The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Indonesian anti-graft agency arrests energy regulator chief
- California man behind anti-Islam film released to halfway house
- Eighteen Indian sailors feared trapped after explosion, fire on submarine
| Indonesian anti-graft agency arrests energy regulator chief Posted: JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian authorities arrested the head of the country's oil regulator for alleged corruption, an energy official said on Wednesday, piling more uncertainty on energy policy in Southeast Asia's biggest economy. The arrest comes as Indonesia is trying to attract investment to reverse declining oil output amid ballooning domestic energy demand. The country has faced international criticism for unclear regulations and complaints about a nationalist stance on resources. SKKMigas Chairman Rudi Rubiandini was taken into custody from his Jakarta residence late on Tuesday by officials from the Corruption Eradication Agency (KPK), said Elan Biantoro, a spokesman for the energy regulator. "He was taken by the KPK to the KPK offices. He is still there," Biantoro told reporters. "Later a (KPK) officer went to Mr. Rudi's office on the 40th floor. Until now it has been sealed off by the KPK." Rubiandini was appointed late last year to head SKKMigas, which replaced the now defunct industry regulator BPMigas after it was declared unconstitutional. KPK officials were not immediately available for comment. The former OPEC member was once self-sufficient in oil and gas but has been struggling for years to attract investment to halt declining output. Foreign oil firms including Chevron, ConocoPhilips and Petrochina operate in Indonesia. (Reporting by Fergus Jensen and Andjarsari Paramaditha; Editing by Ed Davies) |
| California man behind anti-Islam film released to halfway house Posted: LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The man behind a film that stoked anti-U.S. protests across the Muslim world has been moved from prison to a halfway house to serve the remaining weeks of his sentence for probation violations stemming from his role in making the video, federal officials said on Tuesday. The 56-year-old Egyptian-born Coptic Christian, whose real name is Mark Basseley Youssef, previously served time for a 2010 bank fraud conviction and was sent back to prison last year after admitting to breaching the terms of his probation. "I never thought my movie can cause anyone trouble or anyone can get killed from my movie," he told CNN in a telephone interview aired on Tuesday, his first public comments since his arrest in the wake of unrest stirred by the film. The crudely made 13-minute video he produced in Southern California, circulated online under several titles, including "The Innocence of Muslims," portrayed the Prophet Mohammad as a fool and sexual deviant. American cast members later said they were misled into appearing in a film they believed was supposed to be an adventure drama called "Desert Warrior." The film touched off a torrent of anti-American demonstrations in Arab and Muslim countries, where many consider any depiction of the prophet as blasphemous. The start of the unrest on September 11, 2012, coincided with an attack on U.S. diplomatic posts in the Libyan city of Benghazi that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens. But links between the Benghazi assault and "The Innocence of Muslims" have since been debunked. Susan Rice, then-U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, initially said the Benghazi attack grew from a spontaneous protest over the film. But the Obama administration later acknowledged that militants tied to al Qaeda had planned and carried out the attack and that there was no demonstration in Benghazi at the time. Youssef was transferred from a federal detention centre during the past few weeks to an undisclosed halfway house as part of preparation for his release, Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman Ed Ross said. He is due to be freed on September 26 but will remain under the supervision of probation officials for the next four years, Ross said. |
| Eighteen Indian sailors feared trapped after explosion, fire on submarine Posted: NEW DELHI (Reuters) - About 18 Indian sailors were trapped after an explosion and fire on board a conventionally powered Indian submarine berthed at the coastal city of Mumbai early on Wednesday, the navy said. "There are some people who are trapped on board, we are in the process of trying to rescue them, we suspect it to be in the range of 18," said navy spokesman PVS Satish. "We will not give up until we get to them," Satish said. The explosion inside the INS Sindhurakshak was likely an accident, Satish said. Photos distributed by social media users appeared to show a large fireball over the navy dock where the diesel-electric submarine was berthed. Television reports said the vessel was half submerged after the fire. The INS Sindhurakshak was upgraded at a Russian shipyard last year, according to Russian media. The apparent accident comes in the same week as India launched a locally refitted aircraft carrier due for completion in 2017, and announced that the reactor on India's first home-built nuclear submarine was now operational. (Reporting by Frank Jack Daniel and David Lalmalsawma; Editing by Paul Tait) |
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