Outrage at Screening of Dying Princess Diana Photo

Crash: A photographer is first to reach Dianas smashed up Mercedes in 1997. The public have never seen close-up images of her dying

A shocking paparazzi photograph of a dying Princess Diana is to be screened for the first time in a documentary about her fatal crash. Unlawful Killing, which will be shown at Cannes this week, is backed by the actor Keith Allen and Mohammed Al Fayed, whose son Dodi died with Diana.
The 90-minute film will include a graphic black and white close-up of Diana taken moments after the Mercedes carrying the couple crashed in a Paris underpass. The distressing image, Diana’s blonde hair and features clearly visible, has never been publicly seen in this country.
It will be shown around the world but not in the UK, prompting Allen to say: ‘Pity, because at a time when the sugar rush of the royal wedding has been sending republicans into a diabetic coma, it could act as a welcome antidote.’
Similar pictures shown to the Diana inquest jury had her face heavily pixelated. News that Allen, father of pop star Lily, is using the full photograph outraged close friends of the late Princess of Wales. Rosa Monckton, who went on holiday with Diana a few weeks before she died, said: ‘If this is true this is absolutely disgusting.
‘The fact people are trying to make money – which is all that they are doing now – out of her death is quite frankly ... words fail me.’ A spokesman for St James’s Palace declined to comment but royal sources said the princes would be sickened by the news.
One said: ‘They rather hope people would treat this with the contempt it deserves.’ He suggested that William and Harry would not be drawn into commenting for fear of giving Allen the oxygen of publicity.
Sources told the Daily Mail that the princes will never publicly comment about their mother because they view the issue as ‘the most intensely personal and private aspect of their very public lives’.
Allen’s film is due to be screened amid a blaze of publicity at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday and Mr Fayed is reported to be travelling to the south of France to help with the launch.
In 2008, after a six-month inquest which heard 250 witnesses and cost taxpayers an estimated £12million, a jury concluded that Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed were unlawfully killed as a direct result of grossly negligent driving by drunk chauffeur Henri Paul, who also died in the crash.
The actions of photographers following the car were also cited. Mr Fayed has accused Prince Philip of masterminding the 1997 crash in which Diana and Dodi died and even suggested Prince Charles was involved.
He alleged the death plot took place to stop the princess marrying his Muslim son. During the 2008 Diana inquest, the former Harrods owner described the royals as ‘that Dracula family’.
The photograph of Diana forms part of the trailer to Allen’s documentary on the film’s official website available in the UK. The website proclaims: ‘Unlawful Killing is the story of the deaths of Princess Diana, Dodi Fayed and their driver Henri Paul.
‘It reveals a cover-up by the British Establishment culminating in a six-month inquest. Keith Allen’s ground-breaking documentary recreates key moments from the inquest and demonstrates how vital evidence of foul play was hidden from public scrutiny, how the royal family were exempted from giving evidence and how journalists, particularly those working for the BBC, systematically misreported the events and in particular, the verdict itself.
‘This is the story of how the world was deceived.’
Allen, in a piece for the Guardian newspaper last weekend, said: ‘My “inquest of the inquest” film contains footage of Diana recalling how the royals wanted her consigned to a mental institution, and the coroner repeatedly questioning the sanity of anyone who wondered if the crash was more than an accident.’
He said he asked every major UK broadcaster to commission a TV documentary about the inquest but they all refused. He said Unlawful Killing was ‘not about a conspiracy before the crash, but a conspiracy after the crash.
A conspiracy organised not by a single arch-fiend, but collectively by the British establishment’. He said the film was being premiered in Cannes ‘because British lawyers insisted on 87 cuts before any UK release.
'So rather than butcher the film, we’re showing in France, then the U.S., and everywhere except the UK.’
A spokesman for the filmmakers said: ‘The picture has been published in full before, in many parts of the world. We acquired the image from an Italian magazine, which had already published it in full. It is also widely available on the web.
‘We are therefore not publishing anything that the rest of the world has not already seen elsewhere.’
A spokesman for Mr Fayed said: ‘He was not aware that any photograph taken of any occupant of the car was going to be in this film.
‘He is appalled by that and will be taking all necessary steps to make sure it is not in the film.’

Indonesia to Build Four ASEAN Connectivity Projects

 

Hatta Rajasa

Indonesia will build four of 12 ASEAN connectivity infrastructure projects, Economic Coordinator Minister Hatta Rajasa said here Tuesday.
"There are 12 infrastructure projects to be build related to the ASEAN Connectivity, four of them are in Indonesia," said Hatta after a water sources management coordinating meeting.
The four infrastructure projects comprise a hydro power plant to meet electricity needs in Dumai (Sumatera-Malaka), and 150 kV power transmission projects in Sanggau (West Kalimantan) and Serawak, a 150 km road rehabilitation in the Indonesian border and a new highway from Bitung to Manado in North Sulawesi.
The minister said that two of the four projects are also under the Indonesian economic development acceleration program and the expansion master plan (MP3I), including the Sumatra-Malaka power plant and the 150 kV Sanggau-Serawak power transmission projects. According to Hatta, the 12 projects are funded by the ASEAN member countries with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
"The 12 ASEAN connectivity infrastructure development projects will cost approximately 1.2 billion US dollars, and will be funded by the ADB and ASEAN member countries," Hatta said.
ASEAN Connectivity projects in Indonesia would cost up to 400-500 million US dollars, said Hatta. The agreement was made after the ASEAN summit had been concluded and in the ASEAN Economic Ministerial Meeting on May 4-8, and followed by a report sent in the ASEAN Summit at the Jakarta Convention Center.

SBY Leaves for Working Visit to Bali

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono makes a two-day working visit to Bali from Tuesday to Wednesday. In Bali the president will open a conference on "Shaping a New World: Combating Foreign Bribery in International Business Transactions" with G20 Working Groups on Anti-Corruption participating.

Boarding special jetliner Boeing 737-800, the president and his entourage will leave Halim Perdanakusuma airport at 9 am on Tuesday for Denpasar’s Ngurah Rai International Airport where the head of state will be greeted by Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika. President Yudhoyono is scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the conference at 2.50 pm Central Indonesia Standard Time (Wita).

According to Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Chairman Busyro Muqoddas, the conference "Shaping a New World: Combating Foreign Bribery in International Business Transactions" and G20 Working Group on Anti-Corruption Meeting in Nusa Dua resort would be one of KPK’s agenda to connect G-20 countries bribery-free business enterprises.

Busyro hoped that after the conference the participating countries would have reached a mutual understanding and anti corruption commitment to supporting democracy and human rights. Meanwhile, KPK deputy chairman for prevention field M Jasin said bribery cases were still rampant globally in both developed and developing countries.

Jasin said "the G-20 Working Group on Anti-corruption" was established after the leaders of the countries grouped in G-20 found it necessary to promote clean business which was free from bribery. According to him, the establishment of G-20 was also motivated by global economic crisis in 1999.

He said the rules in the World Trade Organization (WTO) were insufficient to stem corruption facing the business world. President Yudhoyono will fly back to Jakarta on Wednesday morning.

Schwarzenegger, Wife Shriver Announce Split

US actor Arnold Schwarzenegger thumbs up as he arrives with his wife at the palais des festivals to attend the screening of Les Egares by French director Andre Techine during the 56th Cannes film festival 16 May 2003. The film is in competition for the Golden Palm.

Movie megastar turned politician Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver have separated, they said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times late Monday.
The former California governor and Shriver — a member of the Kennedy political dynasty — have been living apart for a number of weeks, while they “work on the future” of their 25-year marriage, they said.
“This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us,” said the statement by the “Governator,” who left office in January after seven years as California governor.
“After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion and prayer, we came to this decision together. At this time, we are living apart while we work on the future of our relationship.”
The LA Times added that 55-year-old Shriver, a daughter of the storied Democrat-leading Kennedy clan, had moved out of the couple’s mansion in the upscale Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Austrian-born former bodybuilder Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has started to return to show business since he stepped down as governor, with plans for a “Governator” comic book and animated TV show.
Announcing the split, Schwarzenegger, 63, and Shriver said they were “continuing to parent our four children together. They are the light and the center of both of our lives.
“We consider this a private matter and neither we nor any of our friends or family will have further comment. We ask for compassion and respect from the media and the public.” A representative for Schwarzenegger did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation or further details.

E. Timor Rejected Chinese Radar over Spy Fears

East Timor rejected China’s proposal to build a radar on its territory after concerns it would be used for intelligence purposes, according to WikiLeaks, a report said Tuesday. US diplomatic cables, published in the Sydney Morning Herald, show China approached East Timor in December 2007 about building the surveillance facility, free of charge, on the country’s north coast.

The Chinese said it would help East Timor in its fight against illegal fishing, according to the leaked cables. But East Timor’s deputy prime minister Jose Luis Guterres was worried that the radar would be used to extend China’s intelligence capabilities further into Southeast Asia.

“The only catch was that the facilities were manned by Chinese technicians,” Guterres reportedly told the US embassy, expressing “concerns that the radar could be used for purposes other than those touted by the Chinese”. “They could instead be used to extend China’s radar-based intelligence perimeter deep into Southeast Asia,” he said.

The waters of the Wetar Strait separate East Timor’s northeast coast from Indonesia’s Pulau Wetar island and are reportedly used by US Navy vessels including nuclear submarines in transit between the Pacific and Indian oceans.

The cables show US diplomats in Dili reported that East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta had “repeatedly and explicitly” affirmed that the nation’s “strong preference” was to cooperate with its democratic partners on defence and security. By this, Ramos-Horta was referring to Australia, Portugal, the United States and Japan, the report said.

Indofood Agri Unit PT SIMP Plans USD629 Mln IPO

PT Salim Ivomas Pratama Tbk, a unit of Indofood Agri Resources Ltd., is seeking to raise as much as IDR5.37 trillion (US$629 million) in an initial public offering that, if successful, will be Indonesia's biggest share sale this year.

PT SIMP plans to sell 3.16 billion new shares at an indicative price range of IDR1,060 to IDR1,700 in the proposed IPO, to be launched in the second quarter of this year, its Singapore-listed parent company said Tuesday.

The shares have a par value of IDR200 per unit and represent up to 20% of the post-IPO capital of the company, Indofood said in a statement to the Singapore Exchange. Indofood, which entered a trading halt Tuesday morning, requested its shares resume trading at 0600 GMT.

No Plan So Far to Raise Subsidized Fuel Prices

Bottles of gasoline are displayed on a street to sell to motorists in Indonesias South Sulawesi province February 22, 2011. A litre of gasoline sold on the street costs more than at a fuel station, a vendor said. High oil prices pose a danger for global economic growth and industrialised countries stand ready to release oil from stockpiles to meet any Middle East supply disruptions, chief economist of International Energy Agency Fatih Birol told reporters on the sidelines of an energy conference in Indonesia on Tuesday.

Indonesia's government currently has no plan to raise prices of subsidized fuel, as appreciation in the rupiah is helping shield the state budget from the impact of rising global oil prices, the economics minister said Tuesday.
“It is the government's intention to continue to provide subsidies until they are no longer needed,“ Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Radjasa told reporters.
Raising fuel prices is a politically sensitive issue in Indonesia and price increases have led to social unrest in the past. The government earlier this year shelved a plan to ban private cars in the Greater Jakarta area from consuming subsidized fuels, due to concerns it would stoke inflationary pressures.

Impact of Indonesia's Regulatory Haul on Mining Industry

An aerial view shows the site of the Grassberg Mine, operated by the U.S.-based Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold in Indonesias Papua province November 4, 2010. Freeport, which operates mines in North and South America, Africa and Indonesia, said third-quarter net earning were 1.2 billion, or 2.49 per share, up from 925 million, or 2.07 per share, a year earlier. Analysts, on avarage, were expecting 2.25 per share, according to Thomson Reuters. Picture taken November 4, 2010.

Indonesia's mining industry is undergoing a regulatory overhaul that is likely to weaken the operating and financial performance of mining companies in the country, said Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today in a report.
The report, titled “Indonesia's Mining Law Of 2009 And Subsequent Regulations: Unearthing The Impact,“ offers an assessment on how the main provisions of the law and regulations are likely to affect the companies in the Indonesian mining sector--both locally and foreign owned.
“Although the mining law in 2009 only provides a broad framework, government regulations from later that year and 2010 provided greater clarity on both the spirit of the law and the possible credit impact for mining companies with Indonesian operations,“ said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Xavier Jean.
“Standard & Poor's does not anticipate immediate rating implications for the mining companies in Indonesia, since our ratings on them already incorporate varying degrees of regulatory risk,“ Mr. Jean noted.
Nevertheless, we believe specific regulations will affect some mining companies more than others and may have implications for domestic and foreign investments in the Indonesian mining industry.
“Some regulatory provisions have direct implications for the revenues, profitability, capital expenditure, and cash flows of mining companies in Indonesia,“ Mr. Jean said. “Besides increasing operating uncertainty for Indonesian mining companies, we believe the new regulations may also make the industry less attractive to foreign investors.“
Increases in operating costs, possible delays in awarding mining licenses due to the decentralized decision making, and domestic processing requirements may change the economics of long-term mining projects.
However, it is too early to quantify the impact of the new regulations on the credit profile of mining companies in Indonesia as the implementation of the mining law continues.
“The regulatory environment is still evolving, and the implementation of government regulations passed so far may differ somewhat from their original forms,“ Mr. Jean said.

Over 35 Pct of Indonesia's Tourist Arrivals from ASEAN Countries

Tourists watch Balinese dancers perform during the opening of a carnival on Indonesias resort island of Bali February 19, 2009. Indonesias Constitutional Court on March 25, 2010, threw out an appeal of a controversial anti-porn law, in a blow to some secular parties, minorities and artists who had said it threatened freedom of expression.

Indonesia received 210,372 tourists from other ASEAN member states in March, accounting for 35.17 percent of the overall tourist arrivals in the country in that month.
"In March 2011, ASEAN tourists, for instance, from Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand reached 210,372," Deputy Director of ASEAN Region at the Culture and Tourism Ministry Chrismiastutie said here on Monday.
She said 598,068 tourists visited Indonesia in March. Cumulatively, the number of tourists from other ASEAN member states reached 556,336 in the first quarter of 2011.
The figure represented 32.44 percent of the overall tourist arrivals over the period reaching 1,714,946, according to the center of data processing and network system at the ministry.
"We predict the figure will increase significantly in line with the position of Indonesia as the 2011 ASEAN chair," she said. In the first quarter of 2011, tourists from other ASEAN member states dominated tourist arrivals in Indonesia.
"Throughout this year there will be many MICE (Meeting Incentive Conference and Exhibition) events to be held in Indonesia as the ASEAN chair," she said.
Singapore took the lead as the source of Indonesia’s tourist arrivals among ASEAN member states in the January-March 2011 period, with 271,523 tourists, up 7.92 percent from the same period last year.
This was followed by Malaysia with 239,663 tourists, the Philippines 28,400, and Thailand 16,750. Overall, tourist arrivals in the country grew 6.44 percent in the first three months of 2011 compared with the same period last year.

Two Former Presidents Invited to June 1 MPR Session

Former President Megawati Soekarnoputri

Former President Megawati Soekarnoputri has agreed to attend a plenary session of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) on June 1 to commemorate the promulgation of the state ideology of Pancasila exactly 66 years ago by one of the nation’s founding fathers, Soekarno.
MPR Vice Chairman Hajriyanto Y Thohari said here Monday Megawati had indicated her readiness to attend the June 1 function to an MPR delegation that had visited her at her residence in Jakarta to invite her to the MPR session.
"Ibu (Mrs) Megawati also stated her willingness to deliver a speech at the plenary MPR session," Hajriyanto said.
The MPR leadership would also come to former President BJ Habibie’s residence to invite him to the same June 1 MPR meeting. Habibie, who was Indonesia’s third president, was also expected to address the plenary MPR session.
Apart from the two former presidents, the MPR leadership would also invite three former vice presidents to the June 1 plenary MPR session, namely Try Sutrisno, Hamzah Haz, and Jusuf Kalla, Hajriyanto said.
At the MPR plenary session, the former leaders would be given an opportunity to express their hopes and voice their views on how to respond to the nation’s present conditions and problems.

Endangered Sumatran Tigers Frolick on Forest Video

A male Sumatran tiger is kept in a cage while awaiting transfer from the Natural Resources Conservation Center in Aceh province to a safari park in West Java April 26, 2010. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has warned that the Sumatran tiger could be extinct within a decade due to poaching and illegal logging. At least 66 tigers have been killed on the island of Sumatra since 1999, the organisation reported.

Video cameras captured 12 critically endangered Sumatran tigers, including mothers with their cubs, in Indonesian forests slated to be cut down, wildlife activists said Monday.
One of the videos shows three young cubs playfully chasing a leaf. Another, triggered by an infrared sensor, recorded giant cats strolling across a clearing at night. Sumatran tigers are on the brink of extinction because of the destruction of forests, poaching and clashes with humans.
Their numbers have dwindled to about 400 from 1,000 in the 1970s, according to the World Wildlife Fund, which set up the cameras in Riau and Jambi provinces just three months ago. Karmila Parakkasi, who heads the group's tiger research team on Sumatra island, said capturing a dozen cats in such a short period is astonishing.
"What's unclear is whether we found so many tigers because we're getting better at locating our cameras or because the tigers' habitat is shrinking so rapidly here that they are being forced into sharing smaller and smaller bits of forests," he said.
The cameras were set up in a corridor — not officially protected by the government — between the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park and Bukit Rimbang Baling Wildlife Sanctuary.
The WWF said timber permits are pending in the corridor. Forestry Ministry spokesman Masyhud, who uses one name, could not yet determine which company already is licensed for the area, but said permits would not be issued for a known location or crossing area of an endangered species.

Indonesia's Govt and House to Discuss Fuel Oil Prices

Vehicles are stuck in a traffic jam on a toll road during peak hour in Jakarta July 16, 2010. Indonesias strong domestic demands has pushed record sales of cars, giving a boost in revenue for vehicle manufacturers and toll road operators.

The government and the House of Representatives (DPR) are scheduled to discuss the option of raising subsidized premium gasoline and diesel oil at the end of May amid rising global oil prices.
Director General of Oil and Gas at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Evita Legowo said on Monday the government kept monitoring global oil prices once every two days.
"However, we have yet to come to the option of raising fuel oils," she said.
Many quarters have asked the government to consider a proposal to raise the prices of subsidized fuel oils after global oil prices were hovering above US$100 a barrel.
Satya W Yudha of the House Commission VII urged the government to raise the prices of subsidized premium gasoline and diesel oil by Rp500 a liter. The increase in the prices of fuel oils would help the government reduce a budget deficit as a result of soaring global oil prices, Satya W Yudha of the Golkar Party faction in the House of Representatives said.
"Any increase in ICP (Indonesian Crude Price) of US$1 a barrel will raise the budget deficit by Rp500 billion. This will put pressure on the state budget," he said.
Evita said the ICP between May 2010 and April 2011 averaged US$90 a barrel. "But it fell sharply in the past few days," she said.
She said her side had internally been discussing a change in ICP in the revised 2011 state budget. Under the State budget Law of 2011, the government is allowed to raise the prices of subsidized fuels if the average ICP in the past one year is 10 percent higher than the assumed oil price of US$80 a barrel.
According to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, ICP averaged US$89.52 a barrel in the May 2010-April 2011 period. ICP reached US$77.02 a barrel in May, US$75.27 in June, US$73.75 in July, US$75.97 in August, US$76.76 in September, and US$82.26 in October, US$85.07 in November and US$91.37 in December last year. It rose to US$97.09 in January, US$103.31 in February, US$113.07 in March and US$123.36 in April this year.

Indonesians Evacuated from Libya

Indonesia Muslims march during a rally in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, March, 27, 2011. More than 10,000 Indonesians held a peaceful rally in the capital of the worlds most populous Muslim nation to support pro-democracy movement in Libya, Yemen, and Bahrain.

Some 27 Indonesians had been evacuated from Libya after the Indonesian embassy in Tripoli was closed, after last Saturday the Indonesian embassy in Tunis evacuated four Indonesian migrant workers (TKI) from the north African country.
First Secretary of the Indonesian embassy in Tunis Boy Dharmawan told that the Tunisian military has declared full alertness in the border area in anticipation of increased armed conflict. He said several clashes including rocket attacks from Kaddafi’s loyal followers had entered Tunisia.
The Tunisian government said the shower of bullets of Kaddhafi’s soldiers into Tunisia was a very serious negligence on the part of the Tunisian government in taking actions in defending the country’s sovereignty. The chaos prompted Tunisia to tighten its military security border between Tunisia and Libya in the Ras Jedir and Dehiba border posts, he said.
And the Tunisian government applied a new policy requiring every evacuee to have immigration papers and visas before entering Tunisia. Boy Dharmawan said this made it difficult to evacuate the Indonesians from Libya as many migrant workers being evacuated did not have the required immigration papers.
In the meantime, to protect the Indonesians and avoid undesired things, the Indonesian embassy in Tunis called on two TVOne reporters Metalia and Robin to cancel their plan to enter Libya through the Dehiba-Wazin border post, and leave the area immediately because armed clashes may break out any time.
Kaddhafi’s soldiers would resort to everything to take over the area as it is the main gate linking anti-Kaddhafi forces and the outside world, and the main route of their logistic supplies.
Since NATO forces killed Kaddhafi’s youngest son Saif el-Arab and three of his grand children, security in Tripoli and eastern Libya had been worsening. Clashes between Kaddhafi’s loyalists and anti-Kaddhafi forces in the western hills like Zintan and Nalut, had been increasing.
The area, especially in Nalut near the Wazin-Dehiba border post is very strategic and developed into a battle ground of the two conflicting parties, and controlled alternately by Kaddhafi’s forces and the rebels.
Some of the Indonesian housemaids (TKWs) had left their employees and as their passports were held by their employers they did not have them and therefore cannot leave Libya, and some of their employers even also left the country taking with them the passports of the TKWs they have left behind.
Right now the Indonesian embassy in Tunis managed to help Indonesians to enter the country and took care of their papers to enter the capital city, thanks to the good relations between the embassy and some Tunisian authorities, as well as the cooperation with the relevant international agencies like the International Organization for Migration (IOM), NGO (ADRA), UNHCR, and the Thai embassy in Tripoli.
The evacuation of Indonesians was made possible thanks to cooperation and coordination between the embassy and Muhammad Abdul Hafiz, Kaddhafi’s close friend who had been accommodating TKWs who have fled their employment ever since the Indonesian embassy in Tripoli had been closed.
Muhammad Abdul Hafiz, owner of the embassy building in Tripoli, who brought the TKWs because no driver had the guts to take the housemaids to the Tunisia-Libya border. With the arrival of the four housemaids, since the embassy in Tripoli was closed on March 27, 2011, the Indonesian embassy in Tunis managed to evacuate 27 Indonesians from Libya by land, including 24 migrant workers and three others were Metro TV reporters.
The four housemaids were Siti Fatima Binti Radi Rahmat (30) from Malang, Susi Rusmiati Ubad (26) and Latipah BT Endah Bahria (42) from Cianjur and Masiyah BT Rada Tolib (33) from Brebes. In the meantime Embassy Second Secretary in Tunis Sugiri Suparwan accompanied the five housemaids from Libya last Tuesday.
They were Siti Ropiah Tukimun Bakrul (38) from Banyuwangi, Sardonah Binti Idris Rakwad (30) from Subang, Hartini BT Boimin Ngasmo (41) from Kendal, Kasniti BT Sudirman Kalsum (25) from Indramayu and iti Saroh Sartiman (26) from Tangerang. Up till now a total of 587 Indonesians had been evacuated from Libya through Tunisia for repatriation to Indonesia, including 583 repatriated with facilities.

Apple Overtakes Google as The World's Most Valuable Brand

Fighting to get one: Ding Wencheng lies injured after being beaten by a man coming out of the Apple Store in Beijing, China as scores rushed to buy the iPad 2

Thanks to the success of the iPhone, iPod and of course, the iPad, Apple has overtaken Google as the world's most valuable brand, according to a new study.
Apple's victory ends a four-year reign by the Internet search engine. The brand is now worth £94billion ($153billion), almost half its market capitalisation, the study by global brand agency Millward Brown, said.
Apple's portfolio of coveted consumer goods propelled it past Microsoft to become the world's most valuable technology company last year. Peter Walshe, global brands director of Millward Brown, said Apple's meticulous attention to detail, along with an increasing presence of its gadgets in corporate environments, has allowed it to behave differently from other consumer-electronics makers.
'Apple is breaking the rules in terms of its pricing model,' he said.
'It's doing what luxury brands do, where the higher price the brand is, the more it seems to underpin and reinforce the desire.
'Obviously, it has to be allied to great products and a great experience, and Apple has nurtured that.'
Of the top ten brands in Monday's report, six were technology and telecoms companies: Google was at number two, at number three, Microsoft at number five, AT&T at number seven and China Mobile at number nine.
McDonald's rose two places to number four, as fast food became the fastest-growing category, Coca-Cola slipped one place to number six, while Marlboro was also down one to number eight. General Electric was number ten. Mr Walshe said demand from China was a major factor in the rise of fast-food brands.
'The Chinese have been discovering fast food and it's such a vast market - Starbucks, McDonald's and pizza has hit China,' he said.
'The way McDonald's has reinvented itself, adapted its menus, added healthy options, expanding the times of day it can be visited, for example oatmeal for breakfast, that allied with growth in developing markets has really helped that brand.'
Nineteen of the top 100 brands came from emerging markets, up from 13 last year. Facebook entered the top 100 at number 35 with a brand valued at £11.7billion ($19.1billion), while Chinese search engine Baidu rose to number 29 from 46.
Toyota reclaimed its position as the world's most valuable car brand, as it recovered from a bungled 2010 product recall. The survey was carried out before the March earthquake that caused massive disruption to Japanese supply chains. The total value of the top 100 brands rose by 17 per cent to £1.5trillion ($2.4trillion), as the global economy shifted to growth.

Remains of Merpati Airhostess Arrives at House of Mourning

Relatives cry for their beloved one, a victim of a Merpati Nusantara passenger plane crash, in Kaimana on May 7, 2011. A MA-60 aircraft with around 25 passengers and crew crashed into the sea during a downpour on May 7 in eastern Indonesia, killing everyone on board, a navy officer told local radio.

The remains of Sumayani (33), one of the airhosteses of the Merpati Nusantara Airlines MA-60 who was killed in the plane crash in the Kaimana waters, West Papua, arrived at the house of mourning on Monday at 5 am on board a Al Irsyad hospital ambulance. Earlier, the victim’s remains was placed in an Indonesian flag-covered closed coffin flown from Sorong to Makassar and then to Surabaya.
Representatives of Merpati Nusantara Airlines and a number of the victim’s friends came to the house of mourning to express their deepest condolences to the bereaved. According to plan, before being buried at a public cemetery in Pedurungan, Semarang, on the same day at 10 am, the victim’s body will be laid in state and prayed for at a mosque not far from the house of mourning.
Merpati Nusantara Airlines cabin crew manager Sudiyarto said the late airhostess had served the airline company for seven years and known as one of the company’s best airhosteses. Sumayani was the first of three children of Suratmi and late Samim, who married Ranu Adhi (32) in September 2006, but still childless.
Merpati Nusantara Airlines MA-60 crashed from an altitude of 15,000 feet into the sea near Kaimana airport, West Papua province, last Saturday at 2 pm local time in bad weather. The plane was flying from Sorong to Kaimana when it went down killing 18 adult passengers, a boy, and two babies.

FIFA Warns Chaotic Indonesian FA of 'Severe Sanctions'

Controversial head of PSSI, Nurdin Halid 

The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) faces “severe sanctions” unless it cleans up its act and prevents four banned candidates from standings in its May 20 elections, world governing body FIFA has said.

The election crisis has pushed the PSSI to the brink of expulsion with controversial head Nurdin Halid among the four FIFA have decreed ineligible to stand.
FIFA also banned local oil tycoon Arifin Panigoro, who launched the breakaway Indonesian Premier League (LPI), along with Army Chief of Staff George Toisutta and Nirwan Bakrie. Soccer’s world governing body appointed a ’normalisation committee’ in March to remove the PSSI from power and organise a presidential election after weeks of protests against Halid and his failure to halt the rebel LPI.
But FIFA said nine PSSI members are still appealing to have their candidacies approved for the May 20 vote, including the four they banned in February, prompting a sharp response from the world governing body.
“We would like to underline that the PSSI electoral appeal committee is not allowed to process the appeal on the eligibility to the PSSI presidency ... as the case has already been decided,” FIFA wrote in a letter seen by Reuters.
“We would like to draw your attention once again to the fact that should PSSI fail to abide by this decision it might incur severe sanctions, including the possibility of a suspension.”
To add to the chaos, the PSSI’s acting secretary general Joko Driyono said the normalisation committee was considering stripping North Sumatra, Lampung, East Java and North Sulawesi of voting privileges because of leadership issues.
Nurdin, who was jailed in 2007 for misusing funds but continued to run the PSSI from his cell, had been seeking a third term as president of the PSSI.

Jet-powered Jaguar Gets Green Light

Jaguar C-X75 hybrid supercar 

Stunning C-X75 hybrid supercar concept confirmed for production. 322km/h. 0-100km/h in 3 seconds. Emissions below 100g/km.

Jaguar will build one of the fastest cars in the world after announcing its stunning C-X75 hybrid supercar concept will become a new halo model for the brand.
The British brand will make the star of the 2010 Paris motor show an exclusive proposition with just 250 C-X75s to be produced between 2013 and 2015, with a price tag for Australian buyers set to be as high as $2 million.
Jaguar is partnering with Formula One team Williams to create the supercar, which it says will be capable of speeds in excess of 320km/h and acceleration from 0-100km/h in less than three seconds. A hybrid drivetrain will allow the C-X75 to be driven 50km on electric power alone with average emissions expected to be 99 grams per 100km, the company says.
The production model will initially not feature the helicopter-inspired micro-turbines that powered the concept’s batteries, though Jaguar says it is continuing to develop the technology and later examples of the C-X75 could employ the jet-powered propulsion system.
The C-X75 will instead be powered by a small-capacity “highly boosted” petrol engine combined with “powerful” electric motors on each axle that make the supercar all-wheel drive.
Jaguar says Williams’ expertise in aerodynamics, carbon composite construction and hybrid technology – the latter through the use of the kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) used in F1 racing - will be key to the C-X75’s success. The C-X75 will be made of carbon-fibre to ensure the supercar is both incredibly light and rigid.
“People expect Jaguar to be innovators - that is when Jaguar is at its best," says Jaguar brand director Adrian Hallmark. “The C-X75 received an incredible reception as a concept car.
“We've been building on that momentum and there is a clear business case for this exclusive halo model. No other vehicle will better signify Jaguar's renewed confidence and excellence in technological innovation than this.”
The styling of the production C-X75 is not expected to stray far from the radical shape of the concept car.

Bank Indonesia Likely to Hold Rate Steady

Bank Indonesia will likely keep its overnight policy rate unchanged at 6.75% when it meets Thursday as inflation continued to slow down in April.

All 14 economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires expect Bank Indonesia to keep its benchmark rate steady after data released last week showed the consumer price index rose 6.16% from a year earlier in April, slowing from the gain of 6.65% in March and below the 6.32% median forecast of nine economist polled by Dow Jones Newswires.
While core inflation--which excludes volatile food prices and the tariffs controlled by the government--climbed to 4.62% in April, edging up since December from 4.28%, Bank Indonesia Governor Darmin Nasution said the reading isn't yet exerting pressure for a rate hike.
Nasution, however, indicated that the central bank is maintaining its tight monetary stance as inflationary pressures are expected to gain pace in the second half of the year. Since lowering its policy rate to 6.50% during the depths of the global financial crisis, Bank Indonesia has raised the rate only once, by 25 basis points, wary of further attracting short-term capital inflows.
The moderation in headline inflation since February gives Bank Indonesia room to postpone policy rate hikes, Standard Chartered economist Eric Alexander Sugandi said.
“We still expect the BI rate to be hiked by 50 basis points to 7.25%, but we changed our expected timing from the second quarter to the third quarter,“ he said.