Another Iranian Drug Smuggler Nabbed at Ngurah Rai
Customs officers and anti-drug police at Ngurah Rai international airport have detained an Iranian for trying to smuggle in methamphetamine crystal pills. Head of the Nugrah Rai International Airport customs office Bambang Wahyudi said here on Tuesday (22/12) that Shahbazi Saeid (34) was arrested after arrival on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha. “The flight was through Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and landed at Ngurah Rai airport on Monday, December 21, 2009, at around 7 pm local time,” he said.Shahbazi Saeid said he was just transiting in Denpasar because his real destination was Jakarta. Saeid tried to smuggle 22 capsules of methamphetamine weighing 200 grams which he had swallowed. Earlier this month, seven Iranians carrying 4.5 kg of methamphetamine crystals packed in 580 capsules which had been swallowed were arrested. They were identified as Daryoush Omid Ali, Alireza Safarkhanloo, Bahman Mirzaei, Masoud Soltaninabizadeh, Saeid Soltaninabizadeh, Mohsen Muhammadiargasl, and Mehdl Alinejadgolestan. (December 22nd 2009, Antara News)
PLN Secures $371 Million Loan from Chinese Bank
The Bank of China has agreed to extend US$371.5 million in loans to state electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) to finance the construction of the Tanjung Awar-Awar steam power plant in East Java. The loans were fully supported by Sinosure, a government export credit insurance agency in China, PLN President Director Fahmi Moechtar said on Monday (14/12). The loans, payable in 13 years including a grace period of 3 years, carried a floating interest rate based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), he said. PLN and Bank of China signed a loan agreement in the presence of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani on Monday. Also on Monday, PLN signed an agreement with state-owned Bank Mandiri, Bank BNI and Bank BRI and privately-run Bank BCA for a syndicated loan of Rp. 5.88 trillion to finance the construction of four steam power plants and transmission projects. (December 15th 2009, Antara News)
Dutch Knicker Nicker Caught Red Handed in Ubud
Marie Ingeborg Pieder Nella (48), a female Dutch tourist, was on Thursday (17/12) caught red handed pilfering ladies` underwear on display at the Blue Glue art store in Gianyar district, Bali. The middle-aged blonde was taken to a police station in Ubud for further questioning. Nella had been living in Bali for years and working as a hair stylist in Ubud. She said she stole the garments because of economic reasons. Ubud police Chief Adjunct Commissioner Gde Sena confirmed the incident, and stated that the suspect was compelled to steal because she did not have any money left. To account for her act, Nella had to stay at the police station’s detention cell room while police confiscated the stolen goods worth some Rp. 600,000. (December 18th 2009, Antara News)
Kuta Beach in Bali Reeking from Dead Sardines
Bali’s famous Kuta Beach front is being despoiled, once again, by hundreds of dead fish or Ikan lemuru (Sardinella longiceps). According to Nusa Bali, the dead fish car- casses are washing up in several areas along Kuta beach creating a stench of decaying fish that stretches for meters along the beach. Official from Bali’s Parks and Public Hygiene (DKP) service were on stand by with local residents, hauling away the dead fish as they accumulated on the shoreline. Officials from the fisheries department link the dead fish to a seasonal cycle of plankton growth that poisons the fish. Fisheries expert say the natural phenomenon will play itself out by February. In the meantime, local community groups and government officials are going their best to remove or bury accumulations of decaying fish. The public is reminded that consumption of the dead fish may be a health hazard. (December 22nd 2009, balidiscovery.com)
Greenpeace Exposes Alleged Illegal Forest Clearing in Kalimantan
Greenpeace has claimed that it has found new evidence exposing illegal forest clearing by the Sinar Mas group in Kalimantan. The international NGO called on the Indonesian President to order the suspension of the company’s operations, according to Greenpeace`s press statement published on its official website on Saturday (12/12). Green peaces new report showed how Sinar Mas groups` palm oil operations in Kalimantan were in violation of national laws and in breach of principles of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) as it is cutting timber, clearing forests and draining peat land without proper environmental impact assessments or obtaining correct permits. Indonesia has one of the fastest rates of forest loss in the world. The destruction of the country’s peat lands alone accounts for 4% of global human induced greenhouse gas emissions, propelling Indonesia to become the world’s third largest greenhouse gas emitter, after the US and China, Greenpeace said. Greenpeace is calling on President Yudhoyono to implement an immediate moratorium on any further destruction of Indonesia’s rain forests and peat lands. (December 12th 2009, Antara News)
Second Bali Airport to Boost Lovina Beach Property Investment
Construction of a second Bali airport, to be completed by 2011, is expected to particularly impact on beachfront property investment opportunities in the north Bali Lovina Beach area with its beautiful tourist attractions and relaxing lifestyle. Bali’s Governor Made Mangku Pastika has confirmed that Bali will move ahead with plans to build a second airport near its northern shore and the plans have been endorsed by both the Vice President and the Minister of Culture and Tourism. Beachfront property prices for foreigners are currently low compared to other parts of Bali, already prompting many overseas investors to purchase villas and apartments in Lovina and the second airport plans are expected to stimulate property values in the mid term. Northern Bali is home to a number of popular tourist destinations, such as Lovina beach, Singaraja, and the twin lakes in Bedugul in Gianyar. At Lovina, pastimes such as eco-tourism, dolphin watching, snorkeling, scuba diving, visiting hot springs, picturesque waterfalls, temples and historic heritage sites are already attracting increasing numbers of tourists. (December 22nd 2009, PRweb)
Strategic Airlines Granted Ozjet Rights to Bali
Strategic Airlines has been officially granted Ozjet’s rights to access Bali by the Australian government, and could look to launch services as early as March next year. After acquiring Ozjet’s operations in late June, Strategic Airlines asked the government for a transfer of air rights on 408 seats between Brisbane and Bali in order to operate two weekly services between the two destinations. Aviation officials noted that while the 408 seats would be granted for Strategic, if the carrier were to operate two weekly services it would need an extra 50 seats, and approval for this surplus would have to be granted separately. Though Ozjet has been granted the rights to launch in March, e-Travel Blackboard understands that the carrier is uncertain as to whether or not this can be achieved. (December 18th 2009, e-Travel Blackboard)
Archeological Team Finds Ancient Shrine in Yogyakarta
The Archeological Heritage Preservation Board (BP3) of Yogyakarta has confirmed that a site discovered at the Indonesian Islamic University (UII), Yogyakarta, used to be a shrine, not a bathing facility (petirtaan). The leader of the excavation team, Budhy Sancoyo, said, however, to which religion the shrine belonged and when it was built could not yet be determined because no important leads had been found so far. On the second excavation day, the team succeeded in unearthing the shrine’s main gate which was 50 cm in width, a 6x6 meters wide main yard and a 60 cm wide entrance. According to Sancoyo, the finding was a little different from the one outside the main entrance gate which was believed to be the civilization center which only had a 38-cm wide gate. An artifact in the form of a double triangle corner decoration was found at the main temple located at the western end of the shrine which was discovered some seven meters away from the main gate. The team had yet to establish which of two religions the shrine builders embraced - Buddhism or Hinduism - as there were many similarities between the two, their difference being only in the statues they set up. (December 21st 2009, Antara News)
Catholic Priest Investigated for Helping Rubber Planters in North Sumatra
Hundreds of people, including priests, nuns and lay people, both Christians and Muslims, gathered in front of North Sumatra’s police headquarters to protest against the detention and interrogation of Fr Rantius Manalu, a Catholic priest and human rights activist. Mgr Ludovicus Manullang, bishop of Sibolga, led the demonstrators. Father Manalu was detained and subjected to a seven-hour interrogation because he had “handed out rubber seeds to farmers” to be planted in an area left vacant for a long time, but claimed by the North Sumatra chapter of the Forestry Ministry. He will have to respond to charges of unauthorized use of public property. A local farmer, Robinson Tarihoran, will join him in the dock, for cooperating in taking over an area demarcated as Register 47 Forest. The Catholic priest is famous for defending the people of Parbatua and Hutaginjang, two villages in sub-districts in North Barus, central Tapanuli (northern Sumatra). He encouraged locals to farm land that had been left unused for a long time and handed out rubber seeds for planting. However, the land is claimed by the government. The priest’s attorney, Diah Susilowati, said that the minutes of the interrogation were not signed, “Because legal procedures were not respected.” Mgr Manullang sided with Father Manalu right away. He stressed that the “decision to hand out the seeds to farmers was taken with the accord of the diocese,” and that the priest “fulfilled his pastoral mission by defending the rights of the people.” Sodikin Lubis, a local farmer and a prominent Muslim community leader, expressed his solidarity to the Catholic priest. “Local farmers have been using the land for a long time. They hold a permit dating back to 1941.” In an e-mail to AsiaNews, Father Manalu said that the charges against him are “unfair and baseless,” and this for three reasons: “Contrary to the police file, I did not do anything wrong, morally or otherwise. I do not own any land, farmed or otherwise. I am an environmentalist and if I was allowed I would take care of the trees to give new life to the land in Sibolga.” (December 17th 2009, AsiaNews.it)
