Around 60,000 people are missing near the epicentre of the Chinese earthquake, prompting fears that the death toll could rise dramatically.

The official number of dead is currently put at around 13,000 but the state news agency reported that several times that figure are unaccounted for across Wenchuan, northwest of the Sichuan provincial capital, Chengdu.

It comes as China poured 50,000 troops into Sichuan in an attempt to find any remaining survivors of Monday’s 7.9 magnitude earthquake among the mud, rubble and tangled buildings.

But they had to battle to get through landslides which had cut off Wenchuan.

Just under 19,000 people are believed to have been buried under debris in Mianyang – one of the cities worst affected.

One steam turbine factory just outside was almost wiped out by the quake, and 500 workers and their family members were missing, local media reported.

Amid the grief, there were also moments of relief when survivors were found. In Mianzhu, where rescuers said the death toll had risen to 3,000, about 500 people were pulled out alive from crushed buildings.

A team of 1,300 soldiers and medical staff arrived on foot in Wenchuan, the county where the earthquake struck just before 2.30pm on Monday.

In Yingxiu, a town of 12,000 people, only 2,300 had been found alive, He Biao, the director of the prefecture’s emergency office, told state television.

In another south-western town, 80 per cent of homes had collapsed, along with roads and bridges, and altogether in the county 60,000 people were unaccounted for, he said.

“They could hear people under the debris calling for help, but no one could, because there were no professional rescue teams,” he said.

Among the missing are a coach party of 19 Britons in Wenchuan. The county contains the Wolong Nature Reserve, home to the world’s largest collection of captive giant pandas.

The Britons were travelling from Chengdu to Wolong, according to Kuoni, their tour operator, which was trying to contact them last night. The Foreign Office was said to be preparing to send in a rapid response team to look for them.

David and Diane Atkins, from Porchester, Hampshire, were part of the panda-watching tour and have not been heard from since the earthquake struck.

Their daughter, Lisa Staples, posted a note calling for information about her parents on a news website.

“We are worried sick. We want to know if they are well, but have heard nothing so far,” Mrs Staples told The Times. “The tour operator has not been able to help and we are now waiting for the Foreign Office to tell us what is going on. I cannot sleep, and just want to know that they are okay.”

Another 100 British tourists in the region were reported to be safe, while the Chinese authorities said they had no reports of foreign casualties.

No major teams with equipment have been able to reach Wenchuan, as roads through the mountainous passes are broken and blocked by landslides. While rescuers struggled to help those trapped in the mountains, in the plains to the south efforts were under way to pull any survivors from the rubble of collapsed buildings.

The People’s Liberation Army said 20,000 troops were working in the affected region and 30,000 more were on their way. But, though paratroops have been ordered to drop into Wenchuan, helicopter operations are being hampered by heavy rain and fog across much of the area.

“What we most need is medicine,” Mr He said. “There is no medicine, there are no doctors and after such a long time, no food.”

British agencies including Oxfam and Save the Children are helping with the relief effort, sending expert teams to the region. David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, praised China’s “exemplary” response to disaster, in comparison to the “callous” response of the Burmese authorities.

Even if a majority of the missing are found safe and well, the number of deaths is sure to escalate well beyond the 12,000 so far confirmed.

Elsewhere in Sichuan, more than 18,000 people are missing in Mianyang city, while hundreds lie buried under rubble across the region and hundreds were said to be dead in the neighbouring provinces of Chongqing, Shaanxi and Gansu. Destroyed buildings include schools, hospitals, and a chemical plant. The 86 pandas at Wolong Centre were said to have escaped the earthquake.

The Olympic torch relay will be scaled back to mark the disaster, organisers said.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1954083/China-earthquake-60,000-still-missing.html

Muko Muko, Bengkulu (ANTARA News) – The population of the Sumatran Tiger (Phantera Tigris Sumaterae) in the Kerinci Seblat National Park (TNKS) has continued to decline, a foreign nature conservation worker said.

The tiger population in the park now was only 136, down from 150 spotted in 2007, coordinator for Sumatra of Flora Fauna International (FFI), Debby Martin, said in a report on the results of her research here Thursday.

Hunting and land clearing had become the main threat to the rare animal`s population, she said.

The research was conducted by FFI in coordination with the TNKS administration and some universities in a Sumatran Tigers` Monitoring (MHS) project.

The research had also shown that conflicts between humans and tigers which ended in the tigers` death had also reduced the population of the endemic species.

“Based on our last research, the current tiger population is not more than 136 or some 25 percent of the total number of existing Sumatran tigers. Land clearing and conflicts will become the main threat after hunting has been stopped,” she said.

Debby said land clearing for plantations had recently triggered conflicts between tigers and local residents.

Land clearing activity had narrowed the territory where the tigers usually hunt for prey and forced them to encroach on farmers` lands.

“Recently in South Lebong, Lebong District, a tiger was seen in a farmer`s rubber plantation. We tried to make sure that both the tiger and the farmer remained safe,” the British researcher said in fluent Bahasa Indonesia.

According to Debby, her team had helped to settle more than 20 conflicts between tigers and humans in the region.

Usually, she said, a tiger appears in a village to prey on livestock.

An FFI official, Agung Nugraha, said the FFI had monitored Sumatran tigers` movements in four provinces within the national park, namely Jambi, West Sumatra, Bengkulu and South Sumatra.

Since 2004, the monitoring team had installed tracking cameras in 88 sample areas.

Based on the survey, 90 percent of Sumatran tigers` activity was taking place inside TNKS conservation forests.

“Currently we are focusing on four locations in the southern coast of West Sumatra to Musi Rawas, Lubuk Linggau,” he said.

Taking part in the research were students from Dice University of Kent, UK as well as local students and institutions.

Body parts including canine teeth, claws, skin pieces, whiskers and bones were found on sale in one in 10 of the 326 retail outlets in 28 cities and towns across Sumatra that were surveyed during 2006 by the wildlife trade monitoring body, Traffic.

Its report, The Tiger Trade Revisited in Sumatra, found tiger parts being sold in goldsmiths, souvenir and traditional Chinese medicine shops, and shops selling antique and precious stones. Trade was concentrated in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province, and Pancur Batu, a smaller town nearby, the report found.

Based on the number of teeth on sale, the survey estimates that 23 tigers were killed to supply the products found.

Traffic says this figure is down from its last survey in 1999-2000, which estimated that there were 52 tigers killed per year for the trade in body parts.

“Sadly, the decline in availability appears to be due to the dwindling number of tigers left in the wild,” said Julia Ng, programme officer with Traffic south-east Asia and lead author of the report. “The Sumatran tiger population is estimated to be fewer than 400 to 500 individuals. It doesn’t take a mathematician to work out that the Sumatran tiger will disappear like the Javan and Bali tigers if the poaching and trade continues.”

The Sumatran tiger is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN-World Conservation Union’s “red list” of threatened species – the highest level of threat that a species may become extinct in the wild.

Indonesia’s only wild tigers are found on the island of Sumatra. Wild Bali and Javan tigers became extinct last century due to habitat destruction and hunting.

Despite international and domestic bans preventing trade of the animal, a thriving black market for tiger skins and bones is threatening to wipe out the world’s remaining wild tiger population.

Traffic says that despite providing Indonesian authorities with the details of traders involved, it is not clear whether any serious enforcement action has been taken.

“Successive surveys continue to show that Sumatran tigers are being sold, body part by body part, into extinction,” said Heather Sohl, wildlife trade officer at WWF, which runs Traffic as a joint programme with the IUCN. “This is an enforcement crisis. If Indonesian authorities need enforcement help from the international community they should ask for it. If not, they should demonstrate they are taking enforcement seriously.”

The report recommends that resources and efforts should concentrate on effective enforcement to combat the trade by arresting dealers and suppliers. It says trade hotspots should be continually monitored and all intelligence should be passed on to the authorities for action. Those found guilty of trading in tigers and other protected wildlife “should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law”, it says.

“We have to deal with the trade. Currently we are facing many other crucial problems which, unfortunately, are causing the decline of Sumatran tiger populations,” said Tonny Soehartono, the director for biodiversity conservation for Indoneia’s ministry of forestry. “We have been struggling with the issues of land use changes, habitat fragmentation, human-tiger conflicts and poverty in Sumatra. Land use changes and habitat fragmentation are driving the tiger closer to humans and thus creating human-tiger conflicts.”

Sumatra’s few remaining tigers are under threat not only from the illegal wildlife trade in their body parts, but from loss of their habitat due to deforestation. Unless tackled immediately, these combined threats will be the “death knell” for Indonesian tigers, Traffic says.

“The Sumatran tiger is already listed as critically endangered,” said Jane Smart, the head of the IUCN’s species programme. “We cannot afford to lose any more of these magnificent creatures.”

At last year’s climate change summit in Bali, the Indonesian president launched a conservation action plan to protect the Sumatran tiger. As it chairs this year’s Asean Widlife Enforcement Network, Traffic is urging Indonesia to show leadership in south-east Asia by taking action against the illegal wildlife trade.

Source: WWF

Tidak gampang menurut saya menjadi fotografer apalagi kalau kita sudah menenteng kamera besar model SLR baik yang digital maupun yang manual. Pernah suatu ketika saya didatangi seorang ibu ketika saya sedang memfoto kerumunan anak-anak yang sedang bermain di acara umum, dia bilang tolong jangan foto anak-anak saya, nampaknya ibu itu khawatir bila foto-foto tersebut akan di publish. Namun ketika saya jelaskan bahwa ini hanya untuk koleksi pribadi dia bisa mengerti. Pernah juga saya ditegur seorang karyawan ‘Costco’ (Departemen store di Hawaii sejenis Makro di tempat kita) yang keberatan ketika saya mengambil foto-foto di depan pintu masuknya. Sependek pengetahuan saya di Hawaii/Amerika kita boleh foto-foto di dalam mall/toko sekalipun, tapi biar lebih aman memang kita harus selalu tanya sebelum memutuskan untuk mengambil foto.

Kebanyakan hal-hal yang tidak enak itu terjadi ketika saya bawa kamera sejenis SLR tapi tidak pernah terjadi ketika saya gunakan kamera pocket atau HP he3x. Makanya saya lebih suka bawa kamera pocket dan memfoto obyek-obyek seperti landscape dan flora fauna dibandingkan obyek manusia.

Dari pengalaman saya memfoto teman-teman di suatu komunitas dan mempostingnya untuk di ‘share’ yang paling saya rasakan berat justru ketika harus memilih foto-foto yang harus saya upload. Banyak yang harus dipertimbangkan apalagi bila obyeknya individual close up, kebanyakan orang tidak mau bila fotonya yang jelek di upload maunya yang bagus-bagus aja deh, gitu. Bahkan ada yang tidak mau sama sekali foto close up nya muncul meski bagus. Atau pose-pose tertentu yang mungkin saja tidak disuka. Untuk mengantisipasi hal-hal yang tidak diinginkan biasanya usai memotret selalu saya usahakan untuk memperlihatkan hasil foto tersebut, kalau suka artinya tidak keberatan bila di share dengan orang lain. Semakin sering kita memfoto di suatu komunitas biasanya kita akan dapat ‘common sense’ atau ‘preferences’ dari komunitas tersebut jadi tidak perlu lagi repot saat memilih foto.

Selain itu juga batasi ‘audience’nya, misal link album foto tersebut hanya di share terbatas di mailing list komunitas tersebut atau di set private bukan public, meski link itu bisa saja jatuh ketangan orang lain setidaknya fotografer sudah memberikan signal bahwa foto-foto itu ‘only intended for this community’. Dan bila ada keberatan harus segera ditangani. Ingat, sekali kita publish foto di internet akan sangat sulit untuk menariknya kembali karena siapa saja bisa mengunduhnya.

Saya ingin share beberapa tips tentang etika fotografi, silahkan klik di link ini dari seorang jurnalis foto asal Surabaya. Meski domainnya di Indonesia menurut saya bisa juga kita terapkan dimana saja. Klik juga di sini untuk tips fotografi di alam liar.

Satu lagi, heeee maaf bila terlalu panjang. Karya foto sejatinya mempunyai copyright sama seperti hasil karya tulis dimana setiap kita menggunakannya terutama untuk publikasi atau komersil kita harus minta ijin atau cukup dengan memberikan credit dengan mencantumkan si pemilik karya foto atau si pengambil foto. [Agung Nugroho]

1. Photo Ethics: Aim High When You Shoot

Chitrabani, a Christian communication center in Calcutta, India, has developed a set of guidelines for still photography which provide thoughtful insights for all who go around ‘shooting pictures.

What to Photograph

• What you shoot and how you shoot is determined by why you shoot and whom you shoot for.
• Then photographing people do not treat them as if they were things.
• Do not take people’s pictures, give images, especially to the imageless.
• Never depict people as useless or inadequate. It is their helplessness which has to be Shown.
• Do not invade anybody’s privacy except when it is necessary for depicting certain social situations.
• Yet, boldly reach into personal life, bearing in mind that the photographs you take are your brothers’ and sisters.

How to Photograph

• Never art for art’s sake, just try to make the best possible picture.
• There is no need to prettify people and objects; they have their beauty, and a good photograph exudes beauty.
• Sensationalism diverts attention from the essential.
• Shun extra long lenses. A short lens draws you near your subject.
• Try to establish a rapport with the person you photograph.

Social Concern

• Let not your photographs drift away from context.
• Earn the right to see what you wish to show.
• Your social concern is to document life with empathy.
• Be true to the image people want to have of themselves, but at the same time do show what you believe is their real image. The dignity of the poor, in particular, demands that their situation be known.
• A documentary coverage can never be total. Complete a biased image by another biased image.
• Be an iconoclast – a destroyer of established images.

Your Public

• Photos should not be used to exploit the persons portrayed.
• Refrain from showing a photograph if undesirable manipulation cannot be averted.
• Your photos have no place in art shows.
• Lending your photographs for “illustrating” articles that have hardly anything to do with the persons photographed is like lending your voice to somebody else’s speech.
• Destroy the myth that photographs are duplicates of reality.
• Ethical documentary photography is not your sole responsibility. But your photographs encourage certain responses in the viewer.

2. Wildlife photography ethics
By Deb Tappan

• First and foremost, view wildlife from a safe distance for both you and them. Respect their spatial needs. If the animal interrupts its behavior (resting, feeding, etc.), then you are too close and must distance yourself.
• Never force an action. Be patient! The most beautiful photographs result from natural action.
• Never come between a parent and its offspring. I’ve seen tiny bear cubs distressed, treed then separated from their mother by a throng of tourists eager for a closer look. This is unacceptable behavior.
• Never crowd, pursue, prevent escape, make deliberate noises to distract, startle or harass wildlife. This is stressful and wastes valuable energy in needless flight. The impact is cumulative. Consider that you may be the 65th person to yell “hey moose” at that animal that day while it’s attempting to tend to its young.
• Never feed or leave food (baiting) for wildlife. Habituation due to handouts can result in disease or even death of that animal and injury to you.
• Never encroach on nests or dens as certain species will abandon their young.
• Never interfere with animals engaged in breeding, nesting, or caring for young.
• Learn to recognize wildlife alarm signals and never forget that these animals are NOT tame no matter how docile or cuddly they appear. No one would argue that you should not try to pet a bull yet there have been numerous instances where a tourist attempted to have his/her photo taken next to a bison with disastrous consequences.
• Do not damage or remove any plant, life form or natural object. Do pack out trash.
• Acquaint yourself with and respect the behaviors and ecosystems of the wildlife you may encounter. By doing so, you will enrich your experience tremendously.
• Finally, and most significant, remember that the welfare of the subject and habitat are irrefutably more important than the photograph.

3. Photojournalism Code of Ethics

Photojournalists and those who manage visual news productions are accountable for upholding the following standards in their daily work:

1. Be accurate and comprehensive in the representation of subjects.
2. Resist being manipulated by staged photo opportunities.
3. Be complete and provide context when photographing or recording subjects. Avoid stereotyping individuals and groups. Recognize and work to avoid presenting one’s own biases in the work.
4. Treat all subjects with respect and dignity. Give special consideration to vulnerable subjects and compassion to victims of crime or tragedy. Intrude on private moments of grief only when the public has an overriding and justifiable need to see.
5. While photographing subjects do not intentionally contribute to, alter, or seek to alter or influence events.
6. Editing should maintain the integrity of the photographic images’ content and context. Do not manipulate images or add or alter sound in any way that can mislead viewers or misrepresent subjects.
7. Do not pay sources or subjects or reward them materially for information or participation.
8. Do not accept gifts, favors, or compensation from those who might seek to influence coverage.
9. Do not intentionally sabotage the efforts of other journalists.

Ideally, photojournalists should:

1. Strive to ensure that the public’s business is conducted in public. Defend the rights of access for all journalists.
2. Think proactively, as a student of psychology, sociology, politics and art to develop a unique vision and presentation. Work with a voracious appetite for current events and contemporary visual media.
3. Strive for total and unrestricted access to subjects, recommend alternatives to shallow or rushed opportunities, seek a diversity of viewpoints, and work to show unpopular or unnoticed points of view.
4. Avoid political, civic and business involvements or other employment that compromise or give the appearance of compromising one’s own journalistic independence.
5. Strive to be unobtrusive and humble in dealing with subjects.
6. Respect the integrity of the photographic moment.
7. Strive by example and influence to maintain the spirit and high standards expressed in this code. When confronted with situations in which the proper action is not clear, seek the counsel of those who exhibit the highest standards of the profession. Photojournalists should continuously study their craft and the ethics that guide it.

Sikap Pemimpin

Kita tahu setiap rumah tangga butuh seorang pemimpin untuk mengatur keperluan rumah berikut penghuninya dan ia bertanggung jawab atas seluruh penghuni rumah. Karena begitu besar perannya maka ia harus didengar dan ditaatinya selama tidak memerintahkan maksiat kepada Allah Ta’ala. Dengan hikmah-Nya yang agung, Allah Ta’ala memilih pria untuk menjadi pemimpin tersebut, sebagaimana firman-Nya,

Kaum pria itu adalah pemimpin bagi kaum wanita, oleh karena Allah telah melebihkan sebagian mereka (kaum pria) atas sebagian yang lain (kaum wanita), dan karena mereka (kaum pria) telah menafkahkan sebagian dari harta mereka. ….(An-Nisaa’: 34)

Demikian indahnya tuntunan kalam Ilahi di atas dalam menetapkan tatanan hidup yang pasti akan mengantarkan kepada kebahagiaan.

Perlu juga Anda ketahui, seorang suami yang berjiwa pemimpin harus kuat tetapi tidak kasar, baik hati tetapi tidak lemah, gagah tetapi tidak menakutkan, penuh ide tetapi tidak malas, sederhana tetapi tidak kehilangan kepercayaan diri, bangga tetapi tidak arogan dan tetap rendah hati, berselera humor tetapi tidak kelihatan bodoh.

Komunikatif

Seorang istri menyukai suami yang komunikatif dan selalu punya bahan pembicaraan yang menarik. Suami yang humoris tentu saja punya nilai plus di mata istri.

Perhatian

Seorang istri menyukai suami yang penuh perhatian. Perhatian yang wajar dan tulus bisa membuat sang istri merasa dihargai dan disayangi. Bila disampaikan pada saat yang tepat, perhatian yang kecil pun bisa meninggalkan kesan yang manis tak terlupakan.

Pengertian

Seorang suami yang penuh pengertian tidak suka memberi ceramah panjang lebar, memasang wajah cemberut atau marah besar untuk mengubah kebiasaan buruk istrinya. Memperlakukan istri dengan baik merupakan perkara yang dianjurkan oleh syariat. Seorang suami wajib memperlakukan istrinya dengan baik serta banyak bersabar dan lapang dada dalam menghadapinya, apalagi bila usia istri masih belia. Ia selalu siap memaafkan kesalahan sang istri, berusaha mentolerir kelemahannya, berupaya memenuhi keinginannya, mencoba melihat dari sudut pandangnya, dsb. Seorang istri tak sekedar meminta cinta suami dalam gugusan kata-kata, tetapi juga mendambakan secawan kasih dan pengertian, telinga yang mau mendengar keluhnya, mata yang mencipta keteduhan di hatinya, jemari yang mengeratkan temali kasih dalam jiwanya.

Tegas

Seorang istri memerlukan seorang pendamping yang bisa bersikap tegas terutama dalam mengambil keputusan. Misalnya ketika bingung memilih, ia memerlukan bantuan sang suami dalam mengambil keputusan. Suami yang plin-plan, ragu-ragu, dan sulit dalam mengambil keputusan biasanya kurang begitu dihormati.

Tegar

Seorang istri mengagumi suami yang bersikap tegar dan berjiwa besar. Ketegaran tidak tampak ketika segala sesuatu berjalan lancar. Seorang suami diuji ketika ada masalah. Mudah menyerah, putus asa, dan frustasi adalah sikap yang tidak disukai. “Bagaimana mungkin aku berlindung pada seorang yang juga rapuh sepertiku!”, kata sang istri.

Menghormati Wanita

Istri akan menghormati suami yang menghormatinya. Kapan seorang istri merasa dihormati? Misalnya, ketika ia dibukakan pintu dan dipersilahkan masuk lebih dulu, ketika beban yang diangkatnya diambil alih, ketika ia tidak dibiarkan menunggu terlalu lama, ketika ia dipuji, ketika hasil karyanya –misalnya masakan- dihargai, dsb.

Melindungi Wanita

Meskipun suka dilindungi, namun seorang istri tidak menyukai perlindungan suami yang over dan kaku. Seorang istri menyukai perlindungan yang lembut. Misalnya, berjalan atau menyeberang pada posisi aman, ditemani ketika dia merasa ketakutan, diantar ke dokter ketika dia sakit, dsb.

Menghargai Wanita

Seorang istri ingin dihargai oleh suaminya. Dia tidak suka mendampingi suami yang terkesan tidak terlalu menghargainya. Kapan sang istri merasa dihargai? Ketika dari luar kota Anda meneleponnya dan mengatakan “Sayang, aku rindu…!” padahal baru sehari berpisah, ketika Anda meminta pendapatnya, ketika Anda tidak menyembunyikan sesuatu dengan alasan itu urusan laki-laki, dsb.

Simpatik

Suami yang simpatik tidak hanya bersikap baik kepada istrinya, tetapi juga kepada keluarga istrinya, serta kepada orang lain -misalnya tetangga-. Dengan demikian sang suami membuktikan bahwa kebaikannya bukan sandiwara, tapi benar-benar kebiasaan dan sifatnya.

Romantis

Suami yang romantis biasanya bersikap manis, memperlakukan istrinya dengan lembut, memanggilnya dengan sebutan yang romantis, memberinya bunga, dsb. Setiap suami perlu belajar untuk bersikap romantis. Mengapa? Karena suami yang romantis adalah idaman setiap istri.

Allahu ta’ala a’lam.

Sumber: http://adam-homepage.blogspot.com/2008/03/beberapa-sikap-suami-yang-disukai-istri.html

Untuk pecinta film Ayat-ayat Cinta mohon maaf bila anda tidak bisa mendapatkan tayangan gratis lagi di You Tube. Sumber yang saya peroleh beberapa waktu lalu telah menghapus video-videonya di You Tube. Jadi sudah saatnya kita beli DVD/CD nya yach….

Ada yang bisa memberi informasi dimana kita bisa pesan secara online?

Last year, in April 2007, in the East West Fest event, I joined a group of dancer to perform a Bhangra dance. The dance is accompanied by song titled Haaye Meri Billo of Harbhajan Mann’s album. The song as well as the dance depict a romantic story of a guy falling in love with a lovely girl and struggling for getting her attention.

The group consists of people from Pakistan, India, Indonesia and Mongol. There were 3 couples of dancer involved, 3 man and 3 woman. It took less then 2 weeks to practice. The dance was so intriguing yet challenging. You have to cheer up all the times otherwise the dance will have no soul. Also you have to know the key of this dance which is moving your shoulder continuously. It uses shoulder movement a lot to distinguish this dance from other kind of dances. Probably the shoulder movement also uses in many typical Indian dances. And believe me it is very exhaustive. I hurt my shoulder when the first time I practiced this dance. However it is fun and I got great experience performing a Bhangra genre dance with people from different country. I hope I can do this again some time in the future.

Here is the clip of the performance, please enjoy and I bet you will smile a lot. Cheers…
Part 1 ; Part 2

Interested in Bhangra songs? You may find the one you like here!