Italian tourist died in hiking accident

Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram | Tue, 06/29/2010 3:00 PM

An Italian tourist was killed Monday when she fell after losing her footing during a hiking trip on Mount Rinjani, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, local police said.

The body of Federica Protora (28) was evacuated Tuesday morning and was taken to Bhayangkara Police Hospital.

Adj. Comr. Lalu Wirajaya, the provincial police spokesman, told The Jakarta Post that the victim and her friend Guillaume Antoniolo (30) of France started the hike in Senaru, West Lombok, on Sunday morning, accompanied by a number of porters.

“They reached Segara Anak Lake area and were on their way home when the accident occurred at around 3:00 a.m. Monday. She slipped of a cliff,” Lalu said.

Lalu said the authorities were coordinating with the victim's family to send the body home.

Toddler improving after tiger attack

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 06/29/2010 2:22 PM

A holiday turned sour for 3-year-old girl Angelica Rosa after she was mauled her Monday by a tiger bred at the Indonesia Safari Park in Prigen in the neighboring East Java town of Pasuruan.

She is undergoing treatment at Lavalette Hospital in Malang.

Hospital director Arif Wijanto said Angelica had undergone plastic surgery shortly after she was transferred from Panca Darma Hospital in Pasuruan on Monday night.

“The patient’s condition continues improving and she is able to communicate. But she cannot eat and drink independently yet due to facial injuries,” Arif said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Angelica and her parents were walking past a section inside the park when the 10-month Bengala tiger leapt onto and mauled her, according to the park’s spokeswoman Tisa.

“The tiger broke free from its handlers who quickly regained control of the animal following the attack,” Tisa said.

She added that park management would cover medical costs that Angelica, a resident of Genduk Indak housing complex in Semarang, Central Java, requires.

Pregnant women who fast during Ramadan 'put babies' health at risk'

Daily Mail, By DAILY MAIL REPORTER, 25th June 2010

Pregnant Muslim women who fast during Ramadan are likely to have smaller babies who are more prone to learning disabilities, a new study has found.

Researchers from the U.S said this trend was most marked if mothers-to-be fasted early on in their pregnancy and during the summer when longer days meant they went more hours without food.

They also found that the women were 10 per cent less likely to give birth to a boy if they had fasted.

Thousands of Palestinian women pray around the Dome of the Rock in
Jerusalem during Ramadan. Dawn-to-dusk fasting is practised for the month

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and a time when Muslims across the world fast from dawn until sunset.

Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam and many women may fear a loss of connection with their communities if they did not observe it.

Women who request an exemption from fasting are expected to make up the days they have missed after their baby is born.

The study was based on census data from the US, Iraq and Uganda. It also revealed that the long-term effects on the adult's health impacted on their future economic success.

Study author Douglas Almond, of Columbia University said: 'We generally find the largest effects on adults when Ramadan falls early in pregnancy.

'Rates of adult disability are roughly 20 per cent higher, with specific mental disabilities showing substantially larger effects.

'Importantly, we detect no corresponding outcome differences when the same design is applied to non-Muslims.'

Fire scene investigation

The Jakarta Post, Antara | Fri, 06/25/2010 3:05 PM

South Surabaya Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Bahagia Dachi joins an investigation team examining the scene of a fire that engulfed a nightclub in Surabaya on Friday. At least seven people were killed in the fire and three others were injured. Antara/M Risyal Hidayat

Related Article:

Woman Gives Birth Before She Dies in Horror Inferno

RI obtains US$ 55 million grant from global fund

Antara News, Wednesday, June 23, 2010 21:51 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Global Fund has once again provided Indonesia with a grant of US$55 million for its AIDS prevention program.

"In the first phase, the Fund will provide 55 million US dollars to be e given to three main recipients, namely the Ministry of Health, the National AIDS Commission (KPA) and the nation`s biggest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)," Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said here on Wednesday.

She said the grant would be provided in installments for two periods, namely 2010-2012 and 2012-2015.

Of the grant`s total amount , about 39 million US dollars would be managed by the Ministry of Health, 18 million US dollars by the National AIDS Commission (KPA) and about 2 million US dollars by NU.

The grant would primarily be used to tackle three infectious diseases, namely AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and malaria.

Indonesia was again given the grant because it was considered successful in preventing these diseases in recent years.

Global Fund Executive Director Professor Michel Kazatchkine said Indonesia had been very successful in the use of previous grant funds. The Global Fund had witnessed Indonesia`s success in fighting the three diseases over the past eight to ten years.

Since 2002, the Global Fund has disbursed 630 million US dollars in grants to Indonesia to combat the three diseases.

The minister said of the total of amount of grants received from the Global Fund as much as 115 million US dollars were used for prevention of AIDS, 113 million US dollars for tuberculosis and 185 million US dollars for malaria.

BMKG warns harmful acid rains in Indonesia

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 06/23/2010 9:21 PM

Contrary to the clean look in rainwater pouring the country’s land, the weather agency finds most of the  rainwater contains harmful pollutions that are feared to harm environment and affect human health.

The weather agency categorized the polluted rainwater as acid rains with acidity scale having gone down the tolerable level of 5.6.

A report by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) shows acidity level of the  rainwater, measured by potential for hydrogen (pH), in Jakarta, Bogor (West Java), Pontianak (West Kalimantan) and Manado (North Sulawesi) was among the lowest in the country.

“The sharp decline of the pH level of rainwater has hit most areas in Indonesia with the worst was recorded in big cities,” Edvin Aldrian, BMKG’s climate change and air quality unit head, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The data says acidity level of the rainwater in Jakarta was 4.52, Manado with 4.22, Pontianak was 4.29, while the rain city of Bogor was 4.40 last year.

The pH measures the amount of acid in rainwater with the scale of 0-14. The normal rainwater has a pH of 5.6. The lower scale of pH, the worse is rainwater quality.

The BMKG issued annual report of acidity level of the rainwater.

Police arrest Singaporean for smuggling 2 kg of crystal meth

Hasyim Widhiarto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 06/22/2010 3:36 PM

Jakarta Police announced Tuesday they had detained a Singaporean for allegedly attempting to smuggle 2 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine into Indonesia through Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten.

On its website, the police said the suspect, identified as Dekasto Derick Jason, had been arrested in the airport's Terminal 2D at 8:20 p.m. on Monday.

From the X-ray check of his bag, the airport police officers suspected the bag contained drugs. After checking the bag, it was confirmed that Jason was attempting to bring 2,060 grams of crystal meth into Indonesia.

The case is currently being handled by the Airport Police.

Iranians biggest drug smugglers to Indonesia

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 06/20/2010

The Indonesian government has said that Iranian nationals are the most common smugglers of class-A drugs into the country as of January this year.

Malaysians were the next-highest group, with eight suspects arrested so far this year, followed by India with six suspects, tempointeraktif.com reported.

The Customs and Excise Office at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, has arrested 15 Iranian nationals this year linked to 22 cases. It has also seized a total 115 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, locally known as shabu-shabu), ketamine, heroin, cocaine and marijuana.

"All of the evidence together is worth Rp 278 billion (US$30.5 million) at market value," the office's head Baduri Wijayanta said Sunday.

All of the arrested Iranian smugglers were believed to be part of an Iran-based international drug syndicate, he added.

The office's head of prosecutions Gatot Sugeng Wibowo said the Iran-based drug mafia might not have been aware that Indonesia enforced the death penalty for drug smuggling.

The 2009 Narcotics Law carries the death penalty and a Rp 10 billion fine for anyone in possession of more than 5 grams of drugs.

News maker: Journalists take pictures of Soekarno-Hatta airport customs
 office head Bahaduri Wijayanta following a press conference on the arrest
 of three Iranians for a drug smuggling attempt. The Iranian nationals were
presented during the conference on Wednesday.-- JP/Multa Fidrus

Related Article:

Iranian trio arrested for drug smuggling attempt

UN helps NTT deals with poverty

The Jakarta Post, Kupang | Fri, 06/18/2010 10:22 AM

KUPANG: The UN is committed to assisting East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) address poverty problems, UN Resident Coordinator for Indonesia El Mostafa Ben Lamlih has said in Kupang.

Mostafa said Tuesday the UN had a special agenda and would continue coordinating with local administrations to deal with those problems.

He was speaking at the unveiling the five-year cooperation scheme involving eight UN organizations, including the UNDP, Unicef and the UNHCR.

Apart from poverty, he added, the UN was also ready to partner with local administrations to address problems in the fields of health, education, economy, infrastructure, judicial systems and the environment.

NTT Governor Frans Leburaya hoped UN aid would ease the province’s poverty, which affects almost half of the province’s population of 4.6 million. — JP

RI eager to ban use of mercury

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 06/18/2010 10:16 AM

The government has announced it plans to meet an international standard currently being developed that would outlaw the use and production of mercury, which is a highly toxic metal.

Head of the government’s team tasked with meeting the regulation, Rasio Ridho Sani, said Indonesians and the local environment were vulnerable to mercury poisoning.

“We plan to join the planned legally binding treaty on mercury issues,” Rasio told reporters Wednesday.

Indonesia imported 9 tons of mercury in 2009, primarily for use in dental clinics and small mining operations.

The first round talks for the anti-mercury convention was held in Stockholm last week, grouping

delegates from 121 countries and 61 NGOs.

During the meeting, Japan declared it would being implementing the regulation in 2013. Japan proposed the agreement be named the Minamata treaty, after the Japanese town in which more than 900 people died after consuming fish contaminated with methylmercury dumped into the bay in the 1950s. Acute mercury poisoning is referred to as Minamata disease.

“The talks on the mercury convention got huge responses as all countries look to prevent another incident like Minamata,” Rasio said.

He said Indonesia would look to implement the treaty within a select few industrial sectors at first, and would seek financial and technological support from rich nations to meet the demands of the agreement.

“We hope that implementation [of the treaty] will affect selected sectors, such as dental clinics, but the rich nations should still take the lead in combating mercury emissions,” he said.

Many Indonesian dentists still use mercury-based amalgam to fill cavities.

Data from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) showed that 1,200-2,900 tons of mercury was emitted into the atmosphere world wide every year due to human actions.

It said huge amounts of mercury were released into rivers, lakes, seas and on land.

The UNEP said most people and animals absorbed small amounts of mercury into their bodies through breathing in mercury emitted by industrial processes and coal-fired power stations, and ingesting mercury in food.

“There is increasing concern about the consequences of low-level exposure,” it said.

Experts claim fossil-fuel burning is the main contributor of mercury pollution.

Rasio said negotiations during the convention discussed how to reduce supply and demand as well as technical and financial assistance to combat mercury emissions.

Indonesia is currently a party to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions on hazardous chemical substances.

Japanese Couple Murdered in Their Tangerang Home

Jakarta Globe, June 18, 2010

A retired Japanese teacher and his wife were stabbed to death in their home in Indonesia by a disgruntled former domestic worker, police said Friday.

Yasuwo Hara, 69, was stabbed in the chest and his wife, Mizue, 67, in the neck and stomach around 9:00 pm (1400 GMT) Thursday at their home in Ciputat, southern Jakarta, police said.

Police arrested the couple’s recently sacked gardener, 22-year-old Asep, a spokesman said. Another suspect was also believed to have been arrested but this has not been confirmed.

The killer reportedly snuck into the couple’s house through the garage and attacked them as they were eating dinner.

Agence France-Presse

Indonesian Sex Slave Rescued from Shocking Abuse

Jakarta Globe, June 17, 2010

A young and badly abused Indonesian sex slave forced to have intercourse with hundreds of men over the past two months has been rescued by Malaysian authorities.

The Star online reported that the Immigration Department in Penang rescued the unidentified woman, in her 20s, from a locked room in a house in George Town on Tuesday night. She did not have any valid travel documents in her possession.

Her alleged captors, from Bangladesh, were also taken into custody.

“The Bangladeshis, who were also without any documents, were in the house then and were arrested,” the news portal quoted Immigration Department official Abdul Rahman Hassan as saying. “They have been remanded pending investigations and the woman has been sent to the Penang Hospital for a check up.”

The department reportedly received a tip-off two weeks ago that the Bangladeshis, both in their 30s, “offered” the woman to their friends for a price. She was forced to have sex with a number of men daily or else she would be beaten.

The report did not say why it took so long for Malaysian authorities to act.

The Indonesian Consulate in Penang was not available for comment.

Iranian trio arrested for drug smuggling attempt

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang | Wed, 06/16/2010 5:19 PM

News maker: Journalists take pictures of Soekarno-Hatta airport customs office head Bahaduri Wijayanta following a press conference on the arrest of three Iranians for a drug smuggling attempt. The Iranian nationals were presented during the conference on Wednesday.-- JP/Multa Fidrus

Customs and excise officers have arrested three Iranians at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport for attempting to smuggle two kilograms of crystal methamphetamine from Tehran into the country.

The arrest on Tuesday has brought the number of Iranian nationals apprehended for drug smuggling attempt to 11 since January.

Bahaduri Wijayanta, head of customs office at the airport, identified the latest three suspects as Jeihouni Sohrab, 28, Fadaelfatehviri Fardin, 33 and Nousratpour Sohrab, 40. The latter is a woman.

Making their first trip to Indonesia, the three Iranians arrived at the airport on Tuesday aboard Qatar Airways flight QR-672 that flew from Doha.

“Our profile analyses conducted on passengers found the three suspects displayed suspicious behavior so that we decided to examine them,” Bahaduri told a media conference at his office on Wednesday.

The officers found a total of 990 grams crystal methamphetamine hidden in false concealments under the sandals of Jeihouni and Fardin. Another 1,040 grams of the same drug was concealed in the luggage pushers carried by Nousratpour.

“All the suspects admitted to having been promised payment worth US$900 each for delivering the drug to someone in Jakarta,” Bahaduri said.

The suspects will be charged with violating Article 113 of the 2009 anti-narcotics law. If proven guilty, the suspects will face maximum penalty of death.

Airport police chief Sr. Comr. Tornagogo said that police were intensifying their crackdown on drug at the domestic terminal under an operation code named Nila, which started on June 4.

Global fund provides rp17.3 billion for AIDS handling in Indonesia

Antara News, Tuesday, June 15, 2010 17:59 WIB

Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA News) - The United Nations Global Fund has provided Indonesia with Rp17.31 billion for the handling of infectious diseases in three provinces, an AIDS commission official said.

"The three provinces which have received the assistance from the Global Fund are West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and Maluku," National AIDS Commission Secretary Nafsiah Mboi said here on Tuesday.

The funds will be used to handle three types of infectious diseases, namely AIDS, tuberculosis (TBC) and malaria.

She said NTB got an allocation worth Rp5.05 billion, NTT Rp7.19 billion and Maluku Rp7.07 billion.

Nafsiah Mboi said the aim of the assistance was to accelerate the efforts to prevent and handle HIV/AIDS cases in the country.

The funds come on top of those made available in state and regional budgets.

PMI installs blood donation units at malls, campuses

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 06/15/2010 10:53 AM

The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) expects to increase its blood supply by building new donor centers in shopping centers and universities throughout the country.

“We want to bring people closer to the blood donor centers so that blood donation becomes second nature,” said PMI’s chairman Jusuf Kalla during the official launch of a blood donation unit in Crystal Lagoon, Lower Ground of Senayan City mall, South Jakarta, Monday.

He added that currently Indonesia faced a shortage in blood donations. According to the international standard, a country should ideally have at least two percent of blood supply from its total population.

“It means that we need 4.8 million bags of blood, while now PMI can only produce about 1.9 million bags each year,” said Jusuf.

He added that PMI targeted healthy young generation and middle class to increase good quality blood supplies.

Fresh blood: People donate blood Monday at Senayan City mall, Jakarta. Indonesian Red Cross chairman Jusuf Kalla launched a national blood drive campaign Monday that features donation booths in public places, such as shopping centers and campuses.JP/R. Berto Wedhatama

“That’s why we have chosen malls and universities where there’s a large concentration of people every day,” he said.

PMI, he added, set up permanent counters in malls with at least 20,000 visitors every day and in universities which have more than 20,000 students.

“After this we also plan to build factories to produce blood bags and needles, so that in the next two years we will have an independent blood system,” he said.

In Jakarta, PMI also plans to open new units in Tanah Abang shopping center, Trisakti University, and the State Islamic University, while it expected to build another six units in East Java and South Sulawesi provinces.

The health minister’s assistant for medicolegal affairs Faiq Bahfen said that a sufficient supply of

good quality blood that was easily accessible was crucial to support the government’s aims of decreasing the maternal mortality rate.

In 2007 data showed the country’s maternal mortality rate reached 228 deaths per 100,000 births, with 20 to 40 percent of the cases caused by excessive bleeding.

“We can prevent death by anticipating the causes and handling them promptly,” he said, highlighting the importance of good quality blood in emergency situations.

Safe blood transfer, he said, was also needed to overcome degenerative diseases, accident injuries and blood anomalies.

“We also hope to increase maternal health and reduce the infection of HIV/AIDS by providing a sufficient supply of blood,” he said.

He said the establishment of blood donor centers in malls and universities would increase voluntary blood donations, which would in turn support the government’s efforts to provide blood services to the public.

Chief executive officer of Senayan City Handaka Santosa said the blood donor centers would complement the routine blood donations that are held regularly in a number of shopping centers.

“During the soft opening yesterday of the permanent blood donation center we had around 25 visitors and they showed a good response,” he said. (lnd)

The establishment of blood donor centers in malls and universities will increase voluntary blood donations.

Thirty-three provinces sign MoU on women`s empowerment

Antara News, Tuesday, June 15, 2010 03:58 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Thirty-three provinces Monday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry for Women`s Empowerment and Child Protection on harmonizing and synchronizing the central and regional governments` programs in the fields of women`s empowerment and child protection.

"This (Mou) is a kind of joint commitment we have ever made," Minister for Women`s Empowerment and Child Protection Linda Amalia Sari Gumelar said after a national coordination meeting on women`s empowerment and child protection in Bekasi east of here.

Under the MoU, both the central and provincial governments were committed to focus on achieving the goals of medium-term development plan, strategic plan and national development priority particularly in the fields of women`s empowerment and child protection.

The MoU underscored the importance of harmonizing and synchronizing the central and provincial governments` programs in the areas of women`s empowerment and child protection.

"There will be no administrative sanctions related to the commitment. But we hope the signing of MoU will lay a basis for each region to focus their attention on the programs," she said.

She expressed her belief that each province was looking forward to promoting their regions by developing programs in the fields of women`s empowerment and child protection.

"Hence, even if there will be no administrative sanctions each of the regions will implement the joint commitment well," she said.

RI to have difficulty achieving MDG targets : expert

Antara News, Tuesday, June 15, 2010 03:43 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia will have difficulty achieving its MDG (Millennium Development Goals) targets because of the low commitment of its government and political institutions to prioritizing health and education, a developmental economist said.

"I am pessimistic about Indonesia`s ability to achieve its MDG targets by 2015," University of Indonesia (UI) economic development lecturer Mayling Oey Gardiner said in a speech to mark her appointment as a member of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI) here Monday.

She said, in 2009, a total of 189 UN member countries had committed themselves to attaining the following eight goals : fighting poverty and hunger, making education available to all, encouraging gender equality and woman`s empowerment, reducing infant mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other contagious diseases, ensuring preservation of the environment, and promoting global partnerships for development.

According Mayling, Indonesia managed to lower its poverty rate from 20.6 percent in 1990 to 16.6 percent in 2007, but the poor people were identified as those living on less than one US dollar per capita per day.

"But if the spending level was raised to two US dollars per capita per day, there would still be 49 percent of the population categorized as poor," she said.

In terms of realizing elementary education for all, if elementary education was defined as nine years of schooling, Indonesia`s target was still a long way off.

"In 2007 the pure participation rate in elementary education was 94 percent but the pure participation rate of children aged 13 to 15 years in secondary education was only 67 percent, and so far there had been no breakthrough to increase this figure," she said.

She regretted that the government was now enthusiastically subsidizing so-called international-standard schools with as much Rp500 million a year per school while there was no subsiidy at all to enable elementary school children in remote parts of the country to continue their studies at secondary schools as called for in the MDG program.

In the public health field, Mayling said, she had so far not heard a firm government commitment to prioritize the lowering of the maternal and infant mortality rate while its MDG target called for reduction of the current figure to 102 per 100,000 deliveries by 2015.

"A survey in 2007 put the maternal mortality rate at 228 per 100,000 deliveries. This was related to the fact that a high number of deliveries took place without the assistance of trained medical personnel, namely one-third of deliveries," she said.

Aceh to host mental health confab next month

Antara News, Sunday, June 13, 2010 14:04 WIB

Banda Aceh, Aceh (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian western-most province of Aceh will host the second national Islamic Mental Health conference here, July 29-30, which will be attended by medical specialists and paramedics as well as the foreign guest speakers.

The foreign guest speakers include mental health specialists from Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam, chairman of the conference organizing committee, dr Syahrial SpKj, said here on Sunday.

"The meeting will also gather information on mental health development across the country," he said, adding that a seminar on mental health will also be held featuring Prof DR dr Hatta Sharum, a lecturer of the Malaysian Kebangsaan University.

"We welcome the neighboring countries` participation although it is actually a national conference," Syahrial said.

According to him, the appointment of Aceh to host the conference has to do with the free shackling program promoted by the Aceh provincial administration this year.

Syahrial believed that the Banda Aceh mental health hospital will get much information from the conference in handling patients.

Bali Teen Caught Making Love to 'Flirtatious' Cow

Jakarta Globe, Made Arya Kencana, June 11, 2010

It was on a terrace between two paddy fields like this that Balinese teenager Ngurah Alit was caught having sex with a cow, who he claimed had flirted with him. (AFP Photo/Jewel Samad)

Denpasar. A Balinese teenager captured stark naked in the act of sexually penetrating a domestic cow claims he believed the animal was a young and beautiful girl.

The young man has been identified as Ngurah Alit, 18, an unemployed youth from the seaside village of Yeh Embang in Jembrana.

Village head Ida Bagus Legawa told the Jakarta Globe that a villager, identified as Gusti Ngurah Dinar, caught Alit committing bestiality “when he was standing naked and holding the cow’s ass.” He was standing on a mud terrace between two rice paddy fields.

A shocked Dinar escorted Alit to the village office for questioning, where he stated that he believed the cow, owned by Wayan Yasa, was a young and beautiful girl.

“She was calling to me, making flattering comments, then I had sex with her,” Alit told local officials.

As is usual in such situations — this is the second recorded instance of cow rape in Bali in about two years — the animal will be drowned at sea in a Pecaruan cleansing ceremony intended to rid the village of what Legawa described as “dirty behaviour.”

Alit will be cleansed in the ocean and must pay a fine of 2,000 traditional Balinese coins.

Wayan will be compensated Rp 5 million ($540) for the loss of his cow.

In 2008, elderly grandfather Nengah Sutarya, 70, was caught in the act of having sex with a cow that he also said had tempted him by claiming to be a virgin girl.

That cow was drowned because villagers believed the 70-year old had impregnated the unlucky animal.

Related Article:

Teenager Passes Out Marrying Cow He Had Sex With

President wants increase social assistance for senior citizens

Antara News, Wednesday, June 9, 2010 16:08 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono here Wednesday called for an increase in the amount of social assistance for senior citizens which now stood at Rp300,000 per person per month.

"I have talked about it with the social affairs minister and asked him to increase the amount. The monthly rate of Rp300,000 per senior citizen should be raised in line with the increase in our gross domestic product (GDP) and state budget," the President said.

The president made the remark in his address at a function to mark National Senior Citizens` Day at the State Palace.

Social Affairs Minister Salim Segaf Al-Jufri explained earlier that since 2007 the government had been giving social security funds to some 10,000 senior citizens. Each of them received Rp300,000 per month.

Therefore, the head of state added that besides increasing the senior citizens social security funds, the government at present and in the future would also continue to improve the protection of senior citizens and other special population groups such as severely disabled, displaced children, and others who deserved social protection.

The President also asked provincial, district, and municipal administrations to continue providing senior citizens and disabled people with other public facilities such as at railway stations, bus stations, and other public places.

"It is unethical if the elderly and disabled also have to jostle or struggle in the crowds at railway stations and bus terminals to get into a train or bus. Let us respect them by giving them greater convenience as the implementation of social justice for all people," the president said.

The head of state noted that the number of elderly in the country had continued to increase every year. The figure was 5.3 million in 1970 but rose to 19.5 million in 2008.

According to the president, the increase in the number of elderly people indicated that national development had produced tangible results. An increase in a people`s life expectancy rate also signified a higher prosperity level, he said.

Smoking Toddler Cuts Back to 15-a-Day

Jakarta Globe, June 08, 2010

Chain-smoking two-year-old Ardi Rizal is down to 15 cigarettes a day thanks to therapy. (AFP Photo)

A chain-smoking Indonesian toddler has cut back to 15 cigarettes a day thanks to “therapy focused on playing”, a child welfare official said on Tuesday.

Two-year-old Ardi Rizal shocked the world when a video of him smoking a cigarette appeared on the Internet last month and drew attention to Indonesia’s failure to regulate the tobacco industry.

Six months after his father gave him his first cigarette, the overweight boy from Sumatra island was smoking 40 a day and threw violent tantrums if his addiction was not satisfied.

Child welfare officials called in to try to wean the toddler off cigarettes said that when they played with him he did not smoke as much.

“The boy has been able to reduce his cigarette intake significantly, very quickly, after the treatment,” National Commission for Child Protection chairman Seto Mulyadi said.

“The therapy focused on playing — we occupied him with toys so that he forgets cigarettes,” he said.

Ardi developed his nicotine addiction while spending his days at a traditional market where both of his parents worked, Mulyadi said.

Simple toys and someone to play with were enough to take his mind off cigarettes, at least for a while. The therapists also encouraged Ardi to associate cigarettes with bad things.

“The boy likes singing songs so we tell him that if he continues smoking, he won’t be able to be a singer one day, and it works,” Mulyadi said.

“It’s much easier to help kids like him than teenage tobacco addicts.”

Ardi’s case has highlighted the tobacco industry’s aggressive marketing to women and children in developing countries like Indonesia, where regulations are weak and many people do not know that smoking is dangerous.

Cigarette consumption in Indonesia soared 47 percent in the 1990s, according to the World Health Organization.

Indonesia’s biggest cigarette manufacturer, PT HM Sampoerna, is an affiliate of Philip Morris International.

Agence France-Presse

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Seto Mulyadi concerned over child smoker phenomenon

Smoking Toddler Puffs Two Packs a Day

Lab Official Arrested Over Theft of Drug Case Evidence

Jakarta Globe, Zaky Pawas & Ulma Haryanto, June 08, 2010

Jakarta Police announced on Monday the arrest of a division head at the National Center for Research, Science and Technology (Puspiptek) in connection with the theft of evidence seized in a 2005 bust of one of Asia’s biggest ecstasy factories.

Identifying the suspect as ST, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said investigations pointed to theft of the narcotic ingredients at the laboratory in Tangerang.

Police said they were tipped off by one of ST’s employees, who has also been arrested in the case.

“These were materials used to manufacture drugs. They had to be destroyed. Instead, [they were taken] by a division head at Puspiptek,” Boy said. “He could be facing up to 20 years in prison.”

The Jakarta Police chief detective for narcotics crimes, Sr. Comr. Anjan Pramuka Putra, said ST had stolen evidence that had been confiscated by the National Police in 2005 from the ecstasy factory in Cikande, Serang,

“Evidence seized included hundreds of drums containing chemical ingredients to manufacture crystal methamphetamine. Puspiptek had been asked by the Tangerang District Court to destroy that evidence.

Instead, what was destroyed was just a fraction of the evidence,” Anjan said.

Police had spent months staking out the factory with Australian, US and Chinese narcotics officers before making their move.

The factory, on the outskirts of Jakarta, was capable of producing 300,000 pills per week.

Police seized an estimated $142 million worth of ecstasy, ketamine, crystal methamphetamine and chemicals for making the drugs.

In 2006, the Tangerang District Court sentenced Benny Sudrajat and Budi Sucipto to death for running the factory.

Anjan said on Monday that police investigations into the matter began after MM, a man who worked for ST, was suspected of selling the material to another suspect, identified as DH.

“This DH was the owner of a warehouse that stored chemical ingredients to make shabu shabu [crystal methamphetamine] in Bogor. We first caught a dealer in Central Jakarta in April, who led us to another two-bit dealer, until we learned about DH,” Anjan said.

“We arrested DH and seized much evidence, including ephedrine, drums of butanol, and other evidence. DH told us he was buying the stuff from MM and had paid him Rp 250 million [$27,000]. From MM, [the trail led to] his boss, ST at Puspiptek.”

University of Indonesia legal expert Rudi Satrio called for stronger monitoring and supervision by the Ministry of Justice in regard to destruction of drug evidence.

“We cannot only depend on heavy sanctions to scare off lawbreakers. Even with heavy sentences, drug cases are not decreasing,” he said.

12 Children Die in Aceh Bridge Collapse During Luck Ceremony

Jakarta Globe, June 07, 2010

Banda Aceh. Twelve Indonesian children died when a suspension bridge collapsed as they were taking part in a traditional ceremony to dispel bad luck, an official said on Monday.

The accident took place on Sunday in a remote village in Aceh province, district head Ibnu Hasyim said.

“There were about 37 kids gathered together on a wire-cable suspension bridge when it collapsed and they fell into a river,” he said.

Twenty-five children were rescued with minor injuries but 12 others, all below the age of 12, were swept away in the strong currents.

The children were watching a ritual ceremony to dispel misfortune after a measles outbreak in the area.

“The adults were throwing offerings in the form of chickens into the river” when the bridge collapsed, the official said.

Agence France-Presse

Brain regulates cholesterol in blood, study suggests

BBC News, By Emma WilkinsonHealth reporter, Sunday, 6 June 2010 17:12 UK

Too much cholesterol causes hardened fatty arteries, raising the risk of a heart attack.

The amount of cholesterol circulating in the bloodstream is partly regulated by the brain, a study in mice suggests.

It counters assumptions that levels are solely controlled by what we eat and by cholesterol production in the liver.

The US study in Nature Neuroscience found that a hunger hormone in the brain acts as the "remote control" for cholesterol travelling round the body.

Too much cholesterol causes hardened fatty arteries, raising the risk of a heart attack.

The research carried out by a US team at the University of Cincinnati found that increased levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin in mice caused the animals to develop higher levels of blood-circulating cholesterol.

Levels in the blood rise because signals from the brain prompt the liver to store less cholesterol, the researchers said.

It is known that ghrelin inhibits a receptor in the brain in its role in regulating food intake and energy use.

In a separate experiment, they found that blocking this receptor in mice also increased levels of cholesterol in the blood.

Potential treatment

The researchers said the finding needs to be replicated in humans but potentially opens up a new way of treating high cholesterol.

Study leader Professor Matthias Tschoep said: "We have long thought that cholesterol is exclusively regulated through dietary absorption or synthesis and secretion by the liver.

"Our study shows for the first time that cholesterol is also under direct 'remote control' by specific neurocircuitry in the central nervous system."

Fotini Rozakeas, cardiac nurse at British Heart Foundation, said: "This interesting study on mice shows for the first time that blood cholesterol levels can be directly controlled by signals transmitted from the brain to the liver where cholesterol is formed.

"This could potentially open up new forms of treatment to control cholesterol levels, which would be great news for people with heart and circulation problems."

She stressed that much more research would be needed before the mechanisms at play were fully understood.

"In the meantime, people should reduce the amount of saturated fat in their diet, take part in regular physical activity and, in some cases, take prescribed medicines such as statins, to keep their cholesterol levels under control."

Seto Mulyadi concerned over child smoker phenomenon

Antara News, Sunday, June 6, 2010 03:05 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Former chairman of the National Commission for Child Protection, Seto Mulyadi, has expressed concern over the phenomenon of toddlers developing the cigarette smoking habit and the lack of public worry about it.

In his written statement received by ANTARA here on Saturday, he said the phenomena was indeed not an ideal reflection of parents or families which are supposed to protect children from cigarette smoking which could affect their right to live and grow.

As recently reported in the media, a number of cases of below five year old children smoking cigarettes have been found in the country, he said, referring among others to a four-year old child smoker in Malang, East Java, and a two-year old child smoker in Teluk Kemang, Munyi, Banyu Asin, South Sumatra.

The two-year old child in South Sumatra was even reported able to smoke 40 cigarettes a day.

Mulyadi said he believed this had happened because their families and adults living around them had been very permissive and ignored the danger of cigarette smoking.

He said cigarette smoke had long been known as containing thousands of substances that could disrupt lung and intelligence development in children, cause infection of respiratory channels, ears and asthma.

Mulyadi said in the past four years the prevalence of smoking children has risen by 400 percent.

Ardi Rizal, a two year old from Sumatra puffs his way through two pack of cigarettes per day. (Photo courtesy SCTV)

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