Mt. Krakatau activity increases

Three volcanos in Indonesia are under close watch following heightened activity.

Indonesia's Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation raised the alert on Mt Anak Krakatau to the second-highest level on Saturday after showers of ash.

The volcano is about 130km west of Jakarta. It formed gradually after Krakatau erupted in 1883. Officials are also monitoring Mt Kelud in East Java and Mt Soputan in North Sulawesi.

Mount Krakatau volcanic activity has increased over the past three days, prompting authorities to raise its status.

The volcano had produced 20 tremors and released 80-meter to 200-meter-long white-grey smoke plumes every hour from Oct. 24 to Oct. 26, Sigin, a monitoring officer , said Friday.

Normally, the volcano produced only five tremors per hour but since last Wednesday the frequency of tremors had increased, he said. Consequently, tourists and fishermen had been warned not to come near the volcano.

Indonesian court rules death penalty for drugs offenses is legal

A top Indonesian court ruled Tuesday that sentencing drug offenders to death does not violate the constitution, dismissing a case lodged by three Australians awaiting execution for smuggling heroin.

The ruling is blow to the death row inmates, among nine young Australians arrested by Indonesian police in 2005 over a foiled plot to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin into Australia from the resort island of Bali.

Three others are also facing the death penalty, but were not included in the suit before the Constitutional Court. Two members of the group, dubbed the "Bali Nine" by Australian media, got life in prison and the third got 20 years.

In rejecting the petition, a nine-judge panel found that the constitution's clause on the right to life does not override the criminal code's stipulation that serious crimes can be punished with death.

The case was filed by lawyers for the three Australians, but the court did not have the power to directly overturn their convictions. Lawyers for the three had intended to use a favorable ruling to appeal.

At the end of 2006, 134 people were on death row in Indonesia, including 37 foreigners and 97 Indonesians, most of them for drug-related crimes. At least four are Islamic extremists awaiting death for their roles in a series of bombings.

Indonesian government officials, police officers and judges have said they support capital punishment for drug crimes.

The country has executed at least eight people since 2000.

Source: The Jakarta Post

Leader of Al Qidayah sect surrenders to police

The leader of the controversial Al Qiyadah Al Islamiyah sect, Ahmad Mushaddeq, and six of his followers have turned themselves in to Jakarta Police.

Mushaddeq and his followers are being questioned at the Jakarta Police's criminal investigation directorate, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Adang Firman said Tuesday.

"He and his men came to the Metro Jaya Police Headquarters last night at around 7:30 p.m. to surrender themselves," Adang Firman said.

Firman said police had not yet named them suspects in any criminal cases, but were still gathering evidence.

Police have gathered several pieces of evidence, including four books written by Mushaddeq, recordings and pictures.

Mushaddeq gave himself up after learning through the media that Muslims had strongly reacted against the sect, the Jakarta Police chief said.

Al Qiyadah was founded by Haji Salam, later known as Ahmad Moshaddeq, several years ago in Bogor, West Java.

Moshaddeq declared himself a prophet, which is against Islamic teachings, which says Muhammad is the last prophet.

Al Qiyadah teaches members, among other things, that they do not have to pray five times a day, fast during Ramadhan or go on the haj, which are all compulsory in Islam.

Source: The Jakarta Post

Indonesia Monitors 3 Active Volcanos;Raises Alerts

Three volcanos in Indonesia, including the one known as the "Child of Krakatau", are now under close watch following heightened activity, a senior volcano official said on Saturday.

Indonesia's Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation raised the alert on Mount Anak Krakatau to the second-highest level on Friday after it threw up showers of ash.

The volcano, which lies in the Sunda strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra, is about 130 km west of the capital Jakarta. It gradually formed after the famous Krakatau volcano blew up in a massive eruption in 1883, triggering tsunamis and killing thousands of people.

Saut Simatupang, a senior official at the centre, said that volcanic tremors at Anak Krakatau, which is a popular tourist attraction, had increased in the past two days.

Officials are also monitoring two other volcanos. Mount Kelud volcano in East Java has been on the highest state of alert for several days as it appears to be very close to erupting.

The volcano, which has a lake in its crater, is about 90 km southwest of Surabaya, Indonesia's second-biggest city.

Mount Soputan, in North Sulawesi, erupted last week spewing columns of ash 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) into the air, but its activity has since decreased, Simatupang said.

Indonesia has the highest number of active volcanoes in any country, sitting on a belt of intense volcanic and seismic activity known as the "Pacific Ring of Fire".

source: http://www.javno.com

Indonesia's 'Child of Krakatau' volcano spews ash, smoke

The Indonesian volcano known as the "Child of Krakatau" spewed ash and smoke, prompting authorities to warn of a possible eruption, a government volcanologist said Saturday.

The mountain in the Sunda Strait, 130 kilometers (80 miles) west of Jakarta, formed after the giant Krakatau eruption of 1883 that killed tens of thousands of people and was the largest explosion in recorded history.

"Activity at Anak Krakatau increased yesterday and there were several small eruptions," said Surono, a leading government volcanologist who, like many Indonesians, uses one name. "We have upgraded the alert level to the second highest."

Anak Krakatau, which means "Child of Krakatau," is the third volcano to become active in recent weeks in Indonesia, a sprawling nation of more than 17,000 islands. The country has about 150 volcanos along an arc of fault lines called the Pacific "Ring of Fire."

Krakatau's massive 1883 blast, heard more than 3,000 kilometers (nearly 2,000 miles) away in Australia, sent pyroclastic surges of gas and burning ash which, combined with a tsunami, wiped out 165 villages and killed at least 36,417 people. It destroyed two thirds of the island of Krakatau between Java and Sumatra.

Source : International Herald Tribune-AP