Obama Deeply Regrets Having To Postpone Indonesia Visit
US President Barack Obama has expressed his deep regret that he has to postpone his trip to Asia, including Indonesia, that was scheduled for later this month, according to a June 3 statement by White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs as quoted by the US Embassy in Jakarta. “The President looks forward to rescheduling so that he can visit both countries soon. President Obama underscored his commitment to our close alliance with Australia and our deepening partnership with Indonesia,” Gibbs said as reported on the embassy’s official website. President Obama spoke with Prime Minister Rudd of Australia, and with President Yudhoyono. President Obama informed President Yudhoyono of Indonesia that he must postpone his June visit to Indonesia due to the on-going environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The reason cited for the postponement was needed to address the current BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. President Obama has characterized the oil spill as “enraging as it is heartbreaking.” He also vowed that he “will continue to pursue any and all responsible means of stopping this leak,” and that he will not relent “until this leak is contained, until the waters and shores are cleaned up.” The President said he looks forward to visiting both countries and to continuing close coordination on issues of mutual interest. He plans to hold full bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Rudd and President Yudhoyono on the margins of the G-20 meeting in Canada.
Chain-smoking Indonesian Toddler in Rehab
A 2-year-old Indonesian boy who smoked 40 cigarettes a day his receiving treatment to wean him off smoking, the head of the national children’s commission said Saturday. Ardi Rizal started consuming cigarettes when he was 18 months old and images of him smoking have been shown on international television after local media reported on his nicotine habit. The boy has been under the care of the National Commission on Child Protection since late last month and is receiving psychological therapy, commission chairman Arist Merdeka Sirait said. “We have managed to reduce the number of cigarettes he smokes from 40 to 20,” he said. “We keep him busy with activities such as learning, playing and going on recreational trips, but it’s very hard to wean tobacco addicts of cigarettes and it takes time.” Sirait said the commission was also treating two other smoking infants. These cases show that smoking among children is rampant, not only among children over five years old but also infants,” he said. “Many smoking parents are unaware of the danger of smoking and they just give children their cigarettes when they ask for them,” he added. He also blamed the phenomenon on blatant cigarette advertising on television. Indonesia allows cigarette advertising in the form of electronic, printed and outdoor media, even though images of cigarette packs and someone smoking are banned in advertisements. The country produced 240 billion cigarettes in 2008, according to the Trade Ministry. Nearly one-third of Indonesia’s 230 million people and more than 60% of its male population smokes, according to the Demographic Institute of the University of Indonesia’s School of Economics. Among youths, 13.5% use tobacco, it said. The government is drafting a tobacco control regulation that will include restrictions on cigarette advertisements and a ban on selling cigarettes to children as well as restrictions on sponsorship by tobacco companies.
‘Most Improved’ Garuda Returns In Triumph to European Airways
In its latest stamp of approval, flagship carrier PT Garuda Indonesia, last month was named the world’s most improved airline, and has resumed flights to Europe after almost six years, including a two-year ban over safety fears. A Garuda Airbus 330-200 took off on Tuesday from Jakarta bound for Amsterdam via Dubai. One of Asia’s most successful airlines through the global economic downturn, Garuda has been expanding its routes and buying planes ahead of a planned initial public offering this year. The Amsterdam connection is the first Garuda flight to Europe since late 2004 and comes less than a year after European Union regulators cleared it to fly in EU airspace again. Brussels had banned all Indonesian planes in 2007 after a series of crashes and incidents exposed poor safety standards across the Indonesian aviation industry. Spokesman Pujobroto said Garuda also planned to open routes to Frankfurt, London, Paris and Rome. Garuda was named the world’s most improved airline last month by London-based research company Skytrax. The resumption of flights to Europe may spur revenue and help attract investors to a $300 million IPO Garuda is targeting by the end of September. President Director Emirsyah Satar forecast profit would increase 20 percent this year. “Garuda is well placed for expansion,” said David Chang, a director of UOB Kay Hian Securities Indonesia. “The EU move is a stamp of approval because in the past, one worry was that Garuda may be cutting corners on repairs and maintenance when they had financial difficulties.” Garuda, the country’s biggest carrier, posted net income of Rp. 1 trillion ($109 million) last year, its third-consecutive year of profit. Garuda has a four-star ranking, on a par with British Airways and Emirates. “We are coming back with a premium product, new aircraft and great services,” Emirsyah said. “The market is big enough because there are people wanting to visit Indonesia and Indonesians traveling to Europe.”
Schapelle Corby Wants to Have a Baby
Corby’s mother Rosleigh Rose told Woman’s Day her daughter was committed to having a baby and would make a great mother. She said it doesn’t matter to her if she gives birth inside Kerobokan Prison, where she is currently serving a 20-year sentence for importing 4.2kg of marijuana in 2004. Ms Rose said Schapelle started thinking about children after her half-brother James Kisina became a dad. “She is going to have a baby and she’s going to be a great mum,” Rose told Woman’s Day. “If she doesn’t come home this time, she can have one in there … so what?” Kisina, Corby’s half-brother who was jailed over a violent home invasion in 2006, became a father when his partner Raquel gave birth earlier this year to baby Semisi. Kisina plans to take the baby to visit Schapelle during an annual trip to Bali.
Rare Javan Rhino Found Dead in Indonesia
The carcass of a critically endangered Javan rhino has been found in Indonesia, conservationists said Monday (7/6), bringing the world’s scarcest mammal one step closer to extinction. The remains of the male rhino were found two weeks ago in Ujung Kulon National Park in West Java, home to the species’ last viable population of less than 50, experts said. Rhino Foundation of Indonesia head Widodo Ramono said the animal could have died during the rainy season around February to March. Its horn was intact, meaning it probably was not killed by poachers, he said. “There were no signs that it had been killed or poisoned. We suspect it could have died from an illness or, since it was partly submerged in water when it died, it could have drowned,” he added. The Javan rhino is distinguished from African rhinos by its small size, single horn and loose skin folds. Rhino horns are used in traditional Chinese and Korean medicine although most Asian countries have banned the trade. Around 44 Javan rhinos are believed to live in Ujung Kulon, an oasis of wilderness on the western edge of one of the world’s most densely populated islands. Another four or so are found in Vietnam’s Cat Loc reserve, where a rhino was killed by poachers last month. No one knows the exact numbers but the results of a survey of the rhino population in Ujung Kulon are expected by the end of the week, Ramono said. “The survey’s almost completed. We’ve placed 60 camera-traps around the park and we’re now collating the data to verify the numbers,” he said.
Former British Diplomat Passes Away in Lombok
A former British Diplomat, Sally Silnda, 56, passed away while holidaying on Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara Province, early Tuesday (8/6). The body of the former diplomat once posted at the British embassy in Jakarta, was being kept in the province’s general hospital for a medical assesment. Marthin John, 56, Silnda`s husband, took the body from Green Valley hotel at Senggigi tourist resort, West Lombok District, to the local hospital by a police ambulance. John said he found his wife lifeless in bed when he woke up in the morning. “I shook her shoulders but she remained motionless, apparently she passed away in her sleep last night,” he said. John said his wife had complained about a backache before going to bed, but he thought it was nothing because she had complained about it frequently. He wanted his wife to be buried in Indonesia, but had not yet decided whether on Lombok Island or elsewhere. “For us, Indonesia has already become home, so I think Sally herself would prefer to be buried in Indonesia,” the mathematics professor and lecturer at Crawford Comprehensive School, Britain, said.
