U.S. implicates RI in Papua attack: Paper

U.S. implicates RI in Papua attack: Paper

AUSTRALIA: U.S. intelligence services have intercepted
messages between Indonesian Army commanders implicating them in
an ambush in Indonesia's Papua province that killed three
teachers, two of them Americans, an Australian newspaper said on
Saturday.

A source close to the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta said
intelligence suggested the Aug. 31 attack near a giant mine was
linked to a protection racket, The Sydney Morning Herald
reported.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. of the United States
operates the gold and copper mine, the world's largest.

"Mounting evidence that Indonesian soldiers ran the ambush,
whether or not they had higher direction or intended to kill
foreigners, is becoming a serious political embarrassment as the
U.S. administration looks for ways to help improve security in
Indonesia after the Oct. 12 Bali bombings," the paper said.

Three teachers, two of them Americans, were killed when their
cars were ambushed by gunmen near the mine.

Indonesian police investigating the attack say military
involvement is just one of several possibilities they are
considering. --Reuters

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ANPAi..u..
Indonesia-Aceh
Two rebels die in battle ahead of Aceh ceasefire announcement
JP/2/HIGH

Two rebels die ahead of cease-fire announcement

INDONESIA: Two separatist rebels died in a battle with government
forces in Aceh province just hours before the rebel army
announced on Saturday a unilateral cease-fire during the Muslim
holy month of Ramadhan.

Tjut Manyak, a spokesman for the rebel Free Aceh Movement
(GAM), said two GAM soldiers died during an attack on Friday on
an Indonesian military post in Awe Geutah, Bireuen district.

The deaths came shortly before the separatist group announced
in a statement received here on Saturday that it would
unilaterally cease fighting government forces beginning Nov. 4
for Ramadhan.

GAM commander Muzakkir Manaf made the announcement in a
statement released by his spokesman, Sofyan Dawod.

"TNA will withdraw its troops to defensive positions; the use
of weapons will be minimum and for self-defense only," the
statement said, referring to the Aceh National Armed Forces, or
GAM.

The unilateral cease-fire will take effect on Nov. 4 and last
until Dec. 10, the statement added. Aceh is a devoutly Muslim
province.

"We kindly request the Indonesian government to instruct its
military and police to also respect the holy month of Ramadhan by
taking the same policy," it said. --AFP

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ASIA-MILITARY
Asia Pacific military chiefs meet in Singapore
JP/2/HIGH

Asia Pacific military chiefs meet in S'pore

SINGAPORE: Military chiefs from 22 Asia Pacific countries,
including the United States, met in Singapore on Friday to
discuss regional security, the city state's government said.

The three-day meeting comes as Singapore and the rest of
Southeast Asia are on heightened alert after bombings which
killed more than 180 people in nearby Bali, and a spate of
explosions in the Philippines.

The military chiefs are discussing cooperation on
transnational threats such as terrorism and drug trafficking as
well as peacekeeping operations, disaster relief and humanitarian
assistance.

The government said it was the fifth time the Asia Pacific
Chief of Defense Conference had been held, and the first time it
had gathered outside Hawaii, where the U.S. Pacific Command is
based. --Reuters

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ANPAi..u..
Italy-quake-toll 4thlead
At least 24 dead, including 22 children, in Italy quake
JP/ITALY

At least 24 dead in Italy quake

ITALY: The death toll from an earthquake in southern Italy rose
overnight to 24, including 22 children buried beneath the rubble
of a village school, rescuers said on Friday.

Rescue workers in the village of San Giuliano di Puglia, worst
hit by the quake, toiled frantically throughout the night in the
hope of rescuing those still missing after the quake struck on
Thursday during a school Halloween party.

But they said they did not hold out any hope of finding alive
six people still believed to be trapped under the primary school
building.

They had managed to pull out two children alive in the early
hours of the morning, including one called Angelo whom the rescue
workers had been trying to reach for hours after he was
discovered with his feet pinned under a concrete slab, police
said.

Most of the victims were primary schoolchildren aged seven or
eight. The quake, measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale, also
claimed the lives of two women, aged 56 and 90, whose homes in
the same town were also hit. --AFP

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ANPAi..r..
Australia-bushfire
Tourists flee bushfire at popular Australian resort
JP/2/HIGH

Tourists flee bushfire at Aussie resort

AUSTRALIA: One of the worst bushfires to hit central Australia in
20 years forced the evacuations of a popular tourist resort and a
local Aboriginal community, police said on Friday.

About 200 travelers and staff at the Kings Canyon resort were
woken at midnight when police decided the blaze, which was
burning along a long front, posed a threat to the resort.

Kings Canyon is a large, natural gorge that lies southwest of
Alice Springs in central Australia. It is a regular stop on the
tourist route, just three hours' drive north of Uluru, formerly
known as Ayer's Rock.

The resort comprises hotel accommodation and a sprawling camp
ground. The Lilla Aboriginal community near Kings Creek station
was evacuated later on Friday as the fire continued to rage out
of control.

Police warned motorists to stay away from the scenic canyon,
declaring the two access routes as unsafe. They said lightning
sparked the blaze. --AFP

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ANPAi..r..
Singapore-biotech
Asia's first drug discovery research centre opens in Singapore
JP/SINGAPORE

Drug research center opens in Singapore

SINGAPORE: Asia's first drug discovery research center was opened
here on Friday by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and
Company, aimed at using advanced technology to find cures for
diseases.

Lilly Systems Biology (LSB) is to spend S$250 million
(US$140.4 million) for research over the next five years, it
said. The center will have financial backing from the
government's Economic Development Board.

"Pharmaceutical research must find more productive means to
discover new medicines," said Richard DiMarchi, vice president of
research technologies and product development for Lilly Research
Laboratories.

"Our investments in the field of systems biology are an
attempt to harness the full complexity of human biology for
commercial purposes."

LSB is to increase its international team of scientists and
information technology professionals from 27 to 50 by December.
DiMarchi said the center is the first in Asia to use advanced
technology to discover new drugs.

"The need of the day is new methods for understanding the
biological function of these molecular targets when placed in the
huge complexity of living biological organisms," he said at the
center's launch.

Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Tharman
Shanmugaratnam, said the center "puts Singapore on the frontiers
of biomedical research". --AFP