BEKASI POLICE ROUND UP THUGS (GE 1: A) BEKASI: Police in Bekasi on Saturday rounded up hoodlums who were extorting money

from pedestrians, street vendors, public transportation drivers, and housing complex residents. Police chief Comr. Chairul Anwar said 121 arrests were made during the operation. He said all of those arrested were considered potentially violent. Their criminal activities disturbed Bekasi residents and public transportation drivers. Thats why we are taking tough action against them, Chairul told Antara. We must enforce the law to stop them from repeating their actions. The thugs are being held at Bekasi Police Headquarters for esaid he was unemployed and extorted money from residents to survive.

TRADITIONAL MARKET VENDORS TURNOVER DOWN 35 PERCENT (GE 1: C) JAKARTA: Traditional market vendors across the capital have lost 35 to 40 percent of their turnover, following the proliferation of modern shopping centers, Jakarta Network Society (JNS) reported on Monday. Coordinator of JNS, Umar Syarif, said modern shopping centers were located too close to traditional markets. How can traditional markets located in rundown buildings possibly compete with modern shopping malls, if they are located so close to each other? said Umar. According to data from the Traditional Market Vendors Association (APSI), 111 of the 151 traditional markets in the city were located in heavily damaged buildings. Umar urged the administration to review where modern shopping malls were built and to impose sanctions on people violating the 2008 market zoning bylaw. According to the bylaw, modern shopping centers, for instance, should only be built along main roads. In reality, you can see them everywhere, he said as quoted by beritajakarta.com.

ARRESTING CACTUS THIEF (JE 1: C) Saguaro National Park in Arizona, US, lost several of its distinguished cacti due to the theft. Everybody wants Saguaro in his house yard, said Jim McGinnis, from special investigation unit of Arizona Agricultural Department. It is not unusual to see vehicles in the desert carrying cacti. The culprits are usually after a one to two-meter specimen, which may usually be priced at one thousand dollars or more. To tackle the theft, officials are planning to include microchips inside the cacti. Then, the specimen sold in the floral market or landscape business can be moved with the device at hand to find out whether the plant is stolen from the national park.

GARDENING GOOD FOR HEALTH (JE 2: E) Researchers found (out) that cultivating your own foods whether much or little you can do is better for your health than what has been assumed by many, said Psychology Today. Research showed that when certain kinds of microbacteria produced by soil are swallowed or inhaled, they improve humans immune system significantly. Therefore, said the magazine, absorbing components of soil itself seems to be as important to humans health as the best fruits and vegetables planted there.

POLICE IMPOSTORS ROB BUSINESS (GE 3: E) JAKARTA: A gang of four robbers pretending to be police officers robbed a businessman at ITC Roxy Mas shopping center, Central Jakarta, city police spokesman said Monday. A 43-year-old cell phone shop owner, Irwan Njotowidjojo, was robbed on his way home after closing his shop Sunday evening. Three men ambushed and hit Irwan as he walked to his car, he was dragged to a blue Toyota Kijang minivan, where another gang member was waiting, and driven away. In the car, they said they were police officers and suspected me of selling illegal merchandise, Irwan said, as quoted by Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Chrsynanda Dwi Laksana. In the car, the criminals asked Irawan to hand over his belongins to prove that he was not doing anything illegal. Convince the men were police officers, Irwan showed them the items in his possession. Including 31 cell phones, 27 grams of gold jewellery and Rp. 13 million in cash. The criminals stopped the car at Cikampek toll road and dropped Irwan at the turnpike, after which they drove off with all of his belongings.

MODERN LIFESTYLE MAKES KIDS PRONE TO CANCER (GE 4: B) A modern lifestyle is putting more children at risk of getting cancer, the Health Ministry said Wednesday during events to mark International Cancer Day, which falls every Feb. 4. Parents and teachers must take into account that our children are more prone to cancer today, Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said in her speech during a Childhood Cancer Workshop. More than 900 children were treated for cancer at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital Jakarta from 2002 to 2006. About 27 percent of them died. Cancer is the fifth deadliest disease in the country after heart disease, infections, respiratory diseases and intestines diseases. Globally, it is the second deadliest disease, the World Health Organization says. Although only about 3 percent of children suffer from cancer, the number is still high, Siti said. Hospital statistics in 2006 showed almost 6 percent of children with cancer had leukaemia, she said. University of Indonesia oncologist Endang Widiasutri said leukaemia was the number one cancer among children. Retinoblastoma, or cancer of the retina, is the second most prevalent. Others include brain tumours and neuroblastoma, which is cancer of the adrenal glands, she said, adding parents were often late in identifying cancer in their children, assuming it was ust a trivial illness. Siti also warned obesity was one of the main causes of cancer. In 2007, research showed that 9.5 percent of boys and 6.4 percent of girls aged between 6 and 14 years were obese. These figures almost match the WHOs, which estimated around 10 percent of children worldwide were obese. Another factor is carcinogens in food, said nutrition

expert Fransiska Rungkat. Foods that contain preservatives, flavours and coloring are known to cause cancer, yet they are still popular in this country. She added children should limit their carbohydrate intake, especially rice. We need carbohydrates, but we can get it from corn or sweet potatoes. Its much better to get carbohydrate from fruits and vegetables to avoid obesity, she said. Playing video games can also raise the risk of cancer, with children glued to their TVs or computers rather than exercising or play outdoors, the workshop heard. Noted child psychologist Seto Mulyadi also said the existing school curriculum could harm childrens health. Long school hours, parents expectation and perceptions of intelligence can lead to child stress, which can trigger cancer, he said.

VOLCANO SPEWS SMOKE, HEAT CLOUDS (GE 5: D) JAKARTA: A volcano on Sulawesi island spewed smoke into the sky and spat heat clouds down its slopes Tuesday, but no evacuation of people in its surrounds was needed, an official said. A column of smoke soared 1500 meters above Mount Soputan and clouds of gas shot down its western slope, said Sandi, an official manning the volcanology observation post on the volcanos slopes. It actually began to spew smoke yesterday (Monday) but the first heat clouds went 500 meters down the western slope only early this morning, Sandi told AFP by telephone. He said that activity at the 1783metre volcano in Minahasa district of North Sulawesi province was not considered dangerous, as no volcanic earthquakes were registered and the mountain was sparsely populated. The highest village on the slope, Winorangenean, is still kilometres and several hills away from the peak, Sandi said adding that the office had not issued any warning to evacuate.

TWO DEAD IN THAI RESTIVE SOUTH (JE 3: B) THAILAND: Suspected militants shot dead a Muslim man in Thailands restive south, while a woman injured in a bomb blast last weekend died due to her wounds, police said Friday. The body of a 38-year-old Muslim man was found in a rice field late Thursday in Narathiwat, one of three insurgency-plagued provinces bordering Malaysia, police said. Police said the victim was likely abducted by insurgents who killed him and then dumped his body in the field.

CHINA (JE 7:A) Six foreign free-Tibet activists were detained by police after they staged a two-hour protest at one of the most popular tourist sections of Chinas Great Wall, the Free Tibet Campaign group said. Two of the activists abseiled over the Mutianyu section of the wall near Beijing to hang a huge banner that read: One world, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008, in English and Chinese. Chinas top family planning agency has cracked down on some slogans used by the authorities in rural areas to enforce the countrys strict population limits. Slogans like Raise fewer babies but more piggies and One more baby means one more tomb have been banned. The government banned imports of Indonesian fish and other foods after scores of shipments were found to contain toxic substances.