Highest body repeals eight of 139 decrees Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) agreed on Tuesday to unconditionally repeal eight of 139 decrees issued between 1960 and 2002, including one on human rights issued in 1998.

'Most of the money will be spent on hotel rooms' The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) agreed to cut short its Annual Session from 10 days to seven in an attempt to save the state budget Rp 6 billion from the total allocation of Rp 20 billion. However, the Rp 2 billion-per-day event is still too expensive in the eyes of ordinary people. Some said skeptically that the Session would not do anything for them as it would not improve current conditions. This is what they said to The Jakarta Post.

Govt condemns Marriott bombing, asks people to stay calm The Jakarta Post Jakarta The government condemned on Tuesday the bombing in the driveway of JW Marriott Hotel in South Jakarta that killed 13 people and seriously wounded more than 140 others. The government also called on people to stay calm despite the incident, saying that the government would tighten security in public places and immediately arrest the terrorists.

Three demonstrators arrested JAKARTA: Three people have been named suspects in the theft of police equipment during a protest outside the People's Consultative Assembly in Jakarta on Monday. Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo said Sudarto, a student of the University of Indonesia's (UI) school of mathematics and physics, a driver identified as Abu Bakar, and Subian, a sound system mechanic, were arrested on Monday after the rally and were now in police custody.

Govt condemns blast as calls mount for immediate action The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The government condemned on Tuesday the bombing in the driveway of JW Marriott Hotel in South Jakarta that killed 13 people and seriously wounded more than 140 others. The government also called on people to stay calm despite the incident, saying that the government would tighten security in public places and immediately arrest the terrorists.

Asian monies down on Jakarta bomb Dow Jones, Singapore The Indonesian rupiah fell on Tuesday after a bomb blast in the capital claimed several lives and revived security concerns in the region. Fears that the attack was linked to terrorist groups, some of which have a regional presence, weighed on other Asian currencies as well, especially those of Thailand and neighboring Singapore. Late in Asia, the dollar was quoted at Rp 8,625, up from Rp 8,490 on Monday.

Golkar accused of extorting regent MUARA TEWEH, Central Kalimantan: North Barito Regent Badaruddin in Central Kalimantan has accused the Golkar Party of "deceiving" him in his bid for reelection. "I sent Rp 200 million to the provincial chapter of Golkar on July 7, 2003 in order for the party to support me in the regental election. But it has decided not to back me," he said here on Monday. Badaruddin said he was disappointed by the decision made in a Golkar meeting on Saturday.

1. Session ( 1x 30) Megawati sitting pretty until 2004 2. TAP (3 x 14) Highest body repeals eight of 139 decrees 3. Volunteer (2 x 27) Volunteer center to provide more job opportunities 4. Security tightened ahead of Independence Day

;REUTERS;IMN; ANPAv..r.. Photo-Marriott-blast-victims Photo caption JP/1/PHOTO B Reuters/Dadang Tri OVERLOAD OF PATIENTS: Some of the victims injured in a bomb blast at the JW Marriott Hotel are tended to by hospital staff. Thirteen people were killed and dozens others were injured in the blast, which occurred during the lunch hour on Tuesday.

s have struck again. This time they picked the heart of Jakarta, and this time with such a devastating effect. The full impact of the blast will probably not be known for days, perhaps weeks. What is certain for now is that Tuesday's bomb attack at the J.W. Marriott Hotel killed at least 10 people and injured more than 100 others. It was also the largest terrorist attack since three bombs exploded almost simultaneously on Oct. 12 in Bali, which killed 202 people in all, mostly foreign tourists.

Manimaren suspected to have killed self Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Businessman Marimutu Manimaren, 46, died on Tuesday morning, after apparently committing suicide by jumping out of a window of a suite on the 56th floor of Aston Hotel near the Semanggi cloverleaf in South Jakarta.

'Wagyu' beef on offer at Intercontinental's food festival Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Beef lovers demand a thick cut of finely marbled, premium grade beef, ensuring succulence, perfect tenderness and a deep, rich flavor. One beef that fits this description is wagyu. Wagyu refers to any breed of cattle native to Japan, which are generally black in color. In the Japanese language, the word wagyu is derived from two words: wa means Japanese and gyu means beef.

Recent AASROC: Do we need a new Bandung? Dmitry Kosyrev, Political Analyst RIA Novosti, Moscow Do we need a new Bandung? Apparently, yes. The question is, which one? I would sum up thus my personal impressions of the recent session of AASROC -- a ministerial-level conference of Afro-Asian Sub-regional organizations, held in on July 29-30 in Bandung, Indonesia and dedicated to the preparation of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Bandung conference.

Acehnese want peace From Koran Tempo Indonesians must be grateful to God that the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has now lost much of its strength. It is only a matter of time before the entire secessionist movement is completely crushed. GAM members are really cowards as they dare not face the Indonesian military in an armed contact. They only bully unarmed civilians and have forced civilian Acehnese to supply them with foods.

Compensation for terror victims JAKARTA: The government has set up a team to calculate compensation for victims of last year's Bali bombings, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Tuesday. "In line with Antiterrorism Law No. 15/2003, victims of terror attacks deserve compensation from the government. We are asking a team to calculate funds the government has to provide," he said chairing a meeting on political and security affairs.

Megawati sitting pretty until 2004 M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta President Megawati Soekarnoputri may breath a sigh of relieve, at least for the time being, as there are no prospects that she will be unseated by legislators in the same way that former president B.J. Habibie was unseated in 1999.

Where to go in Surabaya, for Wednesday, August 6, 2003 Exhibitions * Indonesian Handicrafts, Balai Pemuda Surabaya, Jl. Gubernur Suryo, No. 15, (Tel. 031-5450344), 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., until Aug. 10. * Painting by students of Akademi Seni Surabaya, at Balai Pemuda Surabaya, Jl. Gubernur Suryo, No. 15, (Tel. 031-5450344), 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Aug. 12 - 20. * Painting by Dian Anggraini Hutomo, CCCL - French Cultural Center, Jl. Darmokali 10 (Phone: 031 5615246), 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Aug. 21 to Aug.

* Headlines: General gets three years for rights violations 2 * National: Assembly repeals eight of 139 decrees 4 * Archipelago: Civil servants forced to buy PDI-P T-shirts 5 * Opinion: Peace, democracy two different things 6 * City: Parents demand city police help free kidnapped son 8 * Sports: Beckham scores first goal for Real Madrid 10 * World: Muslims told to support moderate Islam 11 * Business: Coca-Cola, Pepsi sold in India contain pesticides 15 * Features: Genes begin to reveal the...

Security upped as legislature set to elect Bali gubernor I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali Police said on Tuesday that at least 650 personnel, including soldiers, would be deployed to provide security in the vicinity of the Bali legislative council, which is electing the province's governor on Wednesday. The personnel will include two companies of elite Mobile Brigade paramilitary police and about 200 riot police.

Stock prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (in rupiah) on August 5, 2003 ___________________________________________________________________________ Shares Close Change Trading Volume ____________________________________________________________________________ Abdi Bangsa Tbk 275 0 0 Ades Alfindo Tbk 875 0 0 Adindo Foresta 50 0 0 AGIS Tbk 85 0 2,608,500 Akbar Indo Makmur 130 0 0 Alakasa Industrindo 105 0 0 Alfa Retailindo Tbk 800 -25 107,500 Alter Abadi Tbk 10 -5 3,944,000 Alumindo Light 185 -5...

False alarm about MSG In my opinion, the release from Public Interest Research and Advocacy Center (PIRAC) on the dangers of monosodium glutamate (MSG) as printed by The Jakarta Post on Aug. 1 and Aug. 2 is an exaggeration and a false alarm. According to the release, the snacks that Sucofindo has examined contain 0.46 percent to 1.59 percent MSG per packet, of between 14 grams and 20 grams. Quantitatively, the MSG content in each packet ranges between 60mg and 240mg.