Aid Worker Charged in Relation to Indonesia Helicopter Crash
A Melbourne aid worker faces up to seven years’ jail after being charged with placing butane gas cylinders on board the Royal Australian Navy Sea King helicopter which crashed in Indonesia in 2005. Francis John Tyler, 43, of Hawthorn East appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court yesterday, after the Australian Federal Police raided his home. He was charged with one count of breaching aviation laws by carrying or placing the highly flammable canisters on the helicopter. The aircraft had been providing humanitarian aid to victims of the Nias earthquake. He has been bailed to reappear in Court in March. (December 17th 2008, APP)
Bali Revives Forests to Combat Impact of Climate Change
Bali is determined to turn its 130,686 hectares forests which cover 22.6 percent of its land into green and well preserved areas in facing climate change. Head of the Land and Forest Rehabilitation Agency of the Bali Forestry Office, Agung Ngurah Buana said here Wednesday (17/12) that the areas were expected to protect the economy of the local population. Addressing a workshop on Bali’s Action Plan in facing the impact of the climate change he said that it would take everyone’s commitment and concrete action to solve the impacts of the global climate change. Bali’s land covered 563,666 hectares, of which 22.6 percent consisted of forested land, including 55,313 hectares of arid land. “The land in a critical condition and needs serious handling to prevent floods, landslides and other natural disasters,” he said. The Bali Forestry Office provided 2.1 million trees in 2008 as an effort to support an ongoing reforestation program. Since the beginning of the rainy season in November and December 2008 the seedlings were planted in various places in Bali. The movement which was launched in 2004, had successfully revitalized 28,520 hectares arid land in and outside of the forested land. (December 17th 2008, Antara News)
Australian Tourists Defy Security Warnings and Head to Bali in Record Numbers
Australian tourists are returning to Bali in greater numbers than ever, defying government security warnings, terrorism threats, booze shortages and even a rabies outbreak to enjoy a cheap tropical Christmas holiday. Garuda and Jetstar are running close to capacity to the Indonesian island, despite a downturn in arrivals last month linked to security concerns around the executions of the Bali bombers, The Australian reports. “Advance bookings did drop off but there has been a lot of last-minute bookings for next week,” Jetstar spokeswoman Simone Pregellio said. “And our premium flights, like the Saturday Melbourne to Bali route, are chockers.” Garuda’s Jane Milojevic concurred, saying that although a lot of schoolies trips appeared to have been deferred because of the executions, “we’re confident that Bali will come out of it reasonably well, as people make their holiday plans and they start to reconsider going there”. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show Bali remains the third-most popular foreign holiday destination, behind Thailand and New Zealand. Indonesian records put Australian arrivals in Bali to the end of September this year at about 230,000, with officials hoping this figure will swell to 350,000 next year. (December 23rd 2008, The Australian)
Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport to be Expanded
Construction to expand Bali’s international Ngurah Rai Airport will be conducted beginning in 2009 in order to improve its services to passengers, according to Heru Legowo, general manager of PT Angkasa Pura. The present airport facilities can no longer accommodate the growing number of passengers, he said, noting that the Bali airport was expected to be able to cater about 70 thousand passengers daily, compared with its current accommodation capacity of about 13 thousand passengers daily. According to Heru, development of the airport terminal with total budget of Rp. 900 billion was expected to be completed in 2012. “Special passenger flyover will be constructed starting from the eastern gate, so there will be two street levels of entry heading to the airport terminal as that of the Soekarno - Hatta International Airport,” Heru said. (17th December 2008, Antara News)
Bali Authorities Warned not to Trivialize Rabies Outbreak
Bali authorities should not consider the local rabies outbreak a trivial matter although the Australian tourist flow to the island has not yet been affected, a Garuda airlines official in Western Australia warned. “We hope Bali authorities will expedite the handling of the outbreak. Do not underestimate it. It is a serious matter for tourists,” the general manager of Garuda operations in Perth, Iskandar Basro, said here Wednesday (17/12). All Australian tourists going to Bali were advised to consult medical authorities on vaccination issues. The Indonesian government had officially declared Bali as a rabies-affected region since early December 2008. Rabies is a serious health problem in Asia and Africa where the mortality rate reaches 55,000 people per year. Australia is a major source of tourists to Indonesia, Bali in particular. The Indonesian Culture and Tourism Ministry had projected the number of Australian tourist arrivals in Indonesia, Bali in particular, in 2008 at 380,000 or up from 314.432 in 2007. (December 17th 2008, Antara News)
Bali Musicians Farewell Bobby “Tropical Transit” Toelle
Lead singer of popular fusion music band Tropical Transit passed away in the intensive care unit of the Denpasar Sanglah Hospital on Sunday (14/12) following a motor bike accident in Sanur in the early hours of Saturday morning (6/12). Bobby Toelle sustained severe head injuries and multiple fractures. Bobby was fare-welled in at the Taman Mumbul Cemetary by a throng of family, friends and fellow artists. Bobby had been performing as a vocalist for some three decades and entertained audiences throughout Indonesia, and more recently as the front man for popular local fusion music band “Tropical Transit”. (December 18th 2008, Independent writers)
Worlds Rarest Babies found in Java Jungle
Four calves of the world’s rarest species of rhino have been found in remote jungle on Indonesia’s Java Island, giving hope to efforts to save them from extinction, an official said Tuesday (23/12). “Four Javan rhinos of six to seven months age were seen by scientists on the beach near the jungle during a recent field survey,” Agus Primabudi, the head of the Ujung Kulon National Park in West Java, told AFP. Alerted to the presence of humans, the baby rhinos fled into the park to where two adult rhinos aged roughly 35 to 36, believed to be their parents, were staying, Primabudi said. Primabudi said that the birth of the four calves has given new hope that the Javan rhinos can breed in the wild at levels high enough to keep the local population alive into the future. “The most important thing we can do is to protect their habitat so that they can breed easily,” he said. The Javan rhino, which is distinguished by its small size, single horn and loose skin folds, is likely the most endangered large mammal on the planet, according to WWF. Roughly 90 percent of the world’s 50 or so Javan rhinos live in Ujung Kulon park, an oasis of wilderness on the western edge of one of the world’s most densely populated islands. The Javan rhino is classified as critically endangered by WWF and none of the animals currently live in captivity. (December 23rd 2008, AFP)
Let them drink milk: Ministers Rule on Breast-Feeding Workers
The government has made a joint ministerial decree to make it easier for female workers to breast-feed their babies, albeit indirectly. The stated aim of the decree, issued Monday, is to encourage breast-feeding of infants until they are six months old, as highly recommended by the World Health Organization for the development of healthy children. Under the decree, employers are encouraged to give breast-feeding employees time to pump their breast milk during work hours and the facilities to store it for their babies whom they have to leave at home. Soeharno, a spokesman for the manpower ministry, said the decree referred to Law No. 13/2003 on manpower, which requires employers to recognize the right of female workers to breast-feed their babies. A WHO survey found that breast milk is more effective than formula milk in boosting babies’ immune systems. During the ceremony, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also conferred state awards on several institutions and local governments for their contribution to women’s empowerment. In his speech, the President urged women to do their bit through their work to help the country tackle the effects of the global financial crisis. “I call on women nationwide to participate in the joint efforts to deal with the crisis to save our economy. The government will always be in the vanguard in these efforts,” Yudhoyono said. The President also expressed his appreciation and support for women for their concrete efforts in food diversification, energy saving and tree-planting movements in preparation for global food and environmental crises. (December 24th 2008, Jakarta Post)
