Jakarta - Scars and welts suffered by Myanmar's Rohingya boat people rescued by the Indonesian Navy after drifting in the sea for three weeks were consistent with their claims that they had been mistreated by Thai authorities, an Indonesian doctor said Wednesday.

At least 198 refugees belonging to Myanmar's Rohingya ethnic minority who claimed they were fleeing persecution in their military-ruled country were rescued by the Indonesian navy off the coast of westernmost Aceh province early Tuesday.

Kuala Lumpur  - A Indonesian teenager was killed instantly when a modified firecracker exploded and hit him on the head in Malaysia's eastern state of Sarawak, a news report said Wednesday.

The 19-year-old victim was believed to have placed a firecracker inside a metal pipe with the hope of launching the explosive when the accident occurred, said Miri district police chief Jamaluddin Ibrahim.

"We believe that he was checking the firecracker after it failed to launch, when it suddenly blew out from the pipe and hit him straight on the head," Jamaluddin told the official Bernama news agency.

Jakarta - Indonesia's central bank on Wednesday lowered its benchmark interest rate half a percentage point, its third-straight monthly cut, to support growth amid the global economic downturn.

Bank Indonesia Governor Boediono said the key overnight lending rate was cut to 8.25 per cent from 8.75 per cent.

Jakarta- The speaker of an Indonesian provincial council died Tuesday after protestors carrying a mock coffin stormed into his office and attacked him, a report said.

Abdul Aziz Angkat, speaker of the North Sumatran provincial council, was meeting with other councillors when hundreds of protestors stormed the plenary room and beat him, the state Antara news agency said.

Angkat was rushed to a hospital but died of a heart attack, Antara said.

Police arrested six protestors after the attack.

Jakarta - The Indonesian Navy on Tuesday rescued 198 boat people from Myanmar drifting off the coast of the north-western province of Aceh, an official said.

They were the second batch of boat people belonging to Myanmar's Rohingya ethnic minority to be picked up off Indonesia after 193 people were rescued early last month off Sabang island on the northern tip of Aceh.

The rescues came as the Rohingya flee impoverished, military-run Myanmar and Thailand has been accused of mistreating the migrants and casting them adrift at sea.

Jakarta - Indonesia's consumer price index in January fell 0.07 per cent against the previous month, driven by declining costs in several key sectors, the government announced Monday.

Ali Rosidi, deputy chairman of the Central Bureau of Statistics, said the January deflation was due to price declines in the group transport, communications, housing, electricity and financial services.

Indonesia's export value reached 8.7 billion dollars in December, down 9.6 per cent from November, bringing the yearly total to 136.8 billion dollars.