JP/8/SPEAK 'I'm fed up with the annual floods' Rain has started to fall once again in the city. Those people suffering from water shortages have welcomed the apparent arrival of the rainy season with joy -- a joy tempered, however, by concern about the possibility of flooding. The Jakarta Post talked to some residents for whom flooding is an annual occurrence on how they are preparing for this year's rainy season. Andra, 32, is an employee with a firm in Central Jakarta.

18 candidates in race for Tangerang mayor TANGERANG: A total of 18 mayoral and 16 deputy mayoral candidates in Tangerang municipality will contest the elections for the 2003-2008 period. The elections will be held before the end of November at the Municipal Council building on Jl. Satria Sudirman, Tangerang. Some 53 people took registration forms but only 38 had returned them by Saturday's deadline.

Japanese restaurants offer new concept to lure local customers Rudijanto Contributor Jakarta With the departure of a significant number of Japanese expatriates, the owners of Japanese restaurants, which have mushroomed throughout Indonesia since the early '70s, have mostly shifted their strategy, location and even name and cooking concept to lure local customers.

Dementieva fends off a hard-charging Sugiyama to reach WTA final Agence France-Presse Shanghai, China Top seed Elena Dementieva fought off a gutsy performance on Saturday by Japan's Ai Sugiyama, beating the third seed 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the finals of the WTA Shanghai Polo Open here. The 22-year-old Russian is now one match away from capturing the US$585,000 tournament, as well as a second straight title in less than a week after downing Chanda Rubin in Bali, Indonesia.

1. THAI 2x28 Thais clean up fast ahead of APEC summit

Thailand cleans up fast ahead of APEC summit Uamdao Noikorn, Associated Press, Bangkok Thailand's congested, bawdy and frenetic capital is being cleaned up fast so visiting foreign leaders won't see its infamously seedy side. Prostitutes, beggars, homeless people, and even stray dogs are being swept off Bangkok's streets ahead of next month's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting. A week-long vacation will be declared to ease its notorious traffic jams.

FOR FOCUS ISSUE -- ASIAN CUISINE -- SEPT 21 ;JP; ANPAc..r.. Asia-cuisine-trend Exotic Asian dishes becoming more popular among middle class The growing trend towards eating out among the Indonesian middle class has turned the country's major cities into fertile ground not only for Western fast-food chains but also restaurants selling non-Indonesia Asian delicacies. Restaurants offering Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Thai specialties have, for example, become popular dining places in Jakarta.

;JP; ANPAc..r.. Cuisine-vegetarian-food Checked EJK Vegetarian restaurants offer alternative, healthy food T. Sima Gunawan Contributor Jakarta It may be called spicy duck or fried chicken, but there is no fowl in the food. The sauteed beef, the fried tuna fish and the shark fin soup are also meat free. They are vegetarian dishes, made from the basic ingredients -- beans, flour and mushrooms. Take the shark's-fin soup, for example, served in the vegetarian restaurant here.

Vegetarian restaurants offer alternative, healthy food T. Sima Gunawan Contributor Jakarta It may be called spicy duck or fried chicken, but there is no fowl in the food. The sauteed beef, the fried tuna fish and the shark fin soup are also meat free. They are vegetarian dishes, made from the basic ingredients -- beans, flour and mushrooms. Take the shark's-fin soup, for example, served in the vegetarian restaurant here.

FOR FOCUS ISSUE -- ASIAN CUISINE -- SEPT 21 ;JP; ANPAc..r.. Asia-cuisine-trend Exotic Asian dishes becoming more popular among middle class The growing trend towards eating out among the Indonesian middle class has turned the country's major cities into fertile ground not only for Western fast-food chains but also restaurants selling non-Indonesia Asian delicacies. Restaurants offering Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Thai specialties have, for example, become popular dining places in Jakarta.

Key ingredients: Scientific, Safe and Honest Irwan Hidayat Contributor Jakarta JP/9 "Back to nature". This credo is gaining more popularity in recent years. This and the abundant information on health currently available have triggered an increased preference for herbal medicines. To meet the growing demand, a number of pharmaceutical companies worldwide have launched various herbal- based products.

Japanese restaurants offer new concept to lure local customers Rudijanto Contributor Jakarta With the departure of a significant number of Japanese expatriates, the owners of Japanese restaurants, which have mushroomed throughout Indonesia since the early '70s, have mostly shifted their strategy, location and even name and cooking concept to lure local customers.

The growing trend towards eating out among the Indonesian middle class has turned the country's major cities into fertile ground not only for Western fast-food chains but also restaurants selling non-Indonesia Asian delicacies. Restaurants offering Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Thai specialties have, for example, become popular dining places in Jakarta. With their "hip-casual" style and their relatively competitive prices, such restaurants are often packed, particularly at lunchtime.

MARKETING PERSPECTIVE: SEPT 23 Key ingredients: Scientific, Safe and Honest Irwan Hidayat Contributor Jakarta JP/9 "Back to nature". This credo is gaining more popularity in recent years. This and the abundant information on health currently available have triggered an increased preference for herbal medicines. To meet the growing demand, a number of pharmaceutical companies worldwide have launched various herbal- based products.

Japanese restaurants offer new concept to lure local customers Rudijanto Contributor Jakarta With the departure of a significant number of Japanese expatriates, the owners of Japanese restaurants, which have mushroomed throughout Indonesia since the early '70s, have mostly shifted their strategy, location and even name and cooking concept to lure local customers.

Tourism, housing threaten forest in Bandung Yuli Tri Suwarni The Jakarta Post Bandung A massive tourism and housing project is threatening a forest and the water supply to the West Java provincial capital of Bandung. If Bandung regency goes ahead with its plans, hundreds of hectares of forest in Lembang district will be cleared to develop an 800-hectare tourism and residential area in the mountainous resort, which functions as the water catchment area that supplies water to Bandung municipality.

JP/9/ Pharmaceutical industry: Torn between business and conscience T. Hidayat Contributor Jakarta Medicines are bitter, so goes one Indonesian saying. However, the makers of medicines -- the pharmaceutical industry -- is having a sweet time businesswise. The industry was even unaffected by the economic crisis that hit the country in 1997. The Rp 4 trillion sales figure of 1997 increased by 25 percent to Rp 5 trillion in 1998.

JP/8/FLOODS People living along rivers worry about floods Bambang Nurbianto The Jakarta Post Jakarta The onset of the rainy season has caused thousands of people living along the city's rivers to worry about the safety of their homes and the possibility of floods on a similar scale to those of 2002. "There are floods every year.

JP/9 Creating strong brands for over-the-counter medicines Agus W. Soehadi Contributor Jakarta In Indonesia, the pharmaceutical business is one of the most competitive industries. More than 200 companies fight for a share of the Rp 17 trillion (US$2 billion) market. Out of 200 companies, the market is dominated by less than 40, while the rest struggle to survive. Even for the major players business is not easy.

Traditional communities meet in Lombok, demand rights Luh Putu Trisna Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara Delegates from some 450 traditional communities across the archipelago concluded their second congress in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, with a call for the government to restore their customary rights.

Cemeti Art House: A place for artists with ideas Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta Contemporary artists Nindityo Adipurnomo and wife Mella Jaarsma never thought the Cemeti Art House, which they established in 1988 as a non-profit institution, would endure for more than a decade, or become one of the city's most respected art galleries. The art house is alive and kicking, having been routinely housing selected exhibitions.

Where to go in Bandung for Tuesday, September 23, 2003 Exhibitions * Photo Bali Baru-Baru Ini, at CCF - French Cultural Center, Jl. Purnawarman 32 (Tel. 022 4212417), 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., until Sept. 26. * Photo Image et paysage at Galeri Kita, Jl. R.E. Martadinata No. 209, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sept. 25 to Oct. 10. Performances * Monologue Festival at CCF - French Cultural Center, Jl. Purnawarman 32 (Tel. 022 4212417), 7:30 p.m.: DOM written by Putu Wijaya (Sept.

1. WHOOPI 1x30 'Whoopi' takes on terror, Bush 2. CLARK 1x40 Gen. Clark to fight for presidential seat or Gen. Clark intends to unseat George Bush

;JP; ANPAc..r.. Cuisine-vegetarian-food Checked EJK Vegetarian restaurants offer alternative, healthy food T. Sima Gunawan Contributor Jakarta It may be called spicy duck or fried chicken, but there is no fowl in the food. The sauteed beef, the fried tuna fish and the shark fin soup are also meat free. They are vegetarian dishes, made from the basic ingredients -- beans, flour and mushrooms. Take the shark's-fin soup, for example, served in the vegetarian restaurant here.

Marketing Perspective: Sept 23. 2003 jP/17 Pharmaceutical industry: Torn between business and conscience T. Hidayat Contributor Jakarta Medicines are bitter, so goes one Indonesian saying. However, the makers of medicines -- the pharmaceutical industry -- is having a sweet time businesswise. The industry was even unaffected by the economic crisis that hit the country in 1997. The Rp 4 trillion sales figure of 1997 increased by 25 percent to Rp 5 trillion in 1998.