Indonesian authorities have approved a new law banning people from giving money to buskers, beggars and hawkers in Jakarta. Offenders could face up to six months in jail and fines of USD 5,000. Jakarta’s outgoing Governor Sutiyoso said the new rules would bring order to the city. But critics fear the new laws are ill thought out, with little understanding about the realities of the city’s poor. In other news, three Islamic militants sentenced to death for the 2002 bombings in Bali will not seek a presidential pardon, their lawyer said on Sept. 12. (BBC, Reuters)