Jakarta - The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would like Indonesia to remain a member, the president of the oil cartel said Tuesday on a visit to the country that has become an oil importer.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced in May that his country was considering quitting OPEC because its interests have come into conflict with the cartel's policies since it began importing oil in 2003.

Jakarta - Indonesian police on Monday unearthed five more bodies buried outside the house of an alleged serial killer in east Java, bringing the number of victims to 10, police and media reports said.

Two weeks ago, the capital city police arrested Verry Idham Henyansyah after a bag of body parts was discovered on a roadside in southern Jakarta. The suitcase contained a torso, legs, a head and neck.

Henyansyah, 30, who is also known as Ryan and is a Koran recital teacher, confessed to police to have murdered and dismembered Herry Santoso on July 11.

Jakarta - Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Friday that the European Union's (EU's) ban on the country's airlines, imposed after a spate of air accidents that killed hundreds of people in recent years, has been good for spurring the improvement of local aviation safety.

Kalla made the statement one day after the EU decided to continue its ban on 51 Indonesian airlines, which was imposed on July 6 last year. The EU said a lot of improvements are still needed by Indonesia to fully meet with international air safety standards.

Jakarta  - The way has been cleared for the execution of three Muslim militants convicted for their roles in the 2002 Bali bombings, Indonesian Attorney General Hendarman Supandji said Monday.

"I hope (the execution) could take place before the fasting month of Ramadan," Supandji was quoted as saying by the state-run Antara news agency.

Supandji did not specify a date or time for the execution. Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims around the world, is expected to begin in early September.

Jakarta - Indonesian police have detained 41 people in the country's easternmost province of Papua for allegedly hoisting separatist flags, a media report said Sunday. 

Papua police spokesman Senior Commissioner Agus Rianto said that the arrests took place Saturday in Papua's Fakfak district. All 41 are former political prisoners, he said. 

Three of the detainees hoisted the Bintang Kejora (Morning Star) flag belonging to the Free Papua Movement (OPM) separatist group in front of the former people's self-determination vote (Pepera) office, the Jakarta Post reported. 

Agus said that police had seized the flag and several documents, written in a local dialect, as well as several bladed weapons as evidence. 

Bali, Indonesia - Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed regret Tuesday but stopped short of apologizing for the violence that accompanied East Timor's UN-sponsored independence vote in 1999.

"We convey very deep regret of what happened in the past that has caused the loss of lives and property," Yudhoyono said after receiving a report of a truth inquiry which blames Jakarta for crimes against humanity during East Timor's independence vote nearly a decade ago.

"The government of Indonesia will immediately study and follow up the finding," he said.