Bali Launches `Night at the Zoo` Program
The Bali Zoo has launched a new program called “Night
at the Zoo” to attract tourists, according to a local
Zoo official.
The program was launched to improve the quality of services
and products offered to both domestic and foreign tourists,
Putu Agus Setiawan, marketing manager of Bali Zoo, said here
on Monday (8/10) .
Bali Zoo is located in Singapadu, Gianyar District. The international-level
zoo covers an area of 3.5 hectares and was initiated by Anak
Agung Gde Putra.
The zoo has a collection of 50 rare animals, including mammals,
reptiles and birds. (October 8th 2007, Antara News)
Rescued Whale Dies at Tanah Lot
A mammoth rescue mission for baby blue whale caught in lobster
nets off of Tanah Lot has ended in vain when the whale was
washed up to shore on Tuesday (9/10) again, but this time
the whale was dead. A small ceremony was held as a blessing
for the dead whale. A week prior to this, villagers using
six fishing vessels, towed the whale away from the nets to
Kedungu beach, north of Tanah Lot. Once in shallow water they
were able to free the whale. Once it was set free, the whale
began swimming toward the shore. However, the rescuers succeeded
in pushing the whale back to deep water. The rescue mission
attracted hundreds of onlookers from villages near Tanah Lot.
Bali Fisheries Agency head I Nyoman Wirna Ariwasa said the
whale might have lost its way from its normal habitat in the
Indian Ocean. “The Indian Ocean is a place for whales
to look for food,” he said. The blue whale is listed
as an endangered species. It can grow up to 33 meters long
and weigh up to 200 tons. Calves are around seven meters in
length and weigh up to 2.75 tons. Scientists estimate the
blue whale can live for at least 80 years. Bali has seen a
couple of incidents of stranded whales, with the largest mass
stranding 21 years ago, also in Tabanan regency. Agus said
that in 1986, some 58 young bottlenose whales were stranded
at Selabih beach, in Tabanan regency. “At that time,
the whales died on the beach as they continued to return to
shore, even after rescuers directed them to sea,” he
said. In 2003 a four-meter-long whale stranded behind the
Grand Hyatt hotel in Bali was rescued and pushed back to sea.
(October 10th 2007, Radar Bali)
More Indonesian Vaccines Win WHO Recognition
DTB-HB vaccine or combo vaccine produced by the pharmaceutical
company PT Bio Farma has won World Heath Organization (WHO)
recognition on September 19 this year, a spokesman has said
here on Wednesday ((10/10)
PT Bio Farma is the second largest vaccine producer in the
world after the Serum Institute of India.
DTP-HB vaccine which was produced by PT Bio Farma and administered
officially by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in a health
campaign held in Yogyakarta in November 2004 could protect
people from diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis B and whooping
cough at the same time.
The achievement would provide a new opportunity for PT Bio
Farma which was the only vaccine producer in Indonesia to
increase its vaccine exports, Isa said.
PT Bio Farma`s spokesman Tedi Herawan said vaccines made by
PT Bio Farma were used in more than 100 countries. (October
10th 2007, Antara News)
Bali Rugby Club Remembers Bomb Victims
Members and friends of the Bali 10’s Rugby Club remembered
the players and spectators that were lost in the October 12th
Bombing by laying flowers at the Bali 10’s Memorial
Plaque at the Bali Beach sports grounds on Thursday (12/10).
On October 12th 2002, the first round of the Bali 10’s
rugby tournament took place on the rugby pitch beside the
Grand Bali Beach Hotel in Sanur, featuring members of competing
Asian expatriate teams including teams from Jakarta, Singapore,
Hong Kong, Australia and Taipei. Later that night, a total
of 27 players and spectators were killed in the Kuta bomb
blast. The Bali Rugby meet still remains a highlight on the
Asian circuit, and is still held at the same grounds in October
each year. (October 12th 2007, Independent Press)
Tourists Packing Bali for Idul Fitri Festivity
Hotel occupancy rate in the popular island resort of Bali
had been high for the past few days after the government set
Oct 12-19 a common leave for Idul Fitri holiday. Many hotels
in predominantly-Hindu Bali enjoyed 90-99 percent increase
in occupancy rate notably on Sunday (14/10).
Meanwhile, beach patrol coordinator I Made Suparka said popular
white sand-studded Kuta beach was swamped with domestic and
foreign tourists. At least 110 beach security guards had been
tasked to be on duty in 16 posts in Kuta beach on Sunday,
he said.
Tourism site operational management I Made Sujana said number
of holidaymakers increased from 1,500-2,000 to 3,000-4,000
in the past two days. Bali has set a target of bringing 1.25
million tourists into the resort island this year. (October
14th 2007, Antara News)
Indonesia Confirms 88th Bird Flu Death
A 12-year-old Indonesian boy was confirmed Thursday (12/10)
to be suffering from bird flu, and died three days later,
bringing the country’s cases of the H5N1 avian influenza
virus to 109, according to Indonesia’s Health Ministry.
The boy, from the Tangerang district in Banten province, bordering
the capital Jakarta, was admitted to hospital on Monday with
bird flu symptoms. He was transferred to Persahabatan Hospital
in Jakarta, which is designated to treat bird flu patients,
a day later. Indonesia has recorded 109 human cases of bird
flu and 88 deaths, both tops in the world. At least 201 people
have died of the disease in 11 countries in Asia and Africa,
according to World Health Organization statistics. (October
14th 2007, Antara News)
Indonesian Women to Plant 10 million Trees to Help Overcome
Climate Change
Seven women’s organizations will plant an estimated
10 million trees throughout Indonesia starting on December
1, 2007, to help deal with climate change.
The planting of 10 million trees was also expected to be put
in the book of records, Dewi Motik, chairman of the tree planting
organizing committee, told the press at the Presidential office
here on Tuesday (10/10) after meeting President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono.
Most of the trees to be planted would be fruit-bearing trees
to give benefits to local people living surrounding the areas
where the trees would be planted, the businesswoman said.
In connection with the event, a national conference of Indonesian
women to anticipate effects of climate change and global warming,
will be organized in Jakarta, from November 26 to 28, 2007.
Erna Witoelar of the conference’s organizing committee
said that around 700 women from all over Indonesia would take
part in the conference which will discuss efforts to solve
the problem of climate change.
The former minister hoped that the 10 million tree planting
activities could become a start up of larger scale reforestation
programs to rehabilitate the country’s forests.
“Indonesia needs to plant around two billion trees in
the next five years. So, 10 million trees that we will plant
are a very small number. We hope to encourage the people to
do similar activities,” Erna Witoelas said. (October
10th 2007, Antara News)
Thousands of Muslims Perform Idul Fitri Prayers in Denpasar
At least 4,000 Muslims of Muhammadiyah organization performed
Idul Fitri prayer at the Niti Mandala Renon square here on
Friday (13/10) morning to mark the end of the Ramadhan fasting
month. Led by Muhammad Ismail Lahji, the prayer service on
the Indonesian resort island of Bali ran smoothly and peacefully.
In his sermon, Muhammad Ismail said, “Through our Idul
Fitri prayers we can maintain Muslim brotherhood in strengthening
national unity and integrity.”
He said that besides at Niti Mandala Renon square, similar
prayers were also conducted at two separate locations, namely
at Monang-Maning housing area in Denpasar and at Kesiman area
in east Denpasar. Commenting on the difference in deciding
the exact date of Idul Fitri, Muhammad Ismail Lahji said it
reflected the dynamism of Islamic teaching and therefore it
should not be debated or be a reason for hostility. (October
13th 2007, Antara News)
Indonesian Mt Kelud Volcano Shows Worrying Signs
Indonesia’s Mount Kelud volcano, which was put on the
country’s second-highest alert level last month, shows
several alarming signs indicating it may erupt, the country’s
top volcano expert said. “I’m scared about Kelud,”
said Mr. Surono, head of the Centre for Volcanology and Geological
Hazard Mitigation in Bandung. “Kelud is now on the point
of no return.” The number of volcanic earthquakes at
Mount Kelud, 90 km (55 miles) southwest of Indonesia’s
second-largest city Surabaya, has risen to as high as 23 in
one day, compared with a maximum of 15 a day just before its
last eruption in 1990, Mr Surono said. The 1731-metre (5712-foot)
volcano’s “deformation” or expansion has
increased, and gas and chemical levels have risen, while the
temperature of the lake in the volcano’s crater is climbing
more rapidly, hitting 37.4 degrees Celsius on Saturday (14/10),
compared with 32 degrees in August. Mr. Surono said he has
a text message on his mobile phone ready to send out to government
and rescue officials if he decides to put the volcano in East
Java on the highest state of alert ahead of a likely eruption.
He and his team in Bandung, a city in West Java which is circled
by volcano peaks, have been monitoring Mount Kelud for weeks,
after three other volcanoes erupted earlier this year in Indonesia.
When Kelud last erupted in 1990, at least 30 people were killed,
while an eruption in 1919 killed about 5000 as it ejected
scalding water from its crater lake. Indonesia, which sits
on a belt of intense seismic activity known as the Pacific
Ring of Fire, has had several volcanic eruptions over the
centuries. The 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora on Sumbawa killed
about 90,000 people and the material thrown up blocked the
sun’s light for months, while the eruption of Bali’s
Mount Agung in 1963 killed about 1500 people. (October 14th
2007, Reuters)
