News in Brief – Week Ending 04/05/08

Crazy week eh. The unprecedented world shortage of rice is astounding and Indonesia intends not to sit on their bum. The government plan to spend 6 trillion rupiah ($651 million) this year to provide farmers with rice seeds, including high-yielding hybrid varieties, to boost output. That’s one hell of a lot of Nasi Goreng!. This is not as crazy as the three humans skulls being sent to Britain that were seized at Indonesia’s international airport on Thursday. The skulls, labelled as wood carvings on their packages, were wrapped neatly in hard paper boxes and sent through an express mail service. Now that’s what I call getting ahead in a fast way. And, the merry-go-round just keeps on going around with the three Islamic militant bombers who were sentenced to death for the 2002 Bali blasts plan to lodge another judicial review with an Indonesian court according to their lawyer. He said this could delay or prevent their execution. The three Bali bombers, who are being held at a maximum security prison in Central Java, submitted separate review documents.

This little bit of craziness is bound to make any pecker think twice about not sing condoms on their next sexual adventure. It seems that up to March 2008, the total number Indonesians known to have been infected with the AIDS virus was 11,868, according to health ministry data. No matter what your sexual preference it is always best to use that raincoat in the shower!. From a little bit of craziness to just plain insane craziness with the news that three people were killed and 60 homes, schools and places of worship were set on fire during a fierce clash between two villages in eastern Indonesia. It was not immediately clear what triggered Friday’s violence in the Maluku islands but hundreds of riot police were deployed to the area to restore order. I can recall a time during the Soeharto regime when all Indonesians lived in peace and harmony. What happened?.

And Folks, that’s the news that is the news from around the archipelago this week, or at least, that what is worth mentioning!.