Singing beggars in Bekasi From Warta Kota There is an increasing number of singing beggars in the area of Jalan A Yani, particularly in front of the Bekasi municipality administration office. Generally very young, they usually board public vehicles in order to sing their songs. But, unfortunately, they will also shout swear words at the passengers if they get no money from them. In the area of Hero Plaza, there are also lot of beggars, singing, or just asking for money when the traffic stops.

Karet Tengsin fire leaves 1,318 people homeless The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Nurhadi, 43, had just cooked ketupat ( rice steamed in coconut leaves) when a huge fire engulfed his wooden house and another 274 houses in Karet Tengsin area, Central Jakarta. Nurhadi, the ketupat sayur vendor, lost almost all of his belongings, the just-cooked ketupat, a push cart, and his house in which he, his father and six brothers and sisters lived, in the fire on Saturday night.

Sukhois to arrive on Tuesday Two of the four Sukhoi jet fighters that Indonesia bought from Russia through a countertrade deal in April will arrive here on Tuesday. Air Force spokesman Commodore Sagoem Tamboen said on Sunday that the two Sukhoi-30 jet fighters were scheduled to land at the Iswahyudi Air Base in Madiun, East Java, on Tuesday morning.

One killed in protests over Papua divsion Agencies, Jakarta Protesters clashed with supporters of a new province in Indonesia's troubled Papua island on Sunday, leaving one person dead, a news report said. The clash occurred when about 100 people attacked the office of the newly created government of Central Irian Jaya, local police chief Lt. Col. Paulus Waterpaw told the private El Shinta radio. He said one person died in the melee in Timika.

Councillors get itchy feet, cut fire budget Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta City councillors are reportedly changing an allocation of Rp 11 billion (US$1.2 million), which was earlier set for domestic trips, to finance their overseas trips. Chairman of the Justice Party faction at the council confirmed that many councillors proposed the use of the Rp 11 billion for domestic and foreign trips.

112 parties enrolled for polls JAKARTA: The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights closed on Friday the registration of parties applying for legal entity status to contest the 2004 legislative elections. As of the deadline, 5 p.m., 112 parties had registered with the ministry. Only nine of the parties passed the administrative screening. Nine others are being evaluated. The ministry will give parties until Aug. 25 at 10 a.m. to complete all administrative requirements.

done Debbie A. Lubis Contributor Jakarta Schools or universities with internationally recognized curriculums are becoming increasingly popular, not only with expatriate parents but also with Indonesians who lack a choice of quality educational institutions. A local businessman, Yuwono Sidharta, for example, has to move from a small city in West Java to Bandung just to have his son enrolled in an international school.

Fresh clash injures three in Indonesia's Papua Hundreds of people clashed on the street of a town in Indonesia's Papua on Sunday in the second brawl to take place following the inauguration of a new province there a day earlier, police said. Some 400 people opposed to the new Central Irian Jaya province as part of a move to split Papua into three, attacked more than 100 pro-province supporters guarding the new governor's office in the town of Timika, police said.

* Headlines:Senior people give in to terror at their nursing home 2 * National:SARS might strike back in November: Government 4 * Archipelago:Drought-stricken villagers sell belongings for water 5 * Opinion:The wall blocking the peace road map 7 * City:Councillors get itchy feet, cut fire budget 8 * Sports:Kung surges to LPGA lead 9 * World:Thousands flee fighting south of Liberian capital 11 * Business:HK pins high hopes on mainlanders 16 * Features:Inscription links Jerusalem tomb to Jesus 19

Where to go in Jakarta: Monday, August 25, 2003 Exhibitions * Photo The Transfixed Spectator, by Kassian Cephas, Erasmus Huis, Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said, Kav S-3, Kuningan, South Jakarta (Tel. 5241069), until Aug. 30. * Caricature Menafsir Kemerdekaan by Augustin Sibarani, Galeri Milenium, Diamond Plaza, Blok B-23, Jl. R.S. Fatmawati No. 15, South Jakarta (Tel. 7507828), until Aug. 31. Performances * Choir, students of Bandung Institute of Technology, Erasmus Huis Jl. H.R.

Senior citizens give in to terror at their nursing home Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta After three nights of terror and intimidation at the Pniel nursing home on Jl. KH Samanhudi Dalam in Central Jakarta, the residents and staff savored rujak (fruit salad with spicy peanut dressing) in a party on Sunday afternoon as they eventually decided to move out of the century-old facility. "What else can we do? It (the attack) is a high-level game that we cannot play.

Idealism and reality Aside from the festivities and merrymaking that so many people from all walks of life enjoyed while celebrating the 58th anniversary of Indonesia Day, other events took place with more of a thanksgiving theme. These included collective prayer gatherings in mosques and special occasions serving public relations objectives on TV and in the newspapers.

Resilient SMEs still facing problems Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) -- which have proved more resilient than many corporate giants in coping with the economic crisis -- still struggle with persistent problems in tapping overseas markets, according to a government paper.

Police to check Hambali's identity STABAT, North Sumatra: Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said he would soon check the citizenship of Hambali, the alleged terror suspect. Da'i made the statement after inaugurating a police station in Langkat district on Sunday. A Thai official has claimed that Hambali had actually acquired Spanish nationality. Riduan Isamuddin alias Hambali was arrested in an apartment building in the ancient Thai temple city of Ayutthaya last week.