Jakarta – Troops in the troubled Indonesian territory of East Timor were hunting for rebels who killed three soldiers and were holding two hostage, reports said Thursday.

Michael Thurston, Austria – UN-sponsored talks between East Timorese leaders broke down Tuesday without agreement on their demands for the future of the former Portuguese colony, delegates said.

Agencies in Dili and Jakarta – East Timorese resistance leader Jose Ramos Horta claims Indonesian troops have launched a major offensive against separatist rebels in the province.

Sonny Inbaraj, Darwin – The disclosure of Indonesian army documents revealing higher than stated troop levels in East Timor grossly undermines Jakarta's credibility, amid sensitive talks over the territory's future.

Dili – Masked assassins killed an Indonesian policeman in the former Portuguese colony of East Timor Saturday a day after the stabbing murders of three other officials, reports said Sunday. Second Sergeant Josep Florindo Pereira was shot dead by five men believed to be pro-independence fighters at his home, the Antara state news agency and witnesses reported.

Don Greenlees and Robert Garran, Jakarta/Canberra – The leak of confidential Indonesian army documents on troop numbers in East Timor yesterday appeared to throw the armed forces headquarters in Dili into confusion.

David Brearley – Australia's Timorese community was celebrating a victory last night it hopes will open the nation's doors to 1500 asylum seekers and free them from legal limbo.

Karen Polglaze and Buni Yani, Jakarta – Indonesia admitted for the first time today that as many as 18,000 troops may be deployed in East Timor.

Don Greenlees – Confidential Indonesian army documents show the number of combat troops in East Timor has remained steady in recent months, in an embarrassing rebuttal of Jakarta's claims to have started troop withdrawals.

A former Australian diplomat says Australia's Foreign Affairs Department has maintained sensitive files on East Timor. The diplomat says the files showed Australia had prior knowledge of – and agreed with – Indonesia's invasion of East Timor, and, that Foreign Affairs knew years ago that Indonesian soldiers had killed 5 Australian-based journalists.

Louise Williams, Jakarta – Indonesian community groups have for the first time formally joined East Timorese activists in calling for a referendum on independence for the troubled province, saying the East Timorese conflict remains a "major problem" for Jakarta.

Washington (Agencies) – The United States on Wednesday banned the use in East Timor of weapons supplied to Indonesia and continued a ban on education and training aid to the Indonesian Armed Forces.

Don Greenlees, Jakarta – Indonesia backed away yesterday from claims President B. J. Habibie offered to open an investigation into the killings of the Balibo Five during the initial, covert phase of the invasion of East Timor in 1975.

Dili – An assistant to the UN secretary general said here Wednesday he has met jailed East Timorese resistance leader Xanana Gusmao at his Jakarta jail.

"I went to jakarta to hear the comments of Xanana (Gusmao) on the results of the Senior official meeting," said Tamrat Samuel, the UN secretary general's assistant on political affairs for Asia and the Pacific.

By Louise Williams in Jakarta and James Woodford in Canberra – A senior minister in the Habibie Government has flatly denied new allegations that he supervised the killing of five Australian-based journalists in East Timor, but President B.J. Habibie has promised to re-examine the deaths during the 1975 Indonesian invasion.

Louise Williams, Los Palos – Less than two weeks after the brass bands and media circus of Indonesia's "goodwill" withdrawal of combat troops from East Timor in July, a big barge slid silently to shore under the cover of darkness on the lonely, distant coast to the east.

Sydney – East Timorese leaders in Australia criticised on Thursday Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas two-day meeting with about 60 East Timorese representatives in Bali earlier this week. The representatives of the East Timorese resistance movement complained that they had been informed for the meeting, which began on Thursday, a mere 24 hours in advance.

Tommy Ardiansyah, Dili – East Timor spiritual leader Bishop Carlos Belo on Thursday urged an end to Indonesian military activity in the troubled territory amid reports of fresh armed clashes with rebels.

Sydney – The Indonesian authorities announced on Monday the detachment of four mobile police brigades (BRIMOV) in the occupied territory of East Timor, according to Indonesia's national news agency, Antara.

Dili – About 15,000 East Timorese staged a second consecutive day of protest today and demanded the provincial governor quit over a threat to fire government employees who support an independence referendum for the troubled territory.

Jakarta – Thousands of protestors rallied in the troubled East Timorese capital of Dili Sunday demanding the replacement of the Indonesian government-appointed governor of the territory, a resident source said.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military denied reports it had launched attacks against separatist rebels in the troubled territory, the official Antara news agency reported on Sunday.

"There were no assaults or armed clashes," East Timor military commander Colonel Tono Suratman was quoted as telling reporters in the territory's capital of Dili on Saturday.

Andrew Perrin, Dili – Tension was rising last night following accusations of a major military offensive against Timorese resistance forces in the past two weeks.

Jakarta – Some 400 East Timorese students studying in neighboring Indonesian West Timor have returned home after being terrorized by men dressed in black "ninja" suits, the Kompas daily reported Saturday.

Jakarta – Sixteen inmates escaped from an Indonesian prison in the troubled territory of East Timor today as the population of the main city of Dili launched a "silent protest" against the Jakarta-appointed governor.

United Nations – Portugal and Indonesia reviewed proposals for autonomy for the disputed territory of East Timor but came to no decision during three days of talks ending on Thursday, a UN official said.

Richard Lloyd Parry, Jakarta – The Indonesian government is covertly sending thousands of combat troops into the occupied territory of East Timor in what looks alarmingly like a preparation for a military offensive, according to Western diplomats in Jakarta.

Jakarta – Indonesia said on Tuesday it would not allow a referendum on independence for East Timor, and a dispute over the restive province would remain deadlocked unless Portugal accepted Indonesia's proposals to settle the issue.

Lisbon – A leader of East Timor's guerillas said Tuesday that the armed struggle for independence would continue because Indonesia has refused to negotiate an end to Jakarta's rule in the half-island territory.

Lisbon – East Timor guerrilla chief Taur Matan Ruak said on Tuesday that Indonesia's offer of autonomy could be a basis for talks but offered no ultimate solution to the future of the disputed territory.

"I accept (autonomy) but not as a final solution," Matan Ruak said in an interview with Portuguese state radio RDP-Internacional from his mountain hideout in Timor.

Jakarta – A group of university graduates in the troubled territory of East Timor have set up a forum advocating a referendum on self determination for the former Portuguese colony, reports said here Monday.

Dili – The nephew of an independence rebel leader has charged the Indonesian military were holding the former Fretelin commander and demanded his release, a copy of a statement said here Sunday.

Jakarta – East Timor can use Indonesia's offer of autonomy to the former Portuguese colony to create a "climate of tolerance" to prepare for self-determination, says resistance leader Xanana Gusmao.

Jakarta – Indonesia will release 15 East Timorese political prisoners next week, a visiting delegation from the International Federation of Human Rights said here Thursday.

Jakarta – Twenty six East Timorese political prisoners ended on Monday their two-week long hunger strike to press for the release of armed resistance leader Xanana Gusmao and other political prisoners in their occupied homeland, according to Jakarta's official news agency, Antara.

Macau – East Timorese Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate Jose Ramos Horta said on Tuesday that Jakarta was sending 3,000 new troops to his occupied home land.

Washington – More than 100 members of the US Congress have asked for the release of East Timor's jailed armed resistance leader Xanana Gusmao in messages addressed to US President Bill Clinton and Indonesian President Jusuf Habibie.

For the first time in 23 years, all of East Timor's major political parties have come together to discuss a reconciliation proposal.

Jailed East Timorese Resistance leader Xanana Gusmao said today that claims made by Indonesia of a large troop reduction in East Timor are false. He said 3,500 new Indonesian troops have been brought in the troubled territory, secretly, to replace the ones that left last month.

Dili – Five former political parties in the troubled territory of East Timor Wednesday announced the formation of a new national organisation and named jailed rebel leader Xanana Gusmao to head it.

Dili – The pro-Indonesian newspaper "Suara Timor Timur" (Voice of East Timor) in Dili on Wednesday published an interview with the second commander of the territory's guerrilla movement. Taur Matan Ruak. The report said the interview had been held last Sunday.

Jakarta – Fourteen prisoners in the troubled territory of East Timor on Thursday entered the fourth day of hunger strike to press for the release of jailed rebel leader Xanana Gusmao, an official said Thursday.

New York – East Timor's life expentancy is less than 50 years, according to a UN report released in New York on Wednesday.

The life expectancy for men in East Timor amount to just 46.6 years, while women in the territory occupied by Indonesia can expect to live average of 48.4 years. The life expentacy in Indonesia amounts to 63.3 years for men and 67 year for women.

Nearly 23 years after five Australian-based journalists were killed in East Timor, the International Commission of Jurists has found that doubts remain that Canberra is telling all it knows about the incident. In a special investigation, Foreign Editor Hamish McDonald uncovers some of the facts surrounding their deaths and traces a cover-up that continues to this day.

Fellow Countrymen – August 20 is the National Day of our glorious Armed Forces of National Liberation of East Timor, FALINTIL. Today, as in the future, the 20th of August will prevail in our minds as the day to remember all those who fell in defence of the sacred land of East Timor.

There has been a flurry of activity and announcements on East Timor since the resignation of Indonesian President Suharto, most recently with regard to the United Nations talks in New York on August 4 and 5. Many headlines greeted news of a possible autonomy agreement with enthusiasm.

The East Timor Human Rights Centre (ETHRC) today launched a new report on the current human rights situation in East Timor. The report documents human rights violations between January and June 1998 and assesses the Habibie's government's response to the human rights violations and its efforts to move towards a resolution of the conflict.

Uli Schmetzer – On the athletic field of this coastal town, Indonesian soldiers armed with American-made M-16 assault rifles and wearing steel helmets stood in the cool shade of teak trees as they made residents of this troubled island line up under the hot midday sun.

Jakarta – Some 100 East Timorese students from different universities in Indonesia protested Friday demanding the release of jailed rebel leader Xanana Gusmao and a referendum for the troubled territory.

Gustavo Capdevila, Geneva – Indonesia's government showed concrete evidence of its policy for gradual liberalisation on the human rights front, signing a co-operation agreement with the United Nations (UN) human rights entity.