Bandung – Around 100 West Java politicians and public figures at a ceremony at the Panghegar Hotel here on Friday signed up to the establishment of the West Java Anti-Communist Front in their efforts to curb what they called "the emergence of new Communism movements".

Down to Earth and TAPOL express deep concern about the horrific violence and ethnic cleansing in Central Kalimantan

Khairul Ikhwan D/HD & HY, Medan – Around 300 workers of PT Cipta Prima staged a demonstration at north Sumatra Provincial Legislative Council (DPRD Sumut) office, Monday. They demanded the DPRD Sumut be the mediator in resolving the problem between them and PT Cipta Prima.

Jake Lloyd-Smith, Batam/Vaudine England, Jakarta – Shirley Lau says she fled her home in fear of her life, clutching just a handful of possessions.

Less than three years after the fall of Suharto amid calls for "reformasi", there are serious signs that the democratically-elected government of Abdurrahman Wahid is slipping back into the bad, repressive ways of the Suharto dictatorship. In West Papua and Aceh, people who exercised their right to peaceful protest are facing charges that criminalise legitimate political protest.

Rohit Jaggi and Tom McCawley, Jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid's hold on power grew increasingly tenuous on Thursday after his vice-president broke her silence to stress that she did not support him.

An explosion of violence in Kalimantan in late February shook the entire province of Central Kalimantan. Thousands of Dayaks, armed with machetes and home-made spears, hunted down migrants from the island of Madura, killing at random and destroying entire villages.

Jonathan Head – The clashes in the Indonesian province of central Kalimantan are part of a pattern of violence between the indigenous inhabitants of the island of Borneo and immigrants from other parts of the country.

Agencies in Sampit, Palangkaraya and Jakarta – Security forces called in to quell ethnic violence on Borneo instead turned their guns on each other yesterday while thousands of desperate refugees scrambled to board ships taking them to safety.

Calvin Sims - Jakarta – The ethnic violence that erupted 10 days ago in the Indonesian section of Borneo, where hundreds of people have been decapitated and thousands more left destitute, might seem a likely candidate for a major deployment of government troops or international peacekeepers.

Jakarta – Five major factions at the House of Representatives will recommend that faction members, who were on a special committee investigating two financial scandals allegedly linked to President Abdurrahman Wahid, defy summonses for questioning.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia is rushing hundreds of special force troops to its Borneo province in an attempt to end the slaughter of migrant settlers by mobs of headhunting Dayaks who on Sunday expanded the areas they control.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Footwear Association (Apresindo) was cautious on Monday in responding to reported labor abuses in Nike's Indonesian partner factories.

[The following is excerpts from a report prepared for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom which held a hearing on the Maluku Islands on February 13 in Washington D.C. The report is by R. William Liddle, an expert on Indonesia of The Ohio State University in the United States.]

Jakarta – The rupiah dropped on Monday by 2 percent to its lowest level since October 1998 amid worsening ethnic violence in Central Kalimantan and problems with the International Monetary Fund. The rupiah ended at Rp 9,830 per US dollar late on Monday from Rp 9,685 on Friday, foreign exchange dealers said.

Jakarta – Head of the Food and Drug Control Agency Sampurno revealed on Monday that the government would increase the prices of generic drugs by some 15 percent starting April this year. The increase, he said, was in line with the rise in the cost of pharmaceutical raw materials and fuel prices.

Jakarta – A regulation has been issued specifically aimed at preventing forest fires by holding more parties, including forest concession holders, accountable for fires breaking out in their areas, even if they are not directly responsible the fires.

Louise Williams – At the turn of the century a convention of tribal head hunters gathered beneath the towering canopy of the rainforests of Borneo and reluctantly agreed to end their practice of resolving territorial disputes by snatching each others heads.

As always, Singapore's senior minister Lee Kuan Yew is keeping a wary eye on the big powers in his region-especially Indonesia and China. In Davos for the recent meeting of the World Economic Forum, he spoke with Newsweek's Lally Weymouth. Excerpts: Newsweek: How will the situation in Indonesia unfold?

Makassar – A skirmish erupted between student demonstrators and members of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Banser civilian guards at the Makassar Islamic University compound on Saturday.

Sonya Hepinstallm, Washington – The human rights picture in Indonesia has steadily deteriorated as Jakarta loses control over ethnic, social and religious strife in its most unstable provinces, the State Department said on Monday.

Surabaya – Masudi Muali said he ran as fast as he could after seeing many of his friends beheaded by indigeneous Dayak tribesmen outside his college in Sampit on the Indonesian part of Borneo island.

"I jumped into a river as they threw spears at me. I'm thankful to be alive," said the weary-looking Muali, 27.

Vaudine England – Megawati Sukarnoputri's father founded independent Indonesia and was its first president until deposed in 1966. Her constituency relies on her emotional allure to the masses and her family name.

Madiun – Some 4,000 supporters of Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid hit the streets in East Java on Sunday, resuming protests against efforts to oust the beleaguered Muslim cleric.

Packed into trucks, the protesters drove around the town of Madiun shouting slogans in support of Wahid before gathering for a mass prayer.

Reuters in Sampit – Terrified refugees crammed onto an Indonesian navy ship on Saturday to escape marauding mobs in Borneo as officials said the death toll from a week of ethnic bloodshed had reached 210.

Jakarta – A man was killed and another was injured Friday night in a communal clash that broke out in Woja district, Dompu regency, West Nusa Tenggara.

Lukman, 35, died from a bullet wound. The other victim, One Mursin, suffered injuries and is now being treated at Dompu hospital, Dompu Police chief Adj. Snr. Comr. Ngadi Prayitno said.

Philip Bowring, Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia faces many crises, several of his own creation. But it would be wrong to assume that he is doomed and unwise to believe that his early removal, even if conducted constitutionally, would be beneficial.

Jakarta – Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) chief Lt. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu confirmed on Friday he had assured Abdurrahman Wahid of his soldiers' loyalty prior to the President's departure on an overseas trip.

Agencies in Sampit and Palangkaraya – The death toll from six days of brutal ethnic clashes on Borneo island rose to at least 143 yesterday as the violence spread and armed bands of Dayak tribesmen continued to rampage through the main town of Sampit.

Hamish McDonald – The World Bank warned yesterday that if a political or economic crisis broke out in Indonesia it would cease all new lending until stability is restored.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Most Indonesians will not be able to watch the coverage of inter-ethnic clashes like those in Central Kalimantan on their television screen under a new broadcast Bill being considered by the government.

Jakarta – The official death toll from six days of brutal ethnic slayings on Borneo island rose to more than 200 Friday, a medical worker said.

Associated Press in Portland – Workers at nine of Nike's contract factories in Indonesia have witnessed verbal and physical abuse by supervisors against their colleagues and seen female employees being coerced into sex, according to a new report.

Tim Dodd, Jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid left Jakarta yesterday on an overseas trip which takes him out of the country for two weeks while a leadership crisis grows at home.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – The recent ethnic bloody violence in central Kalimantan was orchestrated by two civil servants who were furious at having lost their jobs in a regional autonomy shake-up, according to the police.

Jakarta – The government will proceed with its plan to raise fuel prices in April despite concerns that it could trigger a new wave of social unrest, according to Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Alhilal Hamdi.

Indonesia's stock market watchdog has issued a ruling allowing mainly listed firms to make substantial transactions without shareholder approval as part of efforts to revive the indebted corporate sector.

Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency disclosed on Thursday that it found 1,760 instances of financial irregularities involving a total sum of more than Rp 11.8 trillion (US$1.2 billion) in the management of state budget and state companies in the fiscal years 1999 and 2000.

Jakarta – Indonesia's Supreme Audit Board said yesterday that government departments, including the presidential office, had misused 8.05 trillion rupiah (S$1.5 billion) last year.

Washington – The International Monetary Fund sought Friday to reassure financial markets that it wasn't turning away from engagement with Indonesia, following speculation in Indonesia that a meeting this week between Fund officials and Economy Minister Rizal Ramli damaged relations further.

Danielle Knight, Washington DC – Indonesian pulp and paper facilities, supported in the 1990s by financial institutions in Europe, Japan and North America, have caused widespread deforestation and human rights abuses, according to a new report released here.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Jakarta plans a crackdown on separatist movements in Aceh and Irian Jaya that observers say will almost certainly end reconciliation talks promoted by President Abdurrahman Wahid and dramatically escalate violence across the country.

Jakarta – The police have found indications of the commission of a crime in an alleged land scam linked to House of Representatives Speaker and Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung, National Police Spokesman Brig. Gen. Didi Widayadi said on Wednesday.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – The thousands of students who have been protesting across Indonesia in the past few weeks might argue that replacing President Abdurrahman Wahid is the only way to save Indonesia from its economic and political morass.

Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has found irregularities involving over Rp 260 billion (about US$27.36 million) in insurance firm PT Tugu Pratama Indonesia, which is owned by state oil and gas company Pertamina.

Jakarta – Indonesian military observers have warned the country's newly-empowered MPs pose a serious threat to the armed forces' attempts to extricate itself from politics.

Makassar – Makassar District Court commenced on Wednesday the trial of deputy South Sulawesi governor Masnawi on corruption charges.

Prosecutor Daud Kinu accused Masnawi of having violated Article 1 of the anti-corruption Law No. 3/1971 on enriching oneself at state expense. The Article carries a maximum punishment of life sentence.

Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid fired another shot in the battle against corruption on Wednesday, approving the establishment of a special court to try graft cases.

No sooner after President Abdurrahman Wahid had pledged "zero tolerance" for past corruptors this month, the Attorney General's Office went into full gear to prosecute top business leaders and government officials for their alleged past misdeeds.

Warren Caragata – Wimar Witoelar, the spokesman for Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, has said that decision-making within the Indonesian government is not quite like turning on a light switch. In other words, there are times – which occur far too often – when you can stand there forever flicking the switch and nothing happens.