Jakarta  - Landslides, flash floods and high waves have killed at least 18 people on Indonesia's Java and Sulawesi islands, officials and media reports said Monday.

The flash floods, triggered by incessant rains, caused the Bengawan Solo River to burst its banks, submerging thousands of homes Monday in the East Java district of Bojonegoro.

The floodwaters inundated homes in dozens of villages over the weekend in the upper regions of the river in central Java's Solo regency and nearby areas.

Jakarta - A landslide triggered by heavy

Jakarta - Indonesia said Friday that it would deport 193 Rohingya boat people but was seeking assurances from Myanmar and Bangladesh that they would not be harmed when returned.

The Muslim Rohingyas, who were rescued January 7 from the sea off Aceh province, have pleaded to the Indonesian government not to send them back, saying they faced persecution in Myanmar.

Jakarta - Four former deputy governors of Bank Indonesia, including an in-law of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, went on trial on Friday for their alleged role in a multi-million-dollar embezzlement case that has embroiled the central bank.

Prosecutors accused the four defendants - Aulia Pohan, Bunbunan Hutapea, Maman Sumantri and Aslim Tadjuddin - of misusing 100 billion rupiah (8.8 million dollars) from a foundation run by Bank Indonesia in 2003.

Jakarta - A man who led an Islamic religious sect whose rituals include having group sex turned himself in Thursday, police in Jakarta said.

Police launched an investigation after a woman complained that she was sexually assaulted in a religious ritual led by Agus Noro, who claims to be a messiah and God incarnate.

Agus surrendered to police and would be charged with sexual indecency, said Jakarta police spokesman Zulkarnaen, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name.

Jakarta  - Two mechanics were killed by rotor blades on Thursday when the helicopter they were servicing tilted on its side, an transport ministry official said.

The pilot and mechanics were making last-minute checks on the aircraft before take-off when the accident happened at a military airport about 30 kilometres southwest of the Indonesian capital Jakarta, said transport ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan.

The spinning blades killed the two mechanics instantly while the pilot and another technician in the cockpit were injured, he said