Prabowo Subianto will not be offensive in 4th round of debate: Uno - ANTARA

Cilegon, Banten (ANTARA) - Indonesian Presidential candidate number 02 Prabowo Subianto would not be offensive in facing incumbent Joko Widodo in the fourth round of presidential candidate debate on Saturday evening during which he would reiterate the Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno pair's commitment to preserving the state ideology Pancasila, Uno said.

"He will remain at ease. He will not be offensive though he gets input from his men that a strategy that he necessarily applies is this and that. He will not do so because he wants our people to remain calm and happy to welcome the convening of this fiesta of democracy," said Uno, Prabowo Subianto's running mate, on Saturday.

Speaking to local journalists on the sidelines of his open campaign in Cilegon and Serang, Banten Province, he said Prabowo Subianto had got input from his colleagues ahead of this round of debate which highlighted the issues that he was so familiar with, he said.

Taking place at the Shangri-La Hotel in Central Jakarta, he said Prabowo Subianto would reiterate his commitment to maintaining the state ideology Pancasila, National Unity in Diversity, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, and 1945 Constitution.

To the best of his knowledge, Prabowo Subianto has not merely talked about the unity in diversity but he has lived with it. Hence, he is the witness of the strength of Indonesia's unity in diversity, Sandiaga Uno said

What the people need now is the convening of the legislative and presidential elections, due to be held simultaneously on April 17, is expected to be credible and fair. "We hope that the elections will be held fairly and how this round of debate will enable the voters to determine their political preference maturely," he added.

Regarding this Saturday evening's presidential debate, the General Elections Commission (KPU) has provided 500 invitations. Among the VIP figures that the KPU invited to see the fourth round of presidential debate which highlights the issues pertaining to ideology, administration, defence and security, as well as international relations. are Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto and Police Chief General Tito Karnavian.

The top men of the Indonesian military and national police were invited to see the debate because they are closely related to defence and security issues that incumbent President Joko Widodo and his contender Prabowo Subianto would debate, the KPU Commissioner Wahyu Setiawan said.

For this fourth round of presidential debate, the KPU commissioners had decided not to invite any of the cabinet members but they welcomed them if they were invited by the national campaign teams of the Joko Widodo-Ma'ruf Amin, and Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno pairs, he said.

The KPU had prepared 500 invitations for the Saturday evening's presidential debate. Each of the two presidential and vice presidential pairs' campaign teams received 100 invitations while 300 remaining invitations belong to the KPU, Setiawan said.

Like the three previous rounds of debate, this event was also broadcast live and live-streamed by several television channels, including SCTV and Indosiar. For this debate, the list of questions is prepared and drafted by nine penalists. They are Zakiyuddin, J Haryatmoko SJ, Erwan Agus Purwanto, Valina Singka Subekti, Al Araf, Apolo Safanpo, Dadang Tri Sasongko, I Basis Eko Soesilo, and Kusnanto Anggoro.

As part of the 2019 presidential elections, the KPU has organized five rounds of presidential debates. The first and second presidential debates were held on January 17 and February 17, 2019, respectively, during which the two presidential candidates shed light on their views and perspectives on issues pertaining to law, corruption, terrorism, environment, and infrastructure.

The third debate, organized on Mar 17, drew focus on educational, employment, health, as well as social and cultural issues. The presidential debates are expected to offer a clear picture of the two pairs' capacity and capability to some 192 million eligible voters.

Besides convening the presidential debates, the KPU also allows these two pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates to conduct their open campaign trails from March 24 to April 13.

With sufficient information that the eligible voters obtain from the five rounds of debate and open campaign trails of the two pairs of the presidential and vice presidential candidates, they are expected to be able to cast their votes rationally.

Regardless of which pair is the winner in the upcoming presidential election, Indonesia is certain to bear witness to a new and capable president and vice president.
 

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March 30, 2019 at 08:16PM

Indonesia May Be Next Asian Country to Spurn China in Election - Bloomberg

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1. Indonesia May Be Next Asian Country to Spurn China in Election  Bloomberg
2. Indonesia`s Defense System Still Too Weak: Prabowo Subianto  Tempo.co English
3. What is holding Indonesia's economy back? | Counting the Cost  Al Jazeera English
4. Jokowi endorses ‘Dilan’, Prabowo says he’s ‘Batak of Java’ in rollercoaster debate - The Jakarta Post  Jakarta Post
5. In Bekasi – and Indonesia – a house divided? - Ceritalah  The Star Online
6. View full coverage on Google News

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March 31, 2019 at 09:29AM

Japan reveals name of new imperial era - BBC News

Abe explains choice of Reiwa for next era name - Japan Today

The name of the era of Japan's soon-to-be-emperor Naruhito will be Reiwa, the government announced Monday.

Emperor Akihito is stepping down on April 30, in the first abdication in 200 years, bringing his era of Heisei to an end. The new era takes effect May 1.

The name draws from the 7th century poetry collection "Manyoshu," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said after the announcement by the chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga.

Abe said the name means that culture is born and grows when people come together and "care for each other beautifully."

"With this selection of a new era name, I renew my commitment to pioneer a new era that will be filled with hope," Abe said.

The Manyoshu is Japan's oldest poetry collection and symbolizes Japan's rich culture and long tradition, he said.

The choice was a break from more than 1,300 years of drawing era names, or gengo from using Chinese classics. It was kept strictly secret ahead of Monday's announcement.

"We hope (the era name) will be widely accepted by the people and deeply rooted as part of their daily lives," Suga told reporters in first announcing the name, written in two Chinese characters in black ink calligraphy on a white background.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga unveils the name of new era, Reiwa, at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, Monday. Photo: AP/Eugene Hoshiko

The announcement allows only a month ahead of the switch for government, businesses and other sectors to adjust to the change that still affects many parts of Japan's society, even though the system is not compulsory and the emperor has no political power under Japan's postwar constitution.

Under the 1979 era name law, Abe appointed a panel of experts on classical Chinese and Japanese literature to nominate two to five names for top officials to choose from. The names had to meet strict criteria, being easy to read and write but not commonly or previously used for an era name.

Japanese media scrambled to get scoops out of a new era name. Rumors included "Ankyu," which uses the same Chinese character as in Abe's family name.

There had been speculation that Abe's ultra-conservative government, often hawkish on China matters, would choose the name from a Japanese document, breaking with the tradition of using Chinese classics as references.

The name selection procedure started in mid-March when Suga asked a handful of unidentified scholars to nominate two to five era names each.

Several nominations were presented at a first, closed-door meeting that included nine outside experts from various areas, including Nobel prize-winning stem-cell scientist Shinya Yamanaka and award-winning novelist Mariko Hayashi, to present their views and narrow the selection before final approval by the cabinet.

While a growing number of Japanese prefer the Western calendar over the Japanese system in a highly digitalized and globalized society, the era name is still widely used in government and business documents. Elders often use it to identify their generations.

Discussing and guessing new era names in advance is not considered a taboo this time because Akihito is abdicating. Era name change is also a time for many Japanese to reflect on the outgoing and incoming decades.

Akihito's era of Heisei, which means "achieving peace," was the first without a war in Japan's modern history, but is also remembered as lost years of economic deflation and natural disasters.

Heisei was the first era name decided by the government under the postwar constitution, in which the emperor was stripped of political power and had no say over the choice. Still, the government, with its highly secretive and sensitive handling of the process, is underscoring that "the emperor has power in an invisible, subtle way," says Hirohito Suzuki, a Toyo University sociologist.

Era name changes are creating businesses for both the outgoing and the incoming. Anything dubbed "last of Heisei" attracts Akihito fans, while others are waiting to submit marriage certificates or filing other official registration until the new era starts. Analysts say the era change that expands the "golden week" holidays to 10 days on May 1 could buoy tourism and other recreational spending.

© 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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April 01, 2019 at 09:49AM

The Latest: Name for new era of Naruhito to be 'Reiwa' - The Public's Radio

TOKYO (AP) — The Latest on the new era name for soon-to-be-emperor Naruhito. (all times local):

11:50 a.m.

Japan's government spokesman says the name of the era for the soon-to-be-emperor Naruhito will be "Reiwa."

Emperor Akihito is abdicating on April 30, with his era of "Heisei" coming to an end. The new era takes effect May 1.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Monday the name draws from the 7th century poetry collection "Manyoshu."

Suga said that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would explain the meaning of the name later at a news conference.

It is believed to be the first time the era name, or "gengo" has been taken from a Japanese document, a break from more than 1,300 years of using Chinese classics.

___

9:37 a.m.

Japan's government is holding top-secret meetings to decide a new era name for soon-to-be-emperor Naruhito, who will succeed the Chrysanthemum throne from his father May 1.

Emperor Akihito is abdicating on April 30, with his era of "Heisei" coming to an end.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government later Monday will unveil the era name, or "gengo," for Naruhito's reign.

It comes a month ahead of the switch to allow the government, businesses and other sectors time to adjust to the change that still affects many parts of Japan's society, even though the system is not compulsory and the emperor has no political power under Japan's postwar constitution.

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April 01, 2019 at 11:14AM

The Latest: Name for new era of Naruhito to be 'Reiwa' - The Public's Radio

TOKYO (AP) — The Latest on the new era name for soon-to-be-emperor Naruhito. (all times local):

11:50 a.m.

Japan's government spokesman says the name of the era for the soon-to-be-emperor Naruhito will be "Reiwa."

Emperor Akihito is abdicating on April 30, with his era of "Heisei" coming to an end. The new era takes effect May 1.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Monday the name draws from the 7th century poetry collection "Manyoshu."

Suga said that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would explain the meaning of the name later at a news conference.

It is believed to be the first time the era name, or "gengo" has been taken from a Japanese document, a break from more than 1,300 years of using Chinese classics.

___

9:37 a.m.

Japan's government is holding top-secret meetings to decide a new era name for soon-to-be-emperor Naruhito, who will succeed the Chrysanthemum throne from his father May 1.

Emperor Akihito is abdicating on April 30, with his era of "Heisei" coming to an end.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government later Monday will unveil the era name, or "gengo," for Naruhito's reign.

It comes a month ahead of the switch to allow the government, businesses and other sectors time to adjust to the change that still affects many parts of Japan's society, even though the system is not compulsory and the emperor has no political power under Japan's postwar constitution.

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April 01, 2019 at 10:10AM

'My mother was a Christian': Prabowo denies supporting caliphate - The Jakarta Post - Jakarta Post

Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto clarified during the fourth presidential candidate debate on Saturday that he was not in any position to support the establishment of a caliphate in Indonesia, an accusation recently thrown at him. 

Prabowo, who was born from a Christian mother, said the accusation was “cruel” and did not “make any sense”.

“I am sure Pak Jokowi is a Pancasilaist, patriot and nationalist. But I wonder if you realize, that some of your supporters have accused me of supporting the creation of a caliphate?” Prabowo asked incumbent candidate Joko “Jokowi” Widodo during an ideology-themed session. 

“My mother was a Christian. I was born from the womb of a Christian,” he added.

The retired army general reiterated his stance by saying that altering Pancasila, the state ideology,  had never crossed his mind. 

“Since I was 16 year old, I [have been] defending Pancasila. I risked my life, how could I be accused of [trying] to change Pancasila? That’s cruel,” he said.   

Prabowo’s support among conservative Muslims, including former sympathizers of the now-banned Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), had led to rumors that he planned to turn Indonesia into an Islam-based state if elected.

In response, Jokowi said he believed his rival was a Pancasilaist, nationalist and patriot. However, he mentioned that false accusations had been thrown at him as well. 

“When it comes to accusations, I’ve also been accused of many things in these past four-and-a-half years, including that I am a communist. This is normal. I’ve never responded to these accusations,” Jokowi said. (fac)

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March 30, 2019 at 09:57PM

New Japanese Era Name is 'Reiwa' - News - Anime News Network

The Japanese government announced on Monday that the new Japanese era name when Crown Prince Naruhito accedes to the Imperial Throne will be "Reiwa" (令和), spelled with the kanji for "command/order" and "peace." The source of the kanji is inspired by the Man'yōshū, the oldest existing collection of Japanese poetry. In the case of the passage it refers to, the "rei" in this case means more "auspicious" or "excellent." The same kanji for "wa" was used in the Shōwa era (1926–1989). Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stated about the name, "For the first time in history, we based our era name on Japanese literature."

The new era name will take effect on May 1, when Crown Prince Naruhito becomes the new emperor, after Emperor Akihito's abdication takes effect on April 30.

Emperor Akihito indicated his desire to abdicate due to health reasons in 2016, and the Japanese government passed a special law allowing his abdication in 2017.

Image via The Japan Times

Source: The Mainichi Shimbun (link 2)

---

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April 01, 2019 at 10:36AM

Panel debates name for new era - NHK WORLD

It's a prelude to a new page in Japanese history.
In the coming hours, the government will announce the name of the country's new era, which will start when a new Emperor takes the throne on May 1.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, "We hope to decide on a name that will lead us into a new era brimming with hope."

As Japan awaits the unveiling of the name, the Chief Cabinet Secretary is discussing the issue with a panel of experts in the Prime Minister's Office.

It's made up of people from a wide variety of fields, including culture, academia, business, and media. One of them is Shinya Yamanaka, a Nobel Prize laureate who developed iPS cells.
Yoshihide Suga is asking them for their opinions on proposed names. Later this morning the Cabinet will make its decision after also hearing opinions from the heads of both Houses of the Diet.
Suga will then make the official announcement.

Emperor Akihito is set to abdicate on April 30.
The following day Crown Prince Naruhito will assume the role. It will be the first time in two centuries an Emperor is handing over the throne to his successor.

And it will end the more than three-decade-long "Heisei" era under Japan's traditional calendar.

The era name is used in numerous kinds of occasions and papers... including drivers' licenses, health insurance cards, and calendars.

The government decided to announce the new name in advance, so companies and the general public can prepare for the change.

It also plans to tell other countries and international organizations how it's written in English as soon as it's decided.

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April 01, 2019 at 08:30AM

Reiwa: Japan reveals name of new era ahead of Emperor's abdication - The Japan Times

In a much-awaited moment that heralded the opening of a new chapter in Japan’s history, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga announced Monday that the new Imperial era will be named Reiwa, taking one of the final steps toward initiating the nation’s first imperial succession in three decades.

Suga, who displayed a placard showing off the kanji characters for the new era, said the name was formulated based on a poem from “Manyoshu,” the oldest existing compilation of Japanese poetry.

The first character represents “fortunate,” while the second can be translated as “peace or harmony.”

This was the first time that the characters chosen were taken from classical Japanese literature. Prior era names had used kanji from classical Chinese literature.

The new era will start on May 1, when Crown Prince Naruhito ascends to the Chrysanthemum Throne following the abdication of his father, Emperor Akihito, a day earlier.

The arrival of Reiwa will in turn end a 30-year run of the Heisei (“achieving peace”) Era, which began in Jan. 8, 1989.

The new era will be the 248th in the history of Japan, which has used the Chinese-style calendar system since 645. In modern times, each era has run the length of an emperor’s reign.

What differentiated the arrival of the latest era from its past four predecessors — Heisei, Showa, Taisho and Meiji — is that the government announced its name while the reigning Emperor is still alive.

This is because Emperor Akihito — in a rare address to the nation in August 2016 — hinted at his desire to abdicate due to his advanced age, as opposed to his immediate predecessors who reigned until their deaths. His unprecedented address soon kicked off preparations for what will be the first abdication by a sitting Japanese monarch in around 200 years.

The naming of a new Imperial era is a significant event here. Gengo, as it is called, plays an integral role — both practically and psychologically — to the lives of Japanese people.

In a nation where gengo has long been cherished as a way of identifying a year — as in “Heisei 31,” which corresponds to 2019 — in many official documents and computer systems, its change has had far-reaching practical implications, too. Local municipality officials, computer engineers and calendar manufacturers, for example, have spent months preparing for necessary changes.

With gengo often seen as reflective of the zeitgeist, speculation had been rife about what the new era would be named.

LATEST NATIONAL STORIES

LIVESTREAM: Japan announces name of new era

In a much awaited moment heralding the opening of a new chapter in Japan's history, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga announced Monday the name of the new Imperial era, taking one of the final...

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April 01, 2019 at 10:02AM

Japan's incredible shrinking royal house | Article - Asia Times

When Japan’s Princess Ayako, the daughter of a cousin of Emperor Akihito, married a commoner last year,  she gave up her name, title and membership in the imperial family. In doing so, she subtracted one more member from the rapidly diminishing numbers of Japanese royals.

When another princess marries later this year, the royal line will shrink yet further. That means the pool of imperial family members will have declined from the current 18 to 17, with 13 of them female.

And that latter point is particularly important – for Japanese monarchs can, by law, only be males.

Aside from the two mentioned above, there are five unmarried princesses. Three are in their thirties; the only teenager among them is Princess Aiko, the 16-year-old daughter of the soon-to-be Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako; the couple will ascend to the throne following the abdication of Emperor Akihito on 30 April. The emperor, who is 84, wants to turn his duties over to a younger royal.

Only one boy has been born into the Imperial family in the past 40 years. He is Prince Hisahito, now 11 – the only male of his generation. He is currently third in line to become Japan’s next emperor.

The latest royal wedding, between Princess Mako and her fiancé, Kei Komura, has been postponed so not to be overshadowed by the festivities surrounding the abdication of the current monarch and the enthronement of the new emperor the next day.

The imperial family has been greatly constrained by Japan’s marriage laws that say a bride enters her husband’s family and leaves her own family. Thus Princess Ayako of the Yamato dynasty became plain Mrs. Moriya on marriage.

By contrast, when thespian Megan Markle – a commoner, and an American to boot – married Prince Harry, she became a full-fledged member of the British royal family with her own title: The Duchess of Sussex.

Even so, there is no taboo preventing Japanese royal family members marrying commoners. Indeed, the current emperor and his son have both married commoners – who, as they had married male royals, assumed regal titles.

However, they could hardly have done otherwise since there is no Japanese aristocracy to provide potential mates.

One can thank the American occupiers of Japan for this state of affairs. After the conclusion of World War II, General Douglas MacArthur decided to keep the emperor to help maintain peace during the occupation, but abolished the Japanese aristocracy, save for some immediate family.

Strangely, given how the Americans encouraged emancipation of women in Japan, they left in place a law that restricts the monarchy to males only.

And marrying a commoner presents its own problems. Both Empress Michiko and the soon-to-be Empress Masako found it hard to adopt to imperial ways. Famously, Masako – who left a promising career as a diplomat to enter the palace – suffered something akin to a nervous breakdown, partly due to the pressure to conceive a male.

“They are challenged in many ways,” said one royal watcher, noting, for example, not just the public pressure to birth male heirs, but the stifling royal protocol.

Dire shortage

Still, for now, the succession seems secure – at least for the near future. Naruhito is only 58, so can reasonably be expected to reign for a good number of years to come. After him comes Prince Hisahito, the son of the emperor’s brother. However, due to the dire shortage of male heirs, there is no margin for error: Japan, unlike the UK, has no Prince Harry to step up to the throne if the situation demands it.

And it is safe to say there will be no more boys born into the family for a long time. Princess Kiko gave birth to Prince Hisahito at age 39 and probably won’t be getting pregnant again. Nor is Naruhito’s wife Masako likely to conceive again.

In 2005, when it looked like there might never be a suitable male heir to the throne, the government of then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reluctantly proposed legislation that would allow for a reigning empress (not just a consort.)

However, the proposed legislation was withdrawn quicker than you can say banzai with the birth of Prince Hisahito in 2006 – given the assurance that there were now sufficient males to carry the Yamato dynasty into at least the near future.

When a more liberal opposition party won power in 2008, then-Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda reopened the matter of succession by allowing for an imperial house led by a female family member – such as Princess Ayako. But when Noda lost power to conservative Shinzo Abe, the matter was quietly dropped.

Female succession

Emperor Akihito re-opened the debate in 2016 when he announced that he wanted to abdicate in favor of his son and to retire from public life. That threw a spanner into the works: The possibility of an emperor’s abdication is not addressed in the Imperial House Law that governs imperial matters.

The government was willing to make a change to the law to accommodate the sitting monarch – but took great pains to explain that this was a one-off gesture to pave the way for the abdication, and nothing else.

Abe was afraid that if an open-ended debate got underway it would inevitably raise the issue of female succession to the throne – something that he and other conservatives in Japan oppose vehemently.

The new law passed in 2017 had an attached resolution, asking for the government to promptly come up with measures addressing the imperial family’s shrinking membership and report back to parliament.

So far, no report on this interesting matter has been forthcoming.

The option of creating royal households headed by women, which would allow female members to retain their royal status, has also been broached by the government. It is not uncommon elsewhere – look at Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, for example. But this, too, is fiercely opposed by Japanese conservatives – of whom Abe is a member in good standing.

Under the American-written constitution, the emperor serves as a symbol of the state and the unity of the people and derives his authority from “the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power.” Yet, contrary to the conservative stance, public opinion polls consistently show that the public favors female succession.

There is another solution to the problem of the shrinking family. It has been suggested that male members descending from the old aristocracy, who were demoted to mere citizens during the American occupation, be brought into the imperial family as possible candidates for the throne.

In the unlikely event this plan were ever to be adopted, the scion of some Japanese living quietly as a commoner today could, feasibly, find himself the founder of an entirely new imperial dynasty.

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March 31, 2019 at 03:10PM

Ethiopian Airlines Pilot's Last Radio Message Before Crash - Kenyans

Rossi rode "like when I was young" in Argentina race - Motorsport.com, Edition: Global

With Marc Marquez rapidly pulling away and taking a dominant win, Dovizioso and Rossi were left fighting for second at Termas de Rio Hondo.

Dovizioso held the spot for most of the race, but was never able to shake off Rossi, who put pressure on the Ducati rider as the grand prix entered its final stretch.

Rossi left it until Turn 7 on the last lap to make his move, and Dovizioso couldn't respond, allowing the Yamaha man to secure first podium since last year's Sachsenring race in July.

"I am very happy for me, for my team and for Yamaha because was a long time that I don't arrive on the podium, with the two mistakes at the end of last year," Rossi said.

"I am very happy, we needed this result. We work very well since Friday, I ride like when I was young, I enjoy very much.

"The race was good, I expect to have a bit more pace than Dovi, but no, so I stay behind but at the end I have two or three point where I was a bit faster than him.

"I try on the last lap and was good. Dovi is not able to do his famous cross [cutback move]."

Dovizioso "not happy" to lose second

While Dovizioso was pleased to accomplish his initial goal of getting a podium finish in Argentina, he said he was "not happy" to lose second place.

"Happy for the podium, because when we came here it was our target," said Dovizioso.

"But I am not happy in the way the tyre work during the race and I had to stay in front to manage the tyres.

"At the end Valentino was able to study me. I couldn't stay behind because I was struggling, maybe it wasn't the best strategy.

"I am not happy about third position because the second was there but we have to be happy about the podium."

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April 01, 2019 at 02:43AM

MotoGP, Rossi and Marquez shake their hands before the podium - GPone English

Last year, in Misano, Valentino Rossi refused to shake Marc Marquez's hand. He did so after the race in Argentina, before getting on the podium, a place where usually forbidden to photographers and cameramen. A mobile phone, however, filmed the scene.

A handshake between the two champions after a race in which both gave their best. After so much controversy, a bit of healthy sport.

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April 01, 2019 at 04:19AM

Argentina MotoGP - Race Results - crash.net

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April 01, 2019 at 02:02AM

Honda's Marquez takes dominant first MotoGP win of 2019 in Argentina - autosport.com

Marc Marquez scorched to his first MotoGP win of 2019 in Argentina, beating runner-up Valentino Rossi by a commanding margin of almost 10 seconds.

Honda rider Marquez made the perfect launch from pole position to make a break at the start, opening up a one-second lead over a similarly fast-starting Valentino Rossi on the opening tour.

The reigning champion then began to set a fearsome pace that none of his rivals could match, stretching his advantage to three seconds after three laps.

After 10 of 25 laps, Marquez was a full seven seconds in the clear, and his lead peaked at more than 12 seconds in the latter stages before he finally crossed the line with 9.8s in his pocket for his third win at Termas de Rio Hondo.

Behind, the battle for second was fought largely between Rossi and Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso, with Yamaha's Rossi recovering from running wide at Turn 5 on lap seven to retake the place the following tour.

Dovizioso found a way back by his fellow countryman on lap 13, but was unable to escape Rossi, who dived past the Italian at Turn 7 on the final lap to come home second.

A frenetic scrap for fourth place went the way of Jack Miller, after the Pramac Ducati rider made late passes on Alex Rins - up from 16th on the grid - and the second works Ducati of Danilo Petrucci.

Rossi's team-mate Maverick Vinales made a poor start from second on the grid to drop to fourth on the opening lap, and then slumped to eighth on lap two.

The Spaniard looked set to take seventh place before being taken out by the Petronas SRT Yamaha of Franco Morbidelli on the last lap at Turn 7.

That accident promoted Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) to seventh ahead of Fabio Quartararo (Petronas), Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) and Pol Espargaro (KTM).

Jorge Lorenzo brought home the second factory Honda in 12th, the same position he qualified, recovering some positions after dropping out of the points early on.

Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) blew a strong chance to be part of the podium fight with a jump-start, earning himself a ride-through penalty that left him down in 13th.

Johann Zarco finished 15th for the second race in a row on the second of the works KTMs, while Andrea Iannone (Aprilia) was last of the finishers in 17th.

Both Avintia Ducatis of Tito Rabat and Karel Abraham crashed out, while Suzuki's Joan Mir retired in the pits after a lurid grass-tracking moment late in the race.

Race result

Pos	Rider	Team	Laps	Gap
1	Marc Marquez	Honda	25	41m43.688s
2	Valentino Rossi	Yamaha	25	9.816s
3	Andrea Dovizioso	Ducati	25	10.530s
4	Jack Miller	Pramac Ducati	25	12.140s
5	Alex Rins	Suzuki	25	12.563s
6	Danilo Petrucci	Ducati	25	13.750s
7	Takaaki Nakagami	LCR Honda	25	18.160s
8	Fabio Quartararo	Petronas Yamaha	25	20.403s
9	Aleix Espargaro	Aprilia	25	25.292s
10	Pol Espargaro	KTM	25	25.679s
11	Miguel Oliveira	Tech3 KTM	25	25.855s
12	Jorge Lorenzo	Honda	25	27.497s
13	Cal Crutchlow	LCR Honda	25	31.398s
14	Francesco Bagnaia	Pramac Ducati	25	32.893s
15	Johann Zarco	KTM	25	33.372s
16	Hafizh Syahrin	Tech3 KTM	25	35.545s
17	Andrea Iannone	Aprilia	25	38.238s
-	Maverick Vinales	Yamaha	24	Retirement
-	Franco Morbidelli	Petronas Yamaha	24	Retirement
-	Joan Mir	Suzuki	21	Retirement
-	Tito Rabat	Avintia Ducati	15	Retirement
-	Karel Abraham	Avintia Ducati	14	Retirement

Riders standings

Pos	Rider	Points
1	Marc Marquez	45
2	Andrea Dovizioso	41
3	Valentino Rossi	31
4	Alex Rins	24
5	Danilo Petrucci	20
6	Cal Crutchlow	19
7	Takaaki Nakagami	16
8	Jack Miller	13
9	Aleix Espargaro	13
10	Pol Espargaro	10

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April 01, 2019 at 01:58AM

Closer look at Boeing Max plane - KING 5

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March 30, 2019 at 08:52AM

Yamaha's Rossi riding 'like when I was young' in Argentina MotoGP race - autosport.com

Valentino Rossi said he was riding "like when I was young" in MotoGP's Argentina race, in which he stole second place from Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso on the last lap.

With Marc Marquez rapidly pulling away to take a dominant win, Dovizioso and Rossi were left fighting for second at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit.

Dovizioso spent the most time holding the position, but he was never able to shake off Rossi, who put pressure on the Ducati rider as the race came to a close.

Rossi made his move on the last lap at Turn 7, to which Dovizioso couldn't respond to, and the Yamaha man secured his first podium since last year's Sachsenring race in July.

"I am very happy for me, for my team and for Yamaha because [it has been a] long time that I didn't arrive on the podium.

"I am very happy, we needed this result. We work very well since Friday, I ride like when I was young, I enjoyed it very much.

"The race was good, I expected to have a bit more pace than Dovi, but no, so I stayed behind but at the end I had two or three points where I was a bit faster than him.

"I tried on the last lap and it was good. Dovi is not able to do his famous cross [cutback move]."

Dovizioso said that while he was pleased to reach his initial goal of a podium finish in Argentina, he was "not happy" after struggling with his tyres.

"Happy for the podium, because when we came here it was our target," said Dovizioso.

"But I am not happy in the way the tyre worked during the race and I had to stay in front to manage the tyres.

"At the end Valentino was able to study me. I couldn't stay behind because I was struggling. Maybe it wasn't the best strategy.

"I am not happy about third position because the second [position] was there but we have to be happy about the podium."

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April 01, 2019 at 02:32AM

Ethiopian Boeing 737 MAX reportedly had active anti-stall system before crash - ABC News

An anti-stall system at the centre of a probe into the crash of a Boeing 737 MAX jetliner in Indonesia five months ago was also at play when the same aircraft model crashed in Ethiopia earlier this month, according to three people briefed on the matter.

Key points:

• Data pulled from the flight recorder suggests the anti-stall system pushed the nose of the jet downwards
• An Ethiopian-led investigation is trying to establish whether the system overpowered the pilots
• Boeing and US regulators have declined to comment on the data

Data pulled from the Ethiopian Airlines flight recorder suggests the anti-stall system, known as MCAS (Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System), which pushes the nose of the jet downwards, had been activated before the jet ploughed into a field outside Addis Ababa on March 10, the sources said.

The sources spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity ahead of an interim official report.

Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration declined to comment on the data, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

It is the second related piece of evidence to emerge from the black boxes of Ethiopian flight 302 after an initial sample of data recovered by investigators in Paris 11 days ago suggested similar "angle of attack" readings to the first crash.

These initial airflow readings from the Ethiopian jet refer to stall-related information needed to trigger the automated nose-down MCAS system.

The system is designed to be activated only when the angle of attack — measuring the way the wing cuts through the air — has become too high to avoid the plane stalling or losing lift.

However, it was not immediately clear whether the system on the Ethiopian jet was responding to faulty sensor data, as in the case of the earlier crash, or genuine stall indications.

Ethiopian, French and US officials have said there are similarities between the two accidents, which led to the worldwide grounding of the recently introduced 737 MAX.

An Ethiopian-led investigation is trying to establish whether the system overpowered the pilots, a leading scenario in the Lion Air crash, and what action was taken by the crew.

Boeing suggested using two existing cut-out switches could have prevented the Lion Air disaster, but it has also announced proposals to beef up the system and improve training.

Two of the people briefed on the matter said they presumed that the Ethiopian Airlines pilots did not hit the cut-out switches based on the airplane's speed and fatal descent, but could not confirm that the data established that.

Boeing working to fix anti-stall system before US summer

Boeing is facing mounting pressure to roll out a software update to fix anti-stall technology on the Boeing 737 Max in time for airlines to use the jets during the northern hemisphere's peak summer travel season.

Company engineers and test pilots are working to fix the anti-stall technology on the Boeing 737 Max as the company's best-selling plane remains grounded worldwide and airlines are losing money by cancelling flights.

Southwest, the largest operator of the Max with 34 of them and another 249 on order, said this week that the grounding caused it to cancel 2,800 flights so far, or 30 per cent of all cancellations in the first quarter.

It said cancelled flights, including those not related to the Max, will cost it $US150 million ($211 million) in revenue for the quarter and cut its planned capacity growth for the entire year.

German tour operator TUI Group said its 2019 profit will drop about 200 million euros ($317 million) because of the Max grounding. That forecast assumes the planes are flying again no later than mid-July.

United Airlines, which has 14 Max jets, said the grounding isn't hurting the airline yet, but the financial pain "is expected to increase if the grounding extends into the peak summer travel season".

Boeing is also seeing its own expenses rise, although it would not disclose how much it is costing the company to make the software fix and also train pilots how to use it.

Cowen Research analysts say a "very rough guess" is that Boeing will pay about $US2 billion after insurance to fix the plane, pay crash victims' families and compensate airlines that had to cancel flights.

Most Wall Street analysts are betting that the planes will be flying again in less than three months, while noting that it could take longer in countries that plan to conduct their own reviews of Boeing's upgrade instead of taking the word of the US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration.

Boeing has stopped Max deliveries during the grounding, which cuts into cash flow — Boeing gets most of its money for a plane upon delivery.

It is difficult and unusual for airlines to switch an order from one aircraft manufacturer to another. Boeing and European rival Airbus form a duopoly that dominates commercial airplane sales. Airlines considering switching from the Max to the comparable Airbus model, called the neo for new engine option, would fall to the back of a years-long backlog line.

ABC/wires

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March 30, 2019 at 10:32AM

Argentina: MotoGP Championship standings - crash.net

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April 01, 2019 at 02:40AM

What Ethiopian Airlines pilot said before plane crash - Khaleej Times

"Pitch up, pitch up" were the words a pilot was heard saying on the Ethiopian Airlines flight just moments before it crashed three weeks back killing 157 people, reported the Wall St Journal.

Also read: Final moments of flight 302

The recorded conversation took place while the plane was just 450ft (137m) off the ground as the aircraft begun to point downwards, the paper said. The flight's radio reportedly died moments after the comment was captured.

The plane's anti-stalling system, which sees its direction automatically righted if a sensor picks up the aircraft is tilting up too far, has been blamed for the disaster, the report pointed out.

Probe into the accident is ongoing and the cause behind it is yet to be made public.
The newspaper had reported on Friday that investigators found that the flight-control system on an Ethiopian Airlines jet got automatically activated before the aircraft went down on March 10.

The preliminary conclusion was based on information from the aircraft's data and voice recorders and shows a link between that accident and an earlier Lion Air crash in Indonesia, the daily pointed out.

On Friday, The New York Times said the Ethiopian plane's data recorder indicated that a sensor incorrectly triggered the anti-stall system, called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).

As it was activated, the plane plunged and ultimately crashed, the newspaper added.

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March 31, 2019 at 08:53PM

Boeing’s billion-dollar 737 MAX tragedy will be felt for decades - The West Australian

Liverpool 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur: player ratings from Anfield - The Guardian

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1. Liverpool 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur: player ratings from Anfield  The Guardian
2. Klopp's Tottenham Hotspur reaction | 'It was rather ugly, but I'll take that.'  Liverpool FC
3. Live Commentary: Liverpool 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur - as it happened  Sports Mole
4. Dele Alli sees Tottenham's new stadium for the first time!  Cengiz Adabag News
5. Liverpool v Tottenham: Jürgen Klopp reacts to priceless victory  Guardian Football
6. View full coverage on Google News

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April 01, 2019 at 01:40AM

Liverpool retake Premier League lead thanks to Toby Alderweireld's own goal - CNN

It might have been ugly, but the victory sent Liverpool's Anfield crowd into delirium -- their delight is perhaps understandable given Liverpool last won the league title 29 years ago.

If there was ecstasy for Liverpool, there was primarily agony for Spurs after the match was decided by Toby Alderweireld's own goal in the 90th minute.

The visitors had looked on course to take a deserved point from a tense encounter after Lucas Moura's 70th-minute goal had canceled out Roberto Firmino's first-half header.

But two errors from Spurs players following a corner cost Mauricio Pochettino's team the chance of a point and also complicate their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.

Following a corner, first Hugo Lloris couldn't collect Mo Salah's header and then the ball ricocheted off Alderweireld and trickled over the line.

READ: Manchester City brushes aside woeful Fulham

'A bit fortunate'

"Massive," was the one word assessment of Liverpool defender Andy Robertson, who had set up Firmino's headed goal, of the importance of his team's victory.

"They beat us comfortably in the second half. It was a bit fortunate," Robertson told Sky Sports as he reflected on how Liverpool took all three points.

Liverpool now leads Premier League champion Manchester City by two points, though the Merseyside club has played one more game. City's next match is at home to Cardiff City, while Liverpool are away at Southampton on Friday.

INTERACTIVE: Predict the winner of the Premier League

"City last year were champions and are still pretty good," Klopp told Sky Sports. "We have to fight like crazy. The crowd was outstanding. They were really here to push us and at the end it helped.

"It is only positive. I said there are 500 ways to win a football game and today was slightly ugly. Who cares?"

READ: Why Lionel Messi is the world's best player

'It's in our hands'

Banned from the Anfield dugout after accepting an improper conduct charge -- the Spurs manager confronted referee Mike Dean after his team's 2-1 Premier League defeat at Burnley last month -- Pochettino had to watch Sunday's game from the stands.

"It is not easy to come here and dominate them," the Argentine told Sky Sports. "After the first half we conceded a goal when there was not too much happening in the game. That was tough for us but in the second half we started playing with a lot of confidence.

"It is very tough to lose the game in that way but I feel I am happy because the emotion and feeling we have got today will help us.

"It is now a mini-league -- seven games and we are in the top four. It is in our hands."

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April 01, 2019 at 12:30AM

Christian Eriksen would walk into any side | Sport - The Times

Liverpool’s workaholic midfield is perfect for the defenders behind it, but not ideal for the forwards in front of it. Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Georginio Wijnaldum are not terribly creative and are definitely not scorers, with just seven league goals between them this season, but it’s hard to be critical of them because of the job they do for the team and I bet they are all great types, too.

They make the guys they are playing against keep their heads down all the time because they are constantly putting the ball under pressure, which is great news for the back four. They aren’t shabby at passing either, but Liverpool haven’t got the sublime vision of Kevin de Bruyne, David Silva or Bernardo…

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March 31, 2019 at 07:01AM

Financial pressure mounts to fix Boeing's troubled jetliner - Phys.Org

Jokowi's optimism outshines Prabowo's darker impulses - The Age

Ethiopian jet: Crash details emerge - New Zimbabwe.com

BBC

---

Details have begun to emerge of the final moments of an Ethiopian Airlines flight which crashed three weeks ago.

An anti-stalling system on the plane, a Boeing 737 Max, has been blamed for the disaster which killed all 157 people on board.

Soon after take-off – and just 450ft (137m) above the ground – the aircraft’s nose began to pitch down.

One pilot, according to the Wall Street Journal, said to the other “pitch up, pitch up!” before their radio died.

The plane crashed only six minutes into its flight.

‘Catastrophic failure’

The Wall Street Journal – which says it’s spoken to people close to the ongoing investigation – says the information it has “paints a picture of a catastrophic failure that quickly overwhelmed the flight crew”.

Leaks this week from the crash investigation in Ethiopia and in the US suggest an automatic anti-stall system was activated at the time of the disaster.

The Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) flight-control feature was also implicated in a fatal crash involving a Lion Air flight in Indonesia last October.

The Boeing 737 Max went down shortly after take-off from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board.

An investigation of the Lion Air flight suggested the anti-stall system malfunctioned, and forced the plane’s nose down more than 20 times before it crashed into the sea.

The Ethiopian authorities have already said there are “clear similarities” between the Lion Air incident and the Ethiopian Airlines crash.

The airline and authorities have refused to comment on leaks from the investigation.

Concerns about the Boeing 737 Max have led to a worldwide grounding of the plane.

System update

Boeing has redesigned the software so that it will disable MCAS if it receives conflicting data from its sensors.

As part of the upgrade, Boeing will install an extra warning system on all 737 Max aircraft, which was previously an optional safety feature.

Neither of the two planes that were involved in the fatal crashes carried the alert systems, which are designed to warn pilots when sensors produce contradictory readings.

The aircraft update is designed to ensure the MCAS will no longer repeatedly make corrections when a pilot tries to regain control.

Boeing is also revising pilot training to provide “enhanced understanding of the 737 MAX” flight system and crew procedures.

Earlier this week, Boeing said that the upgrades were not an admission that the system had caused the crashes.

Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the accidents, but a preliminary report from Ethiopian authorities is expected within days.

Boeing has tried to restore its battered reputation, while continuing to insist the 737 Max is safe.

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March 31, 2019 at 01:39PM

Prabowo Reinvigorates Commitment to Pancasila; Jokowi: Let's Not Blaspheme Each Other - Jakarta Globe

Jakarta. Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto crushed any concerns that he may compromise Indonesia's national unity by being too cozy with radical Islamists during Saturday evening's debate.

The former Army general, in a heated tone, said he has been at the receiving end of accusations that he supports the movement that seeks to establish an Islamic state, or caliphate, in Indonesia. 

"This is something very unreasonable. My mother is a Christian. I was born from a Christian womb," Prabowo said, stating the fact in public for the first time in years. 

"I, from the age of 18, risked my life to defend Pancasila. I put my life at stake for this republic; why am I being accused of wanting to change Pancasila?" he said about the official state ideology.

"These are really cruel acquisitions, but I believe Mr. Jokowi doesn't approve of them," he added, referring to the incumbent, Joko Widodo, by his popular nickname.

Prabowo has been rallying Islamist support for his presidential ticket, seeking to replicate a strategy that proved successful two years ago in toppling Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, Jakarta's widely popular former governor, who is a Christian.

The chairman of the opposition Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) revamped his Islamic credentials with a formal endorsement of his candidacy by the ulema. The party also opposed a move by the Jokowi administration to disband Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, the local branch of a transnational movement that aims to establish a global caliphate. 

But when asked to state his position on Pancasila, Prabowo reinvigorated his commitment to the state ideology. 

"For us, Pancasila is the final ideology," he said.

"Pancasila is the result of a major compromise, of the brilliance of our founding generation. Pancasila succeeded in uniting hundreds of ethnic groups, major religions, different cultures and different languages. This compromise resulted in the ‎Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia‎, therefore we are determined to maintain Pancasila to the last drop of blood."

"I, at the age of 18, signed an oath to defend the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, based on Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution. If anyone wants to change this, I will face them with all the strength I have." 

Early Education

Jokowi had little to disagree with in Prabowo's statement.

"I believe Mr. Prabowo is a 'Pancasilaist.' I also believe Mr. Prabowo is a nationalist," the president said. 

But he added that it is better for leaders to adhere to the values of Pancasila in their daily lives and interactions. 

"Let's not blaspheme each other; not insult each other; not underestimate each other; not disparage each other, which we now see our politicians doing," Jokowi said, adding that the country's leaders should behave in a way that sets a healthy example for young people.

The two candidates agreed that Pancasila should be introduced to Indonesian children from an early age. 

"Education of our children should start, not from kindergarten, but from preschool," Jokowi said. 

The National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) has found many examples over the past three years of extremist literature distributed at Islamic preschools in Indonesia stating that it is halal, or lawful under Islamic law, to shed the blood of non-Muslims. 

"Children must be told how to be tolerant, because we have 714 tribes. Children must also be told how to be friends with their brothers and sisters of the same country, which has more than 1,100 different regional languages," Jokowi said.

Caliphate

Din Syamsuddin, chairman of the advisory council of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), said the discourse between the idea of a caliphate – in its narrowest sense an Islamic state – and Pancasila had been resolved by the Indonesian ulema long ago. 

He said Indonesia can be considered Darul Ahdi wa Shahadah, or a state based on an agreement between Muslims and their fellow countrymen, which Muslims are obliged to uphold. 

He acknowledged the connotation recently attached to the idea of a caliphate, which links it with the movement to dismantle Indonesia's current political system and replace it with something based solely on Islamic law. But he warned that using it in politics could cause irreparable damage to the nation.    

"Broadbrushing something considered anti-Pancasila onto a particular group is a labeling and generalization that are dangerous and which can create an atmosphere of division in the fabric of the nation," Din said.

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March 31, 2019 at 02:45AM

Boeing Casts a Shadow Over the Future of Automated Systems - White House Chronicle

A shadow has fallen across the future of autonomous transportation, one of the key aspects of the city of the future and of the widespread use of artificial intelligence. It comes from Boeing in the form of the computer problem that has grounded the world’s fleet of 737 Max 8 aircraft.

No definitive cause of the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 in the Java Sea, which killed 189 people, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 en route from Nairobi to Addis Ababa, which killed 157 people, has been established yet. But everything points to the computerized stall-avoidance system.

In terms of computing in aircraft, this is no more than an embarrassment. In terms of loss of life, it is ghastly. In terms of the public confidence in the growing role of computing in everything, it is grave.

These crashes have stimulated public fear, and public fear hangs around. So does institutional fear — even when the problem has been identified and remediated.

Consider these events which have left a long-lasting residue of fear:

—Thalidomide was a drug developed in Germany and first marketed there to pregnant women. Use spread around the globe and the results were devastating: More than 10,000 babies were born without one or two major limbs, like arms and legs.

I am told, although it is never mentioned, thalidomide haunts the drug industry. It has affected both the development of new drugs and the regulation of drugs to this day. The long delays and exhausting trials new drugs go through are partly due to something that happened in the late 1950s.

—The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident in Pennsylvania in 1979 has affected nuclear design and regulation of nuclear plants ever since, although no life was lost. There was a partial meltdown of the core and the result fed the anti-nuclear movement, which, ironically, pushed utilities back to coal — now under attack because of its environmental impact.

The Max 8 problem, in terms of computing in aircraft, is no more than a glitch, possibly the result of a rush to market. But the loss of life is terrible and the loss of confidence immeasurable.

A whole array of high-tech companies is hoping to bring autonomous transportation to the streets within a decade or not much longer. These include Uber, Lyft and Google. Tesla would like to see autonomous electric trucks handling intercity deliveries.

This push to the driverless has huge energy and resources behind it. It is a part of what has come to be known as the smart city revolution. It also is part of what has been described as the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Early autonomous cars have depended on sensors to guide them. The car in front slows and the car behind picks this up from its sensors. When autonomous vehicles are fully developed, these cars and all the others on the road will be in constant communication with each other.  Car A will tell Car B, “I am breaking” and so on down through a line of traffic. It is coming.

The message from Boeing’s catastrophe is: Get it right or you will scare the public off, as happened with Three Mile Island. Some willing propagandists scared the public off nuclear — our best way of making a lot of electricity without carbon.

The technology in aircraft is very sophisticated. Almost all passenger airliners have been able to land themselves once they intercept a radio signal, called the glide slope, at an advanced airport. They are packed full of computers operating all sorts of wondrous systems.

If all the computers on the fatal Max 8s had been talking to each other, as traffic will have to in the coming era of autonomous vehicles, they might well have shut down the stall avoidance system that was mis-sensing an imminent stall.

The neo-Luddites will try to exploit the Boeing catastrophe into slowing smart city development. The challenge for autonomous technology is to get it right. Not rush to market.

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March 30, 2019 at 04:22AM

What is holding Indonesia's economy back? | Counting the Cost - Al Jazeera English

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March 31, 2019 at 07:32PM

Details of the purported Xiaomi Mi A3 surface - 32 MP selfie camera, Snapdragon 675, triple rear cameras - Notebookcheck.net

Watch: Rare Sumatran tiger cubs make debut at Sydney zoo - euronews (in English)

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March 30, 2019 at 12:09AM

Labor group urges candidates to focus on migrant workers' rights in debate - The Jakarta Post - Jakarta Post

Migrant CARE, a labor rights advocacy group, has called on presidential candidates Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Prabowo Subianto to address the protection of Indonesian migrant workers in the upcoming debate, an issue both sides have failed to comprehensively highlight on previous occasions.

Jokowi and Prabowo are due to square off in the next presidential debate on Saturday night, which will focus on the themes of ideology, governance, security and foreign affairs.

Previous debates that had focused on themes of human rights and employment had not adequately discussed the protection of migrant workers, said Migrant CARE executive director Wahyu Susilo.

"The marginalization of the agenda [...] shows that this issue remains 'hidden' in the agenda of the 2019 election," he said in a statement on Friday.

Some main issues relevant to the agenda include the implementation of regulations based on the 2017 Migrant Labor Protection Law, which stipulates the enactment of government regulations (PP) on legal, social and economic protections two years after the law is passed.

The government is also yet to renegotiate bilateral agreements with destination countries such as Malaysia as the basis for continued migrant worker protection.

Wahyu said tonight's debate was a strategic opportunity for either camp to impress overseas voters, who are to head to the polls earlier than the in-country electorate. Overseas voting will be open from April 8 through 14.

Data from overseas election committees (PPLN) show that from the 2.05 million eligible voters overseas, the largest number of voters are located in areas with large constituencies of migrant workers, with 558,873 voters registered in Malaysia, followed by Taiwan (277,065) and Hong Kong (180,232).

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March 30, 2019 at 04:51PM

Financial pressure mounts to fix Boeing's troubled jetliner - Arab News

LONDON: Boeing is facing mounting pressure to roll out a software update on its best-selling plane in time for airlines to use the jets during the peak summer travel season.
Company engineers and test pilots are working to fix anti-stall technology on the Boeing 737 Max that is suspected to have played a role in two deadly crashes in the last six months.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that investigators have determined that the flight-control system on an Ethiopian Airlines jet automatically activated before the aircraft plunged into the ground on March 10.
The preliminary conclusion was based on information from the aircraft’s data and voice recorders and indicates a link between that accident and an earlier Lion Air crash in Indonesia, the newspaper said. Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration declined to comment on the report.
Also on Friday, The New York Times reported that the Ethiopian jet’s data recorder yielded evidence that a sensor incorrectly triggered the anti-stall system, called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS. Once activated, the MCAS forced the plane into a dive and ultimately a crash that killed everyone on board, the newspaper said.
The Max remains grounded worldwide and airlines are losing money by canceling flights.
Southwest, the largest operator of the Max with 34 of them and another 249 on order, said this week that the grounding caused it to cancel 2,800 flights so far, or 30 percent of all cancelations in the first quarter. It said canceled flights, including those not related to the Max, will cost it $150 million in revenue for the quarter and cut its planned capacity growth for the entire year.
German tour operator TUI Group said 2019 profit will drop about 200 million euros ($225 million) because of the Max grounding. That forecast assumes the planes are flying again no later than mid-July.
United Airlines, which has 14 Max jets, said the grounding isn’t hurting the airline yet, but the financial pain “is expected to increase if the grounding extends into the peak summer travel season.”
Boeing is also seeing its own expenses rise, although it would not disclose how much it is costing the company to make the software fix and also train pilots how to use it.
Cowen Research analysts say a “very rough guess” is that Boeing will pay about $2 billion after insurance to fix the plane, pay crash victims’ families and compensate airlines that had to cancel flights.
Most Wall Street analysts are betting that the planes will be flying again in less than three months, while noting that it could take longer in countries that plan to conduct their own reviews of Boeing’s upgrade instead of taking the word of the US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration.
Boeing has stopped Max deliveries during the grounding, which cuts into cash flow — Boeing gets most of its money for a plane upon delivery. Outside estimates of the cash-flow drain range from $640 million to $1.8 billion a month, but Boeing will get that money eventually unless airlines cancel orders.
It is difficult and unusual for airlines to switch an order from one aircraft manufacturer to another. Boeing and European rival Airbus form a duopoly that dominates commercial airplane sales. Airlines that considering switching from the Max to the comparable Airbus model, called the neo for new engine option, would fall to the back of a yearslong backlog line.
“We believe a wholesale cancelation is unlikely if for no other reason than the inability of Airbus to deal with the influx,” says Hunter Keay, an aviation analyst with Wolfe Research, but he adds there is “some risk” of additional cancelations, with the big Chinese market being the most serious.
If cancelations are limited to Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines — the two carriers involved in the crashes — and Garuda Indonesia, which has announced plans to do so, they account for only about 300 orders. Boeing has about 4,600 unfilled Max orders, making up the bulk of a huge backlog that the company values at $490 billion.
Then there is the potential cost of lawsuits stemming from October’s crash of a Lion Air Max 8 in Indonesia and the March 10 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Max 8 near Addis Ababa. In all, 346 people died.
Already one law firm alone has filed seven lawsuits against Boeing in federal district court in Chicago; six were filed on behalf of families of passengers on the Lion Air jet and one by the family of an Ethiopian Airlines passenger.
The lawsuits claim that the flight-control system on the plane was defective and that Boeing failed to warn airlines about it or train pilots how to respond if it caused the plane’s nose to sink. The automated MCAS system was not on previous 737s.
The tragedy-filled introduction of the Max is reminiscent of troubled early histories of other planes. In 1979, for instance, the FAA grounded the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 following accidents involving a poorly designed cargo door that could spring open during flight and a crash in Chicago — still the deadliest aviation accident in US history with 273 lives lost — that ultimately was blamed on poor maintenance practices by American Airlines.
After changes approved by safety regulators, the three-engine DC-10 returned to the skies and sold several hundred more copies before production was stopped. The plane couldn’t compete with more efficient twin-engine models.
Boeing’s 787 “Dreamliner” was grounded by overheating batteries in 2013, but after Boeing fixed the problem it became a favorite among airlines and passengers. The same course could play out for the Max, which entered service just two years ago — as long as there are no fresh accidents to stir passengers’ fears.
“The public has an amazingly short memory,” said Robert Mann, a former American Airlines and TWA executive. “Most of them don’t even realize the kind of airplane they are flying on.”

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March 31, 2019 at 12:57AM

'Pitch up, pitch up': The final moments of Ethiopia Airlines plane crash - Sky News

Boeing grounding to hit Tui profits by up to €300m - The Times

Jokowi, Prabowo Spar Over Defense Policy as Indonesia Vote Nears - Bloomberg

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1. Jokowi, Prabowo Spar Over Defense Policy as Indonesia Vote Nears  Bloomberg
2. What is holding Indonesia's economy back? | Indonesia  Al Jazeera America
3. Joko: Exercise your rights - Asean+  The Star Online
4. Jokowi endorses ‘Dilan’, Prabowo says he’s ‘Batak of Java’ in rollercoaster debate - The Jakarta Post  Jakarta Post
5. In Bekasi – and Indonesia – a house divided? - Ceritalah  The Star Online
6. View full coverage on Google News

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March 30, 2019 at 11:34PM

Meet the rare tiger cubs making their debut at Sydney Zoo - BBC News

Three rare Sumatran tiger cubs are being introduced to the public for the first time at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney.

The 10-week-old cubs - one male and two females - are part of the critically endangered sub-species, which only has less than 400 wild tigers left on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

The little tigers were born to eight-year-old Kartika on 17 January, as part of a regional breeding programme for Sumatran tigers.

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March 29, 2019 at 07:58PM

What is holding Indonesia's economy back? | Indonesia - Al Jazeera America

Indonesia's economy isn't growing as fast as President Joko Widodo had promised it would when he was elected five years ago. But the president, who is also known as Jokowi, has put the economy at the centre of his pitch to voters for the April elections once again. He is spending huge sums to try to get re-elected for a second term, giving regional governments billions as well as giving hand-outs to the country's poorest. 

While Indonesia is well on its way to becoming a $2 trillion economy in the next five years, a population of more than 250 million people strung across more than 17,000 islands is being held back by - among other things - poor infrastructure.

The World Bank estimates that Indonesia has an infrastructure gap of $1.5 trillion compared with other emerging markets. Widodo is halfway through a 10-year, $327bn programme to construct new airports, highways and ports.

Indonesia's first subway has opened in the country's capital, Jakarta last week - a development that's seen as crucial to tackling some of the world's worst congestion costing Indonesia billions in lost revenue.

So what is holding Indonesia's economy back? And could it damage the president's hopes for re-election?

"I think there's a number of factors ... [holding back the economy]," says Gareth Leather, senior economist at Capital Economics. "I think more fundamentally, it's just been a failure to revitalise the manufacturing sector, which, when he [Joko Widodo] set out five years ago was one of his key aims ... In Indonesia, it's incredibly expensive to hire and fire workers. And what that means is that people are reluctant to set up manufacturing facilities in Indonesia when they could so much more cheaply in neighbouring, say Vietnam for example. I think that's been the key reason why growth has failed to come anywhere near the government's target."

According to Leather, Widodo "has made some reasonable progress in infrastructure spendings ... The key thing that he really needs to do is press ahead with these labour market reforms ... I think without that then Indonesia is really going to struggle to attract the kind of manufacturing sector that it needs to really raise growth above the five percent that we seem to be stuck at the moment.

"If you look at the most successful Asian economies since the second World War ... What they all had in common was a very competitive export-orientated manufacturing sector. Now this is something that Indonesia really struggled to create and generate .... Until you see the big changes in the labour market - and also land reform is another area that he hasn't really touched on - Indonesia is really going to struggle."

Also on Counting the Cost:

Struggling to earn a living in Manila: Around one in five of the Philippines' 106 million people live in extreme poverty, getting by on less than $2 a day. Many, including children, work long hours as street vendors or labourers to make enough money to feed themselves. Hunger occurs most in the agriculture and fishing sectors where 70 percent of workers are poor. Jamela Alindogan reports from Manila.

Political funding in India: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared the country a space power after the successful test of an anti-satellite missile, but opposition leaders complain that Modi used the test to score political points. More than 900 million Indians will go to the polls in the world's biggest democratic process beginning on April 11. Political parties are expected to spend $7bn over the election cycle that ends on May 23. But who is financing political parties and their candidates? Sreeram Chaulia, Jindal School of International Affairs, talks to Counting the Cost about political funding, recent reforms and the issues around it.

Community farms in Venezuela: Community farms are springing up in the oil-rich nation of Venezuela as US economic sanctions kick in. Venezuela produces only 20 percent of the food it consumes and a turn to farming is crucial for them to survive in the face of their political and economic crises. Teresa Bo reports from Caracas.

Mexico's soup kitchens for the poor: Mexico's leftist president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, swept to power on a promise to help the country's poorest, but now he is axing social programmes - in what he claims to be an attempt to stamp out corruption. John Holman reports from Mexico City.

Source: Al Jazeera News

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March 30, 2019 at 08:50PM