Wahid

Abdurrahman Wahid, who became Indonesia's first democratically elected president in 1999 after half a century of authoritarian rule, died Wednesday in Jakarta. He was 69. Long in failing health, Wahid left an indelible mark on Indonesia as a liberal Muslim cleric who spoke with moral authority and defended the rights of ethnic minorities and the disenfranchised. He had been receiving treatment in the intensive care unit of a Jakarta hospital for the last week. Doctors said the former president, who had long been confined to a wheelchair, unable to see and suffering kidney problems, died during surgery to remove a blood clot in his heart.

Police say a man with a knife chased his wife through their Chino Hills neighborhood Tuesday and stabbed her to death in the street. Samir Wahid, 39, was arrested at the scene in connection with the death of his wife, Iman, 33, according to San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Beavers. The couple emigrated from Lebanon, and Samir Wahid owned a construction company. Beavers said the attack began inside the couple's home in the 15700 block of Sedona Drive on Tuesday afternoon when Samir Wahid, who had not been living at the residence, walked in and began stabbing his wife.

When President Abdurrahman Wahid was elected 19 months ago, he represented this country's best chance at democracy in half a century of independence. Now, as he faces corruption allegations and threats of removal from office, it appears that the nearly blind and unpredictable Muslim leader will do almost anything to keep his job.

Abdurrahman Wahid, who became Indonesia's first democratically elected president in 1999 after half a century of authoritarian rule, died Wednesday in Jakarta. He was 69. Long in failing health, Wahid left an indelible mark on Indonesia as a liberal Muslim cleric who spoke with moral authority and defended the rights of ethnic minorities and the disenfranchised. He had been receiving treatment in the intensive care unit of a Jakarta hospital for the last week. Doctors said the former president, who had long been confined to a wheelchair, unable to see and suffering kidney problems, died during surgery to remove a blood clot in his heart.

Supporters of Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid kept up attacks on offices of a rival party as protests raged over parliament's attempt to impeach him. Wahid plans to visit the province of East Java, his party's heartland and center of the protests, to try to restore calm, his spokesman said. The president has refused to step down despite mounting pressure after parliament last week censured him over two corruption scandals and opened the door to his possible impeachment.

Thousands of President Abdurrahman Wahid's supporters attacked a college campus and burned the offices of political opponents who want to speed up his possible impeachment. The unrest in East Java province followed demonstrations against Wahid in Jakarta, the capital, last week and took place just hours before legislators handed documents to police that they say link him to two corruption scandals.

Supporters of Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid occupied the Javan port of Surabaja and marched on parliament, warning of a bloody uprising if opponents try to oust him for alleged corruption. The protesters stopped ferries from traveling between Java and the nearby tourist island of Bali, port officials said. In Jakarta, the capital, about 2,000 pro-Wahid students marched toward parliament, burning an opposition party's flag. Wahid called for calm.

President Abdurrahman Wahid walked out of a graft inquiry by senior lawmakers, saying he would not submit to the investigation because it was unconstitutional and politically motivated. Wahid, facing growing demands to resign, denied any wrongdoing when he reluctantly appeared before the panel, which is investigating his alleged involvement in two corruption scandals.

The People's Consultative Assembly started an impeachment hearing today, less than an hour after President Abdurrahman Wahid accused lawmakers of treason and announced that he would boycott proceedings against him. The hearing at the heavily guarded legislature got underway as Wahid's minority National Awakening Party and some other small pro-Wahid groups said they also would not participate.

Two small explosions occurred during an otherwise peaceful Islamic prayer rally in support of beleaguered Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid. At least seven people were injured when two small glass bottles containing an undetermined chemical exploded within seconds of one another near a tightly guarded area filled with 30,000 Wahid supporters, police said. There were no claims of responsibility for the attack at the rally in Jakarta, the capital.

At the moment, the headquarters of Abdel Wahid's faction of the Sudanese Liberation Movement is a cafe in Paris. "I may be in exile, but my people know I am still with them," says Wahid, reaching into his bag and pulling out four cellphones and a chunky Thuraya satellite phone with its thumb-like antenna. "This one is for the commanders, so I can tell them what to do and what not to do. This," he said, holding up a newer Nokia, "is for civil society so we can discuss their next move.

Deposed Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, arriving in the United States for medical treatment Friday, conceded that he is no longer the leader of his nation but insisted that his ouster was unlawful. "They have done an unconstitutional thing," he told reporters at Dulles International Airport outside Washington. "The constitution will only be upheld by people like myself." Asked if he still should be president according to his country's constitution, Wahid said: "Oh, yes.

Ousted President Abdurrahman Wahid gave up his desperate attempt to regain power Wednesday and agreed to vacate the presidential palace today but warned against the return of authoritarian rule. Wahid, who maintains that he is still legally and morally president despite his dismissal by the People's Consultative Assembly, forecast "the return of censorship" and predicted that his successor, Megawati Sukarnoputri, would not last more than three months in office.

President Abdurrahman Wahid, whose 21-month rule over the world's fourth-most-populous country was marked by mounting chaos and bloody regional conflicts, was removed from office Monday by Indonesia's top legislative body. By a vote of 591 to 0, the People's Consultative Assembly dismissed the erratic, nearly blind president despite his issuance of a decree in the middle of the night prohibiting the assembly from meeting.

The next 10 to 40 years could be filled with damaging Atlantic hurricanes packing winds of 100 miles per hour or more, according to a new analysis of weather data. The analysis, published in the journal Science, suggests that ocean and air conditions that spawn strong hurricanes occur in 15- to 40-year cycles. The period from 1971 to 1994 was a relatively calm one, with cooler waters and strong winds that disrupted the cyclones that build during storms. Since 1995, the waters have been warming, providing more energy to fuel tropical storms.

In a desperate attempt to hold on to power, President Abdurrahman Wahid issued an emergency decree early today "freezing" the nation's highest governing body as it prepared to vote him out of office. As the nation plunged into a constitutional crisis, leaders of the People's Consultative Assembly defied the president's directive, convened within hours and prepared to dismiss him.

Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid said he had ordered the arrest of the youngest son of former President Suharto, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, in connection with an investigation into a bomb attack. "In the Cabinet meeting . . ., I ordered the [police] to arrest Tommy Suharto in relation to the bomb case," Wahid told a Muslim gathering in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital. Wahid did not make clear if he was referring to a car bomb blast Wednesday in Jakarta that killed 15 people.

President Abdurrahman Wahid dismissed fears of an explosion of unrest as he flew out of Indonesia, but bloodshed escalated into beheadings even before he boarded his plane. More than 142 people have been slaughtered in a revival this week of ethnic violence in remote Central Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo, officials and media said.

The People's Consultative Assembly started an impeachment hearing today, less than an hour after President Abdurrahman Wahid accused lawmakers of treason and announced that he would boycott proceedings against him. The hearing at the heavily guarded legislature got underway as Wahid's minority National Awakening Party and some other small pro-Wahid groups said they also would not participate.

President Abdurrahman Wahid plunged this country into new political turmoil Friday by dismissing his security chief and attorney general and attempting to fire the national police chief. Fighting to keep his job, Wahid sacked top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who had defied the president by opposing his plan to declare martial law and dissolve parliament.