Indonesia's General I Made Mangku Pastika has been named Time magazine's Asian Newsmaker of the Year for his investigation of the Bali bombings in October. The magazine, which hit the newsstands yesterday, said the general earned the title for his work in trying to find the culprits of the bombing which resulted in the deaths of almost 200 people. It says in the course of solving the crime, his team uncovered a frightening terrorist conspiracy with links to al-Qaeda extending throughout Southeast Asia and resulting in the apprehension of 15 suspects including the alleged field commander and mastermind. "Third World cops are reputed to be corrupt, lazy and inefficient," said Time. "From the start, pundits expected that the big breaks - if there were any - would come from Western intelligence agencies. Pastika proved them all wrong, and in doing so became Time's Asian newsmaker of the year."
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