JAKARTA ~ Government officials met counterparts from the European Union on Tuesday in an effort to get the bloc to lift its blanket ban on Indonesian airlines flying in its airspace, officials said.

European officials refused to comment on the likelihood of a future lift in the ban, but said discussions over allowing Indonesian airlines to fly to the EU in return for improved airline safety standards had been positive.

“We had really, really good discussions,” Matjaz Sinkovec, the representative of current EU presidency Slovenia, said.

Indonesia last year launched a prograe to improve air safety standards after the EU in June banned the country’s 51 airlines from flying in its airspace following a string of fatal accidents.

The government has proposed the EU accept a “fast-track” program for four airlines, including national flag carrier Garuda, to be readmitted before other Indonesian carriers.

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NEW YORK ~ A three-panel work by Francis Bacon was sold at auction in New York this week for US$86.2 million, setting a new record for a painting by the Irish artist.

Triptych, painted in 1976, easily beat the previous record for a Bacon sold at Sotheby’s auction house, set by Study for Innocent X, 1962, which sold for $52.6 million a year ago.

The mood was euphoric on Wednesday as several works exceeded their estimates, netting the auction house $362 million during the evening.

This was “the highest total ever for a contemporary art sale at Sotheby’s,” according to its head of contemporary art, Tobias Meyer.

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ULUWATU ~ At a meeting in Pekendungan Temple in Tanah Lot, Balinese priests discussed the reformulation of procedures and ethics of maligia (Hindu cremation sequence), a spokesman said.

In addition to discussing the reformulation of procedures and ethics of maligia (Hindu cremation sequence), Balinese priests at a high meeting that took place in Pekendungan Temple in Tanah Lot also discussed the issue of villa construction in the area, a spokesman said.

One of the priests said that he was surprised that Badung officials had issued permits to developers in the first place, since it was illegal to build in the vicinity of the sacred area.

“I do not know exactly what these officials want since they’re the ones who made regional regulations against construction in the first place. Then they issue developers the building permit to allow construction. So are regional regulations still in effect now? The government needs to please prevent construction from reaching the yard of Uluwatu Temple,” the priest said.

He also said that the regent could not pursue regional income by sacrificing area that was considered holy and sacred.

He added that Badung Regency needed to apologize to the Balinese and demolish the villa project that had started construction within Uluwatu’s sacred area.

JAKARTA ~ The central government confirmed this week that it will raise its subsidized fuel prices to protect the state budget from the soaring price of oil.

“We will raise the subsidized fuel price within the limits that people can afford. We’re now working on that and we’ll announce it to the public later,” Coordinating Minister for the Economy Boediono told reporters.

He did not indicate the size of the price hikes, which are likely to further fuel inflation in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy ahead of parliamentary elections next year.

Rising fuel prices helped drive Indonesia’s inflation rate to 8.96 percent in April, its fastest rise in more than 18 months.

Indonesia’s ballooning fuel subsidies are putting pressure on the budget and draining funds away from spending on the poor and crumbling infrastructure.

The subsidies have become increasingly expensive as the price of oil has surged.

Fuel subsidies this year are projected to nearly triple to Rp126.8 trillion (US$13.8 billion), or about 12 percent of the state budget, based on a revised oil price of $95 per barrel.

In afternoon Asian trade on Monday, New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, was 20 cents higher at $116.52 per barrel.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the question was no longer whether prices would be raised, but by how much.

“We are not at the stage of talking about whether to raise it or not, but which commodities should be increased and whether it will be 20, 25 or 30 percent …,” he said.

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