JAKARTA (JP): Social workers have been undervalued in

JAKARTA (JP): Social workers have been undervalued in Indonesia. Under Soeharto the ministry of social affairs was viewed as incompetent and unimportant. Social workers were given "Band-Aid" work -- they nursed the symptoms of poverty rather than treating its causes.

2. 4Yomiuri -- Bureaucratic resistance intolerable 1 x 42 36pt Optima Bold Resistance to Koizumi's reform intolerable

TOKYO: The biggest force of resistance against reforms has turned out to be bureaucrats in Kasumigaseki, as expected.

In their review reports submitted Monday to the government secretariat for the promotion of administrative reform on public corporations under their jurisdiction, ministries and agencies turned their backs on reforms, reflecting their desperate efforts to defend the corporations and the vested interests they represent.

3. 4US -- Why US changed tack on China's nuclear forces 1 x 35 36pt NCSB Why U.S. altered stance on PRC's nuclear arms By Louise Branson

WASHINGTON: In an apparently dramatic change in policy, the United States is planning to tell Chinese leaders that it will not object to Beijing's build-up of its small nuclear deterrent.

Two key reasons seem to underlie the Bush administration's new thinking as reported in The New York Times.

Firstly, the move appears designed to overcome Chinese objections to the U.S.' plans to build a "Son of Star Wars" missile shield, and comes as President George W. Bush is scheduled to visit China next month.