Indonesia will deny political asylum to 193 migrants from Burma and Bangladesh who are being held at a navy base after being found stranded off the country’s western coast.c

The international aid effort for hundreds of thousands of Burma’s cyclone victims finally gathered pace today.

A former rebel leader today swept to victory in the first elections in Indonesia’s Aceh province since the government and the separatists signed a peace deal in the tsunami-ravaged region last year, according to a sampling of votes tallied by a respected local pollster.

Rumours of another killer wave sparked mass panic today in the town hardest hit by the Indonesian tsunami, while the death toll rose to 531, with more than 270 missing.

A powerful earthquake sent a two-metre high tsunami crashing into a beach resort on Indonesia's Java island today, killing at least six people and causing extensive damage to hotels, restaurants and homes, police and witnesses said.

Thousands of exhausted and grieving survivors dug through their crumpled homes today searching for clothes, food and valuables after a powerful earthquake hit central Indonesia, killing more than 3,700.

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake rocked a 1,240-mile swathe of Indonesia for two minutes, sending panicked residents fleeing to higher ground, fearful of a tsunami.

Indonesia started pulling out the last of 24,000 troops from tsunami-ravaged Aceh province today, a key component of a peace accord to end a three-decade civil war with separatist rebels.

A strong earthquake rocked Indonesia’s tsunami-ravaged Aceh province today, causing panicked residents to flee from their homes.

AN INDONESIAN jetliner crashed into a crowded neighbourhood moments after a shaky take-off yesterday and burst into flames, killing 147 people, including dozens on the ground.

Firefighters freed a man who was pinned for 36 hours in the wreckage of a collapsed building, as other earthquake survivors on Indonesia’s Nias island searched frantically for loved ones missing amid the rubble.

HIS eyes puffy and bloodshot, Datot Mendra prepared to spend the night lying next to his wife.

A strong earthquake rocked parts of Indonesia’s tsunami-ravaged Aceh province today, but there were no reports of damage or casualties, an official said.

Recovery workers have pulled 367 more bodies from debris left by the December 26 earthquake and tsunami that hit Aceh province, bringing Indonesia’s death toll to 125,313, a government agency said today.

An Indonesian government agency said today that recovery workers pulled 240 more bodies from debris left by the December 26 earthquake and tsunami that hit Aceh province, bringing the country’s death toll to 123,597.

FORMER US Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush senior spent time with child survivors of Asia’s tsunami yesterday, getting clues to the emotional impact of the disaster after surveying the massive physical destruction it caused.

Islamic extremists could be planning to attack foreign aid workers in Indonesia’s tsunami-ravaged Aceh province, Australia’s foreign minister warned today.

HUNDREDS of thousands of people in tsunami-ravaged Indonesia will need food handouts in the coming months while a measles epidemic looms in the hardest-hit province.

Nearly 800,000 people will need some form of food assistance in Indonesia’s Aceh province as it recovers from the devastating tsunami, the head of the UN’s food aid agency in the region said today.

Indonesia’s tsunami death toll rose today by about 5,000 as workers continued burying victims in Aceh province as tourism chiefs gathered to discuss how to bring travellers back to ravaged Asian beaches.

The singer once known as Cat Stevens visited Indonesia’s tsunami-devastated Aceh province today, handing out money to orphaned children and praying at a mosque.

More than 70,000 people previously listed as missing in Indonesia are dead, the nation’s health ministry said, putting the worldwide tsunami death toll above 220,000 today, though the numbers still had to be confirmed.

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.

THE little girl in the stained, faded dress and cheeky smile stood out even in the throng of adorable children. With her head cocked to one side and her eyes bright with curiosity, she pushed forward and demanded an introduction.

ASIA’S tsunami death toll soared past 175,000 yesterday as Sri Lanka confirmed thousands more dead, while fears re-emerged over the safety of aid workers in Indonesia’s Aceh province.

UN security officials declared a state of heightened awareness for relief workers in Indonesia today pending investigation of an “imminent terrorist attack” warning issued by the Danish Foreign Ministry.

INDONESIA increased its tsunami death toll by 5,000 yesterday, raising the overall number of people who died in the December 26 disaster to more than 162,000.

Foreign relief workers could be expelled if they don’t declare travel plans in Indonesia’s tsunami-devastated Aceh province, the government said today citing security concerns, as the United Nations appealed to donors to follow through with promises of aid.

An amateur video taken as a tsunami swept through Indonesia’s Aceh province and aired on national television for the first time today showed a roiling torrent of dark brown water engulfing a busy street, picking up cars and minivans and sending people scrambling up the sides of buildings.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan flew over the ravaged landscape of Indonesia’s tsunami-hit Aceh province yesterday and asked “Where are the people?” as Jakarta sharply raised its death toll.

AN ARMY of aid workers faced a race against the clock to supply food and water to millions of tsunami victims yesterday as logistical problems continued to hamper relief efforts.

The number of Germans confirmed killed in the tsunami disaster a week ago has nearly doubled to 60 – the highest death toll among foreigners – and is expected to rise much further, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said today.

China pledged $60m (€44m) today to help countries ravaged by the brutal earthquake and tsunami in South and Southeast Asia that claimed more than 120,000 lives.

Collection boxes are to be set up across Dublin city to raise funds for the victims of the tsunamis in Asia, it emerged today.

Dead bodies could not cause outbreaks of disease, the Pan American Health Organisation said, in a bid to avert mass burials of tens of thousands of unidentified victims from the quake disaster in Asia and Africa.

THE death toll from the tsunami disaster doubled again yesterday, soaring towards the 100,000 mark.

THE streets of Banda Aceh are filled with overturned cars and the rotting corpses of adults and children.

Indonesian troops shot and killed six suspected rebels in Aceh province as the military pressed ahead with its offensive despite pleas for a cease-fire during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Government troops in Indonesia have shot and killed 12 suspected rebels and arrested eight others in the escalating war in Aceh province.

Indonesian soldiers have trucked thousands of villagers out of suspected rebel strongholds in Aceh province, officials said today.

Indonesia’s army chief of staff responded angrily today to claims that a mass grave had been found in restive Aceh province.

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

Thirteen people have been killed in the latest separatist violence in Indonesia's Aceh province.

Thousands of Muslims have mobbed an Indonesian courthouse where three Christians have been sentenced to death for inciting a massacre.