BUGILSNEWS.COM - Daily Updates from Indonesia by BARTELE.COM

The black magic came from God, I don't
have it anymore, I have repented....

Self-proclaimed shaman Ahmad Suraji

An Indonesian man who murdered 42 women in "black magic" rituals aimed at increasing his supernatural powers will soon be executed by firing squad. (Ottawacitizen)

TEMPO DOELOE Daily picture

Every day, a glimpse into
the past...

Bandung Post Office, 1881

►► CLICK THE PICTURE TO ENLARGE

Tourist cafe was terrorist target
Police believe the 10 men arrested over the planned Bedudel Cafe attack are linked to Noordin M Top - a Malaysian - is accused of being behind the Bali bombings of 2002 and 2005 as well as the attacks against the Marriott Hotel and the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. (ABC)

►Read more: Big fish caught in Indonesian terror dragnet: Analysts

Indonesian Horror
The Indonesian film industry has tried many different genres, from comedy to religious to drama to teen romances, but currently have decided that horror films are their best bet to draw in audiences. (Indonesia Matter)

Bali tourism at record levels
Bali is enjoying a resurgence in tourism, thanks partly to an increasing number of Australians. But tourism to Indonesia has declined since the late 1990s.(T)

Nine terror suspects arrested
A Singaporean who met several times with Osama bin Laden is among nine terrorist suspects arrested in western Indonesia with a cache of powerful bombs packed with bullets. They were considering an attack in Jakarta. (Yahoo NZ)

Indonesia targets anti-graft drive at MPs
Worrying times for Indonesia's Members of Parliament as the country's anti-graft agency turns the screw on the legislative assembly. (Channelnewsasia)

Gabby, Talkative Intelligence Chief
Several times of late the head of state intelligence, Badan Intelijen Negara (BIN), Syamsir Siregar, has launched himself, willy nilly or not, into everyday political and police matters, causing some people to worry about the proper role of an intelligence chief. (IM)

Police celebrations marred by torture claims
Indonesia's police force has marked its 62nd birthday, but few were celebrating across the vast archipelago where torture in police cells is accepted as routine, human rights activists said. (ABC)

Indonesian film explores trauma of 1998 riot victims
A new film puts the spotlight on the sensitive issues of racism and rape involving the minority Chinese community during the 1998 bloody riots. (Canada.com)

Indonesia grounds five airlines on safety fears
Indonesia has grounded five airlines and given them three months to improve safety standards. (SMH)

Live football at the graveyard: only in Indonesia!
Children sit on graves to watch the final between Spain and Germany on a projector screen installed at a public cemetery in Kober, Jakarta, early Monday. (JP)

Elephants Attack Plantations Due to Lack of Habitat
“It is hard for the elephants to get food now,” said a staff member of the Heart of Borneo World Wide Fund for Nature Indonesia. (Tempo)

More Video Surveillance Planned for Kuta
A South Korean survey team is expected to visit Kuta in the first half of July to undertake a final survey for the installation of 75 CCTV surveillance points in Kuta. (Bali Discovery)

Indonesia wants 'Balibo Five' film to include its point of view
Indonesia's foreign ministry says a new Australian film about the deaths of five foreign journalists in East Timor in 1975 should include Indonesia's point of view. (ABC)

Australia lowers warnings for Indonesia provinces
Australia lowered on Friday travel warnings for two Indonesian provinces with a history of religious and ethnic bloodletting, but continued to warn citizens to think hard before travelling to the country. (Khaleej)

RI making progress on corruption, WB says
Indonesia has reduced corruption over the last decade, thanks in part to a reform push by its leaders, a World Bank report says. (The Jakarta Post)

U.S. ensemble fuses gamelan with jazz
Balinese gamelan and western jazz were two different musical forms never looking to be paired. Yet a marriage between the two was managed on Friday night with musicians creating delicious melodies for music lovers. (TJP)

Bill Gates buy a Bali bank
Sri Partha Banks Provisionally renamed as the Bank of Banks (BoB), the acquisition and start-up funding will come from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank and Dutch sources. (Bali Discovery)

Indonesia 'complacent' about terrorists
The decline of the Indonesian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) has led some Indonesian political leaders to believe that further counter-terrorism measures are unnecessary. (NNN)

Jihadist activity increasing, study warns
A new report says the Australian Government should be concerned about the growing number of jihadist publications being produced and the active recruitment schemes by secretive Islamist groups in Southeast Asia. (The Australian)

Madura traditional jamu not hazardous to health
The Drug and Food Supervisory Agency has recently banned 54 traditional jamu products as they were found to contain substances hazardous to human health, but Madura jamu was not one of them. (Antara)
More on Madura jamu by Bartele:
► First part
► Second part

Indonesia to eliminate exit tax in 2009
The government plans to scrap tax on overseas travel starting 2009. The policy will apply selectively at the beginning. (Xinhua)

Yogyakarta Airport unlicensed during Garuda crash
There are allegations that Indonesia's Yogyakarta Airport was effectively unlicensed when a Garuda Flight 200 crashed there in March 2007. Five Australians were among 21 people killed in the disaster. (ABC)

Indonesia has 40,000 types of traditional medicine
Nearly 50 percent of the total herbal medicines were found in Kalimantan forests and the rest from other regions in Indonesia, Antara news agency Sunday quoted Hidayat as saying. (Xinhua)

Poverty forces Indonesians to give up children
According to the report, up to 500,000 of Indonesia's 85 million children live in institutions, one of the highest rates in the world. Of those, 90% still have one or more parent alive. (USA Today)

Skater cops
Indonesia is rolling out a new weapon in its battle against gridlock: traffic police on inline skates. The idea is that officers will be able to reach traffic jams in Jakarta quicker than by car or motorbike. (CNN)

First green building institution
Indonesia has established the first green building institution to certify and rate environmentally friendly housing and workplaces, local press reported Friday. (Xinhua)

Ex-spy chief held in midair poisoning case
Police arrested a former top official in the intelligence agency on suspicion of involvement in the midair poisoning death of Munir Thalib in 2004. The announcement is the first formal acknowledgment by authorities that the powerful State Intelligence Agency may have been involved. (CNN)

Report says Supreme Court under corruption probe
Supreme Court has become the latest institution to come under the spotlight of the country aggressive anti-corruption drive. Investigators from the Corruption Eradication Commission confiscated documents from the court in search of evidence of embezzlement of administrative fees. (CNA)

Sumatran Forests Could Be Gone Within Five Years
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment is predicting that forests in Sumatra will be gone within five years as a result of being exploited and changed into plantation areas. (Tempo)

Balinese face identity crisis amid globalization
Academics said Sunday that globalization and modernization had changed the Balinese character and culture, causing an identity crisis on the island. (The Jakarta Post)

Miss Universe contestant Putri Raemawasti of Indonesia takes part in the swimwear show in Nha Trang July 2, 2008. The 57th annual Miss Universe pageant will be held in Vietman's central Nha Trang resort city on July 14, 2008. Picture taken July 2, 2008.

(REUTERS/Miss Universe)

● Indonesia Raises Key Rate a Third Time [Bloomberg]

● President SBY Launches an SOS on World Oil Price [Tempo]

● Geothermal-rich SE Asia struggles to tap earth's power [Reuters]

● Pricey oil makes geothermal projects more attractive for Indonesia [IHT]

● Krakatau Steel returns to profit [Reuters]


► Corrupt officials betrayed by pillow talk		► Pilots in India often fail alcohol tests
Anti-graft authorities in a southern Chinese city are questioning mistresses of suspected corrupt officials and finding the information is paying off prettily...		Around 50 pilots each year in India are being grounded because they had consumed alcohol before taking a flight, said the country's civil aviation authority...


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