Bali's miracle: Turning wine into hand sanitizer

BALI - Pharmacists on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali are tackling a shortage of anti-coronavirus hand sanitizer by making their own unique, tropical version -- from thousands of liters of fermented palm wine. 

The idea was the brainchild of Bali police chief Petrus Reinhard Golose, who says he was alarmed that supplies of alcohol-based disinfectant were in short supply while prices soared for what was left on the market.

He rustled up some 4,000 liters of the popular, potent beverage -- known as arak -- by asking local manufacturers to donate from their stocks, with the force also dipping into its own funds to buy up extra supplies. 

Staff at Bali's Udayana University were then tasked with turning the wine into a handwash that could protect against the coronavirus. 

Within a week, they had managed to produce a disinfectant with a 96 percent alcohol content to meet WHO standards, according to the university.

Some clove and mint oil were added to the mixture to reduce hand irritation.

"So far we've produced 10,600 bottles of hand sanitizer using arak and Bali police have given them out to people in need," Dewa Ayu Swastini, head of the university's pharmaceutical faculty, told AFP on Wednesday.

Bali has reported 49 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 2 deaths.

Agence France-Presse

Tourism takes a beating as visitors vanish from Asia's most visited sites

SIEM REAP, Cambodia - As dawn breaks the unmistakable tapered towers of Angkor Wat emerge from the gloom - but for once there are no tourists jostling on its steps to capture Cambodia's most famous sunrise.

Asia's most Instagrammable sites - temples, promenades, shopping streets, museums and mausoleums - are empty, victims of a virus keeping visitors at home.

The usual crowds have evaporated from Sensoji temple in Tokyo to Shanghai's Bund; abandoning the viewpoint at The Peak in Hong Kong and alleviating the pedestrian crush along Sydney Harbour.

Many of the now-vanished visitors are from China - a country whose travelers have completely reshaped the tourist economies of Asia over the last few years, yet where only around 10 percent of the population hold passports.

At the Angkor Wat complex, a 12th century marvel of Khmer architecture whose unique crenellations and reliefs lure millions each year, the high season has brought the lowest number of tourists on record.

Chinese-speaking Cambodian guide Hor Sophea has not taken any tours since late January. Several weeks on, money is getting tight.

"I've never seen so few tourists," said the 36-year, gesturing at the large moat inside the Angkor Wat complex, whose gangways normally bustle with selfie-taking hordes but are now empty.

"I am very worried... I don't know how much longer we can carry on like this."

The Angkor complex in Siem Reap province attracts the bulk of the kingdom's foreign tourists -- which hit a record 6.6 million in 2019, nearly half of whom were from China.

But the outbreak of the coronavirus has withered Chinese tourist arrivals by 90 percent.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced tax breaks for hotels and guesthouses in Siem Reap for four months to offset the losses.

But the discovery on Saturday of the first Cambodian with the infection - in Siem Reap - is likely to cement the stay-at-home mentality among many travelers.

The economic impact is also cascading across Asia.

In Bali, piers once bristling with arrivals from China are now decorated with moored boats, while in Tokyo the slump in mainland visitors - as well as South Koreans - is hammering restaurants in tourist areas.

At the Tsukiji fish market, some restaurants say their take is nearly 70 percent down.

"People stopped coming from China during the Lunar New Year... the streets and shops around here are near-empty," Hiroshi Oya, 61, a cook at a Japanese seafood restaurant told AFP.

"Then South Koreans stopped coming too. The tuna shop next to us decided to close temporarily to avoid running costs," he added.

But for those who are inured to the panic gripping the globe and choose to navigate travel restrictions and the morass of quarantine, a rare privilege of empty sites is their reward.

At the Angkor complex, even Ta Prohm -- the 'Tomb Raider Temple' famed for its embrace by giant tree roots and a Hollywood film franchise -- has only a smattering of visitors each day.

"We're very very lucky. Covid-19 has probably done us a favor," Australian tourist Andres Medenis, who came for sunrise at Angkor Wat, told AFP.

"But the economy is going to be really affected by that... so I feel sorry for the local people." 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Indonesia has no reported coronavirus cases. Is it truly virus-free?

NUSA DUA, Indonesia — A family from Shanghai was vacationing in Singapore last month when they learned that the new coronavirus had arrived there from China.

So they packed up and flew to the world’s largest country yet to report a single case of the deadly virus: Indonesia. They landed in Bali, a major destination for Chinese tourists, on Jan. 30 and have no plans to leave.

“People in Bali treat us nicely and are friendly,” said Eva Qin, 36, who is traveling with her mother, husband and son. “We weren’t given any health test.”

Health experts have questioned why Indonesia has not yet reported a single case of novel coronavirus, even though officials were slow to halt nonstop flights from China. Indonesia receives about 2 million Chinese tourists a year, most of them in Bali.

China’s consul general in Bali said last week that about 5,000 Chinese tourists remained in Bali, including 200 from Wuhan, where the outbreak started.

Indonesia’s closest neighbors have all reported cases, including the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.

“So far, Indonesia is the only major country in Asia that does not have a corona case,” Indonesia’s security minister, Mohammad Mahfud MD, told reporters Friday. “The coronavirus does not exist in Indonesia.”

None of the 285 people who were evacuated from Wuhan and are now in quarantine on the Indonesian island of Natuna have shown signs of the virus, he added.

Five researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health concluded in a study last week that Indonesia and Cambodia, which has reported only one case, should quickly intensify its monitoring of potential cases. Based on a statistical analysis, the disease could have arrived in Indonesia already, the authors concluded.

“Many of the imported cases have been linked to a recent travel history from Wuhan, suggesting that air travel volume may play an important role for the risk of cases being exported outside of China,” the study said.

The chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross, Jusuf Kalla, a former vice president of Indonesia, also said it was possible that the disease had already entered the country and that Indonesians might not recognize the symptoms as being coronavirus.

“Singapore has a tight system, but even there the virus got in,” he said. “It’s possible that there are infected people but here in Indonesia people think that it is only a regular fever or they think it is dengue fever.”


Kalla expressed concern about how prepared Indonesia was to handle the virus if it were to strike in remote parts of the archipelago nation where underfunded community health centers are the main health care provider. (Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country, with nearly 270 million people scattered across 6,000 inhabited islands.)

“Indonesia has many islands,” he said. “We have many port cities. They all have different capabilities. I think good hospitals in Jakarta can detect it. But what about the community health center in Flores? Or in Sulawesi? Surely the capability is limited.”

Indonesia’s health care system is considered underfunded by international standards, with insufficient facilities and too few doctors, nurses and midwives, according to a 2018 report by the World Health Organization.

But the WHO country representative, Dr. Navaratnasamy Paranietharan, said Indonesia is doing its best to face the new coronavirus, including screening passengers at points of entry and equipping hospitals for the arrival of suspected or diagnosed cases.

“Indonesia is doing what is possible to be prepared for and defend against the novel coronavirus,” he said.

Health officials say they have tested nearly 50 suspected cases, which were all negative.

Thirty Chinese workers from a cement company in North Sulawesi were placed in 14-day quarantine last week after returning from a holiday visit to China, an immigration official said. None of them have come down with the virus, he said.

If patients with symptoms were arriving, they would have been detected, insisted Achmad Yurianto, secretary of prevention and control at the health ministry.

“We are not prepared to face a major outbreak, but we are prepared to prevent an outbreak,” he said. “We are not waiting for it to happen. We in fact have tightened prevention.”

Indonesia is experienced at monitoring travelers for illness, he said, because the country has long been on the lookout for another dangerous coronavirus, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS. About 1.4 million Indonesians go each year on pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia, where they can be exposed to MERS, he said, and they are screened on their return.

“We have experienced this many times,” he said. “Maybe other countries are not as diligent as Indonesia in dealing with this situation.”

Indonesia has three laboratories capable of testing for the new coronavirus, two in Jakarta, the capital, and one in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, in East Java. The labs can test 1,200 samples a day, he said. Across the country, 100 hospitals have been designated as centers to handle suspected cases of the novel coronavirus.

Before airline travel between Indonesia and China was suspended on Feb. 5, there were 134 flights a week from China to Bali, bringing about 5,000 passengers a day.

The loss of new Chinese tourists could be devastating for the economy of Bali, which is highly dependent on foreign visitors. Still, some of the tourists already in Bali are doing what they can to stay.

China’s consul general in Bali, Gou Haodong, said many of the remaining Chinese tourists wanted to extend their visas rather than return home to possible quarantine or exposure to the virus.

More than 30 applied Friday for tourist visas extensions, said immigration officials, who put the number of remaining Chinese tourists at 1,500, not 5,000.

Among those still in Bali over the weekend were Johnson Guo and his family.

Guo, 42, a manager in an internet business in Guangzhou, said the family had been on holiday in Australia. But after the outbreak of the virus, they decided to extend their vacation and spend a week in Bali.

He said that they did not receive any health check on arrival, but that all of them were healthy.

“I worry about the virus,” he said, as he purchased 720 face masks to take back and donate to his hometown hospital when they were to return Saturday. “But I have to return because I have to go back to work. And Guangzhou is not as bad as other areas in China.”

Two travelers from Shanghai, Song Yi and her friend, Yang Yujia, both 27, arrived in Bali in mid-January with eight friends.

“We didn’t have any health check because we have been healthy during the 20 days of our stay,” said Song, a banker, as they shopped for clothes at a mall near Kuta Beach.

Song said that the Balinese people had been very kind to them, but that their Chinese friends began avoiding each other because of fears about the virus and they soon went their separate ways.

After extending their stay in Bali, she said, they plan to return home next week.

“We decided to stay longer because we were afraid of the virus,” she said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Bali volcano on highest alert level, thousands flee

Indonesian officials raised the highest possible alert for a volcano on the resort island of Bali late Friday, after tremors prompted thousands to flee over fears it could erupt for the first time in more than 50 years.

Mount Agung, about 75 kilometers (47 miles) from the tourist hub of Kuta, has been rumbling since August and officials have recommended that people stay at least nine kilometres away from the crater.


Hundreds of small tremors have rattled the mountain this week, causing almost 10,000 people to leave their homes as of Friday over fears of a volcanic eruption.

"Tremors happen very often, so we are afraid and I have taken all my family members to the refugee shelter," villager I Wayan Suwarjana told AFP.

National disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho advised people to stay calm and not to believe rumours.

The airport on Bali's capital Denpasar, a top holiday destination that attracts millions of foreign tourists every year, has not been affected but airport management are watching the situation closely.

The Australian government put out a travel advisory Friday instructing travellers to exercise a high degree of caution in Indonesia and follow the instructions of authorities.

More than 1,000 people died when Mount Agung last erupted in 1963.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

LOOK: Solenn gets naked in Bali

MANILA – Solenn Heusaff once again caught the attention of her followers on Sunday after she posted a naked picture of herself while enjoying the sun in Bali.


On Instagram, Heussaff shared a photo of her naked body covered only with a big hat.

In the caption, she wrote: “Owning up to my bathingsuit tag.”

Heussaff is in Bali to attend the bachelorette party of her friend Isabelle Daza.

Heussaff's post has already garnered more than 33,000 “likes” and over 200 comments.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Welcome home, Megan Young

MANILA -- Miss World 2013 Megan Young has arrived home.

The 23-year-old actress returned to the Philippines on Thursday afternoon via Cathay Pacific flight CX 919, weeks after she was crowned the first-ever Filipino winner of Miss World in Bali, Indonesia.



Young, who will be based in London for the duration of her one-year reign, went straight to her homecoming press conference at Solaire Resort & Casino in Paranaque City.

She will also take part in the NBA Global Games at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Thursday night. Young will do the ceremonial toss in the NBA pre-season game between the Indiana Pacers and the Houston Rockets.

On Friday, Young's historic Miss World win will be celebrated with a motorcade that will pass through parts of Makati City, culminating with a program at the SM Mall of Asia.

Young is also set to visit Malacanang, the Senate, Congress and her hometown in Olongapo in the coming days. The beauty queen will also make several guest appearances on TV programs starting Saturday.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Pinoys in demand as educators in Indonesia

BALI – Filipinos are in demand here as educators and teachers, the Philippine ambassador to Indonesia said.

Ambassador Rosario Aguinaldo said in an interview on the sidelines of the 21st Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that Indonesians see Filipinos as a valuable ally in their quest to improve their English communication skills.

“They want to be good in speaking English, and they have opened several international schools here. And because Filipinos are fluent in speaking the language, they hired a lot of Filipino teachers,” she said.

Aguinaldo said that aside from English, Filipino teachers are recruited to teach Science and Mathematics.

“We have a lot here in Bali, also in Medan and Surabaya, and not just in Jakarta,” she said.

“Perhaps this is our contribution, one big contribution here. And this is on top of the Filipino accountants, auditors who have remained as consultants,” she added.

Aguinaldo said there are around 10,000 Filipinos also work here as financial consultants, directors of hospitals, general managers of hotels and entrepreneurs.

The Philippines is reviewing various bilateral agreements with Indonesia to ensure that projects do not overlap and ensure that the full benefits of each agreement will redound to both countries.

“It is important that we see for ourselves the extent of their implementation, but because they have too many, we can’t implement everything,” she said.

She said trade relations between the two countries are also under review.

“We have had problems bringing in some of our products and we’re working on this now. Among them are bananas, shallots. We’ve had trouble, a little trouble, bringing them in because of the regulations,” she said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Megan hopes Miss World win will inspire Pinoys

MANILA – Actress and television host Megan Young still cannot believe that she is the first Filipina to be given the elusive Miss World title.

In a post on the Miss World Philippines Facebook page, Young thanked all those who have been part of her journey to the international pageant, which culminated in Bali, Indonesia on Saturday night.

The “early favorite” at the pageant bested 126 candidates to get the Miss World crown.

“Seems like only yesterday that I was flying out to Bali, Indonesia to represent the Philippines and show the world what I had. And now, at the foot of my bed, I see the Miss World sash. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine to be in this position. Never did I think of myself to be worthy of such an honor. But the paths I’ve chosen have proven me wrong,” Young wrote.

“This year will be an amazing one. I can already feel the good vibes and positive energy and I can’t wait to start planning for things so that you can witness my journey as well,” she added.

Young went on to recognize not only her supporters, but also her critics, saying that all of them helped her get to where she is now.

“Thank you for the happiness, thank you for the tears, thank you for the heart to heart talks, thank you for the heartbreak, thank you for the hugs, thank you for being mean to me, thank you for understanding, thank you for misunderstanding, thank you for caring, thank you for not giving a damn, thank you for the love and affection. Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she wrote.

The newly crowned Miss World also hopes that her win in the international pageant will serve as an inspiration to her fellow Filipinos.

“Maraming salamat sa mga Pilipino na sumuporta. Mahal na mahal ko kayo. Sana maging inspirasyon ako sa inyo. Samahan niyo ako sa aking lakbay bilang Miss World 2013,” she said. “This isn’t the end of the journey. It is only the beginning.”

Young is currently in London to attend a charity gala event as part of her duties as Miss World. She is set to return to the Philippines in eight days.

Malacañang and several celebrity friends have joined thousands of Filipino Internet users across the globe in congratulating Young for her victory in the Miss World pageant.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Megan Young is Miss World 2013

MANILA -- Megan Young was crowned Miss World 2013 on Saturday night in Bali, Indonesia, making history as the first-ever Filipino winner of the title since the Philippines' debut in the pageant in 1966.

The 23-year-old actress bested 126 other international candidates to become the successor of China's Wenxia Yu, who conferred the crown on Young at the pageant's culminating event held at Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center.

France's Marine Lorphelin finished second, while Ghana's Carranzar Shooter placed third. Completing the Top 6 were Spain's Elena Ibarbia, Brazil's Sancler Frantz, and Gibraltar's Jessica Baldachino (People's Choice).

Hosted by Miss Scotland 2012 Jennifer Reoch and Mister World 2010 Kamal Ibrahim, the coronation night featured cultural numbers, as well as performances from British boyband Blue.

Young's win was bolstered by her strong showing in various pre-pageant challenges, including the Top Model competition, which she won; the Beach Fashion tilt, where she ranked fifth; and the Multimedia Contest, where she placed fourth.

Other preliminary competition winners recognized on Saturday were Netherlands' Jacqueline Steenbeek, for the Sports Challenge; Brazil's Frantz, Beach Fashion; India's Navneet Dhillon, Multimedia; and Nepal's Ishani Shrestha, Beauty with a Purpose.

Pinoys in Bali

Young also zoomed up in rankings after her performance in the Question & Answer portion, where all top six candidates were asked, "Why should you become Miss World?"

Thanking the Indonesian audience in their native language, Young, who wore a pink Francis Libiran gown, brought up the "core values" of Miss World and how she hopes to embody these "to help society."

Before giving her answer, Young also got to talk with Reoch about the strong cheer for her from the audience. They were waiting for her profile reel to be set up -- it initially showed a different candidate -- when Young quipped, "I actually brought half of the Philippines here!"

The ABS-CBN actress' win in Miss World is preceded by similarly strong performances from Filipinas in the pageant. Gwendoline Ruais finished 1st runner-up, while Queneerich Rehman placed in the Top 15 in the 2011 and 2012 editions of the competition, respectively.

Receiving her crown on Saturday, a tearful Young thanked her countrymen, exclaiming to the audience, "Salamat sa mga kababayan ko. Mahal na mahal ko kayo."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Thousands stranded as Air Australia goes bust

SYDNEY — Budget carrier Air Australia collapsed Friday, stranding thousands of passengers as its domestic flights and international services to Honolulu, Bali and Phuket were all grounded.

The news came a day after embattled Australian flag carrier Qantas said it was slashing at least 500 jobs, cutting costs and closing two international routes after posting an 83% slump in first-half net profits.

In a statement on its website, the Brisbane-based Air Australia, whose 300 staff have been stood down, said it had appointed KordaMentha as voluntary administrators.

“In the short-term, the fleet will be grounded. It currently appears that there are no funds available to meet operational expenses so flights will be suspended immediately,” the administrator said. “For clarity, it also appears highly unlikely there will be any flights in the short to medium term.”

Air Australia flew international routes to the Indonesian island of Bali, Thai holiday paradise Phuket, and Hawaii, and domestically to Brisbane, Melbourne, and Perth, Derby and Port Hedland in Western Australia.

Administrator Mark Korda said up to 4,000 passengers were currently overseas with Air Australia return tickets and advised them to find alternative arrangements.

He told ABC radio the airline was unable to buy fuel at Phuket International Airport on Thursday night, prompting fears about the airline’s solvency.

“Air Australia was unable to purchase fuel in Phuket to refuel the planes, so the directors had a meeting at 1.30 this morning and appointed us as administrators due to the solvency of the company,” Korda said. “The supplier of the fuel wouldn’t grant any further credit to the company.”
Reports said a flight out of Honolulu was also refused fuel.

The carrier, previously known as Strategic Airlines and relaunched in November 2011 to cash in on underserviced routes, flew five Airbus A330-200 and A320-200 aircraft.

Stranded passengers said they were left in the dark.

“There’s actually no one at the airport from Air Australia,” Wesa Chau, who was waiting for her flight in Phuket, told Australian media. “They offered no assistance whatsoever.”

The collapse came as a Thai flight attendant told ABC the carrier was paying her far below the Australian minimum wage.

Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten said he was very concerned by the allegations.

Korda said he was hoping to find investors to save the airline.

“Hopefully we can find a white knight, if not, the operations will stay suspended and then what we’ll do is we’ll follow up with everybody about how did this all happen?” he said.

Qantas chief Alan Joyce, whose own airline has been hit hard by soaring fuel costs and a fleet grounding last year due to labor disputes, said he would do what he could to help stranded passengers.

“If the (Air Australia) passengers come to a Qantas desk, a Jetstar desk, show their ticket, we’ll give them a ticket for the same value they’ve paid with Air Australia,” he said.

Hawaiian Airlines said it would offer special one-way “rescue” fares.

source: japantoday.com