Dili – Elements of the Indonesian military are providing direct support for armed pro-Jakarta militiamen infiltrating into East Timor, a senior US diplomat said Tuesday.

Jakarta – Thousands of people are fleeing to safer areas as fresh fighting between religious groups in the Maluku islands left many dead and more than 100 houses burnt or damaged.

Mr Muhammad Albar, a Muslim activist, said the bodies of 11 Muslims were found in Galela, a town on Halmahera in North Maluku, the biggest island in the region, AP reported.

Simon Montlake, Jakarta – Indonesia must tread cautiously in cutting fuel subsidies and should seek to lessen the impact on kerosene prices as this directly hits poorer households, International Monetary Fund representative to Indonesia, John Dodsworth said Tuesday.

Jakarta – The National Business Development Council has urged the government to immediately deal with security disturbances against the business sector, saying that in 1999 alone, the business sector suffered losses of around Rp5 trillion [US$714 million].

Jakarta – A glass window in a hallway in Indonesia's parliament building was pierced yesterday by what seemed to be a bullet, just minutes after former president Suharto's youngest son passed it on his way to give testimony, witnesses said.

Simon Montlake, Jakarta – The Indonesian government is under pressure to consider increasing protection for domestic rice producers, after protests by farmers over low prices paid for unhusked rice, local newspapers said Tuesday.

Diarmid O'Sullivan, Lhokseumawe – A brutal crackdown by the Indonesian security forces in the province of Aceh is smothering the separatist movement, local people and observers say. They believe it could compel the Acehnese to accept a compromise peace with Jakarta.

Jakarta – The complete works of Indonesia's best known author, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, banned in his own country for four decades, are to be published in their entirety for the first time. "Starting next month we will republish everything," the author told AFP.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Indonesia's government is getting ready to crack the whip on recalcitrant debtors by giving the Attorney-General's Office powers to sue companies that fail to pay their debts – a development that can have significant implications for the country's economic growth.

Jakarta – A group of human rights lawyers on Monday protested as unecessary and flawed a draft bill being prepared by the government to pave the way for the creation of a human rights court in Indonesia.

Mark Dodd, Dili – Infighting involving senior United Nations staff is threatening East Timor's transition to independence, a senior official says.

The policy dispute has led to the resignation of the UN's head of district administration, who claims "Stalinist" and "colonialist" practises by several senior staff members are jeopardising the UN mission.

Jakarta – About 500 fruit, candy and cigarettes vendors pelted and broke the windows of six intercity buses at the Pulogadung bus terminal, East Jakarta, in a protest against City Public Land Transportation Agency (DLLAJ) officials' rough actions for the past week.

Banda Aceh – Separatist rebels ambushed an Indonesian military truck in the troubled province of Aceh, leaving a civilian killed by a stray bullet and a soldier wounded, police said Sunday.

Jakarta – Here's a riddle: A plane carrying 20 professors suddenly develops engine trouble. The passengers discuss among themselves ways out of their dilemma. Does anyone know the answer? Answer: If 20 professors don't have the answer, what chance do the rest of us have? That essentially caps the problem facing dozens of state universities across the country.

David Barber, Wellington – An ethnic-Chinese Indonesian businessman freed by former New Zealand SAS troops was allegedly held captive for five years in a tiny room in a Javanese village, it was reported yesterday.

Given the background of testy relations between Indonesia and Malaysia, Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad's visit here has proved remarkably successful for both sides. In politics – and economics – the two countries gained something each.

Jakarta – Indonesia's Investment Minister Laksamana Sukardi has pleaded for time to reform the country's graft-ridden legal system and promised to honour contracts agreed with past regimes.

Ambon – Tension prevailed on Friday in Halmahera in North Maluku following a series of communal clashes earlier in the week that left at least 30 people dead and dozens injured.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Indonesian authorities have identified at least 10 companies responsible for starting fires in the Riau province but are facing problems prosecuting them.

Mr Setyo Winarso, an official of the environmental monitoring agency, Bapadal, said existing laws were difficult to enforce despite the government's readiness to penalise plantation owners.

Jakarta – Thick haze from forest fires shrouded several towns in Sumatra on Friday, keeping Pekanbaru, Riau, mostly in the dark during daylight hours.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia's President, Mr Abdurrahman Wahid, responded quickly yesterday to protests from Australia and the United Nations, ordering his armed forces to disarm militia launching cross-border attacks in East Timor. He also ordered the closing of refugee camps in West Timor near the border with East Timor which militia groups use as their bases.

Jakarta – Indonesia appeared to back down yesterday from a multi-million dollar fight with the United States after Washington threatened to seize Indonesian assets abroad.

John Aglionby, Kembang Tanjung – When Mohammed Assegaf and his two friends finished describing how Indonesian soldiers had killed some people and terrorised dozens of others in their part of Aceh province during the past two months, they slipped out of the cafe's back door, across the paddy fields, and away.

Banda Aceh – Four bodies, believed to be the latest victims of conflict between separatist rebels and Indonesian security forces, have been found in troubled Aceh province, residents and police said yesterday.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid said Friday he will pardon former president Suharto if a court finds him guilty of corruption and abuse of power during his 32 years in power.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Past and present came together yesterday when President Abdurrahman Wahid met former Indonesian leader Suharto for the first time since taking office four months ago.

Jakarta – In another move aimed at promoting a civil society and human rights principles, President Abdurrahman Wahid decided on Wednesday to disband the military-controlled Agency for the Coordination of Support for National Stability Development (Bakorstanas).

Jakarta – Conflicts between local communities and timber companies will likely increase in the future because the people are now more aware of their rights, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

John McBeth, Jakarta – For both admirers and critics of Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, the picture is disturbing: At the presidential palace in Jakarta there are signs of a new "royal court" in the making.

Jakarta – The main challenge facing the Indonesian government is the reform of the legal system, a senior minister said Thursday.

"Our major challenge is to overhaul the court process," State Minister for Investment and State Enterprises Development Laksamana Sukardi told a luncheon organised by the French-Indonesian Chamber of Commerce.

Jakarta – Indonesia's military now acknowledges the legitimacy of the country's new government and realises that a coup attempt would trigger a bloodbath, a senior US official said yesterday.

Yogyakarta – Surakarta-based radio station PTPN Rasitania was silent on Wednesday after it was forced to suspend broadcasting after airing a talk show that some accused of being blasphemous.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Crime is shooting up and guns are the rage in Jakarta these days. Media reports here suggest that the increase is due to the increasing availability in Indonesia of firearms and other weapons for personal defence, such as tear-gas canisters.

Indonesia's environmental monitoring agency, Bapadal, has been trying to get hard evidence to nail those responsible for the dangerous levels of haze that has covered the Riau province over the past week. Straits Times Correspondent Marianne Kearney, while in Pekan Baru, followed one attempt to catch the fire starters

Jakarta – The World Bank has questioned the decision by a Jakarta court to acquit the director of a politically linked company accused of involvement in Indonesia's multi-million dollar Bank Bali fraud scandal, reports said Wednesday.

Vaudine England and Agencies, Pekanbaru – The end of Indonesia's rainy season is once again revealing the chaos created by allowing plantation owners and farmers to clear land by setting fires.

Mark Dodd – United Nations peacekeepers have captured a suspected pro-Jakarta militiaman after a gun battle in highland country deep inside East Timor.

Dili – The UN Transition Administration of East Timor (UNTAET) has denounced the "disinformation campaign" waged by militia groups in Indonesian West Timor, whose aim is to make East Timorese refugees afraid to return to their homeland.

Peter Johnston, Dili – On arriving in East Timor, one is struck by how little has been repaired in the months since the militia destruction. Very few buildings were not damaged in the post-referendum, Jakarta-sponsored orgy of violence and looting. Most remain in ruins.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia's armed forces are allegedly targeting human rights activists in the violence-hit province of Aceh as President Abdurrahman Wahid asks for Malaysia's help to broker peace talks with separatist rebels.

Jakarta – President Abdurrachman Wahid has signed a law ratifying a convention of the International Labour Organization (ILO) on immediate prevention of abuse of child workers.

Wahid described the convention as important for Indonesia where, he said, there were still many cases of child workers "inhumanly" abused against the convention of the United Nations.

Vanya Tanaja, Dili – Whilst independence from Indonesian rule has been won, some things in East Timor have changed little. After the militia violence of September, many Timorese are worse off than ever and help is a long time coming.

May Sari – Attended by 50 of its leading members, the Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggle (FNPBI) held its national council meeting in Cisarua, West Java, on February 13-15.

Jakarta – Abortion is strictly prohibited under both the Criminal Code and the Health Law. But despite the legislation, women continue to seek abortions.

Marina Carman – One hundred and fifty students staged a protest outside the office of the regional legislative assembly in Surabaya, Indonesia, on February 22. The students were angry at the Indonesian military's repression and domination of political life in the country.

Mark Dodd, Dili – Heavily armed intruders from across the Indonesian border are believed responsible for a weekend attack in which one person was killed, another injured and a third person taken hostage.

Mark Dodd, Dili – In the local Tetum language it is known as Uma Mutuk, or Burnt House, restaurant. It is arguably Dili's most popular eatery, and, like the mythical phoenix, its proud owners say their flourishing business has risen from the ashes.

Eric Wright, Dili – The former colonial power of East Timor, Portugal, is creeping back through an open door, more than 25 years after fleeing ignominiously from the mainland. The Timorese, in dire need of cash and assistance to build their new country, are willing to accept the Portuguese gifts.

Jakarta – Leading politicians and observers said on Monday the attack on National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Matori Abdul Djalil was politically motivated, speculating that it might be part of a larger conspiracy to destabilize the government.

Jakarta – A new presidential decree will be issued allowing the government to take over Rp 4 trillion (US$540 million) in assets from former president Soeharto's seven foundations.