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RI, Norway continue talks on gas emission reduction

2010-08-14T19:12:00.000+07:00

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian and Norway governments will discuss the continuation of the one-billion-dollar gas emission reduction loan, a minister said.

"Yesterday`s meeting with the Norwegian ambassador in Indonesia was relating with the REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) Plus cooperation and on August 18-19 an envoy from Norway will come to further discussthe matter," said Indonesian Economic Coordinating Minister Hatta Rajasa here Friday.

The discussion was about the first loan disbursement of 30 million U.S. dollars now in preparation for realization in 2014.

"The first phase withdrawal was supposed to be 200 million US dollars, but it was finally agreed at 30 million US dollars, and we will make gradual withdrawals up to one billion US dollars," he said.

Besides loan terms and conditions discussions also covered appointing provinces for the pilot project, establishment of a consultative group and a credible and internationally standard financial institution.

In the Letter of Intent (LoI) signed on May 26, 2010 it is mentioned that the 200 million US dollars funding instrument will begin to be implemented in 2011 by the Norway government.

The document also mentioned about the launching of the Provincial REDD Plus pilot project which will start in January 2011, and to be continued in the second province in 2012.

As the LoI follow-up, the government will set up three supporting institutions namely financial institutions, MRV (measurement, reporting and verification) agency, and the REDD Plus agency.(*)

Source : http://antaranews.com/en/news/1281748356/ri-norway-continue-talks-on-gas-emission-reduction

Bulog: Kenaikan Harga Dipicu Konsumsi Beras Premium

2010-08-14T19:09:00.000+07:00

Surabaya (ANTARA News) - Direktur Utama Perum Bulog Sutarto Alimoeso menilai kenaikan harga beras selama beberapa pekan terakhir ini dipicu oleh peningkatan konsumsi masyarakat akan beras kelas premium.

"Awalnya, kenaikan harga beras hanya terjadi di kelas premium. Ini yang mengakibatkan harga beras kelas medium tertarik ke atas," katanya di sela-sela inspeksi mendadak bersama para menteri di Pasar Wonokromo, Surabaya, Sabtu.

Saat ini, harga beras kelas premium, seperti Mentik dan Bengawan, di Surabaya sekitar Rp7.800,00 perkilogram, sedangkan medium, seperti IR-64, sekitar Rp6.800,00.

Di Jawa Timur, tingkat konsumsi beras kelas premium mencapai 40 persen sehingga wajar harga beras terus bergerak naik.

Namun, Sutarto menjamin kenaikan itu tidak akan berlangsung lama. "Harusnya Agustus ini harga sudah normal, karena sebagian daerah sudah panen," katanya.

Selain itu, upaya untuk menormalkan harga beras juga dilakukan dengan mempercepat penyaluran beras untuk rakyat miskin (raskin).

"Penyaluran bulan Agustus ini sekaligus untuk dua bulan, yakni Agustus dan September karena waktunya berdekatan dengan Lebaran," katanya.

Bulan ini, Bulog sendiri telah menyiapkan raskin sebanyak 530 ribu ton untuk penyaluran Agustus-September 2010.

Senada dengan itu, Kepala Divre Perum Bulog Jatim Agusdien Farid menambahkan setiap bulan pihaknya menyalurkan 46 ribu ton raksin untuk 3,079 juta rumah tangga miskin.

"Karena ada kebijakan percepatan penyaluran raskin ini, maka kami nanti harus menyiapkan 92 ribu ton," katanya.

Sementara itu, Direktur Jenderal Perdagangan Dalam Negeri Kementerian Perdagangan, Subagyo, mengatakan kenaikan harga kebutuhan pokok saat ini sudah tidak seekstrim menjelang bulan puasa.

"Pada awal-awal puasa, harga masih naik-turun, akan tetapi tidak seekstrim menjelang bulan puasa," katanya.

Pada awal bulan puasa, tingkat konsumsi masyarakat naik sekitar 15 persen. Kenaikan akan terjadi lagi hingga mencapai 20-30 persen menjelang Lebaran.

Kenaikan tertinggi, sebut dia, adalah harga daging sapi, sedangkan cabai sudah mulai mengalami penurunan hingga level Rp20.000,00 perkilogram.

Source : http://antaranews.com/berita/1281781504/bulog-kenaikan-harga-dipicu-konsumsi-beras-premium

Hillary Clinton Sampaikan Selamat Berpuasa

2010-08-12T11:29:00.002+07:00

New York (ANTARA News) - Menteri Luar Negeri Amerika Serikat Hillary Clinton menyampaikan ucapan selamat kepada kalangan masyarakat Muslim dalam menjalankan ibadah puasa di bulan Ramadan tahun ini.

Hillary juga mengungkapkan niatnya untuk berbuka puasa bersama dengan para diplomat asing di Washington, DC.

"Saya, mewakili Departemen Luar Negeri Amerika Serikat, mengucapkan selamat menjalani bulan Ramadan bagi masyarakat Muslim di seluruh dunia," kata Hillary dalam pernyataan yang dirilis pada Rabu.

Dalam pandangannya, menteri yang baru saja menikahkan puteri hasil perkawinannya dengan mantan Presiden Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, itu melihat bahwa Ramadan merupakan saat yang tepat untuk berbagi dan melakukan perenungan.

"Setiap harinya, para warga Muslim Amerika memberikan sumbangan yang berarti kepada negara kami dan jutaan warga akan menghormati bulan ini dengan kegiatan berbagi kepada masyarakatnya," ujar Hillary.

Ia mengungkapkan bahwa bersama sejumlah diplomat dari kedutaan-kedutaan asing di Washington DC, dirinya akan menjadi tuan rumah acara buka puasa bersama (Iftar).

Tidak hanya kalangan Muslim, Iftar itu juga akan dihadiri oleh kalangan non-Muslim dengan tujuan "untuk bersatu dan menunjukkan kesamaan yang kita miliki dalam hal nilai-nilai, kepercayaan dan kontribusi pada tahun sebelumnya".

Hillary mengatakan, acara buka puasa bersama itu juga ditujukan untuk memberikan penghormaan kepada para pemuda Muslim Amerika yang menyumbangkan semangat dan tenaga mereka dalam membangun masa depan AS.

"Para pengusaha muda ini, akademisi, pemimpin agama serta juga para warga muda Muslim di seluruh dunia merupakan pemimpin era baru yang dipenuhi dengan rasa saling menghargai dan kerjasama di antara warga dunia," imbuhnya.

Sebagian besar masyarakat muslim yang berada di Amerika, termasuk para warga Indonesia, mulai menjalankan ibadah puasa Ramadan tahun 2010 pada hari Rabu.

Pengumuman jatuhnya awal bulan Ramadan 1431 pada hari Rabu (11/8) itu antara lain diumumkan oleh Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA), juga oleh Masjid Al Hikmah --satu-satunya masjid yang dikelola masyarat Indonesia di New York.

Sebagian kalangan lagi di AS mempercayai bahwa Kamis (12/8) sebagai awal Ramadan.

Tidak ada data resmi yang menunjukkan jumlah populasi Muslim di AS karena sensus AS tidak memasukkan aspek agama dalam daftar catatan sensus.

Namun Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) memperkirakan bahwa jumlah warga muslim di Amerika Serikat dalam tahun 2010 mencapai 7 juta orang.

Source : http://antaranews.com/berita/1281586037/hillary-clinton-sampaikan-selamat-berpuasa

Air Force Two Gulingkan Pesawat Lain, Biden Selamat

2010-08-12T11:27:00.002+07:00

Washington (ANTARA News) - Pesawat resmi Wapres AS Joe Biden menggulingkan pesawat lain saat lepas landas, Rabu, dalam kecelakaan yang tidak menyebabkan korban, kata Angkatan Udara AS.

Pesawat kepresidenan yang dijuluki Air Force Two tersebut membawa Biden beserta istri, Jill, saat bergerak perlahan sebelum lepas landas dari Bandara West Hampton, negara bagian New York, 120 kilometer sebelah timur kota New York, sebagaimana dikutip dari AFP.

"Pesawat 757 itu mengakibatkan pesawat Piper Cub, yang berada berdekatan dengan area parkir Air Force Two, terangkat hingga menyebabkan sayap kiri Piper Cub rusak," demikian pernyataan Angkatan Udara.

"Wapres AS berada dalam penerbangan, tidak ada korban dan tidak ada orang dalam Piper Cub."

Boeing C-32, versi khusus dari 757, membawa keluarga Biden kembali ke Washington setelah berlibur bersama rekannya selama dua pekan di Hamptons, tempat berlibur musim panas yang terkenal bagi warga New York kalangan atas dan terletak di bagian timur New York, Long Island.

Source : http://antaranews.com/berita/1281582182/air-force-two-gulingkan-pesawat-lain-biden-selamat

President orders prompt action to help LPG blast victims

2010-08-10T23:29:00.001+07:00

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said victims of LPG canister blasts should be given medical help immediately.

"Victims (of gas cylinder blasts) must be helped immediately. It would be a humanitarian act," he said when chairing a plenary cabinet meeting at the State Secretariat here Tuesday.

The head of state also ordered every three kilogram gas canister and its regulator to be checked to ensure its safe use.

"I want every gas canister and its regulator to be in safe and in good condition. Please check it one by one. Don`t just take a sample," he said.

To inspect and check every three-kilogram-gas cylinder in the country, a bigger number of field officers was needed, he said.

At a working cabinet meeting in Bogor, West Java, last week, President Yudhoyono had also instructed related authorities to take further measures to resolve the unpredictable LPG explosions.

"I have asked related ministries and parties, including the state oil company, Pertamina, to take additional steps soon," he said.

President Yudhoyono also touched on the illegal LPG injection by irresponsible people.

In dealing with this problem, the head of state proposed that the LPG aroma should be made more smelly to enable gas stove users to detect leaked LPG cylinders.

President Yudhoyono also underlined the importance of public awareness campaigns by using "secure gas use" posters.

Since the government began implementing its kerosene-LPG conversion plan in 2007, at least 45 million packages of gas stoves and three-kilogram gas cylinders had been distributed to the people.

Since then, LPG canister explosions had increased in various parts of Indonesia.
In West Jakarta, for instance, 13 LPG canister blasts had occurred over the past seven months of 2010.

The accidents had caused 14 people to sustain serious burns and nine others light ones, Head of the West Jakarta fire brigade`s operational unit, Endang Choiruddin, said.

"The gas canister blasts that happened in Tanjung Duren Selatan, Grogol, Petamburan neighborhood on July 25, 2010 had caused the biggest number of victims so far," he said.

The three-kilogram gas cylinder explosions wounded ten people and damaged a house rented by a chicken porridge seller in the West Jakarta slum area, he said.

As the result of the three-kilogram gas canister-related blasts in Indonesia, an NGO activist had urged the government to issue a moratorium on the use of canisters of this type.

Chairman of the Sabang-Merauke Circle (SMS) Syahganda Nainggolan said the moratorium would accelerate efforts to withdraw three-kilogram canisters from market.

The government had to realize that unpredictable Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) blasts mostly involved three-kilogram canisters, he said.

Therefore, the government could not ignore the high risks the people were exposed to at any time, he said.

In response to deadly gas canister blasts occurring in various parts of Indonesia over the past months, the government had promised to withdraw all damaged and poor quality gas canisters.

By July 2010, the government had reportedly taken a million LPG canisters from the market to be then replaced with the good ones.

Besides that, the government was also committed to conducting door-to-door and community-to-community socialization programs so that gas stove users could understand the safest way of using LPG.

Source : http://antaranews.com/en/news/1281434815/president-orders-prompt-action-to-help-lpg-blast-victims

Four policemen killed in Baghdad clashes: officials

2010-08-08T23:26:00.000+07:00

Baghdad (ANTARA News/AFP) - A fierce gunbattle in a Sunni neighbourhood of the Iraqi capital on Saturday saw four policemen killed and 10 people wounded, including eight police, said an interior ministry official.

The clashes broke out about 2:00 am (2300 GMT) in Saidiyah, a stronghold of Al-Qaeda in southern Baghdad during the worst years of Iraq`s insurgency after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

They occurred after a man whose car was stolen traced it to a nearby house and informed the police who came under fire when they arrived, the official said.

"There was an exchange of fire from 2:00 am until dawn and four policemen were killed," he said. "Ten people, including eight policemen, were injured."

One wounded policemen who spoke to AFP from Yarmuk hospital in western Baghdad said a car bomb, a homemade bomb, a grenade, a silenced pistol and a rocket-propelled grenade were recovered during the clashes

Source : http://antaranews.com/en/news/1281216870/four-policemen-killed-in-baghdad-clashes-officials

Two Saudi border guards die in clash with smugglers

2010-08-08T23:25:00.000+07:00

Riyadh (ANTARA News/Reuters) - Drug smugglers shot dead two Saudi border guards in a clash along Saudi Arabia`s restive border with Yemen, official Saudi media reported on Saturday.

The clash along a porous border that has seen conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemeni Shi`ite rebels, took place near the Majaza border post in the southern Saudi province of Asir on Friday, the official SPA news agency said.

"Border patrols on a routine reconnaissance operation spotted a group of 15 smugglers who were trying to cross the border for the purpose of trafficking," SPA quoted a border command spokesman as saying.

"When they were warned to retreat to where they came from, they started shooting from several locations."

The smugglers eventually retreated but the spokesman did not say if there were any casualties among them.

Saudi authorities seized 500 kg (1,100 pounds) of hashish after the clash.

The agency also reported that border officers have seized 408 kg of the same drug over the past three days in the southern Jazan province, which also borders Yemen.

Saudi Arabia was drawn into a conflict last year with Yemeni Shi`ite rebels along the border, but Saudi officials use the term "infiltrators" to refer to those rebels.

Tensions between government forces and Yemeni Houthi Shi`ite rebels have returned to the northern part of Yemen, where the border with Saudi Arabia lies, after Yemeni authorities agreed to a truce with the Houthis in February.

The truce helped halt a conflict that has raged on and off since 2004 and displaced 350,000 people.

But instability still threatens Yemen, including from al Qaeda and southern separatist rebels.

Source : http://antaranews.com/en/news/1281200272/two-saudi-border-guards-die-in-clash-with-smugglers

Tourist pay higher entrace fees for Unesco heritage sites

2010-08-06T23:24:00.000+07:00

Beijing (ANTARA News/Xinhua-OANA) - Wang Ye, a 27-year-old Beijinger, ordered flight tickets and hotel reservations on Thursday for her coming vacation destination - the China Danxia Landform, recently named a UNESCO World Heritage site.

"I moved my plans for Danxia two months ahead", she told China Daily, as "prices and the numbers of tourists might increase soon."

Indeed, in recent months, she noted, ticket prices have "skyrocketed" at other newly named UNESCO sites.

She pointed to entrance fees at Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan province, which had increased from 108 yuan ($16) to 220 yuan, as just one example.

Some say it is worth the price. "The first-class scenery deserves first-class prices," Huang Dawei, director of the management committee of Danxia Mountain, was quoted by a Guangzhou-based Information Times as saying on Thursday.

"The cost will increase regarding a series of protection actions," he added.
The ticket price for Danxia Mountain is now 100 yuan for an adult, and 120 yuan on holidays - 50 percent less than the price in some World Cultural Heritage in China, Huang said.

Huang added that discounts for local residents could be available in the future, although he declined to offer further details.

Nestled in the Songshan Mountain of Central China`s Henan province, the historic architectural complex of the Shaolin Temple was also added to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list on Saturday.

The ticket price of Shaolin Temple, the home of Chinese kungfu and Zen Buddhism, will remain the same, according to a local official.

Source : http://antaranews.com/en/news/1281093303/tourist-pay-higher-entrace-fees-for-unesco-heritage-sites

Meeting reviews MDGs and agree on Jakarta Declaration

2010-08-06T23:23:00.000+07:00

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Ministers reviewing Asia and Pacific Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Jakarta on Wednesday agreed to the Jakarta Declaration.

The Declaration, according to the foreign ministry in Jakarta, carried a review on the current political situation in the Asia and Pacific region, both on the successes and obstacles in reaching the MDGs.

It also carried further action plans in the countries in regions underlining the importance of regional financial stability, financial support including government development assistance, the different needs of the countries in the region, and closer cooperation in the region with international institutions and the private sector.

In his closing address at the two-day meeting, August 3 and 4, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty M Natalegawa underlined the importance of the ministerial meeting as part of the regional effort to ensure national commitments and international cooperation in poverty eradication, meeting rights for education, and development in the sector of health, and environmental protection.

The foreign minister also underlined the important role played by the Asia and Pacific countries in the global achievement of the MDGs, up to a joint action plan in facing challenges and problems.

In the meeting, the participants had an exchange of views on the latest situation in the region, especially with regard to the many challenges and opportunities in meeting the MDGs in 2015.

In this context, the countries in the Asia Pacific region also strengthen their commitment to increase their cooperation in facing the various challenges in the region, including by way of innovative funding and regional cooperation.

Besides being attended by ministers and government high officials the meeting was also attended by international and regional resource persons as well as representatives from public and private organizations.

On the sidelines of the meeting -- attended by the foreign ministers and the relevant ministers from 30 countries in the Asia and Pacific region, high government officials from 20 G-20 member countries, and partner countries as well as representatives of various international organizations-- had also signed a commitment on the Indonesian private sector in meeting the MDGs.

The results of the meeting are expected to also give an added value to the process and results of the UN conference in New York on September 20 to 22, and the G-20 summit in November 2010 in Seoul.

Source : http://antaranews.com/en/news/1280941205/meeting-reviews-mdgs-and-agree-on-jakarta-declaration

RI, Malaysia to sign new MoU on migrant workers

2010-08-04T23:22:00.000+07:00

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said Indonesia and Malaysia would sign a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Indonesian migrant workers in the neighboring country by mid August 2010.

"Some of the subject matters of the MoU were settled during meetings with Malaysian representatives last month. The only problem left now is about the cost of sending Indonesian workers to Malaysia," said the minister here on Tuesday.

Previously, Indonesia had objected to the Malaysian government`s proposal to set the transportation costs for migrant workers from Medan, Jakarta and Kalimantan at the same amount.

The salary of the workers was also among the tough issues during the negotiations as the Malaysian government proposed 500 Ringgit per month and Indonesia insisted it should not be less than 800 Ringgit.

Muhaimin did not say whether both sides had agreed on the two subject matters. However, he said Indonesia and Malaysia were committed to sign the MoU as soon as possible at the latest by August this year.

Last June 2009 Indonesia freezed its supply of maids to Malaysia following some cases of maid abuse and lack of benefits, absence of a minimum monthly salary and no provision for day-offs.

Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta last May 18 signed a Letter of Intent to give a new dimension to the employment of domestic workers in Malaysia and the two countries agreed on revised terms to be included in a new MoU scheduled to be signed at the latest in July 2010.

However, due to the tough going in the negotiations on several issues, the July time frame could not be kept.

Source : http://antaranews.com/en/news/1280879251/ri-malaysia-to-sign-new-mou-on-migrant-workers

Japan approves UN sanctions on Iran

2010-08-04T23:21:00.000+07:00

Tokyo (ANTARA News/AFP) - Japan imposed sanctions against Iran over its contentious nuclear programme on Tuesday in line with a UN resolution and said it plans to announce additional punitive measures later this month.

The cabinet of Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced the steps as the US State Department`s special adviser for non-proliferation and arms control Robert Einhorn was headed for Tokyo as part of an East Asian tour.

The measures include an asset freeze on 40 Iranian entities and one individual suspected of being involved in nuclear and missile development.

The UN Security Council in June slapped its fourth set of sanctions on Iran over its refusal to halt its uranium enrichment work, part of a nuclear programme which many nations fear masks a drive for nuclear weapons.

The United States, European Union, Canada and Australia have also announced additional sanctions, which have been opposed by Russia and China, now Iran`s closest trading partner, with major energy interests in the country.

Japan is also considering its own additional sanctions, the top government spokesman Yoshito Sengoku said.

"The government will push ahead with studying measures our country should take so that we will have a conclusion as soon as possible, by the end of August," Chief Cabinet Secretary Sengoku told a press conference.

"We believe we need to address the issue sternly to reach a diplomatic, peaceful solution," he said.

European foreign ministers last week adopted measures targeting Iran`s oil and gas industries, going beyond the latest UN sanctions.

The EU measures include a ban on the sale of technology and services to Iran`s energy sector, hitting activities in refining, liquefied natural gas, exploration and production, and a ban on investments in the energy sector.

Source : http://antaranews.com/en/news/1280826975/japan-approves-un-sanctions-on-iran

Aquino asks Filipinos` help in fight against graft

2010-08-02T23:19:00.000+07:00

Manila (ANTARA News/Reuters) - President Benigno Aquino III asked Filipinos on Sunday to help him fight the corruption that has dogged previous governments and become one of the major obstacles to developing the economy of their poor Southeast
Asian nation.

Aquino was speaking at the first anniversary of the death of his mother, former president Corazon Aquino, who is regarded in the country as a democracy heroine.

We can only end poverty if we fight corruption, and this is where everyone has a major role to play," Aquino said at a Catholic religious service attended by his family, the cabinet and hundreds of supporters, many clad in yellow, the signature colour of his mother.

"It can be done in simple ways, by showing common courtesy to strangers, by paying taxes, by following traffic rules and by disposing of our waste properly.

"We can do even more by reporting any wrongdoing that might be brought to our attention. Let us challenge ourselves and our leaders to brave the straight path," he said.

Aquino was a congressman and a senator when his mother, who was president from 1986 to 1992, died of colon cancer a year ago. Her death sparked an outpouring of emotions that helped him win the presidential elections in May.

Aquino, who took office on June 30, has pledged to fix a large budget deficit, endemic corruption, widespread poverty and two long-running insurgencies by Maoist and Muslim rebels.

After two administrations dogged by allegations of corruption and mismanagement, he also faced an enormous weight of public expectation for him to deliver, which could prove to be a burden given his reforms will take time to produce results.

In his first State of the Nation address in late July, he said the government would create a business and investor-friendly environment to attract funds needed to improve infrastructure.

Source : http://antaranews.com/en/news/1280689807/aquino-asks-filipinos-help-in-fight-against-graft

Two mine accidents in China leave 17 dead

2010-08-02T23:18:00.000+07:00

Taiyuan/Harbin (ANTARA News/Xinhua-OANA) - The death toll in an explosion at a coal mine in Linfen City of north China`s Shanxi Province early Saturday has risen to 17 after another two bodies were found, local authorities said.

The blast at Liugou Coal Mine of Yicheng County also left 104 persons injured, seven of them seriously, as of 11 p.m. Saturday, said Wang Jianshe, head of the county`s People`s Hospital, where all the injured were admitted.

All the injured are in stable condition, Wang said.

Basic search and rescue work is over, said a senior official of Yangquan Coal Industry (Group) Co. Ltd, which owns the mine. The official said that the blast took place in the dormitory area, where most of buildings were destroyed by the powerful explosion.

A miner surnamed Zhang told Xinhua that families of many miners had come to live here because the children were currently on their summer vacation.

But officials so far have not disclosed how many children and women had died during the accident.

Zhang said he saw a couple died after huge stones fell on them in a dormitory room.
Initial investigation showed that the blast was caused by explosives hidden illegally in the area, and a suspect has been detained by the police, the official said.

A further Investigation into the cause of the blast is underway.

Also on Saturday, 24 people were trapped in a flooded coal mine in northeast China`s Jixi City, Heilongjiang Province.

The city government said the accident at Hengxinyuan Mine took place at around 5 p.m. Saturday. No further detail is available immediately.

Source : http://antaranews.com/en/news/1280654539/two-mine-accidents-in-china-leave-17-dead

Bomb explodes in Bangkok, seriously wounding man

2010-07-30T23:17:00.000+07:00

Bangkok (ANTARA News/Reuters) - A bomb exploded in Bangkok early on Friday, seriously wounding a man and stoking fears of civil unrest following a deadly blast five days ago and violent anti-government protests in April and May.

The government denounced the blast as an attempt to damage its attempts to maintain public order following the prolonged unrest earlier this year. An opposition leader said the incident was aimed at discrediting anti-government activists.

Police said a grenade tied with an oiled rubber band and wrapped in a garbage bag exploded at about 2 a.m. (1900 GMT Thursday) in an alley near Victory Monument, a transportation hub usually choked with traffic and surrounded by hospitals,
military compounds and nightclubs.

"I do not want to speculate on the cause at this point and whether it`s politically motivated or an attempt to stir chaos," said Metropolitan Police Chief Lieutenant General Santarn Chayanond.

No group took responsibility for the attack which followed a blast that killed one person and wounded 10 on Sunday in a shopping district occupied by tens of thousands of "red shirt" protesters for seven weeks until a May 19 army crackdown.

Jatuporn Prompan, an anti-government protest leader, condemned the attack, which wounded a garbage collector. "We condemn anyone who carried out such act of cowardice in an attempt to discredit the opposition," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thugsuban said whoever carried it out was using violence to "make the government look like it`s not in control of the situation".

Several workers in the area said they believed the attack was brought on by a local dispute over illegal parking by taxi vans and was not politically motivated.

STATE OF EMERGENCY

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva lifted a state of emergency in six provinces on Thursday, but said the special security law would remain in place in 10 others, including Bangkok.

The emergency decree has been in force since April, giving security forces broad powers to deal with anti-government protests which spiralled into the worst political violence in modern Thai history when demonstrators clashed with troops in
April and May, leaving 90 people dead and at least 1,800 wounded.

Sunday`s bomb exploded shortly after polls closed in a Bangkok by-election in which a ruling party politician narrowly defeated a jailed red shirt anti-government protest leader representing the opposition.

The state of emergency bans political gatherings of more than five people and gives the government powers to impose curfew and censor media and detain suspects without charge for 30 days.

Voters in the north and northeast, hotbeds of anti-government activists, broadly support former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006 and is
wanted on terror charges for his alleged role in orchestrating the May riots.

Source : http://antaranews.com/en/news/1280472238/bomb-explodes-in-bangkok-seriously-wounding-man

Australia tightens sanctions on Iran

2010-07-30T23:15:00.000+07:00

Sydney (ANTARA News/AFP) - Australia Thursday tightened its sanctions on Iran in a fresh bid to convince Tehran to allay international concerns over its nuclear drive.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said the new measures target more than 100 Iranian groups and companies, and restrict Australian business dealings with the country`s oil and gas sector.

"In adopting this package, Australia stands at the forefront of international community efforts to have Iran meet its international obligations in relation to its nuclear program, one of the most serious security challenges facing the international community," he said.

The measures also include a ban on trading weapons and items which could be used for nuclear, chemical or biological arms or missiles.

They follow this month`s new United Nations Security Council resolution against Iran and fresh sanctions announced by the European Union and Canada.(*)

Source : http://antaranews.com/en/news/1280408295/australia-tightens-sanctions-on-iran

Passenger jet crashes in Pakistan, 152 on board

2010-07-28T23:14:00.000+07:00

Islamabad (ANTARA News/Reuters) - A commercial Pakistani passenger plane with 152 people on board crashed in bad weather in hills near the capital, Islamabad, on Wednesday, officials said.

Five bodies had been recovered from the crash site in the forested Margalla hills near the city, an official said.

The jet, belonging to private airliner Airblue, lost contact with the control room of the Islamabad International Airport at 0443 GMT while flying from the southern port city of Karachi.

"We have sent fire engines to the site, so far five dead bodies have ben recovered," Imtiaz Elahi, chairman of the Capital Development Authority, told reporters.

The plane was carrying 146 passengers and six crewmen.

"We are gathering information. We have no more details," said Mubarik Shah, a spokesman for the state-run Civil Aviation Authority.

A thick blanket of cloud and smoke could be seen rising from the heavily wooded crash site. A helicopter hovered overhead and flames licked at trees and what appeared to be wreckage from the plane, television pictures showed.

"It was raining. I saw the plane flying very low from the window of my office," witness Khadim Hussain said.

Pakistan`s AAJ television showed columns of smoke billowing from the ground.

Rescue workers were making their way on foot with some difficulty through the difficult terrain.

The military said it had sent three helicopters to the site and troops had also been moved there.

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani ordered authorities to control the fire immediately and rescue passengers.

Reports said there had been heavy monsoon rains in the area for at least a couple of days.

Airblue began operations in 2004 with a fleet of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft, the company said on its website (www.airblue.com).

Forty-five people were killed when a passenger plane belonging to Pakistan International Airlines crashed near the central city of Multan in 2006.

Source : http://antaranews.com/en/news/1280311305/passenger-jet-crashes-in-pakistan-152-on-board

Government takes care of national press in Azerbaijan

2010-07-28T23:11:00.001+07:00

Jakarta (ANTARA News/AzerTAc) - On July 21 and 22, President of Azerbaijan signed a whole package of the orders, concerning strengthening of material base of mass-media and social protection of journalists.

As many as 32 newspapers and 8 news agencies of the country were allocated 20 thousand and 10 thousand AZN (or about 25 thousand and 13 thousand dollars), accordingly, as lump sum financial assistance, and there was no any selectivity: the money greater part of which will go on the hardware equipment of editions, was granted equally both to pro-government media bodies, and the oppositional mass media, criticizing the authorities on a daily basis.

Perhaps, the decision of the President on allocation of five million AZN from the reserve fund on building of an apartment house for journalists aroused the greatest pleasure in media community.

Many mark the swiftness of acceptance of this decision: the question on housing problems has been raised in the morning at the meeting of the head of state with members of the Board of Press Council and some hours later Ilham Aliyev signed the order, having allocated the impressive sum for house building.

Rewarding of 92 journalists with the high states awards for merits in development of the national press became not a less pleasant event, and in this case there was no discrimination: awarding list included not only employees of the pro-governmental editions, but also the journalists working in independent and oppositional mass-media.

The free press in Azerbaijan rapidly develops after the country regained its independence.

The holiday of the national press is, itself, the product of independence as it was marked at the initiative of the national leader Heydar Aliyev since 2000 in memory of the first newspaper in the Azerbaijani language "Ekinchi" (The Plowman), published in second half of XIX century.

The small statistics gives expressive representation about press development during the last years. In Azerbaijan, where a handful of newspapers and magazines were published in the Soviet period, now there are over 30 daily and 100 weekly newspapers representing interests of all social classes, eight republican and 14 regional TV channels.

The number of Internet users in the country exceeds 40 percent what testifies an openness of the modern Azerbaijan society.

At a beautiful two-storied residence located in one of the foregrounds of Baku ? the new office of the Press Council, which opened its doors on the occasion of the anniversary of the national press, a meeting of President Ilham Aliyev with members of the Board of this independent structure playing the role of a link between the society and mass media took place.

This is not, in itself, ordinary enough phenomenon - face to face conversation of the head of the country with representatives of media about their troubles ? a real rarity even in the countries with centuries-old democratic traditions.

At the meeting, the President has responded to the crucial issues of the modern national press, beginning from professionalism and responsibility of journalists to their social protection. The head of the state promised personal support in solution of the advertising questions, adoption of law on defamation and fighting against ?racket journalism? causing serious damage to image of the country`s mass-media.

All this can possibly be regarded as, to a certain extent, a message, in particular, to a number of the international organizations, which in their reports at times write about problems ostensibly available in Azerbaijan between the state and mass-media.

But celebrating of anniversary of the national press has demonstrated that the government has a serious and attentive attitude to media is interested in formation of the independent and strong press in the country as important public institution, and national interests of Azerbaijan are the main criterion for it as much as in all spheres.

Source : http://antaranews.com/en/news/1280235893/government-takes-care-of-national-press-in-azerbaijan

BNI Danai Pembangunan Tangcity Mall

2010-07-26T05:57:00.000+07:00

Tangerang (ANTARA News) - Untuk mempercepat pembangunan Tangcity (Tangerang City) Mall yang saat ini pembangunan strukturnya sudah mencapai 60 persen, PT. Pancakarya Griyatama menggandeng Bank BNI untuk memberikan dukungan berupa falisitas pendanaan untuk pembangunan Tangcity Mall.

Vice Predisident Director PT Pancakarya Griyatama, Ian Wisan, MBA di Tangerang Minggu (25/) mengatakan, fasilitas pinjaman ini merupakan nilai tambah lainnya yang kami berikan untuk memanjakan para pembeli shop atau counter Tangcity Mall, sebelumnya kami meluncurkan layanan purna jual buy back guarantee 100 persen.

Menurutnya, pendanaan dari BNI ini untuk memberi dukungan kepada PT Pancakarya Griyatama yang telah berkomitmen akan menyelesaikan pembangunan tepat waktu untuk mengejar pembukaan Tangcity Mall pada pertengahan 2011.

Sementara itu, BNI memberikan fasilitas pinjaman sebesar Rp 300 miliar dengan masa pengembalian selama enam tahun. Pendanaan PT Pancakarya Griyatama sendiri, sebelumnya ditopang oleh modal sendiri dan modal dari konsumen (pre selling).

Selain didukung oleh Bank BNI, pengembang Tangcity Mall juga memperoleh dukungan dari PT Pembangunan Perumahan (PP) (Persero) untuk menghasilkan produk property PT Pancakarya Griyatama yang berkualitas.

"Kualitas property kami memiliki kualitas yang bagus, bisa dibandingkan dengan property yang ada di Indonesia, karena beton yang kami pake berasal dari BUMN/Persero" kata Direktur Utama PT Pancakarya Griyatama, Yogi Yogaswara.

Tak heran jika 70 persen dari unit shop dan ditawarkan pengembang telah diserbu oleh para pengusahan dan pedagang.

Sambung Ian, karena ini merupakan bisnis jangka panjang, kami berikan kenyaman pada konsumen. Seperti yang telah dilakukan pada pembanguna ruko disekitar Mall, konsumen mendapatkan keuntungan minimal 60 persen, bahkan ada yang sampai 120 persen atas kenaikan harga.

"Setelah konsumen puas dengan kami, dikemudian hari, penjualan untuk proyek kami selanjutnya akan lebih mudah, karena mereka akan menceritakan pengalamannya menjadi konsumen kami," ucap Ian.

Source : http://antaranews.com/berita/1280093652/bni-danai-pembangunan-tangcity-mall

Festival Lima Gunung Dibuka Dengan Sesaji di Kayangan Suroloyo

2010-07-26T05:55:00.000+07:00

Batara Surya seakan ingin mengintip mereka yang berarak secara takzim menghadap Batara Guru di Suroloyo, puncak tertinggi Pegunungan Menoreh, di perbatasan antara Kabupaten Magelang, Jawa Tengah dan Kulon Progo, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta.

Berbicaralah dewa itu menghaturkan permintaan kepada Batara Bayu supaya meniupkan kabut tebal penyelimut tempat yang dalam dunia pewayangan disebut sebagai kayangan itu.

Angin yang berarak di puncak perbukitan itu pun memberi kesempatan sekejap kepada Sang Surya untuk mengintip seniman petani Komunitas Lima Gunung (KLG) Magelang yang sedang menggelar sesaji pembuka Festival Lima Gunung (FLG) IX pada 2010.

Mereka yang mengenakan berbagai pakaian adat Jawa model petani dan properti lainnya secara kontemporer itu saling menunjukkan jarinya dan mendongakkan kepala ke arah matahari. Sang Surya mereka lihat telah berada di atas bukit itu tanpa memencarkan silaunya karena sinarnya tersaring oleh tipisnya kabut.

Matahari yang mereka lihat pagi itu tidak keluar dari cakrawala tetapi telah berdiri dengan gagah di balik kabut tipis. Benda penyinar jagat raya itu seakan bergantung di langit di atas bukit, bagaikan bulan berwarna putih yang enggan masuk peraduannya.

Puluhan pasang kaki melangkah menaiki secara tekun ratusan tangga Suroloyo hingga puncaknya di ketinggian sekitar 900 meter dari permukaan air laut. Pagi terasa dingin menyapa perjalanan tirakat mereka. Terpaan kabut dan gemuruh tiupan angin mengiring langkah pasti mereka dipimpin oleh pemimpin tertinggi KLG, Sutanto Mendut.

Belasan orang dengan baju ala Jawa motif lurik, celana congklang warna hitam, berbalut kain motif batik di pinggang dan bertutup kepala "iket", serta properti selempang kain putih, melangkah sambil mengusung bentangan kain warna kuning sepanjang sekitar 20 meter, menuju puncak kayangan itu.

Denting beberapa lonceng besi berwarna kuning emas dan berukir indah itu sesekali dikebas sejumlah seniman lainnya. Suaranya menembus gemuruh sapaan angin. Suara engahan napas para petirakat tak terdengar saat mereka bertekun menjalani prosesi pembuka festival tahunan yang pada 2010 dipusatkan di kawasan Pegunungan Menoreh itu.

Ismanto, seniman lereng Gunung Merapi berjalan perlahan membawa "ancak" (ayaman bambu) 15 meter persegi berisi sesaji antara lain ingkung, jajan pasar, bunga mawar merah dan putih, aneka buah dan sayuran, serta puluhan batang dupa dengan ujung berwarna merah sebagai tanda bara menyala.

Diletakkannya sesaji itu di bawah arca batu Dewa Syiwa setinggi satu meter yang dalam dunia wayang dikenal sebagai Batara Guru di puncak Suroloyo itu.

Iringan tembang Jawa dilantunkan petinggi Padepokan "Tjipto Boedojo Tutup Ngisor" lereng Merapi, Sitras Anjlin. Seorang lelaki tua namun bertubuh kekar berasal dari Gunung Merbabu, Cipto, sambil memegang cobek berisi kembang mawar merah putih, berdiri di samping patung Batara Guru dengan mulut terlihat berkomat-kamit, seakan meluncurkan darasan doa melalui "Ritus Ondo Gunung".

"Kami menghaturkan sesaji," kata Ismanto lirih sambil bersila di depan Batara Guru.

Angin kembali terasa bergerak lebih cepat, tetesan embun pagi menerpa para petirakat itu seakan menjadi simbol berkat para dewa bagi mereka untuk perhelatan seni dan budaya selama seminggu, hingga 1 Agustus 2010.

Matahari seakan kembali bersembunyi di balik kabut tebal itu. Puluhan seniman petani itu serasa berdiam diri di tengah kabut putih puncak kayangan, tak terdengar sekecap pun suara, suasana terasa sunyi dan lengang. Hanya mereka dengan alam gunungnya

"Ini perjumpaan tak terduga, pertemuan antarmanusia bersahaja yang selalu menggali ketulusan dan cinta kasih dengan alamnya," kata Sutanto ketika merefleksikan tentang FLG IX bertema "Satrio Sudro (Ngulandoro)" itu.

Suroloyo dalam dunia pewayangan sebagai tempat bersemayam Batara Guru, dewa tertinggi pewayangan, seolah menjadi tempat seniman KLG sejenak merefleksikan perjalanan kebudayaan mereka di kawasan lereng Gunung Merapi, Merbabu, Andong, Sumbing, dan Pegunungan Menoreh.

Mereka, katanya, menemukan kesadaran tertinggi betapa sembilan tahun terakhir kehidupan sederhana sebagai petani desa dan gunung di Magelang. Mereka secara intensif bertekun dengan seni budaya dan alam sosial pertanian telah menempatkan diri dalam peta perubahan kebudayaan Indonesia.

Nama "Lima Gunung" telah identik dengan ketenaran mereka sebagai seniman petani. Kiprah dan tuangan karya mereka dalam bentuk pementasan seni tradisional, kontemporer, dan kolaborasi tak hanya sebatas lokal, namun menembus secara indah, cerdas, menakjubkan, dan mandiri di berbagai pusat kota besar.

Karya gerak tari, lantunan sastra tembang, musik tradisional dan kontemporer, serta performa kolaborasi seni mereka pada berbagai kegiatan baik di tingkat lokal, nasional maupun internasional mengusung kritik sosial atas peristiwa kemanusiaan. Mereka menyuguhkannya secara kultural dan dalam nuansa damai.

Ketua Panitia FLG IX, Riyadi, menjelaskan tentang tema "Sudro Satrio (Ngulandoro)" untuk perhelatan seniman KLG mulai 25 Juli hingga 1 Agustus 2010 itu.

Kata "Sudro" sebagai kesadaran atas mereka sebagai golongan petani yang identik dengan masyarakat bawah, "Satrio" untuk menyebut mereka yang rendah itu namun ternyata berjiwa kesatria, sedangkan "Ngulandoro" sebagai perjalanan petualangan mereka selama menebarkan nilai kebudayaan bagi kepentingan kemajuan peradaban dan kemanusiaan.

"Perjalanan kebudayaan kami adalah perjalanan nilai," kata Riyadi yang juga pimpinan komunitas seniman petani Merbabu itu.

Untuk memulai festival itu, katanya, mereka yang bersahaja sebagai petani itu dengan sikap kesatria, memberanikan diri berpetualang spiritual ke puncak kayangan guna menyampaikan doa dan refleksinya, di Suroloyo, tempat bersemayam dewa tertinggi.

Sitras yang komunitasnya di Merapi berbasis kesenian wayang orang itu mengatakan, "Suroloyo" berasal dari dua kata yakni "Suro" berarti berani dan "Loyo" berarti mati.

"Kehadiran kami secara kultural di Suroloyo ini, simbolisasi tekat kami, seniman petani lima gunung untuk kukuh bersikap kesatria, berani memperjuangkan nilai-nilai kemanusiaan hingga puncak tertinggi kehidupan, dengan jalan gerakan kebudayaan," katanya.

Mereka kemudian menuruni puncak Suroyolo untuk berpindah ke puncak bukit lainnya, Sariloyo, di dusun yang sama, Dusun Keceme, Desa Gerbosari, Kecamatan Samigaluh, Kabupaten Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta.

Komunitas setempat yang tergabung dalam Peguyuban Kesenian Gunung Sari, Desa Gergosari pimpinan Kemat, didampingi juru kunci Suroloyo, Parji, menyambut puluhan seniman lima gunung yang sedang mengenyam kelegaan nurani itu turun dari kayangan Suroloyo. Sambutan mereka itu dalam bentuk suguhan tarian tradisional jatilan.

Kemeriahan di Sariloyo terkesan menyeruak ketika seniman petani KLG itu menimpali dengan kolaborasi secara spontan berupa performa wayang golek oleh Jono, Ipang, dan Cipto Purnomo, teatrikal melukis apel oleh Dedy Paw, performa gerak oleh Sitras Anjilin dengan anggota komunitasnya "Tjipto Boedojo Tutup Ngisor", performa olah dukun Merbau oleh Cipto, dan tarian barong kontemporer oleh Ismanto dengan grup teaternya, "Gadung Mlati".

Setelah turun dari kayangan Suroloyo itu, KLG bakal melanjutkan agenda festival tahunan mereka antara lain melalui pameran instalasi "Karma Rasa" di Dusun Ngampel, Desa Sengi, Kecamatan Dukun, Kabupaten Magelang, di lereng barat Gunung Merapi, pergelaran "Lengger Lima Gunung" oleh komunitas seniman petani "Cahyo Budoyo Sumbing" pimpinan Sumarno di Desa Krandegan, Desa Sukomakmur, Kecamatan Kajoran, Kabupaten Magelang, di lereng Gunung Sumbing".

Selain itu pentas tradisi "Kuda Kepang Papat" oleh komunitas seniman Mantran, Kecamatan Ngablak, Kabupaten Magelang, di lereng Gunung Andong, pimpinan Supadi, performa teater tenang menembus dini hari bertajuk "Sungai Malam" yang dimainkan secara kolaboratif oleh seniman "Gadung Mlati" dengan penari Muntilan, Waskito, dan pertunjukkan silaturahim berbagai kelompok seniman petani KLG di kawasan Candi Mendut, Kabupaten Magelang.

"Kami mengandalkan kekuatan pikiran, idealisme, inspirasi, suara nurani desa dan gunung, serta diperkaya dengan ide-ide tentang ruang dan waktu. Intinya, ini festival tentang kemandirian manusia," kata Sutanto.

Spurce : http://antaranews.com/berita/1280087842/festival-lima-gunung-dibuka-dengan-sesaji-di-kayangan-suroloyo

Akupuntur Dipilih Untuk Obati Panyakit Menahun, Tingkatkan IQ

2010-07-25T05:53:00.000+07:00

Banyuwangi (ANTARA News) - Warga Banyuwangi, Jawa Timur, mulai melirik metode pengobatan akupuntur karena biayanya lebih murah, juga diyakini lebih manjur untuk mengobati penyakit menahun.

Tony S. Suhargo, seorang akupunturis Banyuwangi Kepada ANTARA, Minggu, menjelaskan, pasien yang datang ke tempat praktiknya terus bertambah setiap bulannya.

"Mereka pada umumnya pasien yang menderita asam urat, migran dan sakit lambung," katanya.

Kenaikan animo masyarakat menjalani pengobatan asal daratan China itu mencapai 10 persen dari rata-rata 250 orang pasien yang dalam setiap bulannya. Mereka mengaku sangat cocok berobat dengan metode pengobatan akupuntur. Bahkan, dalam satu kali kunjungan sudah merasakan manfaatnya.

Seperti yang pernah dialami pasiennya yang menderita sakit lambung bertahun-tahun dan sudah menjalani pengobatan medis umum. "Ternyata baru satu kali mendapat pelayanan sudah merasakan manfaatnya. Ini diutarakan ketika melakukan kunjungan yang kedua kalinya," ujar Toni.

Tony yang juga seorang dokter itu, menjelaskan ketertarikan pasien berobat dengan metode akupuntur adalah biayanya yang cukup murah, bahkan bila dibandingkan dengan pengobatan medis umum biayanya bisa ditekan hingga 50 persen.

Ia yang mendalami metode pengobatan akupuntur sejak tahun 1995 lalu dengan berguru langsung di negeri tirai bambu. Hasilnya diluar dugaan karena selama kurang lebih 15 tahun menekuni metode pengobatan tersebut sudah banyak pasien penyakit kronis yang ia sembuhkan, seperti penyakit diabetes dan asma. Bahkan, Tony juga mengaku pernah mengobati seorang wanita yang sudah 20 tahun tidak hamil.

Metode pengobatan akupuntur, kata Tony, hanya mencoba merangsang titik akupuntur supaya terjadi keseimbangan antara "YIN" yang merupakan unsur - unsur berpengaruh negatif dengan "YAN" yang merupakan unsur - unsur dalam tubuh yang membawa pengaruh positif. "Manusia sakit karena telah terjadi ketidakseimbangan antara hal yang negatif dengan positif. Karena itu metode pengobatan akupuntur hanya berupaya menyeimbangkan dua unsur yang saling berlawan tersebut," ungkap Tony.

Adapun sarana pengobatan akupuntur, meliputi jarum tradisional, tekanan, aquapuntur ("suntik"), moxa ("sejenis rokok") dan laser.

Dari sekian sarana tersebut, lanjut Tony, ia menggunakan aquapuntur bagi pasien - pasienya yang dewasa, sedang bagi pasiennya yang masih anak - anak menggunakan laser karena biasanya mereka takut ketika melihat jarum suntik.

Selain itu metode laser ini juga digunakan untuk perawatan kecantikan dan pelangsing tubuh.

Menurut Tony, sebagian besar pasien yang berobat adalah penderita asam urat yang mencapai 30 persen dari total pasien yang berobat. Sedang yang masih anak - anak adalah mereka yang mengalami ketertinggalan mental serta mereka yang ingin meningkatkan "IQ" atau ukuran kemampuan intelektual, analisis, logika dan rasio seseorang.

Source : http://antaranews.com/berita/1280084333/akupuntur-dipilih-untuk-obati-panyakit-menahun-tingkatkan-iq

Pilkada Depok Gagal Munculkan Figur Baru

2010-07-23T05:51:00.000+07:00

Depok (ANTARA News) - Mantan bakal calon wakil wali kota Depok, PDIP, Ali Fahmi Al-Habsyi mengatakan pilkada Depok gagal memunculkan figur baru, karena elit politisi muda masih tidak percaya diri merumuskan gerbong baru yang ditawarkan kepada masyarakat Depok.

"Saya membaca romantisme pertarungan tahun 2005 akan terulang lagi dalam pilkada ini. Figur lama pilkada 2005 akan kembali "menjajal hoki-nya" sebagai wali kota dalam pilkada sekarang," kata Ali Fahmi, di Depok, Minggu.

Keempat pasangan tersebut yang telah resmi mendaftar ke KPU Kota Depok adalah Yuyun Wira Saputra-Pradi Supriatna (Yudistira), Gagah Sunu Sumantri-Derry Drajat, Badrul Kamal-Supriyanto (BK-Pri) dan Nurmahmudi Ismail-Idris Abdul Shomad (Nur Berkhidmad).

Ia mengatakan jika mengunakan bahasa Bung Karno tahun 60-an Nefo and old nefo yang menampilkan citra new fashion (selera baru) ditengah-tengah tawaran munculnya kandidat old fashion (selera lama).

"Yang dibutuhkan PDI-P sekarang bukan sekedar rekemondasi, tapi kebersamaan dan soliditas yang memunculkan militansi untuk mencapai kemenangan," katanya.

Ali Fahmi mengatakan dirinya dipanggil DPP PDIP untuk memberikan analisa-analisa peta kekuatan di Depok berdasarkan demografi politik.

Menurut dia, masyarakat Depok 60 persen merupakan penglaju (berangkat pagi pulang malam) dan banyaknya migrasi pasangan-pasangan muda pemilih "berpendidikan" yang tinggal di perumahan-perumahan Depok 5 tahun terakhir.

Kedua, realitas di Depok munculnya "titik didih" Golkar dan Demokrat, dan PDI-P yang tercerai-berai. Ketiga, pertarungan pilkada terfokus pada 3 (tiga) kutub Old Fashion yang tampil kembali, maka menjaga soliditas diperlukan adanya "operasi by pass" untuk menurunkan "titik didih".

"Yang menarik bagi pemilih adalah menggabungkan figure dan koalisi kekuatan partai tengah parlemen menjadi kekuatan sigfinikan," jelasnya.

Untuk itu kata Ali Fahmi atas pertimbangan keluarga dan demi kebesaran partai minggu lalu secara resmi saya memutuskan mundur sebagai bakal calon wakil wali kota Depok dari PDIP Perjuangan, sejak minggu lalu.

"Mudurnya saya untuk memberi ruang yang luas bagi para kandidat balon wali kota dan wakil wali kota untuk melakukan analisa diri dan politik lebih jernih, akselerasi, kompromi dan komunikasi," katanya.

Dikatakannya setelah mundurnya saya, DPP menunggu kompromi-kompromi para kandidit tersebut. Tapi semua tergantung dari kemauan, kemampuan, dan jam terbang para balon dalam membaca situasi realita, menganalisa kekuatan dan bermanuver politik.

"Saya pribadi memutuskan kembali ke-'laptop' dalam keseharian saya sebagai analis saham dan investasi untuk beberapa lembaga keuangan," kata mantan caleg nomor 1 DPR RI tersebut.

Ia mengharapkan gaya berpolitik "tiang listrik" tidak digunakan, mereka harus luwes dan dapat membedakan lawan taktis atau strategis dan "teman taktis-strategis" baik dalam level mendapatkan rekomendasi maupun dalam level pertarungan di pilkada Oktober nanti," katanya.

Source : http://antaranews.com/berita/1280083650/pilkada-depok-gagal-munculkan-figur-baru

RI appointed chief of 2011 SEANWFZ commission

2010-07-21T07:04:00.000+07:00

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia has been appointed chairman of the session of the Commission for Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) in 2011.

Indonesia`s chairmanship of the SEANWFZ Commission will be effective as of January 2011, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Indonesia was appointed to the post at a meeting of SEANWFZ Commission held as part of ASEAN ministerial meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, also attended by Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa and Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto.

At the meeting of the SEANWFZ Commission on Monday, foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed to step up efforts to implement Plan of Action for the SEANWFZ Treaty, including continuing consultations with nuclear weapon states to see their views and support SEANWFZ.

By considering the positive results of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington in April 2010 and the Review Conference of the Parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty in May 2010, the ASEAN foreign ministers agreed to enhance coordination at multilateral forums on the issues relevant to ASEAN and the implementation of SEANWFZ Treaty.

The SEANWFZ treaty, signed by all ASEAN members in 1995 and coming into force in 1997, expresses the region`s desire to contribute towards general and complete nuclear disarmament and the promotion of international peace and security.

Minister Djoko Suyanto and Miniter Marty Natalegawa also attended the 4th session of the ASEAN Political and Security Community (APSC) Council.

The sessions were chaired by Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem and attended by all ASEAN foreign ministers. Vietnam is currently a rotating ASEAN chairman. (*)

Source : http://antaranews.com/en/news/1279650358/ri-appointed-chief-of-2011-seanwfz-commission

Vietnamese PM calls on ASEAN to boost regional cooperation

2010-07-21T07:03:00.000+07:00

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung called on Southeast Asian countries to take concrete steps in boosting cooperation in the region.

The Vietnamese PM made the call when opening the 43rd ASEAN foreign ministers meeting (AMM) in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Tuesday.

He also called on ASEAN member countries to boost cooperation in a wider regional working framework.

ASEAN, he added, also need to contribute actively to joint effors of the international community.

"I hope the foreign ministers will intensify in discussing and cooperation effectively with the sectoral ministers and the relevant partners in dealing the challenges," he said.

He underlined a number of challenges faced by Southeast Asian countries including the financial and economic crisis, climate change, natural disasters, pandemic, and declining natural resources.

While mentioning a number of significant achievements ASEAN had made, the Vietnamese PM said there were still so many things to be done by the ASEAN community.

He also underlined a number of other issues in urgent need of attention of the region including maintaining peace and security in Southeast Asia.

Vietnam is now the ASEAN alternate chairman. ASEAN groups Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Philippines, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore.

The Indonesian delegation at the meeting is headed by Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa and the Political, Legal and Security affairs Coordinating Minister.(*)

Source : http://antaranews.com/en/news/1279649497/vietnamese-pm-calls-on-asean-to-boost-regional-cooperation

Bomber attacks British firm in N.Iraq, 4 killed

2010-07-19T07:02:00.000+07:00

Mosul, Iraq (ANTARA News/Reuters) - A suicide car bomber ploughed into a convoy carrying employees of a British company in northern Iraq on Monday, killing four of them and wounding five Iraqi civilians, Iraqi security officials said.

The suicide bomber targeted the last vehicle of the convoy in restive Mosul, a dangerous city where al Qaeda remains active, and the force of the blast threw the armoured vehicle 40 metres into a ravine, killing everyone inside, police said.

"I saw the other members of the convoy bring out four dead foreign civilians from the smashed car. One of them was beheaded," an Iraqi military officer, asking not to be named, said by telephone from the site of the attack in northern Mosul.

Iraqi officials said the firm was a British construction company but its name was not immediately known and there was no independent confirmation. The British embassy had no immediate information on the incident.

The nationality of the dead foreigners was not immediately known.

Mosul is on the front line of a longstanding feud between Iraq`s Arabs and minority Kurds over land, power and oil wealth.

The region is also a hub for Sunni Islamist insurgents, and the U.S. military, which will end combat operations on Aug. 31, sees Mosul as al Qaeda`s last urban stronghold in Iraq.

Iraq is on high alert for insurgent attacks after a March 7 national election produced no clear winner and left the country adrift in political uncertainty.

Overall violence has dropped sharply since the height of sectarian carnage in 2006-7. But bombings and killings continue daily.

Source : http://antaranews.com/en/news/1279537109/bomber-attacks-british-firm-in-niraq-4-killed

US may send envoy Richardson to Pyongyang

2010-07-19T07:00:00.000+07:00

Seoul (ANTARA/AFP) - A South Korean newspaper said Monday that US President Barack Obama may send an envoy to North Korea to break the impasse in relations.

Obama is considering allowing New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson -- a veteran troubleshooter with the North -- to accept an invitation to visit Pyongyang, according to the JoongAng Ilbo and its English-language sister paper JoongAng Daily.

The JoongAng Daily, quoting "multiple diplomatic sources" in Seoul, said Han Song-Ryol, deputy North Korean ambassador to the United Nations, invited Richardson in May to discuss issues including the sinking of a South Korean warship.

South Korea`s foreign ministry declined comment.

But spokesman Kim Young-Sun called for caution over any such visit while countermeasures are being discussed for the sinking. "We understand the US government shares the same position," he said.

Tensions have risen since South Korea and the United tates, citing the findings of a multinational investigation, accused the North of torpedoing a South Korean warship, the Cheonan, near the tense sea border in March.

The North denies involvement and says a UN Security Council statement on July 9 -- which condemned the attack without specifying the culprit -- vindicated it.

After the UN statement it reiterated conditional willingness to return to stalled six-party nuclear disarmament talks.

"I`m aware that the North Korean side told Richardson it is willing to consider expressing regrets or making an ameliorating statement about the Cheonan incident if he visits Pyongyang," the JoongAng Daily quoted one source as saying.

"The North Korean government is seeking a chance to turn around the situation through Richardson since it`s been driven into a corner after the Cheonan attack."

The paper quoted the source as saying the communist state`s tactics resemble its handling of the case of two detained US journalists. They were freed last August after former US President Bill Clinton visited Pyongyang.

The source said Richardson had told the White House he strongly wants to visit Pyongyang, but South Korea believed this was premature until the North admits involvement in the sinking.

Since the UN statement, the source said, "the Obama government is now taking a forward-looking position and it recently informed the South Korean government that `It`s hard to continuously block Richardson`s Pyongyang visit`."

The last US official to visit Pyongyang was Stephen Bosworth, special representative for North Korea policy, who went there last December.

Richardson has visited Pyongyang numerous times. In 1996 he negotiated the release of an American who swam across a border river and was jailed for spying.

In 2007 he discussed the repatriation of the remains of US soldiers who fought in the Korean War.

Source : http://antaranews.com/en/news/1279527333/us-may-send-envoy-richardson-to-pyongyang