Indonesia's vice president Hamzah Haz has lashed out at the US-led war against Iraq, calling President George W Bush the "king of terrorists".

Mr Haz says the United States has always boasted about upholding human rights and democracy, yet it invades Iraq without United Nations approval.

Jakarta – At least 18,500 schoolchildren – some as young as seven – are believed to use drugs in Indonesia, National Narcotics Agency chief Togar Sianipar has said.

"From that number, primary school students account for about 1,000, junior high school students around 7,500 and senior high school around 10,000," Mr Sianipar was quoted as saying by the Antara news agency.

Dili – An East Timorese court on Saturday sentenced a senior militia leader to 12 years in prison for crimes against humanity committed during the country's bloody break from Indonesia in 1999.

Jose Cardosa Fereira was found guilty of murder, rape and torture against East Timorese civilians who supported the territory's independence from Indonesia .

Jakarta – Gunmen believed to be separatist rebels shot dead two soldiers during an attempt early Friday to steal weapons from a military post in Papua province, the military said.

Surabaya – The team of lawyers for the seven members of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) accused of killing pro-independence Papua figure Dortheys "Theys" Hiyo Eluway, have appealed to judges to be fair in imposing punishment on their clients. One of the lawyers, Mario Bernardo, said he suspected political pressure had led to the trial.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Abu Bakar Bashir had no reason to look lonely as he sat facing the judges who could lock him up for life. After all, he's got 80 lawyers on his team, and nearly a quarter of them were lined up beside him in rows three deep.

Robert Go, Jakarta – The truce that Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels signed last December is already showing wear and tear as Aceh looks to be nowhere near peace.

Although the pact has dramatically reduced the level of violence in the province, there is more distrust between the two sides than ever before.

Nani Farida and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Banda Aceh/Jakarta – Violence continues to pose a threat to the five-month-old peace accord in Aceh as a fresh firefight took place in Pidie regency on Thursday, claiming the lives of three alleged Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members.

Jakarta – A director with Indonesia's central bank was jailed yesterday for three years after being found guilty of corruption in failing to properly monitor insolvent banks during the regional financial crisis.

Heru Supraptomo is the second central bank director jailed this week. Fellow Bank Indonesia (BI) supervision director Hendro Budianto was sentenced on Tuesday.

The ceasefire in Aceh's separatist war looked fragile after Indonesian police shot dead three rebels in the seventh armed clash in a week.

Security forces and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have yet to agree on a demilitarisation plan for the province, almost two months after a crucial phase of the December 9 peace pact began.

Pekanbaru, Riau – Thousands of field workers of American mining company PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia (CPI) threatened on Tuesday to go strike if the management went ahead with its decision to cut the days off in the company.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights declared on Tuesday that gross human rights violations had occurred during massive riots in Jakarta in May 1998, which preceded the fall of long-time ruler Soeharto.

Max Lane – Todung Mulya Lubis makes some sensible points in his interview with The Jakarta Post on March 31. For example, he is correct to question the usefulness of a boycott of American goods – at least, at this point of time.

The National Human Rights Commission, Komnas HAM has called on the government to explain what has happened to information or intelligence reports about persons deemed to be political enemies of the Old Order. Such data should be declared invalid and totally destroyed.

Thousands of Indonesians staged protests in several cities as the US-led war against Iraq entered its third week, with some burning President George W. Bush in effigy.

David Rood – East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao said yesterday he opposed Australia's involvement in the US-led war on Iraq.

Mr Gusmao's views appear to conflict with those of his Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, who has previously endorsed the use of force in Iraq.

Nani Farida and Tiarma Siboro, Banda Aceh/Jakarta – Activists representing 41 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Aceh have launched a month-long campaign to save the five-month-old peace agreement that has nearly ended almost three decades of armed conflict there.

Jakarta – Indonesia's security minister has warned that a recent peace deal between the government and rebels in Aceh province could break down because of repeated violations by the guerillas.

Police in Indonesia say a Muslim hardliner believed to be close to the Jemaah Islamiah terrorist network has been reported as missing.

Lamkaruna Putra recently reported the alleged abduction of his father, Fauzi Hasbi, alias Abu Jihad, to national police headquarters. The alleged abduction occurred on February 23. The reason for the delay in reporting is not clear.

Jakarta – A parliamentary panel drafting an education Bill is retaining a controversial article requiring missionary schools to provide religious instruction in the pupils' own religion despite opposition from educators and mission schools.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – As Balinese prepare for the year 1925 on the Saka calendar, young men in every neighborhood banjar are busy building and displaying ogoh-ogoh, the colorful bamboo and papier mache demon effigies featured in celebrations leading to Nyepi, the day of silence marking the new year.

Indonesia's defence ministry has defended a policy document which calls for the military's close scrutiny of civilian affairs to be maintained.

Dili – An East Timor-Australia treaty that serves as the basis for the development of the major oil and gas deposits in the Timor Sea between the two countries came into force Wednesday.

Jakarta – Indonesian police have stepped up security at vital installations in Medan after two bombings within 24 hours.

The first explosion rocked the parking lot of the Medan city administration's offices on Monday afternoon, shattering windows and damaging two cars. No one was hurt.

Paul Kelly – Iraq is not the only humanitarian issue facing the Howard Government today. East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao made an urgent and desperate appeal to Australia last week and failed to raise a flicker of media interest.

Kalinga Seneviratne, Sydney – Australia's international profile, already hurt by criticism against its role in the US-led invasion of Iraq, is under fire for is its desire to boot out East Timorese asylum seekers who fled the former Indonesian territory more than a decade ago.

Indonesia has expressed alarm at the opening of a Papuan People's office in Vanuatu.

The Indonesian embassy in Canberra has issued a statement saying it may review diplomatic ties with Vanuatu.

It says it learned from credible sources the office was set up in the capital Port Vila last week. Indonesia has asked the government of Vanuatu for an explanation.

Soldiers in Indonesia have killed two suspected rebels in the province of Aceh.

A police official says the two Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels were shot dead after they attacked soldiers investigating reports of blackmail by GAM in the Pidie district. Soliders confiscated an automatic rifle from the scene.

Not one charge has been laid in Sydney since the post-Bali raids on six Indonesian families, but 255 Indonesians have been locked up since and the community feels under siege. Now some have even lost trust in each other. Linda Morris writes.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government launched on Monday a white paper on defense strategy, which calls for maintaining the military's much-criticized territorial function.

Police in the Indonesian province of Papua say the accidental discovery of a cache of illegal explosives has led to fears of covert militia activity in the region. Police say tribal leaders in the coastal town of Sorong, where police have arrested a local businessman and Islamic politician, have raised the concerns.

The First Commission of the Papuan Legislative Assembly and human rights activists in Papua have expressed alarm about plans to send one thousand more soldiers to Papua.

Ed Aspinall – Immediately after the bombings in Bali on 12 October, there was much speculation in the foreign, especially Australian, press, that this was a watershed event for Indonesian politics. Nothing in the country would now be the same, or so the commentators argued.

Medan (Agencies) – A strong explosion rocked the back parking lot of mayoralty building here on Monday, injuring one people, agencies reported.

Antara reported the blast in late afternoon damaged two cars and injured a staff of the city administration. The blast came from a bomb which was laid down at a bicycle in the parking lot.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia launches its election process today, beginning a census of its 210 million citizens and the registration of about 130 million people eligible to vote in April next year.

The plan, according to elections commission KPU, is to send 230,000 bureaucrats door-to-door with questionnaires, in the cities, rural areas and jungles.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Life for Jakartans will get tougher starting this month as they face a 40 percent increase in water charges and a 20 percent increase in bus fares.

Jakarta – The Central Jakarta District Court sentenced six members of the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) on Monday to six months in jail for an attack on the offices of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) last year.

The United States State Department says serious human rights abuses occured in Indonesia last year.

It says Indonesian soldiers and police murdered, tortured, raped, beat and arbitrarily detained civilians and members of separatist movements.

Jakarta – A group of migrant workers officially established an organization on Saturday to help them in their struggle for justice and fair treatment.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Jakarta's main thoroughfares turned into seas of humanity as hundreds of thousands of people from various religions and ethnic groups took to the streets in the country's largest ever rally to protest the US-led war in Iraq.

Jakarta – Around 1 million people – originating form at least 25 political parties and social organisations – held a demonstration in Jakarta on Sunday, in the framework of opposing the US invasion of Iraq.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – With Muslims in Indonesia becoming increasingly devout in recent decades, an exclusively Islamic market has now evolved, offering strictly halal products. They range from exclusive Islamic housing estates to cosmetics and foodstuff.

Take Pusaka Tradisi Ibu, a company that produces the only beauty products in the country with a halal certificate.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – At a glance, Vila Ilhami is a typical housing estate, one of the dozens developed on the outskirts of Jakarta in the past decade to cater to the ever growing number of middle-class families.

Jakarta – The country's four largest political parties organized separate events over the weekend as they begin to gather pace for the general election in April 2004.

East Timor became a fully independent republic on May 20, following approximately 2½ years under the authority of the U.N. Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). The country has a parliamentary form of government with its first parliament formed from the 88-member Constituent Assembly chosen in free and fair, U.N-supervised elections in August 2001.

Banda Aceh – A separatist rebel hacked a soldier to death with a machete before being shot dead in the troubled Aceh province, the military said Saturday.

Ambon – Maluku island in Indonesia's Maluku province has been declared a foreigner-free zone, head of the provincial immigration office Wiryono said here on Saturday.

Foreigners who want to visit Maluku island should obtain permission from the Civilian Emergency Authority in Ambon, he was quoted by Antara as saying.

Washington (Agencies) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday approved a fresh loan worth US$469 million to Indonesia, bringing its total lending to about US$3.5 billion under the current US$5 billion loan program for the country.

Around 200,000 people gathered in front of the United States embassy in the Indonesian capital in the biggest anti-war rally yet in the world's largest Muslim-populated nation.

The protestors gathered in the sprawling Monas square facing the US embassy, guarded by police wielding batons and shields.

Dean Yates and Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – More than 100,000 angry Indonesians, many carrying young children, jammed the streets of Jakarta on Sunday, shouting anti-American slogans and waving protest banners over the war in Iraq.