Mark Dodd, Dili – Almost a year since voting to end Indonesian rule, East Timor is about to launch into open politicking about the shape of its independent state once the United Nations interim administration ends.

The UN is to draft legislation allowing political campaigning for the first democratic parliamentary elections next year.

Anthony Spaeth – If you stand at the harbor of Surabaya, Indonesia's famed port and second-largest city, you can see the island of Madura only 4 km across the water. For a decade, there was a plan to connect the city and the island with a bridge, but financing never came through and the only progress was a few premature concrete pillars that now stand forlornly in the sea.

Jason Tedjasukmana, Pekanbaru – Syaparudin, a former logger, stands next to the Caltex oil pipeline that stretches for 900 km across the central Sumatra province of Riau. Locals call it the "giant snake," and many of them – including Syaparudin – would like to kill it.

Hestiana Dharmastuti/Hendra & LM, Jakarta – The blame for the disappearance of four activists from the parliament grounds is being laid in many quarters.

Scott Burchill – In his first lecture on Indonesian soil after being banished for 26 years, Professor Benedict Anderson spoke about the bewildered expression on the faces of his Indonesian students over the years at Cornell University whenever he asked them "who in Indonesia today do you admire and look up to?"

Vaudine England, Jakarta – The upsurge in fighting on the border between East and West Timor is the latest sign that the Indonesian military's special forces remain outside the control of the Government, Jakarta-based diplomats say.

Mark Dodd, Aileu – Fighters from the former guerilla resistance force Falintil, in their first move out of forced cantonment since the United Nations entered East Timor, will join UN peacekeepers in hunting down pro-Indonesian militia launching cross-border raids.

Jakarta – Indonesia yesterday demanded that separatists drop demands for independence for Aceh, and warned that it was losing patience in the search for peace for the troubled province.

Jakarta – An average of 1.6 million ha of Indonesia's forests are being destroyed every year, mostly by illegal loggers with powerful connections here and abroad, a report said yesterday.

Forestry Ministry secretary-general Suripto said illegal loggers formed mafia-like international networks and that their operations were hard to track down.

Jakarta – Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab on Saturday said some soldiers might have encouraged the pro-Jakarta militias in the border area of East Timor.

"It is possible that certain individual [soldiers] have encouraged the militias' operations, but as an institution it is obvious that the military doesn't want the incidents to happen," Shihab told journalists.

Jakarta – Concluding its Annual Session on Friday, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) endorsed nine decrees, two of which certified the military's presence at the Assembly until 2009 and the new tasks for Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Devi Asmarani and Robert Go, Jakarta – No fire on the streets and smaller fireworks than expected in Indonesia's parliament complex. The first annual session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) ended with an anti-climax yesterday with the last tap of Speaker Amien Rais' gavel.

Banda Aceh – A commander of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist rebels in restive North Aceh regency Abu Sofyan Daud conceded that the movement has special links with officers in the Indonesian Military (TNI).

Jakarta – Employees of coal mining firm PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) in Sangata regency, East Kalimantan, ended their strike on Friday after assurances were made that the company would not fire them.

Jakarta – Human Rights Watch on Saturday slammed Indonesia's MPs for passing a law that could let former president Suharto and senior military officers escape punishment for gross human rights abuses, including those in East Timor.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia's discredited military yesterday won a blanket amnesty for past human rights abuses. Human rights activists are furious that a decree blocking prosecution of troops involved in abuses in provinces such as East Timor, Aceh and Irian Jaya was passed by the People's Consultative Assembly with little debate.

Robert Go, Jakarta – One of the most amazing outcomes of the recent MPR session must be that the rupiah continued to strengthen even as legislators bashed President Abdurrahman Wahid's 10-month-old government over the sluggish pace of economic recovery.

Jakarta – Hundreds of people from various groups rallied outside the compound of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to express their disappointment with the results of the Annual Session, which concluded on Friday.

Shinta NM Sinaga/Swastika & LM, Jakarta – The Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggle (FNPBI) led by Dita Indah Sari marked the final day of the annual session of the Assembly by amassing workers and members at the parliament to express their frustration with the so-called representatives of the people.

Irna Gustia/Swastika & LM, Jakarta – A Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) investigation into a foundation owned by the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) has uncovered corruption to the value of Rp 70 billion (US$ 8.4 million). The BPK has promised to complete their investigation next week.

Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid led on Thursday a solemn commemoration of Indonesia's 55th anniversary on the grounds of the official residence, Istana Merdeka, as students staged noisy demonstrations in the Monas Square nearby the palace.

Abdul Haerah HR/BI, Makassar – Up to a hundred low paid workers and waterside labourers who demanded a 100% pay rise have been forcefully removed from Makassar harbour side in Makassar on Saturday . Security officers from the Makassar Police force have removed the protestors who have been conducting their protest in the area since Friday.

Warren Caragata, Jakarta – If anything represents the uneasy muddle that is Indonesian politics these days, it may well be Golkar, the party of discredited ex-president Suharto.

Aulia Andri/Swastika & Lyndal Meehan, Jakarta – The People's Democratic Party (PRD) did not just demo on the final day of the annual parliament session in the capital, Jakarta.

Jakarta – People across the country, including those in troubled areas, marked the 55th Independence Day on Thursday with solemn ceremonies and traditional games. No reports of violence were recorded.

Maryadi/Fitri & Lyndal Meehan, Pontianak – Today is Indonesian Independence Day. In West Kalimantan, thousands of people are expected to mark the day with a mixture of celebration and protest involving all elements of society, including Madurese refugees of sectarian violence which erupted in 1997.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – A leading armed forces reformer has made an unprecedented attack on corrupt generals.

Lieutenant-General Agus Wirahadikusumah called on the Government to cleanse the military and police of what he called the cancer of corruption. "It's now up to the Government – to act or not to act," he wrote in the latest issue of the magazine Tempo .

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Removing the military from politics was one of the key agendas of the reform movement in 1998, yet legislators on a People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) committee recommended this week that the military retain its dual role until 2009.

Marianne Kearney Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid's pre-Independence Day address to Parliament yesterday began and ended with his trademark humour and, this time, legislators laughed with him, indicating that much of the tension between the two sides had dissipated.

Andrew Perrin, Ainaro – Fearing UN peacekeepers cannot guarantee their safety, villagers in East Timor's mountainous central south-west have fled to the forest or formed vigilante groups against possible militia attack.

Jakarta – Six students who pulled down the Indonesian flag at the Attorney General's Office in South Jakarta yesterday could be imprisoned for up to four years.

Jakarta – About 1,000 university students staged a peaceful demonstration in Central Jakarta yesterday, to celebrate Independence Day with calls for further reform.

Hestiana Dharmastuti/Hendra & Lyndal Meehan, Jakarta – Disgraced former dictator Suharto and his cronies can not yet breathe easily. Once again, students gathered together with the City Forum (Forkot) have demanded they be taken to court and again planned to besiege his residence, known as Cendana after the street on which it is located.

Iin Yumiyanti/Swastika & Lyndal Meehanm, Jakarta – As commemorations to mark the 55th anniversary of the declaration of independence on 17 August approach, groups of local people in North Aceh have begun confiscating and forbidding locals from raising the 'Red and White' Indonesian national flag.

Robert Go, Jakarta – If a recent Tempo Magazine poll is correct, Indonesians have little patience left for the manoeuvrings of Jakarta's political elite. The people crave concrete signs that economic and social conditions are improving.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – As politician after politician attacked President Abdurrahman Wahid during this week's general assembly for failing to care for the welfare of Indonesia's "little people", the irony was not lost on these "little people".

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Amid loose talk of a constitutional coup, President Abdurrahman Wahid says he will run his Government through a gang of four.

Jon Land – Pro-Jakarta militia operating out of refugee camps and other bases in West Timor show no sign of scaling down their attacks upon refugees or United Nations soldiers and humanitarian staff.

Surabaya – Dozens of the banners denouncing political figures and parties which have been erected since the start of the People's Consultative Assembly Annual Session are being taken down by police in a bid to cool the climate in the city.

Rayhan Anas Lubis/Swastika & Lyndal Meehan, Banda Aceh – A mass prayer for those killed, raped and abused by the Indonesian Armed Forces and government organised by pro-referendum groups in Banda Aceh on Wednesday, has ended in clashes with police.

Banda Aceh – Residents in Indonesia's troubled Aceh Province began a strike Wednesday, refusing to conduct any activities or to hoist the red-and-white Indonesian national flag to mark Independence Day on August 17.

Jakarta – Hundreds of people staged a peaceful rally in the West Papua (Irian Jaya) capital of Jayapura yesterday, demanding the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) cancel its decision to issue a decree that would prevent any parts of Indonesia from seceding and declaring independence.

A group of prominent East Timorese leaders, spanning the territory's historical political spectrum, are organizing a new center-right political party with the apparent blessing of independence leader Xanana Gusmao, a key organizer said Wednesday.

On July 10, a new labour rights bill was unanimously passed by the Indonesian House of Representatives. It still requires President Abdurrahman Wahid's approval to become law.

Jakarta – Indonesian police on Wednesday said they had identified 22 suspects in connection with a violent military-backed attack on the then-party headquarters of Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri in 1996.

James Balowski – After months of delays, false starts and a performance to rival Christopher Skase's "Now I'm sick, now I'm not", former president Suharto is finally to stand trial for embezzlement of Indonesian state funds.

Chris McCall, Pekanbaru – When Indonesia's politicians and pundits talk about the separatist movements that plague the country, two provinces on the opposite ends of the archipelago are mentioned first: Aceh and Irian Jaya. But tagged on to the end of the discussion is Riau.

Washington – Human rights groups on Tuesday voiced deep concern over the fate of a New York-based activist missing in Indonesia's Aceh province, and demanded more action from US officials on his case.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia yesterday denied responsibility for intensified attacks by militias on international forces inside East Timor.

Jakarta – Over 1,000 people from different groups rallied on Monday in front of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), voicing various demands ranging from support for the government of President Abdurrahman Wahid to the expulsion of the military/police faction in the nation's highest law-making body.