UN HLP RECOMMENDS BOLD FRAMEWORK FOR POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT by Fardah

    Jakarta, March 30, 2013 (Antara) - Members of the United Nations High-Level Panel (UN HLP) of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda issued a Final Communiqué that they described as an "ambitious yet achievable framework" in their meeting in Bali, Indonesia, recently.

        Co-chaired by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the fourth HLP meeting held on March 25-27, 2013, discussed how to build a global partnership and means of implementation for the development agenda.

INDONESIA RELEASES MORE SEA TURTLE HATCHLINGS INTO SEA by Fardah

     Jakarta, March 28, 2013 (Antara)- Several inhabitants of Sao Village, Mentawai Island, West Sumatra Province, must be overjoyed when they found a 75-kg sea turtle being stranded in a beach.

         They cooked the turtle and distributed its meat to their relatives and neighbors on March 24, 2013. Unfortunately, "the party" turned into a tragedy when several people started to fall ill after eating the turtle meat.

         Four children aged between four to 11 years old died and 148 people fell ill and had to be treated in nearby hospitals suspectedly due to the turtle meat poisoning, Warta Siritoitet of the Mentawai health office, said in Mentawai District on March 27, 2013.

INDONESIA RACING AGAINST TIME TO ACHIEVE MDGs by Fardah

      Jakarta, March 27, 2013  (Antara) - Many developing countries including Indonesia have just less than three years to make significant progresses in poverty eradication, health, sanitation and education programs which are parts of the the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
    April 5, 2013 will mark 1,000 days to the end of 2015 - the deadline for achieving the eight MDGs which were agreed by UN member nations in September 2000.

INDONESIANS READY TO TURN OFF LIGHTS TO SAVE PLANET EARTH by Fardah

     Jakarta, March 22, 2013 (Antara) - The Indonesian people - from the country's western-most province of Aceh on Sumatra Island to Gorontalo on Sulawesi Island - are expected to support Earth Hour campaign to save Planet Earth.
    Earth Hour is a worldwide event organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and held towards the end of March annually, encouraging households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour to raise awareness about the need to take action on climate change.

SCHOOL CANTEENS CRUCIAL FOR CREATING HEALTHY YOUNGER GENERATION by Fardah

     Jakarta, March 20, 2013 (Antara) - Parents whose children study in State Junior High School (SMPN) 194 in Duren Sawit, East Jakarta, could feel at ease allowing their children to buy food and beverages in the school's canteens.

         "Our canteens do not sell colorful snacks and beverages. For drinks, we can only buy bottled mineral water, milk or tea. We don't  have soft drinks nor instant noodles in the canteens which are tightly supervised by the teachers," Hani, a seven-grade student of SMPN 194, said recently.  

INDONESIA REAPS HUGE SUCCESS IN BERLIN TOURISM BOURSE 2013 by Fardah

    Jakarta, March 17, 2013 (Antara) - Indonesia, which was proud of being the official partner country of ITB Berlin (Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin) 2013 in Germany, claimed that it has recorded a huge success during the travel show joined by over 10,000 tourism stakeholders from 188 nations.

         Nia Niscaya, the Overseas Promotion Director of the Indonesian Tourism and Creative Economic Ministry, said recently that major international tour operators have confidence in Indonesia and are willing to offer the country as a main tourist destination to their clients.

INDONESIA'S MANGROVE CONSERVATION TO GET BOOST FROM SOCCER STAR by Fardah

    Jakarta, March 13, 2013 (Antara) - Indonesia, Brazil, Australia, Nigeria and India are countries with the largest area of mangrove forests, which are among the most threatened habitats in the world.

         Mangroves are disappearing more quickly than inland tropical rainforests particularly due to clear cutting for shrimp farms.

         Their deforestation has caused among other things fisheries declines, degradation of clean water supplies, salinization of coastal soils, erosion and land subsidence.

EVERY INDONESIAN CITY EXPECTED TO HAVE TRASH BANKS by Fardah

   Jakarta, March 12, 2013 (Antara) - Indonesian Environmental Affairs Minister Balthasar Kambuaya has envisioned the establishment of trash banks in every city in the country having the population of around 257 million - the world's fourth most populous nation after China, India and the United States.

         The ministry has set a target to develop at least 25 trash banks in each of 250 cities across Indonesia by 2014.

         "Currently, not all Indonesian districts and cities have trash banks. Only 55 districts and cities have established trash banks. Many others have not had such banks yet," Minister Kambuaya said recently when inaugurating "Super Depo" trash bank at Sutorejo area, Surabaya, East Java Province.  

INDONESIAN DIASPORA - NO MATTER WHERE, FORGET NOT MOTHERLAND by Fardah

     Jakarta, March 8, 2013 (Antara) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told Indonesian Diaspora in Berlin, Germany on March 5, 2013, to always remember Indonesia and give contribution for the country's development wherever they are.

        "It is not important whether you will return to Indonesia or you have decided to live in other countries. The most important is how you could always give your contribution to Indonesia," the head of state said before 60 members of Indonesian Diaspora consisting of among others post-graduate students, researchers, and lecturers.

TWO GROUPS OF ROHINGYA REFUGEES STRANDED IN ACEH LAST WEEK by Fardah

    Jakarta, March 6, 2013 (Antara) - Two wooden boats with no engine and carrying a total of 284 Rohingya refugees including women and children, were separately found adrift in Aceh waters by Aceh fishermen respectively on February 26 and 28, 2013.

         To rescue the hydrated, weak and starving Rohingya Muslims, local fishermen had to pull the boats up to 12 hours from the middle of the sea onto Aceh's shore.  

INDONESIAN MIGRANT WORKERS EVACUATED AMIDST SABAH STANDOFF by Fardah

   Jakarta, March 5, 2013 (Antara) - A standoff between Malaysian security forces and armed Filipinos, which was initially considered as a bizarre incident, has continued since last month without a peaceful solution in sight so far.
    The Indonesian authorities have been following closely the incident which claimed at least 27 lives mostly the armed Filipinos in Sabah, because thousands of Indonesian workers are being employed mainly in oil palm plantations in the Malaysian state.

MEAT SCANDAL "DRAGS DOWN" SOME CADRES OF MUSLIM-BASED PARTY by Fardah

  Jakarta, March 1 (Antara) - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has made a move  that "shocked" some Indonesian people earlier this year when it announced bribery  allegations against  several prominent figures of Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

         PKS is supposed and expected to become a role model in the fight against the country's rampant corruption practices.