Bangkok's Mayor Apirak Kosayothin ordered the cancellation of the two major public New Year's Eve countdown celebrations and other smaller ones following six or more bomb blasts in the city today.

A rusty, unexploded grenade was found near the Hilton Hotel in Jakarta, police and hotel officials said, days after foreign governments warned that terrorists were planning attacks on Western targets ahead of Christmas.

INDONESIAN planes launched rockets at a rebel base in Aceh province yesterday, signalling the start of a major military offensive.