Garuda Airlines is Safe, says Howard
Garuda Airlines will continue to fly in Australian airspace
despite the European Union’s calls to ban the carrier,
Prime Minister John Howard said today. The EU this week moved
to ban all of Indonesia’s 51 airlines, including Garuda,
from flying in European air space following a string of safety
concerns in recent months. Five Australians died in a Garuda
Airlines crash in Yogyakarta in March, but Mr. Howard said
the Government was satisfied Garuda - the only Indonesian
airline traversing Australian airspace - was safe. “I
have not had any advice suggesting that Garuda is an unsafe
airline,” Mr. Howard said in Brisbane today. “We
will examine what the Europeans have decided and what the
basis of it is, but at this stage we have no reason to alter
our arrangements in relation to Garuda.” (June 30th
2007, AAP)
Two Children Die in Separate Snakebite Incidents
Venomous snakes have claimed the lives of two young children
in Bali in separate incidents within days of each other. Nine
year old Ni Luh Rani Oktaviani was bitten by a small black
snake while she was playing with her sister at the Puputan
Badung field on Friday (22/6). Rani was taken to the Wanghaya
hospital when she became ill that evening, but was then transferred
to the Sanglah Intensive Care when her condition became critical.
She passed away on Thursday (28/6). Just over a week later
a nine year old boy died after being bitten by a one meter
long black snake in Ubud on Sunday (1/7). Komang Swarbawa
had been playing with the reptile when both he and his cousin
were bitten by the snake. Komang later told his father that
he was not feeling well and went to bed. By the time the boy
was taken to the local clinic his condition had become serious
and he died later that day. According to Dr Kuning Atmadjaya
of the Sanglah E.R. a total of 17 people bitten by snakes
had been admitted to the emergency room at Sanglah Hospital
so far this year, and 4 of those had died. (July 2nd 2007,
Denpost)
Ausaid to Set Up 162 Secondary School Buildings in Nusa Tenggara
The Australian Agency for International Development (Ausaid)
will this year set up 162 secondary school buildings in East
Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) provinces.
“The construction of the school buildings is part of
Australia’s basic education program worth A$355 million
in Indonesia,” AuSAID program director Richard Manning
said here on Tuesday. He said the Australian assistance was
to be used to construct new school buildings and rebuild 2,000
others in Indonesia. The school buildings to be built in NTT
and NTB this year consisted of secondary religious schools
(tsanawiah) and secondary public schools (SMP). Manning said
the Australian government in cooperation with its Indonesian
counterpart was supporting human resources development in
Indonesia. For this purposes, Australia had established an
Australian Education Center based in Jakarta. Besides this,
Australia was also providing scholarship packages for government
officials in Indonesia where the Australian Education Center
was providing information on education in Australia. (July
4th 2007, Antara News)
Indonesia Terror Attacks May be Imminent - Australia
Australia warned on Sunday (8/9) of possible imminent terrorist
attacks in Indonesia, including on the resort island of Bali,
and told its citizens to think twice before traveling there.
In an upgraded travel advisory, the Australian Department
of Foreign Affairs and Trade said terrorists were actively
planning attacks that could take place at any time. The advisory
says Australians should reconsider their need to travel to
Indonesia. “There have been recent arrests of high-level
terrorist operatives in Indonesia, but we assess terrorists
are continuing active planning of attacks,” it said.
“Ask yourself whether, given your own personal circumstances,
you’re comfortable traveling to Indonesia including
Bali, knowing that there is a very high threat from terrorism
and you may be caught up in a terrorist attack,” the
advisory said. Asked about the Australian warning, an Indonesian
police spokesman, Bambang Kuncoko, said the security situation
was “favorable”. “So far there’s nothing
to worry about,” he said. “It is the right of
every country to issue a travel advisory. With or without
travel advisories, we continue to be pro-active to maintain
security,” he said. (July 8th 2007, Reuters)
President Calls for Development of Nuclear Technology for
Peaceful Purposes
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono here Wednesday called on
the country’s nuclear science researchers to develop
nuclear technology for peaceful purposes to improve the people’s
welfare. The head of state specifically asked the country’s
researchers to continue making innovations and engaging themselves
in development, including by using nuclear technology in proper
ways and means to deal with the developing world’s problems.
The President said that civilization would continue to change,
and there was no future without technology. Therefore, the
government always gave appreciation and support to researchers
so that they could continue carrying out innovations in order
to keep pace with technological progress in other countries,
he said. (July 6th 2007, Antara News)
Indonesian Bus Plunge Kills at Least 14
Police say at least 14 people have been killed and 47 injured
when a bus carrying school students plunged into a ravine
near the Indonesian capital on Friday (6/7). Local police
chief Syaiful Zachri says the bus rammed into several cars
and motorcycles before plunging into the 20-metre deep ravine
in Ciloto, about 60 kilometers south of Jakarta. “It
appears that the bus had tried to overtake another vehicle
and its brakes failed,” he said. He says most of the
dead are junior high school students who were on a school
holiday tour. (July 7th 2007, ABC News)
Indonesia Files Civil Lawsuit against Soeharto for Over a
Billion Dollars
Indonesian prosecutors on Monday (9/7) filed a civil suit
against former dictator Suharto, seeking the return of hundreds
of millions of dollars he allegedly misappropriated during
his decades in power. State prosecutors filed the suit in
the South Jakarta District Court, asking for the return of
440 million dollars he allegedly stole, plus 10 trillion rupiah
(1.10 billion dollars) in further damages. (July 9th 2007,
Antara News)
French Soccer Star Zidane Coaches Indonesian Children
French football star Zinedine Zidane traveled to a rural village
in Indonesia Saturday (7/7) to hold a coaching clinic for
local children. Zidane flew with his family early Saturday
to Subang in West Java, where he will coach a group of local
children. Football is gaining popularity in Indonesia although
badminton is still the nation’s favorite sport. Zidane,
in Indonesia as part of his role as an ambassador for children’s
programs for French company Danone, met President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono on Friday morning. On Sunday (8/7), he will take
part in a bid to break the national record for the highest
number of games of “futsal”, the official indoor
soccer game of FIFA, held at one time. He will then give a
press briefing. (July 7th 2007, Antara News)
Indonesian Boy Dies of Bird Flu - Health Ministry
A 6-year-old Indonesian boy died of bird flu at the weekend,
bringing the country’s death toll from the disease to
81, officials said on Monday (9/7). The boy, from the city
of Cilegon in Banten province, suffered from high fever and
breathing difficulties before he died of multi-organ failure
on Sunday (8/7), said Tuty Hendrarwardati, the spokeswoman
of Jakarta’s bird flu hospital. The victim’s family
and neighbors did not have any chickens in their backyard,
Hendrarwardati said. Joko Suyono from the health ministry’s
bird flu centre said it was not clear how the boy got the
infection. “We are still investigating how he had contracted
the virus. So far, we only know that he visited the Bandung
zoo,” Suyono said. (July 9th 2007, Reuters)
New Zealand PM to Visit Indonesia Despite Warnings
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said Monday she will
go ahead with an official visit to Indonesia this month despite
Australian warnings of a heightened security risk.Her own
government has also issued an advisory for New Zealanders
to defer tourist travel to Indonesia. The announcement of
Clark’s visit to Malaysia and Indonesia from July 15-20
comes after Australia warned of a possible attack from the
al-Qaeda linked Jamaah Islamiah (JI) network.Clark said New
Zealand police worked with authorities in Indonesia on security
matters and she had confidence in those arrangements as far
as her own travel went. “I’m in a lot better position
than a tourist embarking on a visit.” During her visits,
Clark will meet Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, both of
whom visited New Zealand in 2005. (July 9th 2007, Antara News)
Bearded Indonesian Baby Attracts Hundreds
Hundreds of Indonesians have flocked to see a baby boy born
with long grey whiskers in a small town in Central Sulawesi,
an official said on Monday (9/7). “People are curious
to see for themselves this strange baby born with a grey beard
three centimeters (one inch) long,” local official Longky
Djanggola said. “Hundreds of people have come to see
the baby first hand.” The Jakarta Post ran a photograph
of the month-old baby, who appeared to have a tuft of soft
whiskers flowing from his chin. “I hope my son grows
up to have a special gift,” the baby’s 16-year-old
mother told an English language daily. (July 9th 2007, India
Times)
Volcanic Fumes Kill Six Indonesian Teenagers
Poisonous sulfur fumes from an Indonesian volcano just outside
the capital killed six school children on a camping trip on
the mountain, police said on Monday (9/7/). Indonesia has
the world’s highest number of active volcanoes, hiking
and camping on volcanoes are popular pastimes. The forested
Salak Mountain one hour south of the capital is a favorite
of young Jakartans. The six teenagers were part a group of
20 high school students from Jakarta on a camping trip who
climbed to the rim of the crater, which is normally out of
bounds for hikers, police officer Thomas Alexander said. One
of the students was found dead with foam on his mouth, a strong
indicator of sulfur poisoning, Alexander said. Several of
the other students were unconscious but were immediately brought
from the 2,180-metre (7,152 feet) peak to the nearest hospital
in critical condition. (July 9th 2007, Reuters)
Night Clubs Turn Up the Volume - Seminyak Residents Complain
Residents in the Jalan Abimanyu (Dyanapura) area of Seminyak
have complained that the night clubs in the area are playing
music too loud and too late at night. A spokesman for the
group Made Sukadana SH said that many of the music venues
were operating outside of the bounds of their license or with
no license at all. Many of those that did have licenses were
licensed as bars and restaurants and not as night clubs or
live music venues. Sukadana said that official complaints
had been lodged with authorities in Denpasar but until now
they had received no response and no action. Sukadana pointed
out that not only were the local residents annoyed by the
music, which could on occasion be heard up to 400 meters away,
but also the guests of neighboring hotels and villas were
being disturbed. He said that the issue was complex as both
the bars as well as hotels paid taxes to the local authorities;
however some balance needed to be found whereby both could
co-exist without disturbing the other. (July 6th 2007, Bali
Post)
