JAKARTA BRACING FOR POTENTIAL MAJOR FLOODS by Fardah

     Jakarta, Oct 31, 2011 (ANTARA) - Jakarta is bracing for the possibility of floods happening in early 2012 on the same scale as the 2002 and 2007 deluges which were described as the biggest ever floods that had hit the capital city in terms of size and casualties.
      With a population of around 10 million Jakarta is basically prone to annual flooding in every rainy season due among other things to poor drainage system and lack of water catchment areas. Besides, Jakarta lies in a lowland with 43 lakes and 13 rivers.

ASEAN MOVES CLOSER TO ADOPTION OF COMMON VISA by Fardah

       Jakarta, Oct 31, 2011 (ANTARA) - The 19th ASEAN Summit to be held in Bali on November 17-19, 2011, is expected to discuss among other things the proposed common ASEAN visa system as part of the ASEAN connectivity plan.
       ASEAN foreign ministers at their 44th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Bali recently agreed to study further the common visa proposal, Widya Rahmanto, an official of the foreign ministry`s ASEAN cooperation directorate general, said in Jakarta on October 27, 2011.

E JAVA BEEFS UP IMMUNIZATION TO FIGHT DIPHTHERIA by Fardah

      Jakarta, Oct 28, 2011 (ANTARA) - East Java Governor Soekarwo on October 7, 2011, declared an extraordinary situation (KLB) for diphtheria in all parts of the province where 352 diphtheria cases with 11 deaths have been reported over the past 10 months.
        Head of the East Java Health Office Mudjib Afan said in Surabaya, recently, that a total of 333 children aged between two and 14 years old, have been infected with diphtheria in the province, up from 303 children last year.

INDONESIA GREETS ASEAN PEOPLE THROUGH ASEAN FAIR by Fardah

       Jakarta, Oct 25, 2011 (ANTARA) - Do you want to see cultural , culinary and creative products of the ten ASEAN member countries? Just visit the ongoing ASEAN Fair 2011 and one can satisfy one`s curiosity without actually having to travel to those countries.
        The ASEAN Fair 2011 featuring music and food festivals, theatrical performances, and book and handicrafts expos, was officially kicked off by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at Nusa Dua, Bali, on October 24.

POLICE DEPLOY MORE PERSONNEL TO DEFUSE TENSIONS IN PAPUA by Fardah

      Jakarta, Oct 25, 2011 (ANTARA) - Following a series of shooting incidents in Papua Province that killed several people, including Mulia Sector Police Chief Adjunct Commissioner Domminggus Awes, the Police Headquarters in Jakarta have deployed a number of officers in the country`s eastern-most province to defuse escalating tensions there.
       Two unidentified men snatched Dominggus Awes` pistol and used it to shoot him to death at Mulia airport in Puncak Jaya on Monday (Oct 24).

GOVT ADMITS HOLLYWOOD FILMS CAN HELP PROMOTE TOURISM by Fardah

       Jakarta, Oct 24, 2011 (ANTARA) - "Eat, Pray and Love", a film version of Elizabeth Gilbert`s best selling memoirs "Eat Pray Love", starring superstar Julia Robert, has been effective in promoting Bali, known as the "Island of the Gods".
       The film tells the story of Liz Gilbert and her year-long journey to Italy, India and Indonesia as she seeks to find balance and fulfillment in her life following the breakdown of her marriage.

INDONESIANS STILL HAVE 18 DAYS TO VOTE FOR KOMODO by Fardah

      Jakarta, Oct 23, 2011 (ANTARA) - As of October 15, 2011, Indonesia`s major telecommunication operators such as Telkomsel, XL, Indosat, and Telkom Flexi have provided free SMS (short message text service) for those wanting to give their votes to support Komodo Island as one of the 28 Official Finalists in the New7Wonders of Nature (N7WN).

     Komodo Island located in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) is the only island in the world which has komodo dragons, the giant lizards. The Komodo National Park includes the three larger islands Komodo, Rinca and Padar, as well as numerous smaller ones, altogether covering a total area of 1,817 square kilometers.

INDONESIA ON ALERT OVER RETURN OF BIRD FLU by Fardah

      Jakarta, Oct 20, 2011 (ANTARA) - Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih has been closely following the apparent return of bird flu or avian influenza (H5N1) in some regions in Indonesia lately and reminded the concerned parties and the public in general to be on alert.

      "We must wash our hands after touching poultry. This simple thing is the most effective way to prevent influenza, including bird flu," the minister said, adding that poultry farmers must improve hygiene.

INDONESIA DETERMINED TO BECOME POLIO, MEASLES-FREE NATION by Fardah

     Jakarta, Oct 19, 2011 (ANTARA) - In addition to the routine immunization program using five vaccines to prevent tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, measles and hepatitis B, the government is currently conducting a mass immunization campaign against polio and measles in its efforts to free the nation from polio and measles.
       The expanded mass immunization drive against polio and measles began simultaneously on Tuesday (Oct 18) and lasted until November 18, 2011 in 17 provinces.

FREEPORT STRIKE DRAGS ON by Fardah

        Jakarta, Oct 19, 2011 (ANTARA) - A strike by a number of PT Freeport Indonesia workers in Timika, Papua, has been going for more than one month without signs that a peaceful solution to their dispute with the company`s management can be found soon while the situation in Freeport`s concession area is getting more complicated.
      A clash between gun-toting police and rock-throwing strikers in Timika, on October 10, 2011, killed one demonstrator and one police officer, as well as injured several people.

SUMATRAN TIGERS NEED TO BE PROTECTED by Fardah

       Jakarta, Oct 17, 2011 (ANTARA) - It`s tragic that amid a "Save Tigers` Home" tour in Sumatra by an NGO, a Sumatran tiger (Panthera Tigris Sumatrae) was shot dead at Korong Sikuliek, Nagari Sungai Buluh, Batang Anai sub district, Padangpariaman District, West Sumatra, last October 15, 2011.
       Batang Anai Sub-district Head Syofriyon said the tiger had been found inside a wild boar trap located around four kilometers from a human settlement.

TEAM TO SAVE MIGRANT WORKERS' LIVES IN SAUDI ARABIA by Fardah

      Jakarta, Oct 15, 2011 (ANTARA) - The government is racing against time to save the lives of seven migrant workers on death row in Saudi Arabia, where over 900,000 Indonesians work at present, making it the second biggest user of Indonesian manpower after Malaysia.
       A team led by Muhammad Maftuh Basyuni, the head of the Task Force on the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers, will leave for Saudi Arabia on October 16, 2011, to lobby certain parties in the Middle Eastern country in order to obtain legal relief for the seven workers.

GOVT TO INCREASE PEARL PRODUCTION TO SEVEN MLN TONS ANNUALLY by Fardah

      Jakarta, Oct 14, 2011 (ANTARA) - Having the potential to produce up to 20 million tons of south sea pearl (SSP) a year, Indonesia intends to increase its pearl production to seven million in 2011 from 5.7 million tons in 2010.
      The country has so far used only around 28.5 percent of its pearl cultivation potentials in eastern Indonesian waters such as in West Nusa Tenggara, Maluku Islands, and Papua.

BALI GEARS UP FOR ASEAN, ASEAN+3, EAST ASIA SUMMITS by Fardah

     Jakarta, Oct 12, 2011 (ANTARA) - Bali which hosted the first ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit in February 1976, will be the venue of another ASEAN Summit on November 17, 2011.
       The upcoming 19th ASEAN Summit will be the second ASEAN summit organized by Indonesia, the current Chair of ASEAN, this year after the 18th ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, May 2011.

RI, S KOREA ENGAGE IN HIGHER-LEVEL DEFENSE COOPERATION by Fardah

       Jakarta, Oct 8, 2011 (ANTARA) - Famed South Korean actor Hyun Bin caught the Indonesian media`s attention when he attended the celebration of the 66th anniversary of the National Defense Forces (TNI) in Jakarta, last October 5, 2011.
       Heartthrob Hyun Bin (29), a member of South Korea`s Marine Corps who was appointed South Korea`s defense industry ambassador, received an Honorary Marine Brevet from the Indonesian Navy for his services.

ASEAN PLUS THREE TO INTENSIFY FOOD SECURITY COOPERATION by Fardah

       Jakarta, Oct 7, 2011 (ANTARA) - Rice is an important factor in achieving food security in the Southeast Asian region as around two-thirds of world rice production originate in ASEAN Plus Three countries (China, Japan, and South Korea) and more than half of the world`s rice exports comes from this region.
          To guarantee long-term food security, the 10-member ASEAN and its three partner countries signed the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Agreement on the sidelines of the 11th ASEAN Plus Three Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF Plus Three) in Jakarta on Friday (Oct. 7, 2011).

MONTARA OIL SPILL VICTIMS STILL WAITING FOR COMPENSATION by Fardah

       Jakarta, Oct 6, 2011 (ANTARA) - Victims of the Montara oil spill in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) have been waiting for compensation from PTTEP Australasia, the Thai company operating the Montara oil field, for more than two years.
       An explosion occurred in the Montara oil field on August 21, 2009 causing an oil pipe to burst and the resulting oil spill to contaminate the Timor Sea in NTT Province. As a consequence, 40 million liters of crude oil were released into Australian waters and eventually into Indonesian waters. Some 70,341.76 square kilometers of the Timor Sea part of which borders on NTT province was polluted.

KOMODO ISLAND PROMOTION ACTIVITIES BEING INTENSIFIED by Fardah

      Jakarta, Oct 5, 2011 (ANTARA) - The tourism and culture ministry has decided to withdraw the candidacy of Komodo for inclusion in the New Seven Wonders of Nature (N7WN) list, but an NGO, the P2Komodo (Supporting Committee for Komodo Island) is determined to continue the Komodo campaign for N7WN.
       Despite their differences, both the government and P2Komodo have been intensifying promotion activities of the unique island, which is home to the Komodo dragon, the world`s largest lizard, internationally and nationally.

RAINFOREST CONSERVATION, LAW ENFORCEMENT CRUCIAL FOR ORANGUTAN'S SURVIVAL by Fardah

     Jakarta, Oct 4, 2011 (ANTARA) - Indonesia is home to the world`s remaining population of critically endangered orangutans found on Sumatra and Kalimantan (Borneo) Islands.
      It is estimated that around 50,000 to 60,000 orangutans are left in the wild, 80 percent of them in Indonesia and the rest in Malaysia. Of the total number, about 7,300 orangutans are to be found in Aceh Darussalam and North Sumatra provinces, and many others in Central, West and East Kalimantan provinces.

YOUNGER GENERATION PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLE IN GREEN ECONOMICS PROGRAMS by Fardah

       Jakarta, Oct 3, 2011 (ANTARA) - Around 1,200 young people from over 100 countries participating in the UNEP Tunza International Children and Youth Conference in Bandung, West Java, September 27-October 1, 2011, voiced their concern about planet Earth`s future.
        "The trend and science tell us that we cannot wait another generation (until a Rio+40) before acting - the green economy is our only future," the young people stated in a Bandung Declaration issued on the final day of the conference.