PLN and Paiton close to reaching long-term accord JAKARTA (JP): State-owned electricity company PT PLN and independent power producer (IPP) PT Paiton Energy are close to reaching a long-term agreement that would close the book on one of PLN's toughest deal. Paiton president Robert P. Landry said on Wednesday that both sides were close to agreeing on a long-term electricity rate that Paiton sells to PLN. "We're not at a final price yet.... it could be from 4 U.S.cents to 6 U.S.

Indonesia clears first hurdle in Sudirman Cup JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia cleared its first hurdle at the Sudirman Cup Group B round-robin match by defeating England 4-1 at the San Pablo Stadium in Seville, Spain, on Tuesday. But the national team suffered a blow with the injury of world number three men's singles Taufik Hidayat. In Group A, former champion South Korea blanked underdog Sweden 5-0.

Politics, fluid rupiah slowing Indonesian commodity trade SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): The volatility in the Indonesian rupiah, stemming from a leadership crisis in the country, has slowed commodities trading across the country. Market participants are watching developments in Jakarta as these events will likely affect the rupiah, which in turn could influence commodities prices, traders said. "Trading has been relatively quiet since this morning.

Democracy under trial With the plenary session of the House of Representatives now behind us, one crucial point is that the process of democratization in Indonesia has at least been undertaken without incident to speak of. Under the circumstances, that certainly is something to be thankful for. Unfortunately though, it is not yet time for Indonesians to breath a sigh of relief.

Students involved in bus robbery BEKASI (JP): Police detained eight of around 50 vocational high school students alleged of involvement in a robbery committed on Wednesday aboard a Mayasari bus on Jl. Rawa Panjang, Bekasi. After the students boarded the bus, one of them put a sickle around a passenger's neck and demanded that he hand over his wallet, Bekasi police public service unit's First. Adj. Insp. Arwanto told The Jakarta Post.

Black Americans plunge into slavery's legacy in Nigeria By Glenn McKenzie GBEREFU ISLAND, Nigeria (AP): The sand trail passed a well where slaves once paused to drink, and ended at a statue of two people linked by chains around their necks. Under a palm tree next to a wooden sign saying "Point of No Return," Loretta Butler broke down and cried.

Graft suspect gets o'seas travel permit JAKARTA (JP): The Attorney General's Office has issued a permit allowing tycoon Syamsul Nursalim, a suspect in a graft case, to seek medication for his heart disease in Japan. "Hopefully, Syamsul Nursalim will not escape," the office's spokesman Muljohardjo said on Wednesday. Syamsul, owner of the Gajah Tunggal group, is accused of misappropriating central bank liquidation support, causing the state to suffer Rp 10 trillion in losses.

Court decision upsets Makassar teachers MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi (JP): Hundreds of elementary school teachers were outraged on Wednesday when a panel of judges in the Makassar District Court adjourned the trial of a student's parent who had beaten a fellow teacher. The teachers, from some 400 elementary schools in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi, became even angrier when they learned that the defendant, Syafril Muis Hamzah, was not detained.

Borobudur replica In the May 29, 2001 edition of The Jakarta Post you wrote about a replica of the Borobudur temple, which will be presented by the governor of Central Java on June 7, 2001 in Austria. There are some mistakes in your article which need clarification. The replica will not be displayed in Vienna, but in the city of Klagenfurt in southern Austria. The place is not a museum, but a huge park with a large number of buildings from all over the world.

Pasundan province not bad at all From Pikiran Rakyat After reading an article in Pikiran Rakyat entitled The support for the name change of West Java province written by H.

SEAG training chief to question Pelti JAKARTA (JP): The 2001 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games training director, Kusnan Ismukanto, said on Wednesday he would ask the Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) to explain why it had called up men's singles Peter Handoyo to join the Games squad. Kusnan said he had no idea why Pelti preferred to pick Peter, who has no national ranking, over seniors like Andrian Raturandang, Hendri Susilo Pramono and Febi Widhiyanto. "I'll pay special attention to this case.