HEAVY rains hampered search teams yesterday in the hills of western Indonesia where hundreds of people were buried alive in landslides triggered by a massive earthquake that wiped out four villages.

Indonesia and East Timor expressed deep regret for violence surrounding Dili’s 1999 independence vote after a joint probe blamed state institutions for “gross human rights violations”.

INDONESIAN police arrested 10 terrorist suspects with a cache of powerful homemade bombs yesterday.

AN INDONESIAN court sentenced two leaders of the Jemaah Islamiyah group, blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings, to 15 years’ jail yesterday.

A top Indonesian court ruled today in favour of sentencing drug offenders to death, saying it was not against the constitution.

A large eruption of searing hot gas and volcanic debris sent more than 1,000 villagers fleeing from the slopes of Mount Merapi today, a day after Indonesian government scientists lowered the alert level at the mountain.

A mob armed with machetes looted East Timor’s attorney general’s office today, including an area where evidence of 1999 massacres linked to the country’s breakaway from Indonesia were kept.

A report on Indonesia’s 24-year occupation of East Timor blames over 100,000 deaths and massive human rights violations including starvation and the use of napalm primarily on Indonesian security forces, Timorese officials said today.

Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged spiritual head of an al-Qaida-linked terror group, will not have his prison sentence reduced to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the Indonesian government said today.

WORLD leaders offered support to Indonesia yesterday and called for swift justice.

Acehnese rebels emerged from their jungle camps today to surrender a second batch of weapons, as the guerrillas and Indonesian government argued over what kind of guns should count under their peace deal.

An Indonesian court sentenced an Islamic militant to death today for involvement in the 2004 Australian Embassy suicide bombing, the second such verdict to be handed down in the case.

An Indonesian court today sentenced the alleged mastermind of 2002 bombing of a McDonald’s restaurant to life in prison, saying the Islamic militant planned the attack that came just weeks after the Bali nightclub attacks.

Bacterial powder that sparked a terror alert when it was sent to the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra, Australia, was probably harmless, an initial police report said today, though tests were continuing.

East Timor's president marked the tiny country's third anniversary today with a sombre speech warning that patience and sacrifice are still needed in the face of a moribund economy, stifling poverty and a declining UN presence.

A THREE-YEAR-OLD boy, originally adopted in Indonesia by an Irishman and his wife, remains in legal limbo this weekend as officials in Dublin and Jakarta continue their efforts to resolve the matter.

AMERICA and Australia yesterday criticised the 30-month prison sentence given to militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir for conspiracy in the 2002 Bali bombings.

Ministers from dozens of nations debated rival plans for a southern Asia tsunami warning system today, as the United Nations called on countries to make good on pledges of aid to sustain the massive relief effort for last month’s disaster.

Indonesia’s Health Ministry declared more than 70,000 people previously listed as missing as dead tonight, significantly raising the estimated death toll from last month’s tsunami.

INDONESIAN police arrested an Australian woman on suspicion she smuggled more than 9lbs of marijuana to the tourist island of Bali, a customs official said yesterday.

ASIA'S bird flu crisis deepened yesterday as Indonesia said "millions" of its chickens had died from the illness, making it the seventh nation to confirm the deadly disease.

An Indonesian court sentenced a man to 12 years in jail today for hosting a key planning meeting before last year’s Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people.

INDONESIAN police have arrested 13 more people suspected of involvement in a wave of bombings across the country, a police spokesman said.

World leaders and relatives of victims joined together around the globe today to pay tribute to the victims of the September 11 attacks with remembrance services including a tree-planting ceremony in Australia and the opening of a memorial garden in London.

An Indonesian court has sentenced two men to 15 years in prison for helping finance last year's terrorist bombings on the tourist island of Bali by robbing a jewellery store.

An Indonesian court has found a man guilty of the deadly nightclub bombings on the island of Bali last year.

A tightly guarded Indonesian court today is expected to deliver its verdict in last year’s deadly nightclub bombings on the island of Bali, just days after a copycat blast ripped through a hotel in the capital Jakarta.

EAST TIMOR yesterday put aside its economic woes to celebrate the country’s first anniversary with patriotic songs, parades and a moment of silence for those killed during Indonesia’s brutal 24-year rule.

Indonesian police investigating the bombings of a McDonald’s restaurant and a car dealership today said the group behind the blasts also planned to blow up a church over Christmas.

INDONESIAN police yesterday said they expected to capture more accomplices following the arrest of a leading suspect in the Bali bombing the first major breakthrough in the inquiry.

INDONESIAN police said yesterday that a man they are interrogating has confessed to planting a bomb in an attack on Bali nightclub that killed nearly 200 people last month.

A day after the adoption of a tough new anti-terrorism decree, Indonesian police today arrested the alleged leader of a militant group suspected in last week’s Bali nightclub bombing.

The Indonesian navy was today searching for a boat reportedly hijacked by Middle Eastern refugees wanting to travel to Australia.

Hundreds of Islamic students in Indonesia today demonstrated outside the US Embassy for the second day running in the world’s most populous Muslim nation against US-led attacks against Afghanistan.