AFRIKA SELATAN DIRIKAN BADAN LUAR ANGKASA

Johannesburg, 9/12 (ANTARA/Xinhua-OANA) - Afrika Selatan pada Kamis memasuki era ruang angkasa dengan mendirikan Badan Luar Angkasa Nasional Afrika Selatan (SANSA) secara resmi di Midrand, kota sebelah utara Johannesburg.

Menteri Ilmu Pengetahuan dan Teknologi Afrika Selatan, Naledi Pandor, mengatakan kepada "Talk Radio 702" di Johannesburg bahwa badan itu akan terhubung dan mengatur kegiatan negara itu di luar atmosfir bumi.

Badan itu juga membantu pengembangan penelitian dalam ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi luar angkasa.

Pandor mengatakan pada periode yang dimulai sejak saat ini, Afrika Selatan akan menjadi negara yang mengembangkan luar angkasa dan sebagai penyokong penting dalam percaturan dunia.

SANSA akan melaksanakan sebuah program bagi lima tahun ke depan yang bertujuan untuk mengembangkan penerapan serta pelayanan dan meningkatkan penelitian keilmuan dalam bidang tersebut.

Pengetahuan yang tersembunyi dibalik bumi akan meningkatkan kemampuan Afrika S. dalam mengatur dan menopang lingkungan dan sumber daya alamnya, ujar Pandor.

Menurut Asosiasi Media Afrika Selatan (SAPA), Pandor mengatakan tujuan utama program ruang angkasa nasional itu adalah untuk menggunakan ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi luar angkasa dalam pembangunan sosial dan ekonomi.

Sebanyak satu pasang satelit dan stasiun yang bermarkas di bumi akan dikembangkan bagi pengamatan bumi, navigasi, penempatan, komunikasi serta ilmu pengetahuan dan eksplorasi luar angkasa, ujar dia.

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23 SEALS CLUBBED TO DEATH IN NEW ZEALAND SOUTH ISLAND

Wellington, Dec. 6 (ANTARA/Xinhua-OANA) - Twenty-three seals, including eight newborns, have been clubbed to death at the Ohau Point seal colony near New Zealand South Island's popular tourist spot of Kaikoura.

The Department of Conservation (DoC) said on Monday that it appears the seals were killed over separate days, at least a week ago.

The department said the attack at the colony 22 km north of Kaikoura appears to have been carried out by one or more strong people, using club-like weapons such as bats.

Some of the pups killed were just a few days old. The dead seals also included 13 females and two bulls. Other live seals have been injured.

The department is calling for public help to identify the person or people responsible.

New Zealand fur seals are protected and it is a criminal offence to harm or kill them.

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TURKISH-ISRAELI TALKS IN GENEWA IN BID TO MEND TIES: SOURCE

ANKARA, 6/12 (ANTARA/AFP) - A top Turkish diplomat met Sunday with an Israeli official in Geneva to discuss ways of settling the deep crisis between the two countries, a Turkish foreign ministry official said.

"I can confirm that a meeting took place today in Geneva," the official told AFP on the condition of anonymity.

He said the Turkish foreign ministry's undersecretary, Feridun Sinirlioglu, met with an Israeli representative, whom he could not name.

The official would not give other details.

Bilateral ties between the one-time allies plunged into a deep crisis on May 31 when Israeli forces killed nine Turks as they raided an activist ship carrying aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip as part of an international campaign led by a Turkish Islamist charity.

Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had sent the Israeli representative on the UN committee investigating the flotilla incident, Yosef Ciechanover, to Geneva to meet with the Turkish diplomat.

The meeting came in the wake of Turkey's dispatch of two helicopters to help fight a deadly forest fire in northern Israel, a gesture that raised hope of a thaw in the crisis between the two countries.

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SIX MILITANTS, INCLUDING THEIR LEADER KILLED IN DAGESTAN

Makhachkala, Dec 5 (ANTARA/RIA Novosti-OANA) - A total of six militants, including their leader, were killed in a special operation in Russia's volatile North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, spokesman for the National Antiterrorist Committee said on Sunday.

"The active phase of the special operation is completed, six militants, including a local leader of the subversive and terrorist group Yusup Magomedov, were killed," the spokesman said. "Six rifles and two pistols were seized from the place."
The terrorist threat throughout Russia remains high, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said on Friday.

At lest 84 militants have been killed in the troubled North Caucasus this year, he added, as efforts continue to combat the Islamic insurgency in the Muslim republics of Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia.

Terrorist attacks and shootouts with police are common in Russia's troubled North Caucasus republics, especially in Dagestan and neighboring Chechnya and Ingushetia.

The Kremlin has vowed to clamp down on militants while stepping up efforts to boost the local economy.

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INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL TO BE BUILT IN PANGKALPINANG

Pangkalpinang, Babel, Dec 4 (ANTARA) - Starting next year, the Pangkalpinang city administration will build an international standard school in a bid to create competitive human resources in this globalization era.

Local Education Office spokesman Edison Taher said here on Saturday construction of the international-standard elementary school would start early next year.

He said the international standard school would be built in the Tampuk Pinang Pura area in Gerunggang sub-district, Pangkalpinang.

"The school will be equipped with international standard facilities and staffed by professional teachers to ensure its ability to produce high quality human resources with high competitiveness," Edison said.

He expressed hope that with the existence of such a school Pangkalpinang would be able to produce highly competitive human resources with outstanding capabilities to face global challenges.

"We will make every effort to construct such good quality educational facility to create highly competitive human resources with the capability to develop this region and the nation in this globalization era," Edison said.

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ZONA EURO DAN KETEGANGAN GLOBAL ANGKAT HARGA MINYAK

New York, 30/11 (ANTARA/AFP) - Harga minyak di New York naik pada Senin waktu setempat (Selasa pagi WIB), karena investor mengkhawatirkan manajemen utang Eropa dan karena kebocoran besar kabel diplomatik Amerika Serikat yang menyoroti ketegangan global, kata analis.

Kenaikan harga minyak juga menentang penguatan dolar, yang membuat minyak mentah yang dihargakan dalam dolar lebih mahal untuk pembeli yang menggunakan mata uang lemah dan pada gilirannya cenderung untuk memukul permintaan dan harga.

Kontrak utama New York, minyak mentah light sweet untuk pengiriman Januari, bertambah 1,97 dolar menjadi ditutup pada 85,73 dolar per barel.

Di London, minyak mentah Brent North Sea untuk penyerahan Januari naik 1,76 dolar AS menjadi mantap di 87,34 dolar per barel.

"Harga minyak menentang dolar yang lebih kuat karena pasar rally didukung berita bahwa Eropa menyelesaikan bailout (dana talangan) Irlandia 113 miliar dolar (85 miliar euro)," kata Phil Flynn dari PFG Best.

Euro mencapai titik terendah baru dalam dua bulan pada Senin, karena bailout Irlandia gagal meredakan kekhawatiran utang zona euro.

Analis juga mengaitkan kenaikan harga minyak terhadap ketegangan yang sedang berlangsung di Semenanjung Korea dan pelepasan besar-besaran rahasia kabel diplomatik AS oleh WikiLeaks pada Minggu, yang menawarkan wawasan baru ke dalam ketegangan di Timur Tengah, kawasan penghasil minyak terbesar di dunia, atas program nuklir Iran.

"Kita harus ingat bahwa laporan WikiLeaks sering laporan tangan kedua percakapan pihak ketiga, tetapi mereka melukiskan sebuah gambaran tentang kekhawatiran regional atas program nuklir Iran dan juga kekhawatiran dari diplomat negara maju bahwa langkah ini dapat mengarah pada lonjakan harga minyak," kata analis pada JPMorgan
Global Energy Strategy.

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BIRTHDAY DEATH ON GOLD COAST

Melbourne, Nov 29 (ANTARA/AAP) - Horrified friends celebrating their mate's birthday on the Gold Coast captured the last moments of his life on their mobile phones, as they filmed his fatal attempt to dive from a high-rise balcony into a swimming pool six metres below.

The man, believed to be from Nerang, was celebrating his 32nd birthday with friends on Sunday night at a property on the Gold Coast Highway at Broadbeach.

According to police he made one successful dive into the pool from the first floor balcony, before a second, tragic attempt about 9pm (AEST).

Police chief Jim Keogh said that on the second dive he missed the water and slammed head first into the concrete pavement.

"He didn't miss it by much," Supt Keogh said.

"It's a terrible tragedy, a young person 32 years of age losing his life on his birthday, it's very hard for his family and friends.

"Police investigations would indicate that he had dived from the balcony earlier in the night and landed in the pool and it was on his second attempt that he failed to make it to the pool."
The man, whose name and family details have not been released, was killed instantly.

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FIRING HEARD NEAR S.KOREA ISLAND, PEOPLE ORDERED TO SHELTER

Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea, Nov 28 (ANTARA/AFP) - Artillery fire was heard near a South Korean border island on Sunday soon after people there were ordered to take shelter in bunkers, reports said.

"The sound of artillery fire was heard at the island and signs of shelling... have been detected," Yonhap news agency quoted a military official as saying.

There was no immediate official confirmation.

YTN said some North Korean artillery units seemed to have opened fire towards the island.

Minutes earlier, the military had ordered people on Yeonpyeong island to take shelter, an AFP photographer said. North Korean artillery units bombarded the island last Tuesday, killing two civilians and two marines.

The photographer said he was sharing a bunker with military and police officers, residents and reporters following the loudspeaker warning. Hundreds of other villagers fled after last week's shelling, which raised tensions worldwide.

People on a South Korean island near the North Korean border were allowed to leave bunkers, 40 minutes after being told to take shelter on Sunday, an AFP photographer said.

The reason for the alert at Yeonpyeong island was unclear, but media reports said artillery fire had been heard off the island.

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RUSSIAN-MADE CARGO PLANE CRASHES IN PAKISTAN, 8 CREW DEAD

Moskow, Nov 28 (ANTARA/RIA Novosti-OANA) - A Russian-made Il-76 cargo plane crashed early Sunday in a Karachi residential neighborhood, killing all eight crewmembers and destroying several buildings under construction, CNN reported.

The plane burst in flames shortly after a takeoff from the Karachi International Airport heading for Khartoum, Sudan, CNN cited local authorities as saying.

The Associated Press and Reuters later said that all eight crewmembers on board the plane were Russians, although some other sources claim that six of the crew were Pakistani.

The plane went down in an upscale housing complex for naval officers, injuring at least one person on the ground, local officials said.

The crash is the third in four months in Pakistan.

On November 5, 21 people were killed when a small passenger plane crashed soon after taking off from Karachi airport.

In July, an Airbus A321, operated by a local air carrier, went down near the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, killing all 152 people on board.

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ASEAN CHIEF CALLS FOR PERMANENT PEACE IN KOREAN PENINSULA

Jakarta, Nov 27 9ANTARA) - ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan in a press release received here on Saturday called for the realization of permanent peace in the Korean peninsula.

"In my capacity as the Secretary-General of ASEAN, I would like to extend my deep condolences to the families of those innocent victims killed in the artillery attack on the Republic of Korea's Yeonpyeong Island earlier this week. Such painful and unnecessary loss of lives should not have happened, and it could have been avoided if there were permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula," he stated.

Pitsuwan urged all governments concerned to exercise maximum self-restraint and refrain from unusual military movements that would increase tensions and lead to greater mutual distrust on the Korean Peninsula.

"I would like to further encourage all governments concerned to explore new and bolder ideas that will create just and comprehensive solutions to end the hostility and denuclearized the Korean Peninsula, as well as to facilitate reconciliation between the ROK and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)," he said.

Since the ROK and the DPRK had acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) and both were participating in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), he said, North Korea and South Korea should refrain from the use of force or the threat to use force and to uphold the TAC's principle of peaceful resolution of conflict and the ARF's spirit of goodwill in cooperation for common benefit.

"Permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula is long overdue, and the absence of permanent peace is benefiting no one," Pitsuwan said adding that further escalation of the confrontation on the Korean Peninsula would derail the hard-earned economic recovery in East Asia at the time when the region should be benefiting from growth and prosperity.

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RI: PERAN KOMUNITAS ASEAN AKAN DITINGKATKAN SECARA GLOBAL

Jakarta, 27/11 (ANTARA) - Menteri Luar Negeri RI Marty Natalegawa mengatakan pada Jumat akan membicarakan kesepakatan baru yang akan membawa komunitas ASEAN berkontribusi di tingkat global pada 2011.

"Deklarasi 'Komunitas ASEAN dalam Negara-negara Komunitas Global' akan dibicarakan dalam temu puncak ASEAN yang akan diadakan di Indonesia pada 2011," kata Menlu dalam acara dialog kebijakan luar negeri mengenai "Peran Indonesia dalam ASEAN dan Dunia" di Jakarta, Jumat.

Ia menjelaskan deklarasi itu merupakan lanjutan dari fungsi Komunitas ASEAN, yang disetujui pada temu puncak ASEAN di Bali pada 2003, dengan ditandatanganinya deklarasi Bali Concord II.

"Ini merupakan kerangka lanjutan Komunitas ASEAN guna mengkontribusi pada isu-isu dunia, tidak hanya terfokus pada masalah regional," kata Menlu, di hadapan banyak duta besar dari negara sahabat dan kalangan akademisi.

Menlu menjelaskan bahwa kerangka lanjutan itu guna menyiapkan kawasan supaya tidak stagnan paska pencapaian komunitas ASEAN yang jatuh pada 2015.

"Kita tidak bisa hanya mengurus dan mengatur pembangunan komunitas kawasan dengan sendirinya, kita harus melakukan lebih banyak hubungan eksternal di luar kawasan," katanya.

Sejalan dengan rencana ini, lanjutnya, ASEAN dapat membahas isu global yang kohesif lebih mendalam, seperti perubahan iklim, perlucutan senjata, MDGs dan pembangunan.

Ia memaparkan perubahan tersebut merupakan evolusi ASEAN yang alami paska 2015, yang diharapkan kawasan sudah menjadi lebih kompak dan sejahtera.

Komunitas ASEAN didirikan berdasarkan tiga pilar kerja sama: politik-keamanan, ekonomi, dan sosial-budaya. Tujuannya ialah mengokohkan komunitas kawasan pada 2015 dengan memastikan kesinambungan perdamaian, stabilitas dan kesejateraan.

Semula giliran Brunei Darussalam menjabat sebagai pemimpin ASEAN pada tahun ini, dan Indonesia pada 2013. Namun, Brunei Darussalam bertukar urutan karena Indonesia akan mengetuai APEC pada 2013.

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US DRONE ATTACK KILLS THREE MILITANTS IN PAKISTAN: OFFICIALS

Miranshah, Pakistan, Nov 27 (ANTARA/AFP) - A US drone attack targeted a vehicle in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt on Friday, killing three militants near the Afghan border, local security officials said.

The unmanned aircraft targeted the vehicle in Pir Keley village, 10 kilometres (six miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal district, an infamous hotbed of Islamic militants.

"It was a US drone attack and three militants were killed," a Pakistani security official told AFP.

"It was not clear if any high value target was present in the area at the time of attack," he said, adding that identities of those killed in the strike were also not immediately known.
A second security official also confirmed the attack and the death toll.

Another intelligence official in Miranshah said the strike killed up to four militants.

A covert US drone campaign in Pakistan has been stepped up over the last few months with strikes in the tribal belt, which Washington considers as the most dangerous place on earth, taking place with increasing frequency.

More than 250 people have been killed in 47 strikes since September 3, heightening tensions with Islamabad over reported US criticism of Pakistan's failure so far to launch a ground offensive in North Waziristan.

The United States does not as a rule confirm drone attacks, but its military and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy the aircraft in the region.

Officials in Washington say drone strikes are highly effective in the war against Al-Qaeda and its Islamist allies, killing a number of high-value targets, including the Pakistani Taliban's founding father Baitullah Mehsud.

The leadership of the Haqqani network, which is linked to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, is also based in North Waziristan.

It has been accused of plotting some of the deadliest attacks on US troops in Afghanistan, including a suicide bombing that killed seven CIA operatives at a US base in Khost last December.

Pakistan's foreign ministry said last week it would reject any overtures seeking to allow the drone campaign to be expanded outside the tribal areas, amid US press reports that Washington was seeking to expand the areas inside Pakistan where the pilotless aircraft could operate.

The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for a number of arson and gun attacks on NATO supply convoys destined for Afghanistan, saying they are in revenge for the drone war.

Washington has attempted to soothe anti-Americanism that is rife throughout Pakistan with increased civilian aid to help the country overcome devastating summer floods, balancing that with its huge military donations.

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SAUDI ARRESTS 149 MILITANTS, MOST LINKED TO QAEDA IN YEMEN

RIYADH, 26/11 (ANTARA/AFP) - Saudi Arabia has arrested 149 suspected Al-Qaeda-linked militants in 19 separate cells planning attacks on state officials, foreigners and journalists, the interior ministry said on Friday.

The arrests, which took place over the past eight months, involved both Saudi and foreign nationals with links to Al-Qaeda operations mainly in Yemen, but also in Afghanistan and Somalia, interior ministry spokesman General Mansur al-Turki told reporters.

"The largest majority of them (the cells) were created by AQAP," Turki said, referring to Al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemen-based group led by both Yemenis and Saudis.

"Some had links to Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan (and) some actually had links to Al-Qaeda in Somalia," he added.

Turki gave few details about the cells' activities. "Most of the plots were against individuals," he said -- mainly Saudi security and political officials, journalists and resident "non-Muslim" foreigners, he said.

One cell was apparently training people in the use of electronic bombs, possibly car bombs, while another was raising money for Al-Qaeda abroad, he said.

"This is a continuous effort by Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda will never give up," Turki said.

Of the 149, 25 were foreigners identified only as being Arab, African and Asian in origin.

One woman, a Saudi, was also arrested for posting Al-Qaeda materials on the Internet under multiple pseudonyms, Turki said.

Most of the people in the 19 cells had links to AQAP, which has
increasingly been behind international bombing attempts including the parcel bombs intercepted en route to the United States in October.

"They sent some (people) here; in most cases AQAP recruited them from inside Saudi Arabia," he said.

Troves of documents and weapons that would have been used in attacks were also recovered, Turki said, adding that the kingdom has contacted Interpol for the arrest of others linked to the plans.

Authorities also recovered the sum of 2.24 million riyals (about 600,000 dollars) from the cells that was to be used to support Al-Qaeda both inside and outside Saudi Arabia.

On October 5, Al-Qaeda militants threatened fresh attacks on Saudi royal family members in a video message posted on the Internet to mark a 2009 failed bombing which had targeted the interior minister.

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TALIBAN ATTACK NORGROVE AGENCY'S HOUSE IN EAST AFGHANISTAN

Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Nov 27 (ANTARA/AFP) - The Taliban mounted a grenade and gun attack on the house of slain British aid worker Linda Norgrove's employers in eastern Afghanistan Friday, a provincial official told AFP.

Nangahar provincial spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai said a man came to the house used by aid organisation Development Alternatives Inc (DAI) in Jalalabad, the provincial capital, and "threw a grenade and opened fire with small arms".

"He was shot by police. There were no casualties," said Abdulzai.

Norgrove -- who was abducted by the Taliban and killed last month in a botched US military rescue attempt -- worked for DAI, which is a contractor to the US aid agency USAID, and was based in Jalalabad herself.

Provincial health director Baz Mohamad Sherzad said one body had been brought to hospital, believed to be that of the attacker, but no wounded.

But a local security source said four guards were wounded in the attack, while Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahed claimed responsibility, and said it was a suicide attack that killed 16 people, including foreigners.

The Taliban routinely make up or exaggerate claims of casualties.

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India Scolds Pakistan Two Years After MumbaiI Attack

New Delhi, Nov 25 (ANTARA/AFP) - India on Thursday accused Pakistan of not doing enough to punish the men who plotted the 2008 militant attacks on Mumbai, as the city prepared to mark the second anniversary of the bloodbath.

A senior Pakistan diplomat confirmed to AFP that an official diplomatic message was delivered to the embassy in New Delhi urging Pakistan to "fulfil its obligation and commitment" to bring the plotters to justice.

Ten gunmen launched coordinated attacks on luxury hotels, a railway station, cafe and Jewish cultural centre on the evening of November 26, 2008, starting a 60-hour siege that left 166 people dead.

Nine of the gunmen were killed, and the sole survivor has been sentenced to death in an Indian court.

The letter accused Islamabad of stalling over the trial in Pakistan of seven suspects accused of plotting the attacks.

"New Delhi expresses regret for not receiving feedback on issues raised by it," the letter said.

The suspects on trial include the alleged mastermind of the attacks, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative Zarar Shah.

New Delhi and Washington have both blamed the Mumbai attacks on the Pakistan-based LeT.

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