Jennifer E. Reed, Washington – Priests assisting people in western Timor's refugee camps say the "vast majority" want to return to East Timor, but intimidation by pro-Indonesia militias is keeping them there, said a US human rights activist.

Jakarta – An environmental group demanded a temporary halt to operations of mining company PT Freeport Indonesia following a May 4 accident which resulted in four missing workers.

The chairwoman of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) Emmy Hafild also announced on Monday the organization's plans to sue Freeport on charges of environmental damage.

Mark Dodd, Dili – One of East Timor's biggest and best known political groups, Fretilin, which spearheaded the bloody 24-year struggle for independence from Indonesia, yesterday began an historic conference to discuss its transformation from revolutionary front to mainstream political party.

Washington – US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Monday hailed last week's truce agreement between Indonesia separatist rebels from its northern oil-rich province of Aceh, pledging US humanitarian aid to support the pact.

Chris McCall, Sigli – An Indonesian soldier cannot expect an easy life in troubled Aceh at the best of times, but most assume their own colleagues will not betray them. That was a mistake for former first sergeant Maju Ali Siagian.

Grace Nirang, Sukra – Tarjan stands barechested in the middle of his small rice field. Dejected. Already suffering from three years of economic crisis in Indonesia, Tarjan has watched rice prices tumble this season, forced down by too much rain and a flood of cheap imports.

Daniel Cooney, Jakarta – Indonesia's economy grew slower than expected in the first quarter, leading a senior government official to warn that political instability could set back the country's recovery.

Jay Solomon, Jakarta – The rupiah's continuing plunge is exposing rifts inside President Abdurrahman Wahid's government and eroding confidence among many Indonesians in the country's economic prospects.

Jakarta – The theft and smuggling of logs in the country is highly organized and supported by security personnel and some officials, a top government official said.

Secretary-general of the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations Suripto told journalists in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Saturday that the thieves equipped themselves with sophisticated communication devices.

Mark Dodd, Dili – It is one of the darkest chapters of East Timor's independence struggle, Fretilin's purges and murder of several hundred dissidents and political prisoners in the aftermath of Indonesia's bloody 1975 invasion.

Jakarta – Angry residents have again blocked access to a gold mine in Indonesia's East Kalimantan region, an official said Monday as a row over land compensation threatened closure of the mine.

Jakarta – The military takeover in Pakistan because of the failure in democracy there should be a warning to Indonesia, an Indonesian general involved in the reform of the armed forces has said.

Reuters in Geneva – Jakarta yesterday signed an historic agreement with the Free Aceh rebels to halt fighting in the troubled province. The deal for a three-month "humanitarian pause" was signed in Geneva by Indonesian Ambassador Hassan Wirajuda and the rebels' health minister, Zaini Abdullah.

Jakarta – The rupiah continued falling on Friday, breaking through the 8,500 mark against the US dollar as investors remained concerned over the future of the country's economy and the prospect of a hike in US interest rates.

Chris McCall – Aceh's prayers for peace have not been answered despite a landmark deal to halt the violence that has ravaged the Indonesian province.

Geneva – The Indonesian government and Aceh separatist rebels yesterday signed a ground-breaking three-month ceasefire agreement at a secret location in Geneva aimed at ending more than two decades of violence in the province.

A government statement said the ceasefire, signed under a strict news blackout, would come into effect on June 2 and would be reviewed regularly.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Even as Indonesia's landmark ceasefire accord with separatist Acehnese rebels was being hailed yesterday, analysts warned that the pact could be easily sabotaged by rogue elements who do not want to see an end to the 24-year conflict.

Associated Press in Jakarta – Police fired tear gas and warning shots at an angry mob of people in Chinatown on Saturday in a clash that began when officials tried to remove street vendors from the area's crowded sidewalks, authorities said.

Mathew Dearnaley – Indonesia's corruption inquiry into the vast wealth amassed during the Suharto clan's long stranglehold on power reaches deep into New Zealand's heartland.

New Zealand, the United States and Switzerland have been asked to help recover billions of dollars that Indonesia's new Government suspects are salted away around the world.

Mark Dodd, Dili – Autocratic decision-making by a few senior United Nations officials in Dili threatens the development of democracy in East Timor and the ultimate success of the peacekeeping mission, according to a protest note signed by angry UN district administrators.

Agencies in Jakarta – Indonesian police fired tear-gas yesterday to disperse militant student protesters trying to reach the home of former president Suharto to demand he be taken to court.

Jakarta – Police say former Army chief Hartono signed the order for the 1996 attack on the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

Hartono and five other retired generals, including ex-president Soeharto, will soon be summoned for questioning over their alleged roles in the attack, police said yesterday.

Jakarta – The government of President Abdurrahman Wahid has expressed concern over the increasing number of abortions in Indonesia, having noted that at least 2.3 million women resorted to terminating their pregnancies last year.

Geoffrey Barker – Specially modified RAAF PC3 Orion aircraft are flying electronic spy missions against Indonesia in secret operations that gravely threaten Canberra's efforts to restore relations with Jakarta.

Jakarta – In what is seen here as another blow to the Indonesian justice system, the Attorney General's Office admitted that five state prosecutors are suspected of taking a 12 billion rupiah (S$2.4 million) bribe to conceal evidence.

Geneva – Separatists from Indonesia's northern Aceh province remain committed to their goal of independence, according to a written statement released hours after agreeing a three-month ceasefire with Jakarta here Friday.

The Free Aceh Movement (GAM)'s commitments to achieve its solemn goal remains intact until Aceh gains its independence", said the GAM's statement.

Jakarta – Aceh, at the westernmost tip of the Indonesian archipelago, has remained through the ages a staunch Muslim stronghold which has defied all outside attempts at domination.

Mark Dodd, Dili – At least one suspected militiaman was wounded in a heavy exchange of fire between Australian peacekeepers and a group of pro-Jakarta militia who had crossed into East Timor yesterday, a senior United Nations military official said.

Thomas Wagner, Jakarta – About 25 youths held a protest outside the presidential palace on Thursday that appeared to be the first public demonstration by Indonesia's ethnic Chinese minority in many years.

Jakarta – The Dharmais Foundation, formerly controlled by ex- president Soeharto, has admitted that it channeled funds to timber tycoon Mohamad "Bob" Hasan's widely diversified Nusamba Group.

Jakarta – The Indonesian rupiah dropped sharply in panic selling Friday, breaching the psychological support level of 8,500 against the dollar before strengthening on state bank intervention, foreign exchange dealers said.

Mark Dodd, DilI – In a groundbreaking decision, East Timor independence fighters will work alongside United Nations peacekeepers as liaison officers, a senior UN military official said yesterday.

Kupang – The Timorese People's Party (PPT) intends to soon register itself with UNTAET [UN Transitional Authority in East Timor ] and become one of the political parties to contest the first East Timor elections, expected to be held at the beginning of 2001.

Jakarta – After two decades of opposition, the Petisi 50 (Petition 50) group was unrelenting on Tuesday, marking its anniversary with a strong warning that allies of its old foes, the New Order regime, were still threatening democratization.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – The discredited former special forces commander, Prabowo Subianto, has announced in Jakarta that his almost two-year exile in Jordan is over and that he is transferring his commercial activities back to Indonesia.

Agencies in Banda Aceh – For the first time in Indonesia's landmark human rights trial in Aceh, soldiers yesterday admitted they had executed civilians but said they were innocent of murder because they were only following their commander's orders.

Jakarta – Virtually no new money has entered the forestry and plantation sectors the past two years because potential investors have been frightened off, an executive said on Tuesday.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) urged politicians and the government on Tuesday to enhance political stability by not exaggerating political differences.

Julia Perkins, Jakarta – After marching with thousands of other workers on Parliament House here on May 1, 1500 workers from the Indian-owned textile company Texmaco camped outside overnight to protest against their treatment by their employer and demand higher wages.

Thousands of people protested in Indonesia on April 1 against policies demanded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in exchange for loans – these include cuts to subsides on fuel, public transport, electricity and education. An increase in prices on basic needs will drastically affect the lives of millions of poor Indonesian people.

Budiman Sujatmiko, chairperson of Indonesia's People's Democratic Party (PRD), has been active in the movement for democracy in his country since 1988, when he was a student at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University.

In the wake of Labor leader Kim Beazley's meeting last week in Jakarta with Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid and PM John Howard's response to Wahid's announcement on April 27 that he was postponing his May visit to Australia, media commentators have claimed that there is a major policy difference between Beazley and Howard over Australia's "relationship" with Indonesia.

Jakarta – Indonesian student protestors on Wednesday urged Attorney General Marzuki Darusman to speed up a government probe into the wealth of former president Suharto which has dragged on for almost two years.

Jakarta – The Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Military have agreed to work together to create a conducive and safe environment for businesses operating in the country, according to Minister of Industry and Trade Luhut Pandjaitan.

Compere: An embarrassed Telstra is confronting something today; that its operation in East Timor is in breach of the local law.

Jakarta – A gold mining firm has started vacating its mine in Indonesia's East Kalimantan following a three-week blockade by residents angered over land compensation issues, a mine official said Tuesday.

Ambon – Up to 200 members of the Laskar Jihad (Jihad Force) Muslim group have entered riot-torn Ambon from Namlea Port on neighboring Buru island, police said. Maluku Police spokesman Maj. Jakriel Phillip said on Monday that police and intelligence officers have been deployed to monitor the group's activities.

Bandung – Continuing worker protests may prompt at least 20 foreign manufacturing companies to relocate outside Indonesia, the Indonesian Business Council says.

Council chairman Sofyan Wanandi said the companies, mostly owned by South Korean investors, included 13 firms operating in Jakarta and its surrounding areas and seven in Karawang, West Java.

Jakarta – Indonesia's economic growth this year should easily meet official forecasts of between three and four percent, the government said in the latest revised letter of intent to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Jakarta – An Indonesian newspaper has agreed to run a front- page apology for seven days and build a mosque following protests over an article which angered a Muslim group, a journalist and a report said yesterday.