RI to install radar

RI to install radar stations along strait

JAKARTA: Indonesia's navy said Sunday it plans to install radar stations at nine locations in the pirate-infested Malacca Strait to monitor ships and strengthen security in one of the world's busiest waterways.

Navy spokesman Commodore Abdul Malik Yusuf did not know when or where the stations would be installed, saying authorities still needed to conduct a survey.

The decision follows an agreement between Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia to strengthen security in the strategic shipping lane, seen by many as a prime target for terrorists. The Southeast Asian nations will start coordinated air patrols over the Malacca Strait next month.

"The nine radars will help monitor the security situation in the waterway," Yusuf said. "These will also be points where crews can report problems like piracy and sea accidents."

Piracy watch officials reported 37 attacks last year in the waterway, which is used by more than 50,000 ships a year, carrying half the world's oil and a third of its commerce. -- AP

;JP; ANPAa..r.. Scene-men-masturbation Masturbation saves marriage: Expert JP/4/SCENE

Masturbation good for marriage: Expert

MUARA TEWEH, Central Kalimantan: Noted sexologist Wimpie Pangkahila told a seminar on reproduction health held by the local government here on Sunday that a study he conducted recently found that only between 13 percent and 16 percent of women who masturbated before marriage said they did not enjoy having sex with their husbands in the first year of their marriage.

For women who did not masturbate before marriage, however, the complaint rate was higher, Wimpie said. The survey revealed that between 31 percent and 37 percent of the group said they never reached orgasm in the first year of their marriage.

Wimpie, who heads the Denpasar-based Center for Andrology and Sexology Studies, said masturbation was normal and part of human psychosexual development. -- Antara

;JP; ANPAa..r.. Scene-PKB-rivalry PKB faction gears up for congress JP/4/SCENE

PKB faction gears up for congress

KEDIRI, East Java: Clerics and executives of the National Awakening Party (PKB) under Alwi Shihab regrouped at Al Falah Islamic boarding school here on Sunday to discuss preparations for their upcoming congress.

Party secretary general, Saifullah Yusuf, said the congress would take place at the Sukolilo Haj Dormitory in Surabaya at the end of this month at the earliest or early in December at the latest. Participants of the congress will elect the party's chief patron replacing Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, who is a former president and the party's cofounder.

Saifullah said the congress would go ahead despite a court ruling which upheld the dismissal of himself and Alwi as PKB secretary general and chairman for joining the Cabinet of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last year.

The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights has announced its acknowledgement of the faction loyal to Gus Dur as the legitimate representative of the party. -- Antara

;JP; ANPAa..r.. Scene-diabetes-population Campaign to prevent diabetes gets a boost JP/4/SCENE

Campaign to prevent diabetes gets a boost

JAKARTA: The government and certain community organizations are intensifying a campaign to curb the growth in the number of people suffering diabetes, which now accounts for 8.6 percent of the country's population, or around 17 million people.

Health minister Siti Fadilah Supari said on Saturday that Indonesia ranked only below India, China and the United States in terms of diabetes prevalence rate.

"The government, in cooperation with related medical professional organizations and the Association of Indonesian Diabetes, are familiarizing preventive measures in the community and taking efforts to reduce medical fees for the sufferers," Siti told the association's congress here.

The campaign, she said, shall target high risk groups by encouraging them to follow a healthy lifestyle. Sufferers shall be encouraged to get free regular checks of blood sugar and protein in their urine and eyes, as well as treatment of complications of the disease, including hypertension and stroke. -- Antara