11 caned in Indonesia's Aceh province

Published April 21, 2012

Associated Press

LANGSA, Indonesia –  Authorities in Indonesia say 10 men and a woman have been publicly caned for gambling and immoral behavior under Islamic law in conservative Aceh province.

Prosecutor's office official Putra Masduri said nine people convicted of gambling were caned four to 12 times.

He said Saturday that two others — a man and woman — were caned nine times after being found naked together by local residents.

All were beaten Friday in front of dozens of people at a field in Langsa, the capital of East Aceh district, after being tried by the local Shariah Court.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation of 240 million people, has a policy of secularism but allows highly conservative Aceh province to implement a version of Sharia Islamic law.

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زلزالان يضربان إندونيسيا

التاريخ: 21 أبريل 2012

أعلن المعهد الأميركي للجيوفيزياء، أن زلزالين ضربا، اليوم، إندونيسيا في منطقة بابوا الغربية، حيث بلغت قوة الهزة 6,6 درجات وجزيرة سومطرة التي ضربتها هزة قوتها 6,1 درجات.

ففي بابوا الغربية، وقع الزلزال عند الساعة 10,16 (01,16 تغ) على عمق 30 كلم وعلى بعد 83 كلم جنوب شرق مانوكواري. ولم ترد معلومات على الفور عن إصابات أو أضرار.

وقال المدير التقني في وكالة الارصاد الجوية والجيوفيزياء سوهارجونو "لا نعلم بعد تأثير الزلزال، لكن لم يصدر حتى الآن إعلان عن أضرار أو ضحايا"، مضيفا "نعلم أن ثمة أشخاصا أصيبوا بالهلع مؤكدين ان الهزة كانت قوية جدا".

وذكر أحد موظفي الاستقبال في فندق ومنتجع مانسينام البحري في مانوكواري عن هزة استمرت دقيقة، مشيرا الى عدم تسجيل اية اضرار.

وقال "كل نزلائنا اصيبوا بالهلع وخرجوا من المبنى، الا انهم عادوا بعد الهزة وكل شيء عاد طبيعيا، على حد علمي".

وفي وقت لاحق في بابوا الاندونيسية، وقعت هزة ارتدادية بقوة 5,7 درجات وبعمق 10 كلم وعلى بعد 83 كلم شمال شرق مدينة تيلوك بينتوني.

إلى ذلك، أعلن المعهد الاميركي للجيوفيزياء ان زلزالا بقوة 6,1 درجة ضرب السبت جزيرة سومطرة الاندونيسية، من دون اصدار اي انذار من موجة تسونامي.

وحصل الزلزال عند الساعة 05,14 السبت، (23,14 تغ الجمعة) على بعد 472 كلم جنوب غرب باندا اتشيه اقصى شمال سومطرة على عمق حوالي 34 كلم. ولم ترد معلومات على الفور عن اضرار.

وكانت مقاطعة باندا اتشي تعرضت لهزتين ارضيتين شديدتين مطلع ابريل الجاري، ما ادى الى اصدار انذار من موجة تسونامي في المحيط الهندي.

المصدر

And Dave's band played on and on...

Fanfare: David Cameron in Jakarta

David Cameron’s trip to Burma, Indonesia and other points east of Aden included an astonishing welcome at Al-Azhar university, Jakarta.

Students gave the distinguished visitor a popstar reception: cheers, whoops, blown kisses, flashing of cameras (if not more).

Alas, the target of this squeaky acclaim was not Mr Cameron himself but his shy communications wallah Craig Oliver, who had wandered in as part of the advance party and was mistaken for his boss.

 

Mr Cameron arrived later but by then, well, the fervour had abated. The groupies rather felt they had peaked. As for Mr Oliver, he blushed sweetly and looked baffled, being better accustomed to raspberries from HM Press Corps.

At a wreath-laying ceremony in Jakarta the British delegation faced another challenge to its self-composure. A ‘truly dreadful’ brass band pinked and parped its way through some barely identifiable tunes, one of which may have been God Save The Queen (or was it The Girl From Ipanema?). My woman at the back of the PM’s jet reports: ‘The band even squawked and honked through the entire minute’s silence. I don’t know how Dave held it together.’

The PM was not travelling with the Queen’s Flight. Nor was his aircraft a liveried gleamer from the British Airways fleet. He had to settle for a muddy beige jumbo hired from SonAir, a subsidiary of Angola’s state oil firm Sonangol.

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Airbus deal signals Indonesia’s investment potential

4/13/2012

When British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in Jakarta Wednesday for a two-day visit to size up Southeast Asia's largest economy ( IDX , quote ) during a trade tour of the region, he announced a £326 million ($522 million) deal to sell 11 Airbus A330 aircraft to Garuda Indonesia, the state-owned national carrier.

As European economies cope with depressed demand at home, Indonesia, with its 232 million people, is looking like an increasingly attractive investment option that could spur growth.

"I hope (the deal) will offer other British companies involved in the £1.5 billion supply chain the opportunity to secure more contracts," Cameron said as he arrived at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport. "I said I wanted to link Britain up to the fastest growing parts of the world, because we need to trade and export our way out of our economic difficulties.

"Indonesia is one of those countries. One of the most populated countries in the world, one of the fastest growing countries in the world. It will be a top 10 economy and these are huge opportunities for British business and British investment, both in Indonesia and Indonesian investment back into Britain," Cameron added.

Indeed, a survey of Southeast Asian businesspeople by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council ranked Indonesia the top investment destination of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ahead of Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

The deal comes just four months after Fitch upgraded Indonesia to investment grade status, which it lost during the Asian financial crisis of 1997.

Last month, Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn announced during a trip to Jakarta that Nissan ( NSANY , quote ) would revive Datsun as a budget auto brand starting in 2014, with its vehicles sold in Indonesia among other emerging markets including Russia and India.

Cameron and his delegation of representatives of 30 British companies, however, also understand the challenges of investing in Indonesia, a relatively recent democracy that is also home of the world's largest Muslim population.

Among the top concerns is endemic corruption. According to the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), businesses in Indonesia need to allocate 17.4% of their investments to pay bribes. Last fall, the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report ranked Indonesia 103rd for illegal payments and bribes.

Cameron however, is optimistic about Indonesia's investment potential.

"In its successful transition to democracy, Indonesia represents a powerful example for the world of how political progress can fuel economic success," the prime minister said.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.

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Indonesia quake causes more fear than damage

Reuters
Banda Aceh, April 11, 2012

Acehnese women hug each other and pray shortly after the quake. AFP/Chaideer Mahyuddin

A powerful 8.6 magnitude earthquake and a series of strong aftershocks struck off Indonesia on Wednesday, sending people scurrying from buildings as far away as southern India, but there seemed little risk of a disastrous tsunami as in 2004.

India withdrew a national tsunami

related stories

• 8.2-magnitude aftershock hits off Indonesian Sumatra
• Tremors felt in several cities across south India
• Tremors cause panic, rush in Kolkata

alert issued after huge earthquakes struck off Indonesia on Wednesday, the Indian tsunami warning centre said.

"Thankfully, the danger has passed," a scientist at the centre told Reuters.

Disaster officials had earlier warned waves as high as 3.9 meters could hit parts of Andoman and Nicobar islands.

A few thousand people were evacuated from the more vulnerable islands, a police official said.

Indonesia said it was checking for damage and casualties but remarkably, no such reports had been received for several hours after the quakes, including in Aceh, the closest province and the area decimated by the disaster eight years ago.

However, some areas close to the epicentre are remote so it could take some time to find out if there was any damage.

Many people were frightened of further tremors.

"It's dark out here but I am scared to go home," said Mila, a 41-year-old woman taking refuge in the grand mosque in the town of Banda Aceh, the provincial capital.

"I just want to stay alert because I fear there will be more quakes coming. We are human, it is only natural that we have fear, but I really wish we will all be safe."

Waves of up to one metre (3.3 feet) high were seen near islands off Aceh, but Indonesia cancelled a warning for fresh tsunamis. It said the worst-hit area was the thinly populated island of Simeulue, off Aceh's southern coast.

The first quake struck at 0838 GMT and an 8.2 magnitude aftershock just over two hours later, at 1043 GMT. Two more strong aftershocks hit later.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also withdrew tsunami warnings for the entire Indian Ocean after keeping them in force for several hours.

"Level readings now indicate that the threat has diminished or is over for most areas," the agency's bulletin said.

Thailand and India also withdrew tsunami warnings.

Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India were all badly hit in 2004. At least 230,000 people in 13 Indian Ocean countries were killed in the Boxing Day disaster that year, including 170,000 in and around Aceh alone.

Last year, an earthquake and tsunami off Japan's northeastern coast killed at least 23,000 people and triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years after waves battered a nuclear power station.

On Wednesday, people near the coast in six Thai provinces were ordered to move to higher ground. Authorities shut down the international airport in the Thai beach resort province of Phuket.

The quakes were about 300 miles (500 km) southwest of Banda Aceh, on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island, the US Geological survey said. The first was at a depth of 20.5 miles (33 km).

Indonesia's disaster management agency said power failed in Aceh province and people were gathering on high
ground as sirens warned of the danger.

"The electricity is down, there are traffic jams to access higher ground. Sirens and Koran recitals from mosques are everywhere," said Sutopo, spokesman for the agency.

"The warning system worked," Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said.

Warning sirens also rang out across the Thai island of Phuket, a tourist hotspot that was one of the worst hit areas in the 2004 tsunami.

"Guests from expensive hotels overlooking Phuket's beaches were evacuated to the hills behind and local people were driving away in cars and on motorcycles. Everyone seemed quite calm, the warning had been issued well in advance," freelance journalist Apichai Thonoy told Reuters by telephone.

Out on the streets
Indonesian television showed people gathering in mosques in Banda Aceh. Many others were on the streets, holding crying children.

In the city of Medan, a hospital evacuated patients, who were wheeled out on beds and in wheelchairs.

Wednesday's quakes were felt as far away as the Thai capital, Bangkok, and in southern India, hundreds of office workers in the city of Bangalore left their buildings while the port of Chennai closed down because of tsunami fears.

The quakes were in roughly in the same area as the 2004 quake, which was at a depth of 18 miles (30 km) along a fault line running under the Indian Ocean, off western Indonesia and up into the Bay of Bengal.

Experts said Wednesday quakes were a "strike-slip" fault, meaning a more horizontal shift of the ground under the sea as opposed to a sudden vertical shift, and less risk of a large displacement of water triggering a tsunami.

"The nature of the sideways rupture and sideways movement is not predisposed to cause a bad tsunami, so almost certainly, the crisis has been avoided," said David Rothery, an expert at the Open University in the UK

The quakes were also felt in Sri Lanka, where office workers in the capital, Colombo, fled their offices.

Mahinda Amaraweera, Sri Lanka's minister for disaster management, called for calm while advising people near the coast to seek safety.

"I urge the people not to panic. We have time if there is a tsunami going to come. So please evacuate if you are in the coastal area and move to safer places," Amaraweera told a private television channel.

In Bangladesh, where two tremors were felt, authorities said there appeared to be no threat of a tsunami.

Australia also said there was no threat of a tsunami there

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Islamic laws dominating polls in Indonesia’s Aceh

BANDA ACEH: Acehnese boat makers rest while working in Banda Aceh, two days ahead of province’s second election. — AFP

BANDA ACEH: Indonesia’s only province ruled by hardline sharia laws elects its powerful governor tomorrow, in polls watched by militant Muslims pushing for an Islamic government nationwide. The elections in Aceh are the second since the province suffered 170,000 fatalities in the Asian tsunami of 2004, and since a 30-year war against Indonesian rule ended in 2005, having claimed 15,000 lives. The restive region, on the western edge of the scattered Indonesian archipelago, now enjoys autonomy and it remains an anomaly in a country where most of the 240 million people practice a moderate form of Islam.

Alcohol is freely sold in the rest of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, but it is banned in Aceh. In some of the province’s regions, women are forbidden to wear tight trousers. Gamblers and imbibers are publicly caned. Debate still churns in Aceh over whether adulterers should continue to be publicly flogged, or stoned to death. Irwandi Yusuf, who was elected governor in December 2006 and is seeking a second five-year term, backs sharia but has remained a bulwark against stricter enforcement, such as the harshest punishment for adultery. No law can pass unless the provincial parliament-dominated by Yusuf’s opponents-and the governor are both in agreement.

The 51-year-old’s main challenger is Teungku Ahmad Tajuddin, an Islamic schoolteacher who is confident of victory. The 49-year-old cleric will not say outright whether he backs the stoning laws, but condemns Yusuf for rejecting the stiffer sharia by-laws. “I don’t reject criminal by-laws, because clerics have agreed to them,” he said. “I want Aceh as a model of Islamic sharia for Indonesia and Southeast Asia,” Tajuddin added. Sporadic violence-including arson attacks and at least six fatal shootings-have been reported in the run-up to the polls, which have been repeatedly delayed since October.

But the province has been getting back on its feet after the civil war and the tsunami. In the capital Banda Aceh, new concrete homes, hotels, schools and mosques cover the flood devastation, and new roads have been built wider to allow a quicker exit should another disaster strike.  A boat that landed on top of a house-an image that became a worldwide emblem of the tsunami-has been turned into a tourist attraction. Across the capital Yusuf’s orange campaign posters promise “continued peace and development”, while Tajuddin’s green banners proclaim his vow of “making Islamic sharia part of Aceh”.

Acehnese agree that life is getting better. Almost no one speaks against sharia. “Foreigners often think that people in Aceh live in the dark ages and are murderers,” said Nurmi, a textiles salesman who goes by one name.

“For me, caning is fine but stoning is not acceptable or appropriate in this day and age,” she said. For Indonesia’s Islamic militants who insist on sharia rule nationwide, Aceh shines as an example, and it has been a magnet for militants. “Strict enforcement of sharia laws is not perfect in Aceh, but it’s a good start and all other provinces must follow,” said Farihin Ibnu Ahmad, an Islamist who has done two jail stints on terrorism convictions.

Islamic militancy in Indonesia has been weakened by an official crackdown launched after the 2002 attacks on packed nightclubs in Bali, which were blamed on the regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). The group’s alleged founder Abu Bakar Bashir is doing a 15-year prison term on charges that include funding a terrorist training camp in Aceh. Umar Patek, the accused bomb-maker in the Bali attacks who is on trial in Jakarta, is also charged with terrorist activities in Aceh. But despite executions and arrests-and police shootings of five alleged terrorists as recently as last month in Bali-Muslim militants still remain active. “Sharia is not negotiable and it is everyone’s duty to fight for it,” said Ahmad, who says he knew Patek. – AFP

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This is the right time to know Muhammad PBUH

حــــــان الوقت لتتعرف على
محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم

Haana al –Waqtu Litata’arrafa ‘Alaa

Muhammadin Shallallaahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam

Saatnya Untuk Mengenal

Muhammad Shallallaahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam

www.rasoulallah.net 

 

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