Indonesia Faces Expulsion from Tennis Federation
Indonesia’s refusal to play Israel in the Fed Cup tie
last year could risk expulsion by the International Tennis
Federation (ITF) if it fails to pay the fine, local press
said Thursday (22/3). Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti)
chairwoman Martina Widjaja said that the fine amount is “simply
beyond the association’s capability.” Indonesia
pulled out from the competition in Israel last year under
instruction from the Foreign Affairs Ministry in protest over
Israel’s heightened military actions in the Gaza Strip,
the newspaper said. Indonesia, the world’s most populous
Muslim country, has no diplomatic ties with Israel. (March
23rd 2007, Kerala News)
Volcano Still Erupting on Lembata Island
Over 15,000 people on Lembata Island are sleeping away from
home as Mount Batutara spews ash and lava. The volcano became
more active Saturday (24/3), the Jakarta Post reported. Tons
of ash and lava spewed from its cone into the sea. Scientists
from the geological mitigation office were unable to get close
to the volcano because of rough seas, Liliweri said, forcing
them to monitor its activity from more than a quarter mile
away. (March 25th 2007, UPI)
Huge Haul of Illegal DVD’s in Kuta
A huge haul of illegal DVD’s has been seized at a warehouse
in Ruko Plaza, Jln. Dewi Sri in Kuta on Friday (23/2). National
and local police forces worked together on the case which
is claimed to be the largest haul of illegal DVD’s in
Indonesia. Almost 400,000 discs were confiscated from the
owner of the contraband, Sebastian, who resides at the Puri
Gading complex in Jimbaran. According to Sebastian the stock
had been sent from Jakarta and was for distribution at his
10 DVD outlets in Bali. (March 26th 2007, Denpost)
Indonesia Threatens to Shut Down Six Airlines
Indonesia is giving six commercial airlines three months to
improve safety standards or face closure. The Indonesian Government
ordered an audit to evaluate transport safety following a
string of deadly air accidents in recent months. First an
Adam Air jet carrying 102 people disappeared in January, and
on March 7 a Garuda plane overshot the runway and burst into
flames, killing 21 people, including five Australians. An
audit of 54 aviation firms revealed that none of them made
it to the first of three rating classes, the transport ministry’s
director general of civil aviation Budhi Muliawan Suyitno
said. Fifteen companies, including six scheduled passenger
airlines, were placed in the lowest category and were considered
to have met only minimal standards of safety. National carrier
Garuda Indonesia made the second grade. Mr. Suyitno said airlines
in the third category would be given warnings to improve standards
in three months. The airlines given three months to shape
up were Adam Air, Kartika Airlines, Jatayu, Batavia, Trans
Wisata Air and Dirgantara. (March 23rd 2007, Reuters)
Indonesian Couples Must Bring Trees to Their Wedding
Couples intending to tie the knot in an Indonesian district
in West Java have begun arriving at the local marriage registry
office clutching trees as part of a reforestation drive. Lily
Hambali Hasan, the head of Purwakarta district, had called
on the couples, and government workers, to donate seedlings
to boost tree cover. So far the initiative has helped to replant
some 8,750 hectares (21,630 acres), according to Hasan’s
figures. Couples typically brought a couple of seedlings or
other crops with them to the marriage office, he said, and
forestry officials distributed them for planting free of charge.
(March 20th 2007, Antara)
New Mothers & Babies Wing Opens at Prima Medika Hospital
The new maternity wing at Prima Medika Hospital was officially
opened on Monday (2/4) by the Mayor of Denpasar Mr. Puspayaoga.
The four storey unit is situated adjacent to the existing
Prima Medika building, with a separate entrance via the main
Sesetan road. According to a spokesman for the hospital Dr.
Arya Suhartika the rooms at the new wing cater for economy
class patient’s right up to executive style accommodation.
The wing boasts several operating theatres, special care babies
units, private birthing rooms, a 4D ultrasound scanner and
even a business center. (April 2nd 2007, Bali Post)
Local Armed Forces Launch War on Plastic Garbage - Amed Beach
Members of the local police, army and local students took
to the beaches of Amed, Karengasem on Friday (23/3) to launch
an offensive against non-organic waste such as plastics and
other items. The teams tackled the 12 kilometer stretch of
beach in an effort to tidy up the area which is a popular
tourist spot. The head of the village IB Putu Swastika said
that they regularly held clean up sessions along the coast,
but were still waiting for investors to build an appropriate
garbage disposal system to incinerate the waste. (March 24th
2007, Radar Bali)
Police Find 12.5 Kg of TNT in Terror Suspect’s Surabaya
Home
Special Anti-Terror Detachment-88 (Densus 88) police on Monday
(19/3) recovered 12.5 kg of explosives of the TNT type that
were hidden in terror suspect Ahmad Sahrul alias Khoirul’s
home on Jalan Simo Gunung Baru Jaya, Surabaya. The TNT material
was found packed in four cartons. Some of the explosives were
finished materials which were ready for detonation. These
explosives far exceeded the amount used in the main device
that exploded in the 2002 Bali bombings, Indonesia’s
police chief said today. “The owner of the explosives
was arrested by the Detachment-88 team on Monday night, then
we decided to assist the search in the house and found the
TNT explosive materials, a detonator, cables and a diary belonging
to the suspect,” South Surabaya Police Chief Adj. Snr
Comm. Herry Dahana, said. The finding of the explosives followed
previous finds in Sukohardjo, Central Java, last Wednesday
14/3). Surakarta Police Chief Senior Commissioner Yotje Mende
said on Wednesday his men had found at least 2,009 bullets
of different types and 20 kilograms of TNT. Previously, on
Tuesday (20/3), the anti-terror Detachment 88 police shot
dead a suspected member of a regional terror group in Yogyakarta.
Another terror suspect was wounded and several others were
arrested. State Intelligence Agency (BIN) Chief Syamsir Siregar
said in Jakarta Wednesday (21/2) that the terror suspects
in Yogyakarta were members of the Abu Dujana network. “Police
are still trying to locate Abu Dujana`s hideouts. To be sure,
five of his accomplices have been caught in a raid in which
one of them was killed and another one injured,” Siregar
said. During the raid in Yogyakarta, police confiscated a
pistol, an M-16 rifle, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and
a home-made bomb, he said. (March 2007, Antara News))
Corby’s Book Money Seized in Legal Action
Money earned from Schapelle Corby’s tell-all book My
Story has been secretly frozen by the Queensland Court of
Appeal, according to the Courier Mail. A $15,000 payment to
sister Mercedes for an exclusive interview with New Idea is
also being withheld, after a unanimous judgment ruled to freeze
parts of the family’s income relating to Schapelle’s
conviction and jailing for smuggling marijuana into Bali.
The ruling orders the money not to be spent until the courts
have decided whether the Commonwealth has any legal claim
to it. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions has
been pushing to have the money frozen since a request to the
Brisbane District Court under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
was refused on February 15. The hearings were reportedly held
in secret and without the knowledge of the Corby family for
fear they would spend the money before the court could intervene.
Pan McMillan Australia, the publishers of the book, are believed
to have wired funds to her Indonesian-based brother-in-law.
Federal agents have suspected that the money is being held
on Schapelle’s behalf. The book has been on the best-seller
list since it was published last November, despite being panned
by critics. It has been claimed that proceeds are being used
to help Schapelle continue her ongoing legal battle in Bali.
(March 25th 2007, Courier Mail)
Spanish Expatriate Dies in Motor Cycle Accident on Wedding
Day - Ubud
Spanish expatriate Carlos Cufay Bernardo (37) was killed when
he fell from his motorbike with his girlfriend on Sunday (25/3);
they had been planning to get married on the day that the
accident happened.Carlos was rushed to the Sanjiwani hospital
in Gianyar with multiple injuries but later transferred to
Sanglah General Hospital where he died a short time later.
Carlos’s girlfriend who is originally from Tabanan received
only minor injuries in the accident. (March 26th 2007, Denpost)
Qatar Airways Flights to Chennai, Bali
Qatar Airways has launched flights to Chennai and Bali, taking
its total number of destinations up to 74, reported The Peninsula.
On the daily Chennai route, the airline will use an Airbus
A321 with a 12 business class and 132 economy class seat configuration.
Qatar Airways will employ an Airbus A340-600, with 30 business
class and 234 economy class seats to Bali, which is a four
times a week service. (March 26th 2007, the Peninsula)
Australia Donates Container of Medical Equipment to Bali Hospital
Dr. David Marsh has returned to Bali with a container load
of medical supplies which was received by Triputro Nugroho
at the Sanglah General Hospital on Wednesday (28/3). The equipment
which included beds, blood pressure machines and other medical
supplies will be distributed to various hospitals throughout
the Badung regency. Dr. Marsh and his wife Claire have been
a major force in assisting the local hospitals to improve
their facilities since the Bali Bomb in 2002, when the couple
volunteered their services at the Sanglah General Hospital.
(March 29th 2007, Denpost)
Human Error Blamed for Garuda Crash
Human error is being blamed for the Garuda airliner crash
in Indonesia that killed 21 people, including five Australians.
The chief Indonesian investigator Tatang Kurniadi says the
plane’s black box recordings reveal the pilot and co-pilot
were arguing over the plane’s speed and wing flaps,
moments before the March 7 crash. He said his preliminary
findings would point to human error, and “absent mindedness”
as the cause of the disaster. The captain and first officer
were flying together for the first time, he said. “The
co-pilot is a young pilot with just 2,000 flying hours and
the captain, experienced, having enough experience, more than
15,000 flying hours,” the investigator said. Mr. Kurniadi
said the black box revealed the co-pilot was demanding the
pilot “go around” and delay the landing. “There
was some argument between the co-pilot and the pilot and captain
relating to the speed and flaps,” he said. Mr. Kurniadi
said the flaps did not jam; rather the co-pilot did not put
them down properly because the plane was going too fast. Mr.
Kurniadi and his team will finalize their results within a
month. (April 2nd 2007, AAP)
Bald Eagles Released into Wild at Batukaru
A pair of bald eagles (Spizaetus cirrhatus) have been released
into the wild on Sunday (1/4) at the Batukaru temple in the
Tabanan regency in an effort to re-populate the area with
the native bird. A ceremony to mark the conservation program
was attended by local Government Officials as well as the
Head of the Department of Forestry. The birds will be tracked
by a small radio transmitting device, which will assist in
monitoring their nesting habits, and their progress in the
wild. (April 2nd 2007, Bali Post)
