Terrorist Infiltrated Indonesian Airline

Tuesday, 1 September 2009 6:16 AM
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com — A suspect wanted in connection with hotel suicide bombings in the Indonesian capital infiltrated the national airline in a plot to carry out a “bigger attack,” the police chief said Monday. The suspect, identified only as Syahrir, was recruited by a militant network and had been working as a technician with the airline, Garuda Indonesia, said National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri. Documents seized by police uncovered the plot to strike Indonesia’s airline sector, he said, without providing details about when or how the attack was supposed to have taken place. Syahrir resigned from the airline and remains at large, Danuri said. The blasts at the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels on July 17 killed seven people and wounded more than 50 others, ending a four-year pause in terror attacks in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. Syahrir is the brother-in-law of a militant suspect shot dead by police earlier this month in an hours-long standoff in Central Java province, Danuri said. The dead suspect, Ibrohim, had been working as a florist at the two hotels for years before smuggling in explosives and the bombers for the July attacks, police say. Danuri declined to provide further information to reporters after making his comments to parliament’s foreign affairs and security committee, but the details appear to support theories by terrorism experts that militants infiltrated potential targets years in advance. Additional evidence was also found about a plot to assassinate President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in retaliation for the execution of three convicted Bali bombers in 2008. Danuri provided no further details. Police were still searching for several suspects in the recent hotel bombings, including the alleged mastermind, Noordin Muhammad Top, said to head a breakaway faction of the regional terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah. Indonesia suffered bombings between 2002 and 2005 that together killed more than 240 people, most of them foreign tourists on the resort island of Bali. Danuri said 455 suspected militants have been detained in Indonesia since 2002, and 347 received prison sentences ranging from a few months to the death penalty. Some 192 have served prison terms and been released. One of the four fugitives in the Jakarta hotel bombings was a convicted bomb-maker named Urwah who was sentenced to seven years but released and “returned to his old habitat,” Danuri said. Police have said they were investigating the possibility the July bombings were carried out with foreign funding, which terrorism experts believe could indicate links to al-Qaida. Authorities say the terrorism network was involved in four major attacks in Indonesia, including the two Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005, the J.W. Marriott bombing in 2003, and a blast at the Australian Embassy also in Jakarta in 2004.

Philippine police arrest suspected Muslim militant

The Associated Press , Manila Tue, 09/01/2009 10:23 AM World
Police have captured a suspected al-Qaida-linked militant accused of high-profile kidnappings of at least four Americans and dozens of Filipinos in the southern Philippines, officials said Tuesday.Last week's arrest of Hajer Sailani, an alleged member of the Abu Sayyaf, in a shopping mall in southern Cotabato city was the latest success of a crackdown that has netted several militants in the country's south and foiled kidnapping and terror plots, police said.Sailani has been linked to the 2000 kidnapping of American Jeffrey Schilling, a Muslim convert who traveled to an Abu Sayyaf jungle stronghold on southern Jolo Island but was held by the militants on suspicion that he was working for the CIA, police spokesman Leonardo Espina said. Schilling escaped eight months later.Sailani also was allegedly involved in the 2001 kidnapping of three Americans and 17 Filipino tourists at the Dos Palmas resort in southwestern Palawan province, which prompted Washington to deploy U.S. troops to the southern Mindanao region to help the Philippine military rescue them, Espina said.American missionary Gracia Burnham survived the yearlong jungle captivity, but husband Martin was killed in the military rescue in 2002. The third American, Guillermo Sobero, was beheaded by the militants on Basilan Island.Espina said Sailani also played a role in the kidnappings of dozens of teachers, riests and students in two Basilan schools in 2000. Most of the hostages were freed or escaped, but at least two teachers were beheaded.The national police "will not rest until all terrorists and criminals are arrested, accounted for and neutralized," Espina said.Among those arrested recently was inno-Amor Rosalejos Pareja, alleged head of the Rajah Solaiman Movement that officials say was behind the 2004 Manila ferry bombing that killed 116 people in the country's worst terror attack.The Abu Sayyaf, which has more than 300 fighters, is on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations. It is suspected f receiving funds and training from al-Qaida.Although the government has claimed to have crippled the Abu Sayyaf after several U.S.-backed offensives, the group still poses a major threat. It held three Red Cross workers and several others hostage earlier this year, engaged government troops in fierce fighting and planted bombs, including Sunday's blast that wounded two soldiers outside an airport and an air force base on Jolo, about 590 miles (950 kilometers) south of the capital, Manila.

British Steam Supercar Smashes 100-Year-Old Land-Speed Record

HOW IT WORKS: The engine uses propane gas and 12 boilers to generate the 3MW heat needed to create the steam. The steam flows through more than a mile of tubing to a turbine which drives the rear wheels forward

Wednesday, 26 August 2009 9:24 AM
KOMPAS.com - A British-built steam car has smashed a 103-year-old world land speed record for steam-powered vehicles in the United States. The 25ft-long British Steam Car - nicknamed the 'fastest kettle in the world' - reached an average speed of 139.843mph on two runs over a measured mile at the Edwards Air Force Base in California.Driver Charles Burnett beat the previous record of 127mph set by American Fred Marriott in a Stanley steam car at the Daytona Beach Road Course in 1906. Mr Burnett said: 'It was absolutely fantastic. I enjoyed every moment of it. We reached nearly 140mph on the first run before I applied the parachute. The second run went even better and we clocked a speed in excess of 150mph. The car really did handle beautifully." The new international record, which is subject to official confirmation by officials from the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), followed a series of cancellations in the past week due to technical difficulties and bad weather. Mr Burnett piloted the car for both runs, reaching a peak speed of 136mph on the first and 151mph on the second, a team spokesman said.Record officials recognise a land speed record as the average speed of two passes made across the same measured distance in opposing directions within 60 minutes of each other. Mr Burnett is a nephew of Lord Montague of Beaulieu, who made it into the Guinness Book of World Records in 1999 for an offshore water speed record of 137mph.Other members pf the team, based in Lymington, Hampshire, included 48-year-old test driver and father-of-two Don Wales, nephew of the late speed ace Donald Campbell and grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell. Weighing three tons, the British Steam Car is made from a mixture of lightweight carbon-fibre composite and aluminium wrapped around a steel space frame chassis.It burns Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) in 12 boilers containing nearly two miles of tubing. Demineralised water is pumped into the boilers at up to 50 litres a minute to cool the blistering burners, which produce three megawatts of heat.Steam is superheated to 400C and injected into the turbine at more than twice the speed of sound. The car is brought to a stop by large Goodyear tyres, brake discs and a parachute.Project manager Matt Candy said the team turned the car around for its second run with just eight minutes to spare before they would have breached FIA rules.An overjoyed Mr Candy said: 'The first run took place at 7.27am (local time) when the air temperature was a cool 63 degrees. 'The team turned around the car in 52 minutes, with just eight minutes to spare in preparation for its return run.'The British Steam Car takes 2.5 miles to accelerate and after the measured mile, a further 2.5 miles to decelerate, so each run was over 6.5 miles. The FIA requires that the return run takes place within 60 minutes. Compared to the testing we did in Britain, the British Steam Car ran 12 times the distance and twice the maximum speed - all within one hour. It's been a huge challenge for all.'Watching the triumph in the Mojave Desert was Pam Swanston, wife of the team's late project manager Frank Swanston. She said: 'If only Frank was here today. It was his vision that made it a reality. He would be incredibly proud of the team's achievements and always believed we would succeed. Today we celebrate this record for Frank.'Although the team broke the official world land speed record for a steam-powered vehicle, their efforts fell short of an unofficial record set in 1985. The Barber-Nicholls team reached a speed of 145mph in their vehicle, Steamin' Demon, but no attempt was made to have it officially recognised by the FIA.Before the attempt in California, officials from the British Steam Car said they acknowledged the 1985 attempt as the record to exceed. A spokesman for the British team said they intended to stay on in California in an effort to emulate the Barber-Nicholls speed tomorrow.Sumber : The Daily Mail

South Korea troops on high alert amid North Korea threats

The Associated Press , Seoul Thu, 05/28/2009 11:21 AM World South Korean and U.S. troops facing North Korea boosted their alert level Thursday to the highest category since 2006, after the communist regime threatened military strikes on allied troops in escalating tensions over its nuclear test.North Korea threatened Wednesday to attack any U.S. and South Korean ships that try to intercept its vessels and renounced a 1953 truce halting the Korean War fighting, raising the prospect of a naval clash off the Korean peninsula's west coast.The North was responding to Seoul's decision to join a U.S.-led anti-proliferation program aimed at stopping and inspecting ships suspected of transporting banned weapons, including nuclear technology. South Korea announced it was joining after the North's underground test blast of a nuclear bomb.On Thursday, the South Korea-U.S. combined forces command increased the surveillance to level 2 from the present level 3, Defense Ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae said. He said that was the highest level since 2006, when the North conducted its first-ever nuclear test.The U.S. has 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent against North Korea.Won said the bolstered level means more aviation surveillance assets, intelligence analysts and other intelligence-collecting measures would be deployed to watch North Korea. He refused to disclose further details.The North has long warned it would consider the South's participation in the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative as a declaration of war against North Korea.The North would "deal a decisive and merciless retaliatory blow" to anyone trying to inspect its vessels, according to a North Korean military statement, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday.Key world powers, meanwhile, have proposed a range of expanded U.N. sanctions against North Korea in response to its nuclear as well as measures to give teeth to existing bans and ship searches against the reclusive country, a U.N. diplomat said Wednesday.The five permanent veto-wielding council members - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France - and the two countries most closely affected by the nuclear test, Japan and South Korea, discussed possible U.N. sanctions and other measures for a new Security Council resolution on Tuesday.The diplomat, who is familiar with the talks but spoke on condition of anonymity because they were closed, said there was a clear commitment to go for sanctions in the new resolution and no reluctance from North Korea's allies, China and Russia. But what measures the 15-member council ultimately agrees to remains to be seen.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also said that North Korea faces consequences for its nuclear and missile tests and denouncing its "provocative and belligerent" threats. She also underscored the firmness of the U.S. treaty commitment to defend South Korea and Japan, which are in easy range of North Korean missiles.Pyongyang lashed out at both the U.S. and South Korea, calling Seoul's move to join the Proliferation Security Initiative tantamount to a declaration of war and a violation of the truce keeping the peace between the two Koreas."Full participation in the PSI by a side on the Korean Peninsula where the state of military confrontation is growing acute and there is constant danger of military conflict itself means igniting a war," North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in a statement carried on state media.North Korea's army said it would be "illogical" to honor the 1953 armistice between the two Koreas, given the violations by the U.S. and South Korea, and said it could no longer promise the safety of U.S. and South Korean warships and civilian vessels in the waters near the maritime border.Clinton said North Korea has made a choice to violate U.N. Security Council resolutions, ignore international warnings and abrogate commitments made during six-nation nuclear disarmament talks."There are consequences to such actions," she said, referring to discussions in the United Nations about punishing North Korea for its nuclear and missile tests.She did not provide specifics, saying only that the intent of diplomats was to "try to rein in the North Koreans" and get them to fulfill commitments made in the nuclear talks.Clinton said she was pleased by a unified international condemnation of North Korea that included Russia and China, North Korea's closest major ally and the host of the currently stalled disarmament talks.Despite her tough words, Clinton held out hope that North Korea would return to nuclear disarmament talks and that "we can begin once again to see results from working with the North Koreans toward denuclearization that will benefit, we believe, the people of North Korea, the region and the world."At the White House, spokesman Robert Gibbs played down North Korea's angry rhetoric, saying the threats will only add to its isolation.He said North Korea has threatened to end the armistice many times in the past but the peace has held.The Russian Foreign Ministry said it voiced "serious concern" about the nuclear test to the North Korean ambassador and urged Pyongyang to respect the U.N. resolutions and return to the disarmament talks.The truce signed in 1953 and subsequent military agreements call for both sides to refrain from warfare, but don't cover waters off the west coast. North Korea has used the maritime border dispute to provoke two deadly naval skirmishes - in 1999 and 2002.North Korea now is believed to have enough plutonium for at least a half-dozen weapons, but experts say it still has not mastered the miniaturization technology required to mount a nuclear warhead on a long-range missile.After firing a long-range missile on July 4, 2006, and carrying out its first nuclear test three months later, North Korea agreed in February 2007 to start disabling Yongbyon in exchange for 1 million tons of fuel oil and other concessions. Disablement began in November 2007.The process halted last summer in a dispute with Washington over verifying past atomic activities, and Pyongyang said last month it was quitting the talks altogether.

Barcelona beats Man United 2-0 in Champions final

Winners' high: Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola is thrown in the air in celebration, at the end of the UEFA Champions League final soccer match between Manchester United and Barcelona in Rome, Wednesday (Thursday in Jakarta). Barcelona won 2-0.

Thu, 05/28/2009 8:08 AM Sports Lionel Messi produced something special to help Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0 in the Champions League final and establish itself as the unofficial best team on the planet.A rare headed goal.Messi usually uses his head to send instructions to his feet on how to humble defenders, and the combination brought him a season-high nine Champions League goals and 38 in total for Barca.The ninth was a looping header over goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar in the 70th minute as Barcelona proved itself the best around by outplaying defending champion United and swinging the pendulum of power back from the English Premier League to La Liga."This is the most important victory of my life," Messi said. 'When the second goal came that calmed us down a lot."Samuel Eto'o put the Spanish champion ahead in the 10th minute at Stadio Olimpico and the triumph completed a sweep of titles for 38-year-old Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola in his first season, after wins in the Spanish league and cup. The former Barcelona star, who started as a ball boy at Camp Nou, joins five others who have won the title both as a player and a coach."When I won as a player I was young and it was magnificent," Guardiola said of his 1992 triumph at Wembley against Sampdoria. "But now winning the treble at the first attempt is marvelous."United was chasing its fourth European Cup title, and fourth trophy this season after winning the Premier League, FIFA Club World Cup and League Cup.But United was thoroughly outplayed by the Spanish side, which has 153 league and cup goals this season.Xavi Hernandez floated a diagonal ball onto the United area to find Messi unmarked, and the 5-foot-7 (1.69-meter) Argentina striker - renowned for his deft dribbling and shooting - used his head to redirect it past Van der Sar.The loss left Man United manager Alex Ferguson at 25 titles in 23 seasons. He failed to match Liverpool's Bob Paisley'sthree titles in the competition."We started the game brightly. We were confident and we could have been in front," Ferguson said. "We had the ball but didn't use it very well. ... We defended fantastically all season but they were two shoddy goals."We didn't play as well as we can, but they ae a good team. We have to give them credit. Xavi and (Andres) Iniesta can keep the ball all night. They made it very difficult."South Korean winger Park Ji-sung became the first Asian to play in a Champions League final. He almost scored for United in the opening minute but his shot was deflected wide after Cristiano Ronaldo's free kick was blocked by the goalkeeper. It was the nearest United came to scoring all night.The victory also marked the first Champions League title for Barcelona striker Thierry Henry, who was on the losing side when Arsenal lost to Barcelona in 2006."Finally, I've been waiting for so long to get this title and now finally today," said Henry, who had been doubtful for the final because of a knee injury. "The last five minutes were the longest of my life."United almost went ahead in the opening minute when a needless foul by Yaya Toure on Anderson handed Ronaldo a free kick. His powerful drive was blocked by the hands of goalkeeper Victor Valdes and Park's rebound was deflected for a corner by Gerard Pique.With Barcelona's dangerous forwards barely getting a touch of the ball in the early stages, there was little danger at the other end until the Spanish champions went ahead with their first attack of the game.Iniesta started the move with a break through midfield and found Eto'o on the right. The striker cut inside a weak tackle by Nemanja Vidic and poked a low angled shot around Van der Sar."I think the credit must go to the good play of the team," Eto'o said. "I think the victory is much more important than the goal."The goal changed the pattern of the play with Barcelona's stars settling into their confident style of interpassing. United, chasing the score, was unable to create any real danger. Ronaldo wanted to shoot at every opportunity, but fired wide and headed over.Ferguson reshaped his attack for the second half, sending on a second striker, Carlos Tevez, and later added Dimitar Berbatov. That left United undermanned in midfield and Barcelona continued to create openings.Barcelona could have added more but Van der Sar saved twice from Carles Puyol and Ronaldo was shown the yellow card for some petulant late challenges on the Barcelona captain.

UN climate talks to include WOC statement

Adianto P. Simamora and Andi Haswidi , The Jakarta Post , Manado Thu, 05/14/2009 9:50 AM World Ocean Conference
Ministerial level talks at the World Ocean Conference are expected to lead to the adoption of the Manado Ocean Declaration (MOD) on Thursday, to urge the United Nations to integrate ocean issues in the UN climate talks in Copenhagen in December.
Senior officials from 80 developed and developing countries have reached an agreement on the crucial role oceans play in climate change, after two days of intensive talks at the WOC.
“In principle, senior officials from all countries at the WOC meeting have agreed on the draft of the MOD,” Indonesian Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Freddy Numberi said Wednesday after opening the Global Ocean Policy Day (GOPD), a side event at the WOC.
“Amendments to the MOD are just a matter of ‘wording’” and comprises about 20 points, he said.Freddy said the officials’ meeting had also agreed on the need for adaptation funds and technology transfer to help developing countries deal with climate change impacts, as drafted in the MOD.
He added the meeting had also agreed on a road map proposed by Indonesia to promote ocean issues at climate change talks before the December talks.
The Copenhagen climate conference – which carries the tag “Seal the Deal” – will bring together world delegates to adopt a new commitment on emissions cuts to replace the existing Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
The Kyoto Protocol requires developed nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 5 percent to stabilize carbon in the atmosphere, with the main culprits being the energy and forestry sectors.
Indonesia, one of the largest ocean countries, said it was time to also treat the oceans as carbon sinks.
The declaration will be tabled at the 30th session of the United Nations Framework Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) in Bonn, Germany, in June. More meetings will follow, again in Bonn in August, then in Bangkok in October, before winding up in Copenhagen.
The UNFCCC is an international treaty on environmental issues related primarily to climate change and rolling back global warming.
About 400 climate scientists at the GOPD acknowledged the crucial role oceans played in climate change.
They include Stephen R. Palumbi from Stanford University, Wang Yamin from Shandong University in Weihai, China, and Jo Ann Leong from the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology.
Prior to the opening of the WOC, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrived at the Grand Kawanua main venue for a final check.

Federer beats Nadal for Madrid title

The Associated Press , Madrid Sun, 05/17/2009 11:13 PM Sports Roger Federer has beaten top-ranked Rafael Nadal in a final for the first time in two years to claim the Madrid Open title 6-4, 6-4.Second-ranked Federer broke a sluggish Nadal once in both sets before firing his sixth ace of the match to claim his 15th Masters Series title on the second match point on Sunday.It was only Federer's second victory over his top rival on clay with the other coming at the Hamburg final two years ago. Federer also won here in 2006 when the event was played on indoor hard court.Federer's first title of the season ended Nadal's 33-match clay winning streak going into the French Open, where the Spaniard is going for a fifth straight title.Earlier, top-ranked Dinara Safina of Russia beat Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4 to win the women's title.