Spanish Tourist Drowns on Kuta Beach
A Spanish tourist drowned in front of the Calego Cafe at the
Petitenget beach on Thursday (9/3). Jose Roca Calot (61) who
had been staying at the Sari Bunga Hotel, was pulled from
the water at 16.30 hours and rushed to the Sanglah General
Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. According to
the medical examiner Mr. Calot had possibly been suffering
from a heart condition. (March 10th 2006, Denpost)
Man with 24hr Erection Admitted to Sanglah Emergency Room
A 27 year old man from Denpasar was admitted to the Sanglah
Emergency room on Tuesday suffering from an over-sized, swollen
erect penis after experimenting with a “penis size enhancer”.
The man had apparently used Chinese medicine to improve the
size and quality of his erection, but had to be rushed to
hospital 18 hours later when he was unable to pass urine.
Doctors in the emergency room extracted two syringes full
of blood and “penis enhancer” before the man discharged
himself. (March 16th 2006, Denpost)
Michelle Leslie “Set up”: Father
Sydney model Michelle Leslie was set up by Indonesian police
who poured the party drug ecstasy into her urine sample, her
father says. News Ltd newspapers has obtained documents used
in Leslie’s Bali trial for ecstasy possession. They
clearly showed Leslie returned a negative urine sample hours
after her arrest outside a dance party in August last year.
However, a second blood and urine test taken five days later
while Leslie was in a Bali’s Kerobokan jail found high
levels of MDMA-the chemical compound in ecstasy - in her system.
Leslie was released last November after spending three months
in a Bali jail for possessing two ecstasy tablets. She always
denied the tablets were hers. Leslie’s father Albert
told News Ltd on Monday the blood and urine tests were contaminated
and his daughter had been set up. “She was sitting there
and witnessed (police) pouring the (ecstasy) powder into her
urine sample. It was a set-up,” Mr. Leslie said. “Everybody
we know has no doubt Michelle was framed. It’s a small
minority that believes she was guilty and unfortunately they
are the people who always get them selves heard.” In
December last year Leslie’s Sydney lawyer, Ross Hill,
made similar claims. “The simple fact is Michelle Leslie
was set up as a scapegoat for powerful people and corrupt
police,” Mr. Hill said then. Mr. Hill and family spokesman
Sean Mulcahy told New Idea magazine police demanded $400,000
in bribes once they knew Leslie’s boyfriend had links
to a large family empire. (March 14th 2006, AFP)
Indonesian Forests to Disappear in 15 years
Committee Chairman for National Green Archipelago, Ary Sudarsono
said Indonesian forests were expected to disappear in 15 years
to come if the government did not make serious efforts to
preserve them. “With a destruction level
of 2.8 million hectares annually, the Indonesian forests will
become extinct in the next 15 years,” he said in a press
statement made available to ANTARA here on Sunday (3/12).
He said that during the 2000-2005 period, of the 120.3 million
hectares of forests in Indonesia, 59.2 million hectares were
damaged. “If the country’s forests are all damaged,
natural disasters such as floods, landslides and drought will
take place everywhere,” he added. Sudarsono said that
damages to forests could cause the extinction of 27,000 plant
species in Indonesia, which account for 10 percent of the
world’s plant species, 1,539 bird species (17 percent
of the world’s), 515 species of mammals (12 percent)
and 270 amphibious species (16 percent). (March 15th 2006,
Antara News)
Armed Robbery at Sanur Money Changer – Cashier Dead
An armed robbery at the PT Central Kuta Money Changer in Jln.
Danau Tamblingan, Sanur on Saturday afternoon (11/3) has left
30 year old Indra Astuti dead after she was fatally stabbed
by one of the intruders. Astuti was rushed to Sanglah General
Hospital but died in the early hours of Sunday (12/3) morning.
The burglary occurred in broad daylight at about 15.30 hours
on Saturday afternoon. Two men entered the money changers
office and after a brief discussion demanded that the staff
hand over a yellow bag containing 158 million rupiah. Astuti
was then stabbed as she tried to challenge the men, who fled
on a motorbike with false number plates. (March 13th 2006,
Denpost)
Mother of Two Dies of Dengue Fever
Nyoman Sucini (34) from Ubung on the outskirts of Denpasar
lost a 5 day battle with Dengue hemorrhagic fever on Wednesday
morning (16/3). Sucini was initially treated for a fever at
home where her husband prepared local “jamu” for
her, however when her fever did not subside the family became
concerned, and sought assistance at the Sanglah General Hospital.
After being in the general ward for several days Sucini was
moved to the intensive care unit for three days. Sucinis daughter
Purnama (14) has also been admitted to the hospital suffering
form the same condition. (March 16th 2006, Denpost)
British Man Arrested at Karaoke Bar with Ecstasy / Cocaine
British man Aldon Charles was arrested by the Police Narcotic
Squad at 2.30am on Sunday morning (19/3). A general sweep
of nightclubs in the Seminyak area on Saturday night had turned
up nothing for the drug squad until they turned to the Djavu
Karaoke club where Charles was found to have two ecstasy tablets
and two other capsules containing cocaine. A police spokesman
said that he felt the almost fruitless sweep of the popular
nightclubs in the area was a result of information leaking
to the general public before the police arrived. (March 20th
2006, Bali Post)
Oxfam says Aceh Money ‘Missing’
After the tsunami, thousands of Acehnese rely on outside aid;
however the UK-based aid organization Oxfam has temporarily
shut down some of its operations in the tsunami-devastated
Indonesian province of Aceh. Oxfam said it had found evidence
that money had gone missing after an internal audit. Despite
widespread fears that aid money for Aceh would be lost to
corruption, this is the first time there has been any solid
indication of graft. Oxfam said it hoped to have its programs
back up and running in the next few weeks. Large house-building
and livelihood support programs will be worst affected, but
the agency says it will continue delivering vital supplies
of drinking water to the displaced and clearing rubbish to
avoid causing immediate hardship to its beneficiaries. Oxfam
is still investigating how much money has gone missing and
how it was taken, but says it believes that it could amount
to tens of thousands of dollars out of an overall budget of
some £30m last year. Despite government attempts to
curb corruption, Indonesia has a reputation for entrenched
graft at all levels of society. Given the fears that donated
money would go missing, aid organizations like Oxfam have
put extraordinary controls in place to spot any irregularities.
Observers say that Oxfam’s readiness to report its suspicions
and address the problem - and the fact that no solid evidence
of corruption has emerged else where - is likely to reassure
donors rather than put them off. (March 15th 2006, BBC)
Mt Merapi Shows Sign of Increased Activity
Mount Merapi in Central Java has shown a sign of increased
activity in the past few days, forcing the local authorities
to raise its alert status to “Awas Merapi” (Beware
Merapi). The volcano’s alert status had been raised
since Wednesday (15/3) after the Yogyakarta-based Volcanology
Board recorded a number of tremors inside the volcano, said
Yulianto, head of the Merapi Observatory Post at Semiran village,
Boyolali district, Central Java, on Thursday. He said a team
of volcanologists continued monitoring the activity of the
2,911 meter high volcano. He said people living in vulnerable
villages on the volcano’s slope were making preparations
to flee their homes in case of eventualities. (March 17th
2006, Antara News)
Hospital Births Encouraged in Timor
East Timor’s health authorities are trying to encourage
more women to give birth in hospital, rather than at home.
At present, only 10 per cent of East Timorese women give birth
in hospital. World Health Organization studies estimated that
500 East Timorese women per 100,000 die giving birth. Now,
the women’s organization, the Alola Foundation is giving
women “maternity packs” at Dili’s main hospital
and in Baucau hospital. Foundation chair, East Timor’s
first lady, Kirsty Sword-Gusmao says the packs provide women
some dignity and comfort after giving birth.
“Many women are admitted to hospital to give birth and
don’t have even a change of clothing for themselves,
let alone a baby wrap, to wrap the newborn baby in,”
she said.
Radio Australia Reaches Deal with Indonesian Broadcaster
Radio Australia has reached a landmark agreement with Indonesia’s
national public broadcaster, Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI).
The agreement makes it possible for listeners of RRI’s
Bali station, Paradise FM, to hear news bulletins from Radio
Australia, as well as other key programs such as Connect Asia
and the Breakfast Club. The head of Radio Australia, Jean
Gabriel Manguy, says the deal marks a significant development
in relations with Indonesia’s public broadcaster and
builds on a similar agreement RA has with RRI in Jakarta.
Radio Australia is an international service of the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation ABC Asia Pacific TV / Radio Australia.
(March 16th 2006, AEST)
Bomb Rips through Hindu Temple - Poso
A bomb blast that occurred at the Pura Agung Natanaraga building
in Poso, Central Sulawesi, at about 07:45am on Friday 10/3)
is believed to be linked to the arrest of terror perpetrators
a few hours earlier, police said. The bomb was a low explosive
designed to intimidate and exert more pressure on the public
in a bid to trigger unrest among the people in Poso. Police
and military personnel have launched an operation to hunt
down the alleged perpetrators of the bomb blast. In addition
to a possible intimidation, the police also alleged that the
incident which injured a resident identified as I Nengah Suliasta
was designed to divert the security agencies attention. (March
11th 2006, Antara News)
