Kebahagiaan Kepala BIN Sutanto Saat Keajaiban Tuhan Terjadi Pada Sang Isteri

Kepala Badan Intelijen Negara (BIN) Jenderal Polisi (Purn) Sutanto

 

Oleh : Mega Simarmata ( Pemimpin Redaksi KATAKAMI.COM)

 

Jakarta, 31 Agustus 2011 (KATAKAMI.COM) — Setelah lama tak berjumpa dengan Kepala Badan Intelijen Negara (BIN) Jenderal Polisi (Purn) Sutanto, ternyata begitu banyak hal yang juga berubah pada dirinya.

Sutanto, pria yang lahir di Comal (Pemalang) 30 Setepmber 1950 ini, tak lagi bisa leluasa melakukan olahraga golf atau menyanyi untuk sekedar mengisi waktu luang bersama keluarga.

Sejak sang isteri tercinta sakit (Ny. Henny Sutanto), konsentrasi Sutanto hanya tertuju pada dua hal utama yaitu melakukan tugas utamanya sebagai Kepala BIN dan melakukan semua cara terbaik untuk membantu kesembuhan sang isteri dari sakit hati kronis.

Tahun 2010 lalu, Ny. Henny Sutanto sampai harus menjalani operasi pencangkokan hati.

Di hari pertama lebaran, KATAKAMI.COM berkesempatan untuk bertemu Sutanto dan keluarga besarnya di kediaman pribadi mereka di kawasan Pondok Indah, Jakarta Selatan.

Mengenakan kemeja batik, Sutanto dengan ramah menyambut tamu-tamunya. Antara lain adalah Kapolri Jenderal Polisi Timur Pradopo dan tamu-tamu yang tak henti-hentinya berdatangan sejak siang hingga sore hati.

Ny. Henny Sutanto ikut mendampingi suami menerima tamu-tamu mereka.

 

Ny. Henny Sutanto (kanan). Foto : Jakarta Post

 

Henny Sutanto: Life is about second chances

 

Henny, mengenakan busana muslim berwarna coklat, terlihat lebih kurus tetapi jauh lebih cantik dibandingkan saat sebelum ia menjalani operasi pencangkokan hati.

“Saya memang jadi lebih kurus karena tahun lalu saya kan baru menjalani operasi. Sekarang untuk makan pun, semua harus serba ditakar. Tidak boleh sembarangan. Kalau saya, prinsipnya mengikuti saran dokter saja. Dan tiap 3 bulan, saya harus tetap check up,” kata Ny. Henny Sutanto kepada KATAKAMI.COM di sela-sela kesibukannya menerima  tamu-tamu di hari pertama Open House, Rabu, 31 Agustus 2011.

Sutanto pun tak bisa lagi leluasa melakukan sejumlah kegemarannya seperti melakukan olahraga golf dan menyanyi.

“Sudah lama saya tidak golf lagi. Sejak Isteri saya sakit, saya lebih banyak olahraga dirumah saja supaya saya bisa lebih banyak menemani Ibu. Tapi kalau Presiden meminta saya ikut menemani beliau golf, saya ikut. Kalau ditanya soal nyanyi, wah …. sudah lama saya tidak nyanyi lagi. Sebab kalau saya nyanyi, nanti orang pada kabur dengar suara saya” gurau Sutanto sambil tertawa.

Sementara ketika ditanya soal kegiatannya sebagai Kepala BIN, Sutanto punya jawaban tersendiri :

“Ah, wartawan jangan mancing-mancing saya bicara. Sebab sebagai Kepala BIN, saya tidak boleh bicara terbuka kepada pers. Justru kalian, wartawan-wartawan … kasih dong saya informasi. Menurut wartawan, bagaimana situasi dan kondisi Indonesia sekarang ini ?” kata Sutanto masih dalam suasana canda yang sepertinya hanya untuk mengalihkan situasi agar ia tidak terjebak untuk bicara dengan “seribu satu macam” informasi yang hanya boleh diketahui oleh kalangan intelijennya.

 

Kepala Badan Intelijen Negara (BIN) Jenderal Polisi (Purn) Sutanto

 

Ketika dikonfirmasi, apakah benar saat ini Sutanto sampai harus pulang larut malam sejak ia menjadi Kepala BIN ?

“Ah kata siapa ? Ya namanya tugas, kita harus menjalani dengan sungguh-sungguh. Kalau dari pagi sampai malam saya di kantor, wajar saja. Tidak ada yang istimewa. Biasa-biasa aja. Pokoknya jangan pancing-pancing saya bicara deh. Kepala BIN gak boleh banyak bicara soal tugas-tugasnya,” gurau Sutanto lagi.

Dan Sutanto jadi tambah tertawa, saat “nasibnya” sebagai Kepala BIN diilustrasikan seperti sebuah lagu yang menceritakan “penderitaan” seekor burung yang terpaksa hidup didalam sangkar.

Akan tetapi, walaupun Sutanto tak ingin diajak berbicara banyak soal tugas-tugasnya sebagai Kepala BIN, Sutanto tampak begitu bahagia jika menceritakan cucu-cucunya.

“Salah satu cucu saya, masih berumur satu tahun delapan bulan. Tapi saya heran, anak ini bisa memakai Ipad milik ayahnya. Dia bisa mencari dan menemukan program yang dia suka yaitu permainan anak-anak. Permainan Puzzle” kata Sutanto.

Dalam suatu kesempatan, sumber KATAKAMI.COM yang menjadi sahabat Jenderal Sutanto pernah menceritakan bahwa Sutanto memang sangat menyayangi cucu-cucunya.

Ada satu orang cucu Sutanto yang suka masuk ke ruang kerja Sutanto di kediaman dinas Kapolri di Jalan Pattimura Jakarta Selatan ( saat Sutanto masih menjabat sebagai Kapolri ).

Sang cucu paling senang duduk di pangkuan Sutanto jika sudah duduk di depan komputer. Dan dengan seenaknya, anak kecil ini bisa memencet-mencet keyboard komputer sang kakek ( tanpa mau tahu, pencetannya bisa merusak komputer). Sutanto tak bisa marah dan memang tak akan pernah marah kepada cucu-cucunya.

Berlebaran di rumah Jenderal Sutanto, memang menjadi sangat mengharukan.

Setelah tahun kemarin tidak menggelar Open House di Hari Lebaran, tahun ini Sutanto sekeluarga memutuskan untuk menggelar Open House.

Yang membuat suasana Open House menjadi sangat mengharukan adalah kesembuhan Ny. Henny Sutanto dari sakitnya selama ini.

Hikmah yang bisa diambil dari beratnya cobaan yang diderita manusia adalah Tuhan sungguh maha mengetahui, maha mengasihi dan maha pemurah kepada umat yang sungguh berpasrah.

Mukjizat atau keajaiban lewat kesembuhan yang berangsur-angsur dialami Ny Henny Sutanto menjadi berkah terbesar bagi Keluarga Besar Sutanto.

Disitulah gunanya manusia berpasrah dan terus membangun tiang doa ke hadirat Ilahi.

Dan Henny Sutanto mendapat mukjizat atau keajaiban ( MIRACLE) berupa kesempatan hidup kedua dari Tuhan, tentu untuk memberikan kesempatan melakukan lebih banyak lagi kebaikan-kebaikan seperti yang selama ini telah dipersembahkan kepada keluarga, orang-orang terdekat dan sesama manusia.

Kebahagiaan Keluarga Besar Sutanto ini mengingatkan pada sebuah lagu yang dinyanyikan oleh penyanyi cantik, Whitney Houston &  Mariah Carey ” WHEN YOU BELIEVE : 

Many nights we’ve prayed
With no proof anyone could hear
In our hearts a hopeful song
We barely understood

Now we are not afraid
Although we know there’s much to fear
We were moving mountains long
Before we knew we could

There can be miracles, when you believe
Though hope is frail, it’s hard to kill
Who knows what miracles you can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will
You will when you believe

In this time of fear
When prayers so often prove(s) in vain
Hope seems like the summer birds
Too swiftly flown away
Yet now I’m standing here
My heart’s so full I can’t explain
Seeking faith and speaking words
I never thought I’d say
There can be miracles, when you believe
Though hope is frail, it’s hard to kill
Who knows what miracles you can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will
You will when you believe
They don’t (always happen) when you ask
And it’s easy to give in to your fears
But when you’re blinded by your pain
Can’t see your way straight throught the rain
(A small but )still resilient voice
Says (hope is very near)
There can be miracles
(Miracles)
When you believe
(Lord, when you believe)
Though hope is frail
(Though hope is frail)
It’s hard to kill
(Hard to kill, Ohhh)
Who knows what miracles,you can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will(somehow,somehow, somehow)
somehow you will
You will when you believe
You will when you
You will when you believe
Just believe…in your heart
Just believe
You will when you believe~

(***)

Photostream : Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan meets with Former British PM Tony Blair

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan (R, front) meets with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 29, 2011. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan (R) meets with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 29, 2011. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

 

Japan’s finance minister to be country’s new PM

Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda was chosen on Monday to become Japan’s sixth prime minister in five years. (Photo by REUTERS)

 

JAPAN, August 29, 2011 (KATAKAMI.COM / AL ARABIYA / REUTERS ) — Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda was chosen on Monday to become Japan’s sixth prime minister in five years, but has to overcome a divided parliament and deep rifts in the ruling party if he is to make more of a mark than his predecessors.

Noda is considered a safe pair of hands to lead the world’s third-biggest economy, but doubts run deep as to whether he will have sufficient support and stay in office long enough to tackle a long list of economic woes and cope with a nuclear crisis.

The 54-year-old Noda, who defeated Trade Minister Banri Kaieda in a run-off vote in the ruling party, must deal with a resurgent yen that threatens exports, forge a new energy policy while ending the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl, and find funds to rebuild from the March 11 tsunami at a time when huge public debt has already triggered a credit downgrade.

“Noda has inherited all the same problems – a divided parliament, a divided party, a strong yen, a Tohoku [northeastern Japan] desperate for progress on reconstruction and an early end to the nuclear crisis,” said Jeffrey Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University’s Japan campus.

“I think the honeymoon will be very short-lived.”

 

Prime Minister Naoto Kan (R) applauds beside Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda (L) after winning a party vote during leadership election of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in Tokyo on August 29, 2011. Noda is set to become prime minister after winning a party vote, taking on responsibility for rebuilding after the quake, tsunami and nuclear disasters. Photo : AFP PHOTO/Toru YAMANAKA

 

No Japanese prime minister has lasted much more than a year since 2006 and most market players polled by Reuters this month thought the next government head would be no exception.

Noda, who will be confirmed by parliament on Tuesday, will be the third premier since his ruling Democratic Party of Japan swept to power in 2009, promising change.

Instead of a deep debate over how to jolt Japan out of decades of stagnation, the party vote had turned into a battle between allies and critics of Ichiro Ozawa, a 69-year-old political mastermind who heads the party’s biggest group even as he faces trial on charges of misreporting political donations.

Kaieda, backed by Ozawa, got 177 votes in the run-off, while Noda, supported by Ozawa critics, won the backing of 215 deputies.

Analysts said despite the defeat of his candidate, Ozawa remained a powerful – and divisive – force.

“He is still important, though not as important as he was,” Temple University’s Kingston said.

Noda’s rise to the top job could cause some friction with China after he recently repeated that Japanese wartime leaders convicted by an Allied tribunal after Japan’s defeat in World War Two were not “war criminals” under domestic law.

He has also said China’s rapid military buildup and expanding naval activities pose a serious regional risk, and stressed the importance of the US-Japan security alliance.

“Noda’s attitude toward China has in the past been somewhat hardline, and he has close relations with the United States, which would not bode well for China-Japan ties,” said Sun Cheng, an expert on Japan at the China University of Political Science and Law.

“However, he has been compromising on his views, and I think he will want to maintain stability in China-Japan relations,” Sun added.

Bond markets welcomed the choice of Noda, who among the candidates was the only one consistently calling for Japan to face painful reforms to curb its massive debt.

“Let’s do the utmost to tackle what we have promised and if there’s not enough money, we might ask the people to share the burden,” Noda said before the vote.   (*)

 

 

SOURCE : AL ARABIYA, REUTERS

New York airports to reopen Monday

A road sign warns of inclement weather as car drives west off the Manhattan bridge onto Canal St. in Lower Manhattan. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

 

NEW YORK, August 29, 2011 (KATAKAMI.COM / CHANNEL NEWS ASIA / AFP) — The three major airports in the New York area closed ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irene will reopen early Monday, officials said on Sunday.

John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Newark airport in New Jersey will open at 6:00 am (1000 GMT), while LaGuardia reopens at 7:00 am (1100 GMT), the Federal Aviation Administration said on its website.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said that departures at JFK and Newark would resume slightly later at 12:00 pm.

The airports were shut down on Saturday as Hurricane Irene moved closer and 10,000 flights were cancelled in the eastern United States. The storm passed New York on Sunday, leaving a trail of power outages and floods.

Christopher Ward, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the area’s airport and port facilities, had said earlier that air service would only begin late Monday “at best.”

He said normal service would hopefully resume on Tuesday.

American Airlines, British Airways, Air France and other carriers have called off many flights to and from Europe and Asia on Monday.    (*)

SOURCE : CHANNEL NEWS ASIA & AFP

Hurricane Irene: President Obama on Response and Recovery Efforts

President Barack Obama makes statement on Hurricane Irene with FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, and Bill Daley in the Rose Garden of the White House, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

 

WASHINGTON, August 28, 2011 (KATAKAMI.COM / WHITEHOUSE.GOV) — With Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate at his side, President Obama today gave the American people a brief update on the ongoing response efforts to Hurricane Irene, the deadly storm that devastated swaths of the East Coast this weekend. The President also expressed concern for those who were impacted:

Our thoughts and prayers are with those who’ve lost loved ones and those whose lives have been affected by the storm. You need to know that America will be with you in your hour of need.

While the storm has weakened as it moves north, it remains a dangerous storm that continues to produce heavy rains. One of our chief concerns before Irene made landfall was the possibility of significant flooding and widespread power outages. And we’ve been getting reports of just that from our state and local partners. Many Americans are still at serious risk of power outages and flooding, which could get worse in the coming days as rivers swell past their banks.

So I want people to understand that this is not over. Response and recovery efforts will be an ongoing operation, and I urge Americans in affected areas to continue to listen for the guidance and direction of their state and local officials.

The President thanked the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, state and local officials and the many volunteer organizations who worked tirelessly over the past several days, noting that the advance planning has saved lives and property. Moving forward, he said that FEMA will be working with state and local responders to assess damage and assist in the recovery.  (*)

SOURCE : WHITE HOUSE.GOV

Tropical storm lashes New York, 18 dead in US east coast

The top of One World Trade Center is buffeted by rain as Hurricane Irene rains hit the city at dawn on August 28, 2011 in New York City. One World Trade Center is located in a mandatory evacuation area where construction work is suspended during the storm. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

 

NEW YORK, August 29, 2011 (KATAKAMI.COM / CHANNEL NEWS ASIA / AFP) — Tropical storm Irene lashed New York on Sunday, shutting down America’s largest city but sparing it serious damage after killing 18 people on the US east coast and flooding many parts of the region.

The eye of the storm – downgraded from a hurricane but still packing 85-kilometre-an-hour winds and driving rain – passed over the Big Apple mid-morning, as millions went without power along the coast.

Localised flooding occurred in the south and east of Manhattan, with more serious incidents in Brooklyn, where the famed Coney Island amusement park took a battering and outlying beaches were swamped.

There was heavy flooding along the low-lying south shore of Long Island where high tides, rain and ocean surge drove waves right up against expensive beach houses. Floods were also reported far inland after torrential rain.

“I want people to understand that this is not over,” US President Barack Obama said in a short statement in the White House Rose Garden.

“I do want to underscore that the impacts of this storm will be felt for some time. And the recovery effort will last for weeks or longer. Power may be out for days in some areas.”

 

A view west towards the Freedom Tower and Lower Manhattan from Valentino Pier in Red Hook Brooklyn as the skies clear with the passing of the remnants of Hurricane Irene on August 28, 2011 in New York City. Hurricane Irene hit New York as a Category 1 storm before being downgraded to a tropical storm. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

 

At least 14 deaths were blamed on the storm, which first slammed into North Carolina on Saturday with 85-mile-an-hour winds, beforeturning north up the coast and weakening.

The youngest victim, an 11-year-old boy, died when a tree crashed through his apartment building in Newport News, Virginia.

Strong winds were expected in New York until nightfall Sunday, but the storm – the first hurricane to hit the Big Apple in a generation – was weakening as it continued up through Vermont towards Canada.

“The good news is the worst is over and we will soon return to restore and return mode,” New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

He announced that 370,000 people ordered to evacuate could now go back home. More than a million evacuees in New Jersey were also starting to return.

The New York Stock Exchange said it was set to reopen as normal on Monday morning.

But New York state governor Andrew Cuomo warned there was “significant damage across the state,” including “tremendous flooding” in the Catskill Mountains area north of New York City.

City officials warned that commuting into New York could be a nightmare this week with no firm indication of when public transport would be back on track following an unprecedented shut-down just ahead of the hurricane.

“You’re going to have a tough commute in the morning,” mass transit chairman Jay Walder said.

Walder said buses could start running soon, but subway trains needed extensive testing of lines and equipment.

Air travel chaos sparked by the closing on Saturday of John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia and Newark also looked likely to drag on. Already more than 10,000 flights were cancelled across the eastern United States.

Christopher Ward, executive director of the area’s Port Authority, said on Sunday there could be “potential beginnings of service late tomorrow afternoon at best” and “hopefully” almost normal service on Tuesday.

Irene also left swaths of territory without power, including one million in New York state, most of them on Long Island, according to Cuomo.

In New Jersey, 650,000 people had lost power supplies, while in the greater Washington area, nearly two million people lost electricity.

Virginia’s Governor Bob McDonnell told MSNBC his state had seen the second biggest power outage in its history.

“It’s going to be days, perhaps a week, before all the power’s restored. We just ask people to be patient,” he said.

Some 65 million people live in the urban corridor from Washington north to Boston, and experts have said the damage could run into the tens of billions of dollars.

In Atlantic City, a gambling resort on the New Jersey shore, locals started to put their lives back together, while counting the costs of a weekend shutdown during the high season.

“We were expecting to make good money, but you cannot fight with Mother Nature,” said Riaz Rajput as he removed plywood storm screens from the windows of his shop.

On Cape Cod in Massachusetts, waves of up to 1.8 metres crashed over some coastal roads, but most residents and tourists let out a collective sigh of relief.

“We’re having a little bit of a hurricane party,” said T.J. Wolnar, who was confident his beachfront home could withstand the high winds.

“It’s good the storm isn’t as strong as it was going to be.”

Hurricanes are rare in the northeastern United States – the last major hurricane to hit New York was Gloria in 1985.

Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Centre reported that a new tropical storm, Jose, had formed and was approaching Bermuda.   (*)

 

 

SOURCE : CHANNEL NEWS ASIA & AFP 

Lockerbie bomber found in Tripoli, in coma: reports

Abdel Basset al-Megrahi sits in a wheelchair in his room at a hospital in Tripoli in this September 9, 2009 file photo.

WASHINGTON, August 29, 2011 (KATAKAMI.COM / Xinhua) — Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, the convicted Lockerbie bomber, was found in Libya’s capital of Tripoli and in coma, U.S. media reports said on Sunday.

A man, identified as al-Megrahi’s son, said that he had stopped eating and was close to death, according to the CNN reports.

Abdel Baset al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 of the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, which claimed 259 victims. He was released in 2009 on humanitarian grounds, as he had been given only weeks to live due to cancer.

His release had caused controversy in the west because families of those killed in the bombing were outraged when some reports in the past said al-Megrahi could survive perhaps another decade.   (*)

 

 

SOURCE : XINHUA

Wakapolda Metro Jaya Brigjen. Suhardi Alius : Polda Metro Jaya Siaga Satu Amankan Jakarta

Dokumentasi Foto : Kepala Kepolisian Daerah (Kapolda) Metro Jaya Inspektur Jenderal Polisi Sutarman (kiri) memasang tanda jabatan kepada Wakil Kepala Kepolisian Daerah (Wakapolda) Metro Jaya yang baru Bigjen Pol Suhardi Alius (kanan) di Markas Polda Metro Jaya, Jakarta, Senin (21/2/2011).

 

WAWANCARA EKSKLUSIF 

 

Jakarta, 27 Agustus 2011 (KATAKAMI.COM) — Dengan kekuatan penuh yang mereka miliki, saat ini Polda Metro Jaya memerintahkan kepada seluruh jajarannya untuk tidak meninggalkan tugas mereka untuk pengamanan lebaran. Tingginya tingkat urgensi untuk mengamankan wilayah dalam suasana lebaran seperti ini, membuat aparat kepolisian menetapkan kebijakan siaga satu dalam tugas utama mereka.

Dan persis di hari Sabtu (27/8/2011) yang menjadi puncak arus mudik menjelang Hari Raya Idul Fitri 1432 H, sebuah insiden terjadi yaitu pembajakan Kereta Api Gajayana jurusan Malang – Jakarta.

Seorang oknum aparat TNI Angkatan Laut bernama Sertu Darso melakukan pembajakan lewat cara memasuki ruangan masinis dengan membawa senjata api mainan jenis AIRSOFT GUN dan senjata tajam.

Berkat kerjasama yang baik antara Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), Polda Jawa Barat dan Polda Metro Jaya, aksi pembajakan tersebut berhasil dilumpuhkan oleh aparat kepolisian dari jajaran Polda Metro Jaya.

Untuk membahas masalah pengamanan Jakarta, termasuk soal kasus pembajakan Kereta Api Gajayana, KATAKAMI.COM melakukan WAWANCARA EKSKLUSIF dengan Wakil Kepala Kepolisian Daerah (Wakapolda ) Metro Jaya Brigadir Jenderal Suhardi Alius di ruang kerjanya, di Markas Besar Polda Metro Jaya, Jalan Jenderal Sudiman Jakarta, Sabtu (27/8/2011) sore.

Inilah hasil WAWANCARA EKSKLUSIF KATAKAMI.COM dengan WAKAPOLDA METRO JAYA BRIGJEN. DRS. SUHARDI ALIUS, MH :

 

Dokumentasi Foto : Wakil Kepala Kepolisian Daerah (Wakapolda) Metro Jaya yang baru Bigjen Pol Suhardi Alius (kanan) berjabatan tangan dengan Wakapolda yang lama Brigjen Pol Putut Eko Bayuseno sesudah acara serah terima jabatan (Sertijab) di Polda Metro Jaya, Jakarta, Senin (21/2/2011).

 

KATAKAMI (K) :  Pak Wakapolda, persis disaat memasuki puncak arus mudik lebaran, hari ini terjadi insiden pembajakan Kereta Api Gajayana dari jurusan Malang ke Jakarta. Apa yang bisa disampaikan Polda Metro Jaya mengenai insiden ini, Pak ?

Suhardi Alius (SA) :  Kami mendapatkan laporan dari anggota kami sekitar jam 07.30 WIB bahwa ada kereta yang mencurigakan dari arah daerah Cirebon menuju Jakarta. Kereta ini sudah diikuti oleh anggota polisi setelah masinis secara diam-diam memberikan tanda bahaya.

Jadi, kalau dipesawat adalah tanda untuk meminta pertolongan Mayday Mayday.

Begitu tanda bahaya itu diberikan secara diam-diam oleh masinis, anggota polisi langsung mengikuti kereta ini. Sebab sepanjang jalur Pantura, Polri menempatkan pasukan Brimob untuk mengamankan arus mudik.

Nah, kronologis awalnya terjadi saat kereta ini berada di Stasiun Trisi yaitu enam stasiun setelah Cirebon, kereta ini berjalan sekitar 40 km / jam.

Ada orang yang tiba-tiba melompat mau naik ke tempat masinis dengan membawa tombak. Dia berhasil masuk ke ruang masinis dan langsung mengatakan , “Saya anggota”. Dia membawa senjata yang sangat mirip dengan senjata yang asli. Lalu dia juga membawa senjata pisau yang panjang. Terus dia bilang kepada masinis, “Saya minta semua rambu-rambu dan sinyal-sinyal ini dibuka, jangan berhenti. Bawa saya ke komandan saya”.

Berhubung masinis ini orang sipil, dia langsung ketakutan melihat pistol dan senjata tajam. Dia kirim sinyal ke Jakarta bahwa kereta 7101 dibajak arah Jakarta dengan permintaan semua sinyal dibuka untuk mendapat prioritas.

Begitu ada sinyal bahaya begitu, Jakarta langsung siap-siap. Polda Metro Jaya yang dikontak.

Dimana mau kita sikat ?

Nah, daerah yang paling kuat pengamanannya dalam situasi mudik begini adalah Stasiun Kereta Api Senen. Jadi di Stasiun Senen kami sergap dan kami lumpuhkan. Itupun dia tetap tidak mau menyerahkan diri pada saat anggota kami mengeluarkan tembakan peringatan. Terpaksa anggota kami melompat ke kereta api untuk mengamankan pembajak ini.

(K) : Sebenarnya ada berapa orang yang membajak kereta api ini ?

(SA) : Hanya sendirian.

 

Aparat Kepolisian dari satuan BRIMOB menangkap oknum pelaku pembajakan Kereta Eksekutif Gajayana Lebaran rute Malang-Gambir di Stasiun Senen, Sabtu (27/8/2011). Menurut Kepala Dinas Penerangan TNI Angkatan Laut Laksamana Pertama Untung Suropati, yang melakukan aksi pembajakan kereta api Gajayana memang benar anggota TNI AL atas nama Sertu Darso, anggota Yon Marinir Pertahanan Pangkalan Lantamal III Jakarta

 

(K) : Lalu, yang mengalihkan kereta api ini sehingga bisa digiring masuk ke Stasiun Kereta Api Senen, siapa ? Kan menurut informasi, harusnya kereta api ini tidak masuk ke arah Senen melainkan ke Stasiun Gambir. Kok bisa masuk ke Stasiun Senen ?

(SA) : Itu bukan permintaan dia (pembajak). Dia justru tidak tahu. Dia kan  tidak mengerti jalannya kereta api ini ke arah mana. Dari hasil koordinasi antara pihak Kereta Api yaitu Daerah Operasi II KAI dan Polda Metro Jaya maka diputuskan agar kereta ini digiring di jalur 4 saja agar bisa masuk ke Stasiun Senen.

(K) : Apakah masinis tahu bahwa setelah dia mengirimkan tanda bahaya, dia sudah dikawallah istilahnya oleh aparat kepolisian untuk membereskan masalah pembajakan ini?

(SA) : Masinis itu samasekali tidak tahu bahwa di belakangnya sudah ada pasukan Brimob yang lengkap dengan senjata mengikuti di jalur belakang mereka. Masinis tidak tahu, di stasiun mana pembajak ini akan disikat oleh aparat. Jadi dia tidak tahu bahwa kereta api itu akan digiring untuk masuk ke stasiun mana di Jakarta ini.

(K) : Maksud kami, apakah si Masinis ini tidak tahu bahwa dia sudah dalam posisi terkawal dengan baik oleh aparat kepolisian untuk memberikan bantuan ?

(SA) : Masinis merasa yakin bahwa bantuan akan segera didatangkan sebab dia tahu bahwa dia sudah mengirimkan sinyal tanda bahaya ke Jakarta. Jadi dia percaya bahwa sinyal tanda bahaya itu akan direspon. Tidak mungkin didiamkan.

(K) : Jadi, operasi penanganan pembajakan ini ditangani secara baik berkat kerjasama 2 Polda ya, Pak ?

(SA) : Ya betul, Polda Jawa Barat dan Polda Metro Jaya.

(K) : Bisa lebih diperjelas Pak, bagaimana dan dimana posisi anggota Brimob yang ditugaskan mengikuti kereta api Gajayana ini ?

(SA) :  Begitu ada tanda bahaya tadi, 15 orang anggota Brimob diperintahkan mengikuti kereta itu dengan menggunakan lokomotif sendiri di jalur lintasan kereta api yang sama yaitu di jalur 4. Jalur 4 memang sudah sengaja dikosongkan untuk bisa mengejar. Polisi kan harus punya beberapa pilihan. Oke, mau disikat di stasiun mana ? Kalau tidak berhasil dihentikan, maka akan disergap dari arah belakang. Tapi ternyata bisa dihentikan di Stasiun Senen. Begini, selama masa arus mudik ini, di setiap stasiun kereta api itu ada satuan tugas yang lengkap yaitu dari unsur TNI, Polri dan Dinas Perhubungan. Jadi semua aparat memang dalam kondisi yang siaga. Tapi harus kami akui bahwa kekuatan pengamanan yang paling full saat mudik ini adalah di Stasiun Senen yaitu menempatkan sekitar 183 anggota Kepolisian dari Polda Metro Jaya.

(K) : Jadi, walaupun kereta api ini belum tiba di Stasiun Senen, aparat kepolisian disana sudah diberitahu bahwa akan ada kereta api yang sedang dibajak masuk ke Stasiun Senen ?

(SA) : Sejak awal, anggota kepolisian yang bertugas disana sudah diberitahu. Tapi polisi tidak mau meresahkan masyarakat yang ada disana. Kami memutuskan agar situasi tetap normal dulu agar tidak menimbulkan kepanikan. Warga yang melihat keberadaan anggota Brimob bersenjata lengkap, pasti akan mengira bahwa itu adalah untuk pengamanan arus mudik saja. Padahal ada pasukan Brimob yang bersenjata lengkap disana sedang berkonsentrasi untuk menyergap pembajak itu.

Setelah pembajak itu berhasil ditangkap, saya ada disana bersama Kepala Staf Garnisun Jaya ( Brigjen. TNI. B. Hermanto).

Pelaku diinterogasi dan mengaku sebagai anggota TNI. Saat diinterogasi itu, dia memakai kalung pasukan.

Akhirnya setelah dilakukan pemeriksaan, dapat dipastikan bahwa pelaku adalah oknum aparat. Dari hasil pemeriksaan tes urine  ditemukan amphetamine dan morfin. 

(K) : Bagaimana Polda Metro Jaya mengevaluasi kejadian ini. Bayangkan kalau sampai terjadi kecelakaan kereta api karena insiden pembajakan ini. Ribuan pemudik bisa jadi korban. Bahaya sekali insiden semacam ini ya, Pak ?

(SA) : Ya betul. Itu sebabnya, kami sangat menghargai koordinasi yang sangat baik antara pihak Kereta Api dengan Jajaran Kepolisian. Sinergitas inilah yang membuat kasus ini dapat ditangani dengan baik. Kalau kereta ini tidak bisa ditangani dengan baik, mereka bisa masuk ke jalur yang sangat ramai. Operasi kali ini sangat baik karena bisa digiring ke jalur yang khusus untuk menghindarkan korban dari pihak masyarakat yang hendak mudik.

(K) :  Jadi, untuk mengamankan arus mudik ini, apa yang bisa dimaksimalkan dari pihak Kepolisian untuk memberikan pengamanan penuh kepada masyarakat yang akan mudik dari arah Jakarta ke berbagai daerah ?

(SA)  :  Anggota Kepolisian sudah ditempatkan di masing-masing stasiun. Bahkan ada polisi yang juga ditugaskan masuk ke dalam Kereta Api yaitu Polsuska atau Polisi Khusus Kereta Api. Kami memang bekerjasama penuh dengan Pihak Kereta Api. Kami tempatkan juga sniper-sniper (penembak jitu).

(K) : Lalu, bagaimana penilaian Polda Metro Jaya terhadap kasus pembajakan kereta api Gajayana ini ?

(SA) :  Ya, ini hanya kasuistik. Begitu dicek lewat tes urine di RSPAD Gatot Subroto, ternyata dia berada dibawah pengaruh narkotik. Kami kan harus benar-benar cek latar belakangnya. Saat di interogasi, dia mengaku melakukan hal ini karena harus secepatnya bertemu komandan. Begitu dia ngomong begitu, kami sudah langsung tahu bahwa anak ini ngawur. Ngelantur. Ternyata dia jadi ngawur begitu karena pengaruh amphetamine dan methamphetamine.

Itulah makanya dibutuhkan pengawasan yang sangat ketat kepada seluruh anggota agar terhindar dari penggunaan narkotika seperti ini.

Kalau dari hasil lab dicantumkan bahwa anak ini memakai dua jenis tadi yaitu amphetamine dan methamphetamine positif morfin. Ganja negatif. Hanya ada 2 jenis tadi.

Jadi, dia dikuasai halusinasi yang sangat tinggi. Dia juga membawa senjata Airsoft Gun. Banyak dijual di Mal Mal senjata mainan seperti ini. Tapi orang sipil kan tidak tahu apakah ini senjata betulan atau mainan.

 

Markas Polda Metro Jaya di Jalan Jenderal Sudirman Jakarta

 

(K) : Oke, kita bicara soal pengamanan arus mudik dan pengamanan lebaran secara keseluruhan di wilayah DKI Jakarta. Berapa jumlah anggota yang diturunkan oleh Polda Metro Jaya ?

(SA) :  Kami mengerahkan sekitar 18.440 anggota untuk pengamanan lebaran se-Jakarta. Diluar itu, ada 200 anggota Lantas Polda Metro Jaya diperbantukan di Jalur Pantura untuk membantu kelancaran disana. Jadi, kekuatan yang kami turunkan adalah kekuatan penuh untuk mengamankan sentra-sentra yang ada.

Lalu, satu hari sebelum lebaran, fokus utama kami adalah mengamankan pemukiman-pemukiman pendudukan yang kosong.

Saat ini, kerawanan itu terletak pada pergerakan warga dari satu tempat ke tempat lain dalam arus mudik. Tapi nanti, kerawanan itu akan bergeser menjelang satu hari menjelang Lebaran.

Itulah sebabnya kami akan mengamankan pemukiman penduduk, perkantoran, perbankan, kedutaan-kedutaan asing dan sentra lainnya.

(K) :  Ancaman terbesar disaat Jakarta sepi ditinggalkan oleh mayoritas warganya dalam suasana libur panjang begini apa saja, Pak ?

(SA) : Yang paling berbahaya adalah pemukiman penduduk yang kosong karena ditinggal mudik oleh para penghuninya. Ini yang jadi sasaran. Yang lainnya masih dalam batas toleransi kami untuk diamankan.

(K) : Pesan apa yang bisa disampaikan oleh Polda Metro Jaya kepada masyarakat yang hendak mudik meninggalkan Jakarta ?

(SA) :  Sebelum meninggalkan rumah, sebaiknya mereka berkoordinasi dulu dengan pihak lingkungan setempat. Titipkan rumahnya dalam keadaan terkunci. Listrik dimatikan supaya menghindari kebakaran. Dan kalau ada apa-apa, segera hubungi aparat kepolisian karena kami stand by untuk pengamanan Jakarta.

(K) : Jadi saat ini, tidak ada satupun anggota Polda Metro Jaya ini yang bisa cuti ya ?

(SA) : Oh tidak ada yang bisa cuti dalam situasi seperti ini ! Kalau misalnya ada yang minta cuti berarti dia tidak sanggup bertugas di Polda Metro Jaya. Semua harus masuk karena perintah dari Pak Kapolda, saat ini pengamannya siaga satu. Jadi sampai H plus 7 Lebaran, Polda Metro Jaya siaga satu mengamankan Jakarta.

Semua anggota wajib siaga satu dalam stiuasi begini sebab memang itulah perintah dari pimpinan kami yaitu perintah dari Bapak Kapolda Metro Jaya Irjen. Polisi Untung S. Rajab.

(K) Baik Pak Wakapolda, terimakasih untuk wawancara ini.

(selesai)

Singapore voters head to polls to choose president

In this photo taken on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2011, presidential candidate and former ruling party member Dr. Tan Cheng Bok addresses supporters during a rally in Singapore. Singaporeans vote Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011 among four candidates for the ceremonial presidency after an uncharacteristically feisty contest that could show further signs of erosion in support for the overwhelmingly dominant ruling party. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

 

SINGAPORE, August 27, 2011 (KATAKAMI.COM / AP) — Voters in Singapore went to the polls Saturday in a presidential election seen as a referendum on the popularity of the Southeast Asian city-state’s ruling party, AP reported.

The presidency is largely a ceremonial position in Singapore’s parliamentary government, but the election attracted four candidates, the most since Singapore began choosing its president by popular vote in 1993.

Analysts will be closely watching the performance of former Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan, who is backed by most of the political establishment, as a barometer of voter discontent with the People’s Action Party, which has held power since 1959.

The PAP’s vote total in parliamentary elections in May fell to 60 percent — its lowest since Singapore split from Malaysia in 1965 — amid a backlash against soaring housing prices, a surge in foreign workers and rising income inequality.

Singapore’s constitution allows the president to veto the use of the country’s reserves and some public office appointments, but doesn’t give the post any executive authority.

Candidates Tan Cheng Bock, a former PAP member of parliament and a medical doctor, and Tan Kin Lian, a former insurance company executive, have said that if elected, they would take on a more active role in voicing the concerns of citizens. Tan Jee Say, an opposition politician, said he would seek to transform the presidency into a platform for challenging government policies.

Current President S.R. Nathan, who won two six-year terms unopposed, consulted with the prime minister and Cabinet in private but avoided public comment on government policy. Tony Tan and government spokesmen have sought in recent weeks to quell calls for an expanded role for the president.

Until last month, Tony Tan was executive director of sovereign wealth fund Government of Singapore Investment Corp. and chairman of media company Singapore Press Holdings.

Results were expected to be announced a few hours after the closing of polls Saturday evening.  (*)

SOURCE :  The Associated Press

Ghana to support Palestinian UN Bid

Ghana to support Palestinian UN Bid

Accra, Ghana, August 27, 2011 (KATAKAMI.COM / Pal Telegraph) – The Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister is in west Africa this week to mobilize international support for the Ramallah leadership’s bid for recognition of statehood at the UN, The Palestine Telegraph reported on Saturday.

Riyad Al-Malki was met at the airport in Accra by deputy foreign minister Chris Kpodo and a group of Arab envoys in Ghana, said Rafiq Abu Dhalfeh, Palestine’s envoy to the country.

Al-Malki and Kpodo discussed the latest developments in Palestine including the siege on Gaza, Abu Dhalfeh said. The two also attended a news conference at the Palestinian embassy in Accra.

The official also met with Ghana’s vice president John Dramani Mahama and briefed him on the latest developments about what he termed Israel’s escalation on Gaza and the Palestinian arena at large.

He also delivered a letter from President Abbas to his Ghanaian counterpart John Evens Atta Mills.

Vice President Mahama stressed Ghana’s support for the Palestinian people and said that it was time for peace between Palestine and Israel.

He also stressed that Ghana would make every effort to support the UN bid.  (*)

SOURCE :  The Palestine Telegraph

Singapore set to vote for new president

This photo taken on August 24, shows presidential candidate Tony Tan talking to supporters during a lunchtime rally in Singapore. Singaporeans will elect a new president from four candidates on August 27

 

SINGAPORE, August 27, 2011 (KATAKAMI.COM / AFP) — Singaporeans will cast votes Saturday in the city-state’s first contested presidential election in 18 years following a heated campaign marked by calls for stronger checks on the ruling party.

Three months after a parliamentary election eroded the dominance of the People’s Action Party (PAP), anti-government sentiment is still running high in online forums that now shape political debate in Singapore.

Polls will open at 8:00am (0000 GMT) and close at 8:00pm. The winner is expected to be known hours after voting centres close.

Four candidates are running, with about 2.35 million Singaporeans eligible to vote.

The job is non-partisan and the publication of pre-election survey results is banned in Singapore, but former deputy prime minister Tony Tan, 71, who quit the PAP in June, is seen as the man to beat.

Although it is a largely ceremonial post, interest in the presidency intensified after the PAP lost six parliamentary seats in May and saw its share of votes drop to an all-time low of 60 percent, from nearly 67 percent in the previous election.

Analysts said voters now see the presidency as an institution that can serve as a check on the PAP, which has been in power since 1959 and was widely criticised before the May polls for its socio-economic policies as well as the rising cost of living.

Voting is compulsory in Singapore, a former British colony where the president was handpicked by parliament until direct elections were introduced in 1993, when only two candidates ran.

Outgoing president SR Nathan, a former civil servant perceived to be close to the PAP, was elected unopposed in 1999 and 2005.

The nine-day campaign for Saturday’s vote was dominated by calls for an independent president who can serve as a balancing force against the PAP.

Singaporeans want an “independent fellow who is not beholden to anybody but who can speak on behalf of the people rather than a political party,” said veteran political watcher Seah Chiang Nee.

“A lot of people until now dare not speak against the PAP, so if you can come across someone who has the integrity and courage to speak out, people will vote for that candidate,” said Seah, who runs the independent website www.littlespeck.com.

The president has the power to act as a check and balance on the government, primarily as custodian of Singapore?s foreign reserves, which stood at close to $250 billion in July.

He has to sign appointments of senior government, civil service, military and judicial officials and can grant clemency to criminals awaiting execution.

Analysts say that even if Tan wins, his share of all votes cast will be closely watched as a measure of support for the PAP.

Three lesser-known figures, all of them formerly associated with the PAP, civil service or government-linked companies, are running against Tan and took strongly critical positions against the PAP?s record.

They are former legislator and ex-PAP member Tan Cheng Bock, former insurance cooperative chief executive Tan Kin Lian and former corporate executive Tan Jee Say, who also worked in the civil service.   (*)

 

 

SOURCE : AFP

New York City Under Hurricane Warning as Irene Approaches

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about Hurricane Irene while vacationing at Blue Heron Farm August 26, 2011 in Chilmark, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Obama said during the address that Irene has all the makings of a historic storm. (Photo by Vincent DeWitt-Pool/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, August 27, 2011 (KATAKAMI.COM / VOA)   —  A hurricane warning has been issued for New York City, as the U.S. Northeast braces for what President Barack Obama is calling “an extremely dangerous and costly” storm, VOA reported on Friday.

Forecasters say the storm, expected to make landfall in the United States on Saturday, could cause widespread flooding, power outages and billions of dollars in damage.

An estimated 65 million Americans live in Hurricane Irene’s projected path — many of whom have been evacuated.

In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered the city’s first-ever mandatory evacuation. Roughly 250,000 people have been told to leave their homes in low-lying areas, including the Wall Street financial district. And in another first, New York City’s entire public transit system, including subway trains and buses, will shut down Saturday.

Mr. Obama said Friday that all indications point to Irene being a “historic” storm. He said the nation has to be “prepared for the worst.”

Irene is expected to hit first in North Carolina. Currently a Category Two storm on a five-point scale of hurricane intensity, Irene is expected to have an effect well inland — both from winds and flooding. The National Hurricane Center says the storm is now carrying maximum sustained winds of 160 kilometers an hour, but it is expected to weaken somewhat as it travels up the U.S. coast.

The governors of states stretching from North Carolina all the way north to Maine have declared states of emergency.

President Obama cut short his vacation in Massachusetts to return to Washington. He has directed agencies to ensure all the needed resources are available. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Friday that federal and local authorities are taking the storm “very seriously.”

Airlines have already canceled hundreds of flights, and train service in parts of the eastern region have been suspended.

The threat of the hurricane also led organizers in Washington to postpone Sunday’s dedication of a memorial to slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

Irene is the first hurricane to seriously threaten the United States in three years. It has already killed at least one person in Puerto Rico and two in the Dominican Republic, and destroyed homes in The Bahamas.  (*)

SOURCE : VOA

Palestinian Foreign Minister in Ghana to rally Africa support for UN bid

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki. — Photo by Reuters

 

 

ACCRA, Ghana, August 27, 2011  (KATAKAMI.COM / Ma’an News Agency) — The Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister is in west Africa this week to mobilize international support for the Ramallah leadership’s bid for recognition of statehood at the UN, Ma’an News Agency reported on Saturday.

Riyad Al-Malki was met at the airport in Accra by deputy foreign minister Chris Kpodo and a group of Arab envoys in Ghana, said Rafiq Abu Dhalfeh, Palestine’s envoy to the country.

Al-Malki and Kpodo discussed the latest developments in Palestine including the siege on Gaza, Abu Dhalfeh said. The two also attended a news conference at the Palestinian embassy in Accra.

The official also met with Ghana’s vice president John Dramani Mahama and briefed him on the latest developments about what he termed Israel’s escalation on Gaza and the Palestinian arena at large.

He also delivered a letter from President Abbas to his Ghanaian counterpart John Evens Atta Mills. Vice President Mahama stressed Ghana’s support for the Palestinian people and said that it was time for peace between Palestine and Israel.

He also stressed that Ghana would make every effort to support the UN bid.  (*)

 

 

SOURCE : MA’AN NEWS AGENCY

Magnitude-5.4 quake shakes Afghanistan

Magnitude-5.4 quake shakes Afghanistan

NEW YORK, August 27, 2011 (KATAKAMI.COM / AP) — A magnitude-5.4 earthquake rattled the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan early Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from the quake that hit at 1:02 a.m. Saturday (2032 Friday GMT). No tsunami alerts were issued.

The quake was deep, some 199.1 kilometers (123.72 miles) below the surface, the USGS said.

The USGS said the quake hit was about 74 kilometers (45 miles) southeast of Faizabad, Afghanistan, and 254 kilometers (157 miles) northeast of Kabul.  (*)

SOURCE : The Associated Press

Russia to test launch Soyuz rockets before delivering ISS crews

Progress M cargo spacecraft ( Photo : RIA NOVOSTI )

 

Russia, August 27, 2011 (KATAKAMI.COM / RIA NOVOSTI) — Russia will carry out two unmanned test launches of Soyuz carrier rockets in the coming fall before using them to deliver crews to the International Space Station, a source in the Russian space industry said on Friday, RIA NOVOSTI reported.

One of the Soyuz rockets will be used to deliver a new Progress M-13M space freighter to the ISS, the source said.

Wednesday’s accident involving a Soyuz rocket, when a Progress M-12M space freighter was lost because of a rocket engine failure, raised questions about Russia’s ability to fulfill its obligations in delivering crews to and from the ISS.

A high-ranking source in the Russian space industry, as well as NASA officials, suggested that the next mission to the ISS due in September was likely to be delayed because of the accident.

After the retirement of the U.S. shuttle fleet earlier this summer, Russian Soyuz spacecraft became the only way for astronauts to reach the ISS until at least the middle of the decade. NASA is paying its Russian counterpart Roscosmos more than $1 billion for crew transport services over the next four years.

The accident, the second spacecraft loss for the Russian space industry in within a week, prompted an order by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to review and improve control procedures in the space industry. Russian space agency Roscosmos said it would set up a special commission for this purpose.   (*)

 

 

SOURCE : RIA NOVOSTI

Photostream : Mexican President Felipe Calderon declares 3 days of mourning in casino attack

Mexican President Felipe Calderon and First Lady Margarita Zavala walk in front of the Casino Royale, in Monterrey, Mexico, on August 26, 2011. Calderon condemned Friday the "abhorrent and barbaric" killing of 52 people by suspected drug cartel gunmen who ruthlessly set a casino ablaze. The particularly callous attack on Thursday evening shocked a nation routinely used to grim murders and high tolls in a drugs war that has claimed more than 41,000 lives since Calderon launched a military crackdown in 2006. AFP PHOTO/RONALDO SCHEMIDT

(From R to L) Mexico's President Felipe Calderon, first lady Margarita Zavala and Interior Minister Francisco Blake Mora observe a minute of silence at the site where armed men torched a casino in Monterrey August 26, 2011. Calderon declared three days of mourning on Friday and demanded a crackdown on drugs in the United States after armed men torched a casino in northern Mexico, killing at least 52 people. REUTERS/Victor Hugo Valdivia

Mexico's President Felipe Calderon addresses the media at the presidential palace Los Pinos in Mexico City August 26, 2011. Calderon declared three days of mourning on Friday and demanded a crackdown on drugs in the United States after armed men torched a casino in northern Mexico, killing at least 52 people. REUTERS/Ariel Gutierrez/Mexico Presidential Palace/Handout

A soldier stands guard outside a casino after it was torched by armed men in Monterrey August 26, 2011. Masked gunmen killed at least 52 people at a casino in northern Mexico on Thursday, leaving it ablaze with patrons trapped inside in one of the worst attacks in a major Mexican city in years. President Felipe Calderon declared three days of mourning on Friday and demanded a crackdown on drugs in the United States. REUTERS/Victor Hugo Valdivia

Plain clothes police officers cordon off the area near a casino after it was torched by armed men in Monterrey August 26, 2011. Masked gunmen killed at least 52 people at a casino in northern Mexico on Thursday, leaving it ablaze with patrons trapped inside in one of the worst attacks in a major Mexican city in years. President Felipe Calderon declared three days of mourning on Friday and demanded a crackdown on drugs in the United States. REUTERS/Victor Hugo Valdivia

Mexico in Mourning After Dozens Killed in Casino Attack

Military vehicles are parked outside a casino after it was torched by armed men in Monterrey August 26, 2011. Masked gunmen killed at least 52 people at a casino in northern Mexico on Thursday, leaving it ablaze with patrons trapped inside in one of the worst attacks in a major Mexican city in years. President Felipe Calderon declared three days of mourning on Friday and demanded a crackdown on drugs in the United States. REUTERS/Victor Hugo Valdivia

 

MEXICO, August 27, 2011 (KATAKAMI.COM / VOA) — Mexican President Felipe Calderon has declared three days of mourning after more than 50 people were killed when suspected drug cartel gunmen set fire to a casino in northern Mexico, VOA reported on Friday.

Mr. Calderon condemned the violence as barbaric and said it was the worst attack on innocent civilians in Mexico in a long time. He described the attackers as terrorists who know no limits to violence.

U.S. President Barack Obama condemned the attack as “barbaric and reprehensible.”

Gunmen entered the Casino Royale in Monterrey, the capital city of Nuevo Leon, on Thursday and doused it with gasoline before lighting it on fire. Many of the victims were found inside the casino’s bathrooms, where they fled to escape the gunmen but were instead trapped by smoke and fire.

President Obama on Friday pledged to continue cooperation with Mexico in the shared fight against drug trafficking. In a statement, he said the people of Mexico are engaged in a “brave fight” to disrupt violent transnational criminal organizations that threaten both the United States and Mexico.

Casinos and other businesses have been targeted by drug cartels demanding protection money.

Drug-related violence has been on the rise in Monterrey, a city of four million people once seen as a safe and prosperous. The city is about 200 kilometers south of the U.S. state of Texas.

More than 41,000 people have been killed since Mr. Calderon launched a crackdown against the country’s drug cartels in late 2006.   (*)

SOURCE : VOA

Photostream : Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visits a church in Smolensk

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (L) lights a candle during his visit to the Cathedral of the Assumption in Smolensk August 26, 2011. REUTERS/Alexsey Druginyn/RIA Novosti/Pool

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (2nd L) walks with Orthodox priests during his visit to the Cathedral of the Assumption in Smolensk August 26, 2011. REUTERS/Alexsey Druginyn/RIA Novosti/Pool

Radioactive cesium from Fukushima was 168 times more than A-bomb

File picture : This aerial shot shows a pleasure boat sitting on top of a building amid a sea of debris in Otsuchi town in Iwate prefecture on March 14, 2011 following the March 11 tsunami. A nuclear power plant damaged by An explosion rocked an earthquake-hit nuclear plant Monday, as Japan struggled to avert a catastrophic reactor meltdown caused by a quake and tsunami feared to have killed more than 10,000. (Photo by YOMIURI SHIMBUN/AFP/Getty Images)

 

JAPAN, August 26, 2011 (KATAKAMI.COM / KYODO NEWS AGENCY) — The amount of radioactive cesium-137 released from the crippled nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant was 168 times more than that from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in the closing days of World War II in 1945, the Japanese government’s nuclear safety agency said Friday, Kyodo reported.

A total of 15,000 terabecquerels of radioactive cesium-137 is estimated to have been released into the external environment due to the nuclear crisis, raising concerns over continuing impact as the element’s half-life is known to be about 30 years.

One terabecquerel equals 1 trillion becquerels.   (*)

SOURCE : KYODO NEWS AGENCY

Naoto Kan announces stepping down as PM

Naoto Kan announces stepping down as PM ( Photo : NHK)

 

JAPAN, August 26, 2011 (KATAKAMI.COM / NHK) — Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan says he is stepping down as ruling Democratic Party President on Friday, NHK reported on Friday.

He will also resign as Prime Minister soon.

He made the announcement at a meeting of Democratic Party lawmakers on Friday.

Kan said at the meeting that he is stepping down now that 3 key bills have been enacted. Earlier in the day, a bill authorizing the government to issue deficit-covering bonds and another promoting renewable energy passed the Diet. The 3rd key bill, a supplementary budget for this fiscal year, has already been enacted.

Kan said he will also step down as Prime Minister and have his Cabinet resign en masse once his successor as party President is elected.

Kan said he’s done everything he should have done and promised to keep working hard, both as a politician and a member of Japanese society. He wants to help Japan recover from the effects of the massive quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster and to end the country’s dependence on nuclear energy.

He also expressed hope that the Democratic Party will enact reforms to win public trust, ensure free debate and unite to support policy decisions.

The Democratic Party decided to hold its Presidential election on Monday, with campaigning to begin on Saturday.   (*)

 

SOURCE : NHK