A series of powerful earthquakes shook remote eastern Indonesia today, toppling or badly damaging more than 100 buildings and leaving at least four people dead and dozens injured.

Family members said they would leave it to doctors to decide if former Indonesian dictator Suharto should be removed from life support after almost all of his organ functions failed. Physicians described his condition as “very critical,” putting his chance of survival at just 50%.

US president George Bush shrugged off massive protests against his visit to the world’s most populous Muslim nation today as a sign of a healthy democracy, as thousands braved heavy rains to call him a war criminal and a terrorist.

US PRESIDENT George W Bush yesterday admitted he hasn’t decided whether to send more troops to Iraq or begin bringing them home, saying he is awaiting the military’s recommendations.

US President George Bush shrugged off massive protests against his visit to the world’s most populous Muslim nation today as a sign of a healthy democracy, as thousands braved heavy rains to call him a war criminal and a terrorist.

US President George Bush today said he had not yet decided on whether to send more US troops to Iraq or to begin bringing them home.

US President George Bush’s unpopularity in the world’s most populous Muslim nation made intense security jitters and angry protests the hallmarks of a six-hour trip to court Indonesian favour.

Students protested in Indonesian towns and cities today against a visit next week by US President George Bush.

The death toll from the Indonesian tsunami rose to nearly 550 today as the president vowed to install a nationwide system capable of warning coastal communities of killer waves by mid-2008.

Rescuers said hopes of finding more survivors from a devastating earthquake that killed more than 5,400 people were waning today, as aid workers from around the world arrived in the disaster zone in central Indonesia.

Indonesia’s president begged the international community today to help fight the bird flu virus that has killed 30 people in his sprawling nation – with five new deaths and one infection confirmed this week alone.

The stand-off over Iran’s nuclear ambitions overshadowed trade talks opening on Bali today between leaders of Muslim-majority countries, with snipers on rooftops, anti-terror squads patrolling the resort and security posts on the beach.

Iran’s president today insisted that his country’s nuclear programme was peaceful and that it had every right to pursue new technology.

Indonesia and Britain today agreed to strengthen anti-terror ties, but Islamic leaders told visiting prime minister Tony Blair that his policies were breeding extremism.

Condoleezza Rice is making her first visit as US Secretary of State to the world’s most populous Muslim nation today amid tight security.

The world remembered the fury of the Indian Ocean tsunami that swept away at least 223,000 people in 12 countries and laid waste to entire communities in one of the worst natural disasters in memory.

Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has warned that a bird flu epidemic may prove deadlier than last year’s massive Indian Ocean tsunami, reports said today.

Suicide bombers carried out the attacks on three crowded restaurants on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali, killing at least 25 people and wounding more than 100, a top anti-terror official said yesterday.

Indonesia will more than double the average cost of fuel today to try to stave off an economic crisis, the economy minister said, despite protests by thousands of people, some of whom burned tires and threw rocks at police.

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Jakarta as the government announced plans to more than double the average cost of fuel, some burning tyres and throwing rocks at riot police who responded by firing tear gas and warning shots into the air.

A powerful 8.7-magnitude earthquake hammered Indonesia’s west coast, collapsing homes and burying sleeping residents inside and sparking panic across Indian Ocean countries still traumatised by the tsunami disaster three months ago. Death toll estimates varied widely, from about 200 to 10 times that number.

A video delivered to an international news organisation has apparently shown the release of two Indonesian journalists who were kidnapped in the volatile Iraqi city of Ramadi last week.

FORMER US Presidents George HW Bush and Bill Clinton visited Indonesia’s tsunami-ravaged Aceh province yesterday, flying over a vast wasteland of destruction, the likes of which Mr Bush said he had never seen.

Indonesia’s offer of autonomy for tsunami-hit Aceh is on the table today for talks with rebel envoys in Finland, providing the best hope in years of ending the conflict which has threatened relief efforts in the area hit worst by the disaster.

THE global death toll from the Asian tsunami shot above 226,000 yesterday after Indonesia’s Health Ministry confirmed the deaths of tens of thousands of people previously listed as missing.

Indonesia said today it would set up an early warning system for disasters with its neighbours, as it raised its death toll from last week’s earthquake and tsunami to 94,081.

The new year got off to a subdued start around disaster-ravaged Asia, where prayers frequently substituted for parties.

Fears rose in Indonesia today that the bodies of perhaps tens of thousands of victims will never be found. Entire villages have been swept to sea.

A FORMER general who has pledged to get tough on terrorism and fix the economy won a landslide victory over incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri in Indonesia's landmark elections yesterday.

Indonesia’s President Megawati Sukarnoputri is heading for a heavy defeat in next week’s elections despite her coalition with the country’s largest political party, two opinion polls showed today.

A small bomb rocked Indonesia’s election commission today as the agency prepared to announce final results of the July 5 presidential election, expected to call for a run-off between the incumbent president and a former army general.

Former general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono maintained a commanding lead in Indonesia’s first direct presidential election today with nearly three-quarters of the votes counted, according to the country’s election commission.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri was beaten into second place in Indonesia’s presidential vote and will now face her former security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in a September runoff, according to poll results today.

A FORMER army general took an early lead yesterday in Indonesia’s first direct presidential election.

HEADS bowed and weeping, survivors and families of last year’s bomb attacks on Indonesia’s Bali island paid tribute to the 202 people killed, as fresh warnings were issued that Muslim radicals could strike again.

HEADS bowed and weeping, survivors and families of last year’s bomb attacks on Indonesia’s Bali island paid tribute to the 202 people killed, as fresh warnings were issued that Muslim radicals could strike again.

Armed gangs of indigenous Dayaks have broadened their campaign of terror in Borneo, forcing thousands to flee.