City Council approves new on-street parking system Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Amid criticism from activists and commuters, the City Council approved on Tuesday the city administration's plan to introduce a new on-street parking system with prepaid electronic cards. The pilot project of the new system is to kick off early next month.

National Police to take over cases BANDUNG, West Java: National Police Headquarters will likely take over from the West Java Police the investigation of possible corruption cases in the provincial administration, according to an officer. The deputy chief of the directorate handling corruption cases, Sr. Comr. Marsudi, said the National Police planned the move because it was thought the provincial police were moving too slowly on the cases.

AFP to help probe airport blast JAKARTA: National Police Headquarters confirmed on Tuesday the Australian Federal Police (AFP) would assist in the investigation of the bombing at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Zainuri Lubis said two forensic experts from the AFP, who have also been helping investigate Thursday's blast near the United Nations office in Central Jakarta, would assist Indonesian police in the airport bombing investigation.

Life after the IMF The session on the future of the International Monetary Fund program in Indonesia held on Monday by this newspaper as part of its 20th anniversary seminar on Strategy for Indonesia's Economic Development was really thought provoking. The debate was made much livelier by the presence of Narongchai Akrasanee, a prominent scholar and corporate leader from Thailand, who delivered the keynote address at the opening of the seminar.

Probe on airport bombing hits snag Damar Harsanto and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Bali The police have hit a brick wall in their investigation into Sunday's explosion at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, saying they had failed to obtain any significant evidence or clues at the blast site. Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara claimed that a broken close-circuit television camera near the blast site had hampered the investigation.

Political observers hail Cak Nur's move 2. 4 columns, 2 x 48 Voter registration drive to be extended by 2 weeks 3. 5 columns, 1 x 30 Top executives use illegal drugs: BNN 4. 3 columns, 2 x 30 'SMEs need to be told about intellectual property rights'

"Let them grow to meet their own vision and mission" International schools have become an important alternative for Indonesian children to get a good quality of education. In fact, more and more Indonesian parents have sent their sons and daughters to them, as they not only promise better educational programs, but also an ideal multicultural environment that can help to promote peace and harmony in the world.

Badminton world c'ships latest event at risk of SARS Agence France-Presse, London The badminton world championships could be the next sports event to fall prey to the SARS epidemic that has particularly affected Asia where the majority of the top players hail from it was reported here Tuesday. The Daily Telegraph said it was 90 percent certain the event due to be staged in Birmingham, England, next month would be postponed although organizers were looking at ways of holding it.

Inul: A threat to civilization? I do not consider myself a fan of either dangdut songs or dance. I was watching an infotainment program on TV, in which Rhoma Irama and Camelia Malik were the guests, criticizing Inul, the dangdut dancer and her colleagues, who perform similar, "sensual goyang dangdut".

`Tempo' journalists testify to violence M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Tempo magazine journalists Ahmad Taufik and Karaniya Dharmasaputra testified on Tuesday that defendant David Tjioe, alias A. Miauw, an aide to tycoon Tomy Winata, had physically attacked the weekly's chief editor, Bambang Harymurti, at the Central Jakarta Police station.

'Stop ground water exploitation' BOGOR: A local councillor has called on the Bogor municipal administration to stop making money by allowing the exploiting of groundwater by poorly planned developments. Rizal Barnadi of the council's Commission D for development warned that if uncontrolled development continued, Bogor could become like Jakarta, which regularly experienced water shortages in certain areas.

U.S. and UK warns of more attacks Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The United States and Britain on Tuesday reissued warnings for their citizens not to visit Indonesia, after bomb attacks in downtown Jakarta and the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Citing the continued "high risk of terrorism directed against westerners throughout the country", the British embassy warned against all non-essential travel to Indonesia.

'Indonesia still attractive, but has many problems' Johannes Simbolon, The Jakarta Post, Sydney Despite the numerous problems now confronting the country, Indonesia remains attractive to many foreign investors. But, Indonesia has to work hard to revive investors' confidence before they are willing to return to the country with the same amount of enthusiasm they demonstrated for several decades prior to the economic crisis, Australian economists and investors say.

RI attractive, but has many problems: Australian experts Johannes Simbolon The Jakarta Post Sydney Despite the numerous problems now confronting the country, Indonesia remains attractive to many foreign investors. But, Indonesia has to work hard to revive investors' confidence before they are willing to come back into the country with the same amount of enthusiasm they demonstrated for several decades prior to the economic crisis, Australian economist and investor said.

Ahold sells local unit to Hero Dow Jones, Amsterdam Amsterdam-based supermarket operator Koninklijke Ahold N.V. (Ahold) said Tuesday that it has reached agreement for the sale of its Indonesian operation to PT Hero Supermarket for approximately 12 million euro (about US$ 10.90 million), excluding proceeds from the sale of store inventory. Ahold Indonesia operates the TOPS supermarket chain.

ASEAN to enforce health checks at ports Michael Mathes, Agence France-Presse, Bangkok Southeast Asian leaders agreed here on Tuesday to join forces to fight the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus, by working toward pre-departure and arrival health screening for travelers within the region.

Oil prices continue to fall, RI preps output cut proposal A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Oil prices fell still further on Tuesday as dealers again analyzed OPEC's decision on production quotas last week and concluded that the market was likely to stay awash with crude.

KL to host ASEAN energy meeting SINGAPORE : Malaysia will be hosting the 21st Asean Ministers Energy Meeting (AMEM), July 3 on the resort island of Langkawi, Malaysia's national news agency Bernama said in a press release on Tuesday. AMEM holds an annual forum to promote cooperation in the energy sectors between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' 10 member countries. The last meeting was held in Bali, Indonesia, July 5, 2002, Bernama said.

Susilo nominated for president From Koran Tempo The Democrats Party has nominated Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as a presidential candidate for 2004 election. The nomination was disclosed to the press by H.M. Yusuf Pardamean, in his capacity as Chairman of the Democrats Party of North Sumatra chapter.

New team in Kobatama 2003 season JAKARTA: The national premier basketball competition, or Kobatama, will begin the 2003 season early next month with eight new teams, after an exodus of old teams to the newly established Indonesian Basketball League (IBL). The eight new teams are Satria Padjadjaran Bogor, Bogor Raya, Buls Jakarta, Halim Kediri, Mahameru Surabaya, Pacific Caesar Surabaya, Sahabat Surabaya and Utama Yogyakarta.

Part 1 of 2 IMF inhibiting RI's improvement, inflating inequity Rizal Ramli, Former Coordinating, Minister for the Economy, Jakarta Five years into our International Monetary Fund (IMF) tutelage, we have very little to show for efforts beyond a a wave of corporate bankruptcies, the devastation of the domestic banking sector, an increase in unemployment and a sharp rise in the international and domestic debt burden. Growth has stagnated and inequality has worsened.

Budget tourism and visa policy Fear that the new, Indonesian visa policy will kill budget tourism is absolutely right. And why is budget tourism not encouraged by the national government? Could it be that the political elite are unaware of the millions who live off budget tourism or is it that budget tourists put little cash in the pockets of the powers that be? Budget tourists are the overwhelming majority of tourists to Indonesia. They spend less per day, but often stay longer.

1. Batam: 24 x 1 line 'SARS to cost 10,000 Batam jobs' 2. Award: 32 x 1 line Adam Malik Center honors five governors

1. SARS: 2 x 24 ASEAN to enforce health checks at ports 2. ACEH: 1 x 45 HDC close to setting new date for Aceh talks 3. SMUGGLING: 3 x 17 Asia Pacific vulnerable to people smuggling 4. SPACE: 4 x 14 Falling Italian satellite debris sighted in Sulawesi

Asia Pacific vulnerable to people smuggling Rita A.Widiadana and Wahyoe Boedhiwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali The second regional ministerial conference on people smuggling and trafficking, and transnational crime opened here on Tuesday, with a call for closer cooperation among participating countries to fight the practices.

Resolving Aceh problem The debate on military operations in Aceh has been weak recently. The government, previously firm in its move to launch a military operation in Aceh, is backing off. In a limited Cabinet meeting on Monday, President Megawati Soekarnoputri decided to postpone the launch of a military operation. Instead, she opted for a humanitarian operation, law enforcement and moves to improve security.

City asked to address overlapping bus services The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The city administration should start streamlining overlapping public buses services, which have contributed significantly to the disorganized condition of the transportation system in the city, a transportation analyst said.

Voter registration drive to be extended by two weeks Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) has formally asked the General Elections Commission (KPU) to extend the voter registration deadline by another two weeks, saying it will be unable to complete the process by Wednesday as scheduled. Agus Suherman, the BPS official in charge of the nationwide census and voter registration process, blamed the delay in part on complacent field workers.

Flying through the shadow of stiff rivalry I. Christianto Contributor Jakarta With more domestic airlines in operation there has been a tightening of the competition among local carriers, most of which continue to focus on proven profitable routes. The tighter competition has unavoidably led to a price war, and in certain cases has also brought additional advantages for passengers.

Two journalists ambushed in RP PHILIPPINES: A radio announcer was slain and another was wounded in two daylight ambushes in the Philippines, police said on Tuesday. John Villanueva, an announcer with radio station DZGB in Legaspi City, south of Manila, was riding a motorcycle when he was shot dead by unidentified assailants on Monday, police said.

1. INSIGHT: Avoid past mistakes if military option inevitable 2. IRAQ: 2 x 27 U.S. troops kill 13 Iraqis marking Saddam's birthday 3. MIGRANT: 2 x 33 Indonesian illegal immigrants in the U.S. unwilling to go home

Supreme Court rules for Semen Gresik Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of state-owned cement producer PT Semen Gresik (SG) to hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting to replace the board of directors at its rebellious subsidiary PT Semen Padang.