UNESCO CHIEF'S VISIT BRINGS AGENCY CLOSER TO INDONESIA by Fardah

       Jakarta, Nov 30, 2011 (ANTARA) - UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova made her first official visit to Indonesia from November 19 to 25 during which she went through a quite hectic agenda.
       Within the relatively short period of six days, she among other things visited the World Heritage site of Borobudur in Magelang, Central Java, Bali Island and Jakarta.

RI OPTIMISTIC TO SURPASS ONE BILLION TREE TARGET By Fardah

     Jakarta, Nov 28, 2011 (ANTARA) - All regions in Indonesia simultaneously planted thousands of trees to mark Indonesian Tree Planting Day and National Planting Month led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at Merah Putih Hill, Sentul, Citeureup, Bogor, West Java Province, on Monday (Nov 28).
       The presidential tree planting ceremony was the signal for the simultaneous execution of the same activity by at least 8,820 people including servicemen and police officers, boy and girl scouts, and students.

EMERGING EVIDENCE SHEDS SOME LIGHT ON ORANGUTAN KILLING CASE by Fardah

      Jakarta, Nov 28, 2011 (ANTARA) - At the beginning, some people considered a report on the slaughtering of Kalimantan (Borneo) orangutan (pongo pygmaeus morio) a "mere rumor" despite the fact that several photos showing dead orangutans were received by a local newspaper last September.
       The killings of orangutan often considered as pest by oil palm plantation companies, reportedly had occurred from 2009 to 2010 at Puan Cepak village, Muara Kaman sub district, Kutai Kartanegara District, East Kalimantan Province.

ACEH'S SAMAN DANCE JOINS UNESCO'S LIST OF INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE by Fardah

      Jakarta, Nov 24, 2011 (ANTARA) - Aceh`s Saman dance, well-known abroad as "Thousand hands" dance, is something warranting a sense of national pride among Indonesians because of its uniqueness.
       It does not need music instruments but it produces harmonious sound, and it does not require a lot of space, but the dancers move very energetically, dynamically and with excellent coordination.
       And more than that, the traditional dance in the past performed only by male dancers, conveys religious and noble messages.

US MILY PRESENCE IN DARWIN AROUSES SUSPICION IN MANY QUARTERS by Fardah

     Jakarta, Nov 23, 2011 (ANTARA) - US President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard reportedly assured President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyonp in separate meetings in Bali recently that the planned deployment of US troops in Darwin spelled no harm to Indonesia or the South East Asian region.

        However, Obama`s and Gillard`s assurances have failed to convince some legislators and political observers in Indonesia, which is located only around 820 km (500 miles) from Darwin, Australia, where the US has decided to set up a military presence.

News Focus: ASEAN Leaders Reiterate Commitment to Supporting Palestine by Fardah

Jakarta, Nov 22, 2011 (ANTARA) - A few United Nations Security Council members may try to block Palestine's bid for full UN membership but ASEAN leaders are determined to continue giving their support to Palestine.       The ASEAN Leaders` support was expressed in the ASEAN Chair`s statement issued during the 19th ASEAN Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali on November 18, 2011.       "We reiterate our support for the capacity-building of the state institutions of Palestine and we also support Palestine`s wish to be a full member of the United Nations," the ASEAN leaders said in the statement`s 152nd point.

ASEAN LEADERS AGREE TO ENHANCE COOPERATION IN FLOOD PREVENTION by Fardah

      Jakarta, Nov 18, 2011 (ANTARA) - Floods hitting several Southeast Asian nations, Thailand in particular, received special attention from ASEAN leaders and led them to agree on the need to forge regional cooperation in flood prevention and mitigation

         The ASEAN leaders at the 19th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Bali on Thursday (Nov 17) adopted a Chairman`s Statement on Cooperation in Flood Prevention, Mitigation, Relief, Recovery, and Rehabilitation, initiated by Thailand which is the hardest hit by the floods in the region.

ASEAN READY TO ACCEPT MYANMAR'S ASEAN CHAIRMANSHIP IN 2014 by Fardah

      Nusa Dua, Bali, Nov 17, 2011 (ANTARA) - After a regional controversy regarding Myanmar`s bid for the ASEAN chairmanship in 2014, the ASEAN leaders at their 19th ASEAN Summit in Bali on Thursday (Nov 17) finally decided to allow the military-backed Myanmar government to lead the regional grouping three years from now.
      Myanmar was initially scheduled to hold the rotating ASEAN Chairmanship in 2006 but it was forced to forgo the position due to human rights problems.

GOVT TO STEP UP SOCIO-ECONOMIC APPROACH TOWARD PAPUA by Fardah

      Jakarta, Nov 16, 2011 (ANTARA) - Poverty and perceived injustices are believed to be among the problems triggering violence from time to time in Indonesia`s eastern most provinces of Papua and West Papua, which are resource-rich regions but among the least developed ones.
      Eight years since the special autonomy status was given to Papua, poverty and backwardness still linger on until today.

HTI again says "no" to Obama visit by Fardah

     Jakarta, Nov 15, 2011 (ANTARA News) - A year ago, Barack Obama as the US president, made his first visit to Indonesia which he described as "pulang kampung" (home coming) because he had once spent his childhood at Menteng, Jakarta.
     His visit in November 2010 was welcomed by many parties and Obama was even able to "charm" a few Indonesians when he spoke at the University of Indonesia.
     But, for sure, "the Menteng kid" has not succeeded in changing the stance of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) Muslim organization which has rejected him since the beginning.

TNI, POLRI TAKE SECURITY MEASURES FOR ASEAN SUMMIT by Fardah

    Jakarta, Nov 14, 2011 (ANTARA) - The National Defense Forces (TNI) and the National Police (Polri) have put in place measures to ensure the security of the 19th ASEAN Summit, the Sixth East Asian Summit and related meetings to be held in Nusa Dua, Bali, from November 17 to 19, 2011.
        The summits` security is crucial due to the planned participation of around 16 heads of state/government from ASEAN member countries and dialog partners, namely India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and the United States.

RI HAILS PROVISIONAL INCLUSION OF KOMODO IN NEW7WONDERS by Fardah

      Jakarta, Nov 12, 2011 (ANTARA) - After high-profile efforts to mobilize the Indonesian people`s support and despite a controversy over its participation in the New7Wonders of Nature competition, the Komodo has finally been provisionally shortlisted as one of the winners.
       On its official website Friday (Nov 11), the New7Wonders Foundation announced the first count of vote results of the provisional New7Wonders of Nature sites, namely the Amazon, Halong Bay, Iguazu Falls, Jeju Island, Komodo, Puerto Princesa Underground River, and Table Mountain.

DANGEROUS CONDITION IN SURABAYA ZOO MUST END by Fardah

      Jakarta, Nov 10, 2011 (ANTARA) - The Surabaya Zoo (KBS) used to be a favorite recreational place for Surabaya residents, particularly students who often hang out there and appreciate the zoo`s beautiful nature and wildlife.
        But since the past several years, the zoo has seemingly turned into a "place of horror" or "death camp" for the exotic and rare animals kept there as around 2,000 animals have perished mostly due to alleged negligence.

BALI SUMMITS EXPECTED TO YIELD HISTORIC DOCUMENTS by Fardah

       Jakarta, Nov 9, 2011 (ANTARA) - To make sure maximum efforts were being made to ensure the success of the upcoming ASEAN and East Asian Summits in Bali, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for a second time personally checked the preparations and venues of the summits in Nusa Dua, Bali Island, on November 8-9, 2011.
       Yudhoyono wanted to see to it that the ASEAN Summit and its related meetings in Bali would proceed successfully not only in organizational but also in substantive terms.

MORE PREHISTORIC ARTIFACTS WAITING TO BE UNEARTHED IN INDONESIA by Fardah

       Jakarta, Nov 5, 2011 (ANTARA) - More and more prehistoric artifacts have been surfacing in Indonesia`s islands from Sumatra to Papua over the years, attesting to very deep roots of the country`s civilization.
       The discovery of fossil remains of Pithecanthropus Erectus or "Java Man", the extinct hominid on the island of Java, proves that Indonesia was already inhabited bas early as two million to 500,000 years ago.
       The fossil remains comprising skullcap and thighbone discovered by Eugene Dubois, a Dutch anatomist and geologist, in the early 1890s, were the first known fossils of the species Homo erectus.

CAMPAIGN ON KOMODO UNITES INDONESIAN PEOPLE by Fardah

      Jakarta, Nov 4, 2011 (ANTARA) - The Komodo dragon, the world`s last remaining prehistoric giant lizard, is to be found only in Komodo National Park, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province, but the campaign to make Komodo one of the New7Wonders of Nature has received support from people throughout Indonesia.
       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) competition.

Indonesia disagrees with US on Palestine's UNESCO membership by Fardah

     Jakarta, Nov 2, 2011  (ANTARA News) - Palestine`s bid for UNESCO membership is in accordance with the vision of a two-state solution and therefore Indonesia was supporting it, despite opposition from the US government.
     "Indonesia`s stance is different, of course. Indonesia was even one of the co-sponsors of the Palestinian bid for UNESCO membership, as we also support Palestine`s bid for UN membership in New York," Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa said in Paris on Tuesday (Nov 1).