Another World: Tourists view some of Bali’s stunning marine life during a “seawalk” off the beach in Sanur in the island’s south, the only such up-close-and-personal experience in Southeast Asia, according to the operating firm, Bali Seawalker Tours. “Lots of our customers don’t know how to swim – for many it’s their first time in [...]

Toxemia is the medical term that defines a condition in which our bodies accumulate poisonous substances to such a point that levels exceed the ability of our body systems to cleanse them away. Thanks to today’s contemporary lifestyle of fast foods, our 24/7/365 accessibility and the growing pressures of many of us in our professional [...]

BOGOR, West Java ~ US President George W. Bush praised Indonesia’s “pluralism and its diversity” during his visit here this week and said the world should look to the predominantly Muslim country as an example. Read entire article… »

SYDNEY ~ The world may have already averted a bird flu pandemic by widespread chicken culls and the isolation of infected humans, Australia’s chief medical officer said in a report released this week. Read entire article… »

JAKARTA ~ A Muslim militant was sentenced to life imprisonment in Central Java on Wednesday after he was found guilty of assisting one of Southeast Asia’s most wanted terrorists. Subur Sugiarto, alias Abu Mujahid, was jailed for life for serving as a top aide to Malaysian bombmaker Noordin Mohammad Top while he was on the [...]

DENPASAR ~ A Canadian man and an Australian woman have been arrested in separate raids for the possession of narcotics in Bali, police said. A former marine from Canada was arrested at the weekend after police found marijuana on the man in a weekend drugs raid and faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment, provincial deputy [...]

JAKARTA ~ The government has agreed to buy weaponry worth US$1 billion from Russia over the next five years to beef up its military capability, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said. Read entire article… »

TEHRAN ~ Iran’s conservative-dominated parliament has adopted a bill that would make digital fingerprinting compulsory for all US citizens seeking to enter the country. “All US citizens should be controlled and subjected to digital fingerprinting when they are issued with a visa and when they enter Iran,” according to the bill, adopted after a debate [...]

JAKARTA ~ Forty-eight orangutans that were smuggled into Thailand returned home to Indonesia on Wednesday, two years after they were discovered in a Bangkok zoo. The apes were received by First Lady Ani Yudhoyono in a brief ceremony at a Jakarta airforce base. The orangutans were supposed to leave for Indonesia in September, but their [...]

Construction is soon set to start in Jembrana Regency of what are called Twin Towers – structures to rival Jakarta’s famous Monas or National Monument – officials said this week. According to the blueprint, the towers are to soar to 116 meters high – one meter higher than the gold-tipped Monas conceived by founding president [...]

JAKARTA ~ Police have said they will seek assistance from the United States to speed up their probe into murder of respected human rights activist Munir Said Thalib. National police chief General Sutanto said he was committed to solving Munir’s death. “We are going seek technical assistance from the United States. We have contacted the [...]

Award-winning film director Jane Walters has her hands full these days with media projects, villa developments and event organizing, as well as focusing on her beloved filmmaking, for which her first documentary, Bali Hope in Paradise, won acclaim at The New York Independent Film Festival in 2004, among other accolades. The 38-year-old Canadian-born mother of [...]