Mulyana says Hamid not involved in bribery case The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Mulyana W. Kusumah, in a statement issued from prison, has cleared Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin, a former official of the General Elections Commission (KPU) of any involvement in the decision to bribe a state auditor. Mulyana made the statement one day after he said that the move to pay the bribe was a collective decision by the KPU.

Sutikna traces man's ancestry through Liang Bua find Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta If Thomas Sutikna had departed the archeological site at Liang Bua, West Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, earlier than scheduled, he may have regretted it for the rest of his life. For Thomas, an archeologist who had been working on Flores Island with an exploration team since 2001, the remaining two weeks of the project was more than enough to pack his bags and prepare to leave.

RI kart champ leaves challengers in the dust Chisato Hara, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Indonesia's kart champion was ill the day of the interview, but bravely bore out question after question through his fever, explaining the ins and outs of the motor sport. At some point toward the close of the meeting at Singapore International School (SIS) Bona Vista, doubled over with a chill, he piped up, "Aren't we done yet?" and his mother patted him consolingly.

I survived -- to write Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh Maybe I'm just fortunate. I wasn't among the victims -- at least half of the Banda Aceh population -- who were swept away on Dec. 26. I've never experienced anything so terrible. I was shocked and confused. Half of our pretty town was flattened. The places I used to visit were gone. Many people I knew were suddenly "missing".

Metro TV journalist assaulted MEDAN, North Sumatra: A group of people assaulted a Metro TV reporter on Saturday outside a zoo, leaving him slightly injured and his camera broken. The assault occurred when Metro TV reporter Usrizal Pulungan was about to cover a protest held by students and activists during the inauguration of Medan Zoo in Medan Tuntungan district on Saturday morning.

Govt, Aceh rebels agree to keep on talking peace Nina Larson, Agence France-Presse, Helsinki The Indonesian government and Aceh separatists on Saturday agreed to hold a fourth round of peace talks next month, saying the third round ended on a "constructive note", the Finnish hosts said. The talks, which were wrapped up a day ahead of schedule, were aimed at ending a drawn-out conflict that has left more than 12,000 people dead.

Reporting on Aceh empowers the soul Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta It took me less than a second to say yes to my editor -- who seemed to approach expecting me to turn him down -- when he told me to start packing for a two-week assignment to Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. I had wanted to put my name up for the assignment ever since the disaster hit.

Myths and realities, modernity and backwardness Jakartans might appear relatively modern on the outside, flaunting their fancy techno doodads and strutting around in fashionable brand-name outfits. But deep inside, most still retain their old-fashioned superstitions and those are alive and well. It is ok not to believe me. I was not really aware of how prevalent this kind of thing was either, not until my friend told me that I should never, ever give a handkerchief as a present.

The musical life of Bandung Paul Agusta, Contributor, Bandung Bandung, a name synonymous with indie, non-mainstream music, with bands such as Kubik and Pure Saturday changing the face of Indonesian music in the mid-90's, may seem less active and perhaps stagnant on the surface, but that is far from being true.

Empathy, restrictions get under the skin Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post As a follow-up to the 100th-day anniversary of the tsunami commemorated on April 9, The Jakarta Post reporters give their accounts of what it was like to be on assignment in Aceh. Eight hours on a plane departing Jakarta, plus 12 hours of waiting at three different airports, delay after delay -- this was just the warm-up to landing in Banda Aceh.

Artist teaches age-old lesson through 'Arok Dedes' exhibit Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta "I am honored that my novel has inspired the creation of so many paintings," said acclaimed author and fine arts enthusiast Pramoedya Ananta Toer at the April 7 opening of a painting exhibition held at Galeri Lontar in Utan Kayu, East Jakarta.

Idol Night Quiz StarWorld and Indovision, in cooperation with Hard Rock Cafe, is holding an exclusive Idol Night gala event from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20, at Hard Rock Cafe Jakarta. Answer the three questions below correctly, and be one of 10 lucky Sunday Post readers to attend Idol Night! * The quiz closes at 12 p.m. (noon) on Sunday, April 17. Q1. To vote for your favorite Idol, Indonesian fans should send an SMS text to what access number? Q2.

Trauma coverage tips for reporters Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Whether they be brutal crimes, bloody riots, atrocious bomb attacks, killer quakes or devastating tsunamis, journalists will often have to cover such "traumatizing events" -- incidents so overwhelming that the people who experience them face such tremendous fear, intense physical pain or both that they end up in a severe state of psychological shock.

Balinese troupe brings Calonarang to Paris Kunang Helmi, Contributor, Paris At the April 7 premiere of I Made Djimat's Balinese dance troupe, his mother, 81-year-old Ni Ketut Cenik, astounded Parisians with her spirited performance of the joged pingitan in the musical dance introduction.

Jakarta builds image through sculptures Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Monuments are an absolute essential (for a city) to clothe its vigor, like pants for the naked; pants, not a tie. -- Sukarno, 1962 This phrase from founding president Sukarno is often quoted to underline the importance of a monument or sculpture in accenting the character of a large modern city, like Jakarta.

Paras reaches out to change fate of poor Kurniawan Hari The Jakarta Post/Jakarta Once home to an abundant water source, several villages on the slopes of Mt. Merbabu and Mt. Merapi in Central Java are now suffering a water shortage that gets worse during the dry season. The drought has affected the annual harvest of the local community, and the local people say it was caused by the government's policy to grow pine trees on the mountains.

Singapore Fashion Festival styles the region Ve Handojo, Contributor The fifth Singapore Fashion Festival, being held from March 24 to April 3, again highlighted Singapore's ambition to become a regional fashion hub. The annual event took place in the heart of Singapore, on Orchard Road. In the center of Ngee Ann City, a huge tent was set up. The runway inside became a stage where multinational brands such as Versace, Kenzo and JPG displayed their Summer/Spring collections.

Rivalry heightens as PKB opens leadership race Blontank Poer And Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang Rivalry between groups contesting the leadership of the National Awakening Party (PKB) heightened on the first day of its three-day national congress here on Saturday, which was opened by party chief patron and former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.

Now Showing Anne Van Jogja (Drama, 90 minutes) Starring Rachel Maryam, Imam Soetrisno, Tutik Budihardjo, Heru Prasetyo. Directed by Bobby Sandy. Oh boy, if only this film had been intended as a parody of old Indonesian movies, it would have been a winner. The characters speak trite dialogs as if they were reading something out of schoolbooks. And the story is melodramatic at best: A local man marries a Dutch woman. The man's father does not approve. The couple has a daughter named Anne (Maryam).

Students have a brush with IT The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Dozens of teenagers crowded around computer monitors on Saturday that displayed a series of interviews conducted around Kolese Kanisius school by student "journalists". The screening in the school's computer room was part of the information and communication technology-themed Canisius Fair, held on the school's campus on Jl. Menteng Raya, Central Jakarta, to mark its 78th anniversary.

Yogya Tomkins inflicted with 7th loss in Proliga Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The Yogya Tomkins was denied a place in the women's division semifinals of the 2005 Sampoerna Hijau Proliga volleyball tournament after taking its seventh loss in the fifth series here on Saturday. Tomkins women's team lost 1-3 (22-25, 18-25, 25-23, 17-25) to Jakarta Electric PLN, a loss that condemned it to the bottom of the six-team standings.

Taking nature's way around paradise island Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta There is the inevitable risk that a guidebook is dated as soon as it reaches bookstands. One only has to flip through the most recent edition of Lonely Planet's guide to Indonesia, with its eerie description of the sleepy towns of Aceh's west coast and pristine beaches, for sad evidence of this.

Asia leads over Japan in Dynasty Cup golf Associated Press, Shenzhen, China The Asia team dominated the fourball matches on Saturday to overtake Japan and take a 6 1/2 to 51/2 lead on the second day of the Dynasty Cup. Japan extended its overnight lead when Tomohiro Kondo and Takuya Taniguchi fired seven birdies in 13 holes to easily beat Thai pair Boonchu Ruangkit and Prayad Marksaeng 6 & 5 in the opening fourball matchup at Mission Hills Golf Club.

'Kerupuk' anyone? When it comes to the crunch, you can't beat the big taste of kerupuk (flavored flour crackers) -- a popular snack eaten throughout the country. The ones prepared here are made in a small shop-house factory in South Bandung. The factory employs 20 workers and produces an impressive five tons of the crisp seafood-flavored snacks every day, which are distributed across Bandung and its surrounding areas.

'Give Aceh a chance to decide for itself' Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta It has been 100 days following the tsunami, and Hasballah M. Saad -- a former state minister of human rights under Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid -- cannot hide his disappointment over the progress of the government's emergency relief efforts in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

Journal page: One day in Aceh I usually woke up at 8 a.m. and went to the press center to check the daily schedule of briefings and press conferences, usually held by United Nations officials or disaster mitigation team chief Alwi Shihab. Then I'd go out to refugee camps to find soft stories -- human-interest stories -- and go back to the press center in between to cover the press conferences of the day.

Munir, a fighter never to be forgotten Nur Mursidi, Contributor, Jakarta Munir: Sebuah Kitab Melawan Lupa (Munir: A Book of Remembrance) Jaleswari Pramodhawardani, Andi Widjajanto, eds. 607 pp Munir's sudden death on Sept. 7, 2004, came as a big blow to many people. Most of his close friends and acquaintances were shocked upon hearing the news -- not a single one of them had ever had even the slightest premonition that Munir, a rather lean and small human rights fighter, would die young.

Keris, the passion of a Belgian man Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Marc Peeters, 54, may not have discovered his passion for the keris, or kris, if he had not married a woman from Klaten, Central Java. He learned about the traditional dagger through his in-laws, and his fondness for the kris grew stronger through his friendship with Hayar Satoto, a kris collector from Solo -- about 20 kilometers northeast of Klaten.

State of confusion: Learning from Icuk's exit Icuk Sugiarto's sudden resignation from the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) earlier this week left the Sudirman Cup team without a manager. Although PBSI quickly shifted into damage control mode and said a new replacement would be appointed by next week, will it be a case of too little, too late for Indonesia's hopes in the mixed team competition?

SIS students learn to take the wheel The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Singapore International School (SIS), located in the Bona Vista apartment complex in Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, is a sprawling structure of unusual design.

Govt closely monitors quake ahead of A-A Summit Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta After three major earthquakes were felt in areas of Java island on Friday the government is closely monitoring the situation as the Asian-African Summit is just six days away. "We should all pray that nothing bad will happen during the summit.

KPU member arrested for attempting to bribe civil servant Muninggar Sri Saraswati The Jakarta Post/Jakarta A former top criminologist at the University of Indonesia, Mulyana W. Kusumah, has been arrested for allegedly trying to bribe a civil servant with Rp 150 million (about US$16,129).