Hamish McDonald, Dili – The United Nations refugee agency says Indonesian Government efforts to disarm militias controlling refugee camps in West Timor appear to have halted.

What appeared a week ago to be a gathering flood of East Timorese returning from camps across the border has dried to a trickle – only eight people on Thursday and none by midday yesterday.

Agence France Presse in Jakarta – The Government yesterday moved to convince the international community, including Jakarta's main donors, of its determination to resolve the violence and refugee problems in West Timor.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Pressure is mounting as the Tokyo meeting of international aid donors takes place this month to decide whether to provide Indonesia with US$4.8 billion in fresh aid – or to launch economic sanctions against the country whose militia had killed three United Nations aid workers in Atambua.

Jakarta – Reactions by top politicians to last week's arrest of East Timor militia leader Eurico Guterres underscored Indonesia's policy ambivalence toward East Timor.

Jakarta – Speakers of the country's two legislative bodies urged the government on Thursday not to allow the extradition of former militia leader Eurico Guterres to East Timor.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Authorities in East Timor have issued an arrest warrant for Eurico Guterres, the militia leader held by police in Jakarta.

"We're asking the Indonesian authorities to send Guterres over," said Barbara Reis, spokeswoman for the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (Untaet). "We're waiting for feedback from the Indonesian Government."

Jakarta – Four members of the House of Representatives Commission I yesterday paid a visit to former pro-Jakarta militia chief Eurico Guterres, who is being detained at police headquarters in South Jakarta.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Despite government claims that pro-Indonesian militias have been disarmed in West Timor, United Nations staff fear the fate of more than 100,000 East Timorese refugees still in the western half of the divide d island will be determined without UN help.

Mark Dodd, Dili – East Timor is facing an acute shortage of qualified teachers, with teacher-pupil ratios in some schools as high as 100 to one, according to the country's independence leader, Mr Xanana Gusmao.

Jakarta – In a meeting marked by blood and tears, detained East Timorese militia leader Eurico Guterres wept Monday as he accused the Indonesian government of failing to appreciate his efforts to keep East Timor within Indonesia, police said.

Pro-Indonesia East Timorese militia leaders in West Timor told two key Indonesian ministers Sunday they would tell the United Nations how the Indonesian military trained and armed them last year if their leader Eurico Guterres, who is currently being detained in Jakarta, is not released.

Mark Dodd, Dili – Indonesian authorities have told the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that thousands of refugees are likely to be repatriated amid unconfirmed reports that militia gangs are losing control of the border refugee camps.

Canberra – The Labor Party and Australian Democrats are urging Australia to change its national boundaries with East Timor to help the struggling country gain financial independence.

Negotiations began today in Dili between Australia and the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) over the Timor Gap treaty.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Eurico Guterres, the well-connected militia leader, was questioned by four Indonesian prosecutors yesterday about his role in an East Timor massacre last year and more recent violence in West Timor.

Dili - A small group of New Zealand soldiers shot and killed an armed militia member near Suai, East Timor, last night. The New Zealand Defence Force said in a statement today that none of the soldiers were injured in the 11pm incident about 4.5km north of Suai, where New Zealand troops are based near the West Timor border.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Timorese militia leader Eurico Guterres was arrested yesterday, two days after being named as a suspect in the violence that followed last year's independence vote in East Timor.

Max Lane – The release of Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) documents on East Timor for the period 1974-76 has provoked former Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and former Australian ambassador to Indonesia Richard Woolcott to try to defend their abandonment of democratic principles in relation to East Timor.

Jon Land – Nothing can highlight more the failure of the Indonesian government to rein in the pro-Jakarta militias operating in West Timor than the sham weapons handover that began on September 22. The first three-day "persuasive" phase of the handover has been followed by an equally farcical "forceful" seizure of weapons by Indonesian security forces.

Mark Dodd, Malibaka – It is only 8am but the sun is scorching, and the 23 East Timorese refugees squat in the shade at the Malibaka River checkpoint after crossing back into their homeland. Australian soldiers offer water and search their belongings for hidden weapons, but those returning are mostly old men, women and children. Nothing suspicious is found.

Jakarta – Former leader of East Timor's Aitarak militia Eurico Guterres warned here Monday that his supporters in West Timor could try to take over an East Timor district if he was arrested.

Jakarta – Under international pressure to rein in troublesome militias, Jakarta extended security operations to disarm the West Timor population but on Monday firmly laid the blame for the problem with the international community.

Chong Chee Kin, Dili – In a soft, quavering voice, Mr Jose Armando pleaded for a job in front of a group of journalists who had stopped at Kampung Baru, a village in the capital of Dili in East Timor.

Associated Press in Kupang – A notorious militia leader surrendered a handgun to police on Saturday after Indonesia's president threatened to have him arrested if he refused.

Associated Press at the United Nations – Britain joined the United States in warning overnight that Indonesia risked losing foreign aid if it doesn't immediately disarm militias and arrest those responsible for killing UN aid workers and wreaking havoc in Timorese refugee camps.

Vaudine England and Associated Press in Kupang – Two days after the start of what was supposed to be a campaign to forcibly disarm East Timorese militiamen in West Timor, Indonesian police said yesterday they had netted only 21 weapons, all of which were surrendered voluntarily.

Mark Dodd, Suai – Dead men tell no tales, according to the adage, but the body of a dead militiaman can reveal a bounty of information. For the present he is an unknown warrior who was among a group ambushed by New Zealand peacekeepers.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Indonesia yesterday failed to meet its deadline to disarm Timorese militias, despite increasing international pressure on Jakarta to rein in the army gangs.

Police sources in the border town of Atambua said that security forces were still carrying out shack-to-shack searches for weapons using metal detectors.

United Nations – The UN official running East Timor, Sergio Vieira de Mello, reiterated on Friday that he was "skeptical" about the ability of the Indonesian army to disband militias in West Timor.

Mark Dodd, Dili – Falintil guerillas, acting as scouts for Portuguese peacekeepers, have for the first time opened fire on suspected militia members conducting cross-border raids from West Timor.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Eurico Guterres, the swaggering militia leader blamed for atrocities in East and West Timor who continues to thumb his nose at authorities, has threatened to mobilise his followers against Indonesia's regional police post.

Jon Land – Negotiations on the future of the Timor Gap Treaty between the Australian government, the United Nations Transitional Administration for East Timor (UNTAET) and East Timorese representatives are set to resume on October 9-11 in Dili.

Vanja Tanaja, Dili – The newest addition to East Timor's political landscape was declared formally at the National Council of Timorese Resistance headquarters on September 20: the Social Democratic Party (PSD).

The founders and key leaders of the PSD are leaders of CNRT: Mario Carrascalao, Agio Pereira, Leandro Isaac and Zacarias da Costa.

Lindsay Murdoch – The Whitlam Government gave Jakarta every indication that Australia favoured Indonesia's 1975 invasion of East Timor, according to Indonesia's former foreign minister, Mr Ali Alatas. He says Australia felt East and West Timor shared a common race and culture, so "it would be better for East Timor to join Indonesia".

Dili – The head of the UN mission in East Timor on Monday branded Indonesian attempts to disarm pro-Jakarta militias as "pathetic" after two UN observers fled a militia riot at a West Timor police station.

Mark Dodd, Oecussi – It is the dry season and the villagers of Malelat, a remote collection of thatched huts amid parched mountains, are discussing an impending problem.

Washington – Senior US government officials are actively considering steps, including moving to postpone next month's donors' meeting for Indonesia, if the government of President Abdurrahman Wahid does not follow through on a pledge to disarm militia forces in West Timor and take strong measures to improve a deteriorating human-rights situation throughout the archipelago.

Atambua – Bowing to international pressure, Indonesia has begun to disarm pro-Jakarta Timorese militias even as Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman said that the Indonesian Military (TNI) should not continue denying that it has a connection with militias currently operating in West Timor.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Several soldiers are among six suspects being questioned by Indonesian authorities over the murder of UN relief workers and an East Timorese militia leader in West Timor, it emerged yesterday.

Bruce Haigh, Sydney – Critics of the Federal Government's failed policies towards Indonesia and East Timor have been targeted by the Government. The Federal Police have issued warrants to search for documents in the homes of people suspected of dealing with "secret" information relating to Indonesia and East Timor. I am one of those people named.

Calvin Sims, Jakarta – Indonesia, September 20 Tens of thousands of East Timor refugees living in squalid camps on the West Timor border face starvation by the end of the month, government officials and aid workers on the divided island said today.

Mark Riley, New York – Indonesia has ordered the West Timorese militia to surrender their arms or have them forcibly removed, as the Wahid Government moves to avert the threat of economic and military sanctions.

Max Lane – Prime Minister John Howard's Coalition government has released foreign affairs documents relating to the 1974-76 period in a cynical ploy to use Australian people's outrage at the 1975 invasion and occupation of East Timor to score points against the "opposition" Labor Party.

Jon Land – When news of the killings in West Timor of workers from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) by pro-Jakarta militia reached Prime Minister John Howard, he acted quickly to show support for the Indonesian government and defend the ability of the Indonesian military (TNI) to resolve the crisis.

Andrea Hopkins, Canberra – Secret files released on Tuesday show the Australian government lied about its knowledge of the murder of five journalists in East Timor weeks before Indonesia invaded in late 1975, political analyst Des Ball said.

David Lague – Four key government intelligence experts on East Timor were named in the warrant police used on Saturday to search a Federal Opposition staff member's home in an inquiry into official leaks that last year embarrassed the Howard Government.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government's plan to resettle pro-Jakarta militias and more than 100,000 refugees on an island just 60 km north of East Timor has been rejected by several leaders of the group, who argue that the move would not solve their problems.

Mark Dodd, Dili – United Nations police in East Timor have opened a formal investigation into the 1975 killing of five Australian-based journalists at Balibo and say they may lay charges within the next month.

Alan Ramsey – It was never a secret. If you were around at the time with your eyes and your brain open, you'll remember. If you weren't or didn't, then go back and look at the headlines. They weren't all about the political hysteria of sending the Whitlam Government to the stake. East Timor was big news, too.

Jakarta – Indonesia's defense minister has accused foreign powers of inciting rioters to murder three UN aid workers in West Timor last week, media reports said Friday, ostensibly to stop East Timor from returning to Indonesian rule.

Bertil Lintner, Maliana – An Australian soldier holds his finger tightly on the trigger of his automatic rifle, watching with his unit for movement in the brush across the stream that separates East and West Timor. The threat is real.