News Service from House Harris

EUR: French 'Spider Man' scales tower in Indonesian capital

JAKARTA, Nov 12 AFP - A French climber dubbed "Spider Man" for his daring, illegal stunts scaling some of the world's tallest buildings tackled a 33-storey building in the Indonesian capital today.

Alain Robert, 46, who has conquered buildings including the Eiffel Tower and Malaysia's Petronas Towers, reached the top of the City Tower with his bare hands in a 40-minute climb as hundreds of amazed bystanders looked on.

After reaching the top of the building, Robert sat down and read a copy of the Jakarta Globe English-language daily, which launched today.

Robert, who climbed without the aid of safety equipment, was brought in forquestioning by police after finishing the stunt.

"It's hard to say whether we'll charge him or not. We're just asking for more information about his climb," Central Jakarta police chief Khalidi told AFP.

Robert chose the City Tower to climb after negotiations broke down with police earlier in the day over his plan to scale the nearby Wisma Mulia tower.

The French climber, who suffers from vertigo, was arrested in June after climbing the New York Times building in New York to raise awareness about global warming, unfurling a banner half way up the 52 storey building reading:"Global warming kills more people than 911 every week."

Robert was arrested but released without charge in Hong Kong in mid-April after scaling a top Hong Kong hotel, also to protest global warming.

AFP cmc=0A