IBRA to decide on SCB deals for Bank Bali soon JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) said on Friday the fate of its management and investment agreements with Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) for Bank Bali would be known next week after the completion of the latter bank's financial and legal audit.

Customs seizes protected items TANGERANG (JP): Soekarno-Hatta International Airport customs and excise officers handed over to the Ministry of Education 146 prehistoric items which they prevented from being smuggled out of the country. The head of the airport's customs and excise office, Tonny Soenanto, said that on Sept. 11 customs officers became suspicious of luggage containing articles such as necklaces, sculptures and bowls.

Maelstrom facing Gus Dur's govt From Suara Karya While the nation's new government is striving to carry out a series of measures in its reform agenda, we were suddenly surprised by the demand of Aceh to free itself from the Indonesian republic through a referendum. It seems that President Abdurrahman Wahid's government is bombarded with a number of problems.

Gus Dur's irreverent style Speaking at the House of Representatives, Gus Dur (President Abdurrahman Wahid) managed to give a lighthearted touch to some serious problems. Gus Dur has managed to turn usually boring presidential speeches into eagerly awaited events. The language he uses is far removed from the rigid and formal language of textbooks. Gus Dur speaks in the same everyday language that ordinary people speak, using even expletives to underscore his opinion on certain points.