'Coal mining plays major role in East Kutai economy' The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Mining activities have become a major factor in economic growth in remote areas of the country after regional administrations obtained greater power in managing natural resources through the autonomy policy, according to a survey.

Trade facilitation bolsters export competitiveness Vincent Lingga, Senior Editor, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has emphasized the importance of easier access to imported input through trade facilitation measures as a precondition to enhancing export competitiveness.

Cocoa price jump to 13-year high Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The price of cocoa hit a thirteen-year high of Rp 17,000 per kilogram (about US$1,925) on Monday amid lingering fears of lower output from the world's largest producer and higher global demand, executive director of the Indonesian Cocoa Association (Askindo) Zulhefy Sikumbang said on Tuesday.

After ten years of operation in Indonesia, freight forwarding and logistics provider PT Danzas Saranaperkasa, a subsidiary of Switzerland-based Danzas Group, has successfully managed to retain its strong customer base for its reliable and excellent forwarding and logistics-related service.

NGO reports bogus projects TANGERANG: The Banten Provincial Administration allegedly conjured up bogus projects for the Tangerang Municipality worth Rp 3.5 billion, The Association of Tangerang Non-Governmental Organizations said on Tuesday. Association chairman Adi Warman said it had reported the fictitious works to the Attorney General's Office. "Last week we reported the fictitious projects valued at Rp 3.5 billion," Adi told Antara.

Stock quotations on JSX Stock prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (in rupiah) on Sept.

Govt steps up measures against illegal logging Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The government would attempt to step up measures to curb illegal logging activities in the country by intensifying its domestic and overseas campaigns and conducting a series of operations, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

'Concrete' plans for U.S. Embassy The Jakarta Post, Jakarta JAKARTA: Motorists will have another diversion to watch out for when driving along Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan in front of the U.S. Embassy as construction workers placed on Monday concrete bollards to cordon off the road immediately in front of the embassy. However, the strip in front of the embassy, which is 500 meters long, takes up two lanes of the four on the southern avenue of Jl.

Tosari's investment in PT QSAR From Warta Kota News is currently circulating about the funds invested by Tosari Widjaya (deputy secretary-general of the United Development Party) in the Rp 5 billion PT QSAR scandal. Is it surprising to society? The incident will just make the public more critical so that in the future (particularly 2004) it will not easily be influenced by superficiality. So many appearances mislead evaluation, what originally seemed great turns out to be deceptive.

* Headlines: Irregularities in budget spending 17%2 * National: Govt ups measures against illegal logging4 * Archipelago: Labor protest paralyzes Caltex 5 * Opinion:Indonesia seeking food security6 * City: Thousands to be evicted as airport expands 8 * Sports: Young guns guide USA in Davis Cup matches10 * World: Koizumi gets concessions from Kim11 * Business: Cocoa price jump to 13-year high 13 * Features: Lee: Samsung's man in Indonesia 20

Lee: Samsung's man in Indonesia A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Four businessmen visited The Jakarta Post last month to share their views about the latest development in the Indonesian expatriate business sectors. Their visit was actually part of a regular monthly program aimed at boosting communications between the paper and the business community. It was held in the afternoon, a challenging time for most of the reporters who already felt tired after working for hours.

================================================================================== .RM 9.50" No. Institution Irregularities Percentage (in million) ================================================================================= 1. The Indonesian Embassies in Rp 14,501.55 100 Singapore and Beijing 2. The Ministry of Forestry Rp 27,511.09 64.80 3. State-owned TVRI station Rp 219.03 11.58 4. The Ministry of National Education Rp 1,176.65 3.17 5.

'Money can buy people and the law itself' Allegations of money politics being engaged in by city councillors during the recent gubernatorial election have sparked controversy among ordinary people in the city. Some of them shared with The Jakarta Post their opinion on the matter. Purnomo, 40, is a public minivan driver who plies the Kampung Melayu to Pulo Gadung route in East Jakarta.

Addressing the symptoms, not causes, in Aceh Damien Kingsbury, Head of Philosophical, Political and International Studies, Deakin University, Melbourne The arrest of three women -- two of them foreigners -- in Aceh last week has raised questions about what they were doing in the province, and about police procedure. The women are Lesley McCulloch, a British national resident in Australia, Joy-Lee Sadler, a American nurse, and Fitrah bin Amin, a student, who was their translator.

'War' at the House Failing to proceed with the discussion on the fate of its speaker Akbar Tandjung through the Honorary Council, members of the House of Representatives (DPR) are now preparing a petition to unseat him. The move was sponsored by members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and National Awakening Party (PKB) factions, and has so far collected at least 70 signatures.