2,000 alcoholic drinks seized JAKARTA (JP): The Central Jakarta mayoralty confiscated during a Monday night raid 2,000 bottles of alcoholic drinks from three houses on Jl. Sumur Batu Raya in Kemayoran. Mayor Andi S. Abdullah said on Tuesday the three drink vendors and the drinks containing alcohol content levels of 15 percent or more would be soon handed over to the Central Jakarta Police precinct for further investigation. "It's up to the police to pursue this case," Andi said.

Ministry uncovers Rp2.6t graft JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Home Affairs disclosed on Tuesday corruption cases which cost the government a whopping Rp 2.6 trillion (US$388 million). The amount, which is more than a third of the figure related to embezzled state funds unveiled by the government last week, was calculated from cases of graft between October last year and February this year, the ministry's Inspector General Andi Jalal Bachtiar said.

Bogor's rubbish builds up BOGOR (JP): Only half of some 2,000 cubic meters of garbage produced everyday in the mayoralty here was driven to the garbage dump in Galuga village, Cibungbulang, an official said on Tuesday. Head of the mayoralty's Health and Sanitation agency Ahmad Memed Sudarma said the problem was primarily caused by the location of the Galuga dump, which is about 5 kilometers from the center of Bogor. "We have indeed tried our best to collect all the trash.

Ciliwung River home to locals' floating toilets Text and photo by Ida Indawaty Khouw JAKARTA (JP): Houses without toilets are commonplace for many living in Jakarta slums, so much so that they are forced to erect public toilets or relieve themselves in rivers.

Qantas offers free trip JAKARTA (JP): Qantas Airways is offering a free domestic connecting flight in Australia to each passenger holding roundtrip tickets from Jakarta to one of three Australian cities between July 1 and Aug. 31. The offer is valid for passengers who travel on Sundays, Mondays or Tuesdays to Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, the company announced on Tuesday.

Trade and economic ties of France, RI weather changes Trade between France and Indonesia has grown steadily over the past decade and reached a peak of 14.7 billion French francs (FF) in 1997 (US$2.5 billion), when French exports were boosted by the delivery of four Airbus A330 to Garuda. The slowdown, and then the recession of Indonesia's economy as a result of the Asian crisis had dramatic consequences on trade relations with all its major partners.

Bus terminal thieves nabbed JAKARTA (JP): Police have arrested eight men suspected of operating as a group of pickpockets in the capital's biggest intercity bus terminal of Pulogadung in East Jakarta. Police identified the detained gang members as parking attendant Dapis Sebayang, 34, bus driver Nanang, 29, street vendor Sahrudin Siregar, 24, newspaper seller Edwin, 18, bus co- driver Agus Aban, 37, and three unemployed men aged between 19 and 28: Heru Purwanto, Asmadi and Hamami.

Electing the president I am concerned by the recent development of democratization in this country, which is indicating an unruly process. It is well known that the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) is believed to have won the recent elections, not by an absolute margin but with about 35 percent to 40 percent of the vote.

East Nusa Tenggara children dying JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of children in Indonesia's poorest province of East Nusa Tenggara are severely undernourished with deaths also being reported, Antara said on Monday. East Nusa Tenggara Vice Governor Pake Pani said in Kupang that in March 1999, a total of 7,202 children in the province were recorded as suffering malnutrition. He said medical intervention had reduced the number to some 4,000 children, but at least 11 of the children had died.