Tobacco Could be GOOD for You

Tobacco plants are being used to create a potentially life-saving HIV treatment

Aspirin, Ginseng and Caffeine are just some of the useful medications produced by plants. Now scientists have adapted the much maligned tobacco plant to create a drug they hope will combat HIV. UK regulators have approved the first clinical trial of specially designed antibodies that stop the virus passing from person to person.
Eleven women will be treated with the topical treatment, which has been created from genetically modified tobacco plants. Should it prove safe at different doses, larger trials will follow to test its effectiveness. It is hoped that the antibodies will reduce the risk of treated women from catching the disease.
The landmark trial marks the culmination of a controversial E.U funded project to develop a drug from an engineered plant and take it through all the manufacturing stages.
Most drugs are currently made at great expense in fermentation vats containing bacteria or mammalian cells, but the mass production of medicines in genetically modified plants could reduce costs by as many as 100 times, making it far cheaper to produce life-saving drugs. Project researcher Professor Julian Ma, at St George’s, University of London, said: 'This is a red letter day for the field.
'The approval from the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) for us to proceed with human trials is an acknowledgement that monoclonal antibodies can be made in plants to the same quality as those made using existing conventional production systems.
'That is something many people did not believe could be achieved.'
The clinical trial is being carried out at the University of Surrey Clinical Research Centre. HIV is exchanged via bodily fluids and is most commonly spread during sex.
At the end of 2008, an estimated 83,000 adults aged over 15 were living with HIV in the UK. Of these, just over a quarter did not know they were infected.
The last stage of the virus is Aids, when the patient's immune system stops working and they develop life-threatening illnesses. Patients in western countries can live with HIV for many years thanks to antiretroviral drugs, but these are often not available in the developing world.
The active ingredient in the vaginal cream is an antibody called P2G12. If successful, the investigators will try combining it with other HIV-neutralising antibodies. The genetically modified tobacco plants producing P2G12 were grown in containment greenhouses at the Fraunhofer Institute in Aachen, Germany.
The antibody was isolated and purified in a custom-designed processing plant on the same site. It is the first time a license has been granted to manufacture engineered pharmaceutical products from plants in Europe.
Professor Rainer Fischer, Pharma-Planta coordinator and Fraunhofer Director, said: 'We now have a facility in Europe for producing modern medicines in transgenic plants that is unique in the world, although this has taken many years and much investment to establish.
'This approval is a springboard for European plant biotechnology and will enable many important medical products to be realised.'
The researchers claim there is next to no risk of such GM plants spreading or contaminating other crops because they are contained and would not be grown on an agricultural scale.

Nudity Disappears from German Beaches, Parks

Mostly clothed people relax in Munichs English Garten park. The naked sunbathers who once crowded Germanys Baltic beaches and city parks are becoming an endangered species.

If you're visiting a public park or beach in Germany expecting to see plenty of exposed flesh, you may be in for a surprise.

The naked sunbathers who once crowded Germany's Baltic beaches and city parks are becoming an endangered species due to shifting demographics, the fall of the Berlin Wall, growing prosperity and widening girths.
Much to the chagrin of Free Body Culture (FKK) enthusiasts who have been stripping off their clothing on beaches and parks since the early 1900s, a cold wind has been blowing across Germany for nudists and their numbers are steadily dwindling.
"German society is changing and it's not easy to be a naturist anymore," said Kurt Fischer, president of the German FKK association (DFK). There are some 500,000 registered nudists and a total of seven million Germans sunbathe naked regularly.
"But the numbers are unfortunately falling by about two percent each year," Fischer told a group of reporters in the Foreign Press Association (VAP) while sitting, fully clothed, at a beach bar in Berlin's government quarter. "Times are tough."
The main problem is the shrinking population, Fischer said.
The number of Germans fell by more than 3.2 million over the last three decades even though the country's total population has managed to remain more or less steady at about 82 million thanks to immigration -- often from countries in Eastern Europe and the Balkans as well as Turkey and Arabic countries.
"Our problems are demographic changes and the fact that immigrants aren't interested in social nudity," said Fischer, 70, whose association has such honoured standing in Germany that it is even part of the Olympic Sport Federation (DOSB).
"Germany is relying more and more on immigrants to keep the population steady. But many come from countries with strong religious beliefs. They just aren't into FKK."
Immigrants who arrive from cultures where headscarves are common will not usually be interested in becoming naturists in Germany, he said. Virtues of social nudity
With one of the lowest birth rates in the world, Germany's native population is projected to fall from about 75 million to 50 million by 2050, population researchers say.
The dwindling number of Germans has caused myriad problems -- affecting everything from beer and schnitzel sales to the numbers of schoolchildren. The country's proud nudity traditions are not immune. Fischer said the trend is inexorable.
"It's better that we shrink in a controlled fashion and keep a diverse age-group structure with all age-groups than to try to stay bloated with mostly seniors and few young people," he said.
Fischer added they were using "special trial offers", direct recruitment and other gimmicks to attract young people.
Nude sunbathing has a long tradition in Germany. The Free Body Culture (FKK) movement was founded in the early 20th century and succeeded in taking much of the smut and embarrassment out of nudity.
Even Germany's top model Heidi Klum was quoted in the German media recently extolling the virtues of topless sunbathing and describing difficulties she has pursuing it in places such as the United States and Italy where it's frowned upon or illegal.
"I love to get a sun tan and I don't like white stripes," said Klum. "I don't worry about what other people think." Her parents often ran around in the nude and still do, she said.
In Germany, public nudity on beaches and lakes is by and large tolerated and practitioners face no legal consequences, although some courts have fined some caught hiking nude on public trails or riding bikes or horses while naked.
For decades nudity was a popular way for those living in Communist East Germany to express themselves -- and was a small piece of freedom for those behind the Iron Curtain. East German beaches on the Baltic were always filled with nude bathers.
But that began to gradually fall out of fashion in many areas in the east after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, and then tensions sometimes flared when some western German tourists unaccustomed to the widespread nudity complained.
"When we moved from western Germany to a town in the east, we noticed there was less of a taboo about nudity," said one American surprised by the ubiquitous nudity in the east. "It really struck me at a nearby lake when people were just naked in the water or getting a tan in the sun and nobody was bothered."
That, however, has also begun to change. "We've got a lot chubbier"
Increasing wealth and fashion-consciousness in Germany and especially the east has hurt the movement as well. "We're all equal in the nude," said Fischer, a westerner who admitted it felt like "torture" for him to sit in his clothes on a bright sunny summer afternoon while talking to journalists.
"When people are naked you can't tell the difference between the man with the doctorate and the man who collects trash. There used to be more of an egalitarian attitude. People now want to distinguish themselves and one way to show off is with fancy swimsuits. It's not easy for the nudist in a society like this."
There are other reasons contributing to decline of the unique German cultural tradition. As a 70-year-old eastern woman named Brigitte pointed out, growing prosperity has led to growing waist sizes.
"In East Germany, there were a lot more people with attractive physiques," said Brigitte, a retired dental assistant and avid naturist who asked that her full name not be used.
"But with the rise in prosperity a lot of people have come apart at the seams and they can't show their bodies in public anymore. We've become a lot chubbier with all this prosperity. It's not really very aesthetic anymore."
Brigitte said she misses the East German era when entire beaches and camping areas were packed with nudists even though parts of West Germany, such as Munich's English Garten park and West Berlin's Tiergarten, have proud FKK traditions.
"I miss those places more and more," she said, admitting that she often feels inhibited about being nude and now wraps a towel around herself until she gets to the water. "You definitely see fewer people in then nude. But I don't think the movement will die out. It's too much fun."

Facebook Could Become Adults Only

Alarming ... according to cyber security expert Susan McLean, Facebook gossip sites have "exploded in the last two or three months".

















Ways to force Facebook to give parents access to their kids' profiles will be discussed today by state and federal attorneys-general in a meeting that will also examine an 18+ Facebook age limit.
The idea was first proposed by a South Australian Family First MP, Dennis Hood, and is being championed by South Australian Attorney-General John Rau. Rau argued that giving parents assistance to supervise their children on Facebook would help protect against online predators and limit access to unsuitable material.
But Susan McLean, who was Victoria Police's first cyber safety officer and is now an online safety consultant, said the proposal was “ill informed and it shows a total lack of understanding of what the internet is”.
“It's not Facebook's fault that there are problems on Facebook. You can't legislate against stupidity or poor parenting or anything like that,” said McLean.
“It would be nice but it can't be done and it breaks down any level of trust that you should be trying to develop with your kids.”
Facebook's terms of use currently requires users to be aged at least 13 but there is no proof of age requirement and kids regularly lie to gain access.
At their meeting today, the country's top lawmakers will consider requiring proof of age checks and even raising the age limit to 18, federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland confirmed.
This would be at stark odds with recent comments from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who floated the idea of removing the 13 minimum sign-up age policy.
“Age verification is something that various platforms deal with and I can't see why it should be beyond the wit of Facebook to do the same thing, if that was the solution people wanted,” said Rau.
“I think people need to understand that just because they are operating in the virtual world, that is on the internet, it does not mean that there should not be boundaries or rules or standards of behaviour.
“Exactly how these boundaries and rules should be applied and enforced is a matter that we need to discuss.”
It is unclear how the attorneys-general could apply such regulations to Facebook given it is a US-based company. Rau said changing the rules on access to Facebook would require cooperation from operators and the federal government would need to use its communications powers.
McClelland said yesterday it would be Rau's task to come up with methods of implementing the restrictions.
He said Rau made a fair point as “there has been concern expressed by some parents that the images being put up by their own children are prejudicial to their future career prospects”.
“I think that all Attorneys recognise it as a legitimate issue to raise and … John having raised it, will be tasked … to come back with a few suggested solutions,” said McClelland.
“Having Australian jurisdiction extend off shore is the challenge. That's not to say a bit of discussion can't get some goodwill. Hopefully we will be able to look at a few options.”
Asked whether the issue could be solved simply by parents sitting down with their children, rather than with new regulations, McClelland agreed that this would be a preferable approach.
“Having said that, I have four kids, not in every situation can we reach an accommodation so I can understand some parents have raised the issue,” he said.
But McLean said implementing the proposals would be impossible.
“Say we get this law that says parents are allowed to access their kids facebook accounts, how am I going to prove that I'm your mother?,” she said.
“It's totally unworkable because there is nothing on the internet that allows anyone to age and identity verify anyone, so that's where it's going to fall down in the first place.
“Secondly, American companies aren't necessarily obliged to obey Australian law. Thirdly, tech savvy kids will set up two accounts – here's the one mum can see and here's the one where I do whatever it is I wanna do on it.”
Stephen Collins, spokesman for the online users' lobby group Electronic Frontiers Australia, agreed with McLean that any restrictions would be difficult to enforce.
"We'd very much prefer a social and educational approach - teach people good privacy practice, make it easy for them, educate about acceptable behaviors (e.g. why should online behaviors be different in terms of what we accept from those in the physical world?)," he said.
"So too, a parental right to access that is any greater than exists in law now (such as access to medical details for 16-18 year olds) seems heavy-handed."
Comment is being sought from Facebook. The site counts about 10 million Australian users, or almost half the population.
At the meeting today the attorneys-general will also discuss whether to allow an R18+ rating for video games. The federal government is a vocal supporter of the change but has had difficulty convincing some states that it won't result in a stream of ultra-violent and sexualised games flooding the market.
Privacy is also on the agenda after the government raised the idea of a statutory right to privacy following the hacking scandal that has engulfed News Corporation.
Ways to deal with the online publication of suppressed legal material will also be discussed. Rau said it was clear that suppression orders – which prevent media from reporting details of court cases - were being undermined by social networking sites.

Indonesia Seeks Meet between North and South Korea

North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun, left, talks with his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of an ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Friday, July 22, 2011.

Indonesia's foreign minister says he will ask top diplomats from the two Koreas to hold informal talks on the sidelines of Asia's largest security forum.

Marty Natalegawa made the comments ahead of a closed-door meeting Friday with North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-Chun. He said he hoped he could help facilitate an "informal" meeting between Pak and South Korea's Kim Sung-hwan, helping ease testy relations.
Negotiations to end North Korean's nuclear weapons program have been stalled for more than two years. But top diplomats from all six countries involved in the talks — the United States, China, Russia, Japan and North and South Korea — are attending the ASEAN Regional Forum. That's raised hopes for talks between North and South Korea.

Groundwork for Obama's Visit to Indonesia

U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives at the Indonesias Airforce base in Ngurah Rai , Bali July 21, 2011. Clinton is in Bali to attend the 18th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Nusa Dua. Indonesian hosts the 44th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM), Post Ministerial Conference (PMC) and the 18th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Bali.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday kicks off two days of talks with her Asian counterparts focusing on security issues, amid rising tension in the South China Sea.
Clinton arrived on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Thursday after a trip to India where she urged New Delhi to be more assertive in Asia, a message likely to be read with deep suspicion by the government in Beijing.
She will meet her counterparts from the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the wider East Asia Summit on Friday, followed a day later by the ASEAN Regional Forum.
The forum is Asia's premier security dialogue and includes senior ministers and officials from across Southeast Asia as well as China, Japan, the Koreas, Russia and Australia.
Issues such as territorial disputes in the South China Sea, North Korea's nuclear program, the Thai-Cambodia border dispute and human rights in Myanmar are expected to be discussed in the course of the meetings.
Clinton will also be laying the groundwork for President Barack Obama's visit to Indonesia in November for the East Asia Summit leadership meeting, which will be the first time a U.S. president has attended the forum.
“Clinton has decided that Southeast Asia, specifically ASEAN, will serve as the fulcrum for a long-term Asia strategy,“ Centre for Strategic and International Studies analyst Ernest Bower wrote in a briefing paper.
He said ASEAN was not more strategically important than India, China, or Japan, but “it is the focal point where the most important geostrategic chess games of the 21st century will be played“.
“At times like this, it appears that the secretary of state is the only U.S. cabinet member, except perhaps Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who understands this fact,“ Bower added.
Clinton's visit comes after China and Southeast Asian nations announced a “breakthrough“ in drawn-out talks on their overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea.
The countries endorsed a set of guidelines designed to reduce tensions in the strategic waterway and create an atmosphere conducive to the eventual adoption of a binding code of conduct.
China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan all have overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea, believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits and home to shipping lanes vital to global trade. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told reporters in Bali on Thursday that tensions in the South China Sea were “nothing new.“
“Everyone realises the complexity of the issues we are dealing with and the important thing is to develop a degree of communication and goodwill among all the players going forward,“ he said.
Clinton riled the Chinese delegation at the last ARF in Hanoi a year ago when she stated that it was in the United States' “national interest“ to keep those shipping routes open for business. Tensions have escalated in recent months, with the Philippines and Vietnam expressing alarm at what they say are increasingly aggressive Chinese actions.
These include accusations of Chinese forces opening fire on Filipino fishermen, shadowing an oil exploration vessel employed by a Philippine firm, and putting up structures in areas claimed by the Philippines.
Vietnam voiced anger after a Chinese vessel cut the exploration cables of a Vietnamese survey ship in May, and Beijing condemned U.S.-Vietnam naval exercises that began last week off Vietnam's coast.

Indonesia's Govt Calls for Speedy Passage of Land Acquisition Bill

The government has called for the speedy conclusion of parliamentary discussions on the bill on acquisition of land in the public interest to ensure the smooth implementation of its infrastructure development plans.
"Unless the law is passed, we will not be able to speed up infrastructure development," Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa said at the parliament building here on Monday.
Therefore, he said, he hoped that an agreement could be reached soon as discussions of the bill so far had already gone on for eight months.
"I wish my friends in the House factions could finish it this year because they have been talking about for the past eight months," he said.
He said the slow progress in the bill’s discussions would cause delay in the implementation of projects included in the master plan for the acceleration of Indonesian economic development and expansion.
"I have not been invited by the DPR (House of Representatives) to discuss the bill. If I have , we will certianly discuss it."
The government had earlier said it was ready to issue a government regulation (PP) if the discussions of the bill in parliament dragged on and could not be finished by the end of 2011. The chief of the National Economic Commission (KEN), Chairul Tanjung, said the President was ready to issue a PP to ensure legal certainty for ongoing or future projects.
"He hopes the discussions of the bill could be completed by the end of the year. But if they are not, he is ready to issue a PP," he said.
Chairul said that the government and the DPR leadership had actually made an agreement to finish the discussion of the bill in October 2011. But if the plan fails the President will issue a PP as a temporary regulation so that "investors will not question ’how we can invest in infrastructure if we do not have land.
If the law on land acquisition is passed it is hoped the need for land for infrastructure development will be easily met. Land acquisition has so far been the main obstacle hindering many infrastructure development projects in the country such as toll roads, airports and seaports.

Just Hangin' by The Pool

 

Catch me if you can: One participant in the latest craze leisure diving takes a beer down with him  

They call it the 'leisure dive' - and it's coming to a pool near you this summer. Following the craze of planking which swept the internet, a website has flourished after compiling hilarious pictures of divers striking a comedy pose in mid-air before they hit the water. With the motto, 'live and let dive', the site recommends just how to get the most out of your split-second posing.
The ideal position is achieved with a diving board, giving swimmers enough height to get their hips parallel to the waterline. If successful then it's a shot worthy of the family album or at the very least, Facebook.
The people behind LeisureDive.com encourage originality but there seems to be a couple of recurring favourite looks. The most common is the hand on the hip, with a quizzical look and grasping a beer, book or bizarrely a croquet mallet.
Leisure diving looks set to take the place of planking - a phenomenon which involves lying face down in a public place, the weirder the better, and posting photos on social networking sites.
The favourite pose is to lie expressionless with a straight body, hands by the side and toes pointing towards the ground. The website founders ask for the best leisure dives to be sent to them - http://www.leisuredive.com/index.php - to be ranked against other competitors in the new craze.
And although it could make you incredibly popular on the internet, it's unlikely to do so with other holidaymakers relaxing at the hotel pool.

In Face of Fasting Month

In the face of the fasting month of Ramadhan in the next two weeks, the government is preparing steps to ensure that Muslims in the country will be able to carry out their rituals solemnly without facing shortages of basic needs and security disturbances.
In order to meet the need of people for basic necessities and other things during and in the post-fasting month festivities, the government is taking steps to ensure the availability of food, the smooth distribution of staples, stabilize commodity prices and ensure enough energy supplies. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday ordered his ministers to ensure the stability of basic commodity prices, and food availability across the country in the run up to and during the fasting month.
According to Chief Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa, the government has prepared four steps in the economic field to anticipate the worst possibilities during the fasting month and during the post-fasting Idul Fitri festivities. In a coordination meeting last week, the relevant ministers formulated the government steps to be carried out in the fasting month that would likely start on the first day next August.
"The first thing is that food must be available in all places," Hatta said.
Food was an essential element during Ramadhan and Lebaran and all people in the predominantly Muslim country must have access to food under whatever conditions, he said. In this case, National Logistics Agency (Bulog) has assured that it has a stock of 1.6 million tons of rice which are enough until the end of the year.
"Stocks are enough for six months ahead. Our supplies are estimated at 1.6 million tons. God Willing, we will have no problems in the post-fasting month festivities," Head of Bulog Sutarto Alimoesa added.
"We can even guarantee that rice stocks are enough until the end of 2011," he added.
The second thing was that the government would ensure smooth distribution of staple foods and other basic necessaries to all regions in the country. Therefore, transportation facilities and infrastructures must be in good condition, Hatta said.
"It must run smoothly. We have decided to anticipate it," he said.
The third strategy is that the government would try its best to stabilize the prices of commodities. After all, the government would tolerate any price hike if it did not go beyond the limits of propriety. Though now prices have begun to spiral up, yet the government sees that it is still within the reasonable level. Director General for Internal Trade of the Ministry of Trade Gunaryo said prices of commodities at present were still within the stable level so that market operations were not yet needed.
"Prices at present are relatively lower than those in the past year," he said. The director general said that market operations would be launched if prices were too high while stocks in the market were running short. "Market operations will be launched if price increases exceeded 15 percent. This is because we have to protect small traders," he added.
Basically, according to Hatta Rajasa, market operations will be carried out if prices are on the rise. "In case of a price surge we will intervene in the market by launching large-scale operations," he said.
For market operations, Bulog is preparing 800,000 tons of rice to be released into the market. Of the amount, 500,000 would be for market operation and 300,000 tons of commercial rice.
Actually, Bulog has now begun conducting market operations at a number of locations to stabilize the fluctuation rice prices. With the government step, the people should not be worried about shortage of stocks in the face of the fasting month and the festivities thereafter.
The fourth strategy was ensuring energy supplies, particularly electrical power and fuel oils. Therefore, there must be a good distribution system to ensure that energy supplies would reach all parts of Indonesia, the minister said.
But food is the most essential element during the fasting month. Therefore, Director General for Internal Trade Gunaryo inspected on Monday the bubulak abattoir in Bogor as part of the government efforts to assure the availability of food stocks, including meat. .
He said that food stocks, including meat, are enough in the face of the fasting month next August. He guaranteed the availability meat until the post-fasting Idul Fitri festivities. "We have secure stocks of food stuff such as rice, meat, chicken and others. They are enough until Lebaran (Idul Fitri)," he said.
In the meantime to ensure security during the fasting month in the capital city of Jakarta, the Jakarta Metropolitan Police Command is planning to field around 20,000 personnel.
"We have 29,000 personnel and we will field up to 20,000 or two thirds of them for Ramadhan," Jakarta Metropolitan Police Command spokesman Senior Commissioner Baharudin Djafar said.
The police personnel would be assigned until seven days after the Idul Fitri post-fasting holiday. Their operations would include monitoring possible sweeps by community elements on entertainment centers.

US Stars Accept YouTube Marine Ball Invites

Hollywood stars Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis have accepted YouTube invitations from two US marines, one serving in Afghanistan, to accompany them to military balls.
And singer-turned-actor Timberlake and “Black Swan” star Kunis are having fun with the invitations by a male and female Marine, which went viral on the video-sharing site last week.
“Marines have a lot of balls,” Kunis told the Today show on MSNBC on Monday, confirming that both of them had accepted their invitations to separate balls in November.
“We want to pay honor to our country and embrace their balls,” added Timberlake, who starred in last year’s Oscar-winning Facebook movie “The Social Network.” The story started when a Marine Sgt. Scott Moore, stationed in Musa Qala, southern Afghanistan, posted a video on YouTube inviting Kunis to the Marine Corps Ball on November 18 in Greenville, North Carolina.
Kunis, who co-starred with Natalie Portman in last year’s sexually-charged hit movie “Black Swan,” was asked about the invite during a press interview and spontaneously said she would go. That prompted female marine Corporal Kelsey De Santis to issue an invitation to Timberlake — co-starring with Kunis in a new movie “Friends With Benefits” — to a Marine Corps Ball on November 12 in Washington DC.
“So Justin you wanna call out my girl Mila, well I’m gonna call you out and ask you to go to the Marine Corps Ball with me,” said De Santis, who is stationed in Virginia and is a martial arts expert. Timberlake confirmed he will attend, quipping: “I don’t get asked out, ever. So, I was very flattered by that. And I hear that she’s trained in martial arts, so I’m hoping we can tussle at some point.
“That last bit was a joke,” he added.
And it doesn’t stop there: on Friday veteran US comedy actress Betty White, 90, was invited to a marine ball by Sgt. Ray Lewis, who has served in Afghanistan and Iraq. “She’s funny, she’s sweet, she’s mature, she’s the all around perfect woman,” Lewis says in the YouTube video invitation.
But the 89-year-old declined, diplomatically. “I am deeply flattered and truly appreciate the invitation, as everyone knows I love a man in uniform,” she said, in a statement forwarded by her publicist.
“But unfortunately I cannot accept, as I will be taping an episode of ’Hot In Cleveland,’” she said, referring to her hit show about three ageing showbiz veterans who find renewed fame when they unexpectedly land in Cleveland, Ohio.

Indonesia's Export to Egypt Up 63.8 Pct

A worker checks new cars before loading them into the ship for delivery to other provinces at the Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta October 22, 2010. Indonesia is selling cars faster than it is building roads, increasing gridlock in cities and doing its efforts to attract foreign direct investment no favours. Picture taken October 22, 2010.

The Egyptian revolution that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak last February did not hamper Indonesia’s non-oil/non-gas exports (to that country) and even rose  by 63.8 percent, an Indonesian embassy official here said.
    
"In the January-March 2011 period, our exports to Egypt even increased by 63.8 percent compared with that in the same period a year earlier," Walther S. Kariodimedjo, acting trade attache at the Indonesian Embassy said on Monday. Walther referred to the Indonesian Trade Ministry’s data which were compiled by the embassy’s trade section.
Based on the embassy’s trade section data, Indonesia’s exports to Egypt in the January - March 2011 period were recorded at 261.8 million US dollars, higher that that in the same period in the previous year which were 159.8 million, or an increase of 63.8 percent.
    
In the meantime, Indonesia’s imports from that country in the January - March 2011 period declined 26.3 percent to 44.9 million US dollars from 61 million dollars in the same period in 2010.
    
Indonesia’s imports from Egypt were dominated by among others phosphate, aluminum, cotton, fruit, carpet and textile. The two-way trade values of the two countries in the January - March 2011 period were 307.7 million US dollars, or an increase of 38.8 percent from that in the same period last year which were 220.8 million US dollars.
Walther S. Kariodimedjo said that Indonesia’s main commodity in its exports of about 700 goods to Egypt was crude palm oil (CPO).
    
According to the Egyptian Central Bureau of Statistics (CAPMAS), Egypt’s CPO imports in the January - March period increased to 86.7 million US dollars compared that in the corresponding period i 2010 which were recorded at 70.5 million US dollars.
    
Walther said that Indonesia’s exports to Egypt since 2008 continued to increase from year to year and were in favor of Indonesia. In 2010, the two countries’ two way trade values totaled 1.07 billion US dollars, up 18.4 percent from 802.5 million US dollars in 2009.
CAMPMAS recorded that Indonesia had  50 main commodities exported to Egypt, which included CPO, rubber, car tires, papers, motor vehicle spareparts, computers, electric utensils, food stuff and drinks.

BI Aims to Boost Domestic Islamic Finance Industry

Bank Indonesia is aiming to raise the Islamic finance industry's share of the country's total financial market to 10-15% from around 3% at present, a deputy governor said Monday.

To that end, Bank Indonesia Deputy Gov. Halim Alamsyah said in a seminar that the central bank will continue to educate the public about Islamic finance.
Alamsyah also said Indonesia's domestic Islamic finance industry was $10 billion to $12 billion in size as of June 30.
The Islamic finance industry is still in its infancy in Indonesia compared with neighbour Malaysia, despite the former having the world's largest Muslim population.
But now the government is keen to develop the local market to diversify sources of funding to help finance its budget deficit.

Indonesia, US Intend to Convene Entrepreneurs, Innovators

Indonesian Ambassador to the US Dino Patti Djalal 

 

Indonesia and the United States are looking forward to an opportunity to bring together innovators and entrepreneurs from the two countries to exchange ideas, an Indonesian official said.      "Both Indonesia and the US have a lot of talented people in the science and business sectors. Bringing them together will hopefully unleash great potentials for our future relations," Indonesian Ambassador to the US Dino Patti Djalal said here on Friday at a dialog titled "The Ups and Downs in Indonesia-US Relations".    
Speaking through a teleconference from Washington, the ambassador said there was a need to change the mindset in terms of promoting more contacts between both countries and promoting more people-to-people relations was one of the keys.    
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel who also attended the discussion at the US Cultural Center in Jakarta expressed agreement to the idea to connect Indonesian innovators and entrepreneurs with their American counterparts.    
"Relations between Indonesia and the US had turned into a new direction, especially since the signing of the Indonesia-US Comprehensive Partnership Agreement in 2010. I believe when we get our innovators and entrepreneurs together, there will be a lot of excitement on both sides," Dino said.
 

Indonesian Climbers to Conquer Seventh Summit in 7th Month

After conquering six of the world’s highest mountain peaks, Indonesian mountain climbers grouped in the Seven Summits Expedition Mahitala Unpar, Bandung, left for Alaska, the United States on Saturday, to scale Mount Denali.
The climbers team consisting of Sofyan Arief Fasa, Janathan Ginting, Xaverius Frans and Broery Andrew left for Alaska from Soekarno-Hatta international airport in Tangerang, Banten province, at 02.00 pm western Indonesia standard time (wib) by China Airlines. The climbers grouped in the Seven Summits Expedition Mahitala Unpar (Bandung-based Parahiyangan University) or in short called ISSEMU on May 20, 2011 reached Mount Everest`s peak (8.848 masl) in the Himalayas, coinciding with the 103rd National Awakening Day.
Before reaching the Himalayas, they successfully reached Carstensz Pyramid (4,884 masl) on February 26, 2009 in Indonesia (Australasia), the Kilimanjaro (5,895 meters masl) via Machame on August 10, 2010 in Kenya (Africa), the Elbrus Peak (5,642 masl) in Russia (Europe) on August 24, 2010, Vinson Massive (4,897 masl) in Antarctica on December 13, 2010 and Aconcagua (6,962 masl) in Argentina (South America) on 9 to 29 January 2011.
According to the climbers spokesperson Widyastuti in Jakarta on Saturday (June 18, 2011) the team will conduct acclimatize before scaling the mountain in the North America. The team actually had just arrived in Indonesia on June 2 after completing their expedition to climb to Mount Everest`s peak.
When they arrived home, they were enthusiastically welcomed by their parents, climbers, relatives, students and lecturers of the university. Widyastuti said further that the success of the ISSEMU team was also thanks to the prayers and support of the Indonesian people.
The struggle of the ISSEMU team was started early in April 2011, and the main climbing effort was made on May 12, and the peak of Everest was reached on May 20, 2011 after going through many obstacles posed by bad weather conditions. The Indonesian Red-and-White flag was raised for the first time on six of the highest peaks of the world.
"One peak yet to be reached is Mt Denali’s in Alaska which we hope to accomplish next July," Widyastuti said.
In the meantime, Unpar rector Cicilia Laow wished that the four climbers become the first Indonesian team to hoist the country’s Red-and-White flag on the world’s seven highest mountain peaks. The university has since the beginning fully supported the activities undertaken by Mahitala, in addition to the full support from alumni of one of the leading universities in Bandung.
The university also expected all students involved in the team’s seventh expedition to fully concentrate on the climb. Cicilia Laow expressed hope that after the completion of the climb, all the four climbers should return to their campus. "No more dispensation," she said.
With high spirit and support from all parties such as from the campus, alumni as well as from the sponsor PT Mud King Asia Pacific Raya, the rector hoped the support can accelerate in the realization to be "The Seven Summiters".
Mahitala Unpar is a group of nature loving students set up on April 8, 1974. To date, it has a membership of around 700 people.
Meanwhile, Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng when seeing off the team said that he was proud of the achievements of the Indonesian youths. The four Indonesian climbers who are now striving to set foot on the last mountain summit hopefully can reach the seventh mountain peak on the seventh of the month of this year or in line with their expedition planning from June 18 through July 26, 2011.
If the climb is successful then the four climbers deserve the title of "The Seven Summiters".

What Will Happen if Indonesia Lack of Food Stocks

Vice President Boediono said Indonesia must always make sure it has sufficient food stocks because food shortages would have far-reaching and fatal consequences such as the threat of poverty, social unrest, security disturbances and other problems.
"Food scarcity can result in an increase in social disturbances and security threats," Boediono said in remarks at the opening of the 13th National Farmer-Fishermen’s Week here.
He said agriculture in Indonesia and the world was now facing its greatest-ever challenge, namely the threat of food scarcities. Therefore, he said, national farmers must work with the aim of increasing food production.
Rising food prices had also become another challenge to the world community, in addition to uncertainties about availability and supplies. To avoid the problems, Indonesia must make sure it can always meet its need for various types of food such as corn, bananas, cassava, and other edible tubers.
If food supply meets the national market’s demand, the nation can be certain that domestic food prices will be stabilized, something that will also have a positive impact on the state’s economic conditions.
Indonesia’s food production must be increased continuously and therefore synergy was needed between the government, private sector, agriculture observers, the farmers and fishermen’s communities. They should all be involved in the production line.
"We must be grateful that God has given us vast natural resources to be used as agricultural areas, and it all must also be used properly," he said.
If the natural resources can be managed well, then it can increase agricultural productivity, so that Indonesia can be free from the global food crisis threat. Furthermore, in order to increase food production, the government must continue fulfill the availability of agricultural facilities and infrastructures such the sufficiency of fertilizer, seeds and other facilities needed.

Indonesia's Future Lies in Oceans

Indonesia, one of the world’s largest maritime countries with about 5.8 million square kilometers of marine territory, recently observed World Oceans Day by reminding the people of the important role of oceans for the nation’s future.
The world’s oceans which account for about 70 percent of the Earth’s surface are essential to food security and the health and survival of all life, power the climate and are a critical part of the biosphere.
The official designation of World Oceans Day (WOD), which falls on June 8, is an opportunity to promote global awareness of the current ocean-related challenges such as depleted fishery resources, the impacts of climate change, deterioration of the marine environment, and maritime safety and security problem
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in his message for World Oceans Day 2011 theme "Our oceans: greening our future", said "All activities and policies related to oceans and the marine environment need to acknowledge and incorporate the three pillars of sustainable development: environmental, social and economic. Only then can we achieve the development objectives set by the international community."
He also urged governments and all sectors of society to embrace the individual and collective responsibility to protect the marine environment and manage its resources in a sustainable manner for present and future generations.
Indonesia has around 92,000 km-long beach and coastal areas, second after Canada. It is the biggest archipelagic country in the world, with around 70% its territory is waters and it has 17,480 islands.
"Local governments must have an awareness of the importance of developing the oceans for the future of the nation," Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad said when commemorating the World Ocean Day here recently.
In daily activities, the community enjoys the marine services, such as for transportation, consumption, and recreation, he added. Defense Minister Poernomo Yusgiantoro, who joined Fadel in the WOD commemoration, said small islands in border regions have double functions, namely as marine security and the development of economic potential.
As many as 12 islands in border regions such as Nipah Island, Miangas Island, and Berhala Island are given priority for the double functions. Poernomo also pointed out the very important role of oceans as trading routes because 90 percent of goods in the world is transprted over oceans.
"Therefore, marine security is important to support economic activities in these regions," he said, adding that the country has placed its troops at 12 of 92 outer islands of its border areas.
Despite the huge marine potentials, however, Indonesia has so far been able to utilize only eight percent of its marine potentials so there should be strong efforts to encourage their greater use, according to Minister Fadel Muhammad. The country’s marine and fishery resource potentials are still wide open for development through aquaculture, marine tourism, mining, maritime transportation, and development of marine services.
The contribution of the fishery sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2010 reached 3.1 percent. The ministry had set itself the target of increasing the fisheries sector’s contribution to GDP from 3.1 percent to 3.5 percent in 2011.
Fishery exports in 2010 ware estimated to reach a total value of 2.79 billion US dollars, up from 2.46 billion US dollars in 2009. Chairman of Indonesian Fishery Product Processing and Marketing Association Thomas Darmawan recently suggested that the government support traditional fishermen by giving them a subsidy to buy more sophisticated fishing tools.
For example, he said, many traditional fishermen in Indonesia did not have cooling devices to preserve their catches’ freshness during transportation. "Our fishermen also need capacity building trainings such as how to operate sophisticated fishing tools or learn other useful fishing skills," he said.
As part of the capacity building plan, Fadel had asked higher education institutes to create reliable and capable human resources for the maritime and fishery sector in Indonesia. "The Higher Education Cooperation Forum is of strategic significance in the development of maritime-and-fishery-related education and national development in the maritime and fishery sector," Fadel said after meeting with Vice President Boediono at the latter’s office last May 2011.
The Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry had also set aside Rp212 billion, or 33 percent of its total budget, to improve the welfare of fishermen through several empowerment programs. Minister Fadel said that the programs included housing for fishermen, villagers’ fish pond empowerment, fishermen’s groups improvement and procurement of boats for fishermen through regional governments.
He will propose a budget of Rp1.2 trillion especially for improving the welfare of fishermen in 2012. The ministry plans to hold a forum and expo themed Indonesian Blue Revolution or IBREF 2011. Around 60 marine industries will take part in the expo to be held from October 6-9, 2011 at the Jakarta Convention Center.
IBREF 2011 is a forum to promote a change in the developmental paradigm from land- to sea-oriented, and balance between land and marine development, Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad said recently when launching the forum and expo.
"The event is also a means to promote the wealth of Indonesia’s marine resources and the beauty of its submarine environment. It will show Indonesia as a strong and great maritime nation," the minister said.
Indonesia organized the first World Ocean Conference (WOC) in Manado, North Sulawesi, bringing together experts and officials from over 70 countries, in May 2009.

Saudi Beheads Indonesian Woman Convicted of Murder

An Indonesian woman was beheaded by the sword on Saturday after being convicted of murdering a Saudi woman, the interior ministry said.
The woman named Roiaiti Beth Sabotti Sarona, according to a transliteration from Arabic, was found guilty of killing Saudi Khairiya bint Hamid Mijlid by striking her repeatedly on the head with a meat chopper and stabbing her in the neck, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.
The ministry did not elaborate on the motives of the crime, nor it did disclose the relation between the two women. But Indonesian officials say that around 70 percent of the 1.2 million Indonesians working in Saudi Arabia are domestic staff.
The beheading in the western province of Mecca brings the number of executions in the ultra-conservative kingdom this year to 28, according to an AFP tally based on official and human rights group reports.
London-based watchdog Amnesty International called on Saudi Arabia last week to stop applying the death penalty, saying there had been a significant rise in the number of executions carried out over the past six weeks.
It said at least 27 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia in 2011, "the same as the total number of people executed in the whole of 2010. Fifteen people were executed in May alone." In 2009, the number of executions reached 67, compared to 102 in 2008.
Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under Saudi Arabia’s strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.

Audi Sees "Dramatic" Industry Shift Towards Emerging Market

Audi AG Chairman Rupert Stadler stands next to the new Q5 Hybrid car during a presentation during the first media day of the 81st Geneva International Motor Show at the Palexpo in Geneva March 1, 2011.

German premium car maker Audi AG expects emerging markets to fuel growth for the auto industry in coming years, with the luxury-car segment anticipated to grow faster than the overall market.
“The so-called BRIC-states plus Indonesia and South Korea will account for more than half of the global economic growth until 2025,“ Chief Executive Rupert Stadler said Thursday at a luncheon event organized by the American Chamber of Commerce. BRIC is the acronym for Brazil, Russia, India and China.
“We have to decide now how we want to position ourselves for this future,“ Stadler said. He noted, however, that the U.S. will remain a key market for the auto industry and added that competition there is heating up again after the recovery of U.S. rivals. Stadler said he wants to increase Audi's footprint in the U.S. without granting high rebates to boost market share.
He reiterated that Audi is considering starting car production in the U.S. “We want to transfer our successful strategy from China and Europe to the U.S.,“ Stadler said. He didn't elaborate on the time frame when production in the U.S could start.
The world's third-largest luxury car maker by sales volume after BMW AG and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz brand targets a new global sales record of more than 1.2 million cars this year after selling 1.09 million vehicles in 2010, driven by booming demand for luxury cars across the globe. China is set to be become Audi's largest market this year with anticipated sales of around 280,000 cars.
Stadler told German TV station DAF in an interview that Audi might even surpass the 280,000 sales mark in China this year. In the first five months of the year, Audi sold around 535,400 cars worldwide, up almost 18% on the year.
Stadler dismissed recent media reports suggesting the new small A1 suffers from sluggish demand. “Its selling very well,“ he said, adding that the car is on track to reach its sales target of 120,000 cars in 2011.
In May, parent Volkswagen AG inaugurated its new production plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., a cornerstone of the German auto maker's global expansion plan and a crucial step to make its loss-making U.S. operations profitable again. Volkswagen wants to roughly triple its U.S. sales volume to more than 1 million by 2018, with the Audi brand accounting for 200,000 cars.
Audi is a key earnings contributor for Europe's largest auto maker by sales. Audi's first-quarter revenue was up 27% on the year at EUR10.5 billion. Operating profit rose to EUR1.12 billion from EUR478 million in the same period last year. Audi's operating return on sales was 10.6% in the first quarter after 5.8% last year, making it one of the world's most profitable car makers. Chief Financial Officer Axel Strotbek said earlier this year he expects profitability in 2011 to remain at last year's level.

Now Apple Wants to Block iPhone Users from Filming Live Events

On the way out Apple is developing software that will sense when an iPhone user is recording a live event, and then switch off the devices camera.

The days of filming a live concert or sporting event on your iPhone may soon be a distant memory. Apple is developing software that will sense when a smartphone user is trying to record a live event, and then switch off the device's camera.
Anybody holding up their iPhone will find it triggers infra-red sensors installed at the venue. These sensors would then automatically instruct the iPhone to shut down its camera function, preventing an footage from being recorded.
Only the iPhone's camera would be temporarily disabled; other features, such as texting and making calls, would still work. Apple filed a patent application 18 months ago in Calfornia. It has just come to light after being obtained by The Times.
Such a development would be welcomed with open arms by many concertgoers, fed up with their view being blocked by a sea of glowing mobile phone screens. However, the real reason Apple is developing the technology is to placate broadcasters upset that members of the public are posting footage of events on websites including YouTube when they have bought the exclusive rights.
Many of these firms sell their own recordings of high-profile events, including Glastonbury and Wimbledon, and dislike being pipped to the post by reams of amateur footage online.
Assisting record companies in this manner is likely to help Apple secure more favourable terms with labels when negotiating deals to place music for sale on its iTunes website. It could also potentially provide Apple with another source of revenue by charging people to film live events.
The development comes just days after iPhone users in the U.S. found out they no longer have to rely on hackers to 'unlock' their devices to switch carriers or save money when travelling.
Apple quietly started selling 'unlocked' iPhones in the U.S. for the first time on its websites and in stores, for $649 and $749 depending on how much memory they have.
The devices are identical to the versions sold for use on AT&T Inc's network, but don't require a two-year contract. The buyer will separately have to buy a Subscriber Identity Module, or SIM card, from a carrier to activate the phone.
Apart from AT&T, the only national U.S. carrier that's compatible with the phone is T-Mobile USA, and it can provide only phone calls and low data speeds.

Densus 88 Arrests Two Terror Suspects in Jakarta

The Densus 88 counter-terrorism squad arrested two terror suspects identified by their initials IM and AH here, Wednesday evening.
"The two suspects, IM and AH, were detained last night in Jakarta following information from other terror suspects," Brig Gen Ketut Untung Yoga Ana, a spokesman of the National Police, said here Thursday.
They were suspected of having been involved in the military training in Aceh Province, he said. Previously, police have arrested 14 alleged terrorists, namely two in Pekalongan (Central Java), two in East Kalimantan, seven in Jakarta, two in Central Sulawesi and one in Bandung (West Java ½Province).
The two suspected terrorists arrested in Kutai Kartanegara District, East Kalimantan Province, are Muhammad Sibghotulloh alias Faisal and Yuwardi. They were suspected to being involved in the bombing of Adz Zikra mosque in Cirebon, West Java, recently.
The suspects were also believed to have planned police shooting in Palu, central Sulawesi, supplied weapons from the Philippines. Yuwardi and Faisal were arrested by the Densus 88 of the National Police on June 11, 2011. Meanwhile, the Densus 88 counter-terrorism squad arrested a terror suspect at Jalan Salemba, Central Jakarta, early Thursday.
"True, we are still developing the case," said an officer of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police who spoke on condition of anonymity here on Thursday.
The terror suspect, identified by his initials as IR, was arrested in front of the YAI campus. Chief of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police’s public relations service Snr Comr Baharudin Djafar confirmed the arrest of the terror suspect who had been declared a fugitive.
"True, but for more details, contact the Indonesian Police Headquarters for confirmation," he said. Baharudin stated he had received a report from the chief of the Central Jakarta police that Densus 88 had arrested a terror suspect, identified by his initials as IR.

Indonesia Cleric Gets 15 Years for Inciting Terror

A poster of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is hung as supporters of Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir gather after Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashirs hearing verdict at the South Jakarta District Court on June 16, 2011 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Bashir was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in prison on terrorism charges.

The Indonesian Muslim cleric known as spiritual leader of the militants who carried out the deadly 2002 Bali bombings was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison for his support of a terror training camp uncovered last year.
Abu Bakar Bashir's conviction for incitement of terrorism followed two unsuccessful attempts by prosecutors over the past eight years to link him to terror activities, including a conviction that was later overturned in the Bali attacks that killed 202 people.
The relatively stern sentence for Bashir, now 72, shows Indonesia's continuing resolve to tackle its deadly extremist movement. The verdict was announced at a Jakarta courthouse amid tight security, with nearly 3,200 police and soldiers patrolling the surrounding area.
Bashir, who denies involvement in terrorism, rejected the ruling, and his lawyer said it would be appealed. "This verdict ignores Sharia law and is based on the infidel law, so it's forbidden for me to accept it," Bashir said in the courtroom.
Hundreds of Bashir's supporters outside the court, some carrying placards saying "Free Abu Bakar Bashir," reacted to the ruling with shock. Many shouted "God is Great" and others wept. Their leaders urged them to be calm. The crowd dispersed peacefully.
The aging cleric has been a potent symbol for Indonesia's radical Islamists and, even if not operationally involved in terrorist attacks, is believed by experts to provide crucial ideological sanction for violent extremism.
Prosecutors said Bashir provided key support for a jihadi training camp discovered in early 2010 in westernmost Aceh province that brought together men from almost every known Indonesian extremist group. Militants there allegedly intended to carry out attacks on foreigners and assassinations of moderate Muslim leaders such as Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Bashir was found guilty of inciting terrorism in connection with the jungle camp. But he was not convicted of a charge of funding terrorist activities, with the panel of judges saying there was not enough evidence to prove that Bashir knew that money he raised was used to purchase guns for the training camp.
Arrested militants testified that Bashir watched a video of the Aceh military training and received written reports assuring him that funds he had raised were being used for the struggle to build an Islamic state.
Bashir denied involvement in the camp but repeatedly defended it as legal under Islam. He told reporters before the verdict that the trial was an attempt by the U.S. and Australia "to eliminate me from Indonesia."
Jemaah Islamiyah, the radical group co-founded by Bashir, thrust Indonesia into the front lines of the battle against terrorism with its bombings on the tourist island of Bali that killed 202 people, many of them Australians and Americans.
Since then, the government's counterterrorism campaign has had notable successes, including convictions of dozens of Jemaah Islamiyah operatives in the Bali blasts. Three were executed.
Key radicals also have been killed in shootouts, hundreds of foot soldiers arrested, and the capacity of groups like Jemaah Islamiyah to strike at government and Western targets within Indonesia has been disrupted.
The sentence is "an indication of how strong the Indonesian government's commitment continues to be in terms of prosecuting terrorism in open trials and through effective law enforcement," said Sidney Jones, an expert on Southeast Asian terrorism at the International Crisis Group.
"But it doesn't have a direct impact on the strength or weakness of the terrorist threat. Most of the people we see active now are operating in small groups without direction from a single leader like Bashir," she said.
Australia welcomed the verdict, with Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd saying it will bring "some measure of justice" to the families of victims of terrorism, and that "full credit" goes to Indonesian authorities for pursuing the case.
Authorities raided the Aceh camp in February of last year, and arrested more than 120 suspected terrorist in the ensuing months. Some experts say the camp's organizers envisaged it as a vehicle for radicalizing the Acehnese people and as the nucleus of a future Islamic state.
In his summary of the trial, presiding judge Herry Swantoro said militants arrested in the raids had testified that they learned to use weapons, read maps and other aspects of military training at the camp. Prosecutors had said Bashir raised about 1.03 billion Indonesian rupiah ($120,800), which was used to buy guns, ammunition and equipment for jihadist training.
Bashir spent previous stints in detention. He was arrested almost immediately after the Bali bombings, but prosecutors were unable to prove a string of terrorism-related allegations and reduced his four-year prison sentence to 18 months for immigration violations.
Soon after his release, he was re-arrested and sentenced to 2 1/2 years, this time for inciting the Bali blasts, a charge that was overturned on appeal. He was freed in 2006. Brian Deegan, whose 21-year-old son Josh was among the 88 Australians killed in the Bali bombings, welcomed the sentence.
Deegan, a lawyer in the southern Australian city of Adelaide, said victims and their families would be satisfied with Bashir's harsher sentence this time. "It gives a degree of satisfaction that the courts are treating him more appropriately than they did with respect to the Bali tragedy," Deegan said.

Millions of Indonesians to Have Electronic ID Cards

Of the total 172 million eligible people in Indonesia, 67 million living in 187 districts/cities in the country will get electronic identity (e-ID) cards this year.
"The remaining 105 million in 300 districts/cities (will have e-ID cards) in 2012," Dr Hammam Riza, head of the communications and information technology center of the Technology Application and Study Agency (BPPT), said here Thursday.
Dr Hammam was optimistic that the target would be achieved as scheduled. In 2010, e-ID card pilot projects were carried out in six sub districts in six districts, by involving around 150,000 residents.
The program of the life-long National Identification Numbers (NIK) has been carried out nation-wide from 2010 to 2011. In the e-ID cards, 8-kb chips containing 27 kinds of data and using 10 finger-print and eye biometric system of each resident, will be inserted.
"The objective of the e-ID cards is to prevent ID forgery or double, so every resident will only have one ID. Besides, the e-ID cards can also be used for other purposes, such as banking, taxation, insurance and Direct Cash Assistance," he said.
The home affairs ministry has allocated a budget amounting to Rp6.3 trillion from the state budget for the application of the e-ID cards, including for the logistics such as cards, card readers, finger print scanners, cameras, signature pads, servers, and trainings for 40,000 operators in every district/city.
"It’s now in the stage of tender," he said, adding that most of the equipment has to be imported. Multi-function e-ID cards have been applied in Jembrana District, Bali Province, by using "smart cards" with chips but without biometric.
"Jembrana District is a success example, but later on, they have to change their Jembrana ID cards to the national e-ID cards because the national Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) checking is different," he said. India and China have applied e-ID cards, he said. India uses biometric system without chips, while China uses chips without biometric system.

Time for Indonesia to Have Multi Airport System

This photograph taken on October 26, 2010, an Indonesian Garuda Airline plane lands and another prepares to take off at Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta.

The time has come for Indonesia to build a multi airport system because it will not only reduce density in the main airport, it will also give an alternative to the metropolitan population in traveling and reduce distance to the airport.
This was a conclusion in a discussion "The need for Multi Airports in several big cities in Indonesia in anticipation of future demands for air transportation", head of the training and development institute of the transportation ministry Denny Siahaan said here Thursday.
Denny also said that a multi airport system can also promote regional economic growth and increase competitiveness among airport managers. He said the building of multi airports is also carried in a decision of Transportation Minister No KM 7 of 2010 on a strategic plan of the Transportation Ministry of 2010-2014, which include the building of a multi airport in Jakarta to support the Soekarno Hatta international airport.
He also stated that the discussion attended by transportation ministry officials, transportation experts, aviation and airport practitioners as well as private companies also drew a conclusion that a multi airport system needs to be built in a metropolitan center, especially with airport hubs with primary service scales, and with more than five million passengers per year.
He said there was an idea to build Halim Perdana Kusuma airport, Budiarto airport in Curug, and Pondok Cabe airport into multi airports. The location of a new airport had also been set in Cikarang and some other areas, as alternatives to accommodate increased demands for air transportation in the future.
An aviation observer and former airport technical director Ir. Yayoen Wahyoe said on the occasion that technical matters need to be considered in building a multi airport namely prioritizing operational delays rather than over capacities. In the meantime, former president director of PT. Angkasa Pura I Fachri Zainuddin said at the discussions that in building multi airports in metropolitan areas in Indonesia need close coordination between the central government, regional administrations, airport authorities, ATC activities, airline businesses and land transportation.
"Another very important consideration is the national space plan and provincial, regency and city space plans," he said.
In the meantime airport director of the transportation ministry Bambang Tjahjono said in 2010 there are 12 airports managed by PT Angkasa Pura I with a total capacity of 30,700,440 people and a movement of 49,237,437 passengers. There are 13 airports run by PT. Angkasa Pura II with a total capacity of 30,815,000 people and a movement of 62,215,834 passengers.
In the meantime, he said the number of passengers in the 2009-2014 period had been projected to grow by 10 pct, in the 2015-2020 period by 8 pct, in the 2021-2030 period by 5 pct, in the 2009-2014 period by 17 pct, in the 2015-2020 period by 10 pct, and in the 2021-2030 period by 10 pct.

Navy Ship That Buried bin Laden Returns Home

 

 

Family members hold up welcome signs as the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier returns to its homeport at Naval Station North Island in Coronado, California June 15, 2011. The USS Carl Vinson returned from a seven month deployment that became historic last month when the aircraft carrier buried Osama bin Laden at sea.  

 

Thousands of sailors aboard the USS Carl Vinson jubilantly returned to their home port Wednesday, four days before Father's Day and nearly seven weeks after the ship carried Osama bin Laden's body to a burial at sea.Jim Rhoades, who came from Philadelphia to greet his son, held a sign that read: "Mission Impossible: This Time for Real," a reference to President George W. Bush's 2003 speech at the same location after the invasion of Iraq. The sign featured a photo of bin Laden with red X's over his eyes.
"It just says that these guys have done well," said Rhoades, 50. "They deserve credit."
The USS Carl Vinson was in the North Arabian Sea on May 2 when it received a Navy SEAL team carrying the al-Qaida leader's body. The body was placed in a weighted bag, an officer made religious remarks, and it was dropped into the sea.
Sailors have been ordered to avoid talking about the operation. Rear Adm. Samuel Perez, the Vinson strike group commander, relented only slightly when asked to describe sailors' morale in early May.
"I think everybody was pretty stoked," Perez told reporters. "I think that first week of May everybody was sitting there looking around very proud to have been part of that piece of history."
Several thousand family members and friends cheered and waved American flags and "Welcome Home" signs as the carrier arrived at Naval Base Coronado from its six-month deployment — a far higher turnout than a typical homecoming. There were five live bands, compared to the usual one or two when carriers return.
About 5,000 sailors, pilots and crew members walked off the ship with hundreds of family members who were invited for the final leg from Hawaii. One father hugged his newborn son for the first time.
Security was tight but not unusual. Family and friends were questioned at the gate and walked through metal detectors before approaching the ship.
Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Ray of Lewiston, Maine, was greeted by his wife and two young children, dressed in red, white and blue. "We were able to go out there and accomplish our mission," he said. "We met or exceeded every goal we were supposed to meet."
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strengthening ASEAN Education System with IT

Angelina Sondakh

A member of Commission X of the House of Representatives Angelina Sondakh said ASEAN may strengthen its education system using information and technology tools optimally.
"For example, the government may set up an online forum for ASEAN teachers and students for interaction and share information about the education system in each member country," she said here on Tuesday in response to the 18th ASEAN Summit held in Jakarta on May 7 and 8.
Angelina hoped the online forum would help ASEAN students and teachers to improve and strengthen education in their countries. The former Miss Indonesia said ASEAN member countries needed to improve its education system to a high level such as those in some other Asian countries and in the West.
She also said an almost similar culture in ASEAN countries might help the process of interaction and transfer of knowledge among the students and teachers in the region. Apart from benefiting the students and teachers, ASEAN cooperation in education sector was also expected to help develop the research sector for academicians and practitioners.
Earlier in the 18th ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, representatives from ASEAN youth community who had the chance to meet ASEAN leaders said they wished for more training and education on entrepreneurship and leadership.
"Such programs should not only help us improve our skills but also enable us, youths in ASEAN countries, to get to know each other better," Lion Florish III, a member of the community said.
Meanwhile, Indonesian youth representative Iman Usman said the youth plays an important role in realizing the ASEAN dream to be a single community in 2015. Therefore, activities that support the youth in raising their quality as humans must be supported by all parties, especially governments.
Iman also called on the governments of ASEAN countries to provide more scholarships for young people from countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam in the hope it would help boost the development of human resources in the four countries.

BlackBerry Torch 9800

A user tries out the new Blackberry Torch 9800 smartphone after it was unveiled at a news conference August 3, 2010 in New York City. The new device by Blackberry maker Research in Motion features a touch-screen and slide-out keyboard along with new 6.0 software in the companys ongoing battle with Apples iphone and other mobile devices.


BlackBerry 6 OS delivers a touch of magic for the corporate crowd.

Last Wednesday I took at look at the Torch 9800, running the slick BlackBerry 6 OS which has borrowed some of the best aspects of Android and iOS to bring the Volvo of smartphones into the modern age. Today I want to wrap up with a look at a few apps.

The browser has long been BlackBerry's Achilles' Heel so, as a fan of Android and iOS, naturally the new WebKit browser caught my attention. The Torch 9800 is not as fast to render pages at the iPhone 4 or high-end Android phones, but once pages load you've got the joys of flick to scroll, pinch to zoom and tap to zoom which focuses on columns of text. You can also open multiple windows and easily switch between them.

Complicated web pages, such as the full front page of the SMH, remain responsive - impressive since the Torch 9800 lacks the processing grunt of its high-end competitors. The developers have embraced technologies such as HTML5 and CSS3 to help BlackBerry 6 OS keep up with the times.

I still think that Mobile Safari is the best smartphone browser and the BlackBerry browser is rough around the edges. For example, if you click in a text box in Mobile Safari it automatically zooms in so you can see what you’re typing. Not so with the BlackBerry. Just like the early Android browser, the BlackBerry team really need to swallow their pride and turn more to the iPhone for inspiration when it comes to the little things that make the difference between a good and great mobile browsing experience.

Those hoping for Flash-compatibility on the Torch 9800 are out of luck - although it’s reportedly on the roadmap (and has been for a long time). RIM announced this week that we won’t see Flash on the new Bold 9900 running BlackBerry 7 OS, which isn’t promising. I think people are more likely to tolerate the lack of Flash in a business-focused phone like a BlackBerry than a consumer-focused phone like the iPhone 4. Regardless of what Steve Jobs says, the high-end Android phones prove that you can get smooth Flash performance on a smartphone.

The Torch 9800's 3.2-inch 480x360 LCD screen is very impressive and stands up well to what I've dubbed the Costello test (see the image below). Viewed on the 9800 you get good viewing angles, great contrast and detail, excellent skin tones and very white whites.
It's up there with the iPhone 4, although the Torch 9800 betrays its lower pixel density when you look at pages with thumbnails of photos - they look pixelated on the Torch 9800’s 187 ppi screen compared to the iPhone 4’s razor sharp 329 ppi display.

The other new app I thought worth a look is Social Feeds, offering easier access to your various social media feeds. The Torch 9800 features standalone Facebook, Twitter and MySpace apps, but Social Feeds is compatible with AIM, BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook, Google Talk, MySpace, Twitter, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and various RSS feeds. You can elect to receive notification of updates and integrate Social feeds with the Messages Application.

Logging into Facebook reveals some of the tight contact integration that I love about some Android devices. You’ve got the option to sync your phone with Facebook’s Messages, Calendar and Contacts apps, including the ability to update an existing contact's photo if they’re a Facebook friend. Notifications from services such as Facebook and Twitter show up in the home screen’s notification bar.

Social Feeds shows a combined timeline of all your social networking feeds, plus it’s easy to tap the top menu and narrow it down to one feed. You can also see notifications show up in your Messages inbox along with your email and text messages. Meanwhile if you tap on an entry in your contacts list, you’ll see recent activity including their social networking updates.

There are plenty of other great new features I’ve failed to mention, but the slick WebKit browser and beautiful execution of Social Feeds say to me that the BlackBerry team is paying more than lip service to its promises to make BlackBerry 6 OS a great tool for work and play.
Taking many of my favourite Android features, stirring in a pinch of iOS and baking it all into a solid, corporate-friendly, touch-enabled mobile OS has produced a very slick device in the Torch 9800. As the smartphone war hots up and some players fall by the wayside, it’s clear that BlackBerry still has a lot to offer and corporate users can have the best of both worlds.

Now Muslim Militants Target Prince Harry

Action: The video shows a series of clips from Prince Harrys time in Afghanistan fighting Taliban forces

An extremist group is believed to be targeting Prince Harry after a propaganda hate video has come to light following the assassination of Osama Bin Laden.
The 26-year-old, third in line to the throne, is the subject of a three-minute video posted last week by an organisation calling itself Muslims Against Crusades.
It is believed that Harry is being targeted to avenge the death of the Al Qaeda leader, who was shot by American commandos last Sunday, as six years ago he dressed as a Nazi and has served the British Army in Afghanistan.
The video, entitled 'Harry the Nazi', shows the young royal - who was best man to his elder brother William just over a week ago - serving for the British Army against Taliban forces in 2007 and 2008, saying that 'all my wishes have come true'.
It begins with the Muslims Against Crusades sign looming large and imposing, and then sounds of soldiers marching are accompanied by Arabic voices.
Originally posted on the group's jihadist website, the video continues to show snippets of Prince Harry talking to the media while in action in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
It also shows the royal - who spent 10 weeks in Afghanistan and joked that he is a 'bullet magnet' - using derogatory Asian terms 'Paki' and 'Raghead' in videos taken while he was in the Middle East, and exposed by the News of the World.
The clips are spliced together and framed in a central box, as though someone is watching the footage on a television, flicking through Harry's actions. Outside of the frame, there is a dark border, and smoke rises from beneath.
The clips stop suddenly, and all that remains is a picture of Harry dressed as a Nazi - a decision which caused outrage, when he wore the outfit for a fancy dress party in 2005 - and then the production abruptly ends.
The film is designed to incite hatred against Harry - who has recently been promoted to captain in the Army - and it appears to have worked. Below the video, posted on YouTube, people have written aggressive, threatening messages in response to it.
One person wrote: 'May Allah? curse and destroy him.' Another, calling himself Brother Younis, said: 'May he rot in hell.' And a third poster pointed out that both Harry and Hitler begin with the letter H, and added: 'Harry the royal British Nazi.'
'Prince Harry is inevitably at risk,' a security source told the News of the World. 'As risks go up then the protection capability has to be increased.'
Muslims Against Crusades's website claims that their members are 'raising the banner for Islam' and reveals why Prince Harry - and William - are targets.
In the Frequently Asked Questions section they write: 'It would seem fitting and appropriate to condemn individuals, who sympathise with such a brutal mob (referring to the British Army who are fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya), or who promote their literature or glorify their cause.
'William and Harry are not exempt from accountability, and their conscientious decision to enrol in an army that engages in the aforementioned crimes, cannot be taken lightly.'
The extremist organisation today claimed that the video was not meant to be inflammatory, and inist that it is not a call to arms for terrorists to target Harry.
The group's spokesman, Islamic cleric Anjem Choudary did admit, however, that the video was designed to direct Muslim anger towards the Royal Family's involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He said the video was created to promote the group's aborted attempts to protest at the Royal Wedding.
'There is a real anger with the Royal Family about their participation in war against Iraq and Prince Harry because of his tour fighting against Muslims in Afghanistan,' said the 44-year-old.
'Prince William has also expressed a desire to fight in Afghanistan.
'This video was being used to explain why we were planning to protest at the Royal Wedding.'
He continued: 'I can assure everyone that the Muslims Against Crusades has no intention of targeting Prince Harry or any other member of the Royal Family.
'We believe in political action, not military action. We believe in the covenant of security; in return for our wealth and well-being protected it is not permitted to target wealth and life of those with whom we live.
'It is the objective of this, and videos like it, to draw attention to the Royal Family's involvement in wars that kill our Muslim brothers and sisters.'
Last Friday Choudary organised a 200-person strong protest outside the U.S. Embassy in London, so that Muslims Against Crusades could voice their opinions against 'arrogant' President Obama, who ordered the commandos to attack Bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, northern Pakistan.
They organised a mock funeral for the 54-year-old Al Qaeda leader, and carried placards which read: 'Royal Family baby killers' and 'William and Harry watch your back'.
And Al Qaeda-supporting cleric Choudary warned that Britain is likely to suffer another 7/7 terrorist attack.
'Following the boasts and gloats of the arrogant President Barack Obama that he ordered the murder of "unarmed" Sheikh Osama Bin Laden without trial or consideration of his rights and the shooting and kidnapping of his defenceless wife and son, Muslims around the world are witness to America's utter disregard for fairness or justice,' the Muslims Against Crusades website explained.
Police stepped in to separate the protesters and members of the English Defence League amid threats of violence from both sides. Though many were shocked that the protest was allowed to go ahead, coming as it did shortly after the verdict into the 7/7 inquest was released by Lady Justice Heather Hallett.
She recorded that the 52 victims had been 'unlawfully' killed when four terrorists attacked three London Underground trains and a bus in 2005. While the Metropolitan Police refused to answer questions about the extremist group asked by MailOnline directly, a 'police source' told the News of the World: 'The Met are constantly monitoring activity by Muslims Against Crusades.
'If a direct threat is made we will respond.'

BII to Issue up to IDR1.5 Tln Bonds

Workers construct a new toll road which will be connected from Depoks administration town to the capital city of Jakarta August 31, 2010. Indonesia is looking into infrastructure and green bonds, a senior advisor to the government said on Thursday, as the biggest economy in Southeast Asia is in need of billions of dollars for the sectors development.

PT Bank Internasional Indonesia will issue up to IDR1.5 trillion ($175 million) in seven-year bonds later this month to boost its capital base, the lender said Monday.
BII said the bonds, which will be offered at full face value, will carry a 10.75% annual coupon. Local ratings agency PT Pefindo has assigned an AA rating to the proposed issuance.
The bonds will be listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange May 20, the bank said.

Black Box of Indonesian Plane Found under Wreckage

Indonesian police and soldiers stand next to wreckage recovered from the Merpati Nusantara passenger plane crash in Kaimana on May 8, 2011. Indonesian search and rescue teams intensified underwater operations to recover bodies from the plane that crashed on May 7 into the sea in eastern Indonesia killing all 27 people on board, officials said.

Searchers on Sunday found more bodies and one black box from a passenger plane that crashed into the sea off eastern Indonesia with 25 people on board.
The device from the Chinese-made Xian MA60 twin turboprop was found in waters about 50 feet to 66 feet (15 meters to 20 meters) deep, said Efendi Rajaloa, chief of the local Search and Rescue Agency.
The plane belonging to state-run Merpati Nusantara Airlines crashed in heavy rain Saturday in Kaimana Bay about 500 yards (meters) short of the runway at Kaimana's airport. It had come from Sorong, also in West Papua province.
The recovered black box was the flight data recorder, said Bambang Ervan, a spokesman for the Transportation Ministry. The voice data recorder has been located and searchers could retrieve it Monday. The 20 divers have struggled in limited visibility to pull bodies from the wreckage covered in thick mud, said Rajaloa, who has led the search.
Four bodies were recovered Sunday and four are still missing, airline spokesman Imam Turidi said. Seventeen had been found Saturday. The passengers included one child and two infants.
Earlier, 27 people had been reported on board, but the company said Sunday two crewmen were counted twice. Officials have indicated survivors were unlikely given the condition of the wreckage. Air flight is the main transportation in Papua, the second biggest of Indonesia's more than 17,000 islands.
The nation of 235 million people has been plagued by transportation accidents in recent years, from plane and train crashes to ferry sinkings. Overcrowding, aging infrastructure and poor safety standards are often to blame.

SBY: Nuclear NOT Indonesia's First Option

Members of the Indonesia Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (BAPETEN) scan passengers arriving from Japan for radiation exposure at the Sukarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta March 18, 2011. World Health Organisation (WHO) authorities believe the spread of radiation from a quake-crippled nuclear plant in Japan remains limited and appears to pose no immediate risk to health.

Nuclear energy is not an Indonesian first option when it comes to finding new sources of energy, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said here on Sunday.
The president made the statement after reading out several points from a meeting with all ASEAN leaders in the the 18th ASEAN Summit at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) in May 7-8.
"In view of the catastrophe that struck Jaspan in its Fukushima power plant recently, all the parties concerned had been urged to conduct more research of the advantages and disadvantages of developing a nuclear power in their country. For Indonesia, we prefer other energy resources, not nuclear energy," the president said.
Yudhoyono said while some circles argued that nuclear power is a strategic long-term solution to new energy resources, others believed that it is better to use other resources of power. But one thing is sure, president pointed out, all ASEAN leaders had agreed to reduce the region’s dependence on fossil fuel.
In March 11, 2011, Japan was devastated by a 9,0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands of people. The disaster also caused damage to the Fukushima power plant near the sea.
The atomic plant, with its reactor cooling system knocked out, had a series of explosions which caused a radiation leakage into the air, ground and sea in the world`s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in Russia 25 years ago.
The local government had imposed a no-go zone of 20 kilometers (12 miles) around the plant, giving legal weight to an exclusion zone for fears of the effects of long-term exposure to radiation on residents.
More than 85,000 people have moved to shelters from areas around the plant, including from a wider 30-kilometer zone, where people were first told to stay indoors and later urged to leave.

Ajinomoto to Build 2nd Seasonings Plant in Indonesia

Japanese food group Ajinomoto Co President and Chief Executive Officer Masatoshi Ito smiles as he holds the companys leading product, "Ajinomoto Monosodium Glutamate Seasoning" at his office in Tokyo December 2, 2010. Masatoshi Ito climbed the corporate ladder at Japans leading condiment maker, Ajinomoto Co, as much in his kitchen as in meeting rooms or in board room jousts.

Ajinomoto Co. plans to increase its output capacity for flavored seasonings in Indonesia by 50% by constructing its second factory there in autumn 2012 at a total cost of about Y4 billion, the Nikkei reported over the weekend.
The company plans to break ground this month on a roughly 170,000 sq. meter plot that it acquired on the outskirts of Jakarta. The plant to be built there will make seasonings that suit local tastes using chicken and beef extracts, with the products to be exported to the Middle East and Africa as well.
The new factory is expected to have the capacity to produce tens of thousands of tons a year. To make flavored seasonings, Ajinomoto adds such flavors as meat and fish extracts to its namesake monosodium glutamate seasoning.
Recently, Indonesian sales of flavored seasonings for soups and stir-fried dishes have been growing about 15% a year, outpacing the growth rate of several% a year for the basic Ajinomoto product. The Japanese firm is No. 1 in Indonesia, with a lead on Anglo-Dutch firm Unilever and local companies.

Forest Clearance Threatens Sumatran Tigers

A Sumatran tiger is caught by a WWF camera trap in Bukit Batabuh in Indonesias Riau province May 2010. Video and photo cameras hidden in an Indonesian forest has captured footage of a rare Sumatra tiger in the wild and a bulldozer clearing the same area a week later for palm oil plantations, conservationists WWF said on October 13, 2010. Habitat destruction has pushed Sumatran tigers to brink of extinction with just 400 left in Indonesia, from a worldwide tiger population of 3,200 said WWF. Picture taken May 2010.

Conservation group WWF Monday urged companies to drop plans to clear Indonesian forest areas where infra-red cameras have captured footage of rare Sumatran tigers and their cubs. The video recorded in March and April shows two mothers with four cubs and another six of the critically endangered big cats in the Bukit Tigapuluh wildlife reserve in eastern Sumatra.

“That was the highest number of tigers and tiger images obtained... we’ve ever experienced,” WWF tiger researcher Karmila Parakkasi said in a statement.

The 12 tigers are concentrated in locations with good forest cover, which includes natural forest inside a land concession belonging to Barito Pacific Timber, wood supplier to regional giant Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), the statement added.

“This video confirms the extreme importance of these forests in the Bukit Tigapuluh ecosystem and its wildlife corridor,” the WWF’s forest and species programme director Anwar Purwoto said.

“WWF calls for all concessions operating in this area to abandon plans to clear this forest and protect areas with high conservation value,” he added. “We also urge the local, provincial and central government to take into consideration the importance of this corridor and manage it as part of Indonesia’s commitments to protecting biodiversity,” he said.

There are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild. Environmental activists say the animals are increasingly coming into contact with people as a result of their natural habitat being lost due to deforestation for timber and palm oil plantations.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been under pressure from environmentalists to implement a promised two-year moratorium on the clearing of natural forest and peatland, which was due to begin January 1. Norway agreed in May last year to contribute up to $1 billion to help preserve Indonesia’s forests, in part through the moratorium.