A strong earthquake jolted eastern Indonesia, killing a woman,
damaging dozens of buildings and sending panicked residents
fleeing to higher ground shouting: “tsunami!”
The 6.3-magnitude quake that struck at 10.01pm local time
yesterday was centred 15 miles north of Raba, a town on Sumbawa
island, and did not trigger a seismic wave, the US Geological
Survey and local meteorological officials said. The tremor
rattled several towns and cities and could also be felt in
nearby East Nusatenggara province, said Hazairin, a municipal
official on Sumbawa. Many slept in the hills overnight, coming
down only after authorities convinced them the quake was beneath
land and did not trigger a wave, Hazairin said. (December
2nd 2006, AFP)
School Death Prompts TV Station to Pull
U.S. Wrestling Shows
An Indonesian TV station has pulled several popular U.S. wrestling
shows off the air amid allegations that a 9-year-old boy might
have died while children he was playing with were imitating
the moves of their muscle-bound heroes. A police investigation
into the death of Reza Fadillah is under way. The Stamford,
Conn.-based World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. issued a statement
saying it was “confident” its shows had nothing
to do with the fatality. By Wednesday, Lativi TV had pulled
“SmackDown” and all other World Wrestling Entertainment
programs off the air, following weeks of pressure from parents
and educators who say the shows encouraged violent behaviour
in children, station spokeswoman Linda Rifai said. (December
1st 2006, AP)
Indonesian Ministers Kick off AIDS
Awareness Day with One Million Flyers
Three Indonesian ministers have stopped traffic and handed
out flyers at a busy Jakarta roundabout to mark the start
of a national HIV/AIDS awareness campaign on World Aids Day.
“AIDS has entered the home, with more women and children
infected. Women are doubly burdened when their husbands and
children are infected,” Minister of Women Empowerment
Meutia Hatta Swasono said Friday (9/12).Health Minister Siti
Fadilah Supari told reporters and activists “to be concerned
and join the awareness campaign as the number of AIDS cases
increases day by day,” as she formally launched the
“one million flyer” campaign. National AIDS commission
head Nafsiah Mboi said the campaign was dubbed “the
‘distribution of one million flyers’ because we
want to prevent one million Indonesian people from being infected
by HIV/AIDS in 2015 if nothing is done.” The health
ministry reported this year 6,987 were confirmed with AIDS
and 4,617 were HIV positive, with 70.3 percent of sufferers
in the 20 to 29 age group. But the real figure is likely to
be much higher. The national narcotics body estimates there
are at least 570,000 intravenous drug users with around half
believed to be HIV positive, according to coordinating Minister
for People’s Welfare Aburizal Bakrie cited in a campaign
publication.
Bali Bombers Appeal for Death Sentence
Defendant lawyers of the three Bali bombers who are on the
death row appealed to the Denpasar court in Bali, Indonesia
for sentence leniency, a lawyer said hereThursday (7/12).
The submission has made the prosecutors to delay the execution
of the three militants, Amrozi Nurhasyim, Ali Gufron and Imam
Samudra, whom were charged for playing leading roles in Bali
bombings in 2002, killing 202 people, most of them were foreign
tourists.Recently, the Indonesian Supreme Court has rejected
the demand of the three militants for sentence leniency, according
to local media reports. Spokesman of the Indonesian Attorney
General Office I Wayan Pasek Suartha said that the legal authorities
would speed up its further process. It will take normally
about three months to process for such a request, the spokesman
said. The three men were charged by the country’s 2003’s
anti-terror law, but then the Indonesian Constitutional Court
lifted the retroactive principle of the law in 2004, while
the tragedy occurred in 2002. (December 7th 2006, AFP)
Indonesian Leader Says Cooperation with Russia
has Big Potential
Indonesian President SBYudhoyono said Russian- Indonesian
cooperation had great potential. Trade turnover between Russia
and Indonesia in 2005 was 600 million U.S. dollars but “the
two countries have huge reserves in terms of economic cooperation,”
the president said at a Russian-Indonesian business forum
on Friday (8/12). He believes that bilateral cooperation has
good prospects in such fields as space exploration, energy,
industry, machine-building, and agriculture. “Russia
can regard Indonesia as an important economic and investment
market,” Yudhoyono said. He also expressed hope that
the agreement on cooperation between the Russian and Indonesian
chambers of commerce and industry on information exchanges,
signed earlier in the day, would strengthen business ties
between the two countries. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir
Putin said trade turnover between Russia and Indonesia would
grow to one billion U.S.dollars in the near future. Yudhoyono
thanked Putin for supporting Indonesia’s candidacy in
the United Nations and expressed hope that Russian-Indonesian
relations would continue to develop in all areas in the future.
(December 1st 2006, Itarr Press)
Child Sex Abuse Growing Problem in Bali
Sexual exploitation and trafficking of children are growing
problems in the Indonesian resort island of Bali, the United
Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday. Monitoring
the exact extent of the problem is tricky, but authorities
had enough information to point to a major problem, Anna-Karin
Jatfors, a UNICEF expert on sexual exploitation and trafficking
of children in Indonesia, said in a statement. In Bali’s
tourist areas, many young sex workers could be found in the
streets, clubs and hotels, she said. “Adolescent children
who drop out of school are the most vulnerable,” Jatfors
was quoted as saying in the statement, at the start of a UNICEF-sponsored
workshop on child sexual exploitation and trafficking. Several
child traffickers and child sex offenders have been prosecuted
in Indonesia but eradicating the crime was an uphill battle,
she said. Child protection groups say Lombok Island and nearby
Bali have been the bases for Australian paedophile rings operating
in Indonesia. (December 4th 2006, Reuters)
Playboy Editor Goes on Trial in Jakarta
The editor-in-chief of Playboy Indonesia went on trial Thursday
(7/12) on charges of publishing indecent material - a crime
that carries a maximum punishment of more than 2 1/2 years
in prison. A prosecutor told the South Jakarta District Court
that Erwin Arnada oversaw photo shoots and published revealing
pictures of female models in underwear, some showing partially
exposed breasts. “The models also had inviting expressions
on their faces,” said Resni Muchtar, adding that the
magazine included lascivious and lustful comments. Playboy
launched a toned-down version of its magazine in the country
in April to protests from conservatives demanding it be taken
off the streets. The magazine kept publishing, but moved its
editorial offices to mostly Hindu Bali Island. Unlike its
American version and editions in dozens of other countries,
Indonesian Playboy contains no nudity. Tabloids in Indonesia,
the world’s most populous Muslim nation, feature more
explicit photos and stories that Playboy’s. And pornographic
films on video, though illegal, are sold more or less openly
at stores across the country. Indonesian versions of Western
magazines FHM and Maxim, which also contain photos of women
in underwear, have been on sale for several years with no
outcry like that over Playboy, seen as an icon of American
cultural influence. (December 12th 2006, AFP)
Tsunami Danger Warning
U.S. and Indonesian researchers say the factors that caused
the giant Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004 are still
active. They have published a paper which tries to assess
the risk of another event, which they say could occur in the
next 30 years. The research team published its findings in
the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences. It says pressure is increasing on the same big
geologic fault, called the mega-thrust, that caused the 2004
tsunami and it could move at any time. The fault line runs
along the Indian Ocean coast of Sumatra and is also responsible
for two big quakes and tsunamis in 1797 and 1833. Last week
Thailand launched the first of 22 US-made tsunami detection
buoys to create a warning system for the region. (December
6th 2006, ABC)
Govt Imposes New Air Travel Restrictions
Air travellers entering and leaving Australia will face new
restrictions on liquids carried in hand luggage from early
next year. The move follows the arrest in the United Kingdom
of terrorism suspects plotting to blow up airliners using
the ingredients of liquid explosive smuggled aboard in hand
luggage. “As a result of vulnerabilities exposed in
the UK in August with regard to liquids being carried in hand
luggage onto international flights, the government this week
has taken a decision that as of March 31 next year, all international
travellers, both outbound and inbound, will need to be restricted
in the carriage of liquids, aerosols and gels to 100 millilitre
containers,” he told ABC Radio. “Those containers
will need to be carried in a one litre clear plastic bag in
hand luggage and separately screened in the way, for example,
that laptop computer batteries are separately screened.”
This regulation would not apply to liquids in checked luggage,
only hand luggage and there would be exceptions for passengers
with medical conditions who needed particular medications
and also for quantities of baby milk or baby food required
for the flight. (December 6th 2006, AFP)
93 Brands of Energy Drinks and Powders
Taken off the Shelves
93 brands of energy drinks and local herbal remedies have
been taken off the market in a sweep by the Indonesian Bureau
of Food and Drugs (BPOM). The department has removed products
that have false claims as to their effects, as well as products
(jamu) that could possibly contain high levels of toxic substances.
Brands of energy / glucose drinks that have been removed are
Boyzone, Zegar Isotonik, Kopi Kap, Jolly Cool Drink, Mizone,
Jungle Juice, Zeastea, Z Porto, Mogu Mogu. Herbal remedies
include Xing Shi Jiu, G-Bucks Capsule, Asam Urat, Flu Tulang,
Neo Tasama, Linu Ngilu Tulang, Sembur Angin, Daun Dewa, Flu
Tulang LabaLaba, Viagra, Extra Fit, Langsing Alami, Amargo
Jaya Ramuan Madura, Cikung Makassar Super, Prono Jiwo, Antanan
capsule. (December 6th 2006, Bali Post)
Big Clean up on Amed Beach
Hundreds of people from Amed beach and the surrounding villages
took to the shore on Friday (8/12) in a drive to clean up
the popular tourist area on Bali’s East coast. The Mayor
of Karengasem, Mr. Wayan Geredeg that he hoped that this was
not just a one-off event, but something that should take place
on a regular basis in order to keep the area clean and attractive
to the thousands of tourists that visit the area every year.
He said that he hoped that the local people would see the
benefit of maintaining the beach and the surrounds as ultimately
their livelihood depended on it. (December 9th 2006, Denpost)
