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Life Style
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Rooftop farms flourish in space-starved Hong Kong
On the rooftop of a tower block above the hustle and bustle of teeming Hong Kong, dedicated growers tend to their organic crops in a vegetable garden. Against a backdrop of skyscrapers and jungle-clad hills, earth-filled boxes are spread out on the roof of the 14-storey building, where a wide variety of produce including cucumbers and potatoes are cultivated. It is one of several such sites that have sprung up in Hong Kong’s concrete jungle, as the appetite for organic produce grows and people seek ways to escape one of the most densely populated places on earth. “I am happier eating what I grow rather than food I buy from supermarkets,” said Melanie Lam, a 28-year-old nurse, who comes to the “City Farm” in the Quarry Bay district of Hong Kong’s main island about twice a week. “Compared to vegetables from the supermarket, vegetables that I plant are sweeter and fresher. It gives me a greater sense of satisfaction.” With most of the southern Chinese territory’s seven million people living in tower blocks and land prices skyhigh, unused roofs are some of the few places in the most heavily populated areas for budding vegetable gardeners.
The money-obsessed city has been late to latch on to rooftop farming, which has been popular in cities such as London and New York for years. While there are no official figures for the number of sites, as no licence is needed to set one up, anecdotal evidence suggests their popularity is growing. “I think urban farming is becoming more popular... we have grown bigger in a short time,” said Osbert Lam, the founder of “City Farm”, which has about 100 regular gardeners two years after opening. There are 400 growing boxes on the 10,000-square-foot (930square-metre) rooftop available to rent for between HK$150-200 ($20-25) a month each. “People who come to the farm are so happy -- It’s like a tranquilliser, it’s a way out,” added Lam.
A baby boy was born by Caesarian section on Monday, the product of a successful smuggling attempt by a Palestinian prisoner who managed to sneak out a sperm sample to his wife. Baby Muhannad was born in a Nablus hospital to Dallal Ziben, a 32-year-old mother-of-two from a village in the northern West Bank, whose husband Ammar is currently serving 32 life sentences in an Israeli prison. Palestinians are not permitted to receive conjugal visits, and although
Speeded up, WagiminDebes sculpture project
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TABANAN - Construction project of Wagimin-Debes statue at the entrance of Pancaka Tirta Memorial Park, Tabanan, has nearly completed. Both bronze-like giant statues were installed properly on Sunday afternoon (Aug 12). The workers just need to complete the statue pedestal. The project begun in mid-July 2012 spends a budget of IDR 435 million. These funds are purely taken from Tabanan Regional Budget 2012. Ahead of the Independence Day, the project work continues to be speeded up.
IBP/ist
Osbert Lam, the owner of City Farm, holds a pumpkin he just harvested at his organic farm on the rooftop of a tower block in Hong Kong. Palestinian mother Dala looks at her new born son as she lays under a photograph of her imprisoned husband Amer al-Zein at the al-Arabi hospital in the northern Palestinian West Bank city of Nablus.
Palestinian inmate has son after sneaking sperm to wife Dallal Ziben has not set eyes on her husband for 15 years, she says she fell pregnant after being artificially inseminated by sperm her 37-yearold husband managed to sneak out of Hadarim prison in central Israel. “Praise be to Allah who has blessed us after a long absence with my husband in prison,” Ziben told AFP shortly before going in for an elective Caesarean. “My husband and I, our two girls and the family have been waiting for this for such a long time,” she said. Ziben, who comes from Meithalun village between Nablus and
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Bali Post
AFP Photo/Jaafar Ashtiyeh
Agence Frannce Presse
Bali News
International
International
Jenin, already had an 18-month-old daughter called Basha’er when her husband, who belongs to the Islamist Hamas movement, was arrested. At the time, she was also five months pregnant with their second daughter, Bissan. “I am very happy. This is the first genuine happiness in our house for more than 15 years,” smiles Basha’er, now 16. “When my mother told us she was going to get inseminated and give us a baby brother, we couldn’t believe it,” she said. “We have always wanted a brother and now the dream has come true.”
Scent of Sex and Death Attracts Young Female Beetles Hide beetles eat carrion. But the scent of decomposing flesh on its own isn’t enough to attract young, virgin females of this species. The perfume must have another ingredient to get their attention: Male-beetle sex pheromones. Hide beetles, known scientifically as Dermestes maculates, are part of the parade of insects that arrive to feast on a corpse. They also breed and lay their eggs in this graveyard of sorts. Different species have preferences for different states of decomposition. Because corpse-eating insects arrive predictably, forensic scientists can look to them for clues, such as when the corpse in question died. Blow flies are among the first on the scene, for example. Hide beetles arrive later and feed on skin and ligaments, before breeding and leaving their larvae to feed. The researchers led by Christian von Hoermann from Ulm University, Germany, wanted to know what attracted young emerged female beetles to a new corpse. They tested 2- to 3-week-old female beetles’ reactions to scents collected from piglet cadavers at various stages of decay, as well as a pheromone gland extract collected from male hide beetles, synthetic pheromones and a control scent. (Pheromones are chemical signals some organ-
Both statues of 4-meter high are made by a Balinese artist who lives in Yogyakarta, Nyoman Alim Mustofa. Budget allocation for the making of both statues comes to IDR 235 million. The statues are claimed to last up to 100 years as the ones made of materials like bronze. Inauguration of the statues is scheduled to be held ahead of the seconds of the Independence Day celebration. “We take the moment of the Independence Day celebration to inaugurate it,” said the Head of Tabanan Sanitation and Landscaping Agency (DKP), Gusti Ngurah Supanji.
According to Ngurah Supanji, the old Wagimin-Debes statue had already been in fragile condition. The building made in 1984 had needed a total renovation. Other than making new statues, the regency government also rearranged the city park supporting the statues. With such arrangement, he hoped the city of Tabanan would look more beautiful. The figure of Wagimin and Gusti Wayan Debes were great heroes of the independence struggle in Tabanan. The old statue received criticism from some veterans because they did not look similar to the original figure. However,
the new statues had been made more similar to the posture of the original figure. (kmb30) Construction project of Wagimin-Debes statue at the entrance of Pancaka Tirta Memorial Park, Tabanan, has nearly completed. Both bronze-like giant statues were installed properly on Sunday afternoon (Aug 12).
Holy water at Tanah Lot for staying young IBP
Tanah Lot tourist attraction is indeed a fantastic destination. In addition to offering a magnificent sunset sensation, it also exudes a positive aura coming from the temples at the surrounding areas. Even, such an aura penetrates into the very bottom of the heart. Well, another uniqueness kindling the tourist admiration is the fresh water springing in the middle of the ocean. “The holy spring amidst the ocean also serves as a main attraction,” said Operations Manager of the Tanah Lot tourist attraction, Toya Adnyana. Indeed, for tourists actively involving in spiritualism, other than being able to pray in Tanah Lot Temple, they could also make their time to wash their hands and even wash their face. Aside from conducted by the Balinese Hindu community, tourists or visitors of different religions also did it. They believed that by enjoying the holy water, their mind would be fresh and clear like the crystal
IIBP/afp
Young virgin female hide beetles (Dermestes maculatus) are attracted to cadavers by a combination of cadaver odor and male sex pheromones. isms use to communicate.) Only one combination really caught the female beetles’ attention: The odor of a piglet in an advanced, dry remains stage of decay and the male pheromone. “Although cadaver odor alone is not sufficient to attract 2 to 3 week-old virgin female hide beetles, it is enough to attract newly emerged males,” von Hoermann said in statement. Males appear to arrive at the cadaver first, and their pheromones signal it is a good spot for feeding and breeding. This system maximizes reproductive odds by making sure females only respond when both food and mates are present, the researchers write in a study published today (Aug. 13) the journal Frontiers in Zoology.
IBP/File
A man wash his face in the holy water at Tanah Lot. They believed that by enjoying the holy water, their mind would be fresh and clear like the crystal clear holy water
clear holy water. “Some people believe if they can wash hand, or even wash their face with the holy water, they will stay young,” he said. Besides, local society also believes if the holy water has a quality to cure various diseases. The holy water itself is also believed to be a blessing of salvation by the communities, including the non-Hindu. Another uniqueness retained by Tanah Lot is the sacred snake inhabiting the cave below the cliff. Tourists loving animal like best this attraction and they even dare to hold the venomous snake. By all means, they should be guided by the snake charmer who specially takes care of the animal. This animal becomes a very nice attraction to be published. No one knows about the exact number of the snakes because they always change every day. Well, one thing should be born in mind is that watching the snakes should not get through the afternoon because before the nightfall those snakes will come out and guard the entrance into the Tanah Lot Temple. “Local people believe that those snakes will be in charge of keeping the sanctity of the temple. At that time, no one will dare to go into the temple, even though they will say prayers,” he explained. (BTN)