Nisid Hajari – Abdurrahman Wahid doesn't call himself a holy man, but the new Indonesian President seemed to pull off a miracle last week. On Tuesday, Wahid met the challenge of picking a cabinet that reflects the diversity of the country and the 11th-hour coalition that voted him into power, while cleansing the slate of those associated with the worst excesses of previous regimes.

Banda Aceh – Up to a million people rallied here Monday to demand a referendum for self-determination in Indonesia's volatile province of Aceh and show they had popular backing.

Sian Powell, Dili – The pro-Jakarta militia in East Timor conducted a concerted two-stage campaign to split up families, warning men they would be killed if they did not flee, then forcibly transporting the remaining women and children to West Timor.

Jakarta – A fresh demand was aired on Saturday for Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) to cut its traditional affiliation with the National Awakening Party (PKB) when the country's largest Muslim organization holds its congress later this month.

Agencies in Jakarta – Home Affairs Minister Suryadi Sudirja indicated yesterday the troubled province of Aceh was unlikely to get a referendum soon to decide its political status.

Special autonomy within the "unitary state of Indonesia" was a better solution to Aceh's problems than "separation from the family", Mr Suryadi said.

Tom Fawthrop, Suai – As red tape and obstruction delay the United Nations investigation of human rights abuses in East Timor, a witness has identified an Indonesian army officer who allegedly directed one of the worst atrocities.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) unveiled a major reshuffle on Thursday morning following the official handover of the force's command from Gen. Wiranto to Adm. Widodo A.S.

Jakarta – Indonesia's leading newspapers on Friday urged Jakarta to find a peaceful settlement to separatist unrest in Aceh, a day after President Abdurrahman Wahid said he was open to a ballot on independence in the rebellious province.

Jakarta – Eight people have been killed and some 100 homes burned down in the latest outbreak of Muslim-Christian violence in Indonesian's province of North Maluku, reports said Friday.

Maliana – Returning East Timorese refugees on Friday said militia in West Timor had seized their belongings and forced them to pay to cross the border.

Constantino Marquez crossed the frontier at a stony river bed near the town of Maliana with his family of seven. They carried a mattress and a few green vegetables.

David Lague, Dili – There are 80,000 East Timorese still missing more than seven weeks after Interfet, the Australian-led international force, halted a violent rampage in the former Portuguese territory, according to estimates compiled by the peacekeeping troops.

Despite current depressed prices and rental values, Chan Fookkheong sees opportunities for capital gains for cash-rich investors

Shoeb Kagda, Jakarta – In a major shift in economic direction, Indonesia's newly-elected President Abdurrahman Wahid has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to focus more on agriculture under its US$49 billion (S$81.5 billion) rescue plan for the country.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid said on Thursday the people of the volatile province of Aceh had the right to an East Timor style referendum, but that his government would not be pushed into a vote.

Associated Press, Sigli – More than 50,000 people rallied in Aceh on Thursday in a massive demonstration of pro-independence fervour, two days after troops opened fire on rock-throwing protesters in Indonesia's troubled province.

Jakarta – Hundreds of Indonesian students lowered the national flag outside the Riau provincial governor's office in protest after President Abdurrahman Wahid warned separatist activists would be arrested, a report said Wednesday.

Jakarta – George Aditjondro has just ended a three-month trip to 10 countries – the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia – doing what he has always done: tracing the wealth of Indonesia's autocrat Soeharto and his cronies.

Jakarta – Some 100 former political prisoners jailed by the authoritarian govenrment of ousted president Suharto on Wednesday urged the new government to restore their good names.

Jeremy Wagstaff, Jakarta – It's 2am on October 20, and Indonesia's parliament has delivered a stunning rebuke to President B.J. Habibie. It has just rejected his "accountability speech" – the equivalent of a no-confidence vote. In the expansive parlor of the presidential mansion, Mr.

Jay Solomon, Jakarta – The $123.5 million secretly transferred out of Bank Bali went into the bank accounts of some of former Indonesian president B.J. Habibie's senior aides, as well as his own political party, and entailed a massive money-laundering effort aimed at hiding numerous beneficiaries, according to a report by auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Jakarta – Dozens of Indonesian soldiers ran amok and destroyed a traditional market in the capital, seriously injuring two market workers, reports said Tuesday.

The Suara Karya daily said the soldiers were angered after four of their colleagues were reprimanded by the market's security guard for creating noise and drinking at a bar there on Sunday night.

Associated Press in Jakarta – A day after President Abdurrahman Wahid said it was not yet time to discuss an independence referendum, thousands of people protested violently in strife-torn Aceh province on Tuesday to demand an immediate vote.

Jakarta – Security forces broke up a peaceful protest by thousands of residents in Indonesia's remote Irian Jaya province, reports said Tuesday.

The state Antara news agency said the mass demonstration in the district of Fakfak was staged shortly after noon Monday to push for the resignation of district head, Colonel Suparlan Pasambuna.

Jakarta – A mob of some 200 Muslims armed with crude weapons set fire to a church in a town south of Jakarta early Tuesday, residents said.

Some 30 police who rushed to the burning Jemaat Salom church in the Depok township were helpless as they were outnumbered by the arsonists, armed with machetes and other home made weapons.

Jakarta – Indonesia's senior economy minister, Kwik Kian Gie, on Tuesday handed a copy of an audit into the murky Bank Bali scandal to the IMF, paving the way for a resumption of multilateral aid to Jakarta.

Jakarta – An Indonesian rights body said Monday it had found evidence of organized human rights abuses by pro-Jakarta militia in West Timor, and urged Jakarta to protect the remaining 230,000 refugees East Timorese there.

Jakarta – The Indonesian press on Monday expressed relief the country's army had completed its withdrawal from East Timor in a dignified manner, and called for reconciliation to heal the bitter wounds of the past.

Alexander Higgins, Geneva – Failure by a UN panel last week to approve a special investigation of alleged atrocities in East Timor risks the loss of evidence that could be used in any future international trial of militias or the Indonesian military, an official said today.

Malang – Mass unrest and riots on Friday and Saturday (29th-30th October) followed the looting of coffee and cocoa belonging to the Sumbermanggis Plantations in Jogomulyo village, Tirtoyudo subdistrict, south of Malang.

David Liebhold – The Asian financial crisis of 1997 helped bring down Suharto, so President Abdurrahman Wahid had better pay attention to economics if he wants to hold onto power – and hold Indonesia together. Democracy may have triumphed, but the economy is a mess.

Jakarta – Indonesia's consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.06% in October from September, and was up 1.58% from a year earlier, the Central Bureau of Statistics said Monday. Bureau head Sugito Suwito said he saw the inflation rate for the whole of 1999 at no higher than 2.5% despite an anticipated rise in the index in December.

Jakarta – Indonesian troops shot dead more than 50 unarmed civilians in Aceh province in July, according to a local government probe rejecting allegations the victims were separatist rebels, reports said Sunday.

Dili – Hundreds of East Timorese Sunday looted the empty barracks of the Indonesian army in Dili several hours after the last occupying troops sailed out of the harbour under the cover of darkness.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – A group of high-ranking officers in Indonesia's armed forces have made unprecedented public criticism of the military's powers, including its role in civilian affairs.

Dili – Standing bolt upright after singing the national anthem, the Indonesian soldiers cleared their weapons in unison and marched off across the tarmac as the sun set on Dili's Comoro airport.

Jakarta – Indonesia's new President faced his first security scare from irate protesters yesterday after delivering a tough anti-corruption warning as his cabinet was sworn in.

The cabinet that was announced on Tuesday eliminated the information and social affairs ministries, sparking protests on Thursday and yesterday by civil servants fearful for their jobs.

Jakarta – Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in the separatist-plagued Indonesian province of Aceh to demand an East Timor-style referendum on independence, a report said Friday.

Jakarta – Students in Makassar, the capital of Indonesia's South Sulawesi province set fire to a bus after a minister described their demand for an independent state as "half-hearted," reports said Saturday.

Human rights group Amnesty International lashed out at the UN Thursday for dragging its feet in sending investigators into East Timor as it released a new report detailing alleged atrocities there.

Dini Sari Djalal, Atambua – Claudio de Jesus Lai trusts very few people. The East Timorese anti-independence activist mans the gates of Tenubot refugee camp in Atambua, West Timor, sternly interrogating visitors. "Western countries are using Asians to spy on us," he snaps at a visiting reporter. "How do I know you're not one of them?"

Barry Porter – President Abdurrahman Wahid's reformist cabinet ministers have begun the huge task of resolving Indonesia's economic mess and restoring investor confidence.

Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Ermera – In a country where most people grow just enough rice and corn to slake their hunger, Jose Madeira Ximenes never consumed any of his crop.

Jakarta – A group of Indonesian students Wednesday held their first street rally since President Abdurrahman Wahid took office to reaffirm their committment to act as a watchdog on the government.

Jakarta – The so-called National Unity Cabinet, announced on Tuesday, lives up to its name as it groups people from different sociocultural backgrounds, professions and political affiliations.

Some of the new ministers are "nobodies" to the media, compared to their colleagues who often appear on television or in print.

Keith B. Richburg, Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia on Tuesday unveiled a new-look cabinet for the country's democratic era, naming an entirely fresh economics team unsullied by corruption scandals and taking steps to bring the powerful armed forces under greater civilian control. With the new lineup, Mr.

Amy Chew, Jakarta – Indonesia's day-old government on Wednesday moved swiftly to bring disgraced former president Suharto to justice, highlighting its new clean image and meeting a key demand from reformists who put it in power.

David Jenkins – Indonesia's new Cabinet doesn't look too bad at first glance, with some impressive names in the list of ministers.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Alwi Shihab, is a sophisticated moderate who once taught at Harvard.

Oekussi – At least 34 people were believed to have been killed in the East Timorese enclave of Oekussi, victims of militia atrocities, according to a list compiled by returning refugees.

Noel Fung, Jakarta – Uncertainty over the economic policies of the new cabinet and the fact that many of its ministers lack a track record is set to damp investor interest in Jakarta stocks in the short term, and wipe out the euphoria over the country's dawning democracy, analysts said Tuesday.

Jakarta – Indonesia's new cabinet announced Tuesday by President Abdurrahman Wahid reflects the new leader's preoccupation with accommodating all factions in the country's politics rather than emphasizing professionalism, analysts said here.