WWF takes images of rare tigers in logging forest

A Sumatran tiger plays with its cub in the Bukit Tigapuluh forest in central Sumatra in this image captured using camera traps on April 14, 2011, and released today, May 9, 2011.


The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has recorded images of 12 endangered Sumatran tigers, including a mother playing with cubs, in an Indonesian forest that it said is about to be cleared by loggers.

WWF, which estimates that there are only 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild, captured the images on camera traps in the Bukit Tigapuluh forest on central Sumatra island, which has seen rampant deforestation for palm oil and paper plantations.

Karmila Parakkasi, leader of WWF’s tiger research team in Sumatra, said the number of big cats seen in two months of observation was impressive.

Indonesian copper mine workers protest after killings

Workers from Freeport-McMoran Copper and Gold Inc’s gold mine go on strike in front of the local parliament in Timika, Indonesia’s Papua province, April 8, 2011

Hundreds of workers at an Indonesian copper and gold mine run by Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc protested today after the killing of two colleagues, which heightened concern about security along the jungle road they need to take to work.

Local police said two men had died inside a burning car yesterday, a day after two other people were wounded in a shooting near the huge mine in Papua, a province with a simmering separatist movement.

Yesterday, Freeport said in a statement: “Initial reports from police indicated that the vehicle appears to have been fired upon.” Police would not comment on whether the men had been shot at.

Freeport said production at the mine continued as normal.

Indonesia lifts tsunami alert after 7.2 quake

A local tsunami alert was issued and later lifted after a magnitude 7.2 quake struck off Papua, eastern Indonesia early this morning.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) reported a strong 6.6 tremor followed by the stronger second quake, which hit at 2.11am today. The latter was only 12.3km deep and centred 109 km northwest of Dobo, in the Aru Islands, very close to the first quake.

An official at the Indonesian meteorological agency said there were no reports of damage or of a tsunami.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and is prone to earthquakes.

An employee works in front of computers monitoring the Tsunami warning system in Jakarta

Dozens killed, injured in Indonesian train crash

Dozens of people were killed or badly injured when two trains collided in Indonesia’s central Java province early on Saturday morning, officials told Reuters.

Local television showed several carriages had overturned or were badly mangled. Rescue and transport ministry officials put the death toll at around 22 to 23 with many more injured, while local news agency Antara said 33 people had been killed in the crash. Indonesia needs to spend billions of dollars on improving its ageing infrastructure, including roads, power plants, railways, and airports.

Rockers blasted over Indonesia tobacco deal

Australian, British and US rock bands including The Smashing Pumpkins and Stereophonics have been urged to withdraw from a music festival in Indonesia because of its tobacco sponsorship.

Anti-tobacco activists and health experts from Australia, the United States and Wales have expressed their concern that the bands' actions will encourage youths to smoke in a country with high and rising addiction rates.

The country of some 240 million people is one of the last lightly-regulated major tobacco markets in the world and is paying the price in terms of growing rates of addiction, especially among women and children.



Cigarette consumption in Indonesia soared 47 percent in the 1990s, according to the World Health Organisation

Obama to visit India, Indonesia on Asia tour in November

US President Barack Obama said today he plans to visit India and Indonesia in November as part of an Asia tour.

US President Barack Obama addresses the 65th United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, September 23, 2010

Indonesia’s underperforming MPs provoke public ire

Indonesia’s legislators may be among the worst performing in Asia in terms of passing laws promptly, but nobody can accuse them of not going the extra mile when it comes to expensive research trips abroad.

They have passed only seven out of 70 bills targeted for 2010, placing them far behind their counterparts in Malaysia, with 29 approved so far this year, and Singapore which passed 22.

But 30 legislators flew off this week on two separate multi-country trips, media said — a two-week visit to South Africa, South Korea and Japan to investigate the boy scout movement, and three weeks in the Netherlands and Norway to look into horticulture.

The trips provoked fierce criticism from Indonesians growing increasingly angry at the antics of their politicians.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono addresses the parliament in Jakarta.

Indonesian volcano erupts scattering ash 15 miles - 30,000 people forced to evacuate danger zone

An Indonesian volcano, Mount Sinabung, shot a towering cloud of black ash high in to the air this morning, dusting villages 15 miles away in its most powerful eruption since awakening last week from four centuries of dormancy.

The eruption occurred just after midnight in the early hours of this morning during a torrential downpour.

Witnesses said volcanic ash and mud oozed down the mountain's slopes, flooding into abandoned homes. Others said saw bursts of fire and hot ash, and the force of the explosion could be felt five miles away.

'Ring of fire': The eruption at Mount Sinabung caught many scientists off guard - local vulcanologists have to monitor more than 129 active volcanoes

Indonesia jails businessman over bid to bribe agency

An Indonesian businessman who played a leading role in a plot to undermine the graft eradication agency in one of Asia’s most corrupt countries was sentenced today to four years in prison.

Indonesia is attracting growing interest from foreign investors, but bribery is seen as a top political risk and a factor hampering growth in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

Anggodo Widjojo, the brother of a fugitive graft suspect, was caught on tape last year conspiring with senior law enforcement officials to frame two officials at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to weaken the powerful agency.

The plot followed his failed attempt to bribe the two officials to drop a graft case against his brother, Anggoro Widjojo.

Indonesian volcano erupts again

An Indonesian volcano, inactive for four centuries, erupted again today, pitching ash two km into the air and sending nearby residents scurrying from their homes.

Villages were emptying fast near Mount Sinabung on the north of Sumatra island, leaving behind only officials from the bureau of meteorology and the police. Short-haul flights skirting the volcano were delayed.

Surono, head of Indonesia’s vulcanology centre, told Reuters today’s eruption was more powerful than the first a day earlier.

“Earlier today was another eruption at 6.30am, sending out smoke as high as two km, more or less,” he told Reuters.

Mount Sinabung spews smoke in Indonesia's North Sumatra province August 30, 2010.

Thousands flee as long-sleepy Sumatra volcano erupts

Thousands of Indonesians were evacuated from the slopes of a volcano today after it erupted for the first time in more than 400 years, spewing out lava and sending smoke and dust 1,500m into the air.



Mount Sinabung, in the north of the island of Sumatra, began erupting around midnight after rumbling for several days, prompting some villagers to panic before the mass evacuation got under way.

Indonesia is on the so-called Pacific Rim of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and geological fault lines triggering frequent earthquakes around the Pacific Basin. The eruption triggered the highest red volcano alert.

Mount Sinabung volcano spews smoke in the district of Tanah Karo outside the city of Medan, North Sumatra August 28, 2010.

Demonstrators throw faeces at Malaysian embassy in Jakarta

Police arrested three men today after a group of demonstrators threw human faeces at the Malaysian Embassy here.

The rally, by the group who called themselves the Benteng Demokrasi Rakyat (Bendera), lasted for an hour during which they also stomped on Malaysian flags and smeared it with faeces.

Tourist paradise Bali suffering rabies epidemic

A man displays puppies for sale in Denpasar.

The Indonesian government is to vaccinate all dogs on the holiday island of Bali to combat a raging rabies epidemic that has left 76 people dead over two years, an official said yesterday.

Around 34,000 people have been bitten by dogs on the island, which is popular with western tourists, in the first seven months of this year alone, authorities said.

“We aim to vaccinate all dogs in Bali by the end of this year to curb the spread of rabies. We’ll start to mass vaccinate the dogs in late September,” Bali animal husbandry agency chief Putu Sumantra said.

Indonesia says militants targeted presidentndonesia says militants targeted president

Yudhoyono takes an oath during his swearing-in ceremony in Jakarta October 20, 2009.
Indonesian police have arrested two Islamist militants suspected of planning to attack President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during a visit to West Java, the president’s spokesman said today.

The two were arrested at a house near Bandung yesterday, said presidential spokesman Julian Pasha.

US to resume ties to Indonesia's special forces

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The United States announced Thursday it will resume cooperation with Indonesia's special forces after ties were severed more than a decade ago over human rights abuses allegedly committed by the commando unit.

Indonesian police uncover plot to kill president, launch Mumbai-style attack, declare Islamic state, and murder Obama

argets: The militants planned to assassinate both U.S. President Barack Obama and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Indonesian police said today they had uncovered and foiled a plot to assassinate the president and other top officials, massacre foreigners in Mumbai-style attacks, declare an Islamic state, and possibly even kill Barack Obama.

The attackers planned to launch their assault during this year's Independence Day ceremony.

The ceremoney, on August 17, will be attended by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the country's top dignitaries, national police chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri told reporters.The plot also included taking over hotels and killing foreigners, especially Americans, in violence that would have been reminiscent of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, he said.

Indonesia's reaction to Obama's postponed trip? It's OK -As Obama tackle the health bill issue at home.

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A trip to Asia must wait as President Barack Obama’s sweeping $940 billion health care reform plan heads for a long—awaited vote this weekend.

As Mr. Obama played host to a procession of Democrats still wavering over the health care programme, the Democrats received one last boost: a nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office report that said health care reform would trim federal deficits by an estimated $138 billion over the next decade.

Mr. Obama then postponed his Asia trip for a second time to ensure he was in Washington for the final push. He assured the people of Indonesia that he is still looking forward to visiting his former home once the health care debate is resolved. In an interview airing on Friday on RCTI, Indonesia’s largest commercial television network, Mr. Obama said it made sense to wait until June so that he and his family are not rushed when they visit Indonesia, where he lived for four years as a child.

Mr. Obama has put his presidency on the line to gain passage of his top domestic priority, in the face of Republicans who say the plan is a government—takeover of health care that will lead to higher deficits and taxes. One Republican has said it could prove to be the president’s Waterloo if the drive collapses.

The health care reform programme would affect nearly every American and remake one—sixth of the U.S. economy. For the first time, Americans would be required to have health insurance.

Democrats set a Sunday showdown in the House, and while Pelosi and others expressed confidence about the outcome, Mr. Obama’s decision to delay the Asia trip was a confession that the votes were not yet secured.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the total 10—year cost of expanding coverage at $940 billion. The analysts said the legislation would reduce the federal deficit by $138 billion over its first 10 years, and continue to drive down the red ink thereafter. Democratic leaders said the deficit would be cut $1.2 trillion in the second decade - and Mr. Obama called it the biggest reduction since the 1990s, when President Bill Clinton put the federal budget on a path to surplus.

Beginning in 2014, most Americans would be required to purchase insurance, and face penalties if they refused. Millions of families with incomes up to $88,000 a year would receive government help to defray their costs. Large businesses would face fines if they did not offer good—quality coverage to their workers.

“It will make history and we will make progress by passing this legislation,” predicted the Democratic leader of the House of Representatives, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as Democrats unveiled final alterations to a bill - 16 tumultuous months in the making - meant to expand health care to 32 million uninsured Americans, bar the insurance industry from denying coverage on the basis of pre—existing medical conditions.

As Democrats trumpeted their bill, particularly its potential reduction of the deficit, Republicans fought back.

“The American people are saying, ‘Stop’ and they’re screaming at the top of their lungs,” said House Republican leader John Boehner.

Rep. Bart Gordon, a moderate Democrat who is retiring at the end of the year, announced he would vote in favour of the bill after opposing an earlier version. That made two conversions in recent days, following liberal Rep. Dennis Kucinich, with the White House and congressional leaders in search of more.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez said he agreed to vote for the health care overhaul on the understanding that Mr. Obama and congressional Democrats would begin attempts quickly to pass comprehensive immigration legislation. Within hours, Senate Democrats unveiled a bill, and the president praised it in a written statement.

For the legislation to pass, the House, despite the reservations of many Democrats, will have to endorse a bill that had been approved by the Senate last year. Then both chambers will quickly pass a package of fixes agreed to in negotiations with the White House.

The Senate would then use a procedure called reconciliation that requires only a simple majority, avoiding Republican delaying tactics. The strategy is needed because the Democrats lost their supermajority after a Republican pulled off a surprise win in a special election to take the late Ted Kennedy’s Massachusetts seat in January.

Republicans have decried the Democrats’ strategy as illegitimate. Democrats counter that Republicans used such tactics when they were in power.

Ahead of visit, Obama reconsiders Indonesia military

Members of Indonesia's Kopassus Special Forces


US Senator Patrick Leahy said while Indonesia had made progress in its democracy, the past must not be forgotten




Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono gestures as he reviews soldiers of the Kopassus Special Force Command


The United States is looking to break a taboo and train an elite Indonesian force linked to past abuses, as President Barack Obama courts the world's largest Muslim-majority nation with a visit.

With its moderate form of Islam and democratization since the 1990s, Indonesia is increasingly seen in Washington as an ideal partner. Obama spent part of his childhood in Jakarta, giving him a propitious personal connection.

Ahead of Obama's trip next week, top officers from Kopassus -- a military unit that focuses on counter-insurgency and intelligence -- visited Washington to discuss a resumption of training, people with knowledge of the talks said.

The United States cut off support for Kopassus under the so-called Leahy Amendment in 1997, which prohibited training to foreign military units involved in human rights abuses.

Ernie Bower, Southeast Asia director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank, said military ties were "absolutely fundamental" if the Obama administration was serious about transforming ties with Indonesia.

"Indonesia was going to be the India of the Bush administration -- a country with which they move to a whole new place because they understand it and put a real focus on it," Bower said, referring to former US president George W. Bush's drive to end decades of mistrust with New Delhi.

The talks with Indonesia come amid unease in some circles in Washington about the strong role of the military in the two historic US allies in Southeast Asia -- the Philippines and Thailand.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said that the United States was discussing a re-engagement with Kopassus "that's in accordance with our laws, our values and advances our interests."

"Indonesia's democratic reforms over the past decade have been pretty remarkable and its greatly improved human rights record has enabled us to engage more broadly," Whitman said.

The United States ended overall sanctions on the Indonesian military in 2005, the same year that Australia resumed joint training with Kopassus.

But US rights advocates remain deeply uneasy about Kopassus and few expect a deal before Obama leaves on his trip to Guam, Indonesia and Australia on March 21.

Kopassus spearheaded the anti-communist pogrom in 1965 that killed up to 500,000 people. It was seen as a key force in the 1975 invasion of East Timor and the 1999 violence when the territory voted for independence.

Senator Patrick Leahy, who authored the 1997 law that bears his name, stood firm against training. He said that Indonesia must first bring Kopassus members to justice for past abuses.

"It is important that the people of Indonesia see that justice is possible, and that impunity for committing serious crimes is no longer acceptable," said Leahy, a member of Obama's Democratic Party from Vermont.

"Indonesia has made progress in its democracy and in curbing some of the excesses of its military. But the past must not be forgotten," Leahy said.

One compromise under consideration is for the United States to train only younger Kopassus members.

But T. Kumar, the international advocacy director of Amnesty International USA, said Indonesia should try senior officers involved in past wrongdoing.

"Kopassus has such a bad record that to hold no one accountable in a meaningful way sends the wrong message to others," Kumar said.

He called for Obama to meet survivors of the 1965 mass killings. The United States is widely suspected of supporting the pogrom, which future strongman Suharto launched in response to rumors of a communist coup.

Obama moved to Jakarta in 1967 when his mother married an Indonesian. Obama later wrote of a climate of fear in the country in his memoir, "Dreams From My Father."

Walter Lohman, director of the Asian Studies Center at the Heritage Foundation, said Obama should focus less on achieving deliverables in Indonesia and embrace the symbolism of his visit.

"He brings in a lot of personal gravitas and personal connections that are very well regarded in Indonesia. No question, he's hugely popular there," Lohman said.

"His challenge -- is he going to be able to leverage that into broader respect for the US and the presidency itself."

Indonesian president confirms death of mastermind of Bali bombings-DNA test confirms Bali bombing mastermind killed- Indonesian police shoot dead allegedly Bali bombing terrorist

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A handout shows a man whom police believe to be Dulmatin, a top fugitive militant wanted over the 2002 Bali bombings, after he was shot during a police anti-terror raid at an Internet shop in Pamulang, on the outskirts of Jakarta, March 9, 2010.


Police Chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri shows the photo of Dulmatin, a key figure behind 2002 Bali bombing that killed 202 people


Indonesian police confirmed on Wednesday that the DNA test and physical characters of one of the terrorists killed in a raid on Tuesday on the outskirts of Jakarta was Dulmatin, a key figure behind 2002 Bali bombing that killed 202 people.

Dulmatin, 39, was a senior member of the al Qaeda-linked terror network Jemaah Islamiyah. He was an electronic specialist and got training in al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and his head was valued at 10 million U.S. dollars by the U.S. State Department.

"(The DNA test showed that) the body with code 001 is Dulmatin, " Police Chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri told a press briefing at his office here.

Dulmatin, who had many aliases including Joko Pitono, was shot dead along with two of his bodyguards Ridwan and Hassan, said Hendarso.

Dulmatin had been the most wanted terrorist suspect in Southeast Asia. He was assembled bombs with Ali Imron who is under the police custody now, the police chief said.

The raid on Tuesday relates to the ongoing security sweeps in Aceh province in northern tip of Sumatra, said Hendarso.

The police chief said that the police had captured 21 alleged militants in Aceh with three others dead, seven in Jakarta, with three others killed and captured two others outside Aceh.

"All the suspects are now detained in a prison at Jakarta anti- terror squad headquarters," said Hendarso.

Hendarso said that the group had started military-style training in Aceh since Feb. 17 and involved a counter shooting with the police on Feb. 22, killing three policemen.

Aid pours into quake-hit Indonesia-

There is little hope any more survivors will be found beneath the debris seven days after the quake

Between 170,000-200,000 homes are thought to have been damaged in the quake

Aid groups struggle to deliver to Indonesian quake victims.

Hundreds of people remained buried beneath massive landslides

The death toll from the 7.6 magnitude quake in West Sumatra rose to 704, and 295 others remained missing, Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency said on Tuesday.

Spokesman of the agency Priyadi Kardono told Xinhua that 101,653 houses were also seriously damaged and 97,983 others suffered from damages.

He said the quake has destroyed 887 units of education facilities and damaged 1,032 others.

Some international troops which had participated in the rescue operation, have left the province as they consider there are no more survivors in the debris.

Some other rescuers in the province have shifted their mission to humanitarian assistance.

Fresh international earthquake aid flowed into Indonesia on Tuesday as schools and shops re-opened amid the stench of death from bodies still trapped beneath the rubble.

At the crumpled Ambacang Hotel in the city centre, excavators briefly ceased digging when workers thought they heard a woman's cries for help, but a search revealed no further signs of life.

"There's no one alive. I stopped all the machinery to ensure that the family of the victims were satisfied," the commander of the clean-up operation, Haris Sarjana, told AFP.

Another 10 bodies were pulled from wreckage around Padang, including six from the Ambacang, provincial disaster management operation head Ade Edward said.

"We've also started to spray disinfectant to get rid of the stench and are clearing up the debris using heavy machinery," he added.

In the rugged hills to the east and north of the city, hundreds of people remained buried beneath massive landslides that swallowed villages when the 7.6-magnitude quake struck off the coast of western Sumatra last Wednesday.

A Red Cross official said the final death toll would exceed 3,000, although the national Disaster Management Agency put the latest toll at 704, with 295 missing.

Between 170,000-200,000 homes were damaged, with about half this number completely destroyed, said Bob McKerrow, the head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Indonesia. Related article: Anger over shoddy building standards

Helicopters dropped vital supplies to cut-off farming communities which relief workers could not reach by road.

More choppers were on their way aboard US Navy ships in a multimillion-dollar effort to aid victims of the earthquake, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said in Washington.

About 45 metric tonnes (50 tons) of relief goods from US Agency for International Development stockpiles were due to arrive in Padang on Tuesday.

"This includes plastic sheeting, hygiene kits, generators and this will all be distributed via the Red Cross," Kelly told reporters.

Meanwhile, a US Navy field hospital that will treat up to 400 people a day was opened in Padang and would start treating patients on Wednesday, a US official said.

The United States is also sending a seven-person mobile field surgical team and two warships with helicopters that will fly to the hardest-hit rural areas.

Australia has sent military engineers and medics on the ground, and two C-130 aircraft transporting personnel, equipment and stores between Jakarta and Padang, the Australian embassy said.

Most foreign search and rescue teams are leaving the country, with almost no hope any more survivors will be found beneath the debris seven days after the quake.

As the aid effort shifted gear, the city began to show signs of recovery. Related link: Padang picks up the broken pieces.

"Sixty percent of markets have reopened, the schools have all reopened, people have gone back to work and fishermen have gone back to sea," Padang Mayor Fauzi Bahar told AFP.

The UN children's agency UNICEF said almost 70,000 children, or about 40 percent of the city's students, were back in class Tuesday.

"This is an important sign that life will return to normal for children affected by this tragedy," UNICEF country representative Angela Kearney said.

The government has pledged six trillion rupiah (624 million dollars) for reconstruction efforts in Sumatra, but many fear the money will be lost to corruption as it flows through the local government.

"It gets thinner and thinner and then just a mouse's tail comes out the bottom. That's Indonesia," housewife Edib Mulyati told AFP in the village of Bunga Pasang on the outskirts of Padang.

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