Red Hot Rocks Hurled from Anak Krakatau Reach 2.5 km High
The red hot glowing rocks spewed by Mt Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait, Lampung province, on Sunday (20/1) at 8.30 pm had reached an altitude of up to 2.5 km, posing a potential threat to fishermen or other people getting close to the volcano. The rocks could be clearly seen from Sertung and Rakata islands. Observers reported that each of the eruptions had a deafening sound and smoke bellowing to 2,000 meters high. The temperature of the red hot rocks hurled by the volcano may reach as high as 1,500 degrees centigrade. In the last three days, the frequency of the volcanic tremors of Anak Krakatau reached 700 to 900 times per day, while in the past the frequency was usually only 600 times per day.(January 21st 2008, Antara News)
Indonesian Soldier Shoots Trapped Rare Tiger
A soldier on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island shot a trapped endangered tiger nine times before skinning it and distributing the meat, a report said Thursday (31/1). He found the rare Sumatran tiger after villagers in Riau province reported it was caught in a rope trap intended for wild boar, Bastoni from the Sumatran Tiger Conservation Program was quoted as saying by news website Detikcom. The soldier went to the site with residents but instead of helping it, he shot it nine times in the head, Bastoni said. He then ordered the villagers to cut it up and share out the meat, while the skin was taken back to decorate the local military post, Bastoni said. The soldier has not yet been charged with breaking any laws. Sumatra is the only island where wild tigers can still be found in Indonesia. Indonesia’s nature conservation agency estimates only 200 to 300 remain.(January 31st 2008, AFP)
Japan to Build Bird Flu Laboratory in Java
The Japanese government has decided to construct a laboratory of international standard as a gift to help Indonesia increase its efforts in the fight against bird flu. The laboratory is designed to conduct tests for the H5N1 virus as well as do research on the deadly disease of bird flu. The laboratory, located in Surabaya, East Java, has a total investment of 1.7 million USD, and will commence construction in February 2008. (January 28th 2008, Jawa Pos)
Australia - Indonesia Sign Air Safety Agreement
Australian and Indonesian transport ministers have signed a new agreement to work together to improve air safety in Indonesia. Under Australia’s $24 million assistance package, up to 40 Indonesian air safety inspectors will be trained to international standards. Speaking in Jakarta, Australian Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said the initiative was prompted by the Garuda crash which killed 21 people, including five Australians last March. “The incident at Yogyakarta, now almost 12 months ago, brought home in a very practical and tragic way that Australian citizens also have a direct interest in safety of transport in Indonesia,” he said. (January 31st 2008, AFP)
Garuda Pilot Charged with Manslaughter
The pilot of a Garuda plane which crashed and burned in Yogyakarta last March has been arrested and charged with six offences. Captain Marwoto Komar faces up to seven years jail for manslaughter. After being questioned for about 10 hours yesterday, Komar was detained overnight ahead of further questioning today. Komar was flying Garuda flight 200 when he ignored 15 automated warnings and the advice of his co-pilot to abort a fast landing at Yogyakarta airport. The plane overshot the runway and crashed and burned, killing 21 people including five Australians. Indonesian police named Komar as a suspect months ago and he has been questioned before. (February 5th 2008, ABC News)
Strong Blast Destroys Two Cars in Bali
A strong explosion occurred at the garage of a travel bureau on Jalan Gatot Subroto I, on Tuesday at around noon, destroying two cars. Police could not yet conclude whether the explosion was of a bomb or of other explosive materials because it was still under investigation, Bali Police Spokesman Senior Commissioner AS Reiban, who was already at the explosion site, said. (February 5th 2008, Antara News)
Jakarta Woman Dies of Bird Flu - Death Toll 103
A 29-year old Indonesian woman has died of bird flu, bringing the death toll from the virus in Indonesia to 103, the health ministry said on Monday (4/2). The woman, from Tangerang, west of the Indonesian capital Jakarta, died on Saturday after being treated at the city’s Persahabatan hospital for about a week, ministry spokeswoman Lily Sulistyowati said in a statement. The woman’s neighbors kept chickens but the source of the infection remained unclear, she said. The woman is the eighth person to die of bird flu in Indonesia this year. Some experts say the flare-up is caused by a number factors such as damp weather and poor sanitation during the rainy season. (February 4th 2008, Reuters)
Bali to Hold Festivals in Support of Visit Indonesia Year 2008
Indonesia’s resort island Bali is expected to organize 17 festivals, 14 of which already approved by the Minister for Arts and Tourism, to celebrate the “Visit Indonesia Year 2008”, according to local media on Sunday (3/2). The festivals were expected to attract tourists to visit Bali, Antara news agency quoted head of the Bali Chapter of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI) Ir Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati as saying. The promotion for the events had also been made, he said in Bali. Oka said his side had set the target of drawing 1.9 million foreign tourists from the events in 2008. The target was set based on the arrivals of 1,664,047 foreign tourists in 2007. Last year, about 5.5 million foreigners visited Indonesia. The government was targeting 7 million foreign visitors in 2008. (February 3rd 2008, Xinhua)
Bali Postcard Arrival ‘Mystery’
A postcard from Bali has arrived at a Worcestershire home in the UK despite not having an address written on it. The card, labeled only “Terry, Sue and Jodie”, arrived safely at the Smith family’s home in Chaddesley Corbett. It was sent two weeks earlier by staff at a hotel on the Indonesian island where the family stayed over Christmas. Postman Wayne Geary recognized the family’s names, but he is perplexed by the postcard’s arrival at the Kidderminster sorting office. Royal Mail believes the postcard, not even marked “England”, may have originally had a label, which explains how it arrived in the UK. But Mr. Geary said without this label he did not understand how the postcard then made it to Kidderminster. “I have no idea how it got to Kidderminster. It’s a bit like the Twilight Zone really. I just do not know - it’s spooky,” he said. (February 3rd 2008, BBC News)
Review into Bali Bombers’ Decision
The Supreme Court has ordered Bali’s Denpasar district court, which issued the original death sentences against the bombers, to appoint panels of judges to review their individual cases, court head I Nyoman Gede Wirya said.Amrozi, Ali Ghufron and Imam Samudra played key roles in the 2002 bombings on the mainly Hindu resort island, which left 202 people dead, mostly foreign holiday makers. The panels “will open hearings to review the procedures that led to the Supreme Court’s ruling to reject the convicts’ demand for case reviews, and the legality of that ruling,’’ he said. He said the Supreme Court had ordered the lower court to hold the hearings and the final decision on whether procedures were flawed was up to that body. If the Supreme Court accepted it made errors, it would open the door to a second case review. Lawyers for the three death row convicts have long insisted that the procedures taken by the Supreme Court to reject their demand for a case review were flawed since an open hearing was not held.The attorney general’s office warned in January that the convicts had just 30 days to appeal for presidential clemency or else face imminent execution. The deadline passed without any request being lodged. (February 5th 2008, AFP)
