Christmas passed peacefully despite anxieties about terrorist attacks during the holidays. Expatriates and domestic tourists have been returning to Bali to take advantage of hotel bargains on the island that saw its tourist industry decimated by the horrific bombing of a nightclub at Kuta Beach in October. Visitors have shrugged off warnings of a continued risk of terrorist attacks, but hotel occupancy on the island during the holidays was estimated at only 20 percent, down 75 percent from a year ago. In troubled Aceh province on the island of Sumatra, an Englishwoman who lives in Tasmania was sentenced to five months in prison for violating her tourist visa. She had been documenting human rights violations in the province when arrested in September. The sentence is a reminder to know the risks when becoming politically active in another country.
