Deep in Indonesia’s easternmost province, a group of birdwatchers wait in earnest hoping to glimpse the renowned birds-of-paradise. Once plentiful in Papua’s jungles, rampant poaching and deforestation have devastated populations.

The tourists are in luck, their patience is rewarded: Perched on the branch of a tall tree near the remote village of Malagufuk, a red king bird-of-paradise can be seen darting between the leaves.

Agricultural plantations, touted as a means to improve economic opportunities, are rapidly expanding in Papua. But some villagers and conservationists warn this will result in forests being destroyed and the birds that inhabit them driven to the brink of extinction.

Birds-of-paradise numbers were already dwindling in Papua as they are poached, killed and used for decoration. Authorities have since banned the sale of the species but there is still a thriving illegal trade because international demand is high.

Authorities have banned the sale of birds-of-paradise, but this has not done much to dent the illegal trade, because demand is high.

“Nowadays the threat is not just wildlife hunting, but illegal logging. The conversion of forests to palm oil and cocoa plantations is the biggest threat,” bird guide Charles Roring told AFP.

Indonesia’s rainforests are home to 41 birds-of-paradise species, according to Roring, 37 of which can be found in the jungles of Papua.

They range from the lesser bird-of-paradise, known for its yellow and white flank plumes, to the twelve-wired bird-of-paradise, recognisable by the filaments that extend from its tail.

Admired for their striking colours and elaborate courtship rituals, the birds have a long history of being trapped and traded as ornaments.

They captivated Europeans after 16th century explorers returned with skins that had been dried, truncated of their legs and mounted to sticks; while their colourful feathers are still popular additions to traditional Papuan tribal decorations, such as headdresses.

Serene Chng, a programme officer at environmental NGO Traffic, said the wild birds are smuggled to other parts of Indonesia and Southeast Asia.

“Law enforcement capacity is very limited,” she explained.

“Challenges include demand from consumers, corruption, poor surveillance, as well as lack of support from non-enforcement agencies that could help like airlines, shippers, courier services and airports,” Chng added.

In Sorong, one of the largest cities in Indonesia’s West Papua province, a souvenir vendor told AFP traditional headbands made with feathers could fetch as much as 1.5 million rupiah ($112).

Papua is home to one-third of Indonesia’s remaining rainforests but they are being chopped down at a rapid rate.

Palm oil companies started operating near Malagufuk village about three years ago, according to environmentalist Max Binur, from NGO Belantara Sorong.

Binur, who knew residents were worried the companies would destroy the surrounding forests and their traditional village life, proposed a solution he believed would protect the birds and forest.

He helped turn Malagufuk into an ecovillage where residents now work as guides or provide accommodation for visitors.

Up to 20 tourists visit each month to see the birds-of-paradise, as well as other bird species such as the Cassowary and Hornbill.

Visitors must trek two hours through the jungle to reach a remote settlement of stilt houses that has limited electricity.

“It sounded like a good ecotourism tour we could do. My mother is into birds and we were familiar with the birds-of-paradise from watching documentaries,” German tourist Lisa von Rabenau said.

Binur is planning to launch similar ecovillage ventures across Papua and hopes tourism will lead to conservation of the world-famous birds and benefit locals.

He explained: “Tourists can bring in a bit of their money so the villagers can afford to nurture their families, send their kids to school, buy clothes and with this they will be conscious to save the nature.”

Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej was the revered “father of the nation” whose reign spanned seven politically turbulent decades, shielded by harsh defamation laws and an intense personality cult.

The world’s longest-serving royal sovereign until his death last year at the age of 88, Bhumibol rebuilt a near-extinct monarchy into one of the wealthiest and most powerful on the planet — and one whose roots go deep into modern-day Thailand.

Uncertainly looms about how his heir, King Maha Vajiralongkorn will lead the monarchy.

“How the new king intends to reign is what Thai people are observing because it will have much to say about how their political life will be,” Thitinan Pongsudhirak, politics professor at Chulalongkorn University, told AFP.

Thailand’s absolute monarchy was abolished in 1932, but under the official title of King Rama IX, Bhumibol exercised a powerful moral authority and also a political one as his reign matured — albeit often away from the public eye.

Crowned in 1950, many analysts attribute his longevity during an era strewn with political violence to deep ties with a military that relied on his official endorsement of their repeated coups.

The army’s latest power grab was in May 2014, when it toppled the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra.

That coup came just eight years after her billionaire brother Thaksin was overthrown as premier in 2006.

Right up until his death, Bhumibol was seen as a unifying figure in the deeply divided country.

“Because of King Bhumibol’s immense moral authority, the Thai people will want King Vajiralongkorn to succeed,” Thitinan said.

An untested ruler, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, or Rama X, has spent much of his adult life in Germany and has not attained the widespread popularity of his father.

Image crafting

Helped by well-publicised rural development projects, the soft-spoken, bespectacled King Bhumibol enjoyed an image of a benevolent moral force.

That reputation was carefully embossed by ritual, a well-oiled propaganda machine and a tough royal defamation law.

In 2011, Forbes Magazine rated Bhumibol as the world’s richest monarch.

But despite his wealth, the keen saxophonist, photographer and sailor was seen as in touch with ordinary Thais.

The reverence resonates deep into public and private life.

Young people are taught about Bhumibol’s good works at school, cinema-goers have to stand for the royal anthem at the start of films, while people prostrated themselves, or crawled, in his presence.

Giant portraits of the king — and queen — pepper towns and cities across the country, while photos of the monarch adorn many Thai households.

Nearly 12 million mourners visited the royal reception hall where his body lay in state.

Sailing and saxophone

Born on December 5, 1927 in the United States, Bhumibol came to the throne aged 18 in 1946 when his brother was shot dead in mysterious circumstances at the Royal Palace in Bangkok.

He was crowned four years later after finishing his studies in Switzerland.

The same year, he married Queen Sirikit and they had four children — three girls and a boy.

A man of widely publicised interests, Bhumibol won a gold medal for sailing at the Asian Games in 1967 and was behind some 3,000 rural development projects.

But the hurly-burly of Thai politics dominated his long reign.

In the 1970s the king intervened during several political crises.

His most spectacular arbitration came in 1992 when he waded in between the military and pro-democracy protesters the leaders of the two camps bowed down before him and made peace, in a televised act of deference.

The emergence of Thaksin Shinawatra, who was voted in as premier in 2001, shaped the twilight of his reign.

Bhumibol remained largely silent during a military crackdown on pro-Thaksin “Red Shirt” protests in 2010 that left about 90 people dead and hundreds wounded in the capital, despite calls from some opposition figures for his intervention.

With avenues for criticism growing, particularly on social media, authorities strictly enforced Thailand’s harsh lese majeste laws, which carry a jail term of up to 15 years on each count for defaming the royals.

Dozens of cases have been driven through the courts since the 2014 military coup.

The ruling junta says it is duty-bound to protect the reputation of the monarchy.

But critics say the law has been used as a tool to crush dissent and straitjackets all public discussion on the monarchy.

“Unlike other modern monarchies, it is impossible to tell exactly how popular the Thai monarchy is,” said analyst and historian David Streckfuss, author of a book on Thailand’s lese majeste laws.

Japanese girl says school forced her to dye hair black, sues govt-media TOKYO, Oct 27 (Reuters) – A Japanese teenager is suing the government of Osaka, saying her public high school repeatedly forced her to dye her naturally-brown hair black or be banned from attending school, local media reported on Friday.

In a lawsuit filed in Osaka District Court, the 18-year-old girl said her mother informed Kaifukan School in Habikino city upon her enrolment that she was born with brownish hair, as the school had a policy banning hair colouring, media reported.

Educators, however, instructed her to colour her hair black, telling her repeatedly that the dye job was insufficient and forcing her to “either dye the hair black or quit school”, Kyodo news reported, citing the lawsuit.

The girl has not attended school since September 2016, suffered pain and irritation from the hair dye, and is seeking damages of about 2.2 million yen ($19,300), said media, adding that Osaka prefecture is asking the court to reject the claim.

Masahiko Takahashi, head of Kaifukan School, said he could not comment directly on the case, but noted the school’s policy prohibiting students from dyeing or bleaching hair. He declined to say whether it was permissible to dye brown hair to black.

The girl could not be reached for comment.

In Japan, where conformity is the cultural norm, many schools have strict rules about hair colour, accessories, make-up and uniforms, including the length of skirts for girls.

Jakarta – The owner of an Indonesian fireworks factory where 47 people died after a blaze tore through the building is being questioned, police said Friday, as labour organisations said the incident has exposed inadequate workplace safety standards.

The ferocious fire at the factory outside Jakarta was one of Indonesia’s worst industrial accidents in recent memory – triggering explosions and sending plumes of black smoke into the air.

Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono said investigators were still scouring the burnt-out scene and had begun interviewing witnesses, including three staff members and the owner.

“When the incident happened the owner was in Malaysia, but he immediately returned upon hearing and he has been questioned,” Yuwono said.

Police said there were 103 workers employed at the factory at the time of the disaster and confirmed 47 people had been killed, while 46 people were being treated in hospital. Three people did not attend work on Thursday and seven are still unaccounted for.

Dozens of anxious family members gathered outside a police hospital in Kramat Jati, in east Jakarta, waiting to identify relatives’ bodies. Many of them were crying and carrying photos of loved ones.

“I was working on a construction site near the factory when I heard the explosion yesterday,” Dai, who like many Indonesians only goes by one name, told AFP.

“I was shocked because people told me it came from my daughter’s factory so I ran there, but my daughter was already dead.” .

– Spotlight on safety – 

Authorities have not yet said how the fire started, but have confirmed it began near the front door and quickly spread.

Many charred corpses were found clustered at the back of the factory, police said, indicating there may have been a panicked rush to flee the flames.

Local residents and police knocked down part of the wall of the factory compound, allowing workers to escape.

Indonesia’s Manpower Ministry has established a team to investigate the disaster, including reports minors were working at the factory.

“We will be focusing on whether or not the company has complied with the work safety norms and we will find out why this work incident happened,” Sugeng Priyanto, director general of work safety at the ministry, told Metro TV.

The factory – part of an industrial complex in Tangerang that borders a residential area – had all the necessary permits, according to police.

Deadly fires are not uncommon in Indonesia, a sprawling country of more than 250 million people where safety regulations are often flouted.

Priyanto admitted safety awareness was “very low” among companies and their employees.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) said Indonesia needed to increase the number of labour inspectors, which was fewer than 2000, and raise safety awareness among workers.

“People do not pay enough attention unless such accidents of this scale happen,” Michiko Miyamoto, ILO country director for Indonesia and Timor-Leste, told AFP.

NGO Lion Indonesia criticised Indonesia’s lax auditing system and said the business must face strict penalties if found to have violated safety regulations.

Indonesia has recently been ranked 64th on a list of the world’s most powerful passports, while neighbouring Singapore tops the list.

The list shows that Singaporeans can visit 159 countries without the hassle of applying for a visa, whereas Indonesian citizens can only visit 63. The world’s largest archipelago shares its spot with Zambia, Tunisia and Cape Verde.

Speaking to kompas.com on Thursday, international law expert Hikmahanto Juwana of the University of Indonesia listed several possible reasons on why the country may be the low on the list.

“It depends on the receiving country. For example, many countries are worried about terrorism. They know that aside from being victims of terror, there are also [Indonesian] perpetrators,” Hikmahanto said.

A second reason, he added, could be that many countries may not see Indonesian tourists as potential big spenders, unlike Singaporeans, who receive generally high salaries to support large spending during their travels.

Hikmahanto went on to say that a third reason could be weak law enforcement that may lead to the misuse of documents, such as passports, and which could also be another obstacle for Indonesia to become visa-free.

“Compared to Singapore, which is very careful in issuing its passports,” Hikamahanto said.

He added that document abuse could also affect other countries through human trafficking, including smuggling illegal workers to another country.

Indonesia also ranks behind bordering Timor Leste, which sits in 50th with access to 84 countries. Papua New Guinea, another neighbouring country that shares a border with Indonesia, is in 58th with 69 countries.

Nearby Malaysia, meanwhile, occupies the sixth slot with 154 visa-free countries open to its passport holders.