Banda Aceh – A bloody clash between Indonesian troops and rebels in troubled Aceh killed at least 12 people, a military official said on Thursday, showing the war to crush the rebellion was far from over.

Robert Go, Jakarta – The harrowing tale of a Madurese woman who escaped from a brothel in Batam is throwing the spotlight yet again on the thousands of Indonesian women who go for lucrative job offers, but end up as prostitutes.

Jakarta (AFP) – Indonesian police said Friday that more than 100 civilians have been killed during a month-long military offensive to crush separatist rebels in Aceh province.

National police spokesman Col. Zainuri Lubis said the victims have been identified by their families, who denied they were members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Banda Aceh/Jakarta – Leading the life of a human rights activist working in war-torn Aceh is obviously not something that everyone is cut out for.

Intimidation, assault, abduction and even murder have long been occupational hazards for activists in the province, which has been the scene of a bloody conflict for over 27 years.

Bandung – Political analyst from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), J. Kristiadi, says that the national political situation following the 2004 elections will not produce in any changes to the quality of the country.

Mark Baker, Phnom Penh – Australia has chided regional governments for stalling moves to admit East Timor to their annual security talks with the United States, Japan and China.

The 23-member ASEAN regional forum voted on Wednesday to defer a decision on membership applications from East Timor, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Nur Raihan, Banda Aceh – Two volunteers from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Zakaria (72) and Nuraini (27), have been held by the Pidie district police since Friday morning.

Tiarma Siboro & Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta/Lhokseumawe – After one month attempting to crush independence rebels in Aceh, the Indonesian Military (TNI) says it is to change strategy so as to intensify night operations.

Pidie/Jakarta – While in most parts of Aceh people seek shelter to get away from the frequent gunfights between government troops and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) fighters, hundreds of residents in Pidie have been displaced following a military search for rebels.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government's restrictive policy on the presence of foreign journalists in covering the military offensive in Aceh could disrupt its own efforts to wage a clean war in the violence-torn province, says a press observer.

Matthew Moore – The Indonesian Government has issued new rules restricting access by foreigners to Aceh, but has not imposed a feared complete ban.

Jakarta – At least 34 million Indonesian children are living in poverty and badly need help, a cabinet member said on Wednesday.

Mark Baker, Phnom Penh – The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, has strongly defended the Indonesian military crackdown in Aceh and criticised the violent tactics of the province's secessionist rebels.

Meulaboh (Antara) – A commander of Aceh's separatist movement has surrendered to the Indonesian military, reportedly disillusioned by the rebel group's extortion and kidnapping activities, a military officer said here Thursday.

Sydney – Prime Minister John Howard on Thursday gave East Timor an open-ended commitment of military support. He said Australian troops might stay on in the world's newest country "for years". Of the 2,800 United Nations peacekeepers in the former Portuguese colony around 1,000 are Australian.

Arif Shodiq Pujiharto, Jakarta – They were intending to hold an action opposing violence against civilians in Aceh. But because they carried pictures of President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Vice-president Hamzah Haz which had been crossed out, two demonstrators were arrested by police.

Jakarta – During the period of the government of Megawati Sukarnoputri and Vice-president Hamzah Haz the use of the term political prisoner remains valid. Records since May 2003 indicate that 23 people have been detained as political prisoners, the vast majority being accused of insulting the head of state.

A key Bali bombing suspect said that Indonesian police threatened him with torture to try to make him incriminate elderly cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.

Amrozi was giving evidence Thursday at the trial of Bashir, who is alleged to lead the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) regional terror network.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has come under fire from parliament for allegedly misusing the state budget funds and violating laws and procedures in the recent purchase of Russian jet fighters and military helicopters.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Investigation into human rights violations during May 1998 riots has met with strong resistance from military and police officers allegedly involved in the incident.

Max Lane – When Hasan de Tiro proclaimed the independent state of Aceh and launched the Aceh Sumatra National Liberation Front, also known as the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), in 1978, he attracted little support.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Phnom Penh – Indonesia won full support from the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) for its fight against the armed rebellion in Aceh.

Robert Go, Jakarta – An Indonesian journalist has declared himself to be the first victim of the authorities' efforts to clamp down on negative reporting – in particular, the coverage of atrocities allegedly committed by soldiers against civilians – coming out of the troubled province of Aceh.

YS Tong, Banda Aceh – Thousands of unarmed Acehnese civilians from Banda Aceh began to gather in a field as early as 7am on Tuesday for what has now become a routine activity since the military operation started in late May.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government issued on Tuesday a decree that restricts foreigners from traveling to the war-torn province of Aceh.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – The 2002 Indonesian environment status has listed gold and copper mining company PT Freeport Indonesia and illegal miners as environmental problem-makers in the country. The report, which will be released soon, states that Freeport tailings have polluted a nearby river.

James Balowski, Jakarta – Just hours after claiming significant progress in its operation to crush the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and its supporters, the Indonesian military (TNI) on June 9 lost seven soldiers in an ambush in the Bireuen regency in northern Aceh.

Acehnese refugees forced into camps to escape fighting between Indonesian troops and separatist rebels are suffering health problems due to overcrowding and lack of clean water.

Almost 41,000 people have been moved into the tented camps, sometimes against their will, during the first month of a major offensive to crush the Free Aceh Movement.

The "integrated operation", including a military approach in Aceh, was a hard decision to take. Unlike military operations under the New Order, these operations are open to media coverage. The Jakarta Post's Ati Nurbaiti talked to lawyer and human rights activist Todung Mulya Lubis on how he perceives the coverage on the issue so far.

Banda Aceh – Indonesian Red Cross workers have removed 194 bodies from conflict zones in the western province of Aceh since a military offensive against rebels there began last month, the Red Cross said on Wednesday.

Michael Casey, Jakarta, Indonesia – An American journalist on the run with rebels in Aceh province said Wednesday that Indonesia's military wants to detain him on trumped-up charges and possibly shoot him.

Freelance journalist William Nessen defied a military order to surrender to the army by June 14, saying he first needs assurances he will not be jailed.

Jakarta – Most of the human rights workers in Aceh feel threatened with arbitrary arrest if they try to continue working in war-torn Aceh as the martial law administration in the province has alleged that they are involved with armed separatists.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – The United States has expressed concern over Indonesia's apparent lack of will to prosecute military personnel implicated in past human rights abuses, saying it would hamper the democracy that has flourished in the country since 1998.

Dili – At least one person is dead and about 600 people are homeless after torrential rain lashed parts of East Timor at the weekend, the United Nations Dili mission announced Wednesday.

The heavy rain, unusual for June, hit three districts south and southeast of Dili, destroying homes, crops, roads and left large numbers of cattle dead.

More than 600 people in East Timor have been made homeless by severe monsoonal flooding.

Anne Barker reports one person has died and two more are missing. The United Nations says unseasonal rains in East Timor's south have caused widespread damage to crops, livestock, houses and roads.

East Timor is open for business, the world's newest nation said today. The nation was aiming to attract foreign investment in agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, tourism and the petroleum support industry as it struggles to achieve financial independence, East Timor Secretary of State for Investment Jose Teixiera said today.

Banda Aceh, Aceh – Some 507 school buildings have been set on fire in 10 districts in Aceh since the Indonesian government launched a military offensive in the restive province on May 19, leaving 70,000 students with no place to study.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – Air pollution in major cities in Indonesia has been worsening in the past few years due to increasing levels of pollutants mainly emanating from motorized vehicles, the government has said.

A major Indonesian military assault on separatist rebels in Aceh province could continue for five more months, the army and armed forces chiefs said.

Berni K. Moestafa, Lhokseumawe – Indonesia's most sophisticated jet fighters dropped bombs and fired rockets at rebel positions on Monday, in their first airstrike during the first month of war against Free Aceh Movement (GAM) units.

Monday's airstrike was the first time that the American F-16 Fighting Falcon was used in combat since Indonesia purchased the jets in 1996.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The central government should intensify its communication with the international community and win the hearts of Papuan people, instead of employing a military approach, to crush the Free Papua Movement (OPM), according to community and religious leaders in Papua.

Jakarta – Soon after unveiling its findings in a recent investigation in Aceh last week, members of the National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM) have been threatened against speaking out further about any possible human rights violations in the war-torn province.

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – Resolving the conflict in Aceh through war will only increase the number of civilian casualties.

For this reason, around 200 students from the Peace Committee for Humanity (Komite Perdamian untuk Kemanusiaan, KPK) held a demonstration calling for the war between the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to be stopped.

The government's announcement that Acehnese working for the administration must undergo special screenings is the latest in a series of measures, introduced since the imposition of martial law, that will only further alienate the people of Aceh.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The central government and the martial law administration in Aceh will expand the scope of a proposed screening program to local elected representatives and village heads in the war-torn province.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – An American freelance journalist who has spent five weeks with Acehnese separatist rebels says the fighting and casualties are much more extensive than reported and the rebels retain overwhelming support among villagers.

Berni K. Moestafa, Lhokseumawe – Over 10,000 Acehnese people staying in a refugee camp in Bireuen regency are facing a shortage of clean water as the military offensive enters its fifth week.

Central Jakarta District Court has sentenced a Muslim activist to five months in jail for insulting President Megawati Sukarnoputri during an anti-government protest.

Iqbal Siregar (36), a member of the Islamic Youth Movement (Gerakan Pemuda Islam, GPI) was arrested after participating in a January 15 demonstration against fuel price increases.

Indonesia says Australian Government aid money has been used to help seperatist movements in Indonesia. The head of the Indonesian embassy in Canberra, Imron Cotan, says the Australian aid bureau, AusAid, has given funds to two Non-Government Organisations which support rebel movements. AusAid has denied that any aid funding has been used contrary to Indonesian law.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – A journalist-producer with SCTV television station has claimed he was dismissed due to an interview he did with a victim of a past military operation in Aceh to make the Indonesian Military (TNI) consider civilian victims during its current operation to crush Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels.