39 detainees live with HIV DEPOK: Thirty-nine people detained at the Depok City Police precinct between October and December last year were Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) carriers, the municipal health agency announced on Tuesday. Communicable disease prevention unit head Hanny Hamidah said her office took a random check of 252 of a total of 400 detainees over the period. "Ninety percent of the detainees who contracted HIV admitted they were intravenous drugs users," she said.

1. JUDICIARY: 48 PT, 3 COLS, 3 X 18 Akbar acquittal raises doubts over prospects for judicial reform 2. QUAKE: 36 pt, 4 cols, 2 x 27 Five killed, six injured in earthquake in West Sumatra 3. WIRANTO: 32 pt, 3 cols, 2 x 24 Wiranto meets influential Muslim leaders in East Java 4. PAPUA: 28 pt, 4 cols, 1 x 37 Special autonomy could work for Papua: Experts

Polluters must be tried From Koran Tempo The environmental damage occurring today is a direct result of the improper management of natural resources in the past. The environmental aspect was severely neglected because of the government's poor legal approach and the insufficient public participation in campaigns concerning conservation. It is only proper that the office of the State Minister of the Environment has made efforts to take those companies that have neglected the environment to court.

Court proceeds with Marriott trial JAKARTA: A panel of judges at the South Jakarta District Court decided on Tuesday to proceed with the trial of Mohammad Rais, who was charged with responsibility for the Marriott bombing on Aug. 5, 2003, rejecting the defense argument. "The court has the authority to hear the case ... . According to Criminal Court Procedure, the location of a trial can also be determined based on the residence of witnesses," presiding judge Johanes E. Binti told the court.

Integrity in government depends on the people Patrick Guntensperger Business Consultant Jakarta ttpguntensperger@hotmail.com 2. Star -- Singapore issues down but not out 2 x 30 First WTO meeting of 2004 sees Singapore issues down but not out Martin Khor The Star

Chaos in Kampar It may be the buildup of pressure taking its toll, or it may simply be the arrogance of power finding an outlet. Whatever the cause, the uncontrolled outbursts of emotion that Kampar regent Jefri Noer has been displaying in the past few days cannot but worsen the damage he has already suffered. Kampar regency in the northern Sumatra province of Riau with its 400,000 population is not usually a region considered important enough to merit headline news in Jakarta's newspapers.

Investment may pick up in second half: Economist The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Indonesia could expect investment to pick up in the second half of this year, especially in machinery and equipment components, assuming that the general election starts smoothly, an economist said on Tuesday. Coupled with steady improvement in exports and consumption, a rise in investment would drive economic growth by over 4.8 percent this year, better than last year's 4.1 percent, Citibank economist Anton Gunawan said.

Legal experts to review Akbar verdict Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Controversy surrounding the acquittal of Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung has driven a group of legal experts to examine the judges' verdict. The move tops the agenda of legal watchdog Forum 2004, which was established on Tuesday to monitor law enforcement agencies and their efforts to stamp out widespread corruption in the country.

1. DENGUE: 2 LINES, 20 COUNTS Doctors confirm dengue caused by new strain 2. FLOOD: 1 LINE, 19 COUNTS Jakarta on flood alert 3. MUI: 4 LINES, 10 COUNTS Ulema body declares lottery 'haram' 4. TIRO: 1 LINE, 24 COUNTS RI welcomes GAM investigation

Awareness key to dengue prevention Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The frantic clean-up drives and fumigation of neighborhoods affected by the dengue fever outbreak will do little to stem the disease if people do not change their living habits, said a health official.

Jakarta on flood alert Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Storms over Greater Jakarta in the last two days have swamped several areas and forced around 75 families from Semanan, West Jakarta, to flee from their drenched homes. The extremely swollen Ciliwung River has also burst its banks in places and flooded out homes in Cipinang Besar and Pondok Bambu in East Jakarta, with water said to be over a meter high.

Polish President to visit Indonesia Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski will meet with President Megawati Soekarnoputri when he arrives in Indonesia on Feb. 24 for a three-day trade visit. In a press briefing on Tuesday, Poland's Ambassador to Indonesia Krysztof Szumski said Kwasniewski would be the first democratically elected Polish president to visit Indonesia. "The visit is a confirmation of the warm relations between the two countries.

Various groups have expressed concern as just less than two months ahead of the legislative election, ballot boxes and ballot papers have not yet been distributed to remote electoral districts. KPU has proposed a Rp 900 billion (US$101 million) additional budget to the government due to the increase in the number of eligible voters. The extra budget constitutes almost 20 percent of Rp 5 trillion the government has allocated to cover the elections.

Parties' state assets suit to be settled out of court M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post , Jakarta Political parties protesting over the control of state assets by three major political parties eventually agreed on Tuesday to settle the matter out of court under the supervision of a judge of the Central Jakarta District Court.

Caption for Spotlight advertisement column. BEST GRAN MAHAKAM HOTEL EMPLOYEE: Staff of Gran Mahakam Hotel attended the general staff meeting on Feb. 5, to honor employees' achievements for 2003. Taking place in the Jasmine room, the event included the awarding of "Best Employee of the Year 2003", which went to Kapten Ginting Santa (food and beverage service staff). The final annual results are based on monthly nominations.

Zhu upsets Utut in Makita chess tourney Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Zhu Chen and Antoaneta Stefanova raised their games on Tuesday to beat their respective Indonesian men's rivals in the second round of the Makita-Lakoni International Grand Master Chess Tournament. Zhu, the world women's champion from China, held off the challenge from Indonesia's number one grand master Utut Adianto to bring their Slav game to her victory after 68 moves.

Meity Mengdon, the green crusader Fabio Scarpello, Contributor, Bunaken, North Sulawesi Barely known outside the country's environmentalist circle, the petite Meity Mengdon is softly spoken, has a gentle attitude, and a perpetual smile. Yet, she was 27 years old when she became the first Indonesian and the youngest person ever to receive the Seacology award.

S'pore, Panama to discuss FTA SINGAPORE: Singapore and Panama announced on Tuesday they had decided to start negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with the aim of completing talks within a year. The proposed agreement would be the first between Singapore and a Central American country and between Panama and a Southeast Asian country, the governments of both nations said in a joint statement released on Tuesday.

National groups rebuke Jefri for insult Haidir Anwar Tanjung The Jakarta Post Pekanbaru, Riau Two prominent national organizations rebuked Kampar Regent Jefri Noer on Tuesday for insulting the educational profession and demanded he apologize for the incident. "The Regent has insulted the profession of teachers as the government's partners in education," the All Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI) said, as quoted by Antara news agency.

TV Program: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 .TB.30" 1.00" TVRI .TB.30" .90" 6:00 a.m. News: Berita Pagi 7:00 Entertainment News: Selebrita 8:00 Music: Sik Asik 9:00 Entertainment News: Show Biz 10:00 TV Drama: Si Kabayan 12:30 p.m.

Survey says Indonesians mobile phone-crazy Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Indonesians are crazy about mobile phones and many cannot live without them, said a survey conducted by Siemens Mobile Phones and GFK Marketing Services.

1. TOLL: 48 pt, 3 cols, 3 x 18 Jasa Marga plans to sell 40 percent stake in November 2. SYDNEY: 36 pt, 4 cols, 1 x 28 Riot exposes Aboriginal despair 3. GDP: 32 pt, 3 cols, 2 x 24 Investment may pick up in second half: Economist 4. LADIA: 28 pt, 4 cols, 1 x 37 EU slams planned road through protected area 5. BANGKOK: 28 pt, 4 cols, 1 x 37 Asthma on rise in Asia from pollution