Police in Bali set free 31 captive sea turtles that were headed for China

Marine police of Bali released 31 rare pig nosed sea turtles into the ocean - these turtles had been captured by an illegal gang of smugglers and were destined to be flown to Guangzhou in southern China. These reptiles faced an uncertain future after they were caught by the smugglers and could have been on their way to a restaurant or to be used in traditional Chinese medicine.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 14 April 2016.

Fortunately, police came to now of the sinister plot and raided the gang's hide out to rescue the turtles before they could be smuggled out of the country. The rescue teams of police, aided by wildlife officials, carried the heavy turtles across the sand at Kuta beach on the island of Bali. The turtles had been rescued last week.
It may be recalled that earlier this year, Indonesian authorities had foiled an attempt to smuggle more than 4,000 protected baby turtles worth tens of thousands of dollars to China. More than 3,700 pig-nosed turtles and nearly 900 snake-necked turtles were found concealed in containers in a building on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta.
These turtles valued at nearly $90,000, were concealed among clown loach fish, which can be legally exported from Indonesia.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the pig-nosed turtle as vulnerable and the snake-necked turtle as critically endangered - both species are popular as pets. Moreover, some turtle species are also popular in China as exotic food or for use in traditional medicine.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Some more interesting links -

Moody’s policy – love thy neighbor (satire)

Lord Shiva wants to be the King of good times (satire)

Narad queers the pitch for Didi & Co (satire)


France continues to attract tourists despite the terror attacks

Summer sees high occupancy rates in Kanpur cinema halls

Five killed in sightseeing helicopter crash near Great Smokey Mountains National Park


ISIS still holding 30 workers out of 300 kidnapped from cement factory in Dumeir

Another Bangladeshi blogger killed in Dhaka because of his views on religion

Florida hunters bag a 15-foot 800-pound massive alligator


Indonesian pop star dies after being bitten by a cobra on stage

Tom Hiddleston denies that he would be next James Bond

“Sicario 2” - Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro will team up again

Mount Raung in Bali, Indonesia, erupts – vacationers stranded in airports

Hundreds of flights to and from Bali, the holiday island of Indonesia, have been cancelled because Mount Raung is spewing ashes over hundreds of miles. As a result, flights to and from Bali have been cancelled and visitors have been stranded at airports. It is peak holiday period in Bali.
Mount Raung is located about 93 miles (150km) from the airport in Bali, and it spewed ash and debris 3,800m into the air and it has spread over hundreds of miles of the country. The volcano was also shooting out flames and a producing a thundering sound.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 10 July 2015.

The incident has affected five airports in the region – these include the ones in Bali's capital Denpasar and on nearby Lombok. The cancellation is of nearly 250 flights. The airlines affected were Garuda, AirAsia, Virgin Australia, Jetstar and Air New Zealand.
Passengers are camping out on the grassy lawns in front of the airport with hundreds of them waiting to talk to customer service to get some sort of feedback.
Indonesia is on the Pacific Ring of Fire which is a belt of seismic activity running around the basin of the Pacific Ocean. It has around 130 active volcanoes.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

A few more must reads -
Maggi noodles are banned in India but, the same Maggi is safe in the UK

Top Ramen follows Maggi and goes off the shelves

India’s dreams of a Utopia vanishing, courtesy arrogant and corrupt ministers

Oil giant Shell to drill for oil in the Arctic off the Alaskan coast

Venezuela facing shortage of beer


Boko Haram unleashes another round of terror on Nigeria – kill 150 in Borno state

ISIS child executioners shoot and kill 25 Syrian soldiers in Palmyra ruins in public

Britain wakes from slumber after Tunisia deaths – to debate airstrikes on ISIS targets


Mangoes are forever

Ripe mangoes and mango cakes or amsatta