Indonesia has the third largest number of Tuberculosis cases
behind China and India, according to the latest statistics.
At the Second Regional Meeting for the Prevention of
Tuberculosis in Denpasar, spokesman Dr Nick Wibawa said that
much more needed to be done in the field on the treatment
and prevention of the disease. He said many cases remained
untreated due to the lack of funds to buy the medicines which
need to be taken for six months by TB positive patients. He
said medication was available free of charge for the local
people, however most local people were unaware of this. (May
27th 2006, Bali Post)
Neighbors in Brawl over Satay Pet Dog
A violent confrontation broke out between two men in Jln Pemogan,
Kapaon, when one man captured and cooked his neighbor’s
dog. According to Umbo Deta (25), he had asked the permission
of his boss who lived nearby to take one of his dogs for making
satay. The mans boss had agreed to give Umbo one of his dogs
as he had too many dogs at his home. It was not until after
the dog was slaughtered and cooked did Umbo’s neighbor
Nyoman T (33) realize that his pet Kintamani dog was missing,
and indeed
had been taken for satay. A confrontation then broke out between
the two men, but was then settled at the local police
station. (May 27th 2006, Denpost)
Burqa Staved off Prison Rape: Leslie
Model Michelle Leslie wore a burqa during her stay in a Balinese
prison on drugs charges to avoid being raped, she says. In
an interview with a woman's magazine, model Michelle Leslie
revealed she wore the traditional Muslim headdress to protect
herself from men inside the prison she feared would rape her.
Leslie said she awoke in the Kerobokan prison one night to
find a man sitting on the end of her mattress, laughing and
singing: "Jiggyjig Missa Leslie. Bali holiday. Jiggyjig".
"I knew jiggyjig translated into having sex," Leslie
told New Idea. "He was saying ‘Australian model’
and stroking my leg. I screamed: 'Get out of here!'."
Leslie said she was aware another woman was being taken from
her cell regularly for sex, and realized her fate would be
the same if she didn't act. "I decided to dress in the
Muslim burqa. I chose to wear Muslim dress for one reason
and one reason only - to protect myself," she said. "When
I put on the burqa, people were more respectful and I'm sorry
if anyone is offended by that. But over there, it's a case
of whatever gets you through. I think anyone else would have
done the same." Leslie, 25, was convicted of drugs possession
in Bali in August last year following the discovery of two
ecstasy tablets in her handbag. She was sentenced in November
last year to three months' in jail, which covered the time
she had spent in custody. The model was criticized by some
Muslim leaders for wearing a burqa
during parts of her trial in the world's largest Muslim nation,
and then opting for tight jeans and a singlet upon her release
from jail. Days after returning to Australia, Leslie said
she chose to wear the burqa because it was a "sign of
public privacy and modesty". "I am a Muslim and
I do understand the significance of wearing the burqa. I should
have thought more carefully about wearing it in that situation
and I apologize for any offence I have caused. It was an extreme
situation," she said at the time. Leslie now says she
is not a practicing Muslim but was inspired by her time living
with a Muslim family. "I'd been living with an Islamic
family in Sydney for about three years before I was arrested
in Bali," she said. "I thought their beliefs were
very beautiful and spiritual. So I decided I would adopt those
beliefs over there.
"Am I the most religious person in the world? No, I am
not.
"Am I a Muslim? I'm not a practising Muslim.
"Do I pray every day? No.
"Do I speak to Islamic leaders in the community? Yes.
"But it's important that people understand there are
different levels of people's beliefs”.
"Everybody I met in prison has turned to religion in
their darkest moments. It gives you strength. It gives you
hope. It gives you something to hold on to." Leslie insisted
her embrace of religion was not a ploy for sympathy because
her judges were Christian and Hindu. (May 29th 2006, AEST)
Kuta Carnival IV to go Ahead in September
The annual Kuta Carnival will take place in September of this
year according to a spokesman for the Kuta Small Business
Association, Made Karang. According to Karang, plans for the
Carnival had been uncertain, but he now feels that with a
new sense of enthusiasm as well as an exciting new program,
including attractions from overseas, that the Carnival would
be a success for 2006. (May 18th 2006, Denpost)
Dengue Fever Claims another Life
Even though statistics for May show a decrease in the number
of cases of Dengue fever, Maria Kristina (12) of Denpasar
became another victim to the fatal disease. Maria was admitted
to Sanglah General Hospital on Thursday (18/5), and passed
away on the following Wednesday (24/5). According the girls
father she had been suffering from a swinging fever, and local
a doctor failed to diagnose the fatal disease. By the time
Maria was admitted to hospital she was already in shock. (May
26th 2006, Bali Post)
5 Drownings in Kuta / Sanur - Strong Current Warning
for Local Waters
Eko Prasetyo, a spokesman for The Bureau of Meteorology has
issued a strong current warning for local waters saying that
currents of up to 9 km per hour could prevail around the local
waters for up to six months. He said that this kind of current
was particularly dangerous as the surface of the water appeared
calm however the undertow was extremely strong. Mr. Prasetyo
also said that a sudden increase in the size of the waves
could also occur, causing breakers of up to 3 meters,
where the normal waves were normally 1 - 2 meters in height.
A warning had also been issued to small fishing vessels. There
has been a total of five drownings this month. Four students
from a study tour group from Java were tragically drowned
while swimming on Kuta beach earlier this month, and 60 year
old Joseph Estrada drowned outside the Gazebo Hotel on Sanur
Beach on Friday (19/5). (May 26th 2006, Bali Post)
Fire at Four Seasons Sayan; Fire Trucks Refused Admission
The Gianyar Fire Brigade was called to a fire at the Sayan
Four Seaons Resort on Saturday (27/5), however the fire crews
were refused admission when the hotels
management claimed that the fire was already under control.
The hotels security officers refused to admit the crew as
well as locals who had gathered to assist, claiming that it
would be security risk to allow the team access to the hotel
grounds. The fire brigade had been called by a hotel staff
member when an electrical fire broke out in the parking area
of the hotel. A hotelspokesman said that the fire had been
quickly been brought under control and that there was no cause
for alarm. (May 29th 2006, Denpost)
Indonesia the Largest Producer of Narcotic Drugs in Asia
Indonesia has been recorded as the largest producer of narcotic
drugs in Asia, according to a seminar held at the Patricia
Hotel in Denpasar on Sunday (28/5). A spokesman for the
seminar Supeno Djanali, said that Bali had been recorded as
having the most arrests for narcotic use and trade however
most narcotics were actually produced in and around Jakarta.
He said that serious measures needed to be taken to educate
the youth of Indonesia about the abuse of narcotics as well
as the HIV/AIDS problem. (May 29th 2006, Bali Post)
Indonesia Vows to Repay IMF Debts
Indonesia has vowed to repay all of its debts to the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) by the end of 2008 despite being hit by
a deadly earthquake. Bank Indonesia Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah
said the country would pay half of its $7.87bn (£4.2bn)
debt this year and therest next year. The news came amidst
concern that the quake could hamper economic growth. It would
"disturb our growth", Mr. Abdullah acknowledged,
but "many things can be done to catch up" later.
The earthquake-hit region Yogyakarta accounts for 1.3%
of Indonesia's gross domestic product, but a hit here is unlikely
to do much to curb Indonesia's growth, which is expected to
rise from 5.6% in 2005 to 6.2% this year. Analysts believe
reconstruction costs could reach $100m. The economic strength
currently being enjoyed by Indonesia should enable the country
to repay almost $4bn of the debts "within weeks",
said Mr. Abdullah. Indonesia's debts to the IMF arose during
the late 1990s when the Fund put together a $43bn package
to help it cope with the Asian economic crisis. Indonesia's
foreign exchange reserves currently stand at almost $44bn,
having risen 25% since late 2005, Mr. Abdullah said. (May
29th 2006, BBC)
WHO Confirms Two More Bird Flu Cases in Indonesia
Two more Indonesians have been confirmed as infected with
the H5N1 bird flu virus, a health official said on Monday,
citing results from a World Health Organization- Hong Kong.
The two confirmations will bring the H5N1 death toll in Indonesia
to 36, and its total number of H5N1 infections to 49. One
of them was an 18-year-old male from Bandung on Java Island
who had tested negative earlier in Hong Kong. The latest result
classified him as a H5N1 case, said I Nyoman Kandun, director-general
of communicable disease control. He was the brother of a 10-year-old
girl, who tested positive for H5N1 by the Hong Kong laboratory
last week. Both died last Tuesday (23/5). Local health authorities
believe sick chickens to be the source of the siblings' infection
as poultry started dying in the village where they lived a
few days before they fell ill, Kandun said. The Bandung siblings
are considered the seventh family cluster in Indonesia, but
their case is not triggering as much concern as another
cluster in north Sumatra, where H5N1 killed seven people in
a single family. Kandun said a 15-year-old girl from Solok
in western Sumatra, who is fighting for her life, also tested
positive, according to results from the Hong Kong laboratory.
(May 29th 2006, ABC)
Indonesia's Merapi Spews Lava
Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano belched heat clouds and sent
trails of lava running down its slopes on Tuesday (30/5),
heightening fears of an eruption just days after a devastating
earthquake nearby. In the early hours of Tuesday, Merapi sent
out 10 heat clouds and 120 lava trails, some of them two kilometers
long, said Tri Yani of the vulcanology office in
Yogyakarta. Plumes of smoke were seen rising some 900 meters
into the air - nearly double the height seen the previous
day. The area remains on high alert for a possible eruption.
Scientists have warned that although the magma flow which
forms a dome at the peak appears to be weakening, the structure
may collapse and spew out millions of cubic meters of volcanic
rock and lava. After calming down for a few days, Merapi belched
significant heat cloud torrents shortly after Saturday's strong
earthquake, which killed more than 5,400 people in central
Java. On Monday, Merapi sent out 186 lava trails and 88 heat
clouds, Yani said. The vulcanology office also recorded 57
aftershocks on Monday in the wake of Saturday's earthquake,
three of them measuring more than 4.0 on the Richter scale.
(May 30th 2006, AFP)
