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

Jonathan Thatcher, Jakarta – A growing feud between Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid and his scandal-tainted central bank governor threatens more damage to the country's already precarious chances of economic recovery.

Ridwan M. Sijabat, Jakarta – Legislators and observers are calling for a complete transformation of the Army's territorial function, which they say has aggravated political and security instability nationwide.

Jakarta – A steady commitment by the Indonesian government to implement pleged economic reforms will strengthen the ailing rupiah, a top official with the International Monetary Fund said Monday.

Martin Crutsinger, Washington – The International Monetary Fund on Friday gave approval for a $372 million loan to support economic reform efforts in Indonesia.

The decision by the IMF's 24-member executive board came after a review of the country's recent actions to meet IMF-imposed economic conditions.

Jakarta – Ten state-owned companies have been put on a primary list for privatization this year, according to an updated master plan to be issued by the Office of the State Minister of State Enterprises and Investment.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Donor countries and international aid agencies say that President Abdurrahman Wahid's handling of the Buloggate scandal will indicate how committed his reform government is to driving out corruption.

Jakarta – Minutes before relinquishing his post as Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) chief, Sugito Suwito fired back at President Abdurrahman Wahid, saying he was being truthful in scaling back his economic growth projection.

Jakarta – Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said on Thursday he believed a series of riots and disturbances plaguing the country were linked to supporters of former president Soeharto.

Jose Manuel Tesoro, Jakarta – After two years of delays, false starts and even an outright cancellation, Indonesia's most-watched investigation is inching toward a conclusion. On May 19, Indonesia's attorney-general, Marzuki Darusman, announced that former president Suharto will be charged with corruption and abuse of power.

Chris McCall, Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid was fighting for his job yesterday as he and his closest allies struggled to defuse a political scandal.

Jakarta – Indonesian judges suspected of graft will be transferred to remote provinces in a bid to overhaul the legal system after a series of dubious verdicts which have hit investor confidence, Justice Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said.

Mark Dodd, Jakarta – The Indonesian Government is taking a major step towards prosecuting those who committed the worst acts of violence around last year's independence vote in East Timor.

Bertil Lintner – Following years of military repression, Indonesia's new president, Abdurrahman Wahid, has adopted a new approach to solving ethnic and religious conflict in the archipelago.

Jakarta – A funny thing happened on Sunday when President Abdurrahman Wahid went sailing with his top military commanders.

"I do not like it when my generals play politics with my acting State Secretary," he told his service chiefs and their commander-in-chief on the naval vessel Arun in the middle of Jakarta Bay.

Chris McCall, Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid may have saved his own political skin by accepting the resignation of a leading confidant.

Jakarta – As a result of his injuries, Coki Naipospos went to St Carolus Hospital for a medical report on his condition. Along with colleagues from PBHI, he took this report to the police but they refused to accept it because it was from a private hospital and told him to get a report from Cipto Mangungkusumo Hospital (RSCM).

Agencies in Jakarta – Fifty-two bodies have been found in two mainly Christian villages in Indonesia's North Maluku province after attacks by Muslims, a priest said yesterday. The military said "jihad" holy war fighters from elsewhere in Indonesia were suspected.

Pip Hinman – The Seattle and Washington protests against the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) have forced their chiefs into damage control. But despite all the PR bunk about the IMF and WB's "non-interference" in national economies, and their "pro-development" and "anti-poverty" agendas, the impact of their interference in the Third World is hard to hide.

Max Lane – The role of the International Monetary Fund in determining economic policy in Indonesia came under the spotlight after the 1997 economic crisis. In the wake of the crisis, the Suharto, Habibie and then the Wahid regimes surrendered virtually all sovereignty over government economic policy to the IMF.

Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid, popularly known as Gus Dur, has instructed state owned plantation companies to return some 40 percent of land taken by force or bought at unfair prices from local people in the past.

Jeremy Wagstaff, Jakarta – Hundreds of Indonesian workers went on strike at Jakarta's main port, the first serious stoppage to hit the country's largest container terminal since Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. took over its management a year ago.

Pandeglang – Newly established Work for National Care (KPB), a non-governmental organization dominated by Golkar Party figures, drew the attention of tens of thousands of Muslims here on Sunday by staging an anticommunism rally.

Edhi Pranasidhi, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has extended a ban on 128 bankers and shareholders of closed banks from traveling abroad, according to a decree signed by Finance Minister Bambang Sudibyo, which was released to the media Monday.

Jakarta – Angry mobs raided and vandalized two hotels at separate locations in East and West Jakarta over the weekend, claiming both establishments offered the services of prostitutes.

Jakarta – Protests against oil and gas operations in East Kalimantan could escalate if gas company Vico Indonesia Ltd fails to settle its dispute with locals, a senior official at state oil and gas company Pertamina said on Saturday.

Jakarta – Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono confirmed on Friday the United States did not include the Army in the gradual normalization of military ties with Indonesia because of a lot of "unfinished business".

Chris McCall – Fearful Indonesian Christians in Sumatra's main city prayed behind a police guard last night after a bomb exploded at morning service and two more were found at other churches.

Nearly seven months in office, Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid can claim great achievements. Despite his blindness and diabetes, he has negotiated a ceasefire with separatist rebels in the gas-rich province of Aceh and staved off a military coup in Jakarta. But things look bleak on the economic front.

Ambon – The governor of Indonesia's troubled Maluku province has said that allies of former President Suharto could be behind the arrival of some 2,200 Muslim jihad warriors in the islands.

Chris McCall, Jakarta – Radical students went on an anti-military rampage in Jakarta yesterday and police were ordered to stand aside for fear of unleashing worse violence.

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – Armed assailants have attacked a remote village in Indonesia's strife-torn former Spice Islands, killing at least 34 people, injuring scores and setting buildings and places of worship ablaze, the military said yesterday.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Indonesia is prepared for human rights abuses cases to go to court but many of them would probably be dealt with through a South African style truth and reconciliation commission because there were too many cases for the courts to solve, said a minister.

David Lague – The Defence Department will pressure the Federal Government to rebuild military links with Jakarta now political ties are warming, despite the role of Indonesian troops in East Timor atrocities.

Jakarta – A group of about fifty pro-integration East Timorese carried out a vicious attack today on the office of Solidamor in Jakarta.