DRIVERS', PASSENGERS' HEALTH BECOMES CONCERN DURING IDUL FITRI EXODUS by Fardah

       Jakarta, Aug 29, 2011 (ANTARA) - Various Indonesian regions have taken a number of steps to anticipate the health risks of home-bound travelers and bus drivers during the Idul Fitri exodus or known as "mudik".
       Hospitals and community health centers have been put on standby for 24 hours from Day-7 to Day+7 of Idul Fitri holidays.

SRI LANKAN IMMIGRANTS IN DESPAIR, FINALLY SURRENDER by Fardah

      Jakarta, Aug 27, 2011 (ANTARA) - Some 88 Sri Lankan immigrants who had been living in despair aboard their boat, the MV Alicia, since July 10, 2011, finally surrendered to the Tanjungpinang Immigration Office because there was not enough food and drinking water on their crowded vessel.

       Their misery came into the public spotlight on Wednesday (Aug 24) when five Sri Lankan men decided to jump off the boat, They swam for more than two hours to a nearby isle because they could no longer stand living aboard the boat with very limited food and water that had to be shared with over 80 other immigrants.

IDUL FITRI TRAVEL SAFETY MEASURES : FROM URINE TESTS TO SNIPERS by Fardah

     Jakarta, Aug 25, 2011 (ANTARA) - Various measures have been taken to secure the impending exodus of over 15 million home-bound travelers wanting to celebrate the Idul Fitri Muslim festivity with relatives or friends in their home towns or villages.
       The exodus, which has become an annual tradition for Indonesian Muslims, has made the government extremely busy with preparing the facilities, infrastructures, transportation means and security measures for the people who would be on the move en masse.

ANTICIPATING IMPACTS OF US, EUROPE DEBT CRISES ON INDONESIA by Fardah

      Jakarta, Aug 23, 2011 (ANTARA) - The global economy is still shaky having just begun to recover from the 2008 global recession, and yet the world is now witnessing financial crises in the United States and Europe which are beset by debt woes.
       Some analysts are worried that the economic crises might spin out of control. A number of countries, including Indonesia, have started anticipating the impacts of the crises on their economy.

POLICE POISED TO SECURE , SERVE IDUL FITRI TRAVELERS by Fardah

      Jakarta, Aug 22, 2011 (ANTARA) - As the post-fasting Idul Fitri celebration approaches, a total of 96,393 police personnel are being deployed to ensure public safety and enjoyable trips during the Muslim holiday exodus.

      The police personnel consist of 769 officers from the National Police Headquarters and 95,624 officers from the regional police offices, National Police Chief General Timur Pradopo said when launching "Operation Ketupat" which is to last from August 22 to September 6, 2011.

DRY SEASON COMES, ALONG WITH FOREST FIRES by Fardah

      Jakarta, Aug 19, 2011 (ANTARA) - Almost every year during the dry season several provinces in Indonesia are hit by forest and plantation fires.
      During August 2011 alone, some 11,000 hotspots were detected in Riau, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan Provinces, according to data of the environmental affairs ministry.
      However, the forestry ministry`s data showed that during January-July 2011, the number of hotspots in Indonesia was 8,082.

MP3EI, STRATEGIC BREAKTHROUGH TO ACCELERATE REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT by Fardah

      Jakarta, Aug 18, 2011 (ANTARA)- As part of the agenda of "development for all", the government last May 2011 launched the Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesian Economic Development (MP3EI) 2011-2025 for the even distribution of development in all the regions in the country.

     When delivering his State Address before a joint session of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) and the Regional Representative Council (DPD) at the Parliament Building here Wednesday (August 16), President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono described the MP3EI as a strategic breakthrough.

PROs AND CONs ON KOMODO'S WITHDRAWAL FROM NEW7WONDERS COMPETITION by Fardah

       Jakarta, Aug 16, 2011 (ANTARA) - The culture and tourism ministry`s decision to withdraw the Komodo National Park from participation in the final evaluation round in the competition for the New Seven Wonders of Nature (N7WN) title has drawn pro and contra reactions.
       After being in `dispute` with the Switzerland-based New7Wonders Foundation for several months, Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik finally announced the decision on the withdrawal on Monday (Aug. 15, 2011).

NAZARUDDIN CASE ANOTHER TEST FOR LAW ENFORCERS' INTEGRITY by Fardah

      Jakarta, Aug 15, 2011 (ANTARA) - Former Democrat Party treasurer Nazaruddin`s saga is developing into another law enforcement case where the integrity, honesty and uprightness of the law enforcing agencies will be put to the test.
       The public is wondering whether Nazaruddin`s case will not meet the same fate as the Bank Century bailout case, the Antasari case and the Gayus Tambunan tax mafia case which all ended in an anticlimax.

BALIEM VALLEY FESTIVAL HELPS PROMOTE PAPUA INTERNATIONALLY by Fardah

      Jakarta, Aug 12, 2011 (ANTARA) - Indonesia is not only Bali, but there are a lot of other places with interesting culture and nature throughout its over 13,000 islands from Sabang in the country`s western most province of Aceh to Merauke in the easternmost province of Papua.

      Irian Island or Papua is home to an incredibly diverse, rich and unique flora and fauna. No less than 85% of the island is covered by rainforest, much of it primary and untouched by man.

COLOMBIAN POLICE FINALLY STOP RUNAWAY NAZARUDDIN by Fardah

      Jakarta, Aug 10, 2011 (ANTARA) - After being on the run in three continents for about 75 days, Nazaruddin, the former Democrat Party treasurer suspected of involvement in a corruption case, was finally arrested by Colombian Police recently.
       Nazaruddin was caught in Cartagena, a small town located over 600 km from Bogota, Colombia, South America, on Sunday (August 7, 2011), by local police who suspected him of using a fake passport.

GOVT TO PROMOTE BATIK AS FLAGSHIP PRODUCT by Fardah

     Jakarta, Aug 8, 2011 (ANTARA) - Batik industry has been booming following the increased public enthusiasm of wearing the traditional clothes particularly since the inclusion of batik by UNESCO in "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" items on September 30, 2009.
       On October 2, 2009, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on all Indonesians to wear batik on that day to celebrate UNESCO`s decision.

CAMPAIGN TO HELP DARWIN-AMBON YACHT RACE REGAIN FORMER GLORY by Fardah

     Jakarta, Aug 5, 2011 (ANTARA) - The Maluku and Darwin authorities will promote the Darwin-Ambon International Yacht Race and Rally in ASEAN and other countries in the hope the annual event will thereby be able to regain its former glory.
      The Darwin to Ambon Yacht Race and Rally is an event to explore some of the 17,000 amazing islands of the Indonesian Archipelago, under the umbrella of the Sister City Program between Ambon City and Darwin City.

DEVELOPING NATIONS MUST PRIORITIZE FIGHT AGAINST CERVICAL CANCER by Fardah

    Jakarta, Aug 3, 2011 (ANTARA) - A Dutch gynecologist has called cervical cancer (or cancer of the cervix)  a developing country disease because 80 percent of people suffering from the disease  live in developing nations.

         Prof A.P.M. Heintz warned the number of cervical cancer patients may reach 20 million by 2020 worldwide.

LATE ARRIVAL OF EQUIPMENT DELAYS E-ID CARD PROGRAM by Fardah

      Jakarta, Aug 2, 2011 (ANTARA) - Both Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzie and Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo have expressed disappointment about the late arrival of equipment for the electronic identification (E-ID) program.
       Several cities have announced that they had to delay the implementation of the new ID program which was supposed to begin simultaneously on August 1, 2011, because they had not received at least two essential devices, namely biometrics for finger print records and IRIS eye retinal scanner reportedly imported from the United States.