Bali declares 'garbage emergency' amid sea of waste

Yahoo – AFP, Bagus SARAGIH, December 28, 2017

The Indonesian holiday island has become an embarrassing poster child for the
country's trash problem (AFP Photo/SONNY TUMBELAKA)

Kuta (Indonesia) (AFP) - Bali's palm-fringed Kuta beach has long been a favourite with tourists seeking sun and surf, but nowadays its golden shoreline is disappearing under a mountain of garbage.

Plastic straws and food packaging are strewn between sunbathers, while surfers bobbing behind the waves dodge waste flushed out from rivers or brought in by swirling currents.

"When I want to swim, it is not really nice. I see a lot of garbage here every day, every time," Austrian traveler Vanessa Moonshine explains.

"It's always coming from the ocean. It's really horrible," she adds.

Often dubbed a paradise on earth, the Indonesian holiday island has become an embarrassing poster child for the country's trash problem.

The archipelago of more than 17,000 islands is the world's second biggest contributor to marine debris after China, and a colossal 1.29 million metric tons is estimated to be produced annually by Indonesia.

The waves of plastic flooding into rivers and oceans have been causing problems for years -- clogging waterways in cities, increasing the risk of floods, and injuring or killing marine animals who ingest or become trapped by plastic packaging.

Officials in Bali have declared a "garbage emergency" across a stretch of coast that 

includes Jimbaran, Kuta and Seminyak beaches (AFP Photo/SONNY TUMBELAKA)

The problem has grown so bad that officials in Bali last month declared a "garbage emergency" across a six-kilometre (3.7-mile) stretch of coast that included popular beaches Jimbaran, Kuta and Seminyak.

Officials deployed 700 cleaners and 35 trucks to remove roughly 100 tons of debris each day to a nearby landfill.

"People with green uniform were collecting the garbage to move it away but the next day I saw the same situation," said German Claus Dignas, who claimed he saw more garbage with each visit to the island.

"No one wants to sit on nice beach chairs and facing all this rubbish," he added.

Bali's rubbish problem is at its worst during the annual monsoon season, when strong winds push marine flotsam onto the beach and swollen rivers wash rubbish from riverbanks to the coast, according to Putu Eka Merthawan from the local environment agency.

"This garbage does not come from people living in Kuta and nearby areas," he told AFP.

"It would be suicidal if Kuta people were doing it."

War on waste

Some 72 kilometres from Kuta, Mount Agung has been threatening to erupt for two months, prompting tourists to cancel visits and displacing tens of thousands of villagers living within a 10 kilometre-radius of the volcano's crater.

Indonesia is the world's second biggest contributor to marine debris after 

China (AFP Photo/SONNY TUMBELAKA)

But the island's waste problem is no less of a threat, said I Gede Hendrawan, an environmental oceanography researcher from Bali's Udayana University.

"Garbage is aesthetically disturbing to tourists, but plastic waste issue is way more serious," he told AFP.

"Microplastics can contaminate fish which, if eaten by humans, could cause health problems including cancer."

Indonesia is one of nearly 40 countries that are part of UN Environment's Clean Seas campaign, which aims to halt the tide of plastic trash polluting the oceans.

As part of its commitment, the government has pledged to reduce marine plastic waste by 70 percent by 2025.

It plans to boost recycling services, curb the use of plastic bags, launch cleanup campaigns and raise public awareness.

Still, the scale of the problem facing Indonesia is huge, due to its population of more than 250 million and poor waste processing infrastructure.

Hendrawan, who says both locals and tourists are responsible for the island's rubbish problem, urged authorities to invest more resources to tackle the problem.

"The Bali government should spare more budget to raise people's awareness to take care of local rivers, not to dump waste," he said.

"The central government should boost the campaign to reduce use of plastic packaging and ban free plastic bags at convenient stores."

Bali's palm-fringed Kuta beach has long been a favourite with tourists seeking sun and surf, but nowadays its golden shoreline is disappearing under a mountain of garbage. pic.twitter.com/Y27qrxapmy

— AFP news agency (@AFP) December 28, 2017

Australian gran escapes death in Malaysia drugs case

Yahoo – AFP, Patrick Lee, 27 December 2017

Exposto is escorted upon arrival in court before her acquittal

An Australian grandmother who said she was tricked into carrying drugs into Malaysia after falling for an online romance scam was Wednesday cleared of trafficking, a crime punishable by death.

Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto wept and hugged her son after being found not guilty of smuggling crystal methamphetamine, a rare outcome in a country where hundreds of people have been sentenced to death for drugs offences in recent years.

"I'm happy now that I'm free," said the 54-year-old, as she was ushered out of the courtroom after the verdict.

But prosecutors have indicated they want to appeal the acquittal, her lawyer said, meaning Exposto won't be able to go back home yet and there is still a chance she could be sentenced to death.

She was arrested in December 2014 while in transit at Kuala Lumpur airport with 1.1 kilos (2.4 pounds) of the drug stitched into the compartment of a backpack she was carrying.

The mother of four argued she did not know about the hidden stash of "ice". She said she had been fooled into carrying the bag after travelling to China to see someone she met online called "Captain Daniel Smith", who had claimed to be a US serviceman.

Anyone caught with at least 50 grams (1.75 ounces) of crystal meth is considered a trafficker in Muslim-majority Malaysia, and death by hanging is mandatory in the case of a conviction.

However handing down his verdict at the High Court in Shah Alam, outside Kuala Lumpur, Judge Ghazali Cha accepted the defence's argument that Exposto did not know the bag contained drugs and acquitted her.

"I agree with the defence lawyer that the accused did not have knowledge about the drugs," he said.

"I believe that at that time her (Exposto) feelings of love towards 'Captain Daniel Smith' overcame everything, including her own husband, her family and her future."

Hundreds on death row

Exposto's lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah welcomed the verdict but said he was surprised at prosecutors' intention to appeal as the judge had sided firmly with the defence. Prosecutors have 14 days to lodge the challenge.

After engaging in a long online romance, Exposto had travelled to Shanghai to see "Smith".

But she did not succeed in meeting her supposed love interest while there and ended up being given a bag by a stranger, who asked her to take it to Melbourne.

When she arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport to change flights, she mistakenly went through immigration as she was unfamiliar with the airport.

She voluntarily offered her bags for customs inspection and the drugs were discovered.

There are at least 900 people on death row in Malaysia, officials have said, but executions have been rare in recent years.

Malaysian lawmakers voted last year to amend legislation so that capital punishment is no longer mandatory in drug-trafficking cases.

But the changes have not yet come into force as they must be passed by the upper house, meaning that in the case of a conviction in Exposto's case, the judge would have had to impose the death penalty.

Two Australians were hanged in Malaysia in 1986 for heroin trafficking -- the first Westerners to be executed in the country -- in a case that strained relations.

In 2013 Dominic Bird, a former truck driver from Perth, was acquitted of drug trafficking charges after he was allegedly caught with 167 grams of crystal methamphetamine.

Australian grandma escapes death penalty in Malaysia drugs case: Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto, who said she was tricked into carrying drugs into Malaysia after falling for an online romance scam, has been cleared of trafficking, a crime punishable by death https://t.co/i0tFYnOqtx pic.twitter.com/U5l9fH2NPZ

— AFP news agency (@AFP) December 27, 2017

Soekarno-Hatta Airport Launches Sky Train

Jakarta Globe, December 26, 2017

The sky train at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport operates 20 hours
a day, from 4 a.m. to midnight. (Antara Photo/Muhammad Iqbal) 

Jakarta. State-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura II launched the inter-terminal sky train, known as Kalayang, at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Tuesday (26/12).

The sky train will be operating 20 hours a day, from 4 a.m. to midnight, in line with the airport's operational hours.

Angkasa Pura II president director Muhammad Awaluddin said the sky train reflects the company's efforts in providing comfort to passengers and innovating the airport's services.

"We hope that with this new facility Soekarno-Hatta International Airport will become one of the best airports in the world and will be among the best airports on [airline ranking site] Skytrax," he said.

The train is now available at Terminal 1, Terminal 2 and Terminal 3.

"We plan to connect the sky train to Terminal 4 in the future, and to the sky hub commercial area," Awaluddin said.

A rail link to the airport from Sudirman Baru Station in Central Jakarta will also open on Tuesday. Tickets will be sold at a discounted price of Rp. 30,000 ($ 2.21). On Jan. 2 the fare will increase to Rp. 70,000.

The airport train will stop at the Duri and Batu Ceper stations before reaching the airport. Soon the link will be extended to Manggarai Station in South Jakarta.

Jakarta launches the first train connecting its international airport to the city centre, as the sprawling Indonesian capital moves to tackle the gridlock that can make the trip an hours-long headache pic.twitter.com/z6LGnNTgVJ

— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 2, 2018

Thai street food cook feels heat of Michelin fame

Yahoo – AFP, Joe Freeman, 21 December 2017

Jay Fai's eponymous streetside eatery shot to global fame overnight after it
was awarded a Michelin star this month at the launch of Bangkok's first guide

Wearing her trademark ski goggles for protection from flying sparks, Thai cook Jay Fai hunches over two sizzling woks as tourists from around the world line up in three-hour-long queues at her modest streetside eatery.

The 72-year-old's crab-stuffed omelettes have always been popular among local gourmands, but her eponymous restaurant shot to global fame overnight after it was awarded a Michelin star this month at the launch of Bangkok's first guide.

While she is proud of the achievement, former dressmaker Jay Fai is still adjusting to the media frenzy that has seized her open-air kitchen in Bangkok's old quarter.

"There are advantages and disadvantages," she told AFP as she flung ingredients into a wok, explaining she did not have time for a formal interview.

"The downside is being exhausted ... Also, the government wants me to promote Thailand. I feel like I don't have a choice," she added.

She has been asked to appear at the seaside town of Hua Hin for an international tennis tournament this weekend, where she will teach top-ranked players to make her signature crab omelette and the Thai soup dish Tom Yum Kung.

"I will not be selling for two days," she said ruefully, adding that she would even consider handing back the coveted star if it meant returning to her normal routine.

Any distraction from work means a loss of business for Jay Fai, whose spirited cooking style -- a flurry of activity from grabbing handfuls of raw seafood to dishing out plates of the finished product -- is one of the main attractions.

Her supersized portions of crab and jumbo prawns are also part of the draw, though the dishes are far pricier than the city's average street vendor at upwards of $20 a pop.

The unflashy eatery, which has partial indoor seating, was the only streetside venue among the 17 Bangkok restaurants awarded stars on December 6, when Michelin unveiled its first guide for the Thai capital.

Michelin only awards stars to establishments with fixed addresses, leaving many of Bangkok's famous roadside stalls out of the running at a time when the city is attempting to move them off the pavements and into organised markets.

Jay Fai had heard of the brand name Michelin but was not aware that the French tyre company had anything to do with cooking.

She is not the first chef to feel the heat over the flood of attention that comes with a Michelin star.

In September a chef in southern France with three stars said he wanted to be stripped of the award because of the "huge pressure" to meet its standards on a daily basis.

But Jay Fai's colleagues are not worried about her.

"She's quite strong. She never gets ill," said Kung, an assistant who has worked there for 10 years.

Constitutional Court Rejects Bid to Criminalize Extramarital Sex

Jakarta Globe, Sheany, December 15, 2017

The Constitutional Court on Thursday (14/12) rejected a petition by a conservative
 group to make extramarital and same-sex relationships illegal. (Antara Photo/
Rosa Panggabean)

Jakarta. The Constitutional Court on Thursday (14/12) rejected a petition by a conservative group to make extramarital and same-sex relationships illegal.

The court said the petition was legally baseless.

In May, a group of academics, some of them members of conservative group Family Love Alliance (AILA), filed a petition requesting the court to impose criminal penalties of up to five years in prison for all sex outside marriage.

Five of nine judges voted to dismiss the petition, arguing that new offenses should be introduced to the criminal code by lawmakers, not the Constitutional Court.

"Just because a law is considered incomplete or no longer in line with social norms does not mean it contradicts the Constitution," Judge Saldi Isra said.

Beside Saldi, the judges who rejected the petition are Maria Farida Indrawati, Manahan Sitompul, I Gede Palguna and Suhartoyo.

According to the Community Legal Aid Institute (LBH Masyarakat), the petition was an attempt to deteriorate Indonesia's human rights protection agenda. In a tweet it expressed hope that the court will not bow to group pressure.

US man on the run after escaping notorious Bali prison

Yahoo – AFP, December 11, 2017

The pair made a break from the Indonesian resort island's main prison by cutting a
hole in the roof with a hacksaw, authorities said. It was not clear how they obtained
the tool (AFP Photo/SONNY TUMBELAKA)

Denpasar (Indonesia) (AFP) - A US man convicted on drugs charges escaped Bali's notorious Kerobokan jail in an early Monday morning jailbreak with another American prisoner who was caught almost immediately, an official said.

The pair made a break from the Indonesian resort island's main prison by cutting a hole in the roof with a hacksaw, authorities said. It was not clear how they obtained the tool.

Police are now scouring the palm-fringed island and handing out pictures of escapee Chrishan Beasley, a 32-year-old arrested in August for carrying five grams of hashish.

Foreigners are regularly arrested for drugs offences on Bali.

Beasley was awaiting a sentencing in his case. It was not immediately clear how much jail time he was facing, but Indonesia has some of the world's toughest drugs laws, with the death penalty available in some trafficking cases.

Beasley's accomplice in the escape, convicted thief Paul Anthony Hoffman, 57, was apprehended before he could make good on the escape.

"Paul was immediately recaptured by the locals who saw him trying to escape while Chrishan, who climbed up before him, managed to run away," Kerobokan chief warden Tonny Nainggolan told AFP.

Hoffman is serving a 20-month sentence for robbing a number of convenience stores at knifepoint.

Kerobokan houses some of the country's most notorious and high-profile inmates, including members of the so-called Bali Nine which plotted to bring heroin into Australia via Bali. Two members of the group have been executed.

Jailbreaks are common in Indonesia, where inmates are often held in unsanitary conditions at overcrowded and poorly guarded prisons.

In May, more than 200 inmates staged a mass breakout from an overcrowded prison on Sumatra island, while last year a convicted child murderer escaped from jail by putting on a woman's Muslim veil, make-up and sunglasses and walking out past unsuspecting guards.