Jakarta – Indonesia's once all-powerful military yesterday announced the replacement of 122 commanders and staff officers in a reshuffle aimed at modernising the forces.

Jakarta – In an apparent about face, Indonesia's top prosecutor said there had been contact but no negotiations between the family of former president Suharto and the government over a possible hand-over of any ill-gotten wealth, newspapers reported Saturday.

Jakarta – The prominent Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has been accused of being among those who are conspiring to topple President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Jakarta – Governor Sutiyoso questioned on Friday the effectiveness of the actions by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which recently raided a number of city nightspots.

Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Right (Komnas HAM) announced on Friday that it had found no evidence of intentional mass killings or burials in the 1984 Tanjung Priok bloody shootings in North Jakarta. The commission, led by chairman Djoko Soegianto, reported its final conclusion of the incident to the House of Representatives.

Jakarta – Indonesia's central bank on Friday temporarily eased lending limits for banks to encourage them to boost economic activity through increased loans.

Bank Indonesia deputy governor Subarjo Joyosumarto said in a statement rules covering capital adequacy ratio (CAR) limits and divestment of bank equity in heavily-indebted companies would also be relaxed.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – A group led by a former Australian foreign minister, Mr Gareth Evans, has warned of the possibility of a coup in the long-term in Indonesia if its enfeebled government fails to meet popular expectations.

Jakarta – Legislator Pande Nabanan doubts that the government will be able to solve the July 27, 1996, bloody takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters.

He, instead, feared that the investigation into the case would meet the same fate as many other unresolved cases after they reach the hands of the Military Police (MP).

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia needs to have a coherent strategy on economic reforms and make serious efforts in eradicating corruption if it wants international donors to keep funds flowing into the country, urged a top World Bank official yesterday.

Jakarta – University of Indonesia students gave President Abdurrahman Wahid and Attorney General Marzuki Darusman "Soeharto Awards" on Wednesday, for their eight-month performance.

SCTV private television station reported that Abdurrahman won two trophies: for failing to eradicate corruption and nepotism, and for maintaining the status quo.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – The Defence Minister, Mr Juwono Sudarsono, says there is a plot to destabilise Indonesia ahead of an August session of parliament at which some MPs are expected to challenge the presidency of Mr Abdurrahman Wahid.

After several months, Indonesia's military is re-emerging from the shadows. On June 13, the head of Indonesia's armed forces (TNI), Admiral Widodo Adisucipto, warned that the country was sliding further into chaos and that the government's first concern was to prevent the nation's disintegration.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Key Indonesian agencies are working hard behind the scenes to sabotage attempts to improve relations between Australia and Indonesia.

Jakarta – Eight people, including two policemen, have been killed and scores injured in the latest clashes between Muslims and Christians in the eastern Indonesian city of Ambon, the military said yesterday.

Todd Callahan – At a seminar last month in Jakarta, Indonesia's new State Minister of Investment and SOEs Rozy Munir reported that the growing number of foreign and domestic investment approvals was a sign that Indonesia is slowly recovering.

Jakarta – Indonesian security forces fired rubber bullets to disperse stone-throwing students protesting in a provincial town in Borneo, injuring at least 14 people, a report said Tuesday.

The students then set ablaze a motorcycle and damaged three cars, all belonging to the security officials, the online service Detik.com reported.

Ambon – At least eight people, including two Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers, were killed during three, likely related, raids by armed men on Monday.

The attacks began when speedboats sped by shooting at Galala port in Ambon. Soon after an attack occurred at the nearby adjacent villages of Hative Kecil and Galala, just a few kilometers from Ambon.

By couple of weeks ago, Philip Eng, when replying to questions from reporters on whether he was concerned with the sharp fall in the price of Astra International's shares, noted that country risk rather than corporate failings was driving the stock down.

Jakarta – Indonesia's state electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) said Monday it was seeking a 29.4 percent across the board increase in basic electricity tariffs this year.

The attorney-general says the Indonesian president is above board. But the case of the presidential masseur, and 35 billion rupiah (S$7 million) of pension funds that have gone missing with him, has taken a life of its own.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid must show at least some direction in tackling the country's economic and political woes or face the risk of an impeachment move in August, his economic advisor said Tuesday.

Jakarta – Jakarta police have denied a statement by the city's governor that they are planning to deploy snipers at commercial centres in the capital ahead of the next session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) in August. "We aren't going to deploy snipers in the city," said Zainuri Lubis, a police spokesman.

Jakarta – Police will question State Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Mahadi Sinambela and Rudini, the former chairman of the General Election Commission (KPU), over an alleged malfeasance in the purchase of flags for political parties during last year's general election.

Jakarta – Weapons smuggling to the Poso region in Central Sulawesi is a well orchestrated operation linked to the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) according to Andi Matalatta, a member of the Golkar faction of the Peoples' Consultative Assembly.

Chris McCall, Jakarta – A top figure in Indonesia's unstable east yesterday called for the Government to crack down hard on religious bloodshed, as the military said at least 123 had been killed in the latest flashpoint area.

Bogor – Police caught eight men on Friday from among some 200 armed locals who were vandalizing the 3,000-square-meter Gunung Mas tea plantation in Blok Panjang at Cibereum village, Cisarua district.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) and the Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam) have condemned the brutal treatment of traditional miners at the hands of the Indonesian police, military and government officials acting in the interests of, and perhaps in direct coordination with, a mining operation owned by an Australian company.

Shoeb Kagda, Jakarta – Anyone watching the current spat between Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid and Bank Indonesia governor Sjahril Sabirin should be forgiven if he said: "Have we not seen all this before?" For it was only a few short months back when Mr Abdurrahman engaged in a battle of wits and verbal sparring with his former military commander and coordinating minister fo

Jakarta – Indonesian authorities were Monday investigating past liquidity support for banks given by the central Bank Indonesia while its chairman remains embroiled in the Bank Bali controversy.

Jakarta – The "Indonesian Axis" (Poros Indonesia) is set to burst onto the political scene, bringing together a cross section of figures from various political backgrounds who want to improve the state of their respective parties.

Jakarta – Coordinating Economics Minister Kwik Kian Gie admitted on Friday that the culture of corruption, collusion and nepotism was still prevalent in the bureaucracy under President Abdurrahman Wahid, and said it would take a while to eradicate.

Jakarta – Five suspected holdup men were mobbed and burned to death by an angry crowd after being caught demanding money from passengers of a mikrolet public minivan in East Jakarta on Saturday.

Jakarta – Shoppers pack the supermarkets in the Indonesian capital these days, car and mobile phone sales are jumping, seven new airlines are ready to hit the skies and companies are reporting solid first quarter profits.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Parliamentarians from the party linked to Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid are spearheading a new probe into an estimated 2.7 trillion rupiah (S$513 million) allegedly stolen from the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) under his predecessors.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Not long ago feted as South-East Asia's greatest leader, Indonesia's former president Soeharto knows little about the dramatic changes taking place in the country he ruled for 32 years.

His family do not allow Mr Soeharto, who turned 79 this week, to read newspapers or watch television news, apparently for fear his blood pressure will rise.

Ian Timberlake, Jakarta – Buoyed by overtures from Indonesia's democratic President and emboldened by the nation's new climate of freedom, ethnic Chinese here say they are ready to push for an end to years of discrimination.

Agence France Presse in Tokyo – Australian Prime Minister John Howard sought to move beyond past acrimony at yesterday's summit with Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, the first since the East Timor crisis.

Jakarta – Authorities in Jakarta have given the go-ahead for police to shoot rioters if other attempts to control them fail, according to reports published here yesterday.

The decision was reached at a meeting between administration leaders, the military, police and civic leaders at the Jakarta governor's office on Wednesday, the Warta Kota daily reported.

Simon Montlake, Jakarta – Local activists protesting over land rights have lifted a siege of a 14-ton-a-year gold mine in Kalimantan, owned and operated by a unit of Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto Ltd. (A.CRA), the company said Friday.

Grace Nirang, Jakarta – Little fresh investment will flow into Indonesia's mining sector this year as companies hug the sidelines due to a host of problems plaguing the industry.

Grainne McCarthy, Jakarta – The President's masseur embezzles money from the country's key food agency; the President's talk of capital controls spooks the international community; the President's showdown with the central bank governor sends investors fleeing. You'd think that for Indonesia things couldn't get much worse. Well, you'd be wrong.

Palu – A fresh batch of reinforcement troops arrived in Poso on Wednesday to help quell the continuing sectarian riots there.

The Indonesian Minister of Law and Legislation, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, this week formally submitted to the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) a bill to set up human rights courts to try "gross violations of human rights". Special ad hoc courts will have jurisdiction over past violations, including those connected with last year's murder and destruction in East Timor.

In another blow to ex-president Suharto, a court yesterday rejected a multi-billion-dollar criminal defamation case he had filed against the US magazine Time.

Judge Sihol Sitompul, heading a panel of three judges at the Central Jakarta District Court, ruled Mr Suharto's defamation suit could not be accepted for lack of evidence.

Kupang - Head of an advocacy team for a legal aid organization, Yohanes Yacob, did not design the attack on the Solidamor office that was carried out by a delegation of East Timor refugees (DPTT) two weeks ago.

The following is a statement presented by United States journalist Allan Nairn to the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Human Rights on May 11.

Dan Murphy, Jakarta – By omission or commission, the evidence is mounting that elements of the Indonesian military are reigniting the religious conflict in the Maluku islands. The motive? Political payback, perhaps.

[Gus Dur's controversial brother speaks frankly to The Straits Times.]

Q: Describe Gus Dur for us.

A: Gus Dur is a great solidarity-maker, but he's not the best administrator in town. His power came from various political centres, so he has to accommodate them in his policy-making.

Jakarta – The Miss Indonesia beauty contest, which has been banned for the past four years following opposition from Muslim groups, is to be held again this week with full government support.

Why is Irian Jaya such a hot issue, and are there parallels to be drawn with East Timor? Indonesia analyst Dr John Taylor of South Bank University, London, discusses its prospects for independence in a BBC programme, The World Today, last Friday