Riot police fired tear gas at protesters in Makassar, South
Sulawesi, Indonesia on Monday. Lawmakers cleared the way for the
government to lift prices of subsidized fuel for the first time
in years, the final hurdle in a long road to reforming the
subsidy. Reuters      Indonesia has heavily subsidized fuel for
years, a legacy of more than three decades of rule by former
strongman Suharto that gave the country some of the lowest-cost
fuel in Asia. "It's normal if there are people who can't accept"
the increase, presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha told
reporters shortly before the vote. "But we hope people can come
to accept it and understand the government's reasons."   But
recent efforts to pare fuel subsidies have been prone to
political infighting in a country where half the population
lives on less than $2 a day and is extremely vulnerable to
increases in prices of basic goods. A year ago, Mr. Yudhoyono
tried to cut fuel subsidies by pushing a vote at the House of
Representatives amid sometimes viol