Facebook broke Indonesian terror case

SEFA Riano didn't try to hide his plans or his beliefs.

A Facebook page police traced to him is plastered with photos of bearded men in camouflage uniforms holding rifles and banners hailing "The Spirit of Jihad."

One status update in late April apologises to his parents before telling them goodbye.

Another declares ominously, "God willing, I will take action at the Myanmar Embassy, hope you will share responsibility for my struggle."

It ends with a yellow smiley face.

Days later, police arrested Riano, whose Facebook name is Mambo Wahab, just before midnight in central Jakarta.

Police say he and another man were on a motorbike carrying a backpack filled with five low-explosive pipe bombs tied together.

Riano, 29, is awaiting charges related to allegations that he plotted to bomb the embassy to protest the persecution of Muslims in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

A police investigator revealed Riano's connection to the page, which was still online Thursday, to The Associated Press.

The investigator spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to talk to reporters.

The investigator said Riano caused his own downfall by publicising his mission on Facebook, but added that police believe it was another Facebook page that drew him to radical Islam to begin with.

Police said a growing number of young people in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, are being targeted for recruitment by terrorists on the social media site.

More than one in four of the country's 240 million people are on Facebook, thanks in large part to cheap and fast internet-capable phones.

While it is not clear how many terrorists are actually recruited through Facebook, the use of social networking to groom potential attackers poses new challenges for authorities struggling to eradicate militant groups that have been weakened over the last 10 years.

Though Facebook shuts down pages that promote terrorism when it learns of them, police say new pages are easily created and some have attracted thousands of followers.

Muhammad Taufiqurrohman, an analyst from the Centre for Radicalism and De-radicalisation Studies who works closely with Indonesian anti-terrorism officials, said 50 to 100 militants in the country have been recruited directly through Facebook over the past two years.

He said there were at least 18 radical Facebook groups in Indonesia, and one of them has 7000 members.

Police said some sites where radical discussion takes place focus on Islam, while others engage in talk about committing violence, such as how to make bombs.

Access is blocked unless group administrators allow users to participate.

Indonesian police say Facebook is one of many places where they've found terrorist activity online. They have detected militants using online games for attack drills.

A group was caught uploading propaganda videos on YouTube and terrorists are known to have purchased weapons using video calls, said Brigadier General Petrus Reinhard Golose, the director of operations at Indonesia's anti-terrorism agency.

Terrorists have used the internet for many years, but usually anonymously.

Groups such as al-Qaida have employed online discussion forums where people left comments but did not directly interact.

Today's smartphone generation appears to be operating more openly: As of Thursday, Riano still had about 900 Facebook friends.

The police investigator said authorities were alerted about "Mambo Wahab's" Myanmar bombing status update by other internet users.

Police used information collected from arrested militants in Riano's online networks to track his Web footprint.

After getting his internet protocol address and eventually linking that to a mobile phone, authorities say they were able to tap into conversations involving Riano and the plot's alleged mastermind, the investigator said.

The Mambo Wahab page has not been updated since Riano's arrest May 3.

Some people in Indonesian jails - even on death row - manage to post status updates, though others may be acting on their behalf.

Some Indonesian police want the law to address online communications that advocate or abet terrorism. Indonesia's information technology laws ban only pornography and illegal online financial transactions.

The government is drafting legislation that would criminalise hate speech and online terrorism activities.

Although police are starting to surf the internet as part of their work, many of those arrested for terrorism-linked activities on Facebook were caught not because of cyber patrolling, but because police received tips about their accounts.

Those cases include nine militants, including one woman, who were sentenced to up to 10 years in jail for funding terrorism activities by hacking into a Malaysian website and defrauding the company out $US800,000 ($A866,500) in cash and assets.

Indonesia has fought terrorism aggressively since the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

There have been no large-scale attacks for several years, though there have been several smaller strikes targeting mainly the government, police and anti-terrorism forces.

Well-funded terror networks have been disrupted, but radical clerics continue to spread their ideology to militants who set up military-style training camps.

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Life sentence for Rwandan genocide

A RWANDAN-BORN man has been sentenced to life in prison by a Swedish court for committing massacres and crimes against humanity during the 1994 genocide in the Central African country.

Stanislas Mbanenande, 54, a Hutu who holds Swedish citizenship, was found to have instigated and to have been an accessory to murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder and kidnappings.

He was found guilty of complicity in the assault on Tutsis who fled attacks on the slopes of Ruhiro Mountain in the southern parts of Kibuye in western Rwanda in April 1994. Hundreds were shot and beaten to death.

Mbanenande was also found to have recruited militant Hutu youth in the mass slaughter of Tutsi civilians, inciting them to attack Tutsis at a Catholic church and a football stadium.

He was also convicted of attempted murder over shooting at crowds of people, the Stockholm District Court's ruling said.

The proceedings opened in November and was the Nordic country's first related to the genocide.

Mbanenande had denied all the charges against him, and his attorney said he planned to appeal.

The court said testimony from witnesses had been crucial in the case and, although the events took place more than 19 years ago, witnesses were able to focus on "key details such as looks [of a person] during extremely traumatic events."

The court rejected claims by the defence that Rwandan authorities had fabricated evidence against Mbanenande. However, it said evidence linking Mbanenande to a massacre in the town of Kibuye was not strong enough.

Hearings were held in Stockholm as well as in Rwanda. Claims for damages presented by 21 victims were rejected by the court, which referred such claims to Rwandan authorities.

Mbanenande was arrested in December 2011 after an extradition request from Rwanda, which Stockholm rejected because of his Swedish citizenship.

An estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in the ethnic violence over 100 days.

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SKorean airlines ban shark fin as cargo

South Korea's two largest airlines have both imposed a ban on the shipment of shark fin. Source: AAP

SOUTH Korea's two largest airlines, Korean Air and Asiana, have both decided to ban shark fin from their cargo flights as part of a growing global campaign against the Asian delicacy.

Korean Air, which flies to 45 countries, said in a statement on Thursday that it had stopped shipping shark fin from June 10.

"Korean Air has joined a campaign to protect an ecological system by imposing a complete ban on the shipment of shark fin," the statement said.

Asiana, the country's second largest airline, said it was following suit.

"Our airline has decided to stop shipping shark fin," an Asiana spokeswoman told AFP, without saying when the ban would be enforced.

Shark fin soup is served by many hotels and Chinese restaurants in South Korea and is a staple at wedding banquets and corporate parties.

Global shark populations have been destroyed by the trade.

Humans kill about 100 million sharks each year, mostly for their fins, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, which says 90 per cent have disappeared over the past 100 years.

The move brings Korean Air and Asiana into line with a number of other Asian carriers, including Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific which stopped shipping shark fin as cargo last September.

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Betting scandal case doomed to fail: court

A Sydney magistrate has thrown out a betting scandal case against three rugby league identities. Source: AAP

THE case against three rugby league identities embroiled in an alleged betting scandal was doomed to fail, says the Sydney magistrate who threw out the case.

Former rugby league player John Elias, former Parramatta player Brad Murray and Jai Ayoub, the son of Murray's manager Sam Ayoub, had the prosecution against them permanently stayed on Wednesday.

"I find that the prosecution would not be in a position to prove the element of deception beyond a reasonable doubt in all defendants' matters," Magistrate Greg Grogin said in Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday.

"The prosecutions would therefore, if allowed to proceed, inevitably be doomed to failure."

The three men were previously charged with dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception by placing bets on the NRL game between North Queensland and Canterbury on August 21, 2010.

The match was the subject of an unusual betting plunge on the first score being a Cowboys penalty goal which did not eventuate.

All up, they could have won a total of $123,000 from a series of separate wagers.

Former NRL player Ryan Tandy, who played for the Bulldogs that day, was fined $4000 after he was found guilty of trying to manipulate the first scoring point of the match to dishonestly obtain a financial advantage.

In his decision, Magistrate Grogin supported the defence's argument that just because the trio may have received information about actions on the field to force the penalty it did not constitute an offence.

It is the nature of professional sport for people close to players, coaching staff and others to hear information that could affect the outcome of a match, he said.

He also said there was no evidence they took part in planning what happened on the field.

"There is a lack of proximity or causal link between the on-field activity and the placing of the exotic bet," he said.

The magistrate also noted they were not charged with a conspiracy, joint criminal enterprise or common purpose charge.

Counsel for the trio will have their applications for costs heard before the same court on September 20.

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Nigella's case raises politicians' hackles

BRITISH politicians have questioned the way police treated Nigella Lawson's husband after he admitted assaulting the celebrity chef in a restaurant.

Opposition Labour Party MP Sandra Osborne asked in the House of Commons on Thursday if there is one rule for the rich and famous, and another rule for everyone else.

She was referring to advertising mogul Charles Saatchi, who earlier this week was given a police "caution" after admitting assault.

He contacted police after newspapers published photos of him grasping his wife's throat during an argument.

He will not face further charges or penalties.

Osborne said it sent the wrong message to allow someone to receive only a caution after admitting assault.

UK prosecutors' guidelines indicate cautions are appropriate for some assaults.

But, in the House of Lords, Lord Avebury also hit out at the "leniency" shown to Saatchi.

As Lord Avebury spoke, Lawson's father - former chancellor of the exchequer Lord Lawson of Blaby, who was present in the chamber - shook his head.

The Liberal Democrat peer raised the issue as Baroness Northover for the government answered questions on domestic violence.

He asked her: "Do you think that the leniency shown to Mr Saatchi when he half-strangled his wife set the wrong tone?"

Lady Northover replied: "I can't comment on a particular case and I think that what I'm struck by also is the media reaction, which is really very interesting, the support and the sympathy for people who may find themselves in such situations and also that these problems go through every level of society."

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg faced criticism for suggesting Saatchi's clutching of Lawson's throat could have been "just a fleeting thing".

Asked by a female caller to his weekly radio phone-in whether he would have stepped in had he been present, Clegg said he could not say as he did not know the full facts.

"I just don't know. There was this one photograph. I don't know whether that was just a fleeting thing," he said.

He was immediately rebuked by female MPs.

Shadow home office minister Diana Johnson said Clegg's comments were "disgraceful" and called for a debate in the Commons "on how seriously the government take the issue of domestic violence".

On Twitter, Tory MP Sarah Wollaston wrote: "So just don't 'call Clegg' if your partner likes to grab you by the throat to emphasise a point."

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Judge summons Messi in tax fraud case

A SPANISH judge has named Barcelona star Lionel Messi as a suspect in a tax fraud probe and summoned him to appear in court on September 17, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office in Barcelona says.

The 25-year-old four-time World Player of the Year and his father Jorge Horacio are accused of defrauding Spanish tax authorities of more than four million euros ($A5.8 million).

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Portuguese unemployment hits record 17.7%

PORTUGAL'S unemployment rate rose sharply in the first quarter of 2013 to a record high 17.7 per cent from 16.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, data from the national statistics institute INE shows.

For the whole of 2013 the government has forecast a rate of 18.2 per cent and 18.5 per cent for next year as the effects of recession and austerity measures take hold.

The record high comes as a new government spending package, announced by the centre-right government last week, foresees the slashing of 30,000 public sector jobs out of a total 700,000.

Civil servants are also to work 40 hours per week, compared with 35 at present and are to be eligible for full retirement at the age of 66, one year later than now.

The new terms are aimed at ensuring continued aid payments from a package worth 78 billion euros ($A101.71 billion) granted by the European Union and International Monetary Fund in May 2011.

According to the INE data, 4.4 million people currently hold jobs in Portugal out of a total population of about 10.5 million.

In 2012, the economy contracted by 3.2 per cent and is forecast to shrink another 2.3 per cent in 2013.

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Kenya asks UN to drop ICC charges

KENYA has written to the UN Security Council seeking to scrap the international crimes against humanity trials for President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Vice President William Ruto, according to a letter seen on Thursday.

Kenyatta, 51, voted into power in March elections, is to go on trial in July at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for crimes against humanity relating to post-election violence in 2007-08.

Ruto, 46, faces three counts of crimes against humanity for his role in deadly violence.

"What this delegation is asking for is not deferral," Kenya's ambassador to the UN, Macharia Kamau, wrote in a letter to the council seen by AFP.

"What this delegation is asking for is for the immediate termination of the case at The Hague."

The letter, dated May 2 and stamped confidential, is the first such official request for the cases to be dropped.

However, while the security council can ask for a case to be deferred for a year, it does not have the authority to order the ICC drop a case completely.

Kenya, however, appealed to "friendly nations to use their good offices and prevail upon the International Criminal Court to reconsider the continued process".

Some 1,100 people died in bloodshed after the 2007 elections over allegations of vote rigging, shattering Kenya's image as a beacon of regional stability.

What began as political riots quickly turned into ethnic killings and reprisal attacks, plunging Kenya into its worst wave of violence since independence in 1963.

The letter warned that continuing with the trials would risk destabilising Kenya.

"Kenyans... spoke with a loud, clear, concise voice when they overwhelmingly elected Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto as president and deputy president," it said.

"It is obvious that their absence from the country may undermine the prevailing peace and any resultant insecurity may spill over to the neighbouring countries."

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Technology changes how we chat to mum

TECHNOLOGY is changing the way Australians communicate with their mums, with more using social media and video calls to stay in touch, new research suggests.

But no matter what method is used, it seems one thing will never change - we still call mum for help and advice.

In the run-up to Mother's Day, Telstra released data showing that half of all Australians chat to their mums once a week and 20 per cent do so every day.

But the evidence suggests more are using apps like Skype.

"These days more mums are happy to be called on their mobile for the weekly catch up and increasingly they are enjoying video calls too," Telstra's Inese Kingsmill said.

"In fact, 10 per cent of the mums we surveyed like receiving video calls from their kids and grandkids.

"Phoning home will take on a new meaning as technology advances."

Many of the calls - no matter what the medium - are made out of desperation rather than kindness.

That's particularly true among younger people, with 13 per cent of those aged between 18-25 only telephoning mum when they want something, according to Telstra's research.

Mums aged between 40-44 are the least responsive to these sorts of calls, with seven per cent saying they'd ignore them.

"I'm sure many mums can relate to the urgent phone call from their kids wanting to know how to remove red wine stains from the carpet or how to get lumps out of the gravy," Ms Kingsmill added.

Facebook said 27 per cent of Australians aged between 13-18 were connected to their mums via the social networking site.

That's higher than in many other countries, including France (15.5 per cent) and Brazil (13.5 per cent).

Fifteen per cent of Australians have friended their mum on Facebook, listing the relationship in the "family" section on their profiles.

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Remote students less likely to reach uni

HIGH school students from remote and disadvantaged Queensland schools are less likely to be accepted into university.

Year 12 completion rates are almost universal across the state, with close to 100 per cent of students at most state and Christian schools offered a place in higher education.

The results are positive at schools in Brisbane and larger regional cities.

But a closer look at the Queensland Studies Authority data shows pockets of disadvantage in remote areas, and at schools catering to students from indigenous and troubled backgrounds.

Griffith University Dean of Learning and Teaching, Professor Glenn Finger, says the results show the need for the Queensland government to sign up to the federal government's Gonski education reforms, which allocate more funding to disadvantaged and public schools.

"Those negotiations between the federal government and the state government are probably highly politicised, but underneath it the Gonski reform does provide a roadmap for addressing the resourcing needs of different schools that's evident in this data," he told AAP.

"The funding formula for resourcing needs improvement so that the resources actually go to those areas of need."

In central Queensland, Blackall State School had a 100 per cent year 12 completion rate but only 67 per cent of students were successful in securing a place at university or other tertiary study.

The result was even more dire at the small Aboriginal and Islander Independent Community School in Brisbane, where only 60 per cent finished year 12 and no one was accepted for further study.

The Arethusa College at Deception Bay, north of Brisbane, which caters for a small number of disengaged students had even worse results, with only one third completing year 12 and no one going on to higher education.

While most religious schools produced good academic outcomes, the Australian International Islamic College helped just 30 per cent of students finish year 12, while only 56 per cent of tertiary study applicants were successful.

Brisbane Christian College in Salisbury produced another surprise, with just 68 per cent completing year 12.

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