Up Close and Personal: One of the better ways to see the real Bali is by diving right in – in this case a leisurely stroll through the island’s stunning blanket of verdant ricefields, through where this trio of tourists are meandering with their local guide. Tour companies here have increasingly gone off the beaten [...]

SEMINYAK ~ What is happiness? Being able to create what you want? Being able to appreciate and enjoy what you have? Or somewhere in between? Program yourself to be happy, here. Two lady tourists came to see me, feeling unhappy and frustrated, each wanting to conceive a child yet having difficulty. As we explored their [...]

SEMINYAK ~ With ultra-luxurious villa complexes and resorts alongside the ocean serving as a backdrop, jaded Jl. Seminyak Raya and surrounding areas are getting a much-needed facelift – in the form of private enterprise and a seemingly unceasing local and foreign desire for cutting-edge property on what has repeatedly been voted the world’s most popular [...]

By Beverly Beyette Los Angeles Times THE RED CENTER, Australia ~ Ten days, one wallaby, no kangaroos. My fantasy – adorable ‘roos galumphing around every bush in the Outback – was just that. Camels – wild ones, at that – were another matter. About 60,000 of the feral beasts roam the Outback that unfolded outside [...]

JAKARTA ~ Environmental watchdog Greenpeace has protested the government’s plans to auction permits to log old forests in Kalimantan and Papua, home to a rich variety of plant and animal life. Within two weeks, forest lands in 16 locations, including Papua, Kalimantan on Borneo island and on the islands of Sulawesi, Maluku and Sumatra, will [...]

SAN FRANCISCO ~ Yahoo said this week its 2006 profits plunged by more than half from the prior year even as revenues rose from the internet search giant’s newly revamped advertising platform. Yahoo posted net income of US$268.7 million, or 19 cents per share, in its 2006 fourth quarter, sharply lower than a year ago. [...]

DENPASAR ~ Reflecting both cultures’ similarities, a new Indian cultural center is due to open here soon, after the local government provided a 629-square-meter plot of land for the project. The Bali administration’s commitment to provide the land was outlined in an agreement signed by Indian Ambassador to Indonesia Navrekha Sharma and Bali Governor Dewa [...]

MACAU ~ Tourism is on a roll in tiny gambling haven Macau, with a record 22 million people visiting the southern Chinese territory’s booming casinos in 2006, tourist chiefs said. The former Portuguese enclave of just 450,000 people was swamped by 12 million tourists from mainland China alone. Together, tourists spent a massive US$21 billion [...]

KUALA LUMPUR ~ A defamation lawsuit against two Malaysian bloggers by a pro-government daily has alarmed media watchdogs who say it is a landmark assault on internet free expression. The move by the English-language New Straits Times Press (NSTP) is the first time bloggers have been taken to court for their comments on the internet [...]

JAKARTA ~ Farmers have reportedly sold hundreds of gold artefacts stolen from skeletal corpses unearthed at a newly found ancient burial complex in Indonesia. Read entire article… »

JAKARTA ~ French oil giant Total plans to invest another US$6 billion in Indonesia’s oil and gas sector over the next five years, chairman Thierry Desmarets said here this week. Read entire article… »

Name: Sutrisno Age: 52 Occupation: Information chief, Meteorology and Geophysics Agency, Bali From: Solo, Central Java Marital status: Married with three children Read entire article… »