Medan – More than 500 families of Acehnese who fled clashes between separatist rebels and the military have encroached on Gunung Leuser National Park, a non-governmental organization reported on Friday.

Mark Dodd, Tumin – On a barren ridge just outside the village of Tumin, hundreds gathered last weekend to commemorate one of the most shocking mass murders that occurred in the violence following East Timor's 1999 referendum.

Vaudine England in Jakarta – Children snatched from refugee camps in East Timor and taken to central Java two years ago were reunited with their parents yesterday.

Independence hero Xanana Gusmao also welcomed home the families of former pro-Indonesian militiamen. His move came as mass refugee returns resumed across the border with Indonesian West Timor.

Dili – The UN administration in East Timor on Saturday inaugurated the newly elected assembly that will draft the territory's first constitution, bringing it one step closer to full independence.

The 88-member assembly, which was voted in last month, will have three months to draft the charter and adopt East Timor's new political system.

Pontianak – A teenager has been sentenced to seven years in jail for inciting clashes between Madurese refugees and local Dayaks in Pontianak.

The ethnic clashes claimed four lives, injured many others, and resulted in a badminton hall sheltering 120 refugees being razed to the ground.

Jakarta – The agency tasked to audit the wealth of civil servants is apprehensive about looking into the wealth of top officials.

Kupang – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has decided to reopen its base in West Timor to help channel humanitarian aid to some 290,000 East Timorese refugees currently settling in West Timor, East Nusa Tenggara.

Jakarta – In a gesture of reconciliation, East Timor's independence hero Xanana Gusmao welcomed home the families of former pro-Jakarta militiamen Friday as mass refugee returns resumed across the border with Indonesian West Timor.

Jakarta – Most of the soft drinks and snacks sold in Indonesia's elementary school canteens use textile dyes and are contaminated with the E. coli bacteria, which causes worm-related diseases, a report said.

Jakarta – City police have apprehended 10 people, including a Malaysian, for their alleged involvement in the blast at Plaza Atrium, a shopping mall in Senen, Central Jakarta, an officer said on Thursday.

Ian Timberlake, Dili – Police officers in smart blue uniforms confidently direct traffic. Newly refurbished government buildings sparkle with white paint, and a constituent assembly will be sworn in tomorrow following East Timor's first democratic elections.

Tomi Soetjipto, Jakarta – Muslim leaders in Indonesia, the world's largest Islamic nation, have joined the international outrage over the terror attacks against the United States, but warned the world to avoid an anti-Muslim backlash.

Robert Go, Jakarta – The hard-fought battle over the proposed sale of Indonesia's largest retail bank appears indicative of the concessions the Megawati Sukarnoputri government will have to continually make to win over supposedly friendly legislators.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – A battle is brewing in Parliament over a move to amend the constitution to enable Indonesians to directly vote for their President and Vice-President by the 2004 elections.

Jakarta – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday described Parliament's approval of the sale of a 51 per cent government stake in Indonesia's largest private retail bank as an important milestone in economic reforms of the country.

Dili – Opposition leaders in East Timor criticized the United Nations on Thursday for favoring one political party and not creating the framework for democracy in their fledgeling nation.

[The following is the officially certified list of East Timorese who were elected to the Constituent Assembly on the August 30 ballot. Some of these people will probably be selected to serve in the cabinet, in which case they must resign from the Assembly. The next-ranking person on the slate of the party they were elected under will fill the vacancy. The assembly has 88 seats.

Jakarta – A senior East Timor official said on Wednesday that the country would not prosecute the alleged human rights violations by Indonesian Military (TNI) troops in the international court of justice.

Max Lane – Despite protests by human rights groups and large sections of the legal profession, Indonesia's police are continuing their prosecution of more than 30 people for their political activities.

Maria Voukelatos – Ngadinah binti Abu Mawardi made Indonesian history on August 30 when she became one of the first workers to defend herself in a court of law and win.

Jakarta – Activists intensified their demands on Tuesday for the Public Servant's Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN) to investigate the origin of retired and serving state officials suspect wealth.

Vaudine England – The barefoot children were scrambling up the bougainvillea bushes to gather fresh clusters of the flowers – the only bright spot in the dry, dusty and still-devastated landscape of the East Timorese town of Memo.

Jill Hickson – "Where are our missing children? We have nothing – no land, no houses, nothing to do, no materials to work with to make an income. The women here are dying from childbirth because they have no money for doctors, there is little food and in some camps little water.

Jon Land – Fretilin, the party which declared East Timor independent in 1975 and which was the largest single force in the long fight against occupation, has won 57% of the vote in the country's first elections since the end of Indonesian rule – but the result is well short of the 85-90% the party had been predicting.

Jana DK, Dili – In its first major mobilisation since the beginning of East Timor's election campaign, on August 25 some 5000 Timorese Socialist Party members and supporters gathered at Dili's Independence Field for one of the most energetic, enthusiastic and political rallies the country has yet seen.

Jakarta – The central government's pledge to fight the practice of nepotism seems to be ineffective as some officials of the city administration and the City Council have reportedly placed their children and close relatives in some city-owned companies.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Two years ago, House of Representatives deputy speaker Muhaimin Iskandar could hardly pay for the room he was renting, his old friends say.

Yemris Fointuna, Dili – The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) is planning to forge economic cooperation between the former Portuguese colony and Indonesia's province of West Timor, the other half of the island of Timor. This is one of the programs to be tackled by a development commission to be set up here this month.

Jakarta – The South Jakarta District Court rejected on Monday the lawsuit filed by eight middle-ranking police officers against National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro.

Jakarta – Rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province have released five Muslim leaders who police say were abducted after meeting President Megawati Sukarnoputri when she visited the province at the weekend.

Jakarta – The country's two largest parties reiterated their intention to reject inclusion of the Jakarta Charter in Article 29 of the 1945 Constitution, viewing the United Development Party (PPP)'s effort to institute the doctrine for Islamic Syariah law merely an expression of responsibility to its constituents.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Pressure is building on Indonesia to return 124 East Timorese children taken from their parents in West Timor refugee camps following East Timor's 1999 independence vote.

Jakarta – Political analysts have hailed the increase in the defense budget in the 2002 draft state budget amid rising speculation that the 18 percent hike was to gain support from the Indonesian Military (TNI) in maintaining stability.

Associated Press in Banda Aceh – A day after President Megawati Sukarnoputri led a peace mission to troubled Aceh province, rebels vowed to maintain their secessionist war and activists described the visit as a failure.

"Our struggle will continue," rebel spokesman Teungku Agam Kateraja said. "Soldiers on patrol in rebel areas will be attacked."

Jakarta – President Megawati Soekarnoputri publicly asked on Saturday for forgiveness from all Acehnese for past mistakes of the government. The plea was made by the President before thousands of Acehnese people in a gathering on the grounds of the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province.

Tomi Soetjipto, Banda Aceh – Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri made an emotional apology to the people of rebellious Aceh on Saturday over their suffering under past governments before being jeered by scores of students.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Each week, as a Toyota landcruiser roams the streets of Jakarta consuming half a tank or 50 litres of petrol, the Indonesian government is subsiding its relatively wealthy owner about 260,000 rupiah per week (S$50). This is about 60 per cent of a factory worker's salary.

Susan Long, Jakarta - You know surrealism is a way of life here when your mobile phone begins trilling as you peer into the smoky cauldron of the active volcano Bromo in East Java. Nothing but lava sand covers the vast emptiness between mountain peaks, but Telkomsel's reception here is even better than in the heart of urban Jakarta.

Train crashes, crumbling schools, power blackouts and children begging on crowded intersections – these are legacies of Indonesia's budget crunch in recent years. The new budget, with its stated emphasis on social welfare and regional development, aims to address some of the inequities.

Tomi Soetjipto, Banda Aceh – Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri flew into rebellious Aceh on Saturday on a fleeting trip aimed at bringing peace to this war-torn province.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – There is a palpable mood of relief in East Timor this week after the election in which the country voted overwhelmingly in favor of the leftist nationalist party Fretilin.

The tension in the air has dissipated after the vote went ahead in an orderly manner nationwide. It is as though the population has passed a strenuous test, as indeed it has.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Combatants in Aceh's separatist war like to use visits by Jakarta dignitaries to make brutal political points – and President Megawati Sukarnoputri's trip to the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, today is no exception.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Australia has rejected an Indonesian plea to fast-track people assessed to be genuine refugees from Indonesia, despite pressuring the Government in Jakarta to do more to stop asylum seekers reaching Australia.

Mark Dodd, Dili – What's in a word? Quite a bit if you are considering running for president of East Timor.

Ambiguous comments from Mr Mari Alkatiri, secretary-general of the election-winning Fretilin party, have cast doubt on the independence leader Mr Xanana Gusmao's offer to stand.

Jakarta – Legislators questioned on Friday President Megawati Soekarnoputri's policy for increasing the 2002 defense budget by 18 percent.

Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla said on Friday that the central government would assist certain regional administrations that were unable to pay teachers' salary back pay.

Banda Aceh – State Syiah Kuala University rector Dayan Dawood, 54, was shot dead by unidentified people on his way home from campus here on Thursday, just two days ahead of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's visit to the restive province.

Joanne Collins, Jakarta – Indonesia's new government handed down its 2002 budget on Friday, walking a tightrope between fiscal prudence and stimulating growth in a bid to keep the debt-weary economy afloat.

Jakarta – A human rights worker was Friday found shot dead and eight alleged rebels were reported killed in Indonesia's troubled province of Aceh on the eve of a visit by President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Police and troops were deployed on every corner of the capital Banda Aceh and residents deserted the streets towards dusk in fear of violence, witnesses said.

Jakarta – Thousands of public-school teachers in several regions continued their strikes on Thursday as their demands for six-months' back pay got the cold shoulder from regional administrators.

In the East Nusa Tenggara town of Atambua, a state senior high school decided to close on Friday and Saturday after its teachers went on strike on Thursday.