Rice imports not to harm farmers

Agriculture Minister Suswono said the rice imports the government was planning would not harm domestic farmers because their quantity would not be large.

"We plan to import only 1 million tons of rice. This is small compared to national production per year which stands at 37 million tons," said the minister, adding that the rice would be imported to create a national rice stock safety net.

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Bali also wants to become spiritual tourism destination

Bali has spiritual tourism potentials that should be more seriously developed by the government, local community members said.

Apart from conventional vacationers, Bali was now already often visited by American and European tourists who meditate at its temples to seek spiritual peace or fulfilment, they noted.

"With its temples held sacred by the Hindu population and its many centers of artistic and cultural activity, Bali has all the makings to become a spiritual tourism destination," I Wayan Aksara, marketing manager of Puri Ageng Blahbatuh, said here on Tuesday.

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CN295 squadron to reinforce ri`s air force

A CN295 squadron to be produced by Indonesian Aircraft Industry PT DI in cooperation with Airbus Military will reinforce the Indonesian Air Force in the coming three years, Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said.

"The government is planning to purchase one squadron of CN295 and the nine airplanes are expected to join the Air Force in the first semester of 2014," Purnomo said on the sidelines of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono`s visit to PT DI here on Wednesday.

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TEI drew trade missions from 44 countries

Indonesia received trade missions from a total of 44 countries during the 26th Trade Expo Indonesia (TEI) on October 19 through 23 in Jakarta, a government official said.

"The delegates didn`t only come to attend the TEI, but also to explore possibilities to build business networks and invest in Indonesia," Deputy Trade Minister Bayu Krisnamurthi said here on Tuesday.

He said the trade missions from the 44 countries comprised

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President to open asean fair in Bali

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is slated to open an e ASEAN Fair which will be held for one month along with the holding of the 19th ASEAN Summit, a cabinet minister said.

"The president will open the fair tomorrow morning," Tourism and Creative Industry Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said here on Sunday.

The minister said that the ASEAN Fair which was to be held for the first time carried the theme: "Hallo ASEAN?" which was a warm greeting of Indonesia to its ASEAN colleagues.

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RI govt targets 5-pct growth in annual rice production

The government is targeting an annual five percent growth in rice production to achieve a surplus of 10 million tons in 2014-2015, a minister said.

"A road map was discussed just now to achieve the production growth with each region setting an average annual five percent growth," chief economic minister Hatta Rajasa said after a coordination meeting on food here on Thursday.

Hatta confirmed the government had prepared an investment plan to open new agricultural lands and build dams as an irrigation facility involving state enterprises.

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Batik makers need marketing know-how, opportunities

Working to raise production to almost any level is not a problem for Indonesia`s over 50,000 small scale batik enterprises but they still face difficulties in marketing their products.

They ask the government to help overcome their weaknesses in marketing. The expectation was voiced by several batik producers who are taking part in a batik exposition during the current World Batik Summit 2011 in Jakarta on Wednesday.

"Regarding production, no matter how much, batik makers can deliver. But the problem is how to market our product," Eko (34), a small-scale batik producer who joined the expo said.

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House approves electricity subsidy of Rp45 trillion for 2012

The House of Representatives (DPR) has approved the government-proposed budget allocations of Rp45 trillion for electricity subsidy in 2012.

All factions in the House Commission VII expressed their approval of the proposal at a working meeting with Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Darwin Saleh here on Thursday.

However, the House Commission gave notes to the government`s proposal to raise basic electricity tariff by 10 percent effective April 1, 2012.

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Oil refinery explosion kill four workers in Kuwait

Four workers were killed and two others injured Saturday in a gas unit blast at an oil refinery in Kuwait, the Kuwait National Petroleum Corporation (KNPC) said.

The explosion at the Ahmadi refinery was caused by a gas leak during a routine maintenance work, the KNPC said in a statement, but it did not disclose the exact time of the blast.

Eyewitness told Xinhua fire engines and ambulances rushed to the scene after the accident took place at around 5 p.m. local time (2000 GMT).

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Tourist sues Starbucks over "hidden camera"

Starbucks is being sued for $3 million by a tourist from Virginia who says his five-year-old daughter found a video camera hidden in the washroom of one of its Washington outlets.

William Yockey (28) accuses the Seattle-based global coffee chain of invasion of privacy, negligence, "intentional infliction of emotional distress" and negligent hiring, training and supervision of staff.

Yockey, who brought his family to the US capital in April, "immediately reported this humiliating and disgusting matter" to the manager of the outlet, a few blocks from the White House, said a copy of his lawsuit seen Tuesday.

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PT. Telkom preparing thousands of hot-spots to access Internet

PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk. is preparing thousands of hot-spots in various locations across the country to help people access internet services quickly.
The executive general manager of Telkom Customer Service for Eastern Area, Sukardi Silalahi, said here on Monday the hot-spots would be set up in cooperation with the company`s subsidiaries such as Telkomsel, Speedy and Flexi.
"This shows Telkom`s commitment to easing public information access to make the Indonesian people more advanced and smarter," he said.

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Harga minyak mix setelah Libya dikuasi pemberontak

Harga patokan minyak mentah di London turun pada Senin waktu setempat, namun di New York justru naik karena pedagang bergerak cepat mencerna peristiwa di Libya dan kejatuhan penguasa lama Muamar Kaddafi.
Di London, minyak mentah laut utara untuk pengiriman Oktober turun 26 sen berada pada 108,36 dolar per barel.
Pada satu titik di siang hari, tenggelam menyentuh level terendah 105,15 dolar karena penguasaan Tripoli oleh pemberontak meningkatkan harapan bahwa Libya bisa menyelesaikan enam bulan konflik dan bisa kembali mengekspor minyak.

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Thousands of tourists visit Pagaralam

In 2010 some 10,340 tourists visited Pagaralam city, S Sumatera, head of Pagaralam tourism, art and cultural agency H Syafrudin said.
"Each year tourists come to Pagaralam in increasing number, and up to December last year their number has reached 10,340 local and foreign tourists," he said here Friday.
Most of them visited Mt Dempo tourist locations.
He said that the local tourists reached thousands of them, and only six foreign tourists from Canada, Netherlands, UK, Australia and the United States.

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Pilot Mogok, Saham Garuda Juga Ikut 'Mogok' di Bursa

Harga saham industri penerbangan, Garuda (kode JIAA) di Bursa Efek Indonesia (BEI), Kamis pagi turun Rp10 per saham dari Rp510 menjadi Rp500, setelah para pilot garuda mengancam akan melakukan aksi mogok.

Analis PT First Asia Capital, Ifan Kurniawan mengatakan di Jakarta, Kamis, para pilot Garuda mengancam akan melakukan aksi mogok, karena adanya kesenjangan gaji yang diterima para pilot lokal dengan pilot asing yang berstatus kontrak.

Saham Garuda Indonesia itu sebenarnya sejak penawaran saham perdana (initial public offering) dilepas ke pasar dengan harga Rp750, namun pelaku pasar tidak merespon dengan baik. Menurut dia, harga saham yang ditawarkan terlalu tinggi, karena bisnis industri penerbangan mengandung risiko yang tinggi.

"Kami memperkirakan harga saham Garuda kurang diminati pelaku pasar, sehingga transaksi yang terjadi relatif kecil," ujarnya. Menurut dia, pada IPO itu harga saham Garuda turun hingga Rp490 per saham, namun kemudian naik Rp20 menjadi Rp510 per saham.

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Bahan Bakar Fosil Habis 30 tahun Lagi

Penghematan energi dan penggunaan sesuai kebutuhan mutlak diperlukan. Guru Besar Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember 1945 Surabaya, Djoko Sungkono, Rabu (27/7/2011), menjelaskan, menurut para ahli minyak bumi, gas alam, dan batu bara yang dikatakan sebagai bahan bakar fosil diperkirakan akan habis 30 tahun lagi, bahan bakar gas habis dalam kurun waktu 70-80 tahun, dan bahan bakar padat 120 tahun lagi.

Dalam sosialisasi langkah-langkah hemat energi dan air untuk bangunan gedung/perkantoran di Kabupaten Lamongan itu, Djoko memaparkan, bahan bakar fosil adalah sumber daya tak terbarukan karena perlu jutaan tahun untuk terbentuk.

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Mimika DPRD fights for Freeport divestment

The Mimika legislative assembly (DPRD) in Papua province is currently still fighting for the local administration`s ownership share in PT Freeport Indonesia, a member of Commission C of the Mimika DPRD, Fabianus Jemadu said here, Monday.

He added, following a study visit to West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) some time ago, the Mimika DPRD has formed a special committee for the divestment of shares of PT Freeport Indonesia.

The special committee is chaired by Luther Wakerkwa with deputy chairman Nurman Karupukaro and Muslihuddin as the secretary.

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Jurnalis Cilik Bank ICB Bumiputera

PT Bank ICB Bumiputera untuk kali kedua menyelenggarakan Lomba Jurnalis Cilik tingkat Sekolah Dasar bekerjasama dengan LKBN ANTARA  berlangsung di Sekolah Dasar Al Zahra Pamulang. Acara yang sama juga telah dilakukan di Sekolah Dasar Al Azhar Rawamangun pada 20 Juli 2011.
Acara yang mengusung pendidikan dan pengenalan perbankan ini diikuti sedikitnya 60 siswa/siswi dari kegiatan yang berlangsung selama 2 kali ini.
Kegiatan Jurnalis Cilik ini merupakan kegiatan lanjutan atas program Funschooling yang telah dilaksanakan selama kurun waktu 2 tahun belakangan ini. Funschooling ini merupakan kegiatan pengenalan perbankan secara teori dilanjutkan dengan praktik kerja secara langsung sebagai customer service, teller hingga cara-cara mengetahui uang palsu serta bertransaksi melalui mesin ATM.

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Garuda flies Indonesians out of Cairo and Jeddah

The national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia announced here Sunday that it had flown 2,439 Indonesians from Cairo to Jakarta under the government`s temporary evacuation policy.
"The Garuda flights to and from Cairo (Egypt) have been using Boeing 747-400s since February 2," Garuda Indonesia`s spokesperson, Pujobroto, said.
The Garuda aircraft flew from Jakarta to Cairo and made a transit at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. From Cairo, they directly flew back to Jakarta, he said.
Besides helping the repatriation of Indonesian citizens in Egypt, Garuda also worked with the Indonesian ministry of foreign affairs to take 300 troubled Indonesian migrant workers in Jeddah home, he said.

The Garuda plane taking the troubled workers was expected to take off from Jeddah International Airport at 11.00 PM on Sunday and was scheduled to arrive in Jakarta on Monday afternoon, he said.

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