Gender politics: Indonesia rocked by screen kiss AC Grayling, Guardian News Service, London Indonesia, the world's largest Islamic country, is currently being stirred by a kiss. It is a kiss between a 16-year-old girl and her 19-year-old boyfriend, and it occurs in an Indonesian- made film set in Jakarta. Such is its impact, the film has out-grossed two of the most successful Hollywood films ever to be shown in Indonesia, The Lord of the Rings and Titanic.

Nashar, Art, Life and Nature ================================================ Title : Nashar oleh Nashar (Nashar by Nashar) By : Nashar Published by : Yayasan Bentang Budaya, Yogyakarta, 2002 viii + 301 pp ================================================================= This book comprises a memoir of the late painter Nashar and a collection of his contemplation about life and art, known as his nocturnal letters.

Applying for driver's license From Warta Kota When he first took over as the chief of the Jakarta police, Inspector General Makbul Padmanagara was very strict about the bureaucratic mechanism for the issuance of a driver's license. Brokers were not allowed to do their business. Charges were collected in accordance with the tariffs already set.

E. Jakarta fire leaves 700 homeless INDONESIA: A devastating fire razed hundreds of overcrowded houses in Pedongkelan, Pulogadung district, East Jakarta, on Saturday morning, leaving hundreds of families homeless. No fatalities were reported in the incident. The fire began at 10 a.m. at a house belonging to nasi uduk (rice cooked in coconut milk) vendor, Ahmad. It spread quickly as winds fanned the flames, burning most of the houses in the area, made of wood and plywood.

Malaysian museum turns to spiritual means to lure visitors Carolyn Lim, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Kuala Lumpur Faced with competition from Kuala Lumpur's spanking new shopping malls, lush parks and other newer museums, Malaysia's national museum Muzium Negara is counting on ghosts and goblins to help lure visitors. On June 26, the 39-year-old museum launched its "Exploring Ghosts" exhibition featuring a goblin, known in Malay folklore as a toyol, as its star exhibit.

RI to keep position as top LNG producer Moch. N. Kurniawan and Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali Indonesia must make concerted effort to maintain its position as the world's leading supplier of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) amid a buyer-dominated market due to abundant supplies.

TV Program: Sunday, July 7, 2002 TVRI 5:00 a.m. Religious Teachings 6:00 News 8:00 Quiz 8:30 Children's Program 9:30 Music 11:00 Maskum Show 12:30 p.m. Comedy 2:00 Children's Program 3:00 Documentary 3:30 Religious Teachings 4:00 Sports 6:00 News 7:30 Music: Dansa Yo Dansa 9:00 News 9:30 Variety Show 10:00 TV Drama TPI 5:30 a.m. Religious Teachings 6:00 News 7:00 Cartoon 8:30 Chinese Food 9:00 Entertainment News 10:00 TV Champions 11:00 TV Series 12:30 p.m.

Simon takes singles title at Milo Junior Open Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya Simon Santoso won the boys' singles title after Holvy De Pauw, the 2001 champion, retired during the finals of the US$10,000 Milo Junior Indonesia Open badminton championships at the Sudirman Sports Hall here on Saturday.

World Cup and Indonesia When the World Cup games were held last month, twice a day were they televised on RCTI which, being continued day by day as routine events, very rapidly became taken for granted. Now that the World Cup tournament is over, we feel that we are missing the games very badly, as the nostalgic memory of the spectacular matches and their beautiful goals is but a memory.

JP/6/BOX I-box Beside the Boxing Class at the Jakarta Hilton International's LifeSpa and Fitness Center, there are several boxing camps all over the city: - Empang Tiga BC Jl. Jaya Mandala Raya No. 8, Kompleks Patra (behind Bidakara building), South Jakarta Tel. (021) 9138279 - Banteng BC Jl. Menteng Pulo IX No. 3, RT 004/RW 012, Casablanca, South Jakarta Tel. (021) 8305855 - Scorpio BC Jl. Kramat Pulo III D No. 9, Central Jakarta Tel. (021) 3916453 - Rengas BC Jl. Mabad Raya No.

Still Playing E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (Drama/Fantasy/Sci-Fi, 115 Minutes). Starring Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Dee Wallace- Stone. Directed By Steven Spielberg. Spielberg's most-loved masterpiece is celebrated with enhanced visual effects and never-seen-before footage in its 20th Anniversary Edition.**** (out of ****) Eliana Eliana (Drama, 83 minutes). Starring Rachel Sayidina, Jajang C. Noer, Arswendi Nasution, Henidar Amroe. Directed by Riri Riza. In Indonesian language.

GAM frees 18 hostages Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has freed the 18 people it abducted late last month after they proved to be civilians and not involved in any military operations in the troubled province. The kidnap victims were freed on Thursday through the mediation of Tengku H. Imam Suja, a noted Islamic leader in East Aceh, and another person, Aliamin. They were immediately taken to Medan, the capital of neighboring North Sumatra province.

Want to get relaxed? Join a boxing class! Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta It is not that time of the month, and the teen angst period has passed, like, eight years ago. But lately, the level of my anger, emotion and rage have been reaching unprecedented levels. If someone gets on my nerves, I want to punch him/her right away. I was still sensible, thank God, but I knew that it was only a matter of time until I could do something destructive.

Parents hooked on kids food supplements Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Food supplements for children are selling like hot cakes in most drugstores here as many parents are convinced they are the key to guaranteeing good health for their children. "I need them to keep my children in good health," said Sulistyawati, 32, a customer, here last Saturday. She was buying some jamu (traditional medicinal drink) for her children at a jamu kiosk in Pasar Pramuka, East Jakarta.

1. Museum --- 3x17 Malaysian museum turns to spiritual means to lure visitors 2. Busdriv --- 2x25 Israeli bus drivers live with fear over suicide bomb threats 3. Films ---- 2x22 Hollywood in a family way with wealth of kid-friendly films

Budding magician? Deddy's school's for you Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang Instead of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it is called the Pentagram School of Magic. Pentagram is identified by some as a symbol of magic. Instead of a gigantic castle in the middle of nowhere, it is a five-by-five-meter room in a two-story house that is painted black and located in a residential complex in Bintaro, Tangerang, southwest of Jakarta.

Military needs political umbrella From Koran Tempo Recently, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on the public to observe the development of circumstances in Aceh, where the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) continue to resort to violence.

Culture is back on the film agenda Fabio Scarpello, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Eliana-Eliana, loved by the public and critics alike, is only one of the few movies produced locally this year; barely noticeable in the midst of the 200 imported. But underneath this gloomy statistic, Indonesian cinema has started to fight back. Government and filmmakers are going back to school!

Construction of village roads From Warta Kota Road construction has yet to be equitably undertaken in all the regions, particularly in rural areas where roads are very important for transportation. I live in Kerikil village, Ciseeng subdistrict, Bogor. Unfortunately, most of the roads here are in disrepair. When it rains, pools of water quickly form on the roads, making the roads muddy. When it is hot, the roads are very dusty and the dust gets into the nearby houses.

New swimming chief makes splash Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The newly installed central board of the Indonesian Swimming Federation (PRSI) aims to improve its swimmers' achievements, both at home and abroad. "First of all, we will evaluate all programs in the past and those being carried out in a bid to improve our swimmers' achievements," said newly appointed PRSI chairman Datuk Hakim Thantawi in a written statement made available to The Jakarta Post.

AIDS activist dies of lymphoma INDONESIA: After fighting lymphoma for many months, AIDS activist Suzana Murni died at her home in South Jakarta at around 2:15 a.m. on Saturday. She was 30 years old and is survived by her husband and an adopted son. Her body was buried in Kampung Kandang cemetery, Pangkalan Jati, South Jakarta, on Saturday afternoon.

Muhammadiyah congress begins in deadlock Edith Hartanto and Yogita Tahilramani, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya A day before the opening of its congress the Muhammadiyah youth wing has failed to come up with its list of leader candidates with its present leader citing participants wishes that it return to its original role as a socioreligious organization as the main reason for the delay.

Voting rights of the TNI and police From Rakyat Merdeka Polemics on the pros and cons of whether or not the military and the police should be able to enjoy their voting rights have taken a great portion of space in the mass media but, unfortunately, they have not touched upon which party -- the executive or the legislative branch of power -- had inserted this matter in the final version of the bill on political parties.

Labor v. Management From Bisnis Indonesia A few days ago Bisnis Indonesia carried a report on a labor problem discussed in an International Labor Organization (ILO)- sponsored workshop on Bipartite Institutions and Workplace Cooperation. A few months earlier, we read reports that some companies were planning to relocate their production activities to other countries due in large part to the disputes between employers and employees here.

PDI Perjuangan to avoid deadlock Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Leaders of the largest party in the Assembly the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) agreed on Saturday to play safe and go with the flow in the upcoming Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR). "We are ready.

Six bomb suspects arrested by police The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Security officers arrested on Saturday six people suspected of planting explosives that went of at the Graha Cijantung mall on June 30, injuring at least eight shoppers. The six have been identified as Atom, Abdullah, Ahmad, Syahrul, Mudawali and Adi, alias Bambang, all of whom are said to come from East Aceh. The suspects are now being questioned at the Jakarta Police Headquarters. National Police chief, Gen.

Batam clash averted in eviction INDONESIA: A crowd of about 100 people nearly clashed with officials trying to evict street vendors as part of a seven day clean-up campaign in Batam, Riau. Military commander Lt. Col. Edy Rahmayadi said the crowd tried to stop the eviction but the presence of the military deterred them. The crowd then burned tires and piles of wood. No arrests were made. -- JP

Pregnant ladies, beware of your diet! Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Nourishment is essential for all living creatures, and is particularly important to have a proper diet for expectant mothers. Careful and proper diets are suggested for pregnant mothers for their own health and to ensure the babies' proper growth. However, due to insufficient information on nutrition or fear of becoming fat, there are still a few women who continue their often-unbalanced eating patterns.

Blind obedience to Megawati Kornelius Purba Staff Writer The Jakarta Post Jakarta korpur@yahoo.com Only five of the 151 legislators (two of the original 153 died) from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) had the guts on Monday to openly defy the instruction of their party boss, Megawati Soekarnoputri, to save former ruling party Golkar from a major political embarrassment. The party's top executives, even high-profile politicians such as Roy B.B.

On the Shelves Nyai Wonokromo di depan Pengadilan Hindia Belanda (Nyai Wonokromo before the Dutch East Indies Court Mayon Soetriso Progress (no publication year) vi + 129 pp This book consists of two novelettes: Nyai Wonokromo and Nyai Adipati. The two nyai or indigenous Javanese, who were mistresses of Europeans during the Dutch colonial time, stood up against the arrogant and repressive colonial regime.

On the record Artist : Tohpati; Album : Serampang Samba (Sony Music) While Tohpati's self-titled debut album sounds like Earl Klugh meets James Taylor, Serampang Samba (Serampang is a name of traditional dance from West Sumatra) is bolder in its concept, and made up as a good choice for its genre (easy listening jazz). Here, the guitarist who can be seen in almost every local music concert, puts a lot of ethnic elements into the sound.