ADB aid to be used to resettle villagers PALU, Central Sulawesi: The Central Sulawesi provincial administration in the 1999/2000 budget year will receive aid worth some US$3 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Antara reported. The fund will be used to resettle villagers in Katu, North Lore district, Poso regency, in conjunction with the Lore Lindu National Park project.

Indofood, former executives sued for unfair transactions JAKARTA (JP): The former owner of a company that later grew to become PT Indofood Sukses Makmur is to sue the largest noodle producer and its former executives for over Rp 620 billion for unfair business transactions occurring in the mid-1980s.

Unrests linked to foreign interference By M.M.I. Ahyani BANDUNG (JP): Historian Ahmad Mansur Suryanegara, who lectures in the School of Letters at Padjadjaran University here, sees links between recent outbreaks of unrest in Indonesia with the reform movement and the meddling of other countries, specifically the United States.

North Sulawesi allocates Rp 237b MANADO, North Sulawesi: The North Sulawesi administration has allocated Rp 237 billion (US$26 million) for its social safety net program, Governor E.E. Mangindaan said on Wednesday. Quoted by Antara, he said the fund would be directed to ensure a secure supply of food for residents, to foster the development of small and medium-sized businesses, and would also be used for education and other social services.

Reform the banks or perish By Eddy Soeparno JAKARTA (JP): Developments in the past few months indicate that despite a stronger rupiah exchange rate and lower inflation, the economy continues to remain dormant as a result of a banking system that is rotten to the core. Indonesian banks are notorious for their high level of nonperforming loans, bad management and lending practices, while the system lacks the credibility which comes from sound regulatory and supervisory standards.