FLOOD. LANDSLIDE DISASTERS REMAIN DOMINANT IN INDONESIA by Fardah

    Jakarta, Jan 31, 2014 (Antara) -  Indonesia only has two seasons - rainy and dry. The rainy season usually starts in November and ends in March, while the dry season begins in June and normally ends in October.

         Currently, a number of provinces are experiencing flooding and landslides as the peak of the rainy season falls between January and March.  
    Around 75 percent of natural disasters in Indonesia are hydro-meteorological ones, such as flooding, landslides, drought and whirlwinds.

JAKARTA LOOKS AT 1001 WAYS TO PREVENT FLOODING by Fardah

    Jakarta, Jan 29, 2014 (Antara) - Indonesia's capital city, Jakarta, with a population of around 10 million, has suffered the brunt of annual flooding for the past several years, and the condition only tends to get worse with each passing year.

         In the current peak rainy season, which started in early January 2014, the floods in Jakarta have claimed 23 lives, displaced tens of thousands, and caused losses amounting to around one trillion rupiah.

         Taking stock of the current grim situation, officials, experts, and NGO activists have come out with various ideas on how to prevent floods in the future.

LEGAL PROCESS OF SURABAYA "DEATH" ZOO CASE BEGINS by Fardah

    Jakarta, Jan 29, 2014 (Antara) - The Surabaya Zoo tragedy has dragged on too long, making the zoo notorious internationally for its cruelty. The zoo has been labeled as the "zoo of death" after thousands of animals perished over the past few years.

      The latest tragedy was when a 1.5 year old lion, Michael, was found dead under mysterious circumstances on January 7.  The African lion died when its head got caught in a cable inside its cage, triggering condemnations not only in Indonesia but also worldwide.

BALI STRIVES TO BE RABIES-FREE BY 2015 by Fardah

  Jakarta, Jan 27, 2014 (Antara) - Bali has firmly resolved to be rabies-free by the year 2015, in order to maintain its reputation as the world's most famous resort island.

        Over the past few years, the Bali authorities have routinely carried out mass vaccination programs against rabies, targeting stray as well as domestic dogs.  
   Last year, 356 thousand dogs were inoculated, and this year, mass vaccination will be carried out yet again, for the fourth time, targeting at least 350 thousand dogs.

INDONESIA JOINS GLOBAL ROAD SAFETY MOVEMENT TO REDUCE TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS by Fardah

     Jakarta, Jan 26, 2014 (Antara) - Driving in Jakarta is very challenging, if not very scary, for some people as the capital city's roads are mostly packed with motorcycles during peak hours.

        Some motor bikers drive carelessly and do not hesitate to break laws such as driving in the opposite direction on the roads, threatening other lives and their own lives particularly.

        The National Police's data showed that in 2012, there were 109,038 traffic accidents that claimed 25,131 lives, or 81 deaths per day, or three deaths per hour. In Jakarta, there were 5,959 traffic accidents with 616 deaths in 2013.

INDONESIA READY TO PLAY ACTIVE ROLE IN SYRIAN PEACE PROCESS by Fardah

    Jakarta, Jan 23, 2014 (Antara) - Since the beginning of armed conflict in Syria, Indonesia has been calling for a compromise and negotiations between the conflicting parties, arguing that the use of force will only bring sufferings to the people.

        At the invitation of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa is now in Switzerland to attend the Geneva II Conference on Syria. He will reiterate the Indonesian government's call for a peaceful solution to the prolonged civil war.

FLOODING SPREADS TO WIDER AREAS IN INDONESIA by Fardah

   Jakarta, Jan 22, 2014 (Antara) - In the past two weeks, floods and landslides have hit parts of Indonesia, particularly Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, and Kalimantan Islands, and continue to spread further, thereby claiming more lives as torrential rains continue to lash.

         In Jakarta, the number of refugees has shown a steep rise from 30,784 people recorded on January 19, to 89,334 people on January 22, 2014.  The death toll rose from seven to 12.

REFUGEES OF MT SINABUNG SURVIVE FOUR-MONTH ORDEAL by Fardah

    Jakarta, Jan 20, 2014 (Antara) -   Though the floods in Indonesia took over media space over the past week, it certainly does not indicate that the refugees from the prolonged Mount Sinabung eruption are forgotten or being ignored.  
    President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and First Lady Ani Yudhoyono have announced their plan to visit North Sumatra on January 23, to visit the refugees of the volcano.

          "The President and I plan to visit the refugees on January 23," stated Ani Yudhoyono recently.

SECURITY DURING GENERAL ELECTIONS TO BE PRIORITIZED by Fardah

  Jakarta, Jan 17, 2014 (Antara) - Ahead of the legislative and presidential elections scheduled on April 9 and July 9, respectively, the government has laid emphasis on securing the implementation of the elections, often dubbed a "party of  democracy" in Indonesia.

        During a recently held National Police (Polri) and Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) leadership meeting, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on the security authorities not to treat the security measures during the implementation of the general elections as routine tasks.

ANNUAL FLOODS HIT PARTS OF INDONESIA by Fardah

   Jakarta, Jan 16 , 2013 (Antara) - Typically, January and February are the peak months of the rainy season in Indonesia, which mostly results in flooding across several parts of the country.

        The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNBP) reported that, currently, the floods have affected several areas in Sulawesi, Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Java Island.

        The North Sulawesi Province is the worst affected by the floods. Over the last two days, 16 people died, three went missing, and at least 40 thousand residents displaced as the aftermath of flooding.

GOVT URGED TO STERNLY DEAL WITH AUSTRALIA'S BOAT TURN-BACK POLICY by Fardah

   Jakarta, Jan 9, 2014 (Antara) - Indonesia is observing a moratorium on cooperating with Australia on people-smuggling following a spying scandal revealed by the whistle-blower Edward Snowden and reported by the Australian media last year.

        The bilateral relations between the two neighboring countries are severely strained following the revelation of a "top secret" document alleging that an Australian intelligence body had intercepted the phone lines of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the First Lady, the Vice-President, and other senior ministers.

IN POLITICAL YEAR, EVEN LPG PRICE HIKE STIRS POLITICAL UPROAR by Fardah

   Jakarta, Jan 8 , 2014 (Antara) - As Indonesia gears up for the 2014 legislative and presidential elections, any important policy changes, including the price hike of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), can trigger a political uproar involving ruling and opposition parties.

        The legislative elections are scheduled to be held on April 9, 2014, while the presidential elections will be held on July 9, 2014.

        In late December 2013, the state-owned oil and gas company, PT Pertamina, announced its decision to increase the price of non-subsidized 12-kg LPG by Rp3.9 thousand per kg, or up by 68 percent, as of January 2014.

"HELLO KEMKES" READY TO SERVE POTENTIAL CLIENTS OF BPJS by Fardah

 Jakarta, Jan 7, 2014 (Antara) - "This is 'Hello Kemkes', I'm Firman, can I help you?", a customer service officer of "Hello Kemkes" greeted Titik, who had called for information on the membership requirements for the National Health Insurance (JKN) scheme.

        Titik called "Hello Kemkes" on Monday (Jan.6) at around 8 p.m. and was satisfied with the information provided by Firman, who gave detailed information along with the address and phone numbers of the nearest BPJS office to Titik's home in eastern Jakarta.