Campaigning to halt HIV/AIDS Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta An HIV/AIDS activist was nearly arrested by the police two years ago, when he provided sterile, disposable needles to an injecting drug user (IDU). The officer thought the activist was supporting the user's habit. Luckily, the activist's colleague, who happened to be a well-known doctor, managed to convince the policeman that the needle distribution was part of their harm reduction program.

Police see greater role in halting spread of drugs, HIV Damar Harsanto The Jakarta Post/Jakarta In Indonesia, people found in possession of illicit drugs will be given two "choices": being charged with abusing drugs or being charged with drug dealing. There is no in-between -- that's what law says. Both Law No. 5/1997 on psychotropic substances and Law No.

UN sets own inquiry of 1999 rampage in East Timor Irwin Arieff Reuters/United Nations The United Nations will conduct its own inquiry into a 1999 rampage in which Indonesian gangs killed about 1,000 East Timorese, despite pleas from Indonesia and East Timor to leave the probe to them. The decision by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to go ahead with a review, though announced on Friday, was disclosed to the Security Council over a month ago, said UN chief spokesman Fred Eckhard.

'Das Kapital' unveiled in Bahasa Indonesia M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Kapital Hilmar Farid, ed. Oey Hay Djoen, trans Hasta Mitra 986 pp At a time when communism has been rendered implausible after the demise of the Soviet Union, and capitalism and democracy have taken center stage, a Jakarta-based publishing house has launched the Indonesian translation of Karl Marx's Das Kapital, considered a bible of radical socialist ideology.

JP/1/intro With the number of people living with HIV/AIDS rising nationwide, various members of the public have stepped up efforts to increase awareness of prevention methods. The cover story highlights the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS among drug users (page 3), the harm reduction program (page 1), and an interview with chairman of the Jakarta Provincial Narcotics Agency (BNP) Fauzi Bowo (page 2). There are also images (page 20) of people involved in the campaigns to raise public awareness.

'Thaipusam', Hindu pluralistic festival in Penang A. Junaidi The Jakarta Post/Penang, Malaysia The damage caused by December's tsunami has not stopped people of various faiths and ethnic backgrounds on Penang Island, Malaysia, from celebrate the annual Thaipusam Hindu festival. Many Chinese-Malaysians and Malays of all age groups, as well as foreign tourists, participated in the festival held at midnight on Jan. 27.

1. Metro RI seeks release of two kidnapped journalists 2. Timor (2 x 25) UN sets own inquiry into 1999 rampage in East Timor 3. Jangkar (1 x 22) Campaigning to halt HIV/AIDS

JP/3/B02 Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta An HIV/AIDS activist was nearly arrested by the police two years ago, when he provided sterile, disposable needles to an injecting drug user (IDU). The officer thought the activist was supporting the user's habit. Luckily, the activist's colleague, who happened to be a well-known doctor, managed to convince the policeman that the needle distribution was part of their harm reduction program.

RI seeks release of two kidnapped journalists Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The government is making efforts to help release Metro TV reporter Meutya Hafid and cameraman Budiyanto who were abducted by gunmen in Iraq earlier this week, officials here said on Saturday. "We will use all formal and informal channels that are available," presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal told The Jakarta Post.

JP/ / 'Little Prince' in town The Little Prince is coming to town! No, not in person, but as a puppet show. Nine Swedish puppet masters and actors will accompany him to give Jakartan audiences an hour's journey full of veritable joy Amazing waterfall Located in the Bukit Barisan mountains, the Sipiso-piso waterfall offers an enchanting vista view and fresh air to visitors. But, few tourists came to see following the tsunami disaster.

Nation takes solid step against HIV Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Daniel (not his real name), started using drugs when he was in high school, frequently sharing needles with his friends to inject the drugs to which he had grown addicted. Little did he know that the habit exposed him to the dangers of contracting the AIDS-causing Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) -- he was diagnosed as HIV-positive a year ago.

Aceh prepare for Bush, Clinton visit Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) members are to join hundreds of Indonesian military personnel to secure the arrival of two former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush, the current president's father, in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam on Sunday. Commander of Aceh and North Sumatra disaster prevention operation unit, Col.

UN sets own inquiry of 1999 rampage in East Timor The United Nations will conduct its own inquiry into a 1999 rampage in which Indonesian gangs killed about 1,000 East Timorese, despite pleas from Indonesia and East Timor to leave the probe to them. The decision by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to go ahead with a review, though announced on Friday, was disclosed to the Security Council over a month ago, said UN chief spokesman Fred Eckhard.

How to get there Many major cities in Southeast Asia, including Medan, North Sumatra, provide direct flights to Penang. Local flights to Medan are provided by many airlines, including Malaysian Airlines, Lion Air and Air Asia. For the time being, no other direct link to Penang exists from other major cities in Indonesia, such as Jakarta or Surabaya, but transit flights via Kuala Lumpur are available.

Police see greater role in halting spread of drugs, HIV Damar Harsanto The Jakarta Post/Jakarta In Indonesia, people found in possession of illicit drugs will be given two "choices": being charged with abusing drugs or being charged with drug dealing. There is no in-between -- that's what law says. Both Law No. 5/1997 on psychotropic substances and Law No.

Police see greater role in halting spread of drugs, HIV Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta In Indonesia, people found in possession of illicit drugs will be given two "choices": being charged with abusing drugs or being charged with drug dealing. There is no in-between -- that is what the law says. Both Law No. 5/1997 on psychotropic substances and Law No.

Slowing the spread of the epidemic The number of people living with HIV globally has reached its highest level with an estimated 39.4 million people. While HIV transmission through heterosexual sex has been the focus of past campaigns, efforts to reach men who have sex with men and injecting drug users have proven effective but urgently need to be scaled up. There is a very high rate of needle sharing among drug users in the country.

IDU, HIV/AIDS facts - 2002: Following the United Nations Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS), the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization establish two small-scale methadone treatment programs in Jakarta and Bali, and set up a needle exchange program in Kampung Bali, Jakarta. - A Joint United Nations Programme report on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) shows HIV prevalence among IDUs in Indonesia had increased threefold from 16 percent in 1999 to 48 percent in 2003. - Dec.

Strong quake sparks fears of tsunami Andi Hajramurni and Hasrul, The Jakarta Post, Makassar/Kendari A powerful earthquake rocked parts of Sulawesi island on Saturday, causing the tide to rise and sparking fears of a tsunami. Thousands of affected villagers fled their homes and ran onto the streets in panic. But there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

TV Program: Sunday, February 20, 2005 .TB.30" .90" TVRI 5:00 a.m. Religious Teachings 6:00 News: Berita Pagi 7:00 Cartoon: Maya The Bee 7:30 Children Show 9:00 Music: Delta 10:30 Sports: Antar Arena 11:30 English for Fun 12:30 p.m. Music 1:00 News: Berita Siang 1:30 Documentary 3:00 English News Service 5:00 Cartoon: Tabulaga 5:30 Documentary 7:00 News: Berita Nasional 9:00 Italian League (Live) 11:00 News: Dunia Dalam Berita TPI 6:00 a.m.

A sporting chance in a win-at-all-costs world It was Feb. 13th, the last day of the nine-round chess competition at the National Journalists Games (Porwanas) in Pekanbaru, Riau. Although I had no chance of winning a medal in the individual competition, my teammate Rela Ginting, a National Master, was hopeful of bringing Jakarta gold in the team event in his last match. We set out from the hotel in high spirits.

Family planning evolution in RI Aya Hirata Kimura, Contributor, Jakarta People, population and policy in Indonesia Terence H. Hull, ed Equinox Publishing 208 pp, Hardcover A few years ago when I was in eastern Java, I was struck by the casual way in which Indonesians would often ask, "What do you use for KB?" -- even in a seemingly conservative rural area.

All the girl wants is to bring Joy to the world Evi Mariani The Jakarta Post/Jakarta Since the age of nine, Joy Destiny Tiurma Tobing has won around 100 singing contests in the country and now, at the age of 24, she is on the brink of international stardom. "I wanted to embrace the international market even before I won Indonesian Idol," Joy told The Jakarta Post at her house in Mampang, South Jakarta.

Power-ideology balance over 50 years Ehito Kimura, Contributor, Jakarta Social Science and Power in Indonesia Vedi R. Hadiz, Daniel Dhakidae, eds Equinoz Publishing 304 pp, Hardcover Social Science and Power in Indonesia is a provocative and engaging collection of essays expertly edited by two seasoned scholars of Indonesian politics, Vedi Hadiz and Daniel Dhakidae.

'Massive anti-drug campaign needed' A national estimate shows that there are at least 10,000 injecting drug users (IDUs) in Jakarta who face a high risk of contracting Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) through sharing needles. An official report as of Dec. 31 also shows that the capital has the highest recorded number of people living with HIV/AIDS at 2,505, or 45 percent of the total 5,540 cases nationwide.

Aceh aid workers warned of attack AUSTRALIA: Foreign aid workers helping tsunami relief efforts in Indonesia could be the target of militant attacks, Australia warned in a travel advisory Saturday. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Australia had received new intelligence its nationals could come under fire in Aceh and Northern Sumatra.

Champ Thongchai takes six-shot lead at Malaysian Open Agencies, Kuala Lumpur Title-holder Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand pulled six shots clear of the chasing pack after the third round of the Carlsberg Malaysian Open on Saturday, poised to defend a title for the first time in his illustrious career.

Penang marks 'Thaipusam' in pluralistic celebration A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Penang, Malaysia The damage caused by December's tsunami has not stopped people of various faiths and ethnic backgrounds on Penang Island, Malaysia, from celebrate the annual Thaipusam Hindu festival. Many Chinese-Malaysians and Malays of all age groups, as well as foreign tourists, participated in the festival held at midnight on Jan. 27.