US team joins in search for plane
By Hamilah Norah,WNS Indonesia Correspondent
SULAWESI - A team of US investigators has arrived on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi to take part in a search for a plane which disappeared without trace on Monday. The six-man team, including two representatives from the plane's manufacturer Boeing, will investigate causes of the accident. The search for the Boeing 737-400 was widened on Friday, as there has still been no sign of the wreckage. A total of 102 people were on board the plane, which was operated by Adam Air. Rescue teams are combing the west of the island for the plane, which vanished off radar screens on Monday.
The search is now focusing on the flight path and the weather in the area at the time, which may have caused it to veer off-course. The flight was last identified halfway through its flight from Surabaya, on central Java island, to Manado, on the north-east tip of Sulawesi. The search had previously concentrated on areas in western Sulawesi, where emergency signals from the plane were last received, but has now moved elsewhere. "It's impossible that it just disappeared," said Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla. "Even if it takes a month ... we have to keep searching."
Bad weather has hampered the search, as have false leads. Government officials have apologised for erroneously saying earlier this week that the wreckage had been found.
Meanwhile, off the island of Java, another search and rescue operation is continuing, to find victims of a ferry which sank in the area last weekend. So far, more than 230 people have been rescued alive, but twice that number are still believed to be missing. President Sushilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered that the search should carry on, citing cases from the 2004 Asian tsunami where people stayed alive on rafts for up to three weeks. An inquiry has begun into the causes of the disaster. One of the investigators involved said initial reports from surviving passengers and crew suggested the ship had not been overloaded, and that bad weather may have contributed to the sinking. But she said the committee had not yet reached any conclusions and investigators plan to interview the captain of the ship in the coming days.
Bangkok warned on more attacks
By Kelvin Goh,WNS Thailand Bureau Chief
BANGKOK - Thailand's army-installed prime minister has warned the public to brace themselves for similar attacks to the New Year's Eve bombings in Bangkok. Surayud Chulanont made his warning in parliament, but did not give details of any specific threats. His government has hinted it believes politicians ousted in September's military coup may have been behind the bombings that killed three people. Suspicion has also fallen on disaffected soldiers and police. Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas said it was "highly likely" the attacks were carried out by "men in uniform". "It's 90% sure that it is politically motivated, and only a handful of groups of people have the potential to mount these attacks," he said. Deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and another former prime minister, Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, have angrily denied any involvement in the blasts. Mr Thaksin, in a handwritten letter sent from Beijing where he has been staying, suggested the attacks were similar to those mounted by insurgents in Thailand's south.
Bangkok remains on high alert following the eight blasts that hit the Thai capital, killing three and wounding at least 38 people. Security has been stepped up around transport hubs but the city is jittery - more than a thousand reports of suspicious packages and hoax warnings of bombs have been received by the authorities. Rumours also swirled around Bangkok on Thursday of a possible counter-coup, but spokesmen for the military and government denied this. "There have been transfers of troops but it is for the purpose of providing security in Bangkok," military spokesman Col Sansern Chaengkamnerd told the AP news agency.
Surayud Chulanont, who was appointed interim prime minister after the 19 September coup, has vowed to catch those behind the bomb attacks. But he told the National Legislative Council: "The public should be prepared to deal with this new kind of threat to our lives in the future." He also ruled out a link to the conflict in the south, telling parliament that though tests showed the bombs were similar to those used in the insurgency, "I can reassure you that they are not exactly the same." "That is why we have concluded that the bombings had nothing to do with the south, and rather that the ill-intentioned perpetrators are in Bangkok," he told parliament.
Bangkok explosions leave two dead
By Kelvin Goh,WNS Thailand Bureau Chief
BANGKOK - A series of bomb or grenade explosions in the Thai capital has killed two people and injured about 30 others, including at least eight foreigners. A first spate of six attacks occurred at sites across Bangkok as streets were filling up late afternoon local time ahead of New Year's Eve celebrations. Just before midnight, at least two further blasts rocked the city centre. The Thai authorities had cancelled all public celebrations for New Year's Eve after the first devices went off.
The latest explosions occurred near the Central World Plaza, a shopping mall close to where the biggest New Year's event was to have been held. The area had already been cleared. However the blasts caught several foreign tourists. Two British men, three Hungarians, two Serbs and an American are receiving hospital treatment but none were thought to be in a serious condition, officials quoted by Reuters news agency said. Of the earlier attacks, the largest was at about 1730 (1030 GMT) near a bus station next to one of Bangkok's busiest intersections, Victory Monument.
Police said this caused the biggest number of casualties, injuring at least 13 people and killing one. Reports suggest the device was planted beneath a seat at a bus stop or in a rubbish bin. One witness who was standing nearby, 17-year-old Chalermsak Sanbee told Reuters news agency: "There was a big bang and people started screaming and running. I saw people with blood all over their legs and faces."
Asia respects Saddam's execution, but worries over violence
By Tony White,
WNS Asia Bureau Chief
BEIJING - Key Asian nations said they respected Saddam Hussein's execution Saturday as a legal move by Iraq's new government, but worried that his hanging would not end the bloodshed in the country. Even countries that oppose the death penalty, like US ally Australia, called the execution a "significant moment" for the war-torn country. "No matter what one might think about the death penalty, and the government of Iraq is aware of the Australian government's position on capital punishment, we must also respect the right of sovereign states to pass judgement relating to crimes committed against their people, within their jurisdictions," Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said in a statement. "He has been brought to justice, following a process of fair trial and appeal, something he denied to countless thousands of victims of his regime." "While many will continue to grieve over their personal loss under his rule, his death marks an important step in consigning his tyrannical regime to the judgement of history and pursuing a process of reconciliation now and in the future," Downer said. Japan, the other major US ally in the region, said Saddam's execution had been carried out within the rule of law. "This is a decision made by Iraq's new government on the rule of law," a foreign ministry official said. "We respect it." Both Australia and Japan contributed forces to the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, which led to the ouster of Saddam, and Australia still has about 1,300 troops involved in operations in the area. Japan ended its historic deployment to Iraq in July - although its air force still provides flights into the country to assist the United Nations and the US-led coalition.
But Muslim-majority Malaysia, which currently heads the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, warned the hanging could trigger more violence in Iraq. "I think there will be repercussions. The only thing is we hope they will be able to contain this. Because the conflict is not going to end. This is not the answer," Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told AFP. Syed Hamid said there were divisions within the OIC, the world's largest Muslim grouping, on what Saddam's fate should have been. "There are divided views on it, but on the question of the need for reconciliation to bring the people back together, end violence and bring stability, there is a common feeling," he said. Thailand said it believed the execution had been carried out in accordance with Iraqi law, but Cambodia said the execution should not have taken place. Cambodia is still struggling to begin its own long-delayed trials for atrocities committed in the 1970s by the genocidal Khmer Rouge. "Democracy has grown very much in Iraq, but in the end the death penalty still exists," information minister Khieu Kanharith told AFP. "We do not support it because we have already abolished capital punishment. So we do not support the death penalty, but we support the process of finding justice for the people," he added.
India's former foreign minister Natwar Singh also said Saddam should not have been executed. "I think his life should have been spared and he should have been given life imprisonment. My own reaction is that it will arouse very strong passions in large parts of the world," he said. "I think that the prime minister and the foreign minister of India should categorically condemn this." In Singapore, a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman said the execution was carried out in accordance with Iraqi law and judicial process. He added that Singapore hopes that the Iraqi people will now move on to deal with the many urgent problems facing Iraq.
Internet users in Asia slowly coming back online
By Tony White,WNS Asia Bureau Chief
BEIJING - Millions of frustrated Internet users across Asia slowly regained access to overseas websites on Friday, three days after an earthquake off the coast of Taiwan snapped several vital undersea cables. Telecoms operators across the region re-routed Internet links to circumvent the ruptured lines off the southern part of the island, as engineers donned diving suits to assess the damage and begin repairs. "Everything is improving now," said a spokesman for PCCW, Hong Kong's largest fixed-line operator. "All international call and roaming services have gone back to normal, including to Taiwan, although some websites are still congested," he said.
Hong Kong's telecommunications authority said five maintenance ships had been dispatched to repair six fibre-optic cables, which handle about 90 percent of telecommunications capacity in the area. "Overall there has been some improvement in access to the Internet today. However, most users will continue to experience slow access," it said in a statement. It added some ships arrived at the scene Thursday, but the weather had obstructed survey and assessment work. "Initial surveys indicated that damage to the submarine cables was substantial," it said. The authority said it may take longer to repair the cables than the original estimate of five to seven days. Taiwan's largest phone company, Chunghwa Telecom, has commissioned three more ships to assist the repair effort.
The cables ruptured following Tuesday's 7.1-magnitude earthquake, which killed two people on the island. An official from Chunghwa said voice traffic to the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia remained relatively weak, but was improving. Internet users frustrated by their inability to log onto e-mail accounts, news websites and online banking services -- conveniences that have become part of modern life -- found access across the region Friday improved, but still patchy.
Weather hampers efforts to reach Indonesian flood victims
By Yusof Kalif,WNS Indonesia Correspondent
PAYABEDI - Indonesian rescue teams are trying to reach people still stranded by floods but bad weather was hampering efforts to deliver much-needed food in some areas, officials said. Torrential rains last week triggered flash floods and landslides that have killed around 105 people and forced more than 400,000 to flee their homes on the island of Sumatra, with Aceh and North Sumatra provinces the worst hit. Some 200 people are still missing. Tonnes of food, water, tents and medical supplies have been trucked and flown into the main cities and towns in affected areas. But transporting supplies to stranded villagers who are running short of food is proving difficult.
"We are still concentrating on logistics distribution to difficult access areas, such as Gayo Lues and Bener Meriah," Aceh provincial governor Mustafa Abubakar told AFP from Banda Aceh. "In particular, Pinding village where landslides cut off the main access to the village. We managed twice to reach the place by air, but bad weather is still hampering further deliveries," he said. "People from neighbouring areas tried to bring supplies with horses, since cars still cannot reach the area." Whole villages were swallowed by flood waters at the weekend, with residents escaping to find refuge on higher ground or trapped on the roofs of their houses. More than 400,000 people fled the floods, with some 365,335 people displaced in Aceh alone, according to official figures. The hundreds of thousands of evacuees from Aceh and North Sumatra are being accommodated in government buildings, schools and tents in 22 locations.
Disaster relief officials said they were preparing for outbreaks of disease in the emergency camps. "There are health services in all the refugee camps. We are anticipating cases of diarrhoea, upper respiratory infections and related diseases," Suwarno Amin, relief effort coordinator, told AFP. In the worst-hit area of Aceh Tamiang, water supplies were not sufficient to meet demand, said local Red Cross coordinator Abdul Hayat. "What people need here is clean water for drinking and washing. Every day water tanks come here and people take away water in jerry cans, but it is not enough for everybody," he told AFP. Hayat said he had seen cases of disease and illness but nothing major. "Most people who come to the health service suffer skin diseases, coughs and other minor complaints. I haven't found any diarrhoea cases here," he said.
Taiwan quake cuts off much of Asia Internet
By Huang Zhi Xuan,WNS Northeast Asia Bureau Chief
BEIJING - Internet and phone services were disrupted across much of Asia on Wednesday after an earthquake damaged undersea cables, leaving one of the world's most tech-savvy regions in a virtual blackout. From frustrated traders seeking in vain for stock quotes to anxious newshounds accustomed to round-the-clock updates on world events, millions of people from China to Japan to Australia were affected. The disruption was widespread, hitting China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and elsewhere, with knock-on effects as far away as Australia for companies whose Internet is routed through affected areas. There was no chaos on the stock exchanges or any of the other doomsday scenarios, but reports that services could be down for weeks were dramatic enough.
A 7.1-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Taiwan on Tuesday night, which was followed by several smaller quakes in the region, apparently damaged the vast network of underwater cables that enables modern communication. "The Internet capacity in Taiwan is about 40 percent now, so the service is jammed," said a spokesman for Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan's largest phone company. South Korea's information and communication ministry said all six undersea fibreoptic cables off Taiwan were hit, causing major disruption. All services, except for exclusive business lines, returned to normal shortly afterwards as they were switched to other systems. A spokesman for CAT Telecom, Thailand's communication authority, said Internet services had been disrupted across the country. Phone services in some countries were also disrupted, in particular for calls to the United States. "Several undersea data cables were damaged," said a spokesman for PCCW, Hong Kong's biggest telecoms company. Service providers quickly tried to redirect customers to the cables that had not been affected but the reduced capacity was no match for the normal workload of users, leaving an Internet service that was painfully slow or non-existent.
In China, web users in cities as far apart as Beijing in the north and Chongqing in the southwest reported difficulties accessing overseas websites, state media reported, after several undersea cables belonging to China Telecom were cut. The Tokyo Stock Exchange, the world's largest bourse outside of New York, was functioning without problems, a spokesman said. The Hong Kong stock exchange also said it was also working without problems, but after-hours crude trading in Singapore was affected as traders reported they could not access the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex). NTT Communications, the long-distance call business of Japan's largest telecom firm Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., said 1,400 toll-free phone lines and 84 international lines used internally by companies were affected. The crux of the trouble seemed to be in the underseas routes near Taiwan, which providers would try to bypass in favour of other routes through Europe, said a spokesman for Japanese telecoms firm KDDI Corp, Satoru Ito.
By Hamilah Norah,
