A hip injury is set to force national women’s tennis ace Wynne Prakusya to pull out of the Doha Asian Games at the end of the year.

“I need some time to think … But I realize that it will be very demanding for me to play in the singles at the event,” she said Tuesday at Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) headquarters.

The 25-year-old said she was still fighting to overcome her nagging injury.

“I will report my condition and my final say to Pelti chairwoman (Martina Widjaja) next week,” said the world’s number 307. Read more

Persistent high interest rates appear to be having an impact on profitability in the banking industry, with major lenders seeing slowdowns in profit growth as high borrowing costs sap the demand for loans.

Bank Danamon, the country’s fifth largest lender by assets, has seen its 2006 first-half profit more than halved from the same period last year.

Danamon’s net profit during the first six months to June 30 plunged to Rp 558 billion (US$60.6 million) from Rp 1.28 trillion a year earlier, the lender said in a statement announcing its first-half results. Read more

Amid concerns over the continuing economic slowdown, which has led some experts and institutions to revise their full-year growth projections downwards, the government’s senior economics minister insists the economy is set for a rebound.

While giving due respect to the forecasts made by independent economists and financial institutions, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Boediono said the government’s own forecasts were usually more accurate.

“The government’s growth estimation is usually more optimistic and correct. Higher exports, investment and agricultural output are the main reasons for that optimism,” said Boediono at the Presidential Palace Tuesday. Read more

The Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that the 1999 Law on Corruption should make it clear that graft suspects could only be taken to court for corruption if they were suspected of violating formal regulations such as presidential decrees or the Criminal Code.

Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean, deputy chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), told reporters after a judicial review session that the war on corruption would go on, but added that the body was now forced to work harder to collect evidence before bringing charges.

The court, however, declined a request to review the 2002 law that established the KPK.

Both requests for judicial review were filed by the Indonesian Legal Society and a graft suspect, Dawud Djatmiko. Read more

Papua’s “special autonomy” status has not brought significant progress to the people because it has failed to address their fundamental needs, a survey suggests.

The survey was conducted by National Solidarity for Papua (SNUP) in cooperation with Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia. It examined the impact of special autonomy, which began in 2002 in an effort to ease separatist tensions and grant Papuans greater control over their government and the province’s resources.

The 323 respondents were from different backgrounds and locations across six regencies. They said their welfare has not improved because the local political elite, the bureaucracy and non-governmental organizations are out of touch with the common people. Read more

After seven years of squabbling between the Batam Industrial Development Authority (BIDA) and the Batam municipality, the Home Ministry has said it will issue a decree outlining the different authorities of the two bodies.

An official with the ministry’s Directorate General of Regional Autonomy and Administration, Suwarno P. Raharjo, said the decree would be issued soon, according to the 1999 law on the formation of Batam city.

“We do not know why the decree has never been issued, but given the present situation, with the government’s intention to spur economic growth in Batam, Bintan and Karimun, the government will immediately facilitate its issuance to put an immediate end to the overlapping of authority,” Suwarno said. Read more

The relatively minor earthquake that hit the coastal city of Singaraja, about 90 kilometers north of the Bali capital Denpasar, last Sunday rattled quite a few nerves on an island that is heavily dependent on the tourist industry for its economic survival.

While the 3.7 magnitude quake in the old port city was minor compared to the 6.6 temblor that struck North and Central Sulawesi two hours earlier, it served as a stark warning to Bali of the potential dangers if a major quake did strike.

Bagus Sudibya, chairman of the Bali Tourism Board, warned local administrations that there was no time to waste in drawing up emergency plans to deal with possible natural disasters, including tsunamis. Read more