Ramadan is the holy month in Islam, which is when all Islam followers must fast for 30 or 29 days. The length of the holy month is decided according to the new crescent moon’s appearance as all the months of the Hijri Lunar calendar begin and end with. The fasting is from dawn to sunset every day.

The fasting duration depends on the geographic location of the country that the Muslim lives in and their home’s distance from the equator. For example, the daily fasting duration in Indonesia would be about 12 hours, while in Scandinavian countries would be about 17 hours.

Fasting Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, which are the Shahada (Islamic creed), the Salah (the 5 daily prayers) ,Zakat (Alms), Sawm (Fasting the month of Ramadan) and Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca).

Some Islamic scholars have approved the technological methods of moon observing by modern telescopes, while others say it must be seen with a naked eye. Also, other scholars have approved the pre-calculated calendar based on astronomy science. In most cases the Muslims follow the government declaration on the observing day, or in non-Islamic majority countries they follow the announcement of the official Islamic organizations.

Due to the large area of the Islamic world in different countries from Indonesia on the Far East to Morocco in the West, there is a difference in Ramadan’s starting by a day or two days, as the moon can’t be observed during the daylight.

Before dawn Muslims prefer to eat a predawn meal (Suhoor) before fasting to support the body with energy during the long fasting day. In some cultures this meal is heavy, while in others it is a light meal, while, according to some health websites, it’s advisable to have a light Suhoor similar to the breakfast meal on non-Ramadan days.

Most Muslims prefer to break the fasting (Iftar) at sunset with a few dates followed by a cold drink. Traditionally, in Palestine and the Levant countries the cold drink would be Tamarind or Qamar Eddeen, which is a drink made of a dry apricot. In Indonesia and Asian countries they start the Iftar with the Cendol drink, which is coconut milk with rice, pandan leaves, shaved ice and palm sugar

Every Islamic nation has some traditional dishes, drinks, and desert that are served during Ramadan more than other months around the year. The most popular deserts in Levant and Turkey during Ramadan are Qatayef , Kanafeh and Baklava. The Qatayef  is a sweet dumpling filed with nuts, cheese or cream and Kanafeh is pastry soaked in sweet syrup, while Baklava  is a sweet pastry made of layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey.

The best greeting for your Muslim friends and colleagues is to say ‘Ramadan Kareem’ which means “Ramadan is generous,” this year the holy month will start either on the 20 or 21 of July.

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Washington, U.S.A. – The Group of 20, the powerful international organization whose heads of state will meet next week in Mexico to discuss the global economy, needs to change its membership criteria in order to establish a legitimacy that is fast depleting at a critical time. That is the conclusion of a new study published by the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU). The study suggests replacing four current members of the G20 based on proposed membership criteria.

“With the anemic economic recovery weakening, global leaders should quickly consider how to fulfill the G20′s potential for building economic stability,” write the study’s authors, Alex M. Brill and James K. Glassman. “The place to start is by establishing criteria for membership and adjusting the group’s composition accordingly.”

The authors develop a system that uses key numerical indicators measuring nations’ size, governance, and financial interconnectedness to establish country-by-country rankings for current and potential G20 members. Their goal is to create a practical methodology for membership standards that would give the G20 the legitimacy and trust it needs to fulfill its stated objectives: restoring global growth, strengthening the international financial system, and reforming international financial institutions.

Findings of the study include results that show two current G20 countries—Argentina and Indonesia— are falling far short of the proposed membership criteria and should be removed from the body. Two other current G20 countries—Russia and Mexico—fail to qualify by a very small margin. Four current nonmembers—Malaysia, Norway, Singapore, and Switzerland—should replace these countries.

The study also found membership should be reevaluated periodically—a minimum of every five years and a maximum of every ten years. Such a system would lend further legitimacy to the G20 as well as provide “an incentive for countries on the cusp of gaining membership to implement reforms or strengthen their economies’ growth prospects.”

The authors stress that for the G20 to avoid the “political and operational baggage” of other organizations like the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund, solid membership criteria “can lend credibility to the G20 without affecting the manner in which it conducts its policymaking.”

NTU Executive Vice President Pete Sepp notes that by following Brill’s and Glassman’s recommendations, “[T]he G20 could take a first step to becoming a new model of economic policymaking that depends not on costly bailouts but more on proactive self-discipline in the common interest; such a model rewards free-market solutions from innovators instead of statist behavior from bad actors.”

Alex M. Brill is a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former chief economist and policy director to the House Ways and Means Committee.

Ambassador James K. Glassman is the Executive Director of the George W. Bush Institute and a member of the newly established Investor Advisory Committee of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He is a former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.

NTU is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1969 to work for limited government and economic prosperity in the U.S. and around the world. The group has long advocated for more accountable multilateral policymaking bodies that focus on practical, nimble responses to economic growth challenges instead of costly, bureaucratic interventions.

Image Courtesy of  G20

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Chicago, U.S.A - Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon plc, has released the latest edition of its Global Catastrophe Recap report, which reviews the natural disaster perils that occurred worldwide during May.

Published by Impact Forecasting, the firm’s catastrophe model development center of excellence, the report reveals that two earthquakes and subsequent aftershocks struck northern Italy within a nine-day period, killing 25 people, injuring more than 400 others and causing extensive damage to the cultural heritage throughout the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, in addition to businesses and personal property.

An initial, combined economic loss estimate from both tremors stood at EUR5 billion (USD6.25 billion), following significant damage in the provinces of Modena, Ferrara, Reggio Emilia, Rovigo and Mantua.

In Asia, severe and prolonged periods of rain impacted China throughout the month, affecting at least 22 provinces and killing at least 102 people.

According to China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA), at least 143,000 homes were damaged or destroyed during one prolonged event. More than 949,400 hectares (2.34 million acres) of cropland were also affected, contributing to a total economic loss listed at CNY16.88 billion (USD2.68 billion).

Meanwhile, powerful thunderstorms struck eastern Japan, resulting in high winds and tornadoes that killed at least three people, injured 59 others, and damaged more than 1,845 buildings in six separate prefectures.

Steve Jakubowski, President of Impact Forecasting, said: “The Italian earthquakes resulted in the largest natural disaster loss for the country since the L’Aquila earthquake event in 2009. The seismic activity was not unexpected, as Italy has long been recognised as a region exposed to the possibility of significant earthquake activity. Given the level of insurance coverage in the region, it is anticipated that insured losses would reach minimally into the hundreds of millions of dollars (USD). However, it remains too early to determine how negligible re/insurance losses may be from this event.”

In the United States, two periods of severe weather impacted central and eastern sections of the country; the first causing widespread hail and wind damage from the Dakotas to Maryland, resulting in an economic loss estimated at USD275 million, and more than 30,000 insurance claims valued atUSD150 million. A secondary severe weather outbreak across the central and eastern U.S. at the end of the month spawned significant damage as well. According to a preliminary report from the South-western Insurance Information Service, insured losses in Oklahoma alone were estimated at USD400 million.

Tropical Storm Beryl made landfall near Jacksonville Beach, Florida at peak intensity with 70 mph (110 kph) winds but did not cause any significant damage, injuries or fatalities.

And wildfires burned in several U.S. states during the month, including the largest fire ever recorded in New Mexico.

Excessive rainfall affected areas of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec in May. In Thunder Bay, at least 1,100 homes were damaged as well as businesses and infrastructure, and flood damage with a 100-year return period was recorded in Montreal, where personal property and infrastructure were widely affected.

Additional flood events were recorded in Nepal, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Cuba, Georgia, Brazil and Venezuela.

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Situ Sangiang (Sangiang Lake) is a lake that lies between forest and farms near Talaga Sangiang village, Majalengka regency, West Java of Indonesia.

The lake is within Ciremai Mountain National Park, and the flora and fauna within the park are protected by governmental law.

The protected plants are rare tropical plants as a result of deforestation in some areas in Indonesia, especially in Sumatra Island, such as the Sumatran Pine Tree and the Javanese Castanopsis Trees.

The lake is not that big but it’s a very strange but worthy tourist spot to visit. In the lake there are very giant goldfish and catfish in large quantities that can easily be seen on the top of the lake. It is funny to watch the giant fish racing to eat the bread, which you can buy from the local vendors near the lake to feed them.

The lake is available for swimming and the men can swim with their usual swimming suits, while the women must wear Javanese traditional women clothing called tapih. The tapih should be white colored. The tapih is a short waistband for women with exposed shoulders and arms and the legs are bare below the knees.

The park also contains Makam Sunan Parung which is a tomb of an Islamic figure in this area.

To reach the tomb you have to climb very high stairs. It’s advisable for the women to wear long clothes with tops that cover the shoulders and they shouldn’t wear shorts above the knee while visiting the tomb to respect the Islamic traditions while visiting the graves. While climbing the stairs you will face some jumping monkeys on the surrounding trees or on the stairs themselves.

The easiest route to get into the park to see the Makam and the lake by public transportation is to travel from your location in Cirebon city to the city terminal by Angkot (which is a minibus). After that you should take another bus to Kuningan city. Then you should take the 3^rd  Angkot to Talaga Sangiang village.

Most of the Angkot drivers can’t speak English, so it’s better to have a printed paper with you to show them your destination. Also, it would be good if you have a dictionary in your mobile phone to translate your words into the Indonesian language.

The other option is to take a motorbike taxi since the car taxis don’t exist in Kuningan city and very seldom in Cirebon city.

The landscapes in both sides of the road makes fresh air to breathe and great views to photograph, most of them are farms and plantations.

Using  a helmet is very important while riding hiring the motorbike taxis due to long distances and the upward road while climbing the park, and downward road in the way back. Also because of the tropical climate with heavy raining at any time, it would be dangerous to not use it.

The admission fee into the park is 4000 Indonesian rupiah (43 US cents) and the park is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. You can give donations in the boxes at the entrance of the Makam.

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You would never think you’d get the opportunity to hold a baby tiger, ride an elephant through jungle trails, or see inside a hippopotamus’s giant mouth from only a few feet away—and certainly not all in the same day. But all these unique experiences, and many more, are available at the Taman Safari Indonesia, located in Cisarua Bogor.

At Taman Safari the animals are not imprisoned, but protected. The park is the home to thousands of animals, many of them endangered. There are no small wire cages, most of the animals wander around freely and when there are enclosures they are large and spacious. Not only does the public get to see animals but since the park tries to replicate the natural environments of the animals, the park is full with lush plants, trees, and flowers.

Apart from providing entertainment for visitors, Taman Safari focuses on conserving the lives of animals, especially endangered ones. Their first goal is to protect the animals outside of their natural habitat, providing a environment in the zoo that is as close to natural as possible. The park also has programs to protect the endangered animals of Indonesia in their natural habitats.

The Indonesian government has awarded the park several times for their efforts in conservation and tourism. They have been successful in protecting several species, such as the Sumatran tiger, elephants, and several species of birds.

Living up to its name the Taman Safari allows you to drive around the parks jungle like trails, safari style, in your own car. For visitors who don’t bring their own car there is a bus that tours the park at no extra charge.

The animals are used to visitors and many of them will come right up to your car or bus. It is a great opportunity to see many wild animals up close and personal, including (but certainly not limited to) zebras, deer, tigers, hippos, elephants, giraffes, and monkeys. The safari features animals from all around the world, and the wooden signs tell visitors the name and from which continent the different animals are from. The park has areas for each continent and the flora and fauna change according to which would be naturally seen in each area of the world.

At the center of the zoo there is an area Taman Safari calls the “recreation area” where you can see animal shows, eat in restaurants, and browse the gift shops. But they also have attractions that are less common. For example you can hold and get your picture taken with baby animals, such as tigers and orangutans, or ride an elephant through some of the park.

Some of these extra activities are at an additional fee but are reasonably priced and definitely worth the money. The guides for the elephant rides are very informative and the experience is much more than just a ride on a giant animal. Guests get to learn about the specific elephant they are riding and elephants in general.

You get to see the zoo from the eyes of the animals seeing cars and buses pass by you as you trek through the trails. You’re also given the opportunity to feed the elephant a favorite snack—bananas!

The original Taman Safari Indonesia is located in Cisarua Bogor, West Java which is 78 km from the country’s capital Jakarta. There are also Taman Safari’s located in two other provinces, East Java and Bali. Each park has unique experiences, and all are focused on animal conservation. For more information on any of the Taman Safari parks, check out their website: Taman Safari Indonesia.

Image Courtesy of    B10m

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If you are looking to escape a hectic, noisy lifestyle, traveling countrysides may be the perfect place for you to go. The best thing about traveling is trying something that can’t be done at home. although traveling has much more to offer. Taking a trip somewhere can include recreation, tourism, vacationing, volunteering, or discovering and exploring new cultures and civilizations.

There are many advantages to consider about traveling to the countryside, including the fact that some places, including the country of Nha Trang city, Vietnam is less polluted and the traffic isn’t as heavy. The Biet Thu town near Nha Trang city has a pleasant waterfront esplanade, palm trees and nearly 6km of clean beach.

Also beaches in Bai Bien town, which is located around 40 km north of Nha Trang, have more tranquil, cleaner and beautiful beaches. It is well worth taking a tour there. Local fishermen families sell and prepare seafood which they cook on the beach for very affordable prices. Countrysides also have limited temptations to waste money; having no malls, no clubs and no fancy hotels.

However, there are still places to spend money in for example the Irish countrysides, because they have pricey bed spaces and breakfasts.People traveling to the countryside can enjoy the natural life by walking in the forest, hunting or swimming. Travellers can try original, authentic cuisines, regardless of having limited options of national and international food chains.

Local food expresses the heart of the local culture for any society. It’s also a great idea to buy souvenirs to keep it as something to remind you of the time you spent there. The souvenirs sold near tourist attractions in the countryside tend to be much cheaper than buying from the city.

For example, traveling in Indonesia, buying souvenirs near from Borobudur Temple is much cheaper than buying them Yogyakarta city. Borobudur Temple is located in the heart of nature, lying between two volcanoes Sumbing and Merapi as well as two rivers, the Progo and the Elo.

When visiting a more rural area, keeping the environment clean would be appreciated by the local people and even by the natural habitats themselves. This is especially important when visiting a place as nice as La Diague Island in Seychelles, east of mainland Africa, which has the most photographed beach in the world as mentioned in the La Diague Island official website.

The most important thing when traveling to small villages is respecting the local culture and the religion of the country. For example, when traveling to towns in a predominantly Muslim country such as Malaysia or Indonesia, it’s not accepted to visit the mosques or graveyards wearing shorts or sleeveless shirts. Also in these places tourists shouldn’t demonstrate public affection.

Reading about the destination before traveling will help to plan where to go and what kind of transportation to use to get around the tourist spots. Google is a useful resource to collect information about the destinations when preparing for travel. It is useful to prepare a Google map to use during traveling, using a smart phone or a printed map.

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Last Tuesday, Greenpeace activists made a bold announcement outside of Mattel headquarters in Los Angeles by hanging a massive sign announcing to the world that Ken was breaking up with Barbie. The sign read “Barbie, it’s over. I don’t date girls that are into deforestation.” Developed as an economic tool by Mattel, the celebrity-like relationship of the two product figureheads was used to bring attention to the presence of timber fibers found in the packaging used to distribute Barbie that can be traced to Indonesian rainforests.

Despite occupying over 1% of the Earth’s surface, Indonesia provides habitat for 12% of all mammal species, such as the Sumatran tiger, and 17% of all reptile, bird and amphibian species.

Toy companies such as Mattel, Disney, Hasbro and Lego are being implicated by Greenpeace’s investigation into Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), the packaging supplier for the companies. Mattel is the largest designer, manufacturer and marketer of toy products worldwide and Disney is the world’s largest merchandise licensor. Last Tuesday’s campaign demanded that toy companies stop doing business with Asia Pulp & Paper, which Greenpeace has previously accused on numerous occasions of destruction of the rainforest and it’s endangered species.

In their major findings, Greenpeace cited that their forensic testing showed “regular use” of mixed tropical hardwood (MTH), or rainforest fibers in major toy brand packaging, such as Mattel and Disney. Greenpeace also included in their report that MTH clearance from Indonesia’s rainforests and peat swamp forests makes up one fifth of the fiber pulped in Asia Pulp & Paper’s mills, indicating deforestation of critical land. While Greenpeace did not cite the percentage of fibers from Indonesia’s forests found in the packaging, Asia Pulp & Paper industry stated in a June 8th post on the company’s Rainforest Realities blog that they are “Happy to share the scientific analysis of our packaging materials with anyone who wants to review it.”

Asia Pulp & Paper verifies that their packaging materials contains more than 95% of recycled paper sourced from around the world, and less than two percent of the pulp in carton boxes comes from legal and sustainable Indonesia pulpwood plantations. The remainder is from Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) certified forests.

The Greenpeace statistic that one fifth of the fiber pulped in Asia Pulp & Paper’s mills is rainforest and peat comes from a 2007 report, which does not accurately reflect the current goals and production of Asia Paper & Pulp. The chain of custody which was used to trace the packaging back to China and Indonesia was possible due to the objective of certified forest management, such as the PEFC certification which Asia Pulp & Paper uses. Certification makes it possible to track any certified product back to its original source, which guarantees that wherever it came from was using a long-term sustainable forest management plan. It also guarantees the the pulp produced was done so legally, complying with the country of origin laws as well as the laws in the country where the pulp product would be imported.

Since 2007, Asia Pulp & Paper has implemented a number of changes. The last few months alone have marked what Asia P&P referred to as “the beginning of a new era of international cooperation with Indonesia”. The Indonesian President signed the official enactment of the forest moratorium earlier this year, which will put a two year hold on the issuance of new concessions on peat lands and in forests. Asia Pulp & Paper has made many demonstrations of their commitment to this moratorium and intentions to support Indonesia as it works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and preserve natural forests and wildlife while investing in economic and social development.

On April 5th Asia Pulp & Paper announced it’s expanding partnership with Carbon Conservation, an environmental and sustainability consulting firm, to help craft Vision 2020, a road map of sustainability principles across all aspects of the company’s Indonesian operations from today to the year 2020. Asia Pulp & Paper also recently laid out a series of research and development programs the company will undertake during the current two-year moratorium on the granting of new forest and peat licenses as part of Indonesia’s commitment on Reducing Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD).

Additional programs planned over the coming two years include an ambitious independent study on the impact of plantation development and greenhouse gas emissions on all soil types and enhancing key conservation areas, including creation of valuable wildlife corridors. In conversation with claims made by Greenpeace, research and pilot programs involving the protection of key Indonesian endangered species, including the Sumatran Tiger, Javan Rhino and Orangutan, will be developed as well.

The attention Greenpeace brought to Indonesia’s rainforest is of high importance due to the changes which not only the pulp and paper industry in the region is undergoing, but what is changing in Indonesia as a country. According to the Indonesian Pulp & Paper Industry, understanding that natural forest cannot sustainably supply the need of the timber and pulp and paper industry, the government has allocated around 5% of Indonesia’s landmass for the forest plantation industry on degraded forest and bare land.

The Industry is “disappointed in Greenpeace’s tactics to exploit the stereotype of backwoods loggers in developing nations who cleared entire forests with no regard for the environmental impact”, and instead say that Indonesian forestry practices are far more sophisticated. Asia Pulp & Paper deemed Greenpeace’s actions urging companies to stop doing business with Indonesia as “simply irresponsible”.

The advocacy of groups such as Greenpeace that bring worldwide attention to vital issues such as deforestation in critical areas around the globe is invaluable. However, there is often misconception associated with the shocking social tactics, such as well-known toys making environmental statements. Fueled by the social and consumer impact of mass distributed toys, such as Barbie, upon the environment, the long standing stigmas surrounding the pulp and paper industries as destroying the environment may be due for an update.

Write to Mattel’s CEO Now:

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/forests/asia-pacific/barbie/

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Saturday, a plane carrying 25 passengers and crew went down in eastern Indonesia, killing everyone onboard according to local radio. “I can confirm that all the passengers were killed when the plane exploded as it crashed into the sea,” a navy officer told ElShinta radio. “The aircraft was smashed to pieces… We found 15 bodies floating on the water and the other passengers are trapped inside the wreckage.”

The crash happened during bad weather and the plane reportedly went into the ocean just short of the airstrip at the port town of Kaimana, in the eastern province of West Papua. The Indonesian archipelago is dependent on its air traffic but has one of Asia’s worst air safety records, according to the BBC. The twin turbo-prop plane, operated by Merpati Airlines, was flying from the coastal city of Sorong, also in the eastern part of West Papua.

The transport ministry initially told The Times of India that 27 people – 21 passengers and 6 crew members – had been onboard the Merpati Airlines MA-60 aircraft, but airline officials confirmed this evening, local time, that the deaths include 16 adult passengers, one child, two infants, two pilots, two flight attendants and two technicians, according to The Jakarta Post.

“The plane crashed as it was trying to make an emergency landing due to bad weather,” the Indonesian government spokesman Bambang S. Ervan said. Later the conditions of the fatal event were further elaborated; “The weather was bad as there was heavy rainfall, which shortened the [pilot's] range of vision. It was also very dark. Thus, the airplane did not reach the runway,” the director general at the Ministry of Air Transportation, Herry Bakti, was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post.

Indonesia has been plagued by commercial airline crashes in recent years. According to The Times of India’s report, a Twin Otter plane – also operated by the aforementioned Merpati Airlines – crashed into a mountain side in a remote area of Papua in 2009, killing the 16 people onboard. Merpati Airlines was also responsible for the plane which in 2010 overran a runway after landing in Manokwari in West Papua. The craft broke intro three pieces and injured 44 of the more than 100 passengers.

In 2007, the European Union banned all of Indonesia’s airlines, including the national carrier Garuda. This followed a crash by the now-defunct Adam Air in which 102 passengers and crew were swallowed by the deep water off the coast of Sulawesi. No bodies were ever recovered and only fragments of the aircraft were washed up.

The EU relaxed the ban two years later under the reasoning that many of the safety issues had been resolved. Garuda and three other carriers were approved but Merpati Airlines is still on the ban-list.

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