Julia Roberts has told a US magazine that she is a practicing Hindu who attends temples to “chant, pray and celebrate”. The 42-year-old actress, who was born to Catholic and Baptist parents, told Elle magazine that she regularly worshipped at temple with husband Danny Moder and their three children. She is thought to have made the religious conversion while shooting her new film, Eat, Pray, Love, in which she plays a recently divorced woman travelling the world to find herself. She also revealed that she hoped to reincarnated as “something quiet” after her hectic life as a celebrity. The film is an adaptation of the best-selling book by Elizabeth Gilbert and involves Roberts’ character visiting Italy for food, India for spirituality and Bali for love. (August 5th 2010)
Critics Hate ‘Eat, Pray, Love’
The reviews for “Eat, Pray, Love,” a major Hollywood production partly filmed in Indonesia, are in and they are not positive. Writing in the USA Today, Claudia Puig notes that the “thin story” involves actress Julia Roberts searching for her soul “ad nauseam.” Kirk Honeycutt of the Hollywood Reporter writes: “A heavily idealized journey of self-discovery with a pretty woman (Julia Roberts), pretty scenery and a pretty shallow view of Eastern spirituality.” He notes, however, that each of the three segments of the film, including the scenes filmed in Bali, are “thoroughly enjoyable in a touristic sort of way.” He also adds that Bali could use this publicity “after those terrorist bombings.” Victoria Alexander of FilmsInReview.com writes: “Too preachy, indulgent, and everybody cries. Even the extras.” “There were so many trite conversations about spirituality and balance and finding one-self, I cried too - of boredom,” Victoria said. Christy Lemire, a movie critic with the Associated Press, however, said the film would satisfy fans of the book. “‘Eat Pray Love’ does exactly what it should to satisfy its core audience: It provides a gorgeous escape, exquisitely photographed and full of female wish fulfillment. Yet it also offers sufficient emotional heft and self-discovery to make you feel as if you’ve actually learned something and, perhaps, emerged a better person solely through osmosis.” She notes, however, that, “Beautiful as it is, the Bali section is overlong and it wraps up the film with the kind of romantic comedy clichés that, for the most part, were blissfully absent from the first two-thirds.” The movie will be released in Asia in October. (August 12th 2010)
Balinese Guru in ‘Eat Pray Love’ Hospitalized
The Balinese spiritual guru featured in Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling memoir “Eat Pray Love” has been hospitalised in Indonesia with heart problems, a family member said Thursday. Ketut Liyer, 95, has been receiving treatment since last week, with the movie adaptation of the book starring actress Julia Roberts scheduled to premiere in Hollywood on Friday. “He was exhausted after serving many people coming to our house for consultation,” said his granddaughter-in-law, Ni Wayan Puspita Sari. She said Liyer also underwent surgery on his bladder on Monday. “His condition has improved a lot after the surgery,” Sari said.Liyer, who was resting in bed, said he was happy the movie adaptation would have its premiere soon. “I hope I can recover soon and see the movie,” Liyer added. “Eat Pray Love” is the memoir of a woman who spent four months in Italy savoring food, followed by four months in India, before visiting Bali, where she fell in love. (August 15th 2010)
Bali Nine Pair Concede Guilt in Attempt to Avoid Execution
Chan, 25, and Sukumaran, 29, convicted in February 2006 of being principals in the plot to smuggle more than 8kg of heroin from Bali to Australia, have pleaded not guilty three times. Lawyers acting jointly for the pair yesterday lodged applications for judicial reviews in Denpasar District Court, seeking to replace the death sentences with 20-year terms. “I do not say that Chan and Myuran are not guilty. They were wrong for trying to export drugs,” their advocate, Todung Mulya Lubis, said from Denpasar. “But they don’t deserve to die and I will try to ask for 20 years.” The famous Jakarta human rights lawyer said his main argument would be that capital punishment was a violation of the men’s human rights and against the Indonesian constitution. The Supreme Court has still to decide whether or not to grant the hearings. Scott Rush, 24, the third Bali Nine smuggler sentenced to death, was last month granted a judicial review and his hearing will start on Wednesday. Judicial review is the last step but one between the men and a firing squad. (14th August 2010)
BMKG Warns of Extreme Weather in August, September
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned of extreme weather during the period of transition from the dry to rainy seasons in August and September, marked by heavy rains, strong wind and high waves. “We call on the public to keep watch for the period of transition in August and September, marked by extreme phenomena,” BMKG Deputy Head for Climatology Soeroso Hadiyanto said on Wednesday (11/8). The agency predicted that the country would have more extreme rainfalls in August than in July when the number of extreme rainfalls was recorded at 125, he said. Thick clouds could now be seen in the skies over Sumatra, western part of Java, western and southern part of Kalimantan, western part of Sulawesi and part of Papua. However, the areas stretching from East Java to East Nusa Tenggara would have less rainfalls, he said. (August 11th 2010)
Indonesia Cuts Australia Drug Runners’ Sentences
Two Australian drug traffickers serving 20 years in jail on the resort island of Bali received sentence cuts Tuesday (17/8) as part of Indonesia’s Independence Day celebrations, an official said. Schapelle Corby and Renae Lawrence received a five-month remission for “good behaviour”, Bali’s Kerobokan prison chief Siswanto told AFP. “It’s confirmed they each received remission of five months. It’s the fourth time for Corby and fifth for Renae,” he said, adding the sentence cuts would total up to 17 months for Corby and 23 months for Lawrence. Well-behaved prisoners traditionally receive sentence reductions on the nation’s Independence Day. (August 17th 2010)
Terror Suspects Including Abu Ba’syar Targeted 3 Foreign Embassies, 2 Hotels
National Police Chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri said the terror suspects arrested on Monday (9/8) had planned attacks on three foreign embassies and two hotels in Jakarta. Danuri made the statement in connection with the arrest of a number of terror suspects including Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba`asyir over the past few days. Danuri however did not name the embassies and hotels the terror suspects had targeted nor the ways in which the attacks would be carried out. The police chief said the suspects had also planned to conduct raids on the National Police Headquarters, the police’s Mobile Brigade Headquarters and a State Palace function to mark Independence Day on August 17. He said the recent arrests were the end-result of investigations into terror activities in Aceh. The terror activities in Aceh included preparations to attack foreign non-governmental organizations, the police chief said. Danuri denied allegations that police had acted against the terror suspects at the request of certain foreign powers. Up to now, police have arrested 102 people suspected of involvement in terrorist activities. The cases of part of them have been detailed in 33 dossiers. (August 11th 2010)
144 Military Personnel Contract HIV/AIDS Virus in Papua
144 Indonesian military personnel have contracted the HIV/AIDS virus in Papua while on duty in the province. Papua has one of the highest HIV/AIDS rates in Indonesia. The number of HIV/AIDS carriers in Mimika district, Papua province, has been recorded at 2,302 persons, Secretary of the National AIDS Commission (KPA) for Mimika, Reinold Ubra said. Reinold said here on Wednesday (11/8) that in the April - June 2010 period alone, a total of 110 new cases of HIV/AIDS carriers were found. “In the April - June 2010 period, we found another 110 carriers in Mimika where most of whom contracted the disease through sexual contacts,” Reinold said. He said that 109 of the carriers contracted the viruses through sexual contacts and one through intravenous drug injections. The AIDS activist said that 75 of the cases had not yet shown clinical symptoms to develop into AIDS while the other 35 had shown the symptoms. (August 12th 2010)
Massive Coral Mortality Following Bleaching in Indonesia
The Wildlife Conservation Society has released initial field observations that indicate that a dramatic rise in the surface temperature in Indonesian waters has resulted in a large-scale bleaching event that has devastated coral populations. WCS’s Indonesia Program “Rapid Response Unit” of marine biologists was dispatched to investigate coral bleaching reported in May in Aceh - a province of Indonesia located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. The initial survey carried out by the team revealed that over 60 percent of corals were bleached. “Bleaching” - a whitening of corals that occurs when algae living within coral tissues are expelled - is an indication of stress caused by environmental triggers such as sea surface temperature fluctuations. Depending on many factors, bleached coral may recover over time or die. Subsequent monitoring conducted by marine ecologists from WCS, James Cook University (Australia), and Syiah Kuala University (Indonesia) were completed in early August and revealed one of the most rapid and severe coral mortality events ever recorded. The scientists found that 80 percent of some species have died since the initial assessment and more colonies are expected to die within the next few months. (August 17th 2010)
Bali Bomber’s Jail Term Slashed
An Islamic militant who helped plan suicide bombings on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali was among dozens of imprisoned convicts who saw their sentences cut on Tuesday (17/8) as part of Independence Day commemorations. Anif Solchanudin - who said he had no regrets after the 2005 attacks on three crowded restaurants and still hoped one day to die a martyr - had five months taken off his 15-year jail term, said Chaeruddin Idrus, a Justice Ministry official on Java island. Twenty other convicted militants jailed on the islands of Nusakambangan and Sulawesi had their sentences reduced by up to six months, according to prison officials, and at least 33 elsewhere were awaiting word about proposed remissions. The men were found guilty of crimes ranging from helping plan attacks to harbouring terror suspects, illegal possession of weapons and withholding information about planned strikes. (August 17th 2010)
Bali’s Attraction Proving Its Downfall: Governor
As Bali marked its 52nd provincial anniversary on Sunday (15/8), Governor Made Mangku Pastika said the island was facing an overpopulation crisis. Based on the recent national census, Bali is currently home to 3.9 million people. But Pastika said given the province’s existing resources and infrastructure, the island should only be inhabited by 1.5 million people. This overpopulation has led to a strain on resources, the governor said, leaving many parts of Bali facing increasingly worse traffic jams, rising poverty levels and increased crime rates. Official data shows that there are 134,000 poor families living in Bali, but Pastika said the provincial government could only afford to provide direct aid to a maximum of 10,000 families. Recently, the province has also struggled with a spate of robberies targeting foreigners and a serial kidnapper and rapist who targeted schoolgirls. “Bali is just like sugar,” Pastika said, likening people to ants. “As long as the sugar still exists, people will come and stay here.” The growing population is attributed to a combination of high migration and birth rates. “The most important thing is to find a solution soon so that there won’t be a population explosion any time soon,” Pastika said. Ketut Sutjipta Laju, from the Bali office of the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN), said the province’s population grew at an average of 1.46 percent per year, higher than the national average of 1.29 percent. He said that over the past two years, the Family Planning Agency had in cooperation with local hospitals been promoting the use of contraception, which had helped to lower the birth rate. However, in some areas, particularly those with large migrant populations, such as Denpasar, Badung and Gianyar, public reception to the policies remained low, he said. (August 15th 2010)
