Fiji Seeking Indonesia's Support to be Observer in ASEAN

Indonesian First Lady Ani Yudhoyono (C) stands beside President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as she takes photos of journalists prior to the arrival of Turkeys President Abdullah Gul, in Jakarta on April 5, 2011. The two leaders signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on trade and customs, presidential spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said.

The Republic of Fiji is seeking Indonesia’s support for its bid to obtain observer status in ASEAN according to Fijian Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama during a courtesy call on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono here Wednesday. The Fijian prime minister is visiting Indonesia April 4-6 2011 ro strengthen his country’s relations with indonesia. .
After the 30 minutes meeting, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa said that President Yudhoyono who acts as the 2011 ASEAN Chairman promised to convey the Fijian request to other ASEAN country members.
"They asked for Indonesian support to make Fiji an observer for ASEAN, and the president will convey it to other ASEAN member countries leaders," said Marty
Fijian Prime Minister in Indonesia is also to open his county’s representative office or Embassy to Indonesia. Previously Indonesia is listed be referring to Fijian representative office in Tokyo, Japan, but Indonesia has set its embassy in Fiji since 2002.
Marty said that Fijian Prime Minister and President Yudhoyono also discuss on the Republic of Fiji Islands interest to learn more on democracy in Indonesian because it is considered to be successfully applied.
"Experiences on democracy in Indonesia were discussed. The Foreign Affairs Ministry has been working with the Fijian government in facilitating to provide some sort of information from the General Election Commission (KPU) with the Fijian counter part on how to hold a democratic election," Marty said.
Marty said that Fiji is going through a democrat ion process in the upcoming election which planned to be held on 2014. Indonesia has also provided technical training to Fiji in the field of agriculture, fishery and diplomacy.
With the establishment of Fijian embassy in Indonesia, the two countries who have a diplomatic relation since 1974 will gain a stronger bond, where Indonesia also promised to provide more technical training courses to Fiji.

Wayne Rooney Axed as Face of Coca-Cola

Wayne Rooney in an advertising campaign for FIFA World Cup trophy tour sponsored by Coca-Cola. The drinks company today confirmed they would no longer be working with the Manchester United star

Wayne Rooney was axed as the face of Coca-Cola in the wake of a public furore over his foul-mouthed outburst on live television.
The Manchester United star, 25, was initially dropped from the soft drink company's ad campaign following allegations over his private life last year.
But today Coca-Cola confirmed that they would no longer be working with the footballer.
'We mutually agreed that we would not renew our relationship,' the company said in a statement. 'We wish Wayne well in his career.'
The news comes as Rooney waits to find out the result of his appeal against a two-match suspension for the use of offensive language during a match against West Ham at the weekend.
As it stands, he will miss Saturday's Premier League encounter with Fulham and an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City on April 16. He will find out his fate tomorrow.
Rooney, who has endorsed Coke Zero since 2007, was initially dropped by Coca-Cola in September after he reportedly cheated on his then-pregnant wife Coleen with a prostitute.
At the time, the world's largest soft drink maker responded by saying it was not 'appropriate' to use the England international in promotions, but insisted that its 'relationship with Wayne Rooney is ongoing'.
The partnership, however, has now been permanently severed. Coca-Cola was today keen to stress that it was an amicable arrangement and part of a change of  strategy.
'Our marketing plans have evolved to focus on our sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the upcoming launch of our plans for the Olympic Torch Relay,' they said.
However, the timing of Coca-Cola's announcement raises fresh questions that the player's image is irrevocably tarnished.
His foul-mouthed outburst live on TV after scoring a penalty during the Saturday lunchtime match stunned thousands of viewers, many of whom were watching with their children.
The goal, which completed a hat-trick for him and a momentous turnaround for his title-chasing team, prompted a vile reaction from the young star.
After netting the spot-kick to make the score 3-2, Rooney ran to celebrate with the visiting fans but quickly turned his attention to the camera and screamed the F-word twice.
For this, he was charged with the use of offensive or insulting language by the Football Association.
Rooney apologised after the game, blaming his ‘inappropriate’ behaviour on a ‘heat-of-the-moment reaction’.
Ironically, Saturday was the first day of the Premier League's revival of its Respect campaign, which calls for better behaviour from football's highly paid stars.
The game was being broadcast live to millions of viewers worldwide on Sky Sports, and commentator Rob Hawthorne immediately apologised for any offence caused by Rooney’s abuse
His obscenities were later replayed by 4million viewers on BBC1’s Match Of The Day, although they were cut from a repeat of the programme yesterday morning.
Former shadow sports minister Lord Pendry, now president of the Football Foundation which supports grass-roots football, said: ‘It is disgusting for youngsters watching television to be subjected to this vile behaviour.
‘Even if the words cannot be heard clearly, it is not difficult to understand what is being said. Players should be banned.’
Director Sir Trevor Brooking said: ‘There will be a decision. It was a surprise, after scoring a hat-trick, to react that way.’
FA rules state that players should not use ‘indecent or insulting words or behaviour’.
Rooney verbally attacked England fans during last summer’s World Cup when he turned to a television camera and complained about them after a woeful performance in a goal-less draw with Algeria.
He said: ‘Nice to see your home fans booing you. That’s loyal supporters.’ Again, he later apologised for his comments.
Meanwhile former referee Graham Poll, writing in the Daily Mail, said that Wayne Rooney should be banned for three games.
He said the FA should use the incident to send out the message: ‘We won’t tolerate abusive language and inappropriate behaviour.’
He wrote: 'I have a friend who sat and watched West Ham versus Manchester United in his  living room with his six-year-old son, who asked: "Daddy, why has Wayne Rooney just said ‘f***’?".
'It was not what he expected at lunchtime on Saturday. Why should we  tolerate such an invasion and one that is likely to come without any punishment?'
And while Rooney's teammate Rio Ferdinand sought to defend him and wandered, via Twitter, whether stadiums have become 'no swearing zones', Mr Poll pointed out the difference in the Rooney incident.
'Football is a game where passions run high,' he wrote, 'but when a player seeks out a camera to ensure that his foul language can be seen and heard, action must follow.'

10 Warships for Indonesian Navy

Battleship USS Germantown visited Surabaya and docked at Dermaga Jamrud, Tanjung Perak on March 3, 2011. The warship arrived from San Diego to strengthen relations and continue to promote peace and stability in the region. Surabaya, Indonesia.

National ship-building company PT Palindo Marine Industri located in Batam, Riau Islands province, has received an order from the Navy for ten warships, a naval spokesman said.
"The ten warships will be operated in the Western and Eastern Fleets to patrol the country’s waters," Batam Naval base commander Col Iwan said here on Wednesday.
PT Palindo Marine Industri or PMI, according to him, had so far completed one of the ten warships, which which was expected to be handed to the Defense Ministry on April 25, 2011.
The warship type is the rapid ship missile (KCR) 40, equipped with modern weapons systems in the form of Sensor Weapon Control (Sewaco), cannon caliber of MM 30 with 6 pitches as a Close In Weapon System (CIWS) and guided missiles.
It was estimated that the warships were able to sail with a speed of 30 knots and can fire up the C-705 missiles to hundreds of meters. The warship with high technology specification is 44 meters long, 8 feet wide, 3.4 meters high and 5 leaves-fixed propeller, the spokesman said.
In the meantime, Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said that the construction of rapid ships missile (KCR) 40 fits to control the unitary state of Indonesian waters which are surrounded by small islands.

Amnesty Concerned at Indonesia Religious Attacks

Suspects and followers of Head of the Islamic Defenders Front, Murhali Barda (not pictured), sing an Islamic song before the judges verdict at acourt in Bekasi, West Java province on February 24, 2011. The leader of a violent Islamic vigilante group was sentenced to jail over an attack on Christian elders amid an outbreak of bloody religious violence in Indonesia.

Rights group Amnesty International on Wednesday criticised Indonesia for failing to protect the rights of religious minorities after another attack on followers of an Islamic sect.
In the latest of a string of attacks on the Ahmadiyah group, a mob hurled stones at at least five houses belonging to sect followers late Tuesday in Bogor district, West Java province, local media reported.
Separately, three men are on trial for damaging property and inciting violence in an October attack in another village in the same district. They were allegedly part of a mob which torched houses, schools and a mosque belonging to the Ahmadis, who unlike mainstream Muslims, do not believe Mohammed was the last prophet.
Amnesty’s Asia-Pacific director Saman Zia-Zarifi said the increasing attacks on religious minorities, particularly the Ahmadiyah, showed a “major deterioration of the situation”. “This is not the direction in which we had hoped to see Indonesia move.
This is Indonesia moving in the wrong direction,” he told reporters.
“The central government’s inability or lack of desire to address these issues is potentially catastrophic,” he said. Amnesty this week raised its concerns with the country’s religious leaders and police in “very open, frank and productive” meetings and urged Indonesia to be serious about handling the problem, Zia-Zarifi said.
“The Indonesian government needs to demonstrate that it is serious about dealing with this problem, that it will prevent any more serious cases of violence, and it will provide accountability for the violence that has already occurred,” he added.
Indonesian human rights group Imparsial said it had recorded 56 cases in West Java province in which soldiers allegedly forced Ahmadiyah followers to convert to mainstream Islam. Indonesia’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion but rights groups say violence against minorities including Christians and Ahmadis has been escalating since 2008.

Aston Martin Takes on Apple's iPhone

CPT002 Aston Martin Concept Phone

Aston Martin, the British brand behind supercars associated with the 007 films, has unveiled a mobile phone concept that could challenge the Apple iPhone as the world’s coolest communications handset.
The CPT002 Aston Martin Concept Phone has been produced under licence by Canadian luxury-phone maker Mobiado and features a transparent touchscreen made from solid sapphire crystal.
Platinum sides contain all the phone’s electronics, battery and SIM card, allowing the see-through section to display multiple Android icons, including apps for social networking sites.
Details of the phone’s capabilities are scarce, but US media report the mobile can theoretically unlock the doors to the owner’s Aston Martin and has also been designed to provide in-car wireless connectivity to sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Mobiado says the concept phone is its vision for future mobile communications and is inspired by Aston’s design values that fuse “a strong heritage and traditional craftsmanship with modern technology”.
The phone is not expected to go into production but instead act as a promotional tool for a new range of Aston Martin-badged Mobiado mobile phones due to go on sale in May.

Gunmen Fire at Mine Giant's Vehicle in Indonesia

The U.S. mining giant Freeport says gunmen fired at a company van near the world's largest gold mine in a restive Indonesian province.
Company spokesman Ramdani Sirait said no injuries were reported in the ambush Wednesday and police were on the scene investigating. He declined to give further details but said the shooting will not affect Freeport productions and operations.
Police could not immediately be reached for comment. The mine run by Arizona-based Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. has been a target of violence since production began in the 1970s. Underdeveloped Papua province is home to a low-level separatist movement and is thousands of miles (kilometers) from Indonesia's capital, Jakarta.

BI Orders Citibank to Stop Accepting New Private Banking Clients

Police escort Melinda Dee (C), a former Citibank relationship manager who dealt with wealthy customers, after a news conference at a police office in Jakarta in this April 4, 2011 picture. Citibank said on Tuesday it had identified suspicious transactions in its Indonesian operations and was committed to recovering the loss suffered by customers. Picture taken April 4, 2011.

Bank Indonesia has ordered Citibank not to accept new clients for its Citigold private banking services in the country after a staff member allegedly embezzled at least IDR17 billion ($2 million), said the central bank's governor Darmin Nasution.
Nasution said Tuesday in a hearing with a parliamentary committee that Bank Indonesia could impose more “severe sanctions“ against Citibank if it uncovers more wrongdoings.
The police recently detained Citibank's private banking officer Melinda Dee on allegation she has illegally transferred clients' money to her company's bank accounts. The police also seized several expensive cars in her possession, including a Ferrari, Hummer, and Mercedes Benz.
If the authorities find her guilty of the alleged embezzlement, Citibank has said that it will compensate all affected customers.

Malaysia Rearrests 58 Illegal Migrants after over 100 Escape

Malaysian police have arrested 58 alleged illegal immigrants, a senior official said on Wednesday after dozens fled a detention camp to escape difficult living conditions.
Police launched a major manhunt Tuesday after 109 inmates escaped from the Lenggeng immigration depot in Negeri Sembilan state, south of the capital Kuala Lumpur.
On Monday night the detainees, mainly from Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Iran, Thailand and Nigeria, burned down an accommodation block before fleeing.
Over 200 policemen, immigration officials and paramilitary volunteers are combing central Negeri Sembilan following the breakout. District police chief Saiful Azly said 58 inmates were arrested after being found in a nearby forest.
“The manhunt is continuing. I urge the remaining escapees to surrender,“ he said.
“Investigations showed that they were dissatisfied over cramped living conditions, the food and long detention periods,“ Abdul Manan Mohamad Hassan, state deputy police chief, was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.
Abdul Manan said many had lost patience over the long process needed to resettle in third countries under the United Nations Refugee Agency program.
Home ministry officials admitted last August to poor standards at detention centres for illegal immigrants and trafficking victims, after a report labelled the facilities “ticking time bombs“.
With one of Asia's largest populations of foreign laborers, Malaysia relies on its 1.8 million immigrants to clean homes, care for children and work in plantations and factories. Malaysia is seen as a staging post for trafficking gangs moving people from Afghanistan and Myanmar to Indonesia and Australia.

Bank Indonesia Likely to Hold Rates Steady

Bank Indonesia is likely to again delay raising its policy interest rate when it meets Tuesday because of easing inflation in March. Fifteen of 16 regional economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires expect Bank Indonesia to keep its benchmark rate at 6.75%.
The official Statistics Agency reported Friday that inflation was 6.65% on year in March, easing from 6.84% in February. On month, March inflation was 0.32% less than in February, when it edged up 0.13% over January.
The agency said inflation eased somewhat because prices of basic food commodities fell during the harvest season, which usually runs from March to May.
March “inflation data apparently strengthens the case for BI to not hike its benchmark policy rate when they meet on Apr 12.“ Bank Danamon economist Helmi Arman said in a research note. Arman expects the central bank to lift the rate by 25 basis points in June or July after the harvest season ends.
Bank Indonesia Governor Darmin Nasution recently said the current harvest will keep inflation at “comfortable levels“ in April and May, suggesting the central bank won't rush to raise lending rates despite its statement last month that it is still open to such a measure should it become necessary.
Many analysts expect the central bank to deliver a 25-basis point hike later this year as inflation is expected to pick up again after the harvest season ends. Bank Indonesia last month kept its policy rate unchanged after a percentage-point rise in February.

Dumai Police Foils Illegal Dispatch of TKIs

Dumai police in Riau in the past week managed to foil the illegal dispatch of 11 Indonesian migrant workers by sea from Dumai to Malaysia.
Head of the Dumai police detective unit Ajunct Commissioner Devi Firmansyah said here Wednesday that the TKIs included four men and seven women aged 16 to 32. The men were Maulidin,32, Mardoni,28, Jamaluddin,20, and Agus Herianto 30.
The women were Mawarni, 35, Siti Syaroh, 16, Beta Ria Sonata, 18, Nurmaila, 19, Maya Puspita Wati, 23, and Siti Aisyah 27. They came from Kerinci, Jambi province, and caught while travelling by a L-300 bus on Bukit Timah highway, Bukit Timah village, Dumai Barat sub-district by the end of last week.
"This was the first attempt of illegal dispatch of TKIs from Dumai to Malaysia in the last three months," Devi said.
"Following arrest they were brought to the police station for questioning, saying that thet have paid Rp2.5 million to Rp3.5 million each to people who were still on the run," the police said.
After the questioning, the TKIs had been returned to their places because they were regarded innocent and became only victim of irresponsible people.
"Right now the police is still after the perpetrators in Dumai and Jambi with coordination of the Kerinci police station," Devi said.

Consumer Prices in Indonesia Could Fall Again

Consumer prices in Indonesia could fall again in April from the preceding month, because prices of basic food commodities are still declining due to the harvest season, the head of the official Statistics Agency Rusman Heriawan said Wednesday.
“The prices of rice, cooking oil are still on a declining trend,“ Heriawan told reporters.
The agency reported Friday that the consumer price index in March dropped 0.32% from a month earlier, after a 0.13% increase in February from January. The rate of increase in the CPI from a year earlier slowed to 6.65% from 6.84% in February.
He said that the rupiah's continued appreciation would also help rein in inflation. Rusman said that the expected on-month decline in prices will also act as a drag on inflation for the year. He, however, didn't give any figures.

Trans Babel Lane to Connect Sumatra and Kalimantan

Bangka-Belitung (Babel) Governor Eko Maulana Ali has proposed a Trans Babel Lane to connect the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, separated by Karimata strait.
"The Trans Babel Lane will function to connect the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan," the governor said after opening provincial consultation on development planning here on Wednesday.
Eko Maulana said on the occasion that there were already seven trans links in Indonesia namely Trans Sumatra, Trans Java, Trans Bali, Trans Nusa Tenggara Barat- Nusa Tenggara Timur, Trans Kalimantan, Trans Sulawesi, and Trans Papua.
"Therefore, in Trans Babel a connecting line will be made through the sea from Palembang in South Sumatra to Ketapang in East Kalimantan," Governor Eko Maulana said.
According to him, the connecting line would go through the ferry ports of Palembang, Muntok in Bangka Bangka district, Sadai in Bangka Selatan district, Manggar in Belitung Timur district, Tanjungpandan in Belitung district, and Ketapang in East Kalimantan.
"We propose a road from Muntok ferry port to Tanjung Beriak in Bangka Tengah, and then cross the sea to Tanjung Batu port in Belitung, and from Belitung a road to Manggar port in Belitung Timur," he said.
He also proposed a 104-kilometer road from Muntok to Pangkalpinag, and then a 53-kilometer road from Pangkalpinang to Tanung Berikat.
"With Trans Babel, there will be a close relationship between the people in Sumatra and Kalimantan in addition to improving the economy of people in Babel province," he said.

Indonesia Uses 3-Month Bond Yield

Bank Indonesia.

The Indonesian government said Friday that it will use the yield of its three-month bonds as a reference in deciding the yield of its existing IDR142.79 trillion ($16.4 billion) in bonds that bear variable coupons.
Previously the reference was the yield of the three-month Sertifikat Bank Indonesia note issued by the central bank. The central bank stopped auctioning those money market securities late last year to reduce fund inflows, making it necessary for the government to use another rate as a reference.
At the most recent auction Tuesday, the three-month bonds were yielding 5.12%, significantly lower than the yield of Bank Indonesia's latest three-month note of 6.367%. The government will again auction three-month bonds next month.

Japan Faces Its Next Chore

A picture shows wrecked cars littering a street in Natori, Miyagi prefecture on March 16, 2011 after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The official toll of the dead and missing following a devastating earthquake and tsunami that flattened Japans northeast coast has topped 11,000, with 3,676 confirmed dead, police said on March 16.

Where do you even start? Do you start by carting away the Chokai Maru, the 150-foot (45-meter) ship that was lifted over a pier and slammed into a house in this port town?
Do you start with the thousands of destroyed cars scattered like discarded toys in the city of Sendai? With the broken windows and the doorless refrigerators and the endless remnants of so many lives that clutter the canals?
In the first days after a tsunami slammed into Japan’s northeast coast on March 11, killing well over 10,000 people, it seemed callous to worry about the cleanup. The filth paled beside the tragedy. Now, nearly two weeks later, hundreds of communities are finally turning to the monumental task ahead.
The legacy of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coastline in 2005, gives an idea of both the immensity of the job and the environmental hazards Japan could face for years to come.
“In Katrina, you had debris that had seawater, sewage, chemicals, gasoline, oil, that was all mixed together in a toxic soup,” said David McEntire, a disaster expert at the University of North Texas. “And you’re going to have similar problems with the disaster in Japan.”
Three years after Katrina, which spawned enough debris to cover Britain, the U.S. government had said the mess was not even close to being cleaned up. The mess looks endless in Japan, and hauling it away seems unimaginable.
The cost? No one really knows, though the crisis is emerging as the world’s most expensive natural disaster on record, with Japanese officials saying losses could total up to 25 trillion yen ($309 billion). The World Bank says reconstruction could take five years.
So there’s nothing to do but start. Mayumi Hatanaka began with the knee-high mud that had flooded into her little seafood restaurant in the small seaside city of Shiogama.
“It’s been four days, and we’ve been working, working,” she said, standing beneath a sign that promised food “Straight From The Fishery To You.”
She and her daughter were scraping the muck down their driveway and into the street. The thick, dark goo looked almost volcanic. Workers hired by the city used a gargantuan truck-mounted vacuum, normally used for well-drilling, to hose it up. The noise of the pump and the sucking splutter of the hose nearly drowned out her voice, and she had to shout to be heard.
Simply carving out an aisle in the restaurant took three days, Hatanaka said, so she has no idea when she’ll be able to reopen. “I think we’ll never finish,” she said, only briefly willing to set aside her shovel before getting back to work.
Much of the official cleanup effort so far has been to support rescue teams. Soldiers and city crews have cleared streets of debris so rescuers can get through, and some buildings have been pulled apart in search of survivors.
Now, with little chance left of finding anyone still alive, the concern is to avoid accidentally clearing away corpses with the debris. Takashi Takayama is a city official in Higashimatsushima, a port town brutalized by the tsunami, leaving nearly 700 people dead.
He said the city, where the Chokai Maru ship was thrown ashore, is still cleaning up — and footing the bill — from a major earthquake in 2003.
“I don’t know how long it will take,” he said. “The last time it was just parts of houses that were destroyed. Now it’s the whole house. So I don’t know how we’ll do it.”
With city workers desperately overworked, officials turned to a local association of construction companies to help. Those private contractors helped clear the roads and have started piling up debris in small hills, soon to be small mountains, on city land near the port.
Japan is a country where separating trash into its various components is almost sacrosanct: There are the burnables, the food items, the array of different recyclables. Takayama is already dreading the arguments when disaster-weary residents refuse to categorize their garbage properly.
“Sorting everything out will be the first challenge,” he said.
A 2004 tsunami, which killed 230,000 people in 14 Asian and African countries, left thousands of cities and towns facing a task similar to Japan’s today. In Indonesia, the United Nations employed 400,000 workers to clear 1.3 million cubic yards (1 million cubic meters) of debris just from the urban areas of the hard-hit city of Banda Aceh.
Many of the countries affected by that disaster were less developed than Japan and lacked sophisticated waste disposal systems. In the initial cleanups, some burned debris in the open air, dumped it in makeshift landfills and used other environmentally risky methods, polluting wells, inland waterways and the nearby seas.
Japan will presumably use state-of-the-art incinerators and sanitary landfills, though technological prowess doesn’t guarantee there won’t be problems. In the United States, there were allegations of corruption by cleanup companies after Hurricane Katrina, including claims that hazardous debris was improperly dumped in landfills.

Apple's iPad 2 Hits Overseas Stores after U.S. Sellout

An employee (R) looks at customers stand in line outside Apples flagship 5th Avenue store to purchase iPad 2 tablets in New York, March 16, 2011.

Hundreds of customers lined up outside Apple stores in Australia and New Zealand on Friday for the international launch of the iPad 2, which has flown off the shelves in the United States leaving the company struggling to meet demand.
Analysts forecast some 1 million devices may have been sold in the first weekend of the launch in the United States, but many warn that it’s not clear how supply constraints will affect availability following the Japan earthquake and tsunami.
Apple plans to roll out the new iPad on Friday to 25 markets including France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, and Spain. The iPad 2, a thinner and faster version that features two cameras for video chat, was introduced in the United States on March 11.
But some would-be buyers have expressed frustration at how difficult it has been to secure one of the wildly popular tablet computers, sparking speculation Apple misjudged demand.
“If it wasn’t for the iPad, I wouldn’t be in Australia right now,” said Alex Lee, a backpacker from Canada, who was the first in the queue outside the glass-fronted Apple store in Sydney’s central business district.
He said he diverted his travels from Singapore to attend the launch. “It’s like a habit. I’ve also lined up on Regent Street in London for the iPhone”, added Lee, who had a folding chair and blanket and had spent two nights waiting.
Blue-shirted Apple staff in Sydney handed out trays of sandwiches to those in the queue, some of whom had bedded down on blankets overnight before being awoken by bright sunshine. The iPad 2 goes on sale at 5 p.m. local time (0400) GMT in New Zealand and at 0600 GMT on the east coast of Australia, before sales kick off in other markets.
Its retail price in Australia starts at A$579 ($568), against $499 in the United States. Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a statement on Tuesday the company was “experiencing amazing demand for iPad 2 in the U.S.” and added “We appreciate everyone’s patience and we are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone.”
Fiona Martin, a spokeswoman for Apple in Australia, declined to comment on whether there was enough stock to meet demand. “We don’t comment on speculation, we’ve got plenty down there for all those folk that are in the queue.”
In New Zealand, a shop assistant at JB HiFi , one of Wellington’s major electronic shops, said there had been a constant stream of people asking about the iPad. “We haven’t even seen it, we don’t know how many we’re getting, but there’ll be big demand you can bet,” said the assistant.
A prospective buyer, 22-year-old student Ian MacDonald, said he had held off buying the first generation iPad because it lacked a camera and he wanted any bugs ironed out.
“This version looks way better, with the cameras and it beats all the other tablets because there are so many apps (applications),” he said.
In addition to Friday’s rollout, Apple said the iPad 2 will be available in Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and additional countries in April. Japan supply concerns
Analysts are concerned that Apple will face shortages of key components for the iPad 2 because of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan two weeks ago. Several key components in the new version of Apple’s popular iPad come from Japan, including the battery and the flash memory used to store music and video on the device, according to IT research house iSuppli .
Apple delayed sales of the iPad 2 in Japan, but has said that had nothing to do with any component shortages. “We expect Apple to face increased pressure in meeting iPad 2 and iPhone 4 demand in the second quarter,” Stifel Nicolaus analyst Doug Reid wrote recently.
“Although it is early to gauge the extent of component supply shortages, we see risk to our iPad and iPhone unit estimates in the June quarter.”
That said, the wait time on delivery of online orders has shortened to 3-4 weeks in recent days from as high as 6-7 weeks, suggesting component shortages have not reached critical levels. The iPad two also faces increased competition.
Samsung Electronics and Motorola have tablets on the market and Blackberry-maker Research In Motion and Hewlett-Packard Co are set to release tablets in coming months.

Japan's Top 11 Cars?

Honda NSX

March has been the worst month in generations up north. Most of the happenings fall outside the scope of a motoring publication but we can at least pay gentle homage to the country and people who have brought us so many wonderful wheels.
But which are the most wonderful-est? What are the top, say, 11, mainstream Japanese cars of all?
Mazda RX-7: Mazda said it would give up on the Wankel engine over its dead body and it was a close-run thing. The original 1979 RX-7 coupe was probably the best, with styling unlike anything else and high-spinning rotary performance to boot. Datsun 2000: Once they'd flung the Fairlady name (at least in export markets) and added a lively two-litre engine, Datsun had the best low-cost roadster in the world until the MX-5. It wasn't an MGB rip-off, either, despite what the Anglophiles say. The Fairlady 1500 prototype made its debut in 1961, six months before the "B" hit showrooms. Mazda MX-5: The classic English roadster - not as it really was but as we always wished it had been. Superb. Datsun 240Z: For a company that wound up destitute and homeless in the late 1990s - and had to be taken in by Renault - Nissan has produced a surprisingly high number of the great Japanese cars. In 1970 many claimed the 240Z was an E-Type rip-off; to today's eyes, the Zed looks thoroughly original and a decade more modern. Later Zs porked up but the years do not condemn the lithe original.
Datsun 1600: This was an attempt to build a BMW 2002 rival. To reduce the risk, they built an actual BMW 2002 (well, very nearly). Furthermore, they did it at a Datsun price. The 1600, or 510 series, was first seen in 1968, is still sought after and is still used in motor sport. Toyota Celica 4G: The first front-drive Celica, the fourth-gen of 1985, had sublime handling at a time when front-wheel-drive was considered as unsporting as a three-speed auto (a Saab or Subaru of the time told you why). The refreshingly styled newcomer also had an a jewel of a two-litre engine that thought the new, unpopular, low-octane unleaded was actually rocket fuel. Honda NSX: A Japanese Ferrari competitor, albeit from a company that missed the point about why people bought Ferraris. Most weren't going to buy a Honda, no matter how good. That was a reflection on them, not on Honda's accomplished, mid-engined, Ayrton Senna-tweaked NSX. Nissan Skyline GT-R: Love or hate Godzilla, you can't deny the power of the reptilian beast.
Toyota Corolla: The benchmark for affordable quality and consistency in every language. Obama reputedly said of the US's Big Three: "Why can't they make a Corolla?" Quite.
Subaru Impreza WRX: Largely responsible for convincing young Australians that V8 engines were, you know, like, so yesterday. The Lancer Evo is almost as impressive. Toyota 2000GT: Mainstream? Well, it was the best-known Japanese car in the world in 1967, courtesy of a star turn in the Bond film You Only Live Twice (the convertible version was produced just for the film).
The 2000GT was really a Japanese industry group effort that ended up wearing Toyota badges. A beautiful and capable one at that. Imagine China today suddenly coming up with a credible 911 competitor. The 2000GT was that much of a shock.
See! If you count the Evo, slipped in here with the WRX, Japan has produced such an abundance that even its Top 11 has 12 cars in it.
That's without mentioning all the ones you've been shouting out, like those great versions of the Honda Civic or perhaps the first Lexus. Or any of the many ultra-quirky fun machines. Get well soon, Japan.

How Far Indonesia Gets Involved in Supporting Libya

A Mirage 2000-5 jet fighter takes off at the aerial military base 126 - Capitaine Preziosi in Solenzara, Corsica, the French Mediterranean island, for a mission in Libya on March 24, 2011. Blasts and anti-aircraft fire rattled the Libyan capital for the sixth day as France hailed the allied air raids against Moamer Kadhafis forces and promised they would go on indefinitely.

The Indonesian government fully supports any effort to protect civilians in Libya where armed conflict is raging following a UN Security Council resolution allowing the use of all necessary measures to protect civilians in the country.
"In principle, as the president has earlier instructed to our foreign ministry, what is the most important to do is to give priority to the safety of civilians," Julian Aldrin Pasha said here on Thursday. He stated the Indonesian government would give support and assistance to any mission if it was aimed at protecting civilians.
"That’s why the Indonesian government will definitely support any action aimed at creating global peace, security, and tranquility including in Libya."
The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1973 last Thursday, imposing a no-fly zone above Libya and authorizing all member states to use all necessary measures to protect civilians. Two days later, the United States, Britain and France launched missile strikes on Libya from the Mediterranean Sea.
By Wednesday western warplanes had flown more than 300 sorties over Libya and more than 162 cruise missiles had been fired in the mission. The allied forces accused Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi of causing a misery to his people.
Many circles denounced the decision by the allied forces, saying the attack was a form of foreign intervention in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation.

Liz Taylor Buried Near Beloved Jackson

Family members leave the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California after the funeral of screen legend Elizabeth Taylor, March 24, 2011.

Film icon Elizabeth Taylor was laid to rest Thursday in the same celebrity cemetery as her long-time friend Michael Jackson — and demonstrated a keen sense of humor to the end.
The legendary actress, who died Wednesday aged 79, was sent off with an hour-long private ceremony at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, where generations of Hollywood stars are buried.
But her last wishes were respected, and announced after the service had finished. “The service was scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm, but at Miss Taylor’s request started late,” said a statement by her publicist.
“Miss Taylor had left instructions that it was to begin at least 15 minutes later than publicly scheduled, with the announcement: ’She even wanted to be late for her own funeral,’” it added.
The film legend and violet-eyed beauty, famed as much for her stormy love life as her five-decade Oscar-winning film career, died early Wednesday from congestive heart failure at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai hospital. Tributes poured in from Hollywood and beyond for the actress, who won two Oscars — including for the 1966 classic “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” — and was arguably the last great star of cinema’s golden era.
But Thursday’s funeral was reserved for a few dozen family and friends, brought in a fleet of black stretch limos to the verdant cemetery, where stars including Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, and Jean Harlow are also interred. Irish actor Colin Farrell — a “close friend” — gave a recital of the Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem “The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo,” while other readings were done by her children and grandchildren, said her publicist.
Taylor’s grandson Rhys Tivey performed a trumpet solo of “Amazing Grace,” while Rabbi Jerry Cutler officiated at a “multi-denominational” service. Taylor converted to Judaism when she was in her 20s.
Forest Lawn is where Jackson was buried following his death in June 2009 aged 50, from an overdose of the powerful sedative propofol. Taylor attended that private ceremony.
During their lives, the pop icon and Hollywood legend were at times inseparable, with homes near each other in the plush Bel Air and Beverly Hills neighborhoods west of Hollywood.
“I don’t think anyone knew how much we loved each other,” Taylor said after his death. “I loved Michael with all my soul and I can’t imagine life without him. We had so much in common and we had such loving fun together.”
The TMZ celebrity news website published a copy of Taylor’s death certificate, which gave Forest Lawn as the burial location. The certificate listed her causes of death as: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which it said she had for 10 years; congestive heart failure, which she had for five years; and cardiopulmonary arrest, against which was noted five minutes.
In tribute to Taylor, the association representing New York’s Broadway theaters said they will dim their lights Friday in remembrance of the Hollywood goddess, whose long career included spells on the stage. At the same time it emerged that ailing actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, 94, had been rushed to hospital after hearing the news of Taylor’s death.
“She was watching the news yesterday morning, she was inconsolable. She said to her husband: ’Celebrities always go in threes, we’ve had Jane Russell, now it’s Elizabeth, I’m next,’” said her spokesman.

New Suzuki Swift

Suzukis fourth-generation Swift.

These days, it's getting difficult to tell a new car from the model that came before it.
Cut-throat competition means car makers are scared to take risks; when they come up with a successful formula, they're loath to tinker with it. The new Suzuki Swift is one such example.
When it returned to Australian shores in 2005, the Swift was poles apart from the car that came before it, the largely unloved Ignis. It turned heads like no other small hatch on the road and, in its first year, it quadrupled the sales of its predecessor.
So after taking a leap of faith on a bold new look and coming up trumps, Suzuki has done the smart thing and made the 'new' Suzuki Swift look like the old one. But the new Swift is actually a bigger step forward than it appears, with more room, more frugal engines and better protection for occupants.

Japan Death Toll Tops 10,000

Japan Ground Self Defense Force members search for earthquake and tsunami victims in Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan on March 25, 2011.

The death toll from a massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan’s northeast coast topped 10,000 on Friday, two weeks after the disaster struck, Kyodo news reported. The National Police Agency, responsible for compiling statistics from different prefectures affected, could not immediately confirm that figure.

There are fears of a much higher toll from the disaster, which flattened entire towns along the Pacific coast of the country’s main island of Honshu. In its report on Thursday, the National Police Agency said that 9,811 people had been confirmed dead and 17,541 officially listed as missing — a total of 27,352 — as of 9:00 pm (1200 GMT) as a result of the March 11 catastrophe.
A total of 2,779 people have been injured. The quake has become Japan’s deadliest natural disaster since the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, which killed more than 142,000 people. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced from their homes and have taken shelter in emergency

Mini LNG Terminals to be Built in Indonesia

President Director of state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, Karen Agustiawan

State oil and gas company PT Pertamina and state electricity company PT PLN have signed a contract for the development of eight small-scale liquefied natural gas recipient terminals in the eastern parts of Indonesia.
Pertamina President Director Karen Agustiawan and PLN President Director Dahlan Iskan signed the contract in the presence of State Enterprises Minister Mustafa Abubakar here on Thursday.
Mustafa said the construction of LNG terminals would help the country reduce the use of fuel oils and slash state subsidy. According to him, the government expected to save Rp847 billion in oil subsidy by operating the eight LNG terminals.
The project would also help accelerate the development of eastern Indonesia, he said. "PLN and Pertamina are the first to speed up evenly distribution of development gains (in the country)."
Karen meanwhile said the eight LNG terminals which would have a combined capacity of 182 million cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) would be built between 2012 and 2015. The eight mini LNG terminals will be built in Tanjung Batu (East Kalimantan) with a capacity of 25 MMSCFD, Batakan (East Kalimantan) 15 MMSCFD, Pasanggaran (Bali) 25-30 MMSCFD, and Pomalaa (Southeast Sulawesi) 25 MMSCFD expected to start operations in 2012.
Karen said the Bontang refinery in East Kalimantan would supply gas to the four LNG terminals. The other LNG terminals will be built in Mataram (West Nusa Tenggara) 15 MMSCFD and Banjarmasin (South Kalimantan) 6 MMSCFD expected to start operations in 2013 and Gorontalo (North Sulawesi) 6 MMSCFD, Halmahera (North Maluku) 60 MMSCFD in 2015.
Dahlan Iskan said the gas supplies from the eight LNG terminals would overcome problems related to the use of fuel oils during the peak load. "To date, there is no other way but to rely on fuel oils."

Riau Urged to Stop Conflict between Humans and Elephants

In this Thursday, May 7, 2009 file photo, conservationists and officials inspect the carcass of an elephant suspectedly poisoned to death by poachers near Pekanbaru, Riau province, Sumatra island, Indonesia. Two endangered elephants found dead on Indonesias Sumatra island are believed to be the victims of poachers targeting the animals for their prized ivory tusks, a park official said Monday, March 29, 2010.

The Riau World Wide Fund for Nature is trying to put an end to the conflict between humans and elephants (elephas maximus) by rehabilitating and restoring their habitats at the Balai Raja fauna reserve, Bengkalis district, a conservationist said.
"We keep encouraging the government to rehabilitate the habitats of the wild elephants at Balai Raja," Syamsidar, WWF-Riau media relations officer, said here on Thursday.
Syamsidar said that Balai Raja in 1990 covered 16,000 hectares when it was run as a fauna reserve but now it has been much reduced to 120 hectares of secondary forested land.
He also said that even with the remaining area, it was still converted into human settlements and palm oil plantations causing the elephants to become marginalized creating conflicts with human beings.
In a latest incident last week, she said, a wild female elephant and her baby had been made paralyzed by poisoning near a human settlement. Those elephants were in weak condition.
Head of Region III of Riau Nature Resource Agency (BKSDA)B. Hutomo said that that the location where the two elephants had been paralyzed was also a passage of the beasts for a long time.
As more people came to live near the area, the beasts might feel disturbed and fought the human beings from time to time, he added. In last week’s incident, the elephants could become dehydrated as humans kept them away from water sources. Hutomo said that the agency was trying to cure elephants, and drive them back to their habitats.

Floods Inundate Three Villages in E Java

Floods caused by the overflowing of Lamong river in Dawarblandong subdistrict, Mojokerto district, East Java, caused inundation of three villages on Thursday.
The flood waters had submerged Talun, Banyulegi and Pulorejo villages since early Thursday but it would naturally recede in the next two to three days, head of Banyulegi village Zainuri said.
The flood waters came too sudden and inundated a number of houses, causing some families to take refuge to buildings on higher ground such as mosques and the village community centers.
A local resident, Suparno, said Lamong river usually overflowed and caused flooding of three villages as they were low lying. But there were no reports of fatalities.

West Java to Observe Earth Hour

The "Earth Hour" campaign by turning off electricity for an hour on March 26, 2011 throughout West Java, will save a total of 661.54 megawatts (MW), a local official said here Thursday.
"If only 10 percent of West Java followed the instruction, 661.54 MW would be saved, " head of the West Java environmental management agency Setiawa Wangsatmadja noted.
He added that Earth Hour is a global campaign that invites people in the world from individuals to governments to support reducing CO2 emissions that cause damage to the earth.
"For this year’s Earth Hour environmental campaign, the agency appealed to all people in West Java to turn off their lights and all electronic equipment for one hour from 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm, because it is a peak hour," Setiawan said. The agency asserted that West Java province fully supports Earth Hour environmental campaign 2011.
"Symbolically, the campaign will be conducted at several locations that are icons of West Java such as Gedung Sate, Bandung City Hall as well as Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and Padjadjaran university campuses," Setiawan said.

800,000 Foreign Workers Still in Libya

In this image taken during an organized trip by the Libyan authorities, men gather at a mass funeral for people killed in coalition bombings, officials said, in Tripoli, Libya, Thursday March 24, 2011. The cause of deaths could not be verified. French fighter jets struck an air base deep inside Libya and destroyed one of Moammar Gadhafis planes Thursday, and NATO ships patrolled the coast to block the flow of arms and mercenaries. Other coalition bombers struck artillery, arms depots and parked helicopters.

Some 800,000 foreign workers are still in Libya, according to an estimate by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Laurence Hart, the IOM mission chief in Tripoli, told AFP: "Based on IOM estimates, there are about 800,000 foreign workers of various nationalities still in Libya."
He added that he was not in a position to say how many of them wanted to leave the country but said the organisation had received requests for aid to help repatriate their citizens from the embassies of a number of African countries.
The IOM asked the Libyan authorities at the beginning of March for permission to send a humanitarian mission to the country where tens of thousands of immigrants were awaiting to be evacuated.
"We have still not received a reply," said Hart, who is currently away from Libya. Since February 20, some 280,000 people have fled the violence in Libya, 151,000 to Tunisia and 118,000 to Egypt, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Earth Hour Aims for Hope in Darkened World

The full moon rises behind the statue of Mahathma Gandhi in Hyderabad on March 19, 2011. Full Moons vary in size because of the oval shape of the Moons orbit. It is an ellipse with one side (perigee) about 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other (apogee). Nearby perigee moons are about 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than lesser moons that occur on the apogee side of the Moons orbit. According to US Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. The full Moon of March 19 occurs less than one hour away from perigeea near-perfect coincidence that happens only 18 years or so.

Lights will go out around the world Saturday with hundreds of millions of people set to take part in the Earth Hour climate change campaign, which this year will also mark Japan’s earthquake and tsunami.
From across the Pacific, to Australia, Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas, iconic landmarks such as the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, New York’s Empire State building and the Eiffel Tower in Paris will go dark.
“Earth Hour is like a New Year’s Eve,” Earth Hour co-founder and executive director Andy Ridley told AFP from the group’s Sydney office.
“It’s meant to be a celebration — it’s a bit different this year because of the Japan stuff — but it’s meant to be about hope and the future.”
Ridley said in Sydney and other cities, some Earth Hour events would hold a minute’s silence to mark the devastating 9.0-magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami in Japan this month that left more than 25,000 people dead or missing.
The disaster followed a deadly earthquake in New Zealand’s Christchurch and massive floods in Australia in January, which devastated thousands of homes and ruined crops and infrastructure.
“It’s been a bad start to the year, and I guess it’s an opportunity to take a moment and think about that,” Ridley said, adding that the campaign had a different focus in every location and not all events would mention Japan’s catastrophe.
The Earth Hour movement, which aims to raise awareness about climate change by switching off lights for 60 minutes, hopes to bring people together to think about what they can do to reduce harmful carbon pollution blamed for rising temperatures.
Environmental group WWF International helped initiate Earth Hour in Sydney in 2007, and by 2010 the energy-saving event had grown to engage hundreds of millions of people in 4,616 cities and 128 countries and territories.
“We didn’t imagine right at the beginning... it would be on the scale that it is now,” said Ridley.
“And the fact that it is so cross-cultural, beyond borders and race and religion,” he added, saying the event would never have grown so successfully without social networking sites such as Facebook.
This year organisers are focussing on connecting people online so they can inspire each other to go beyond the hour and make commitments to help the environment in their daily lives.
To do this they have created an online platform connected to the 14 top social media sites around the world, including Facebook and Twitter, which people will be easily able to access from mobile phones. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard this week backed Earth Hour.
“Earth Hour has become a special symbol of the determination of so many people to make a difference,” said Gillard, who is facing stiff opposition to her plan to introduce a tax on carbon pollution in Australia.
Ridley said that despite the growth of the event, which organisers said was the largest voluntary action ever witnessed in 2010, the ideals of the global movement had not changed.
“When we first started this we were trying to effectively take the temperature, we were trying to prove or see whether, contrary to some commentators, whether or nor people cared (about climate change),” he said.
“I think there is a massive consensus for action, not just on climate change.
“The idea of this is not to engage in the ’why we can’t do anything’ debate but absolutely talk about what can be done.” The first lights going off Saturday will be in Fiji and New Zealand’s Chatham Islands, before cities and landmarks around the world follow suit.
Other iconic structures due to go dark include the Sydney Opera House, Indonesia’s National Monument, London’s Eye and Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer statue.

Indonesia Claims to be Ready to Deal with Coup

Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the government was prepared to deal with any party trying to stage a coup by military or non-military means.
"If a coup really happens, we are ready to cope with it with military power," Purnomo said on the sidelines of an international defense dialog here on Wednesday.
He said he had never received a report about a number of retired army generals seeking to topple the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono with the help of an Islamic hardline group.
"We (the government) have never heard about it. We have never received reports about anybody planning a coup," he said.
But he also said the government would keep monitoring developments in the field and use its security apparatus to check the truth of the foreign media’s report. Purnomo said if the coup report was true, the government would deal with the plotters with military power.
"For now, the government will not take any action until all detailed data and information about the issue have been collected," he said.
Al-Jazeera television station recently reported that a number of retired three-star generals in Indonesia had been behind the recent anti-Ahmadiyah campaign and violence against followers of the small Islamic sect. It said the generals secretly supported the hardline group because they had the same goal, namely unseating President Yudhoyono from power.
"They have come just to give support," chief of the Islam Reform Movement, Chep Hernawan, said according to Al Jazeera on Tuesday. "They said the jihad must continue. We must not stop until the liar steps down," he said.
Chep said the retired generals approached him at the end of January or around a month before violence against Ahmadiyah followers in Cikeusik, Pandeglang, Banten. He said the generals were fed up with all the lies President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s government had been telling the people.
"The three-star generals asked what issue would be used to topple President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The Century case has failed. Perhaps the Ahmadiyah issue," he said.
Based on his confession,. Al Jazeera journalist Step Vassen said the generals supported the hardline Islamic group. They considered Yudhoyono to be too weak and reformist.

Why Sleep is The Key to Success

 It is one of our most basic functions, as important as the in and out of our breath. Our need for sleep is primal, yet the pace of life means it's often pushed to the periphery, sacrificed at the altar of work, friends, study and fun.
But now science is beginning to show that getting the right amount of sleep might be the key to making the rest of our lives run more smoothly.
Increasingly, research is indicating that the quality and quantity of our sleep affects every part of our lives, from success in work and school to our likelihood of developing problems such as obesity or mental illness.
Writing in the journal Frontiers in Neurology last year, American researchers highlighted the growing body of research confirming that students who have insomnia, inadequate sleep, daytime sleepiness, irregular sleep patterns or poor sleep quality do not perform as well in school as others.
Many sleep researchers now advocate the introduction of staggered start times for older high-school students - one of the most under-slept groups in society after shift workers.
But the most cutting edge of sleep research is beginning to show it seems also to be linked to mental illness.
Nicholas Glozier is at the forefront of such research in his work as a professor of psychiatry and sleep research at the Brain and Mind Research Institute at the University of Sydney.
He says lack of sleep is one of the most common problems for which people seek help from GPs, with about one-third of women and one-quarter of men saying they have trouble falling or staying asleep.
The average Australian sleeps for about 8¼ hours a day - much less than that and you may not be getting enough. The average sleep period for a teenager is about seven hours. People who get six hours or less a night are at risk of illnesses such as bipolar disorder, anxiety and panic disorder.
Professor Glozier published research late last year that followed 20,000 people aged 17 to 24 for a year. It found those who slept less than five hours a night were three times more likely than normal sleepers to become psychologically distressed.
A big question for researchers is whether sleep deprivation is a cause or effect of mental illness.
"One of the real issues with sleep research at the moment is it is a bit like where psychiatry was 15 years ago," he says. "We really don't know whether [improving sleep] is going to impact on other health outcomes."
In the next 15 years - provided research is well funded by governments and universities - Glozier says we will be on our way to finding some of the answers.
One researcher who has conducted an Australian-first trial into sleep and teenagers is Amanda Gamble, a psychologist and research fellow with the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research.
For many of the teenagers Dr Gamble sees, sleep has become a stressful part of life. It causes fights with parents and absences from school. One patient's parents were so desperate, they would spray their child with water in the mornings to force them up.
"For most of these teenagers, falling asleep and staying asleep has made them feel incredibly out of control and it's quite a frightening thing," she says. "If you can't control a basic bodily process that happens every single day, there's no escaping it."
But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Her research, unpublished, has shown that through a four-session program using cognitive behavioural therapy, not only were patients getting to sleep earlier and sleeping longer, they also became less depressed and anxious. She is recruiting teenagers for a larger version of the study.
For some, sleep is as simple as rolling into bed and snoring within minutes. But those who lie awake for hours can attest to the way sleep deprivation can creep into every crevice of life. But now science is catching up and beginning to reveal the intricate connections between how we sleep and how we live.
INSOMNIA CAUSES:
Medical
* Obstructive sleep apnoea
* Narcolepsy
* Drug or alcohol addiction
* Restless legs syndrome
* Depression and anxiety disorders
* Neurological conditions — dementia, Parkinson's
* Hormone changes — menstruation, menopause
Behavioural or social
* Increased working hours
* Shift work
* Major life event — divorce, bereavement, job loss
* Jet lag
* Poor "sleep hygiene" — irregular sleeping times, caffeine before bed, inadequate exercise



It is one of our most basic functions, as important as the in and out of our breath. Our need for sleep is primal, yet the pace of life means it's often pushed to the periphery, sacrificed at the altar of work, friends, study and fun.
But now science is beginning to show that getting the right amount of sleep might be the key to making the rest of our lives run more smoothly.
Increasingly, research is indicating that the quality and quantity of our sleep affects every part of our lives, from success in work and school to our likelihood of developing problems such as obesity or mental illness.
Writing in the journal Frontiers in Neurology last year, American researchers highlighted the growing body of research confirming that students who have insomnia, inadequate sleep, daytime sleepiness, irregular sleep patterns or poor sleep quality do not perform as well in school as others.
Many sleep researchers now advocate the introduction of staggered start times for older high-school students - one of the most under-slept groups in society after shift workers.
But the most cutting edge of sleep research is beginning to show it seems also to be linked to mental illness.
Nicholas Glozier is at the forefront of such research in his work as a professor of psychiatry and sleep research at the Brain and Mind Research Institute at the University of Sydney.
He says lack of sleep is one of the most common problems for which people seek help from GPs, with about one-third of women and one-quarter of men saying they have trouble falling or staying asleep.
The average Australian sleeps for about 8¼ hours a day - much less than that and you may not be getting enough. The average sleep period for a teenager is about seven hours. People who get six hours or less a night are at risk of illnesses such as bipolar disorder, anxiety and panic disorder.
Professor Glozier published research late last year that followed 20,000 people aged 17 to 24 for a year. It found those who slept less than five hours a night were three times more likely than normal sleepers to become psychologically distressed.
A big question for researchers is whether sleep deprivation is a cause or effect of mental illness.
"One of the real issues with sleep research at the moment is it is a bit like where psychiatry was 15 years ago," he says. "We really don't know whether [improving sleep] is going to impact on other health outcomes."
In the next 15 years - provided research is well funded by governments and universities - Glozier says we will be on our way to finding some of the answers.
One researcher who has conducted an Australian-first trial into sleep and teenagers is Amanda Gamble, a psychologist and research fellow with the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research.
For many of the teenagers Dr Gamble sees, sleep has become a stressful part of life. It causes fights with parents and absences from school. One patient's parents were so desperate, they would spray their child with water in the mornings to force them up.
"For most of these teenagers, falling asleep and staying asleep has made them feel incredibly out of control and it's quite a frightening thing," she says. "If you can't control a basic bodily process that happens every single day, there's no escaping it."
But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Her research, unpublished, has shown that through a four-session program using cognitive behavioural therapy, not only were patients getting to sleep earlier and sleeping longer, they also became less depressed and anxious. She is recruiting teenagers for a larger version of the study.
For some, sleep is as simple as rolling into bed and snoring within minutes. But those who lie awake for hours can attest to the way sleep deprivation can creep into every crevice of life. But now science is catching up and beginning to reveal the intricate connections between how we sleep and how we live.
INSOMNIA CAUSES:
Medical
* Obstructive sleep apnoea
* Narcolepsy
* Drug or alcohol addiction
* Restless legs syndrome
* Depression and anxiety disorders
* Neurological conditions — dementia, Parkinson's
* Hormone changes — menstruation, menopause
Behavioural or social
* Increased working hours
* Shift work
* Major life event — divorce, bereavement, job loss
* Jet lag
* Poor "sleep hygiene" — irregular sleeping times, caffeine before bed, inadequate exercise

Coup Attempt Masterminded by Indonesian Generals Denied

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto said there was no such thing as a coup attempt, masterminded by several generals.
"I indeed have heard of the information since ten days ago but there is no such thing," he said here Wednesday on the sidelines of the Jakarta International Defense Dialog (JIDD).
Djoko said Indonesia has been within the corridors of democracy corridor. "It is not that we have already developed democracy in our country," he said.
He stated the stages of democracy had been determined and regulated in laws. According to agreements further stages would be done along with the House of Representatives through political platforms, he said.
"Let us just follow the stages. Our democracy is leading to maturity. So, if we still find shortcomings here and there that is a mere part of the process," he said.
"This means," Djoko said "there have been laws and political processes as stages of democracy that have agreed upon in the framework of reform. We all know it, so let us just follow it," he said.
Al Jazeera television station reported on Tuesday that a number of retired three-star generals had been behind campaign against Ahmadiyah and the violence against members of the small Islamic sect recently.
The generals had secretly supported a hard-line organization because of their common goal of toppling the present government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who they considered too weak and too reformist.

Decree on Sunda Strait Bridge Project Expected in April

A presidential decree on the Sunda Strait bridge project is expected to be issued in April, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa said.
"It is hoped the decree will be finalized next month," he said at the presidential office here on Wednesday after accompanying President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in a meeting with board members of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).
He stated the draft decree had long been discussed and passed the stages of discussion and therefore it was hoped it could be finished soon.
"If the draft is finished we will then harmonize it with the ministry of justice and then it will be referred to the President. Unless corrections are needed the draft after that will be considered final," he said. According to Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto, ministers had been asked to discuss the draft for a week.
"Hopefully, in the next two weeks it will be signed. The instruction just now is that it must be done quickly. The Presidential decree among others regulates the executing authorities and methods for appointing the management later or investors," he said.
The construction of the bridge is scheduled to be started in 2014 and finished in less than 10 years.

The Korean Company to Invest in Indonesia's Petrochemical Industry

South Korean retail company Lotte Group plans to invest around US$5 billion in the Indonesian petrochemical industry, a minister said. The company was currently looking for a suitable location for its production facility to produce raw materials for petrochemical industry, Mohamad Suleman Hidayat said here on Wednesday.
"It is in the process of choosing Merak (Banten) or Tuban (East Java) as the location (for its production facility)," he said.
He said if the company realized its investment plan in Indonesia this year, the country would have naphta and condensate plants in the next five years. According to him, the government was making an effort to attract investors to build oil refineries capable of producing raw materials for the petrochemical industry such as naphta and condensate to meet rising demand from the chemical industry.
Lotte Group consists of over 60 business units employing 60,000 people engaged in such diverse industries as candy manufacturing, beverages, hotels, fast food, retail, financial services, heavy chemicals, electronics, information technology, construction, publishing, and entertainment.
Lotte has major operations by Shin Kyuk-Ho’s family located in Japan and South Korea with businesses in China, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, the United States, Russia, the Philippines and Poland.

Indonesia MUST Learn This from Japan

Now you see it...: This stretch of the Great Kanto highway was wrecked by deep chasms in the March 11 earthquake - but was repaired in just six days

It's a great concern for Jakartans if they find damaged highways or even toll roads because of poor construction that they need to be repaired over and over using people's tax.

A great lesson offered by Japan to the world is they can survive from the recent catastrophe as they realize a good will is always needed to develop its people before they develop their country - a precious lesson that Indonesia should take to combat corruption rattling and hampering its development.
The picture of gaping chasms in a Japanese highway demonstrated the power of the March 11 earthquake. Now the astonishing speed of reconstruction is being used to highlight the nation’s ability to get back on its feet.
Work began on March 17 and six days later the cratered section of the Great Kanto Highway in Naka was as good as new. It was ready to re-open to traffic last night.
Many workers returned to their jobs the day after the quake and subsequent tsunami and some businesses in the worst-hit regions have already reopened.
The Japanese recovery has prompted some investors, including American Warren Buffett, one of the world’s richest men, to declare that the disaster which has left 23,000 dead or missing represents a ‘buying opportunity’ in the money markets.
Meanwhile, mothers in Tokyo were warned yesterday not to give tap water to their babies.
Cars with loudspeakers toured the streets of the capital after levels of radiation from the damaged nuclear plant at Fukushima, nearly 150 miles away, reached more than twice the safety level for children aged a year or less.
Supermarkets were quickly emptied of bottled water in many parts of the city. Parents were also told to ensure that milk was not from cows in the Fukushima district.
Tokyo residents said they had growing concerns about radiation.
‘If they’re saying it’s harmful for children because their bodies are smaller and dangerous iodine can accumulate in their thyroid glands, we can understand that,’ said 29-year-old department store worker Yasuke Harade.
‘But can we really believe it when they say that it’s OK for adults to drink the water? Can we cook our rice in tap water, can we drink tea, coffee? They’re telling us we can, but what is the truth?’
To add to the fears, two strong earthquakes shook the devastated east coast yesterday, and black smoke billowed once again from the crippled plant. The ‘Fukushima Fifty’, the team of courageous employees working inside the plant, and firemen spraying water on the complex were ordered to evacuate immediately.
It was not known when efforts to restore the plant’s cooling mechanism would be restarted. The scare followed reports that small amounts of radiation had travelled as far as Iceland.

"Best Port Welcome" Awarded to Bali's Benoa Port

PT Pelabuhan Indonesia III, Benoa branch, Bali, has received a "Best Port Welcome 2010" award from "Dream World Cruise Destination" magazine which is based in London, a spokesman said.
The magazine had presented the award to a representative of Indonesia’s tourism and culture ministry, Sapta Nirwandar, at the Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention 2011 that was held at the Miami Beach Convention Center, Florida, on March 16, 2011, said Iwan Sabatini,general manager of PT Pelabuahan Indonesia III’s Benoa branch, said here Monday.
"We are grateful we have received the award as the best port. the award will be a motivation to further improve services at the largest sea port on the island ," Iwan said.
He added, the awards was evidence that Benoa port had already gained international trust and met world standards as port of call for cruise ships.
"We always provide international standard services to cruise ships which anchor at Benoa port," Iwan said.
Iwan said, to increase tourist visits to Bali by cruise ships, the company was continuing to improve the facilities and infrastructures at the port.
"We are gradually improving the facilities and infrastructure supporting the pier, so the service will be better in welcoming the cruise ships’ arrivals in Bali," Iwan added.
He noted, according to a schedule obtained from the various cruise ship companies abroad, at least 140 cruise ships in 2011 will visit Indonesia.
"We are targeting 40 units of the number of cruise ship visits to Indonesia will stop in Benoa port," Iwan hoped.

Indonesia's Tuna Exports to Japan Down 50 Percent

This photograph taken on February 24, 2011 shows fishermen unloading freshly caught juvenile tuna at Bitung town fishport in North Sulawesi province. Bitung is one of the major fish port in Sulawesi island. Fishing is a thriving industry in Indonesia an archipelago of 17,000 islands. 

Indonesia’s tuna exports to Tokyo, the capital city of Japan, dropped by around 50 percent in the aftermath of the massive earthquake and tsunami which devastated the eastern coast of Japan last March 11, 2011.

"Our (tuna) exports to Japan dropped by around 50 percent," the marine affairs and fisheries ministry’s director general fishery product marketing and management, Victor Nikijuluw, said here Monday.
Indonesia usually exported 300 tons of tune per week to Tokyo, but last the the export volume was just 150 tons, he said. The country exports big eye and swordfish tuna to Tokyo.
Meanwhile, tuna exports to Nagoya and Osaka run normally because the two regions are not affected by the natural disaster. "Exports to Nagoya and Osaka are not affected," he said.
Earlier the ministry’s secretary general, Gellwyn Jusuf, had said that the Japan earthquake and subsequent tsunami had affected Indonesia’s fishery products exports to Japan, especially tuna and shrimp. The shrimp exports to Japan in the future might reach only one third of the usual shrimp export volume, he said last Thursday.
Indonesia would look for alternative countries of destination such as the European Union, the United States and China, as their demands for shrimp have increased, he said.

Leading American Universities' Expo in Six Indonesian Cities

A number of leading American universities planned to hold education exhibitions in six major cities in Indonesia from March 26 to April 3, 2011. The event will be held by ACCESS Education Beyond, an independent international education assistance program under the auspices of Putera Sampoerna Foundation (PSF).
"We wish to introduce leading American universities to students in Indonesia," Director of ACCESS Education Beyond Brook Ross said here Monday.
The American universities included the University of North Texas, Michigan State University, University of Hawaii, University of Arkansas, and Ohio State University. The exhibition will be started in Denpasar on March 26, in Surabaya on March 28, Balikpapan on March 29, Palembang on March 31, Medan on April 1), and in Jakarta on April 3. Brook Ross said 7,000 Indonesians are studying in the US.
"The number of Indonesian students in the US is only second to those in Southeast Asia after Thailand," Brook.
He had a commitment to bridge Indonesian students with higher learning institutions abroad by way of integrated approaches to schools, exhibitions, education discussions, and assistance programs. During the exhibition, the students could get information and consultations with university representatives. Presentations and seminars would also be held, he said.
"Representatives of the American universities will also meet their counterparts in the cities where the exhibitions are held to discuss cooperation opportunities," Brook Ross said.

Indonesia Govt Decides to Keep Tripoli Embassy Functioning

Air attacks: An RAF Tornado GR4 leaves a trail of heat haze as it takes off from RAF Marham, in Norfolk yesterday

The Indonesian government has decided to keep its embassy in Tripoli open to serve Indonesian nationals who are possibly still in Libya, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said.
"We have reported to the President that in essence our embassy will remain open although the number of staff has been reduced," Marty said at the presidential palace here on Monday.
The Indonesian ambassador to Libya Ibnu Said, according to Marty, had reported that 20 out of the 24 Indonesian nationals at the embassy had left for Tunisia on Monday.
"The group consists of nine embassy staff and 11 migrant workers so that only four people are left at our embassy and these four will keep the mission functioning to serve Indonesians who might need protection," he said. The four staff members remaining at the embassy were two diplomats, including the ambassador and two local staff.
"We will continue evaluating. Our staff is authorized to immediately close the embassy if conditions worsen as they are the ones who could give the best evaluation of the situation," he said.
The minister said several countries had already closed their embassies in Tripoli or stopped their activity due to increasing tension in the oil exporting country.
"Today, the staffs of the Vietnamese and Indian embassies also left the country. Most foreign embassies in Tripoli have closed. To my knowledge, only the Philippine and Indonesian embassies are still open although their staffs have been cut," he said.
Overall, Marty stated, a total of 839 Indonesian nationals in Libya had so far been evacuated to Tunisia.

Twitter Turns Five as Site Registers 200Million Users

Phenomenon: One of Twitters 200million users posts a tweet. The website started life on March 21, 2006

'Inviting coworkers'. Two words. Not spectacular.

Yet, as the first ever Twitter message – made five years ago today – those two words sparked a revolution in internet communication. It took three years to pass the billion-tweet mark. Now it posts that many every week.
Since co-founder Jack Dorsey posted it on March 21, 2006, Twitter has registered nearly 200million users. Dorsey has spent the last few days tweeting a timeline of sorts, sharing what he was doing just before the big launch.
On Sunday, he wrote : '5 yrs ago today, the eve of launching twttr to the company. Moving from @Biz, @florian & me, to all of our peers using it. Nervous. #twttr'
He needn't have worried. The site, which invites people to say 'what's happening' in 140 characters or fewer, was initially dismissed as a platform of very little value.
Now, it is an internet giant and even its sternest critics would be hard-pressed to dismiss its significance. Since its launch, Twitter has played a role in a wide range of headline-making events, from the Egyptian revolution to Charlie Sheen's battle with CBS.
Its use was springboarded in 2008, with Barack Obama’s apt post-election tweet: 'We just made history. All of this happened because you gave your time, talent and passion. All of this happened because of you. Thanks'.
Since then, the website has become uses by nearly every politician, who quickly saw its value. After its role in organising the 2009 Iranian protests against the country's disputed election, an adviser to George Bush suggested the site should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
It has also become a business tool, with many major companies now using accounts to advertise deals and encourage word-of-mouth marketing. It is often where news first emerges.
Michael Jackson's death in 2009 was first posted on Twitter by showbiz website TMZ. Also, Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their engagement on it and the astronauts aboard the International Space Station used it to post incredible pictures at the press of a button.
Twitter's importance in communication was made plain during the moments after Japan's earthquake and tsunami this month. Twitter says it set a record of 6,939 tweets per second immediately after the 9.0-magnitude quake struck on March 11, and 177 million tweets went out as the day wore on.
'As much fun as we were having, there was always in the back of our heads the idea of the potential of something important coming from it,' Biz Stone, one of Twitter's founding members, told The Independent.
'Even if we didn't say it out loud and talk about it. Because we were just getting started and we really had no place saying anything like that.'
Despite operating at a loss for most of 2010, the company, which now integrates advertisements with its website, is valued at up to $10billion and employs more than 400 people.

Korean Consortium Buys 90 Pct Stake in Indonesia Coal Mine

A barge, transporting coal from Berau Coal, sails during an open-sea transhipment in Berau district in Indonesias East Kalimantan province August 17, 2010. The coal will be exported to Japan, China and other Asian countries, Berau Coals spokesman said on Tuesday. Indonesia is the worlds biggest thermal coal exporter. Picture taken August 17, 2010.

A South Korean consortium has acquired a 90% stake in a 244 million-ton Indonesian coal mine for $84.15 million, the Korea Resource Corp., or Kores said Tuesday.
Kores will invest $36.46 million in the coal mine, with production planned to start in 2013, the state-run resources company said in a statement.

PT PAL Delivers Warship to Defense Ministry

State-owned shipbuilder PT PAL on Monday handed over a warship, the KRI Banda Aceh, to the defense ministry to support the Indonesian navy’s operations. The warship was handed over symbolically by the company’s president director, Harsusanto, to Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro at the company’s general engine division here on Monday.
The event was witnessed by state enterprises minister Mustafa Abubakar, defense forces commander Admiral Agus Suhartono, navy chief of staff Admiral Soeparno and members of the House of Representatives’ Commission I (defense affairs). The 125-meter-long landing platform dock ship was designed specially as a military ship capable of carrying troops, combat and tactical vehicles and helicopters.
Before being handed over the ship had already undergone a series of test sailing from March 2 to 8 to see its performance and also a navigational inspection on March 14.
"All the targets set according to contracts tested have been met. Some capabilities have even surpassed targets such as the ship’s speed set in the contract at 15 knots but in the test the ship could sail up to 15.2 knot. This proves that the domestically produced ship could be relied upon and give pride," Harsusanto said.
State enterprises minister Mustafa Abubakar meanwhile expresed hope that the good relations between PT PAL and the ministry of defense and the navy could be continuously maintained and increased through development of main weapon system equipment or inputs given to PT PAL for improvement of the company’s future performance.
Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the ship was needed by the navy "not only for carrying out its combat duty but also for other activities including humanitarian missions. Every year the navy (TNI-AL) conducts humanitarian mission Bhaskara Jaya," he said.
Since 1980 PT PAL has already built more than 200 ships of various kinds and measures. With regard to trading vessels the company has been able to build up to 50,000 DWT ships while it has also been able to build warships ordered by the navy.
With regard to speed patrol boats PT PAL has been able to produce various kinds and versions of the boat starting from 14-meter long up to 57 meter long boats. KRI Banda Aceh is the fourth warship of LDP version produced by PT PAL. The company has partnered with Daewoo International Corporation for building the ship.

Three of Indonesia's Dragons are Missing

Images from the release of young 10-month old Komodo dragons to the quarantine enclosure after their hatching process in the Surabaya zoo, Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Dec.21, 2010

Three young Komodo dragons have gone missing from a zoo in Indonesia, a spokesman said Tuesday, warning that the lost lizards were dangerous and fast on their feet.
The missing reptiles, which measured 50 centimetres (20 inches) to a metre long, were each around one year old and disappeared from their cage early this month, Surabaya zoo spokesman Agus Supangkat told AFP.
“We’re worried if the Komodo dragons escaped. They’re dangerous. Young Komodos like the ones missing love to climb trees and can move very fast.” The zoo has more than 50 of the giant lizards and trees in the cage had been trimmed to prevent any of the remaining animals escaping, Supangkat added.
“They could have been eaten by predators, stolen or escaped. The zookeepers have said they didn’t take them. The police are still investigating.” Until recently Komodo dragons were believed to hunt with a “bite and wait” strategy using toxic bacteria in their saliva to weaken or kill their prey, before descending in numbers to feast.
But in 2005 researchers found that dragons’ jaws are armed with highly sophisticated poison glands that can cause paralysis, spasms and shock through haemorrhaging.The world’s largest monitor lizard, Komodos can grow up to three metres (10 feet) long and weigh up to 140 kilograms (310 pounds). They are unique to a small group of islands in eastern Indonesia.

Infiniti to Challenge BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz

A new luxury brand is on the way to Australia with hopes of upsetting the establishment. BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus will soon have a new challenger in Australia from Nissan.

The Japanese car maker today confirmed it plans to sell a range of sedans, coupes and SUVs under its US-focused luxury brand Infiniti from around September 2012.
As part of a global expansion that now reaches more than 40 countries beyond its volume-selling US market, Infiniti ‘‘will not be a niche player’’ and take on established luxury brands in terms of price and specification. Three models will be initially sold in three stand-alone dealerships in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
The luxury marque that outsold Audi in the US last year says it differs from its competitors — including Toyota’s own luxury brand Lexus — by offering ‘‘aggressive, modern and edgy vehicle design’’, ‘‘inexcusably sporty driving dynamics’’ and a ‘‘boutique, hotel-type customer experience’’ akin to the attentive Japanese hospitality philosophy.
The three initial models include a BMW 3-Series-sized G37 coupe and convertible, an Audi A6/BMW 5-Series-sized ‘M’ large car and the uniquely styled FX crossover SUV hero, about the size of a BMW X5.
Engine choices comprise a 175kW/550Nm 3.0-litre turbo diesel V6, a 235kW/360Nm 3.7-litre petrol V6 (borrowed from Nissan’s 370Z sports car) and a range-topping 5.0-litre petrol V8 producing 290kW and 500Nm of torque. All will be mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission.
Infiniti Cars Australia general manager Kevin Snell was tight-lipped about prices at the brand’s pre-launch event this week, other than to say that Infiniti cars ‘‘will not be the cheapest luxury brand’’ and that they will be better equipped than European competitors. He also quashed any suggestion that Infiniti would follow the Lexus value-packed business model of leaving no features to the options list.
‘‘Infiniti customers are ‘quiet rebels’. They’re rebellious of the mainstream and are typically looking for something different,’’ says Snell.
‘‘They’re more of an individualist-type customer who are passionate about design and technology. They are early adopters and risk-takers and don’t like traditional conservative status and want to stand out from the crowd,’’ he says.
‘‘They might even be tired of an Audi, BMW or Mercedes their neighbour drives’’.
Infiniti arrives in a notoriously tough Australian luxury car market that rewards history and longevity. It took Audi years to crack the Mercedes-Benz and BMW juggernaut that accounted for the majority of luxury sales.
More recently Lexus has seen its market share drop. Despite 2010 growth of 11.8 per cent the brand’s sales were down about 20 per cent on only a few years earlier.
And it was only last year that Cadillac reversed its decision to re-enter the Australian market following the global financial crisis.

Indonesian Ex-Minister Jailed for Graft

An Indonesian court Tuesday sentenced a former government minister to 20 months in jail for corruption and ordered him to pay a IDR50 million ($6,000) fine.
Former Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah had bypassed the tender process and directly appointed suppliers of imported cattle, sewing machines and sarongs meant for victims of natural disasters, the court heard.
“The defendant Bachtiar Chamsyah has been proven legally and convincingly to have carried out an act of corruption,“ chief judge Tjokorda told the anticorruption court in Jakarta.
“He is sentenced to one year and eight months in jail,“ he said.
Chamsyah's sentence was lower than the three years demanded by prosecutors. Indonesia scored 2.8 out of 10 in Transparency International's annual Corruption Perceptions Index for 2010, ranking it 110th out of 178 countries.

Indonesia to Sell Global Bonds to Three Countries

Indonesia is ready to offer bonds to the international market namely to Switzerland, Britain and the United State to raise funds to cover its budget deficit.
"Their governments have confirmed. That is no longer a problem. But we still have yet to see market conditions. In general they view positively on Indonesian conditions," the acting chief of the Fiscal Policy Agency, Bambang Brodjonegoro, said here on Monday.
He said after roadshows the three countries also gave appreciation to Indonesia’s capability in dealing with inflation and maintaining its national resilience.
"We are updating our financing plan for the next year. The challenge might be more about inflation which we are now still discussing and then sustainability of the budget. But overall it is positive. They are ready to enter," he said.
The issuance of the global bonds will follow the financing plans that have been put in the 2011 budget and is for supporting the issuance of state debentures.
"It will be done in line with the 2011 budget plans. Some have been issued for domestic markets. In the future the focus will also be on the domestic market. This one is for covering the balance," he said.
Bambang assured the issuance of the global bonds would not clash with the Japanese plan to increase debts for rehabilitating that country recently hit by earthquake and tsunami.
"With regard to Japan I believed they could be self-reliance. What we see now is the market conditions which are still following Japan. Therefore our roadshow is non-deal in nature and no decision is made," he said.
He said the bonds to be issued have a long-term tenure as most investors prefer that. Moreover now when the bond market potential is promising and relatively good in terms of market demand.
"The market potential is big. I believe they all see Indonesia’s performance is good. Ours is also relatively good in terms of demand compared to that offered by rivals that have the same tenure. It is not a problem. What we need to see now is how is the market in general," he said.
Bambang could not as yet tell about the indicative target to be achieved saying it was under the authority of the Directorate General of Debt Management.
"I do not know. That is under the authority of Rahmat (the director general of debt management). I could not tell ahead of him," he said.
The government has already named three securities namely JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and UBS to offer the bond which is expected to be issued in the first semester this year.

Bilateral Meeting between SBY and Xanana

 Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (R) drives East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao (L) in a golf cart during the latters visit to the presidential palace in Jakarta on March 22, 2011. Gusmao and Yudhoyono discussed bilateral issues between the two countries.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao held a bilateral meeting at Merdeka Palace here Tuesday.
PM Xanana is on a visit in Indonesia from March 22 to 25. He arrived at the Merdeka Palace at 11 am Western Indonesian Standard Time (WIB), and the bilateral meeting began at 11.15 am.
Presidential special staff in charge of international relations Teuku Faizasyah said that following the bilateral meeting, the two leaders would witness the signing of five memoranda of understanding (MoUs).
Yudhoyono on the occasion was accompanied by Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad, Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa, Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, National Education Minister Muhammad Nuh, Minister/State Secretary Sudi Silalahi, Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam and National Defense Forces (TNI) Chief Admiral Agus Suhartono.
Members of Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao’s delegation include Foreign Minister Zacarias da Costa, Economic and Development Minister Joao Goncalves, Infrastructure Minister Pedro Lay da Silva, Tourism, Trade and Industry Minister Gil Alves, Agriculture and Fishery Minister Mariano Assanami Sabino, Commander of The Timor Leste Armed Forces Major General Taur Matan Ruak and Timor Leste Ambassador to Indonesia Manuel Serrano.
On March 23, Xanana will attend an international convention on defense in Jakarta. Jakarta International Defense Dialogue (JIDD) is a International Conference which will be participated in by defense delegations from over 30 countries including heads of state, defense ministers and also chiefs of staff.
JIDD organized by the Ministry of Defense and the Indonesian Defense University (IDU) will be held at the Jakarta Convention Center from March 23 to 25, 2011. Timor Leste, formerly known as East Timor, declared its independence on May 20, 2002, following a United Nations sponsored referendum in 1999, which the people of Timor Leste voted in favor of independence and separated from Indonesia.