Junior WA Footballer dies in Bali Scooter Accident
A promising young footballer killed in a motor scooter accident in Bali was not wearing protective gear, according to reports from the island. Mitchell Gillam, a popular and talented former student from Aquinas College, died in Bali from injuries he suffered in a motor scooter crash. Like hundreds of young Australian travelers in Bali, Mr. Gillam was apparently not wearing protective gear while out riding with a friend. He was missing for nearly two days and was found by a Balinese local in vegetation near ricefields. Mr. Gillam had been staying at The Bounty hotel in Kuta with several friends and went riding with a friend, Joel, on Tuesday (7/12). Joel, who has no recollection of the accident, found himself in hospital where he had surgery for a broken leg, but in the confusion told friends he had seen “Mitch” alive. Friends spent two days looking for Mr. Gillam, even posting messages on Facebook - while papers in Bali were reporting the discovery of a body. “Anyone that knew him loved him and will really miss him,’’ a relative said. (December 10th 2010)
Australia Strong Supporter of RI’s Climate Change Initiatives
Australia is a strong supporter of Indonesia`s efforts to address climate change and announced an allocation of $45 million to Indonesia as part of Australia`s $599 million fast start climate change financing. According to Australian Embassy media release in its official website on Friday (10/12), Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said his country welcomed Indonesia`s strong leadership on climate change and the opportunity to build on Australia`s long-standing cooperation with Indonesia on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) and climate change adaptation. “Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation - which accounts for 18 per cent of global emissions and more than 60 percent of Indonesia’s total emissions in 2005 - is critical to achieving a global outcome on climate change,” Rudd said. New funding of $30 million will extend support for our demonstration work in Kalimantan and accelerate joint work on Indonesia’s National Carbon Accounting System, taking Australia’s total support for Indonesia`s REDD+ efforts to $100 million. Speaking at the United Nations Climate Change negotiations in Cancun, the Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Minister, Greg Combet, said that developing a national carbon accounting system is critical to providing credible evidence of emissions reductions. “This will be a crucial part of our cooperation as it will enable Indonesia to monitor and measure the success of its efforts. Our existing support for Indonesia`s efforts positions Australia well to be a lead partner in the establishment of a new independent institution for forest measurement, reporting and verification in Indonesia,” Minister Combet said. (December 10th 2010)
Australia Expected to Charge Indonesian Crew from Asylum Seeker Boat
Three Indonesian crewmen from the asylum seeker boat that crashed on Christmas Island last week are likely to be charged by Australian police as authorities in Indonesia search for the people smuggler suspected of organizing the doomed voyage. Supt Gavan Ryan, the policeman leading the criminal investigation into the crash, in which at least 30 people died, said the director of public prosecutions would decide if the crewmen would face multiple charges of manslaughter and reckless endangerment of life. Australian and Indonesian police are also on the trail of the man suspected of arranging the trip from Java to Christmas Island. The authorities believe Ali Regi, a notorious people smugger who specializes in transporting Iranian and Iraqi Kurds to Australia, organized the voyage. Regi uses several different names and passes himself off as Iranian, although he may hail from Afghanistan. He is believed to be a senior member of a smuggling network that arranges accommodation and transport for asylum seekers. If Regi is located, it is likely that the government in Canberra will want to extradite him to face trial in Australia, which has much stricter people smuggler legislation than Indonesia. (December 20th 2010)
Floods Hit Tabanan, Hail in Denpasar
Flood waters have inundated the Tabanan District, Bali, and isolated around 200 families over the weekend. “Incessant heavy rains over the past few days have flooded the area,” Agus Mahendra of a local Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) command post, said here Monday (20/12). The flood reaching a height of up to one meter has paralyzed day activities of the local people. “We tried to lessen the depth by pumping out the floodwaters that are blocking the access roads,” he said. Meanwhile several areas in South Bali were hit by hail stones. The hail fell around Denpasar, Kerobokan, North Kuta, Badung Regency for about 30 minutes at 4pm on Thursday (16/12). “My grandson was crying, and said pebbles were landing on his head. Apparently there is hail in the form of granules,” one local man said. A local weather bureau spokesman Endro Cahyono urged people not to panic when the hailstones fell. “The hail is a common natural phenomenon in the tropics caused by comulonibus clouds some 300 meters above the city” he said. (December 20th 2010)
American Man Gets Jail time for Blasphemy in Lombok
An Indonesian court has sentenced an American businessman to five months in jail for marching into a mosque during Islamic prayers and ripping cables from the loud speakers. Gregory Lloyd Luke was found guilty of blasphemy. Mohammad Bilal, an official at the Praya District Court on Lombok, said the 64-year-old was given a relatively lenient sentence because he was apologetic and polite during the hearings. Luke, himself a Muslim, has a lodge for tourists on Kuta beach. He stormed into the nearby mosque during prayers on Aug. 26 and disabled the speakers, which he said were too noisy. A mob then attacked him and ransacked his house, causing an estimated $20,000 in damage. (December 16th 2010)
Anak Krakatau’s Volcanic Smoke Reaches 1,000 meters High
Mount Anak Krakatau started to become active again by spewing volcanic ashes reaching 1,000 meters high with seismic movements recorded up to 691 times on Saturday (11/12), an official said. In detail, the 691 seismic activities included 17 deep volcanic activity, 187 shallow volcanic activity, 61 outbursts, 31 tremors, seven harmonic tremors, and 388 blow outs. “The Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) is still defining the condition,” he said. Areas around the volcano are still off-limits due to hazardous materials. “Volcanic materials came out of the volcano such as debris and rocks which cause severe burns therefore we have prohibited people including fishermen and tourists to come close to the disaster area,” he said. (December 11th 2010)
Sharp Rise in HIV/AIDS Incidence in NTT
The number of HIV/AIDS sufferers in East Nusatenggara (NTT) in 2010 (up to November) is recorded at 1,129 or up almost 100 percent from 646 in 2009, a local family planning official said. Some 21 percent of the number of cases in 2010 consisted of housewives, Markus Alibrandi, executive director of the East Nusatenggara branch of the Indonesian Family Planning Community (PKBI), said here. He said the deadly disease was now attacking people of all walks of life, including housewives, and therefore it was everybody’s duty to remain alert to the risk of contracting it and participate in efforts to curb its spread. Giving a breakdown of the number of sufferers according to their professions, he said 14 percent were farmers, 12 percent private sector employees, 9 percent commercial sex workers, 6 percent unemployed people, five percent public transport drivers, three percent ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers, two percent police and servicemen, one percent sailors. (December 18th 2010)
Australian Company Plans to Build 50 Villas in Lombok
An Australian company plans to build 50 villas of international standard in South Lombok marine tourism resort in West Nusa Tenggara province, Central Lombok District Head H.M.Suhaili FT said on Sunday (12/12). The construction of the villas in Seger Kuta beach will employ Singaporean architects who are accustomed to designing building structures in the United States and China, he said. He expressed hope that the Australian investor will soon realize the project which will cost billions of rupiahs. He said he will assist the investor in taking care of a permit to build the villas. “The investor can build the villas first and arrange the permit later on. It is easy to arrange the permit and I give the assurance there will not be levies other than those specified in the existing regulation,” he said. He said the local authorities will soon set up a team of officials from relevant agencies to handle investment-related problems in Central Lombok. “We must also create conducive investment climate to attract investors to Central Lombok,” he said. (December 12th 2010)
Australian Man, Thai Woman Face Death Penalty for Drugs in Bali
An Australian boxing coach faces the death sentence for allegedly trying to smuggle more than 1.7 kilograms of methamphetamine into the country through Bali. Prosecutor Anak Agung Atmaja, reading the indictment at the Denpasar district court against Michael Sacatides, 43, said the defendant had tried to smuggle in the drug in four separate packages hidden in a compartment inside his luggage. “In the market, the value of the methamphetamine can reach some Rp 2.8 billion [$311,000],” Atmaja said. The defendant is accused of producing, importing or exporting Class I narcotics weighing more than five grams. Under the 2009 drug law, conviction could result in capital punishment. The secondary charge was storing, controlling or supplying Class I narcotics. Sacatides was arrested at Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport upon arrival on board an Air Asia flight from Bangkok on Oct. 1. Sacatides’s lawyer, Edwin Siregar, said his client claimed the drugs were not his and that he had borrowed the luggage from a friend identified as Akaleshi Tripathi in Bangkok. His client was only planning to spend four days in Bali. The trial resumes on Jan. 5, the court said. Meanwhile, the head of the airport’s customs and excise office, I Made Wijaya, said on Monday (20/12) that a Thai woman was arrested at the airport on Thursday trying to smuggle in 1,280 ecstasy pills worth a market price of Rp. 448 million. The woman was identified as Sophawat Ueamduean, 24, who arrived on board a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok. She tried to smuggle the pills in an unspecified number of large and small packages that she had swallowed, Wijaya said, but her nervousness gave her away. The pills were in plastic packages that were further wrapped in plastic tape. Sophawat, who said she worked as a dancer at a club in Bangkok, said she was promised 500 euros by the drugs’ owner, an Israeli identified only as Alex. She could also face the death sentence if convicted. Firdaus Amir, the head of the airport’s immigration office, said his office, in cooperation with the police and customs officials, has been paying special attention to passengers disembarking from flights from Bangkok. “Most of the customs office’s recent hauls are from passengers coming from Bangkok,” Firdaus said. (December 20th 2010)
