DENPASAR Bali businesses are unlikely to get any change out of Governor I Made Mangku Pastika over his plan to raise the groundwater tariff by 1,000 percent as part of his bid to conserve dwindling water supplies. Prominent provincial legislator Wayan Rawan Atmaja said he strongly supported the new policy. And he questioned whether local [...]

SINGARAJA Two Buleleng children have died of rabies, apparently victims of the continuing shortage of government-supplied, free post-exposure anti-rabies vaccine. The children, a 13-year-old who died at Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar on August 21 and a five-year-old who died there next day, had both been bitten by dogs, the five-year-old by a neighbour’s animal. The [...]

KUTA The 160-strong Badung Lifeguard Department, which looks after Kuta Beach and other popular surf and swimming spots in South Bali, is sporting new uniforms, hats, sunglasses and surfboards. They are the gift of sponsors Quiksilver and Coca-Cola. The new gear was presented last Friday during a break in a training programme at Kuta Beach. [...]

Thanks, Guys: Sam Gosling and Ni Putu Purniati of Quiksilver with Badung lifesaver I Ketut Ipel at a presentation of new uniforms, hats, sunglasses and surfboards to Badung’s 160 lifeguards. They are the gift of sponsors Quiksilver and Coca-Cola. Full story below.

KABANJAHE A volcano in Sumatra spewed a vast cloud of smoke and ash high into the air on Monday, disrupting flights and sending thousands more people into temporary shelters, officials said. Airlines were warned to avoid remote Mount Sinabung in northern Sumatra as it erupted for a second day after springing to life for the [...]

Veronika Blomgrem, 38, is an interior designer and architect from Moscow. She used to work as a TV presenter in Russia for a programme in which designers had to redecorate houses for people in three days. But after coming to Bali on holidays two years ago she decided not to leave. She shared her day [...]

…because snorkelling is great, the culture is very interesting and its volcanoes have something very mystical about them. Isabel Zanotti, 25, Argentina BT/PCAR

From the perspective of Terje Nilsen, 43, co-owner of Ray White The Paradise Property Group real estate who comes from Norway. Do you believe people arrived in their present form on Earth? No, I believe in evolution, evolution being part of God’s development of Earth and humans. The big question here is our human soul [...]

  I Wayan Redug, 80, is a seaweed farmer from Sanur who has seven children and 10 grandchildren. What’s the greatest lesson life has taught you? We cannot live without other people. We must live together and help each other. What’s most important? My children, because they are the ones who will look after us [...]

NAME: Ni Wayan Sumir AGE: 46 OCCUPATION: Cultivator ORIGIN: Nusa Dua How do you think people overseas see Indonesia? As a very exotic place with a unique culture and with very friendly people.   What are the barriers to development in this country? Corruption is the main one. I’m always watching on TV how many [...]

By Jonathan Cainer Earlier this year, Neptune returned to the same position that it occupied on the day it was first discovered. It’s still hanging around the same spot… because it moves so slowly. Compare that with the Moon, which whizzes round the zodiac once every 27.5 days. Or Saturn, which takes 27.5 years to [...]

JAKARTA Police fear that assault rifles left over from a civil war in Aceh province could fall into the hands of terrorists who favour Mumbai-style gun attacks instead of bombings. Police believe some of a recent spate of armed robberies could be linked to former rebels or terrorist groups, or both. Robberies have been a [...]