Indonesian prosecutors indicted seven senior officials including the ex-governor of East Timor for crimes including genocide in the territory in 1999.

Tertiani ZB Simandjuntak and Yogita Tahilramani, Jakarta – Human rights activists urged the government on Wednesday to extradite 17 former militia members and military personnel indicted in East Timor for crimes against humanity there, saying the charges against them did not involve ordinary crimes.

Oyos Saroso HN, Bandar Lampung – An alliance of 36 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has threatened to call for a mass protest against the 2002 Lampung budget, which they say only benefits the local elite.

Jakarta – Dozens of parents of pupils at Al Azhar school in Kemang, South Jakarta, demonstrated on Tuesday against the laying off of 11 teachers, along with some remaining school teachers who have also gone on strike.

The teachers were laid off for demanding a salary hike, according to Eni, one of the protesters.

Ibnu Mat Noor, Banda Aceh – In a rare event in war-torn Aceh, more than 40 traders, all women, held a protest march in Banda Aceh against extortion and the local administration's corruption of government subsidies.

Jakarta – Head of the National Investigation Commission (KPN) Koesparmono Irsan said they could not do much to unravel the mystery behind the death of Papua pro-independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay since they do not have official judicial or lawenforcement authority.

Max Lane – "It was extremely disappointing to see Australian Prime Minister John Howard shake hands so enthusiastically with Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Doesn't he know how her government treats the people, not just in Aceh, but all over Indonesia?", Aceh's outspoken democracy leader Kautsar told Green Left Weekly.

Nana Rukmana, Cirebon – Amid increasing public outrage, authorities in Cirebon have agreed to fully investigate the failed attempt to smuggle luxury cars into Indonesia and allegations the customs department later unlawfully played a role in forwarding the items to a local businessman.

Jakarta – City Governor Sutiyoso probably feels a bit reluctant to deplore any further the development of villas in mountainous Puncak resort, Bogor, which were believed to have contributed to the recent floods in the city, after he was "caught red handed" owning a villa himself.

Dili – Independence leader Xanana Gusmao and Dili Bishop Filipe Ximenes Belo urged the Constituent Assembly today not to rush passage of East Timor's first Constitution, saying more time was needed for an upcoming public consultation on the historic document.

Agus Maryono, Purwokerto – Thousands of fishermen in Central Java are slated to meet President Megawati Soekarnoputri later this week to demand her intervention in revoking two separate fishing taxes, which were brought into effect two months ago.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government has decided to delay the privatisation of mining concerns PT Tambang Timah and PT Aneka Tambang due to weak commodity prices, State Enterprises Minister Laksamana Sukardi said Tuesday.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government – which is starved of funds to help the country's poor – will increase pressure on former bank owners to repay billions of dollars in state loans, the top economics minister, Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, said Tuesday.

An agreement between the United Nations and Indonesia to pursue those responsible for the gross abuse of human rights in East Timor appears close to collapse. Under a memorandum of understanding signed two years ago, the two parties agreed to assist one other with criminal investigations and court proceedings.

Jakarta – Police fear the city administration's abrupt decision to close the Kalijodo prostitution and gambling complex in North Jakarta may increase the crime rate in the area as the government has not made efforts to provide alternative employment for the thugs and sex workers operating there.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government had a moral obligation to surrender 17 military men and former militiamen to the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), which had indicted them for alleged crimes against humanity in 1999, claimed a noted lawyer.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – More Indonesian banks are converting themselves into Syariah banks as people become "more Islamic" and their trust in the conventional banking system erodes. Syariah banks are those which apply the Islamic no-interest principle – borrowers pay no interest while depositors get a share of profits.

Conservationists say the rate at which Indonesia is losing its forests has doubled since the 1980s. They say the lowland forests, the richest in the country, will not survive for long on some of the biggest islands. They blame corruption for driving "an epidemic of illegal logging".

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – City Council announced on Tuesday that more than 90 percent of developers in the city have violated regulations, requiring them to set aside 40 percent of their space for public and social facilities.

Catharine Munro, Jakarta – Militia leader Eurico Guterres today said he would answer charges of crimes against humanity in Indonesia but not in his native East Timor for his role in anti-independence activities in 1999.

A workers' rights group has accused factory managers in several cities of using the notorious Pemuda Pancasila thugs-for-hire group to intimidate and attack laborers involved in trade union movements.

Lewa Pardomuan, Sandakan (Malaysia) – Occasional trucks carrying palmoil fruits to nearby mills are the only sound shattering the calm for Indonesian plantation worker Nur Hajirah and her family in this quiet corner of Malaysia.

Yogita Tahilramani, Jakarta – Indonesian officials said they would not hand over 17 men indicted by prosecutors in East Timor on Monday for alleged crimes against humanity, saying that Jakarta has no extradition agreement with the territory.

East Timor's transition government, with little more than three months left before independence, insists that international donors cover its budget deficit over the next three years, estimated at USD 170 million, or euros 195.5 million.

Dili – Francisco Xavier do Amaral, a Deputy Speaker of the Constituent Assembly, received a second nomination today for president. The former FRETILIN leader is the only candidate for the 14 April election with just four days remaining in the registration period.

Geoff Elliott – Telstra will withdraw its services from East Timor, prompting a stinging attack from East Timor foreign minister Jose Ramos Horta. Mr Ramos Horta said Telstra would not be missed as the telco giant had not done much for East Timor.

Banda Aceh – Plans by a paramilitary group to hold its first mass rally in Indonesia's Aceh province flopped yesterday, following strong objections from separatist rebels and other Acehnese.

Laskar Jihad chief Jaffar Umar Thalib took over the podium at the main Baiturrahman mosque in the provincial capital Banda Aceh following late afternoon prayers, witnesses said.

Tangerang – About 850 workers at garment manufacturer PT Hyun Indonesia on Jl. Telesonic No. 1, Jatiuwung, Tangerang, launched a massive strike on Monday. They rejected the company's plan to eliminate transportation and food allowances for workersfollowing the increase in the minimum regional wage (UMR).

The announcement that Major-General Sjafrie Sjamsuddin is to become the head of public relations and the official spokesperson of TNI, the Indonesian armed forces, has provoked angry denunciations in Indonesia.

Jakarta – Corporate governance reform is crucial to the Indonesian government's effort to attract more investors to the country, the World Bank said Tuesday.

"Corporate governance reform is key in attracting more investors to Indonesia," the World Bank said in a statement citing the conclusions of a workshop organized by the bank here Tuesday.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – In 1965, Mr Mujiman Jumakir, a member of the now dissolved Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), miraculously survived when Indonesian soldiers dumped him into a river near his village in Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra.

Jakarta – Forest and ground fires, mainly blamed on land clearing practices, have led to the return of haze over parts of the Indonesian province of Riau in Sumatra island, officials and police said.

Australian researcher Lesley McCulloch meets three teenagers who have become unwitting players in the long running secessionist war in the Indonesian province of Aceh. The Indonesian armed forces used a combination of enticement and coercion to recruit them as military informers. Now they are effectively prisoners of the separatist rebels.

Jakarta – Indonesia's unhusked rice production is forecast to reach 48.65 million tonnes this year, 1.9 percent less than 2001, an Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) official said Monday.

Jakarta – Indonesia announced Monday its economy grew by 3.32 percent last year, lower than the government's forecast of 3.5 percent but higher than many of its neighbours.

Christopher Hitchens – In a few weeks, East Timor will be able to celebrate both its independence as a country and its status as a democracy. Elections will have produced a government able to seek and receive international recognition.

Tangerang – Nine-year-old Mahmud can only stare at the hospital room ceiling with empty eyes. His head looks bigger than it should be, his rib protrude and his stomach is extended. Bothhis hands and legs are stunted.

Jakarta – One man was killed and 46 other people were arrested following riots in the Kalijodo prostitution complex in North Jakarta on Saturday.

Joanna Jolly, Dili – International prosecutors on Monday indicted 17 pro-Jakarta militiamen and Indonesian soldiers for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during East Timor's violent break with Indonesia in 1999.

Jakarta – The protracted economic crisis affecting Indonesia since 1997 has swelled the ranks of the country's poor to around 60 percent of the 215 million-strong population, an official said.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – The government has extended its deadline for 128,000 (sic) Timorese to vacate refugee camps in West Timor until June 20, allowing them more time to decide on their future.

Widjajanto/Dyah Prabandari, Jakarta – The United States offered to facilitate in solving the Acehnese problem. This statement by US Ambassador to Indonesia Ralph L. Boyce caught people's attention.

Hamish McDonald and Desmond Ball – As an army major with access to the most highly classified intelligence flowing into Canberra, Chris Jones admits he used to feel tempted when he saw protests against the Indonesian occupation of East Timor back in the late 1970s.

Tangerang – Some 300 workers, who were dismissed by PT Koinus Jaya Garment last December, held a rally to protest against their dismissal and ask for severance pay at the Tangerang municipal administration office on Thursday.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – The labor union for the state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) demanded on Thursday that the company's newly appointed board of directors immediately step down or the employees would hold a general strike and halt train operations in Java and Sumatra.

Jakarta – Indonesia is to establish counter-terrorism units to deal with regional security threats, according to the chief of the nation's armed forces.

Jakarta – A series of blasts rocked Ambon a day after a peace pact was signed by the warring Muslim and Christian camps, drawing condemnation from Indonesian Vice-President Hamzah Haz yesterday.

Jupriadi and Annastashya Emmanuelle, Jakarta/Makassar – The peace accord for Maluku signed in Malino, Central Sulawesi on February 12, 2001 was tested once again as protesters greeted the delegates upon their return in Ambon, the Maluku provincial capital, on Thursday.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – There are about 200 small lakes that function as water catchment areas in Greater Jakarta, but most of them have been damaged and some disappeared.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Adm. Widodo AS admitted on Thursday that the institution was in the midst of a major reshuffle, while adding that replacements in the level of top brass remained undecided.