Fingers crossed, Jakarta parties

Some 230,000 police were on duty throughout the country, he added. Security was tight at the Presidential Palace where President Megawati Sukarnoputri reviewed troops at a ceremony attended by ministers, foreign diplomats and hundreds of VIP guests. Despite the heavy security presence, thousands of Indonesians picnicked and played games in parks around the capital.

The celebration comes nearly two weeks after a suicide bomber blew up a car packed with explosives in the courtyard of the luxury JW Marriott Hotel, killing 12 people and wounding 150. It was the second major bombing in less than a year, following last year’s Bali nightclub blasts that killed 202 people, 88 of them Australians. Several countries, including the US, have warned their citizens to avoid public places. There have been fears that any planned attacks may be brought forward after this week’s capture of Hambali, an Indonesian suspected of leading the Jemaah Islamiah that police blamed for the Bali and Marriott blasts. —Reuters