The Green Carpet to Manuk Island

Adi N.W., Contributor, Manuk Island, Banten | Sat, 11/05/2011 1:38 PM

South of Banten is Manuk Island, the Isle of Birds. This coral haven offers an enchanting scene with the ebb tide. The receding waters reveal a green expanse of seaweed, like a golf course with hundreds of holes.

“We’re sort of walking on grassland destined by nature,” said Sibud, 31, a local resident and bird conservationist on the island.

It’s a major spot of temporary stay for hundreds of migratory birds. “Normally they migrate in the middle of the year. This year, the birds from the Northern Hemisphere arrived in August,” Sibud said.

Endemic birds such as herons and wild ducks are always easy to find. Many of their nests rest at the peak of the island. For a closer look at the local birds, one has to be braced for a tough hike.

The time that nature allows us to watch the wet savanna is indeed limited. Usually the ebb tide begins at 3 p.m. and the flood tide submerges the grass at 7 p.m. After that, with savanna in hiding, Manuk Island only flaunts its solid coral terrain.

The green carpet is actually the only way to access Manuk Island, which is within reach on foot.

Wet savanna: The expanse of seaweed surfaces as the tide is ebbing. It’s like a wet savanna.

New generations: A pair of 3-week-old heron chicks

New land: Manuk Island forms a small strait on the coast at low tide.

— Photos by Adi NW

VP to visit Bangka Island

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 01/22/2011 8:51 AM | National

Vice President Boediono and his wife Herawati Boediono are scheduled to visit Bangka Island on Saturday. 

Before heading to Bangka Island, the Vice President will meet student and teacher representatives from Palembang, South Sumatra, as part of his visit to the province. 

Boediono, along with Public Works Minister Joko Kirmanto, Home Minister Gamawan Fawzi, Agriculture Minister Suswono and National Education Minister M. Nuh, will return to Jakarta at 11 p.m.

SKorea to conduct firing drills from border island

The Associated Press, Seoul | Mon, 12/20/2010 8:52 AM | World

South Korea will go ahead with live firing drills Monday despite North Korea's threat to retaliate, the South's military said, sharply ramping up tensions as the U.N. failed to find a solution.

Marines will conduct the one-day artillery drills on Yeonpyeong Island - shelled by a North Korean artillery barrage last month - and the exact timing will be determined by weather conditions, an officer at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

South Korea's military will "immediately and stenly" deal with any possible provocation by North Korea, the officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity citing department rules.

Residents, local officials and journalists on the island were ordered to evacuate to underground shelters because of possible attacks by North Korea, he said.

Yonhap nws agency, citing an unidentified military officer, said the firing may start as early as around 11 a.m. (0200 GMT). The Joint Chiefs of Staff officer said he couldn't confirm the report.

The orth has warned of a "catastrophe" if South Korea goes ahead with the drills.

The North has said it would strike back harder than it did last month, when two South Korean marines and two civilians were killed on the island.

The U.N. Security Council failed Sunday to agree on a statement to address rsing tensions on the Korean peninsula.

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said the United States and other council members demanded that the council condemn North Korea for two deadly attacks this year that have helped send relations to their lowest point in decades. But diplomats said China strongly objected.

After eight hours of closed-door consultations Sunday, Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who called the emergency council meeting, told reporters "we were not successful in bridging all the bridges."

Although some countries still need to consult capitals, Rice said "the gaps that remain are unliely to be bridged."