Lindsay Murdoch, Dili – Indonesia's top officials in East Timor are preparing to reject the outcome of Monday's ballot on the territory's future, claiming the way the United Nations will count the votes is flawed.

Tim Johnston, Dili – A leading opponent of East Timorese independence said on Tuesday that a narrow loss in next Monday's ballot on the future status of the troubled territory would lead to a renewed guerrilla war.

The warning came as Indonesia's military warned that militants on both sides were out to provoke violence in the troubled territory.

Gay Alcorn, Washington – The Clinton administration said today that, on a practical level, it was too late for an armed United Nations peacekeeping force to enter East Timor before Monday's historic ballot, but said nothing about the possibility of a force immediately after the vote.

Convinced they will win a historic UN-supervised referendum by a landslide next week, up to 10,000 jubilant supporters of independence for East Timor defied threats by rivals and choked the streets of Dili on Wednesday.

Jeremy Wagstaff, Dili – The United Nations mission in East Timor has refused applications by 24 Indonesian government-linked youth groups to send observers to this month's referendum on the future of East Timor, in a move likely to deepen a rift between the UN team and Jakarta.

Peter Cole-Adams – The Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Downer, telephoned his Indonesian counterpart, Mr Ali Alatas, last night to repeat Australia's concern over security breakdowns in East Timor.

The recent surge of violence in East Timor is part of a deliberate pattern to scare voters away from participating in the August 30 referendum on the territory's future status, the United Nations said on Monday.

Mark Dodd – After 24 years of fighting for independence, a senior commander of one of the world's most enduring guerilla groups says he is considering what once seemed unthinkable – a return to a normal life cut short when Indonesian troops stormed ashore in East Timor in 1975.

Jill Jolliffe, Darwin – Almost exactly 24 years ago, Darwin was put to the test when thousands of traumatised East Timorese refugees fleeing civil war landed from every imaginable type of vessel, only eight months after Cyclone Tracy had almost wiped the city from the face of the earth.

Lindsay Murdoch, Dili Armed militias massing in East Timor near the western border plan to go to war to stop the territory they hold becoming independent, United Nations officials have warned.

Jakarta – A pro-Indonesia group has called on the United Nations to count the votes at next week's self-determination ballot at the stations where they are cast, the state Antara news agency said Sunday.

Mark Dodd – With 10 days remaining before East Timor votes on self-determination, the head of the United Nations mission in Dili, Mr Ian Martin, has called for the removal of Indonesian Army personnel involved in deadly pro-Jakarta militia violence.

Dili – Armed pro-Indonesian militia attacked a crowd of people outside a church compound in the East Timor town of Suai, leaving several injured, a rights group said here.

Don Greenlees – Several hundred East Timorese militiamen handed over a motley collection of homemade pistols and rifles at a military-style parade in Dili yesterday in a symbolic gesture of compliance with agreements to disarm ahead of the August 30 ballot.

The popular consultation moved into a new phase this week, with the end of the registration process and the beginning of the political campaign period, which is scheduled to run through August 27.

Dili – The 24th anniversary of East Timor's main armed separatist group, Falintil, was marked Friday with flag raisings, weddings and baptism across the territory.

Sidney Jones, Hong Kong – On August 30, barring further delays, the people of East Timor will vote on whether they wish to remain part of Indonesia as an autonomous region or form an independent state. Virtually all eligible voters, almost 450,000, have now registered, despite violence and intimidation from Indonesian army-backed groups to prevent them from doing so.

Stephen Spencer, Canberra – Foreign Minister Alexander Downer today lashed out at critics of Australia's East Timor policy in an extraordinarily bitter speech that also branded his opposition counterpart Laurie Brereton loopy.

There will be fierce retaliation if Jakarta thwarts East Timor's independence ballot, writes Jose Ramos Horta.

The ballot to determine East Timor's future could turn into the biggest electoral fraud of modern times. Intimidation and violence remain widespread ahead of the August 30 referendum, despite the repeated promises by Indonesian authorities to end the terror.

Mark Dodd – Indonesia marked its independence anniversary in East Timor yesterday in a gala ceremony that may be its last in the troubled territory, which is less than a fortnight away from the United Nations-organised ballot on self-determination.

Washington – Indonesia is failing to protect voters in East Timor against widespread harassment ahead of an August 30 referendum on the disputed territory's future, Amnesty International asserted Wednesday.

The human rights organization cited "unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests and disappearances," including a new outbreak of violence earlier Wednesday.

The first half of 1999 has seen an alarming escalation of human rights violations in East Timor. The East Timor Human Rights Centre (ETHRC) today launched a new report detailing this serious rise in violations between January to June 1999.

Yenny Zannuba, Jakarta – Detained East Timorese leader Xanana Gusmao has warned that his forces will track down and kill Indonesian soldiers caught supplying weapons to rival pro-Jakarta militias.

United Nations – In an effort to prevent retaliation against voters, the results of East Timor's upcoming ballot won't contain a geographic breakdown of independence supporters and opponents, a senior UN official said Tuesday.

Marianne Kearney, Dili – Despite a huge turnout at an independence rally in Dili on Saturday, leaders of East Timor's independence movement (CNRT) announced they would not stage campaign rallies, due to fear of attacks by pro-autonomy groups.

Mark Dodd, Dili – More than 4,000 exuberant East Timorese crammed around a small waterfront office in Dili yesterday, watching as the independence flag was raised for the first time in 23 years, marking the beginning of the Falintil party's referendum campaign.

Dili – Seven men accused of taking part in a militia attack on a humanitarian aid convoy in East Timor have been jailed for four months, a UN spokesman said Sunday.

The accused were ordered to serve their sentences "with no time off," David Wimhurst, spokesman for the UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET), told AFP. He did not elaborate on when the sentences were handed down.

Mark Dodd, Dili – East Timor's military commander has been recalled on the eve of the political campaign leading up to the August 30 referendum to decide the territory's future.

Canberra – Australia said on Friday it appeared the Indonesian military was becoming less involved with East Timor's pro-Jakarta militias, accused by the United States of intimidation ahead of an August independence ballot.

Jakarta – The United Nations has endorsed the setting up of a special council to oversee the disputed region of East Timor after it holds an August 30 ballot on independence, a top UN official said on Friday.

Mark Dodd, Dili – Two students were killed after an attack by pro-Indonesian militia on Wednesday which has raised serious questions about the impartiality of local police in the lead-up to the ballot on East Timor's future.

Sydney – Foreign Minister Alexander Downer was accused Tuesday of deceit after being forced to admit he was wrong to deny that US officials had suggested Australian participation in a peacekeeping force for East Timor.

Dili – Indonesian opposition leader and presidential front-runner Megawati Sukarnoputri on Tuesday appealed to supporters in East Timor to vote for autonomy rather than independence in the territory's August 30 referendum.

Paul Daley, Canberra – American military officials told Australian defence strategists in June that the US would consider deploying up to 15,000 troops to East Timor, if bloodshed dramatically escalated in the troubled Indonesian province.

Canberra – The United States denied a newspaper report Tuesday that it told Australian defense strategists in June it would consider deploying up to 15,000 troops to East Timor if bloodshed escalated there.

Manila – Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas on Monday called "a myth" statements by East Timor's resistance leaders that the territory would vote overwhelmingly for independence if this month's ballot on self-rule was free.

Dili – Representatives from East Timor's rival political factions on Monday agreed to commit themselves and their supporters to a peaceful referendum campaign in the lead-up to a self-determination ballot scheduled for August 30.

Prapan Chankaew, Dili – Indonesian ministers insisted during a visit to East Timor on Saturday that Jakarta could ensure security despite attacks on UN staff and fears of chaos after an August 30 independence ballot.

Mark Riley, New York – The United Nations plans to withdraw completely from East Timor if the territory threatens to dissolve into civil war after this month's autonomy ballot.

This would leave the Indonesian Army in control of the region, irrespective of whether the people vote for independence or to become an autonomous state within Indonesia.

David Shanks – The Indonesian military is "openly and clearly distributing guns in the eastern towns of Baucau, Laga and other places. They are turning Timorese against Timorese. It is like hell," the Nobel laureate, Bishop Carlos Ximines Belo, said yesterday.

Vaudine England, Dili – Pressure to increase the number of UN civilian police officers is increasing in the wake of persistent reports of pro-integration militias preparing for conflict.

Jakarta – Pro-Indonesia East Timorese militia on Friday attacked a group of students in a church in the township of Same, injuring one of them seriously, a foreign observer group said.

A meeting of top military, police, pro-autonomy and paramilitary leaders, in East Timor, has planned a guerrilla war if the autonomy plan is rejected at the vote on the territory's future on Aug 30. Also the miltias have been instructed to use violent means to disrupt voting, with the help of the Indonesian military (TNI) and the police.

Lindsay Murdoch in Dili and Malcolm Brown – An American doctor credited with saving the lives of scores of East Timorese attacked by pro-Jakarta militias in Dili has been refused entry to Indonesia and put on a flight to Darwin.

John Martinkus, East Timor – They came in a snaking line across the high mountain pass. Exhausted but laughing, relieved to be at the end of a harrowing 20 kilometre walk.

[The following Memo was prepared by Tapol to reveal how the British Government continues to trot out totally misleading statements about the use of Hawk aircraft in East Timor.]

Dili – The Indonesian military continues to support militias that are harassing and intimidating East Timorese ahead of an independence vote, an agency headed by former US President Jimmy Carter said Tuesday.

[The following is an excerpt from the July 29 speach by Megawati Soekarnoputri "The People's Victory in the Election of 1999" on the issue of the East Timor ballot.]

Dili – The United Nations Monday declared the registration process for East Timor's August 30 ballot on independence a success, saying it had already registered almost all the expected voters.

Gwen Robinson, Sydney – The Australian government has stepped up its diplomatic involvement in the politically troubled regions of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, following visits by top officials to East Timor and PNG in the past few days.