ONE NEWS

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 JAKARTA: A 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck the north coast of Indonesia's Papua Tuesday, seismologists said. The quake struck at 1:46 am (1746 GMT) with an epicentre 74 kilometres (46 miles) northwest of the town of Wewak, the US Geological Survey reported. It was measured at a depth of 35 kilometres. Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 JAKARTA: A 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck the north coast of Indonesia's Papua Tuesday, seismologists said. The quake struck at 1:46 am (1746 GMT) with an epicentre 74 kilometres (46 miles) northwest of the town of Wewak, the US Geological Survey reported. It was measured at a depth of 35 kilometres. Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.

BEJI, Indonesia — Indonesian police stormed a house Saturday where the regional militant leader suspected in last month's attacks on hotels in the capital was believed hiding out with several followers, witnesses and police said. The raid broke a 16-hour siege of the house in central Java province that had officers trading automatic weapons fire with the militants. At least five loud explosions have rocked the building since dawn. Police spokesman Nanan Sukarna said officers believed alleged Malaysian militant leader Noordin Mohammad Top and two or three of his followers were inside, but could not immediately confirm their fate. Minutes after the raid, witnesses said officers outside the house took off their helmets and were shaking hands with each other, suggesting all those inside had either been killed or captured. The firing ceased. A police officer at the scene said a body was found in the bathroom of the house. Noordin is suspected in last month's attacks on the J.W. Marr...

Sunday, August 02, 2009::JAKARTA: An Indonesian passenger plane carrying 16 people disappeared over eastern Indonesia on Sunday.The Twin Otter plane was on a commercial flight over the remote Papua region when it lost contact with ground officials, said Capt. Nikmatullah, the director of operations of airline Merpati Nusantara.No trace had been found of the plane more than four hours after it took off, said Nikmatullah, who goes by a single name. The aircraft was carrying enough fuel to keep it in the air for 3 hours, he told a TV channel.The plane was on a 50-minute journey from Sentani, a major airport in Papua, to the town of Oksibil, he said.Much of Papua is covered with impenetrable jungles and mountains.In the past, crashed planes have never been found.Indonesia, a nation of more than 18,000 islands, has seen several major air crashes in recent years that have killed more than 220.In 2007, the European Union banned all Indonesian carriers from landing in the bloc. It recently li...

Tuesday, July 28, 2009 JAKARTA: Indonesian opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri launched a Constitutional Court challenge Tuesday to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's re-election victory.The daughter of independence hero Sukarno has refused to accept the results of the July 8 polls, which she lost in a landslide to ex-general Yudhoyono, just as she lost the previous election to him in 2004.She claims millions of voters -- out of around 170 million who eligible in the world's third-biggest democracy -- were disenfranchised by inaccurate voter lists and insufficient polling booths in key districts."First, we want a second-round presidential election run-off or at least SBY has to bring back the people's trust by competing in the run-off with us," Megawati's legal adviser, Arteria Dahlan, said, using Yudhoyono's nickname."Second, if that's not granted, then we want the vote to be counted again across Indonesia."Third, we have proof that t...

Wednesday, July 08, 2009 JAKARTA: Indonesia voted in only its second direct presidential election since the fall of the Suharto dictatorship on Wednesday with ex-general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono tipped to win a second term. Opinion polls suggest Yudhoyono could avoid a run-off in September by beating opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri and outgoing Vice President Jusuf Kalla with a clear majority in the first round. Victory will give the mild-mannered 59-year-old -- who likes to write love songs in his spare time -- a clear mandate to speed up bureaucratic reform and fight corruption in the most populous Muslim-majority nation.