JI weakened by arrests, but could rebound: analysts

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…

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History 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…

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In 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…

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East 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…

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Indonesian 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…

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Indonesia 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…

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Cracks 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…

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