JAKARTA - MEMBERS of an Islamic group held a protest outside the US embassy in the Indonesian capital on Monday.

The protestors held placards in a demonstration against the upcoming visit by Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton, who is on her first mission overseas as President Barack Obama's chief diplomat.

JAKARTA - INDONESIA plans to order its nearly four million civil servants to use local products ranging from footwear to heavy machinery to help the economy weather the global financial crisis, officials said on Monday.

Officials denied the measures would be protectionist, although the government has come under pressure in an election year to shield domestic industries and limit unemployment.

TOKYO - OPPOSITION lawmakers on Monday demanded Japan's finance minister resign over allegations he was drunk at a recent summit meeting, creating a new embarrassment for Prime Minister Taro Aso, who is already struggling with approval ratings that have fallen into the single digits.

Japanese media reported Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa appeared to be drunk at a press conference following the G-7 finance ministers meeting in Rome last week. Footage of the news conference showed him slurring his speech and closing his eyes repeatedly as if he was dozing off.

BANGKOK - THAILAND'S airports announced a loss of US$48 million (S$72.7 million) in the last quarter of 2008 amid a blockade of its two Bangkok hubs and a poor global economic climate, the airport authority said on Monday.

Airports of Thailand (AOT) issued a statement revealing a loss of 1.68 billion baht between October and December last year compared to a profit of nearly 340 million baht for the same period in 2007.