Indonesian businessman plans to drop money from airplane

JAKARTA (AP): If you're short of cash and don't mindrunning in tropical humidity and smog for a few bucks, read on.

An Indonesian businessman plans to throw 100 million rupiah (US$10,600) out of an airplane over the capital this Sunday as a publicity stunt to promote his new book.

"I want to create a rain of money in Jakarta," author and motivational speaker Tung Desem Waringin said. "It's a little bit crazy, but it's marketing."

Police spokesman Col. I Ketut Untung said authorities may not allow the plan to go forward because it could draw huge crowds and cause chaos.

Tens of millions of Indonesians live on less than US$1 a day and food and aid giveaways always draw large numbers.

The 42-year-old Tung said instead of opting for regular advertising for his book, he came up with an idea that "will make people happy."

Teratai Ferry Sinks in Sea of Majene

TEMPO Interactive, Makassar:Teratai Prima boat, which carried 250 passengers, yesterday sank in the Baturoro waters off the Majene shore, in West Sulawesi.

Up until last night, only 18 survivors were found by fishermen in Tangaya, Majene. The fate of the other passengers remains unknown.

"Survivors reported that the boat sank around 04.00 Central Indonesian Time in Baturoro waters," Majene Police Resort Chief, Commissioner Suyatmo told Tempo yesterday.

Suyatmo said he received the report at 15.00 Central Indonesian Time. The Teratai boat left Pare-Pare in South Sulawesi, last Saturday at 19.30 Central Indonesian Time and was scheduled to dock in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, today at 10.00 Central Indonesian Time.

Pare-pare Port Administrator chief Nurwahida said he received signals from Teratai boat at around 02.00 Central Indonesian Time, reporting that the boat was being hit by a tornado.

According to Pare-pare Port's Maritime Telecommunication Section head, Taufik, the passenger boat weighed 747 gross tons, was steered by Captain Sabiri and 17 of his crew ship. The boat arrived in Pare-pare from Samarinda, last Thursday, and returned to Samarinda on the following Saturday.

Ahmad, a crew member who survived reported to Majene port at around 16.00 Central Indonesian Time. Ahmad, who worked as the cook, said the boat collapsed when it was hit by a 1 – 2 meter high wave in Baturoro waters, around 50 kilometers from the Majene Beach. He said he and his three friends were saved by the fishermen.

In Samarinda Port, until 20.00 Central Indonesian Time, 13 families of the passengers reported to the Port Security Unit. Salma, 40, said she lost her nine children and grand-children, among them Suryanti, 19 and Rekoba, 1. "My children and grand-children took the boat from Pare-pare," she said.

Meanwhile, Mila, 21, said her sister-in-law Farida, 35, Rizal, 28, and Nurlela sailed on the boat after attending a relative's wedding in Pare-pare.

Transportation Department's spokesman, Bambang S. Ervan, said a number of boats, including a navigator boat, were deployed to help in the search and evacuation. However, he said the number of victims and the boat's position have not been confirmed. "Eighteen survivors were found," he said.

Some of the survivors are currently in Majene Port, while others are being evacuated. According to the latest information, the Teratai Prima was a cargo and a passenger boat. The boat did not sink, but collapsed when a wave hit it.

Israel Disappointed Over Indonesian Publication

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The Israeli government said they were very disappointed with the way the Indonesian media has reported the Zionist country's aggression on Gaza.

"I think almost all of the Indonesian media have been very unfair every time they report the news on Israel," Israeli Ambassador to Singapore, Ilan Ben Dov, told Tempo on his cellular phone. He admitted there were some reports that were fair, but he refused to name them.

Most of the Indonesian media condemned Israel's attack on Gaza. Under the pretext of fighting against Hamas, their war machines have killed almost 900 people, including 260 children and 100 women.

Ben Dov regards the Indonesian media as unprofessional. He said he had a disappointing personal experience. He tried sending his views to a few leading media in the country many times, but they were always rejected.

In principle, Ben said, Israel is not disappointed with the negative news. He cited foreign pro-Palestine media, such as the Herald Tribune. "But at least they still provide space Israeli viewpoints," Ben Dov said.

Ben hopes the policy will change. Otherwise, there can be no real democracy in the Indonesian media. "The Indonesian media should be balanced when two parties conflict. Let the readers judge for themselves," he said.

So far, Israel has not allowed journalists to cover the news directly from the battlefield. Yet, the country's Supreme Court ordered its military to provide journalists access to the conflict area on Friday last week.

Cristiano Ronaldo voted FIFA player of year

ZURICH, Switzerland (AP)—Cristiano Ronaldo won the FIFA World Player of the Year award Monday to complete a sweep of soccer’s top individual honors for 2008.

The Portugal winger led Manchester United to the Premier League and Champions League titles in May. He scored 42 goals in all competitions last season and became the first English Premier League player to win the honor in the award’s 18-year history.

“It is an overwhelming moment, a very special moment in my life,” Ronaldo said. “I would like to say to my mother and sister that the fireworks can be fired off now.”

Brazil’s Marta won the women’s award for the third year in a row. She earlier announced she is joining the Los Angeles Sol in the Women’s Professional Soccer League.

Ronaldo received 136 first-place votes and 935 points in a worldwide poll of national team captains and coaches. He was followed by Barcelona and Argentina midfielder Lionel Messi (678) and Liverpool and Spain striker Fernando Torres (203), with the results announced by Brazilian great Pele.

AC Milan and Brazil midfielder Kaka, the 2007 winner, was fourth (183), followed by Barcelona and Spain midfielder Xavi Hernandez (155), Liverpool and England midfielder Stephen Gerrard (98) and Barcelona and Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o (58),

U.S. coach Bob Bradley picked Ronaldo first, followed by Xavi and Torres. U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra listed Ronaldo first, followed by Xavi and Gerrard.

Ronaldo was widely expected to win after capturing the Ballon D’Or as European player of the year and World Soccer magazine’s player of the year. Before the announcement, the orchestra at the Zurich Opera House gave a not-so-subtle hint by playing an aria from Handel’s “Rinaldo.”

Ronaldo is the second Portuguese to receive the award. Luis Figo won in 2001 when David Beckham, who also wore No. 7 for Manchester United, was runner-up.

“It is a dream for me to get this prize because I want to bring the team and my country forward,” Ronaldo said. “I would like to dedicate it to my family. This is the most important thing to me.”

Ronaldo missed the start of this season because of injury and has struggled to regain his form. He has eight league goals, but the last came in November.

Before the ceremony, Ronaldo paid tribute to United manager Alex Ferguson and his former Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who now manages United’s rival Chelsea.

“Mr. Ferguson and Mr. Scolari were decisive,” he said through an interpreter. “I would like to thank them for making me the player I am today.”

Messi led Argentina to the Olympic gold medal in Beijing and has helped Barcelona take a commanding lead of the Spanish league, scoring 20 goals in 22 games.

Marta, who led Brazil to a silver medal in Beijing, received 1,002 points to beat Germany’s Birgit Prinz (328) and Brazil teammate Cristiane (275). The other finalists were Germany goalkeeper Nadine Angerer and England striker Kelly Smith.

“It is the fifth time I have come here and the third time I win, and the emotions are still strong,” Marta said. “This is an award any athlete would be happy to get.”

The national federations of Armenia and Turkey won the Fair Play Award. The teams played each other for the first time in September, with Turkey winning the World Cup qualifier 2-0 in the Armenian capital. Armenia and Turkey do not have diplomatic relations because of the dispute over the killings of Armenians during World War I, which Armenians contend was genocide.

FIFA gave a special award to the Palestine Football Association for opening the Al-Husseini Stadium and staging the first international game on the West Bank.

The Presidential Award went to women’s soccer, with a special dedication to the U.S. team that won the Olympic gold medal.

“For so many years women played football and no one noticed,” said U.S. player Heather O’Reilly, who accepted the award. “That has changed today. The women’s game is improving day by day.”

Source by : www.yahoo.com

Israeli leader warns Hamas of 'iron fist'

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stood within Hamas rocket range Monday and warned Islamic militants that they face an "iron fist" unless they agree to Israeli terms for an end to war in the Gaza Strip. Hamas showed no signs of wavering, however, with its leader, Ismail Haniyeh, saying the militants were "closer to victory."

Despite the tough words, Egypt said it was making slow progress in brokering a truce, and special Mideast envoy Tony Blair said elements were in place for a cease-fire.

As Olmert spoke in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, Israeli tanks, gunboats and warplanes hammered suspected hiding places of Hamas operatives who control the poor, densely populated territory just across the border.

After nightfall, flares and explosions lit up the sky over Gaza and heavy gunfire was heard in parts of the coastal territory of 1.4 million people.

Hamas' fighters battled Israeli troops on the outskirts of Gaza City and launched 15 rockets at southern Israel. The group's prime minister insisted on an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the opening of blockaded border crossings as part of any truce.

"As we are in the middle of this crisis, we tell our people we, God willing, are closer to victory. All the blood that is being shed will not go to waste," Haniyeh said on Hamas' Al Aqsa television. But he said the group was also pursuing a diplomatic track to end the conflict that "will not close."

Haniyeh sat a desk in a room with a Palestinian flag and a Quran in the background. His location was unclear; Israeli airstrikes have targeted militant chiefs, and most are in hiding.

The fighting began Dec. 27 and has killed more than 900 Palestinians, about half of them civilians, according to Palestinian medical officials. Thirteen Israelis, including 10 soldiers, have been killed.

As diplomats struggled for traction in truce efforts, Olmert said Israel would only end military operations if Hamas stops rocketing Israel, as it has done for years, and is unable to rearm after combat subsides.

"Anything else will be met with the Israeli people's iron fist," Olmert said. "We will continue to strike with full strength, with full force until there is quiet and rearmament stops."

A few hours before Olmert spoke, a rocket hit a house in Ashkelon but caused no casualties. Olmert addressed regional mayors in the relative safety of the basement of a public building during his two-hour visit; he has toured other towns hit by rockets since the war began.

Later, he tempered his tough talk, saying: "I really hope that the efforts we are making with the Egyptians these days will ripen to a result that will enable us to end the fighting."

Ashkelon is 10 miles from the border with Gaza. The Israeli military says Hamas has Iranian-supplied rockets that can reach 25 miles into southern Israel.

Inside Gaza, an Israeli battalion commander identified only as Lt. Col. Yehuda said troops had not met significant resistance and had found several houses booby-trapped either with regular explosives, or by sealing the windows and doors and opening cooking gas valves.

"A couple of days ago, an armed squad popped up from a tunnel that was concealed by a nearby building. We took them out with tank fire and a bulldozer," he said.

In another incident, the commander said, his men spotted a suicide bomber on a bicycle.

"He ran off to take cover in a building, presumably to draw us in," Yehuda said. "We demolished the building on top of him with a bulldozer."

Brig. Gen. Eyal Eisenberg said troops were "tightening the encirclement" of Gaza City and were "constantly on the move."

The comments by Yehuda and Eisenberg were approved by Israeli military censors. They spoke to a small group of reporters who accompanied Israeli units inside Gaza. Israeli forces have not allowed journalists to enter Gaza to cover the war.

Israeli warplanes pounded suspected Hamas positions in Gaza City, and navy gunboats fired at least 25 shells. Smoke billowed over buildings.

At least 20 Palestinians died Monday, some of them from wounds suffered on previous days, Gaza health officials said.

A girl, a doctor and a Hamas militant were killed in the northern Gaza Strip, said Basim Abu Wardeh, head of Kamal Adwan hospital.

The doctor rushed to evacuate the wounded from a building where two airstrikes had taken place and was killed by a third, Abu Wardeh said. Four other medics were injured, one critically.

The Israeli military said four soldiers were injured, one seriously, in what an initial inquiry concluded was a "friendly fire" incident in northern Gaza.

Israel has sent reserve units into Gaza to help thousands of ground forces already in the territory, and fighting has persisted despite a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire. Egypt has assumed a role as mediator between Israel and Hamas.

Talks "are progressing slowly but surely because each party wants to score some points," Hossam Zaki, the spokesman for Egypt's Foreign Ministry, told the British Broadcasting Corp. "We would like to be able to bridge some gaps and then proceed immediately to a cease-fire."

Zaki, however, said Egypt could not provide certain guarantees that Israelis seek, such as a halt to rocket fire.

"We'll enhance our efforts, but this is not an issue between Israel and Egypt," Zaki told the BBC. "It is an issue between Israel and Gaza, and this is something that will have to be worked out, as the (U.N.) Security Council says, in Gaza."

Much of the diplomacy focuses on an area of southern Gaza just across the Egyptian border known as the Philadelphi corridor that serves as a weapons smuggling route, making Egypt critical to both sides in any deal. The name of the corridor is an Israel military label.

Israel wants those routes sealed and monitored as part of any peace deal, and has been bombing tunnels that run under that border.

"I think the elements of an agreement for the immediate cease-fire are there," Blair said in Cairo. He added that, while more work needed to be done, he hoped to see a cease-fire "in the coming days."

Israeli Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad planned to travel Tuesday to Egypt for talks.

In Paris, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said European military observers should be sent to Gaza to monitor any eventual cease-fire.

Israel's chief military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu, said the fighting was "difficult and complex" and that Hamas militants were setting boobytraps and firing missiles from the rooftops of civilian homes.

"There is a whole city built underground in Gaza. Lots of big weapons warehouses," Benayahu said. Soldiers also uncovered a tunnel dug inside Gaza that led 300 yards into Israel, he said.

In Monday's fighting, the army said it carried out more than 25 airstrikes, hitting squads of gunmen, mortar launchers and two vehicles carrying Hamas militants.

It said ground troops came under fire from militants in a mosque. An Israeli aircraft attacked the squad, and Israeli troops then took over the mosque, confiscating rockets and mortar shells.

With Israeli troops surrounding Gaza's main population centers, Israeli leaders have said the operation is close to achieving its goals. Security officials say they have killed hundreds of Hamas fighters, including top commanders, but there has been no way to confirm the claims.

Aid agencies said they have resumed relief operations in Gaza, but fighting still prevents them from evacuating the sickest people and reaching all those who need help.

The international Red Cross said it brought in seven truckloads of medical supplies and would distribute them to hospitals overwhelmed by the influx of patients.

International aid groups, however, say Israel is not doing enough to protect Palestinian civilians as well as aid workers. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced and many basic food items are no longer available, the office of the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator said.

As many 88 percent of Gaza's residents now require food aid, up from 80 percent before the war, said Helene Gayle, president of the international aid agency CARE.

The three-hour lull in fighting that Israel allows for humanitarian aid to move around Gaza is not sufficient, she said.

source by: www.thejakartapost.com