaya province scuffled with police during a demonstration at the military headquarters here Friday, leaving at least one injured.

Jenny Grant, Jakarta – The number of reported rapes of ethnic Chinese women that occurred during the May riots could drop significantly because of a problem with the way human rights groups collected data, a new report says.

Surabaya – Hundreds of people slashed teak trees at the Parengan forest and wrecked three police cars in Tuban district, west of here Tuesday, following the arrest of 149 men suspected of stealing teak logs.