Five missing divers found alive on Indonesian beach

FIVE European divers missing for about two days were found alive on a remote beach in eastern Indonesia today.

A hunt for the divers – three Britons, a Frenchman and a Swede – began after they went missing on Thursday in dangerous waters near the Komodo National Park in the Nusa Tenggara islands.

The five divers were part of a team of 14 who did not surface when waves suddenly picked up during a dive. Their team contacted police, who began scouring the waters late on Thursday.

"The police patrol spotted them waving their hands from a beach on Rinca island. They were safe and sound, but were a bit hungry," Viktor Jemadu, a senior police officer in the Manggarai Barat area, said.

It is understood that the divers were taken by boat to a medical centre.

Earlier: Five European divers missing in Indonesia

Five European divers missing in Indonesia

Five scuba divers from Britain, France and Sweden have been missing for more than a day in seas off remote islands in Indonesia after being swept away in a current, police said Friday.

The divers - two British women and a British man, a Swedish woman and a French man - disappeared Thursday in the treacherous waters of the Komodo National Park in the Nusa Tenggara islands east of Bali, police said.

"A rescue team from the Indonesian police and navy conducted a search this morning for the five missing foreigners but there has been no result so far," Manggarai Barat district police chief Butje Hello said.

The Komodo National Park is a popular diving destination which is well known for spectacular coral and fishlife as well as strong currents.

Lion Air connects Singapore with Bali

Indonesia's largest private airline Lion Air will start serving the Denpasar-Singapore route Friday, airline spokesman Hasyim Arsal Alhabsy said Thursday.

"The Boeing 737-900 ER will depart Friday from Changi airport in Singapore at 6:20 a.m. local time (5:20 a.m. Jakarta time) to Denpasar," he said.

"The maiden flight will bring dozens of Singaporean journalists and travel agents for a familiarization trip to support the Visit Indonesia 2008 program."

Hasyim said the load factor from Singapore was 70 percent which is "pretty good for a new international route".

From Singapore the airplane will carry 195 economy-class and 10 business-class passengers.

The return flight from Bali will be at 11:55 p.m. local time (10:55 p.m. Jakarta time) with an all-economy-class configuration carrying 213 passengers.

The flight from Bali is about two-and-a-half hours with a promotion fare of Rp 69,000 (US$7.4) excluding taxes and fuel surcharge.

West.Java seeks Rp 100b in tourism transactions

The West Java Tourism and Cultural Agency aims to garner Rp 100 billion (US$10.7 million) in tourism transactions from its four-day 2008 Travel Exchange event in Bandung, West Java, an official said Wednesday.

Agency chief Idjudin Budhiana said the annual event, which began Tuesday, had attracted 104 foreign buyers, as well as 70 local sellers from areas outside West Java, including Bali and Makassar in South Sulawesi.

"West Java has about 40 sellers who will promote some 300 tourism spots, such as Tangkuban Perahu mountain in Lembang and Pelabuhan Ratu beach in Sukabumi," Idjudin said.

Tourism is West Java's main source of gross domestic income, with the region this year gunning to make Rp 25 trillion from its target of 37.5 million local tourists and 700,000 foreign travelers, equating to 10 percent of the nation's foreign arrival target.

According to the agency, West Java saw 36 million local and 600,000 foreign tourists last year, lower than the anticipated 40 million local and one million foreign tourists.

Yudhoyono to officially kick off Bali cultural fiesta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to officially kick off the 30th Bali Cultural Fiesta (PKB) on June 14, 2008.

"The head of state to be accompanied by a number of ministers will watch cultural attractions involving thousands of artists from Bali as well as other regions," Organizing Committee Chairman of the 30th Bali Cultural Fiesta I Made Adi Djaya said here on Tuesday.

The organizing committee invited 12 foreign ambassadors to the inaugural ceremony of the annual cultural fiesta.

"The 12 foreign ambassadors get special invitation because their countries will participate in the annual arts event on the Island of Gods (Bali)," he said.

The invited ambassadors will include those from the United States of America, Japan, Singapore, India, South Korea, Thailand, Britain, and Malaysia.

During his stay in Bali, the President would also open the first Bali Cultural Congress and watch a colossal classical dance-drama created by the Denpasar-based Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI), he said.

This year`s theme of the cultural fiesta is "Self-Control Towards Balance and Harmony.

Ubud Writers & Readers Festival to Be Held in Bali Oct 14-19 under Theme of Tri Hita Karana

Tri Hita Karana is the theme of the Fifth International Ubud Writers & Readers Festival. Tri Hita Karana is a Balinese Hindu concept that translates as our relationship between God, Humanity and Nature. Invited international guests include acclaimed Indian author Vikram Seth, US novelist John Berendt, Camilla Gibb from Canada, Mexican author Alberto Ruy-Sanchez, Australians Alexis Wright and Father Frank Brennan, 2007 Man Booker Prize short-listed writer Indra Sinha, Chinese writer Geling Yan and food ecologist, Helena Norberg-Hodge.

Collision of Cultures will be one of the underlying themes of the 2008 Festival with established and emerging writers confronting the issues of ‘Us and Them.' Discussions on the environment, world religions, languages and lifestyles will be delved into together with the subject of migration and its impact on communities. Hot debates addressing crime and punishment in Asia, and more specifically drugs, civil rights and moral dilemmas, will also take centre-stage.

It will be a dialogue like no other at Ubud, which lies on the fertile crossroads of two rivers, two oceans and two continents - Asia and Australia. In the 1930s, it was the exotic retreat of the rich and famous and has now re-invented itself as an international meeting place for writers, poets and artists from all parts of the world. It has become the stage where voices from China, India, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia and more are heard. In 2008, we will strengthen this partnership and engage writers from beyond the region into the heart of Africa and Central America.

WWW.UBUDWRITERSFESTIVAL.COM

Janet DeNeefe
Ubud Writers & Readers Festival
Festival Founder & Director
October 14 - 19 2008
www.ubudwritersfestival.com
Bali mobile:+628123853249
'one of the top six writer's festivals in the world' Harper's Bazaar, UK