JAKARTA, June 16, 2007 (AFP) – Indonesia’s capture of the leader and military boss of Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah has dealt the network a major blow but it still has the ability to bounce back, analysts say. Indonesia’s anti-terror police announced Friday they were holding in custody Zarkasi, an Indonesian-born veteran of the…
Read moreHistory of neglect gives East Timor’s coffee an edge
ERMERA – Machete in hand, farmer Nando Santosbaros rests as rain patters on the majestic shade trees sheltering his organic coffee cherries in East Timor. Though he hasn’t heard of them, and their jazz-infused stores are a world away, global coffee chain Starbucks is one of his biggest fans as hip caffeine addicts seek out…
Read moreIn world’s youngest nation, soccer unites
DILI – Eleven-year-old Nuno de Oliveira intently watches a late afternoon football match on a muddy, barely marked field in East Timor’s capital. One day, he hopes to don the red and yellow shirt of his fledgling nation. "I like to watch them pass the ball around. The way they pass it, it’s cool," says…
Read moreEast Timor’s first couple: from rebels to royals
DILI – He was a political prisoner. She was an activist. Together they sought to end the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. Now Xanana Gusmao is free and president of the worlds newest nation while Kirsty Sword is his wife and the countrys First Lady. They talk to Jakarta News Editor Samantha Brown about how…
Read moreIndonesia faces more disasters unless government reforests: activists
JAKARTA – Landslides and flash floods which may have killed hundreds on the Indonesian island of Java this week will be repeated unless the government reforests denuded areas, activists warned Wednesday. Sixteen people were confirmed dead but up to 200 were feared killed after tons of mud slammed into a village in Central Java Wednesday,…
Read moreAcehnese community’s ties help it start over one year after tsunami
KEUDE PANGA, Indonesia – Baby banana palms and papaya trees nudge through the sandy earth at this coastal village in Aceh flattened by last year’s tsunami. Nature springs back to life quickly in the Indonesian tropics, but people here are only gradually clawing back their decimated lives. "It will take a generation, maybe longer," says…
Read moreIndonesian women key to new Aceh: reconstruction boss
JAKARTA, Dec 5 – Women will be the key to a new Aceh that is open and progressive, the head of the agency tasked with overseeing the rebuilding in the tsunami-hit Indonesian province said Monday as he defended the speed of reconstruction there. Some 16,500 houses out of a 120,000 targetted for Aceh’s 570,000 displaced…
Read moreIndonesia on cusp of AIDS epidemic: UNAIDS chief
JAKARTA, Nov 28, 2005 – Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country, is on the brink of an AIDS epidemic and must act quickly to fight its spread, UNAIDS chief Peter Piot said Monday as he began a four-day visit here. Piot, who will spend World AIDS day here on Thursday, said that Indonesia needed…
Read moreCracks in Cambodia’s courts prised further open ahead of KR trial
PHNOM PENH – Two recent high-profile Cambodian court rulings condemned by activists heighten fears the judiciary is ill-equipped to deliver a trial of ex-Khmer Rouge leaders free of political influence.The UN-backed tribunal, which has been delayed for years due to negotiations over its set up, was given a green light to proceed with staffing in…
Read moreBounceback for Cambodia’s textiles but sparkling labour image not enough
PHNOM PENH – Cambodia’s crucial garment sector has bounced back after the end of a global quota system saw orders dip due to competition from China, but experts warn the industry’s socially responsible image will not ensure its long-term survival. The 1.9-billion-dollar sector, which provides the destitute kingdom with more than 80 percent of its…
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