INDONESIA EAGER TO BECOME MUSLIM FASHION CAPITAL by Fardah

 Jakarta, July 24, 2014 (Antara) - Domestic Muslim fashion industry has been growing rapidly in Indonesia, which is the world's largest Muslim majority nation, with a population of about 250 million, of whom 85 percent are Muslims.  
"The domestic Muslim fashion industry is extremely creative, and its products have immense market potential," Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestushe said in Batam, Riau Islands, last June 2014.

WORLD LEADERS OFFER CONGRATULATIONS TO PRESIDENT-ELECT JOKOWI by Fardah

Jakarta, July 23, 2014 (Antara) - Following a long and tiring presidential election campaign, the General Election Commission (KPU) at last declared Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as Indonesia's president-elect.

         The commission announced in Jakarta on July 22, 2014 that Jokowi and his running mate, Jusuf Kalla, won 70,997,833 votes, or 53.15 percent of the total 133,574,277 valid votes, while their rivals, Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa secured 62,576,444 votes, or 46.85 percent.

         The valid votes account for about 70.19 percent of the 190,307,134 registered eligible voters, a slightly decrease from 71.7 percent of voter turnout in the previous presidential election in 2009, and from 75.11 percent of turnout in the legislative elections held on April 9, 2014, KPU Commissioner Sigit Pamungkas said in Jakarta on July 23, 2014.    

INDONESIA CALLS FOR SOLIDARITY WITH MALAYSIA OVER MH17 TRAGEDY by Fardah

     Jakarta, July 23, 2014 (Antara) - Yuli Hastini, 44, was traveling home to Solo, with her Dutch husband, Johny Poulissen (47), and two children, Arjuna Marten Poulisse (5) and Srikandi Poulissen (3).

        They were going on the trip to enjoy Idul Fitri Holiday and, most importantly, to visit the grave of her mother who had died late last year while Yuli was away.

        Before her departure to Indonesia, Yuli had told her sister, Woro Pamiluti, via phone that she hoped to visit her mother's grave because she had not attended her funeral last year.

INDONESIA CALLS FOR GLOBAL EFFORTS TO STOP ISRAELI AGGRESSION IN GAZA by Fardah

   Jakarta, July 20, 2014 (Antara) - A young female Israeli legislator Ayelet Shaked of the ultra-nationalist Jewish Home party, has called for the slaughter of Palestinian mothers who give birth to, what she called as, "little snakes."
   "They are all our enemies and their blood should be on our hands. This also applies to the mothers of the dead terrorists," she said, adding that  "They should follow their sons, nothing would be more just. They should go, as should the physical homes in which they raised the snakes. Otherwise, more little snakes will be raised there."
    Reacting to Shaked's remarks, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Israeli's policy in Gaza is no different than Hitler's mentality.

        "An Israeli woman said Palestinian mothers should be killed, too. And she's a member of the Israeli parliament. What is the difference between this mentality and Hitler's?" Erdogan asked.

POLICE MAKE PROGRESS IN PROBE OVER JIS SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE by Fardah

    Jakarta, July 18, 2014 (Antara) - The Jakarta Police decision to finally detain two staffers of the Jakarta International School (JIS) in connection with a sexual assault case involving kindergarten pupils, was hailed by officials and parents.

         "We convey our appreciation to the police for tackling sexual assault cases at the JIS and other places. We see some progress," the Indonesian Commission for Child Protection (KPAI) chairman, Asrorum Niam Sholeh, remarked at the police headquarters recently.

         After grilling the two suspects identified by their initials as NB, a Canadian national, and FT, an Indonesian citizen,  and obtaining adequate evidence, the Jakarta police detained the two school staffers, who were named suspects on July 10, 2014.

TIGHT SECURITY MEASURES IN PLACE FOR ELECTION RESULT ANNOUNCEMENT by Fardah

  Jakarta, July 17, 2014 (Antara) - Indonesia had organized its third direct and democratic presidential election peacefully on July 9, 2014, participated enthusiastically by most of over 190 million eligible voters of the country having a population of about 250 million.

         However, a couple of hours after the polls were closed, both the presidential candidates--Prabowo Subianto and Joko Widodo (Jokowi)--had claimed victory in a tight election that has divided the public and media alike.  

RIAU EXTENDS EMERGENCY STATUS AS WILDFIRES RE-EMERGE By Fardah

    Jakarta, July 16, 2014 (Antara) - The Modis Terra and Aqua satellite had detected 45 hotspots in Riau province on July 15, 2014, indicating that forest, peatland, and plantation fires are back in the current dry season.

         In June alone, the NOAA 18 Satellite operated by the United States had identified a total of 543 hotspots in Riau, which was the highest in the last three months.

          Of the 543 hotspots, 208 were found in Rokan Hilir District, 66 in Bengkalis, 52 in Pelalawan, 46 in Dumai, 45 in Indragiri Hulu, 25 in Indragiri Hilir, 23 in Rokan Hulu, 23 in Kampar, 22 in Siak, and one each in Meranti Islands and Pekanbaru City. In June 2014, at least 341 hectares of forest and plantation areas in Riau were razed by fires.

INDONESIANS COLLECT DONATIONS TO PROVIDE AID TO GAZA RESIDENTS by Fardah

    Jakarta, July 14, 2014 (Antara) - Indonesia, a staunch supporter of Palestinians in their struggle for independence, has been prompt in demonstrating its moral and financial support for Gaza residents, who are currently facing incessant air strikes launched by Israel.

         Numerous street rallies against Israeli military attacks were organized in several Indonesian cities and condemnations were voiced by the Indonesian government and public.

        As for concrete actions, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and presidential candidates, Prabowo Subianto and Joko Widodo (Jokowi), pledged to offer financial assistance to Gaza residents, while various NGOs and university students have begun to collect funds from the public.

INDONESIA CONDEMNS ISRAEL FOR KILLING INNOCENTS IN PALESTINE by Fardah

    Jakarta, July 11, 2014 (Antara) - The Indonesian government and public have condemned Israel for killing many innocent Palestinian people including children in the military attacks on Gaza over the past few days.

         "Indonesia condemns Israel's military offensive in Gaza. It is an act that has caused a lot of innocent casualties in Palestine, and it has created a new obstacle in the efforts to create a condition conducive for the continuation of peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine," stated Foreign Affairs Minister Marty
Natalegawa in Jakarta, on July 10, 2014.

INDONESIANS ENTHUSIASTICALLY CAST THEIR VOTES TO ELECT NEXT LEADER by Fardah

  Jakarta, July 9, 2014 (Antara) - The "battle" for who the next Indonesian president started in the world's third largest democratic nation on Wednesday as millions of Indonesians cast their votes for the presidential election.

         Data of the General Elections Commission (KPU) has revealed that the number of eligible voters in the presidential election this year was 190,307,134, an increase from 187,8 million in the legislative elections organized on April 9, 2014.

         According to the list announced by the KPU on June 6, the number of eligible domestic voters was 188,268,423, comprising 94,301,112 male and 93,967,311 female.

         While overseas, the number of eligible voters was 2,038,711, comprising 919,687 male and 1,119,024 female.  

INDONESIA'S HEAD-TO-HEAD PRESIDENTIAL RACE AND MEDIA COVERAGE by Fardah

     Jakarta, July 8, 2014 (Antara) - For the first time in Indonesia's history, the country's presidential race between two rivals has triggered sharp polarizations affecting the media, laborers, teachers, farmers, artists, academicians, and social media users, to name a few.

         The presidential election, which will be held nationwide on July 9, 2014, will be contested by two pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates, Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa and Joko Widodo (Jokowi)-Jusuf Kalla (JK), as compared to five candidate pairs in the 2004 election, and three in the 2009 election.

INDONESIA BRACES FOR DROUGHT AS EL NIÑO DEVELOPS by Fardah

   Jakarta, July 7, 2014 (Antara) - Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has forecast that weak to moderate El Niño will likely begin to develop between July and August, and its impact will be apparent as of August.

          "Although El Niño in 2014 will not be as damaging as that in 1997, and will induce less dry drought than in 1997, the natural phenomenon will delay the start of the rainy season in 2014 and 2015, especially in the eastern and central parts of Indonesia," Head of BMKG Andi Eka Sakya said recently.

          During 1997-1998, Indonesia had experienced a prolonged drought induced by the strongest ever recorded El Niño, which triggered widespread fires.  The greatest loss caused by forest and land fires in Indonesia occurred in 1997, when fires wiped out millions of hectares of forest and plantation areas and caused losses worth US$2.45 billion.

POLL SURVEYS INDICATE TIGHT RACE IN INDONESIA'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION by Fardah

    Jakarta, July 2, 2014 (Antara)- Last year, various media reports described presidential hopeful Joko Widodo (Jokowi) as the strongest frontrunner in the July election in Indonesia, as he was the most favored candidate due to his humble and down-to-earth attitude.

         Jokowi was believed to win the presidential race easily as poll surveys revealed that his electability rate was far ahead of any potential rivals, including Prabowo Subianto. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Jokowi's electability rate was 58.2 percent compared to Prabowo's only 19.3 percent in November 2013.  

INDONESIA, TURKEY CLOSER TO COOPERATION IN DEFENSE INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT by Fardah

   Jakarta, July 1, 2014 (Antara) - Turkey and Indonesia have been exploring cooperation in military and defense industry development over the last few years.

        This was in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on defense industry signed by the two countries when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had visited Turkey in June 2010.

         At a closed-door meeting at the Indonesian Parliament building on June 30, 2014, the Indonesian government and the House of Representatives (DPR) had agreed to begin the deliberation of a bill to ratify the defense industry agreement between Indonesia and Turkey.