Hamish McDonald, Dili – The Australian Government is retreating from its tough opening stance on the oil revenue split in a new seabed boundary treaty with independent East Timor, a senior Timorese negotiator reports.

Jakarta – Vice President and chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) Megawati Soekarnoputri scolded unscrupulous party legislators on Saturday for having tarnished the image of the party and of the parliament.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab has reassured Asean members that the South-east Asia grouping is still central to Indonesia's foreign policy.

"Asean is the cornerstone of our foreign policy and as a founding father, it is impossible for us to leave Asean," Mr Alwi told journalists on Friday.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Even though the police are taking extra precaution to secure the capital against mass demonstrations rumoured to begin tomorrow, commentators say the real political onslaught might be delayed for several weeks.

Jakarta – Indonesian Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri Sunday told 100,000 supporters of her Indonesian Democracy Party- Struggle (PDIP) that national unity was at stake and called on them to defend its integrity, but without violence.

Jakarta – The government is under the control of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and has to obtain IMF approval for every economic step taken, says chairman of the National Mandate Party [PAN] Amien Rais.

Reuters in Jakarta – Three people have been killed and four wounded in a fresh bout of violence in Indonesia's restive Aceh province, showing the futility of a recently agreed ceasefire extension.

Police say a total of eight people have been killed since the truce was announced on Wednesday while rebel leaders put the figure as high as 30.

Jakarta – Indonesian police have detected an underground bunker below the central Jakarta home of former president Suharto's fugitive son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra.

Chris McCall, Banda Aceh – The controversial trial of Aceh's top civilian independence activist is expected to start in the course of a new one-month truce with separatist rebels, his colleagues say.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Banking magnate James Riady's conviction for illegal funding of US politicians will ruffle feathers in the US Congress and government but is unlikely to scare off American businessmen from Indonesia.

Jakarta – More than 150 East Timorese journalists, gathering at their inaugural congress in the East Timor capital of Dili, have agreed to build an independent, free press in their new country, a press statement issued Saturday by the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) said.

Ambon – One hundred people marched to the Maluku Police Headquarters in Batumeja on Friday to protest Thursday's arrest of Alex Manuputty, chief executive of the Maluku Sovereignty Front (FKM).

Banda Aceh – At least six people, including a soldier on guard at an Exxon-Mobil oil company complex were killed, and eight others injured in renewed violence in Indonesia's Aceh province, police and hospitals said Friday.

Chris McCall, Banda Aceh – Behind Banda Aceh's landmark Baiturrahman mosque, a street vendor was scratching a living as he does every day, mashing up sugar cane for drinks.

"Is there a new agreement? We don't know about politics," he said when told of a one-month "moratorium on violence" signed on Wednesday by Acehnese rebels and the Indonesian Government in Switzerland.

Jakarta – The State Official Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN) functionaries and members were sworn in by President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid at the State Palace on Thursday.

Yogyakarta – Activists from various groups representing laborers, peasants, fishermen and youths have launched a new organization called the All-Jawa Socialist Movement Committee. The Committee was established following a two-day gathering which ended on Monday.

Jakarta – The South Jakarta District Court began on Thursday the trial of six pro-integration East Timorese for the murder of three United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) staff in Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara in September last year.

Wamena – The wreckage of the ill-fated Navy Cassa plane was located in a remote mountainous area of Jayawijaya regency on Wednesday with all people aboard found dead.

Jakarta – An Australian-based laboratory has jump-started the 1993 rape-murder case of female labor activist Marsinah as it had found out that the DNA in the blood found at the residence of a former primary defendant in the case matched that of the activist's.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – A busload of militant Muslims walked into the offices of the English-language Jakarta Post to "deliver a strong protest" over an editorial that described Indonesians who fought with the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan as mercenaries, the newspaper reported yesterday.

Jakarta – At least three people were killed in religious clashes on Thursday in Indonesia's Maluku province, as police arrested the leader of a Christian group seeking independence for the region.

Kalasan, Sleman – A group of people ransacked a Biblical Church in Taman Martani village, Kalasan, on Tuesday some 14 kilometers east of Yogyakarta when Sleman regency officials were discussing the church's operation.

There was nobody inside the church when the vandalism took place, and the church established in the last of the 1980s suffered only minor damage.

Chris McCall, Jakarta – Sitting in jail waiting to hear his fate, feared East Timor militia chief Eurico Guterres is accusing his nemesis Xanana Gusmao of selling out his people.

Catharine Munro, Jakarta – An unlikely gathering of Indonesian rock stars, criminals and retired soldiers yesterday converged on a Jakarta courtroom in support of East Timorese militia leader Eurico Guterres.

Jakarta – Security authorities called on the country's political elite on Tuesday not to mobilize the masses to the streets, but to sit at the same table and seek solutions to their disputes.

John Aglionby, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has devolved a number of government powers from Jakarta to the provinces and districts. The aim is to detangle the heavily centralized central government and give the country's outer fringes some control over their fate. But for the moment, chaos – not control – appears to be the only dividend.

Arrested by Indonesian police in Irian Jaya for reporting while on a tourist visa, Swiss journalist Oswald Iten spent 11 days in jail before being deported. This is what he saw from his cell.

Banda Aceh – Student groups in Indonesia's Aceh province Tuesday called for a full ceasefire between the government and separatist rebels as violence in the region claimed another life.

They said a truce between Jakarta and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) that took effect in June and is due to expire on January 15 has failed to reduce violence in the province.

Jakarta – The Coordinating Minister for the Economy Rizal Ramli said on Monday that the government would continue to discuss with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ways to improve the implementation of the new regional autonomy law.

Jakarta – The Finance Ministry said on Monday that it had issued 41 new decrees, including 38 new tax and excise decrees, in a bid to meet the government's 2001 state budget revenue targets and to support the decentralization program.

Bandung – Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto asserted here on Monday that the Army is committed to solving security matters but asked other parties to seek the root of the problems plaguing the nation.

Jakarta – Police said Tuesday they were investigating records kept in a Jakarta mosque on Indonesian Muslims who have fought in Afghanistan, as part of their probe into the deadly Christmas Eve church bombings.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – In what could become another political hot potato for President Abdurrahman Wahid's beleaguered government, the country's highest Islamic authority disclosed yesterday that it knew as far back as September last year that pork enzymes had been used in producing a popular flavour enhancer.

Jakarta – Chairman of the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI) Muchtar Pakpahan said on Saturday that Indonesian laborers are still unable to freely express their opinions due to the continuing repression of security apparatuses.

Denis Dragovic, Dili – For several months I have been watching the United Nations "rescuing" East Timor. The half-term report is not promising.

The UN's overzealous moves into missions where it lacks the experience, internal structural systems, or competent personnel will inevitably and regrettably lead to continuing failure – and eventual extinction.

Jayapura – Eleven locals from Wamena were still being detained here on Sunday after after they were apprehended on Thursday for carrying sharp weapons.

They were part of a group of 61 people who left their hometown in Arso and Genyem areas of the town of Wamena, about 290 kilometers southwest of here, amid rumors of a clash between security forces and separatist rebels.

Jakarta – Mining and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said yesterday that a presidential decree will soon be issued to delay handover of mining autonomy to the provincial administrations across the country for up to five years.

Jakarta – The National Awakening Party (PKB) says it can't ban thousands of East Java Muslims from coming to Jakarta to stage rallies in support of embattled President Abdurrahman Gus Dur Wahid.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid on Sunday said that despite mounting criticism of his rule, he and his government faced no immediate political danger and called on his supporters not to resort to mobilizing masses in his defence.

Jakarta – Question: What is the going rate for elected local office in most of Indonesia today? Answer: At least 1 billion rupiah (S$180,000).

Jakarta – At least 500 Irianese are seeking refuge in Papua New Guinea (PNG) due to fear of erupting violence from clashes between rebel groups and the Indonesian security authorities, Antara reported on Saturday.

The people were mostly residents of Jayawijaya, the hinterland of Jayapura, which is located close to the border with the neighboring country.

Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid revealed on Saturday that there were four major groups trying to unseat him from his presidential chair, citing that systematic attempts have been launched by the groups starting from January 2000.

Shefali Rekhi – Indonesia is lurching towards another crisis given the vulnerability of the economy and differences among the political elite, the head of a prominent Indonesian think-tank warned yesterday.

Tim Dodd – Which Asian political leader is blind, overweight and in delicate health, but likens himself to the celebrated Italian football star, Paolo Rossi? The answer? President Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia.

Jakarta – A senior police detective revealed on Friday that one of four suspects in the Christmas Eve bombing case has confessed to having received explosives training in Afghanistan.

Jakarta – Make or break talks on Aceh will commence in Davos, Switzerland, on Saturday with Indonesian government negotiators likely to make one final offer to Free Aceh Movement (GAM) representatives for special autonomy in the province.

Banda Aceh – Separatist violence flared in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province, leaving 11 people dead, police and witnesses said Saturday. Friday's deaths – nine civilians, one police officer and a separatist rebel – bring to 24 the number killed this year.

Jakarta – Indonesia's central bank has refused an order to freeze the bank accounts of a fugitive son of former president Suharto, saying it has no authority to do so, the state Antara news agency said Saturday.

Jakarta – Police in the Indonesian capital have warned the public against a burgeoning blackmail racket in Jakarta run by groups posing as journalists who prey on government officials and businessmen.

Jakarta – Rival villagers fought with guns and machetes in clashes that killed nine people on a resort island packed with tourists, police said Thursday.