Whistle blower ill, trial adjourned JAKARTA: Kito Irkhami, a prosecutor being tried by the South Jakarta District Court for fraud, fell ill on Tuesday, just before the sentence recommendation. "I have a headache and feel queasy," he was quoted by detik.com as saying. The court granted his request to adjourn the session until Thursday. Kito made headlines last year by revealing alleged undeclared assets belonging to Attorney General MA Rachman, following a dispute between the two.

Gus Dur, Try dine together GIANYAR, Bali: Former president Abdurrahman Wahid, former vice president Gen. (ret) Try Sutrisno and former defense minister Gen. (ret) Edi Sudrajat had dinner together on Monday at the Ubud Palace, some 40 kilometers northeast of the Bali capital of Denpasar. Try said the rare meeting had no political significance, and described it as a reunion. "We all came here at the invitation of the Ubud Palace elders," Try said.

Review sought for Sumiasih case JAKARTA: The Surabaya District Court in East Java filed on Monday a petition for a Supreme Court review of Sumiasih, who is on death row. The court decided to proceed with the request after a hearing with the defendant's lawyers, who presented new evidence that Sumiasih's appeal in 2000 had not yet been processed by the Supreme Court.

RI should ensure security for peace monitors in Aceh The representatives of the four co-chairs of the Tokyo conference on peace and reconstruction in Aceh -- Japan, the U.S., the Europe Union and the World Bank -- last week met with Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Gen. (ret.) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to express their concerns over the worsening situation in Aceh. Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia, Yutaka Iimura, spoke to The Jakarta Post's Kornelius Purba about Aceh.

Seven seamen killed in strange trawler mishap Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra Six fishermen died during vain attempts to save the life of a seventh in a bizarre tragedy aboard a trawler in North Sumatra on Sunday. The deaths are believed caused by toxic air in a hold filled with rotting fish remains. Chemical poisoning has not been ruled out.

Councillors sought to remove the mayor just three days after he took over the post from Sunarto Sumoprawiro. Sunarto himself was sacked by the council. The graft scandal has also tarnished the image of the 45- member council, where PDI Perjuangan and PKB are the two largest factions, with 22 seats and 18 seats respectively.

Anwar marks 4th anniversary in jail MALAYSIA: Jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim marked his fourth anniversary behind bars on Monday as police threw tight cordons around his home and prison to prevent any demonstrations by his supporters. Anwar was due for possible release on Monday after having served two-thirds of a six-year sentence for corruption, because prisoners are entitled to have their sentences cut by one-third for good behavior.

DESPERATELY SEEKING SADDAM: A group of people march toward the U.S. Embassy on Jl. Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta. Dozens of women and men protested on Monday against the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq which ended with the downfall of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

KPU names 22 nominees for monitoring committee Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The General Elections Commission (KPU) plans to add more qualified candidates to the 22 already selected to undergo a test of suitability for election supervisory jobs. "We are of the opinion that more people, who know a lot more about the general election mechanism, should be given a chance to compete in the election for the monitoring committee.

ING slashes economic growth forecasts for Asia due to SARS Agence France Presse Hong Kong ING Financial Markets on Monday cut its 2003 economic growth forecasts for a number of Asian economies, citing the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus. "SARS is a more serious threat to regional GDP (gross domestic product) growth than the U.S.-Iraq war," ING said in a note to its clients. "The outbreak of SARS in February and its spread throughout the region is a major negative..

Akbar may run for presidency JAKARTA: The Golkar Party has issued a circular asking all members planning to contest the presidential election to report to the party's central board. The letter was signed by deputy chairman Slamet Effendy Yusuf and secretary-general Budi Harsono, Antara reported. A political observer formerly linked to the party said the letter indicated Golkar's intention of naming Akbar as its presidential candidate.

BNI agrees to keep Texmaco Group's head above water The Jakarta Post, Jakarta State-owned Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) has agreed to maintain a trade financing facility for troubled textile and engineering giant Texmaco Group. But this would apply only if Texmaco founder and owner Marimutu Sinivasan started repaying debts owned based upon previous financing facilities extended by BNI.

Marriot International plans expansion in RI Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali Worldwide hospitality company Marriot International said that the slump in the tourism industry in Indonesia would not discourage its plan to expand in the country, saying that there was still more room for growth here. "It is true that hotel occupancy rates in Indonesia have been low since the economic crisis. They have yet to recover. We won't see any new international hotels in the coming years.

Afghan official says Pakistan backing Taliban: An Afghan official accused Pakistan on Monday of backing the re-emergence of the fundamentalist Taliban militia, and of involvement in the murder of two relatives of a provincial governor. A cousin and another relative of Kandahar Governor Gul Agha Sherzai were killed by suspected Taliban militants in the Pakistani border town of Chaman on Sunday, while his brother, Sharif Sherzai, was also injured. --Reuters Pakistan convicts four over U.S.