Indonesia

Indonesia to boost security ahead of Eid al-Fitr holiday

Jakarta - Indonesia will boost security nationwide ahead of Eid al-Fitr, the celebrations marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, when tens of millions of people will be traveling across the country, officials said Tuesday.

Inspector General Imam Haryatna, chief of the security department at Indonesia's National Police, said as many as 98,000 police officers would be deployed across the country for security operations. Nationwide, there are around 200,000 national police officers.

Thai government, Muslims agree to end conflict

Thai government, Muslims agree to end conflictJakarta - Two-days of talks between the Thai government and representatives from Thailand's Muslim south hosted by Indonesia have achieved some progress in an attempt to end years of conflict that have claimed the lives of thousands of people, media reports said Monday.

The talks are being mediated by Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla as the presidential palace in Bogor, about 60 kilometres south of Jakarta, the presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said.

China Airlines hit by turbulent, seven injured

China Airlines hit by turbulent, seven injuredJakarta - At least seven people were injured when turbulence hit a Boeing 747-400 jetliner belonging to China Airlines on Saturday en route from Taipei to Indonesia's Bali island, an airport official said.

A spokesman for the Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport named Dimyati said the CAL-687 jet carrying 357 people dropped drastically to about 25,000-feet altitude from 35,000 feet, jolting passengers.

Aboriginal rock art puts First Fleet in its place

Sydney - A wall of Aboriginal rock art paintings replete with images of aeroplanes, bicycles, guns and steamships blasted open the notion that interaction between Australia's indigenous population and the rest of the world began with the British takeover and the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, scientists said Saturday.

"This rock art dismantles the popular identity of Australia being a nation first visited by the British," Griffith University archaeologist Paul Tacon said.

The panoply of 1,500 pictures, some dating back 15,000 years and the most recent done in the 1940s, detail extensive contact with Bugis traders from the Indonesian port city of Macassar in Sulawesi, now called Ujung Pandang.

Indonesian stocks up more than 5 per cent

Jakarta - Indonesia's stock market rose by more than 5 per cent Friday, sparked by regional rebounds following overnight gains on Wall Street and signs that US authorities might take new measures

Indonesian lawmakers delay passage of controversial porn bill

Indonesian lawmakers delay passage of controversial porn bill Sydney, September 19 : Microsoft has axed American comedian Jerry Seinfeld from its 300million-dollar ad campaign to spruce up Windows Vista''s image just two weeks since the first ad aired, and roped in a host of celebrities, including author Deepak Chopra.

Actress Eva Longoria and singer Pharrell Williams are also said to have been hired for the campaign.

The company has revealed that it was always the plan that only the first two ads would feature Seinfeld, who was paid 10million dollars to be part of the campaign.

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