Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – National Assembly (MPR) chairman Amien Rais said that Indonesia's highest legislative body will not hold a special session this year amid speculation that several groups were working behind the scenes to support one to topple President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Jakarta – The government has started seizing assets belonging to former President Suharto, a spokesman for the Attorney-General's Office said yesterday. "His assets in various forms have been seized," spokesman Yushar Yahya told the Indonesiakini online news service.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Thousands of becak drivers took to the streets of central Jakarta yesterday to demand that their pollution-free form of transport again be allowed to ply Jakarta's central streets.

Associated Press in Banda Aceh – A landmark trial of soldiers accused in the massacre of 57 students and teachers in strife- torn Aceh province resumed on Saturday amid tight security as protesters claimed the proceedings were staged.

Klaten – President Abdurrahman Wahid rebuked criticism of his support for the revocation of MPRS Decree No. 25/1965, saying Communist political parties should be banned not the ideology. "I need to put this in the correct perspective. Our constitution does not prohibit communism.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – In the face of strong public criticism, the Attorney-General has reorganised staff and departments to give greater priority to the corruption case against former president Suharto.

The most obvious move has been taking the head of the investigating team, Chairul Imam, off the case pending his planned retirement.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government is shifting two-thirds of the judges in Jakarta to other courts outside the island of Java in response to public pressure and criticism of some court rulings.

The massive reshuffle is set to affect 50 to 60 per cent of judges throughout Jakarta, including all the chiefs and deputies in the capital's five district courts.

Banda Aceh – Two policemen and a civilian were killed in the latest violence in Indonesia's strife-torn province of Aceh, police and witnesses said yesterday.

The killings occurred just hours after the opening on Wednesday of a landmark human rights trial in Banda Aceh in which 24 soldiers and a civilian are charged with massacring 57 unarmed villagers.

The Laskar Jihad, a 10,000-strong force, is preparing to travel to Indonesia's Maluku province in a stated attempt to end the simmering sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians. An initial 3,000 volunteers are to arrive as early as April 23, threatening to fuel problems in the strife-torn province.

Nicole Winfield, United Nations – The first militia leaders accused of serious crimes in East Timor are expected to be brought to trial before international and East Timorese judges by June or July, a senior UN official said.

Agence France Presse in Jakarta – Armed forces commander Admiral Widodo Adi Sudjipto reassured the nation yesterday that the military had no desire to return to politics, and would dismiss anyone who did.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – The fate of Kartini bin Karim acquires special symbolic importance today. Diplomatic efforts are under way to free the Indonesian migrant worker from a death sentence of stoning in the United Arab Emirates for alleged adultery.

Jakarta – Conduct will soon be added to grades to determine whether an Indonesian student achieves a pass mark, press reports said yesterday.

Besides a good academic performance, the education authorities will also consider a student's conduct or ethics to decide whether a pass mark is warranted, the Kompas daily said.

Jakarta – As a compromise to the intense calls for independence, resource-rich Irian Jaya is offering to remain within Indonesia if it retains a bigger portion of its own wealth, an initiative bill submitted by the province suggests.

Batujajar, Bandung – While suggesting that dialog between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) should continue, the Indonesian Military (TNI) have decided to send troops to the strife-torn province of Aceh.

Jakarta – Five non-governmental organizations criticized on Friday the government's draft of the law on the establishment of an anticorruption body, arguing it did not give enough power to the body to combat the crime.

[The following is a sidebar from the Red Cross 2001 World Disasters Report. The writer is a medical doctor who has worked in Afghanistan and East Timor.]

Jakarta – Thousands of teachers in Jakarta and other cities yesterday continued to protest over their low salaries, threatening to boycott this month's national exams, despite the government's promise to significantly increase their pay.

Jakarta – Political divisions are slowing economic reform in Indonesia, but this is unavoidable given the size of the nation's political transformation, State Enterprises Minister Laksamana Sukardi has said.

"What makes Indonesian progress and recovery so slow, compared to Thailand and South Korea, is that our leaders are not united," Mr Laksamana told a business forum.

Jakarta – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday that an independent body to oversee the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) must be established in a bid to ensure transparency and restore public trust in the agency.

Jakarta – Head of the feared Pemuda Pancasila organization Yorrys Raweyai, who was on Tuesday arrested by police, yesterday admitted the Jakarta Military Command had ordered him to mobilize his forces ahead of the July 27 riots of 1996.

Jakarta – A senior police officer has been removed from his post and up to 1,000 police and soldiers are being deployed ahead of the expected human rights trial today of soldiers in Indonesia's northern province of Aceh.

A police spokesman said the officer in charge of a crackdown on separatist rebels in violence-racked Aceh had been removed on presidential orders.

Sydney – An Australian soldier facing expulsion from East Timor for trying to be a "spymaster" was well-intentioned but misguided, former Interfet commander Major General Peter Cosgrove said Tuesday.

May Sari, Jakarta – A three-day strike by 1800 workers employed at the PT Isanti shoe factory in Semarang, Central Java, forced the company to grant 23 out of their 25 demands on April 11.

The strike was organised by the Central of Semarang Workers (PBS), affiliated with the militant independent union, National Front for Indonesian Workers' Struggle (FNPBI).

Palu – Sectarian riots continued sporadically in the Central Sulawesi town of Poso on Tuesday despite the heavy presence of security personnel. Antara reported that smoke was seen billowing from buildings across the paralyzed town. Markets and shops were closed as fearful residents stayed indoors.

Banda Aceh – At least eight people were killed and 18 others injured in the latest violence to rack the troubled Indonesian province of Aceh, police and residents said yesterday. Two explosive devices, believed to be hand grenades, were thrown at a guard post at a fertiliser plant near the main town of the North Aceh district, Lhokseumawe, on Monday night.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Six months after becoming Indonesia's first democratically elected president, Mr Abdurrahman Wahid, is facing mounting criticism from some of his once strongest Muslim allies, including the influential parliamentary Speaker, Dr Amien Rais.

Jakarta – Two witnesses on Tuesday testified in favor of Time magazine in a hearing of the 27 billion dollar defamation suit filed against the the US weekly by former Indonesian strongman Suharto.

Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid returned from a nine-day foreign tour on Monday amid rumors of intensive backroom dealings between major political parties to try to remove him from office.

Jakarta – Underpaid teachers will see a 300-per-cent increase in allowances, reports said yesterday as teachers in parts of the country began a three-day strike to demand better pay.

Hongkong – President Abdurrahman Wahid said Indonesia, China and India should go forward together with the help of Japanese and Singaporean "capital, know-how and technology" to create a mutually beneficial loose association.

Bogor – After a one-day delay, thousands of members of Laskar Jihad (Jihad Force) vacated the military-style training camp in Munjul village under tight police security in the early hours of Monday.

Jakarta – State Minister of Women's Empowerment Khofifah Indah Parawansa revealed on Monday that 30 percent of 3.5 million babies born in the last two years had serious malnutrition.

Jakarta – Some 10,000 teachers Tuesday flooded the grounds of the national parliament compound here in a mass protest to demand at least a 100 percent increase in their salaries.

The teachers crowded the parliament compound and buildings, shouting and waving posters urging the government to pay heed to their plight.

Jakarta – Standard and Poor's said Tuesday it had downgraded Indonesia's long-term foreign currency issuer credit rating to "selective default" from CCC+ in the wake of last week's debt rescheduling by Paris Club donor countries.

Jakarta – State companies remain highly vulnerable to exploitation as cash cows for political groups like they were under previous political administrations, informed sources said on Monday.

Jakarta – At least 16 foreign mining companies have delayed their activities due to uncertainty in security or financial problems, a senior government official said on Monday.

Tempo, Jakarta – The existing forest resource management system, which has been regularly exploited and abused, will be replaced by a balanced and sustainable forest management system.

Dili – Portuguese national guardsmen serving with the UN police force in East Timor were called Friday to the BNU bank in Dili, to control a crowd dissatisfied with a revised exchange rate for Portuguese escudos and Indonesian rupiahs.

Dili – Bishop Carlos Belo would be shocked if he knew. It is well after midnight and the streets of Dili are deserted, except for a few stray dogs. But the discotheque on the multi-storey cruise ship moored at shore is packed, sweaty and jumping to loud music.

Sonny Inbaraj, Darwin – In East Timor, Avelino da Silva is nicknamed the 'Negotiator' – a reference to one of the main characters in a Frederick Forsyth novel.

Paul Lashmar and James Oliver – The world's press was systematically manipulated by British intelligence as part of a plot to overthrow Indonesia's President Sukarno in the 1960s, according to Foreign Office documents. The BBC, the Observer and Reuters news agency were all duped into carrying stories manufactured by agents working for the Foreign Office.

Jakarta – The United States prevented Indonesia's presidential airplane carrying President Abdurrahman Wahid and his entourage from making a refueling stop in the country, forcing the plane to make a stop-over in Canada, the Indonesian Observer reported yesterday.

Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid has criticised the decision by teachers to strike for higher wages, saying that their action could damage the country's economic recovery.

His comments were clearly a response to a series of protests by state school teachers across the country demanding a 300 per cent pay hike and an increase in their daily allowance.

Jakarta – Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Nurfaizi said on Friday that police investigators were questioning four people in connection with a violent student protest in Central Jakarta on Thursday.

"They are being questioned at city police headquarters," he announced after addressing the inauguration of the Matraman Police Substation in Central Jakarta.

Jakarta – The House faction of the Muslim Crescent and Star Party (PBB) called on the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) on Friday to hold an emergency session to demand the accountability and possible impeachment of President Abdurrahman Wahid, popularly known as Gus Dur.

Jakarta – Three elements of the Central Axis, the main supporters of President Abdurrahman Wahid in the latest general session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), have hinted that they may withdraw their support for Wahid's administration.

Jakarta – Indonesia's state-owned aircraft manufacturer, PT Nusantara Aircraft Indutries (IPTN) will lay off another 2,500 workers over the next 10 months through early retirement, reports said Saturday.

Denpasar – Hundreds of teachers and members of the Bali chapter of Indonesian Teachers Union (PGRI) staged a street demonstration here on Friday urging the government to take concrete steps in improving the welfare of the nation's teachers.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – The Indonesian government, brushing aside the threat of foreign investors pulling out from Batam, said yesterday it would go ahead with plans to impose a value- added tax (VAT) in the once tax-free-haven.