QATAR NEW TARGET OF INDONESIAS WEAPONS EXPORT

Indonesia is targeting Qatar as a new export market for military weapon products, a diplomat said on
Friday.

The Indonesian Embassy in Qatars minister counselor, Boy Dharmawan, said a Qatari Armed Forces
delegation planned to visit Indonesia in the near future to discuss the possibility of buying military
weapons produced by Indonesia.

Qatars intention was delivered during a meeting between Qatar Armed Forces Strategic Studies
Center head Brig. Gen, Hamad Mohammed Al Marri and Indonesian Ambassador Muhammad Basri
Sidehabi in Doha.

Qatar is diversifying its military arsenal supplies and there is a chance for Indonesia to compete with
other developing countries [to win the market], Boy said, adding that until now, Qatar not only
imported weapons from Western countries but also from developing countries such as Pakistan and
Turkey.

Qatar has imported textile for military uniforms from Indonesia.

Boy said Hamad had learned that Indonesias military weaponry products from state-owned land
systems and weapon maker PT Pindad, aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia and shipbuilder
PT PAL Indonesia had been exported to ASEAN as well as to African regions.

He said the Qatar delegation would learn about Indonesias strategic primary weaponry system and the
weaponry industry during its visit.
 Another four-star hotel coming soon in Mandalika

The Mandalika special economic zone (KEK) in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), is set to host a
four-star hotel in the next two years.

Initiated by PT Elmar Mitra Perkasa, the 200-room and 10-villa property named X2 Mandalika Hotel
will be built on a 3.2-hectare plot of land.

"The prospect of this project is very promising, thus we are very interested and serious in our
investment of Rp 150 billion [US$11.19 million]," said the company's director Teddy Yusaldi during a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony with the Indonesia Tourism Development
Corporation (ITDC) in Central Lombok, NTB, on Friday.

The hotel is located on the west coast of Kuta Beach and will be equipped with a beach sports facility.

PT Elmar Mitra Perkasa is reportedly the fifth company to have made an investment in the hotel
industry in the Mandalika KEK. Pullman, Med Club and Royal Tulip are among the hotels currently
under construction in the area.

ITDC president director Abdulbar M. Mansoer said Mandalika KEK expected to have at least 1000
rooms on offer by 2019. (kes)
 15 countries to join martial arts festival in West Java

West Java plans to hold two international festivals later this year in a bid to lure a targeted 1.3 million
international tourists.

West Java Tourism and Culture Agency head Ida Hernida said there would be an international pencak
silat martial arts festival, probably held in Bandung, and a surfing festival at Cimaja Beach in
Sukabumi regency.

Some 15 countries have registered to join the pencak silat festival, Ida said on Monday, as quoted by
news agency Antara. She added that dozens of countries had expressed interest in joining the surfing
event.

According to her, Cimaja Beach was known as a heaven among national and international surfers for
its long beach line and high waves.

West Java was upbeat about reaching its target of 1.3 million tourists, Ida said. Last year, some 1.1
million foreign tourists visited West Java.
 Central Java to host annual durian festival in March

Durian lovers get out your diaries, because the annual Durian Ndirun Festival is coming from
March 25 to 26 in Ndirun hamlet at the Singamerta village, Banjarnegara regency, Central Java.

Among the available activities in the festival's third edition is a durian package tour, in which tourists
will be invited to learn more about the fruithow to pick and choose the good ones, as well as know
the difference between different types of durian.

The festival is part of the residents' effort to increase the potential of the local durian industry, the
regency's Tourism and Cultural Agency marketing head, Widi Anggoro Asih, told kompas.com on
Wednesday.

Widi said the hamlet was home to many durian gardens and had been regarded a local durian center.
The durian starting price is Rp 25,000 (US$ 1.8) per fruit. During last year's festival, hundreds of
durian were given away for free.

"For this year's festival, we will also give away free durian, as well as hold a durian auction and art
performances."

Banjarnegara itself has various durian varieties, with characteristics ranging from sweet to bitter and
sour. The native variety of Banjarnegara is durian montong, Widhy said.

Singamerta village is located around 71 kilometers from the Purwokerto train station. Interested
tourists can reach the village using available modes of transportation heading to Banjarnegara or
Wonosobo. (mas/kes)
 West Lombok tradition celebrates tolerance among Muslims, Hindus

Hundreds of people from different religions flocked to Lingsar village in Lingsar district, West
Lombok regency, on Tuesday afternoon to participate in perang topat, also known as perang (war)
ketupat (rice cakes boiled in plaited coconut leaves).

The participants, consisting of people of all ages, scrambled to snatch ketupat as it was being
distributed, and later threw the items to one another.

This ancient tradition involving the Muslim and Hindu people has been a symbol of religious harmony
and tolerance in West Lombok.

"War used to be about hatred and anger and it involved casualties. But perang topat in Lingsar is our
ancestors' tradition that highlights peace, tolerance and harmony between Muslims and the Hindu
people. This is what we should learn; that our ancestors have taught us the values of unity in diversity,
how we can be different but still live in peace with one another," said West Lombok Regent Fauzan
Khalid during the opening of Perang Topat Festival 2016 in Lingsar Temple complex in West Lombok,
around 9 kilometers east of Mataram, the capital of West Nusa Tenggara.

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 Eating spicy food can prolong life: Study

Fond of spicy food? Well, you have greater chances of prolonging your life.

According to a new study published in the journal PLoS ONE, consuming adequate amounts of chili
peppers can lower the risk of natural death by an impressive 13 percent.

Researchers from the Larner College of Medicine of the University of Vermont analyzed 16,000
American men who had completed the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between
1988 and 1994.

Of the men who participated in the study, 34 percent passed away during a 19-year period, but when
data was limited to just those who consumed pungent chili peppers, the figure dropped to just 22
percent.

The researchers concluded that chili peppers had nutrients that can prolong human life. Dr. Benjamin
Litternberg, the studys co-author, claimed that capsaicin, an active component of chilies, shortens
inflammation and ailments. Capsaicin is also used to treat arthritis and is regarded as an effective
painkiller for muscle and backache.

The types of deaths that were lowest in the pepper group were deaths due to vascular disease, heart
attacks, and stroke, he wrote, according to Science Daily.

The findings resonated with a study conducted among 500,000 Chinese people, which concluded that
people who ate spicy dishes three times a week had 14 percent lower risk of mortality.
 Sultan's daughter launches Yogya-themed batik line

In collaboration with batik craftspeople from Gilangharjo village, Gusti Kanjeng Ratu Mangkubumi,
the daughter of Sultan Hamengkubuwono X of Yogyakarta, launched a special line of Yogya-themed
batik named Batik Yogya Istimewa (BYI) in Bantul regency on Saturday.

The chairman of Gerakan Cinta Batik Mahakarya Indonesia (Love Indonesian Batik Masterpieces
Movement), Livy Laurens, told news agency Antara that the motifs and ornaments found on BYI
illustrated the character of the Yogyakarta area.

The idea to launch BYI came from Princess Mangkubumi herself, and she chose Gilangharjo as the
place to launch the line due to the villages historical value as the birthplace of the Mataram kingdom.
She added that Gilangharjo constituted one of the centers of batik craftsmanship in Yogyakarta" and
was "advanced in art and culture.

Along with the unveiling of Batik Yogya Istimewa, other batik communities like Gerakan Cinta Batik
(Love Batik Movement) and Gerakan Yogya Kota Batik Dunia (Yogya as the World's Batik City
Movement) also launched lines of batik said to have a similar creative process to that behind Batik
Yogya Istimewa. (mra/kes)