Jakarta Post articles from December 2008, page 3

Jakarta Post archives from December 2008

Fixing poverty: In numbers we trust?
December 27, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2008 -- PAGE 9 The truth about poverty in Indonesia spoke for itself when, in September, 21 poor women lost their lives in a stampede trying to get US$2 worth of alms being handed out by a rich...

New fighter jets land in RI.
December 27, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2008 -- PAGE 9 Two Sukhoi fighter jets arrived in Indonesia on Friday from Russia, the first out of a total order of six for the country, defense officials said. Russian cargo plane Antonov...

ICW suspects minister on graft.
December 27, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2008 -- PAGE 9 JAKARTA: Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has filed a report to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) alleging Religious Affairs Minister Maftuh Basyuni engaged in corrupt...

Mega Bank plans 20% growth in 2009 loans.
December 27, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2008 -- PAGE 13 Bank Mega, publicly listed medium-sized lender, targets its bank lending to grow next year by up to 20 percent despite the forecast slowdown resulting from the global financial...

IDX Short selling ban until January.
December 27, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2008 -- PAGE 13 Since short selling was widely blamed for helping to drag down the stock market's main index in the October collapse, the regulator will continue to ban the short selling...

Kerosene-to-LPG conversion on track.
December 27, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2008 -- PAGE 13 The government remains upbeat about the progress of its ambitious kerosene-to-liquified petroleum gas (LPG) conversion program, despite various snags hampering its...

Reflecting on the insignificant.
December 27, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2008 -- PAGE 17 Routine activities are seldom considered significant, yet artist Surya Wirawan sees the higher value of his day-to-day experiences, giving them new life in his artwork. In...

Teater Mode explores human misery.
December 27, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2008 -- PAGE 17 Existentialism as a philosophical movement or lifestyle is outdated. Yet it remains one of the most recurring themes in the theater world with Teater Mode performing on...

Dora and Barbie charm children on holiday.
December 27, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2008 -- PAGE 20 Many kids might pass their holidays watching TV, but if they want, they can meet some of their favorite characters in person: Dora the Explorer and her friends as well as Barbies...

Satrio looks forward to A1 race at home.
December 27, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2008 -- PAGE 23 Top Indonesian racing driver Satrio Hermanto has welcomed the A1 Grand Prix street race that Indonesia will host at Lippo Village in February 2009 as a golden opportunity to...

NH Dini: Struggling against the odds.
December 27, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2008 -- PAGE 24 NH Dini, one of the country's most prolific authors, has temporarily quit writing. A novel and two memoirs are left unfinished in her computer, which she now avoids for health...

Christian in Bali for Christmas.
December 27, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2008 -- PAGE 24 JAKARTA: Different religious backgrounds didn't keep actor Christian Sugiono from celebrating Christmas with his girlfriend, actress Titi Kamal. "I'll be celebrating...

Crucifixes lead slum dwellers out of poverty.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 1 Christmas this year has been bittersweet for Ira, a housewife living in a slum area near the Clean, Humane and Dignified (BMW) park in North Jakarta. The bitterness came from...

Christians usher in a peaceful Christmas amid tight security.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 1 Christmas celebrations across the country were marked in a smooth and peaceful manner on Thursday, with tight security measures in place ensuring no major incidents occurred. ...

Your outlook 2009.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 1 The global economic turndown shrouds the coming of the new year. What will be our biggest challenge in 2009? And how should we deal with it? Send your opinions by SMS to...

Unregistered taxpayers to pay double for exit tax.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 1 The tax office has officially announced an increase in the much- decried fiskal, or exit tax for travelers going overseas, in part to put to rest widespread speculation over the...

AGO to target BI officials in Indover mess.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 2 An investigation into a 2001 case at the central bank's Netherlands- based unit has reached a new point, with the probe now focusing on rooting out Bank Indonesia officials...

Women's groups condemn election law ruling as 'unfair'.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 2 Women politicians have been dealt a serious blow ahead of next year's legislative elections, after the Constitutional Court ruled that candidates winning the most votes would secure...

Central Java wins governance award.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 2 Central Java provincial administration has succeeded in improving its performance in terms of good and clean governance, becoming the best among 25 provinces assessed recently by...

City choir brings people together.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 4 Music is undoubtedly a universal medium uniting people from all nations. Ask Ivonne Atmojo, director of Jakarta International Community Choir (JICC) who is completely fond of music....

Jakarta to spearhead environmental program.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 4 On Wednesday, the central government and environmentalists launched the 2009 Green Hope program, aiming to mobilize public participation in global conservation efforts. The...

Fund managers for micro-credit scheme.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 4 JAKARTA: With high nonperforming loans in the Subdistrict Empowerment Program (PPMK) fund distribution, the city administration will soon set up a micro-finance institution to...

Fire lights up homes on Christmas day.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 4 JAKARTA: A man was injured Thursday morning when his home caught fire, one of six houses up in blazes in Dao Atas, behind the ITC Mangga Dua mall in North Jakarta. Risman, 45,...

City permit a must for New Year party.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 4 JAKARTA: The city tourism agency will close down entertainment establishments that fail to apply for permits to hold New Year's Eve events by Dec. 21. On Thursday, agency head...

3,000 illegal guns remain in city.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 4 Today more than 3,000 civilian-owned, unlicensed guns are in circulation in the city, Jakarta Police has reported. The number does not include weapons confiscated during several...

Evicted students leave their tents for Christmas.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 4 After five months of living and studying in tents, dozens of students of Arastamar Theological College (Setia) staged a rally at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, Central Jakarta,...

Christmas messages focus on inner peace.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 5 Churches across Bali used Christmas Eve's Masses on Wednesday night as a chance to remind their congregations on the importance of spirituality and compassion in this age marred by...

Hotels hold on despite global financial crisis.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 5 Hotels in Bali are yet to experience any significant downturn in occupancy or room-booking rates, as the island's tourism leaders watch nervously for signs the global financial...

Christian inmates to get sentence cuts.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 5 Christian inmates at Bali's largest prison, Kerobokan Penitentiary in Denpasar, including some foreign drug smugglers, are in line to receive between sentence reductions of 15 to 30...

Crisis hits Sanur hotels.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 5 SANUR: The occupancy rate in many hotels in Sanur has dropped considerably with some reporting a rate as low as 60 percent, a change widely attributed to the global financial...

Paintings honor motherly love.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 5 DENPASAR: Dozens of artists and apprentice artisans, that is, children and their mothers, displayed their paintings at an exhibition in Museum Bali in Denpasar to commemorate...

City gives Rp 600m to traditional music.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 5 DENPASAR: The Denpasar city administration gave Rp 600 million (US$54,000) on Wednesday to 100 sekeha gong (traditional music troupes) operating in the provincial capital, in its...

Raids on prostitution merely 'income source for officials'.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 5 The 2004 ruling against prostitution in Bekasi may have noble intentions but only targets sex workers while allowing pimps and clients get away. An official in Bekasi...

Bylaws imply any woman could be prostitute.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 5 Bylaws passed in Bekasi and Tangerang over the past few years banning prostitution may not be protecting residents and women as officials claim, but instead be making the regions...

Acting governor swears in officials.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 5 SURABAYA: Acting governor Setia Purwaka swore in more than 100 officials at the provincial government in compliance with a government regulation on revamping regional...

Recycled instruments join Javanese gamelan for fun and education.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 5 What will we see, or rather hear, when musical instruments made of scrap collaborate with Javanese gamelan (traditional ensemble)? An inspirational orchestra creating harmonious...

Maternal, infant mortality high in Kediri.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 5 Juarno and Rachma remain traumatized over an incident last year in which they lost their only daughter, Dewi Werdiningsih, because of massive bleeding while giving birth to a baby...

Fourteen police on trial over murder case.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 5 Fourteen police personnel stood trial before a code of ethics assembly in Bojonegoro on Wednesday over their alleged bungle that resulted in the wrongful conviction of three...

Tourism law accomplishes little.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 6 We don't see how the new tourism law which was passed by the House of Representatives last week will contribute to further developing Indonesia into a major destination for global...

Compassionate body politic.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 6 In the midst of an increasingly secularized world and the widespread practice of money-driven politics, our minds need to migrate for a while from the realm of pure rationality to...

Old justices.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 7 Most people do not believe in legal enforcers, including the justices because they do not enforce the law fairly. RUPINGAH, Bandar Jaya, Lampung The paradox of the judiciary. as...

Jakarta's budget too lavish: NGOs.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 7 Amusing. Very Amusing. No wonder the Jakarta city government has not been able to solve the never ending problem of Jakarta. Before the notorious busway, do try enhancing the...

A new axis force.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 7 Recently chairman of the Center for Dialogue and Cooperation among Civilizations (CDCC) Din Syamsuddin hosted a discussion on the possibility of forming a coalition of Islam-based...

'Mind the gap', Jakarta's 2009 city budget.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 7 There will be no reason for any agency under the Jakarta city administration to delay projects next year, since the main factor behind its sluggishness has now been removed. ...

Peacebuilding walks hand in hand with good development.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 7 Over the past four years, the Indonesian government has sought to strengthen domestic peacebuilding by addressing several priority issues: * Overcoming disparities in development:...

Irregularities lead PDI-P to walk out of budget meeting.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 8 Nine Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction members of the West Java Provincial Legislative Council walked out of a plenary meeting Wednesday evening after six...

Solemn Xmas celebrated throughout the country.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 8 Peaceful Christmas celebrations took place across the archipelago with tight security in most churches; some Muslims even helped secure church services on Wednesday evening and...

Forest conversion, poaching at Manusela kill rare Seram cockatoo.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 8 The Seram cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis), an endemic bird species found mainly on the islands of Seram, Haruku, Saparua and Ambon, Maluku, is on the verge of extinction due to...

Banks rely on MSMEs in Jambi.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 8 JAMBI: Jambi's banking sector performed poorly in the third quarter of this year due to the current global financial crisis. Loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)...

Corruptors change tactics to avoid KPK.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 8 BANDUNG, West Java: Deputy chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Mochamad Jasin, said Tuesday that the body's strict grip on graft cases has forced corruptors to...

Study: Power plant causes illnesses.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 8 More than 3,000 residents or 90 percent of people living around the Karangkandri coal-fired power plant (PLTU) in Kesugihan district, Cilacap regency, Central Java suffer from...

Women legislative candidates get little from political parties.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 8 The support for female candidates from political parties for next year's general elections is very small, activists and politicians say.f "All decisions made by political parties,...

Businessman banned from travel, faces questioning.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 9 The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has barred businessman Hartono Tanoesodibjo from traveling abroad so he can face questioning over a corruption scandal related to an online...

Education bill contestable.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 9 House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono has called on parties dissatisfied with the Educational Legal Entities Bill, which was passed by lawmakers on Dec. 17, to file a...

Christmas leads 221 inmates to freedom.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 9 More than 200 prisoners walked free as Indonesia celebrated Christmas nationwide Thursday. They were among more than 7,000 inmates, all Christians, who had their sentences...

Amnesty calls for probe into fatal shooting.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 9 Rights group Amnesty International urged Indonesian police Wednesday to investigate a crackdown on protesting villagers in which hundreds of houses were destroyed in Riau. Two...

TNI pledges neutrality in polls.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 9 JAKARTA: The Indonesian Military (TNI) has dismissed doubts cast over its promise of neutrality in the 2009 elections Thursday. TNI spokesman Rear Marshal Sagom Tamboen said in...

RI pilgrims to have apartment in Mecca.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 9 JAKARTA: The governments of Indonesia and Saudi Arabia have agreed to construct an apartment block near the Masjidil Haram Grand Mosque in Mecca for Indonesian pilgrims in an effort...

Corruption watch seeks protection for whistleblowers.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 9 Whistleblowers bringing reports of corruption to the attention of law enforcement agencies are still facing the possible threat of defamation charges, despite the enactment of the...

Ecuador to close its embassy in Jakarta next week.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 10 In a surprise move for many, the small, oil-rich South American state of Ecuador will next week permanently shut down its embassy in Jakarta. "Yes, it's true. We will be...

Six oil and gas firms to use local banks, more to follow, BP Migas says.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 13 Six oil and gas operators have opened six joint bank accounts at domestic banks to deposit their so-called abandonment and site restoration budgets totaling US$60 million. The...

Pertamina to spend $200m for fuel storage terminals.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 13 PT Pertamina plans to spend at least US$200 million next year to upgrade two of its storage terminals to support its distribution network, after the state oil and gas firm was...

Crisis-proof SMEs sector will continue to grow despite crunch.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 13 When bad news seems to dominate the country's business environment, from delays in investment, cuts in production and revenue, to possible layoffs, one sector may again prove its...

Ever Shine expects 10% revenue drop in 2009.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 14 Publicly listed PT Ever Shine Textile Industry, the producer of synthetic textiles and garments, expects sales revenue next year to decline by 10 percent due to declining demand,...

Taking time out for tea in the Puncak.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 17 Withering, rolling, crushing, tearing, curling, fermenting, winnowing' onwards and onwards the process goes until finally packaging of the produce occurs. Who would have...

Tracing plagiarism makes cheating hard.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 17 In the educational sphere, plagiarizing a scientific work is an unpardonable sin. In reality, however, copying data from the Internet or from a library is quite a common practice....

Tasty Christmas cookies.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 20 With the year coming to an end, the smells of Christmas and the new year hang thick in the air. Across the city shop windows are bearing the Yuletide colors and vendors are in...

Effendi laments loss of good journalism.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 24 JAKARTA: Communications expert Effendi Gazali is worried about the state of Indonesian journalism. TV journalism, he says, has become drowned in "media routine", failing to...

Kuntoro Mangkusubroto: Working as the hand of God in Aceh.
December 26, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2008 -- PAGE 24 Kuntoro Mangkusubroto was once entrusted to do the toughest job in Indonesia. Repairing a landscape ripped raw by the world's most extreme natural disaster. Housing the...

Hope to celebratory drinks raises spirits.
December 24, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2008 -- PAGE 1 Christmas and New Year's Eve partygoers, sobering up to the gloomy reality of a shortage of alcoholic beverages, could soon find relief in reports that container-loads of drinks...

No paper.
December 24, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2008 -- PAGE 1 In observance of Christmas, The Jakarta Post will not appear on Thursday, Dec. 25. The paper will resume publication on Friday. Publisher Copyright 2008 The Jakarta Post

Court hands power back to voters.
December 24, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2008 -- PAGE 1 Democracy looks certain to prevail in next year's legislative election after the Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that seats in the nation's legislatures would go to the...

Religious freedom, tolerance in jeopardy.
December 24, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2008 -- PAGE 1 Indonesia has suffered major setbacks in upholding religious freedom and tolerance, enshrined in the Constitution, as evident in a series of attacks on pluralism, a year-end...

Your outlook for 2009.
December 24, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2008 -- PAGE 1 The global economic downturn hangs over the coming of the new year. What will be our biggest challenge in 2009? And how should we deal with it? Send your opinions by SMS to...

Guns, candles come out for Xmas.
December 24, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2008 -- PAGE 1 Thousands of soldiers and police will be on guard to keep Christmas safe amid fears of religion-based attacks, while many citizens in Indonesia's east may have to celebrate the...

Kaban backs decision to close illegal logging case.
December 24, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2008 -- PAGE 2 The Forestry Ministry has cautiously welcomed a decision by Riau Police to stop investigations into 13 forestry companies allegedly responsible for illegally logging 2 million...

Kadin vows to remain independent.
December 24, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2008 -- PAGE 2 The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) insists it will continue working closely with the government in trying to mitigate the impact of the global economic...

Latest phase of NSW online service introduced to help traders.
December 24, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2008 -- PAGE 2 The government launched Tuesday the third phase of the National Single Window (NSW), an online service for importers and exporters that could help businesses cope with the global...

Islamic parties must change to win votes.
December 24, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2008 -- PAGE 3 As we enter the elections year, hope does not seem to be running high for Islamic or Muslim-based parties. Surveys have indicated that if elections were held today, there is a...

Wild Oats XI tipped for record fourth Sydney-Hobart win.
December 24, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2008 -- PAGE 3 Giant maxi Wild Oats XI is strongly favored to claim her record fourth straight line honors win in this year's 64th Sydney to Hobart blue water classic down Australia's eastern...

Speedy spending raises risk of corruption.
December 24, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2008 -- PAGE 4 With the year drawing to a close, the city administration is racing against time to use up its budget, targeting expenditure of more than Rp 4 trillion (US$333 million) by the...

Read aloud to kids to foster love of books.
December 24, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2008 -- PAGE 4 Help is on the way for parents who have trouble getting their children interested in books. A new educational technique has been introduced with the release of the...

Global crisis cuts down sales of pine trees.
December 24, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2008 -- PAGE 4 Christmas tree vendors in Cilandak and Dharmawangsa, South Jakarta, are being left out in the cold as sales of pine trees fall drastically from last Christmas' figures. ...

Christmas services in foreign languages.
December 24, 2008... from THE JAKARTA POST -- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2008 -- PAGE 4 Immanuel Church, Dec. 25, 10 a.m.: English service, 5 p.m.: Dutch service, Address: Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur 10 Central Jakarta, Contact: 021-3813028 International English...