DENPASAR ~ An 18-year-old girl caused panic and confusion when she gave birth as she rode in a public transport van (bemo) last Thursday, an official said. According to hospital staff, they ran to the bemo when it pulled up outside the hospital at 2:45pm, finding the girl with her baby, who had just been [...]

GIANYAR ~ A house in Singapadu, near Ubud, rented by American man was robbed last Friday, leading to substantial losses, police said. Police said two laptops, a camera, two wrist watches, all worth around Rp80 million(US$8,000), were stolen from the house, rented by Edwan Herbst, 57. Sukawati Police chief Bima Aria Viyasa said the house, [...]

GIANYAR ~ Two buildings that were seriously damaged by a falling tree at Tirta Empul Temple, Tampaksiring, Gianyar, were visited by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last Friday and the head of state ordered a restoration of the holy Hindu site. After inspecting the damage, President Yudhoyono promised village head Made Mawi Arnata that the buildings [...]

LEGIAN ~ A German subsidiary of US firm General Cable Corp. and its technology partner has won a US$100-million contract to complete a fiber optic communications project linking Indonesian islands including Bali. The subsidiary, Norddeutsche Seekabelwerke GmbH, and its partner Fujitsu will install the first high-bandwidth submarine cable system for the islands of Kalimantan and [...]

SEMARAPURA ~ Police said they suspect a man jailed on January 19 for his part in organizing an illegal lottery ring is still conducting business from his jail cell. Klungkung Police chief Moch. Yudi Hartanto said they suspect, Dewa Ketut Sujana, alias Dewa Grokgak, who was a government employee at the time of his arrest, [...]

Hector Gets a Makeover THE Diary looks a little different this week. That’s because globally syndicated Australian cartoonist Sean Leahy – he has known your diarist for years, poor bloke! – kindly agreed to create a caricature to give the scratchy old bird a bit of a buff. We like it. We hope you do. [...]

By William J. Furney The Bali Times I’ve gone from one extreme to the other. After reading Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion mid-last year, I spent up to last week mulling its contents, and writing about them. It’s a powerful, mind-opening book, but I was left feeling ever-more bereft about Dawkins’ belief that humans are [...]

By Dr. Robert Goldman For The Bali Times Longevity News and Review provides readers with the latest information in breakthroughs pertaining to the extension of the healthy human lifespan. These news summaries are compiled by the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M; www.worldhealth.net), a non-profit medical society composed of 22,000 physician and scientist members from [...]

By Elizabeth Henzell For The Bali Times CALOUNDRA, Australia ~ Ubud is definitely my favorite place, but I miss my children so I have headed home for a few weeks. Apart from my wonderful Balinese friends on Jl. Bisma, I will miss dear old Broni – who else would love his lopsided, droopy lip and [...]

JAKARTA ~ The central government has proposed a stimulus package amounting to Rp71.3 trillion (US$6.27 billion) as a buffer against the global economic slump. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who proposed the package to parliament on Tuesday, said the plan offered a mix of government spending, tax breaks and incentives to boost economic output and [...]

Climate change is “largely irreversible” for the next 1,000 years even if carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions could be abruptly halted, according to a new study led by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The study’s authors said there was “no going back” after the report showed that changes in surface temperature, rainfall and [...]

TABANAN ~ Six members of a syndicate suspected of making fake car ownership (BPKB) documents were arrested by police this week. Head of Tabanan Police’s Criminal Department Leo Martin said the syndicate was using the fake documents as collateral to borrow money from banks. Martin said that I Gusti Ayu Putriani, 35, from Kediri, was [...]