Friday, 28 June 2013
Sunday, 23 June 2013
This message contains blocked images.
Show ImagesOptions
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday, 15 June 2013
Monday, 10 June 2013
ustin Bieber muat naik foto pakaian dalam
10 Jun – Penyanyi terkenal Justin
Bieber membuktikan diri dan juga peminatnya semakin dewasa dengan memuat
naik sekeping foto pakaian dalam wanita di akaun Instagram miliknya.
Disertakan kapsyen "I guess everyone grows up" (Saya rasa semua
akan membesar), Bieber, 19, berkongsi foto baju dalam berwarna kuning
air di atas pentas dengan beribu gadis menjerit di bahagian belakang
yang diambil di salah satu siri jelajah "Believe".Nampaknya apa yang dikatakan oleh pelantun "Beauty And A Beat" sememangnya benar kerana sejak kebelakangan ini, Bieber sering terlibat dengan pelbagai masalah disiplin serta kesalahan undang-undang.
Pada awal Mei lalu, Bieber tegas mempertahankan dirinya selepas dikritik oleh orang ramai ketika menerima Milestone Award di Anugerah Muzik Billboard.
"Saya berusia 19 tahun. Saya merasakan saya telah membuat yang terbaik. Jujur dari hati saya, apa yang saya ingin katakan ia sepatutnya berkaitan dengan muzik. Ia sepatutnya tentang apa yang saya lakukan. Ia bukan gimik. Saya seorang artis dan saya sepatutnya dipandang serius."
Jom Uji – Berbaloikah Memiliki Samsung Galaxy S4?
Jom Uji – Berbaloikah Memiliki Samsung Galaxy S4?
Mod Dual Shot yang memungkinkan rakaman kamera belakang dan depan sekaligus.
Setelah
menempa nama dengan model-model meletup sebelum ini, Samsung sudahpun
mengeluarkan Samsung Galaxy S4 kepada pengguna tempatan dengan harga
pasaran sebanyak RM2,199.
Sebelum kita ke kedai atau menempah telefon ini
menerusi syarikat telekomunikasi seperti Maxis, Celcom, DiGi atau U
Mobile, cuba tanya diri sendiri, adakah berbaloi untuk membeli telefon
baru Samsung ini? Blog ini akan cuba menjawab persoalan anda di akhir
artikel selepas beberapa penerangan mengenai spesifikasinya.
Ini adalah siri telefon pintar yang terbaru dari Samsung yang diikuti
dari Note ke Note 2 dan Galaxy S3. Ciri-ciri yang terdapat padanya
dilengkapi dari keluarga Galaxy dengan tambahan ciri dan teknologi yang
terbaru.
Aplikasi S Translator yang sangat berguna.Kita mulakan dengan apa yang tidak berubah, iaitu rekabentuk, saiz tidak banyak beza dengan Galaxy S3. Sedikit nipis yang menampakkan kesesuaian dengan skrin 5 inci. Bahagian sisi pula diratakan berbanding Galaxy S3 menjadikan lebih selesa dalam genggaman. Ok, tapi masih ada kekurangannya, rekaan GS4 masih dirasakan seolah-olah bukanlah telefon pintar yang premium. Ianya masih direka dengan plastik, OK, plastik yang premium tetapi tahan lasak. Jadi bila tangan anda mudah berpeluh, mungkin kurang selesa. Ya, rekabentuk ergonomik mungkin menjadi pilihan Samsung. Ciri rekabentuk lain jelas menunjukkan, ianya hanya kurang premium jika dibandingkan dengan iPhone dan HTC One. Samsung percaya pengguna akan terlepas pandang kekurangan tersebut. Apalah agaknya rekabentuk Galaxy S5 nanti kan?
Jika bercakap tentang skrin, Samsung memang pandai
menghasilkan kekuatan AMOLED iaitu skrin yang terdapat pada GS4
tersangatlah menarik. Ia dilengkapi Super Amoled HD yang mana sangat
terang, kurang tepu warna, (ok, tak faham? Saturation!) yang menjadikan
skrin ini mantap.
S4 memang mudah dipegang.Baca juga: Samsung Telah Menjual 10 Juta unit S4
Samsung Galaxy S4 juga mempunyai fungsi dua kamera
sekaligus. Kamera depan dan kamera belakang beroperasi pada satu masa
dengan beberapa pilihan template bagi kotak depan dan 'background'.
Contohnya, kamera depan merakam gambar anda dan kamera belakang merakam
gambar persekitaran. Empat langkah mudah menggunakan ciri ini ialah
aktifkan fungsi, sentuh dan leretkan untuk menggerakkan kotak kamera
depan, pilih template dan terus rakam.
Reka bentuk nipis S4.Cipta Group (kumpulan rakan atau keluarga) seakan Whatsapp atau BBM tetapi anda boleh memasang muzik, berkongsi video atau foto, dokumen atau bermain game. Katakan seorang rakan dalam Group anda menghantar muzik, kesemua rakan lain boleh mendengarnya serentak. Terhad kepada lapan orang dan berada dalam lingkungan wifi terdekat saja. Anda boleh menetapkan kata laluan pada masa sama jika tidak mahu Group lain mendengar/lihat/kongsi apa yang anda lakukan dalam Group anda. Tetapi, muzik yang anda dengar tidak boleh disalin berikutan masalah cetak rompak yang berlaku.
Baca juga: Jom Uji – HTC One, Gila Terbaik: Android Paling Best, Inikalilah Tukar!
Aplikasi S Translator, berbeza daripada Google
Translate. Jauh berbeza, kalau anda berada di luar negara, asalkan
mempunyai data, anda boleh boleh alih bahasa dengan meminta orang yang
sedang bercakap dengan anda untuk 'bercakap' dengan telefon dan ia akan
menterjemahkan perkataan tersebut ke bahasa yang ada fahami. Dalam kes
ini, bahasa Inggeris yang paling hampir. Contoh, anda ke China dan ingin
memesan roti, hanya taip dalam bahasa Inggeris dan ia akan
menterjemahkan dalam perkataan kemudian menyebutnya dan apabila pekedai
membalasnya, suaranya akan diterjemahkan semula ke dalam perkataan.
Antaramuka depan yang biasa.Antara ciri yang saya muatkan dalam segmen Jom Uji kali ini mungkin berbeza dari reviu lain dan apa yang boleh disimpulkan adalah seperti di bawah adalah saranan jika anda ingin membeli telefon Samsung Galaxy S4:
Sunday, 9 June 2013
Banjir separas buku lali
Difahamkan, kejadian banjir kilat di dua kawasan perumahan sehingga ke paras buku lali itu menyebabkan penduduk mengalihkan barangan rumah dan perabot ke tempat lebih tinggi.
Penduduk Taman Ambar, Cheng Sak Wang, 63, berkata dia terkejut apabila melihat ruang tamu rumah teresnya ditenggelami air kira-kira 15 sentimeter (cm).
"Rumah saya dilanda banjir kilat..walaupun ia bukan banjir besar namun ia memberi masalah buat saya ketika mahu membersihkan rumah.
Hujan lebat sejak tiga jam menyebabkan beberapa jalan utama serta kawasan perumahan di sekitar bandar Alor Setar dinaiki air."Saya berharap pihak berkuasa boleh mengambil tindakan dengan memastikan aliran air, longkang dan sungai bebas dari tersumbat, " katanya.
Sementara itu, jurucakap dari Jabatan Pertahanan Awam Malaysia (JPAM) yang dihubungi berkata, setakat ini pihaknya hanya menerima satu laporan berhubung air naik di jalan di Taman Rakyat, di sini. Jurucakap itu, berkata pihaknya sudah membuat rondaan di sekitar kawasan terjejas sebagai persediaan awal banjir.
Psy's 'Gentleman' Passes 400 Million Mark on YouTube
Psy's 'Gentleman' Passes 400 Million Mark on YouTube
(CRI Online)
15:17, June 09, 2013 
 |
| Still picture of Psy's music video "Gentleman." (PD Online/Zhang Yue) |
The music video, released on April 13, has attracted over 406,000 clicks and 2.3 million likes.
Psy has three videos in the top 20 most watched YouTube videos of all time. "Gangnam Style" sits alone at the top at 1.6 billion views, while his rendition of "Gangnam Style" with 4Minute's HyunA stands at number 20 with 350 million views
PSY Performs 'Gangnam Style' And 'Gentleman' At Summertime Ball 2013
PSY Performs 'Gangnam Style' And 'Gentleman' At Summertime Ball 2013
The K-Pop star wowed with his hit singles 'Gangnam Style' and 'Gentleman' at Wembley Stadium.
PSY sent Wembley Stadium crazy this afternoon as he made his debut at the Summertime Ball.
The K-Pop star took centre stage in front of 80,000 fans for his performance of 'Gangnam Style' and new single 'Gentleman'.
Performance Review: 80,000 fans got their dancing shoes on today as PSY took to the stage for his much anticipated performance at the Summertime Ball.
The K-Pop star became the man on everyone's lips last year when he
released 'Gangnam Style' and he failed to dissapoint. As soon as his
backing dancers took to the stage at the vide-roll played out - Wembley
was PSY's for the taking.
Opening with 'Gentleman', the audience were ready to get
down with PSY and let themselves loose. He then stayed on the huge
middle stage on his own and took a moment to address the crowd. "When I
was 14, I watched Queen at Wembley Stadium and was inspired to make music,"
he said. "This is my dream!" He then challenged the crowd one against
80,000 to a dance off as he performed his famous hit 'Gangnam Style'.
Check out a picture of PSY performing at the Ball below (Credit: PA):
As streamers fell from the skies, PSY thanked the crowd for their participation and left the stage - one dream fulfilled!
The Song When Everyone Was Fangirling:
'Gangnam Style' - mums, dads, sons, daughters were all dancing in unison
to one of the most famous songs from the past twelve months.
What Was PSY Wearing: PSY wowed in his
unique sleeveless red checkered suit jacket and bow-tie. He finished the
outfit off with trademark baggy trousers and spats style.
The Most OMG Moment: Seeing 80,000 fans all performing the 'Gangnam Style' dance is something no-one will ever forget.
The pop star seems to have shed the weight she gained last year
The pop star seems to have shed the weight she gained last year.
Looks like Lady Gaga's well-documented weight woes are over.The pop priestess was snapped this week looking slim while wearing a bitty floral bikini in Mexico.
Just last September, her noticeably bigger shape, evident while performing in corsets and fishnets, got tongues wagging. She confessed to Britain's Stylist Magazine, "I don't really care if (people) think I'm fat, because, quite honestly, I did gain about 30 pounds."
History of Mt Kinabalu
History of Mt Kinabalu
The
mountain is located on the east Malaysian state of Sabah, on the island
of Borneo. Mysterious and moody, but always a magnificent sight, Mt
Kinabalu has captured the imagination of locals and explorers for
centuries.
Cloaked in swirling mists, puffy clouds, golden sunsets and rich flora and fauna, the mountain is ever-changing in its sights and sounds.
Mt Kinabalu and its surrounding Park has a very wide range of habitats, from rich tropical lowland and hill rainforest to tropical mountain forest, sub-alpine forest and heath on the higher elevations.
In 2000, Mt Kinabalu was included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List to preserve and protect its natural heritage.
It has also been designated as a Centre of Plant Diversity for Southeast Asia.
Legends
Kinabalu’s name is a mystery. The most popular view derives it from the Kadazan words, Aki Nabalu, meaning ‘the revered place of the dead’. The local Kadazan people believe that spirits dwell on the mountain top.
According to another folklore, the name Kinabalu actually means Cina Balu which translates into ‘Chinese widow’. Legend goes that a Chinese prince ascended the mountain in search of a huge pearl guarded by a ferocious dragon.
After his successful conquest, he married a Kadazan woman. But he soon abandoned her and returned to China. Heartbroken, his wife wandered to the mountains to mourn. There, she turned into stone.
Early Climbers
As there is no record of local people climbing Mt Kinabalu, the first honor goes to Sir Hugh Low, a British colonial officer from Labuan, who reached the summit plateau in 1851. However, he did not scale the highest peak, believing that “the highest point is inaccessible to any but winged animals” In honor of his journey, a peak, along with a mile-deep gully, a pitcher plant and a rhododendron were named after him.
The custom of leaving a signed and dated letter in a bottle at the top of the mountain gives a history of the early climbers. In 1858, Sir Hugh Low made a second expedition to Kinabalu with his friend Spencer St John. The highest peak was finally conquered by John Whitehead and his intrepid Kadazan porters in 1888. Whitehead also made the first zoological collection of the mountain’s animals.
In 1910, English botanist Lilian Gibbs became the first woman to scale Kinabalu. Along the way, she collected over a thousand botanical specimens for the British Museum. In the same year, Mt Kinabalu’s first tourist made the ascent, describing the trip as “purely a vacational ramble.
The Kadazan
The Kadazan people – Sabah’s largest indigeneous community – still live on Mt Kinabalu’s flanks. Traditionally, they practiced shifting cultivation, chopping down forest to plant rice and other vegetables. Gradually, permanent terraced farm plots are replacing shifting agriculture to help slow soil erosion and preserve the natural forest. Many Kadazans now work as rangers and guides for Kinabalu Park.
Mt Kinabalu is located at the high point of the Crocker Range that runs almost from the northern tip of Borneo to its centre. The foundations of Kinabalu were set some 15 million years ago during the Pilocene period when a huge ball of molten rock was forced beneath the Crocker Range, hardening into a granite mound. Kinabalu itself was formed barely 10 million years ago when huge plugs of granite forced their way through crumpled layers of sandstone and shale. During the ice age some 100,000 years ago, glaciers began wearing away the summit plateau. Today, Mt Kinabalu is still growing at a rate of 5mm a year. It is one of the youngest non-volcanic mountains in the world. At its top, a 1.5km-deep gorge splits the mountain down the middle, separating the two arms of the eastern and western summit plateaus 1km apart.
Mt Kinabalu has one of the richest and most diversified fauna and flora in the world. This is all thanks to a wide climatic range (from tropical rainforest in the lowlands to temperate climate at high altitudes), heavy rainfall and diversity of rocks and soils. Many plant and animal species are endemic to Kinabalu and not found anywhere else in the world. More than half of the world’s flowering plants can be found here.
The world’s largest pitcher plant, the intriguing Nepenthes Rajah, grows in the Park. There are also 700 species of orchids, 600 species of ferns and over 24 species of Rhododendrons (one of the most spectacular flowers on Mt Kinabalu). One can also find bamboos, mosses, oak trees and figs among the 6000 plant species growing here.
Altitudinal zones are used to classify the common plant types on Kinabalu. Up to 1200m, lowland rainforest dominates the landscape. In the lower montane zone from 1200-2200m, plants more typical of temperate regions are common. Here, tree are shorter and ferns are abundant. The upper montane forest lies between 2200-3300m where the trees are stunted and covered in mosses – hence the name ‘the mossy forest’. The sub-alpine zone starts from 2200m and goes all the way to the summit where grassy meadow-like vegetation dominates.
Of the many mammals on Mt Kinabalu, black shrews, Kinabalu shrews and Thomas’ pygmy squirrels are endemic to the mountain. Kinabalu is home to over half of Borneo’s 518 bird species. Of the 29 species of birds unique to Borneo, 17 are found in the mountain. These include the red-breasted tree partridge and crimson-headed wood partridge. A common sight on the summit is the mountain blackbird. There are also numerous species of moths, small reptiles, insects and spiders endemic to Mt Kinabalu.
Cloaked in swirling mists, puffy clouds, golden sunsets and rich flora and fauna, the mountain is ever-changing in its sights and sounds.
Mt Kinabalu and its surrounding Park has a very wide range of habitats, from rich tropical lowland and hill rainforest to tropical mountain forest, sub-alpine forest and heath on the higher elevations.
In 2000, Mt Kinabalu was included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List to preserve and protect its natural heritage.
It has also been designated as a Centre of Plant Diversity for Southeast Asia.
Legends
Kinabalu’s name is a mystery. The most popular view derives it from the Kadazan words, Aki Nabalu, meaning ‘the revered place of the dead’. The local Kadazan people believe that spirits dwell on the mountain top.
According to another folklore, the name Kinabalu actually means Cina Balu which translates into ‘Chinese widow’. Legend goes that a Chinese prince ascended the mountain in search of a huge pearl guarded by a ferocious dragon.
After his successful conquest, he married a Kadazan woman. But he soon abandoned her and returned to China. Heartbroken, his wife wandered to the mountains to mourn. There, she turned into stone.
Early Climbers
As there is no record of local people climbing Mt Kinabalu, the first honor goes to Sir Hugh Low, a British colonial officer from Labuan, who reached the summit plateau in 1851. However, he did not scale the highest peak, believing that “the highest point is inaccessible to any but winged animals” In honor of his journey, a peak, along with a mile-deep gully, a pitcher plant and a rhododendron were named after him.
The custom of leaving a signed and dated letter in a bottle at the top of the mountain gives a history of the early climbers. In 1858, Sir Hugh Low made a second expedition to Kinabalu with his friend Spencer St John. The highest peak was finally conquered by John Whitehead and his intrepid Kadazan porters in 1888. Whitehead also made the first zoological collection of the mountain’s animals.
In 1910, English botanist Lilian Gibbs became the first woman to scale Kinabalu. Along the way, she collected over a thousand botanical specimens for the British Museum. In the same year, Mt Kinabalu’s first tourist made the ascent, describing the trip as “purely a vacational ramble.
The Kadazan
The Kadazan people – Sabah’s largest indigeneous community – still live on Mt Kinabalu’s flanks. Traditionally, they practiced shifting cultivation, chopping down forest to plant rice and other vegetables. Gradually, permanent terraced farm plots are replacing shifting agriculture to help slow soil erosion and preserve the natural forest. Many Kadazans now work as rangers and guides for Kinabalu Park.
Mt Kinabalu is located at the high point of the Crocker Range that runs almost from the northern tip of Borneo to its centre. The foundations of Kinabalu were set some 15 million years ago during the Pilocene period when a huge ball of molten rock was forced beneath the Crocker Range, hardening into a granite mound. Kinabalu itself was formed barely 10 million years ago when huge plugs of granite forced their way through crumpled layers of sandstone and shale. During the ice age some 100,000 years ago, glaciers began wearing away the summit plateau. Today, Mt Kinabalu is still growing at a rate of 5mm a year. It is one of the youngest non-volcanic mountains in the world. At its top, a 1.5km-deep gorge splits the mountain down the middle, separating the two arms of the eastern and western summit plateaus 1km apart.
Mt Kinabalu has one of the richest and most diversified fauna and flora in the world. This is all thanks to a wide climatic range (from tropical rainforest in the lowlands to temperate climate at high altitudes), heavy rainfall and diversity of rocks and soils. Many plant and animal species are endemic to Kinabalu and not found anywhere else in the world. More than half of the world’s flowering plants can be found here.
The world’s largest pitcher plant, the intriguing Nepenthes Rajah, grows in the Park. There are also 700 species of orchids, 600 species of ferns and over 24 species of Rhododendrons (one of the most spectacular flowers on Mt Kinabalu). One can also find bamboos, mosses, oak trees and figs among the 6000 plant species growing here.
Altitudinal zones are used to classify the common plant types on Kinabalu. Up to 1200m, lowland rainforest dominates the landscape. In the lower montane zone from 1200-2200m, plants more typical of temperate regions are common. Here, tree are shorter and ferns are abundant. The upper montane forest lies between 2200-3300m where the trees are stunted and covered in mosses – hence the name ‘the mossy forest’. The sub-alpine zone starts from 2200m and goes all the way to the summit where grassy meadow-like vegetation dominates.
Of the many mammals on Mt Kinabalu, black shrews, Kinabalu shrews and Thomas’ pygmy squirrels are endemic to the mountain. Kinabalu is home to over half of Borneo’s 518 bird species. Of the 29 species of birds unique to Borneo, 17 are found in the mountain. These include the red-breasted tree partridge and crimson-headed wood partridge. A common sight on the summit is the mountain blackbird. There are also numerous species of moths, small reptiles, insects and spiders endemic to Mt Kinabalu.
Sipadan Island
Sipadan Island
Semporna
“I have seen other places like Sipadan 45 years ago. Now we have found again an untouched piece of art”. - Jacques-Yves Cousteau
The internationally famous island of Sipadan lies five degrees north of the equator in the Sulawesi Sea (Celebes Sea). Lying 35km south of Semporna, on Sabah’s mainland, like many tropical islands it is thickly forested and surrounded by sandy beaches. Sipadan is an oceanic island and was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct undersea volcano, which rises 600m from the seabed.
The geographic position of Sipadan puts it in the centre of the richest marine habitat in the world, the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin. More than 3000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been classified in this richest of ecosystems. Sipadan is well known for its unusually large numbers of green and hawksbill turtles which gather there to mate and nest and it is not unusual for a diver to see more than 20 turtles on each dive. Another unique feature to divers visiting Sipadan is the turtle tomb, an underwater limestone cave with a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers that contain many skeletal remains of turtles that became disoriented and then drowned.
The residential schooling barracuda and big-eye trevally, which often gather in thousands forming spectacular tornado-like formations, are one of the highlights of every diver’s wish-list. With the possibility of seeing pelagic species such as mantas, eagle rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks and whale sharks, each dive at Sipadan is a highly anticipated event.
It is not only the big fish that amaze divers coming to Sipadan, the macro life is equally mesmerizing. Garden eels, leaf scorpion fish, mantis shrimps, fire gobies, and various pipefish are guaranteed at various dive sites. The diversity and abundance of marine found at Sipadan gives it its reputation of being one of the ten best dive locations in the world.
Conservation efforts in Sipadan Sipadan Island was established as a bird sanctuary in 1933 and in 2004, the Government of Malaysia has decided that all onsite dive resort operators are to move their operations out of Sipadan Island by 31st December 2004. The island is open for divers from 6am to 4pm - no night dives are allowed. The number of divers allowed to dive in Sipadan daily has also been limited to 120 pax in an effort to preserve the island’s pristine state.
Sipadan is a treasure which we want to save for the generations to come, before Sipadan can be saved, it must first be truly appreciated - hence the conservation efforts. Nevertheless, a treasure amounts to nothing if it cannot be enjoyed. Therefore, Sabah welcomes everyone to enjoy and appreciate Sipadan, and this appreciation will hopefully incite a bigger desire to save.
Sipadan Dive Sites
There a total of 12 dive sites in Sipadan Island namely the West Ridge, North Point, The Drop Off, Turtle Cavern, Barracuda Point, Coral Gardens, Whitetip Avenue, Mid Reef, Turtle Patch, South Point, Staghorn Crest, Lobster Lair, and the Hanging Gardens. The most popularly recommended dive sites are the Turtle Cavern, Barracuda Point, South Point and Hanging Gardens.
Barracuda Point
The Barracuda Point is located at the north Coast of Sipadan Island. Famous for its astounding vortex of barracudas (hence the name Barracuda Point), divers have also reported sightings of white tip sharks, grey reef sharks, eagle rays, turtles, as well as the bumphead parrotfish. A caveat: currents can get too strong, so don't go too deep!
Turtle Cavern
This site is famous for its population of green turtles and smaller hawksbill turtles. This cavern which lies 20 meters underwater is believed to be the final resting place of turtles. Divers are reminded to be extremely careful when exploring the caves as visibility can be drastically reduced to zero should the silt be disturbed.
South Point
South Point is one of the most likely sites for the rarer sharks such as the hammerheads and thresher sharks which are normally only seen around the 40-meter point. Divers are advised to be wary of the strong currents at this site.
Hanging Gardens
Named after the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the topography of the Hanging Gardens consists of a 2-meter-deep reef that slopes down to a terrace at about 70 meters which subsequently plunges into an abyss. This is an excellent spot to view soft corals with dendronephthya alcyonarians in multifarious pastel colours encrusting the slope. Do keep an eye also for the diverse macro life.
Where to Stay
The Malaysian government has decided that all existing onsite dive resort operators were to move their operations out of the Sipadan Island by 31st December 2004. The move is aimed at conserving and maintaining a balanced marine and land ecosystem on Sipadan’s environments. However, Sipadan will remain as a dive site and divers are to be ferried by operators operating from the mainland or nearby islands other than Sipadan and Ligitan.
On an overnight trip to Sipadan, choose to stay in any one of these excellent resorts:
From Kota Kinabalu, take a 55-minute flight to Tawau and enjoy an hour’s drive to Semporna. From Semporna, Sipadan is another 40 minutes by speedboat. Be sure to pre-arrange transportation with your respective resort/dive operator.
More Information
For booking and enquiries, please refer to the list of Sabah Dive Operators
More photos
Semporna
“I have seen other places like Sipadan 45 years ago. Now we have found again an untouched piece of art”. - Jacques-Yves Cousteau
The internationally famous island of Sipadan lies five degrees north of the equator in the Sulawesi Sea (Celebes Sea). Lying 35km south of Semporna, on Sabah’s mainland, like many tropical islands it is thickly forested and surrounded by sandy beaches. Sipadan is an oceanic island and was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct undersea volcano, which rises 600m from the seabed.
The geographic position of Sipadan puts it in the centre of the richest marine habitat in the world, the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin. More than 3000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been classified in this richest of ecosystems. Sipadan is well known for its unusually large numbers of green and hawksbill turtles which gather there to mate and nest and it is not unusual for a diver to see more than 20 turtles on each dive. Another unique feature to divers visiting Sipadan is the turtle tomb, an underwater limestone cave with a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers that contain many skeletal remains of turtles that became disoriented and then drowned.
The residential schooling barracuda and big-eye trevally, which often gather in thousands forming spectacular tornado-like formations, are one of the highlights of every diver’s wish-list. With the possibility of seeing pelagic species such as mantas, eagle rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks and whale sharks, each dive at Sipadan is a highly anticipated event.
It is not only the big fish that amaze divers coming to Sipadan, the macro life is equally mesmerizing. Garden eels, leaf scorpion fish, mantis shrimps, fire gobies, and various pipefish are guaranteed at various dive sites. The diversity and abundance of marine found at Sipadan gives it its reputation of being one of the ten best dive locations in the world.
Conservation efforts in Sipadan Sipadan Island was established as a bird sanctuary in 1933 and in 2004, the Government of Malaysia has decided that all onsite dive resort operators are to move their operations out of Sipadan Island by 31st December 2004. The island is open for divers from 6am to 4pm - no night dives are allowed. The number of divers allowed to dive in Sipadan daily has also been limited to 120 pax in an effort to preserve the island’s pristine state.
Sipadan is a treasure which we want to save for the generations to come, before Sipadan can be saved, it must first be truly appreciated - hence the conservation efforts. Nevertheless, a treasure amounts to nothing if it cannot be enjoyed. Therefore, Sabah welcomes everyone to enjoy and appreciate Sipadan, and this appreciation will hopefully incite a bigger desire to save.
Sipadan Dive Sites
There a total of 12 dive sites in Sipadan Island namely the West Ridge, North Point, The Drop Off, Turtle Cavern, Barracuda Point, Coral Gardens, Whitetip Avenue, Mid Reef, Turtle Patch, South Point, Staghorn Crest, Lobster Lair, and the Hanging Gardens. The most popularly recommended dive sites are the Turtle Cavern, Barracuda Point, South Point and Hanging Gardens.
Barracuda Point
The Barracuda Point is located at the north Coast of Sipadan Island. Famous for its astounding vortex of barracudas (hence the name Barracuda Point), divers have also reported sightings of white tip sharks, grey reef sharks, eagle rays, turtles, as well as the bumphead parrotfish. A caveat: currents can get too strong, so don't go too deep!
Turtle Cavern
This site is famous for its population of green turtles and smaller hawksbill turtles. This cavern which lies 20 meters underwater is believed to be the final resting place of turtles. Divers are reminded to be extremely careful when exploring the caves as visibility can be drastically reduced to zero should the silt be disturbed.
South Point
South Point is one of the most likely sites for the rarer sharks such as the hammerheads and thresher sharks which are normally only seen around the 40-meter point. Divers are advised to be wary of the strong currents at this site.
Hanging Gardens
Named after the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the topography of the Hanging Gardens consists of a 2-meter-deep reef that slopes down to a terrace at about 70 meters which subsequently plunges into an abyss. This is an excellent spot to view soft corals with dendronephthya alcyonarians in multifarious pastel colours encrusting the slope. Do keep an eye also for the diverse macro life.
Where to Stay
The Malaysian government has decided that all existing onsite dive resort operators were to move their operations out of the Sipadan Island by 31st December 2004. The move is aimed at conserving and maintaining a balanced marine and land ecosystem on Sipadan’s environments. However, Sipadan will remain as a dive site and divers are to be ferried by operators operating from the mainland or nearby islands other than Sipadan and Ligitan.
On an overnight trip to Sipadan, choose to stay in any one of these excellent resorts:
- Borneo Divers & Sea Sports (Sabah) Sdn Bhd (KPL 1510)
- Explore Asia Tours Sdn Bhd (Sipadan-Mabul Resort) (KPL 2941)
- Seaventures Tours & Travel Sdn Bhd (KPL/LN 2639)
- Sipadan Water Village Resort Sdn Bhd (KPL 3143)
* Resort rates may vary
From Kota Kinabalu, take a 55-minute flight to Tawau and enjoy an hour’s drive to Semporna. From Semporna, Sipadan is another 40 minutes by speedboat. Be sure to pre-arrange transportation with your respective resort/dive operator.
More Information
For booking and enquiries, please refer to the list of Sabah Dive Operators
More photos
Two French journalists missing in Syria
Two French journalists missing in Syria
June 7, 2013 -- Updated 1415 GMT (2215 HKT)
The message 'Ink must flow, not blood' is painted on the Syrian Embassy in Paris by 'Reporters sans frontieres' on May 3, 2011.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Reporter Didier Francois and photographer Edouard Elias are missing
- Europe 1 radio station says it is in constant contact with authorities
- French President Francois Hollande calls for their immediate release
Reporter Didier Francois
and photographer Edouard Elias were on their way to the northwestern
city of Aleppo when they went missing, the radio station said.
Europe1 is in constant contact with the authorities to make every effort to get more information, it said.
French President Francois
Hollande told reporters at a news conference in Tokyo that contact had
been lost with the two journalists, although it was not yet clear in
what circumstances.
He called for them to be
"released immediately" because they are not representatives of any
state, according to video broadcast by CNN affiliate BFMTV.
Amnesty: Journalists targeted in Syria
Journalist escapes from Syria
"They are men who work so that the world can receive information," he said.
Didier Francois is an experienced war reporter while Elias has previously worked in Syria, the broadcaster said.
The two were making their way to Aleppo from Turkey, it said.
An Amnesty International report published last month named Syria as the most dangerous place in the world for journalists.
The report highlighted
serious abuses committed by both government and opposition forces
against professional and citizen journalists, both Syrian and
international.
A number of foreign journalists have disappeared in Syria.
The Italian daily
newspaper La Stampa said Thursday that it had confirmation that its
reporter Domenico Quirico, who disappeared there on April 9 while on
assignment, is alive.
Quirico, made a short
phone call to his wife, La Stampa said. The Italian foreign ministry
confirmed in a statement that contact was made between Domenico Quirico
and his family.
The Brussels evening
newspaper Le Soir said that Pierre Piccinin de Prata, a Belgian academic
and political scientist who was reporting for the paper, disappeared in
Syria in May, Reporters Without Borders said.
An American freelance
reporter, James Foley, has been missing in Syria since November 22,
2012. His brother and the GlobalPost, an online international news
outlet to which Foley contributed, said last month that they believe he
is most likely in Syrian government custody.
U.S. freelance
journalist Austin Tice disappeared in mid-August 2012. Bashar Fahmi, a
Jordanian correspondent with al-Hurra television channel, went missing
the same month.
According to the
Committee to Protect Journalists, 45 journalists have been killed in
Syria since the beginning of the conflict in March 2011.
165 kidnapped migrants freed in Mexico
165 kidnapped migrants freed in Mexico
June 6, 2013 -- Updated 2151 GMT (0551 HKT)
Mexican authorities say they've
rescued 165 migrants who were apparently kidnapped as they tried to
cross into the United States. The victims were held in this house in the
northeastern border state of Tamaulipas, Mexico, according to Mexico's
Interior Ministry.
HIDE CAPTION
Kidnapping victims freed in Mexico
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: The migrants were held in squalid conditions, officials say
- A majority of the victims are Central American migrants
- Mexico's Interior Ministry says they were held for weeks
- Rights groups have said drug cartels target migrants in Mexico
The victims were held for weeks in the northeastern border state of Tamaulipas, Mexico's Interior Ministry said Thursday.
One hundred fifty of the
migrants are from Central America. Another 14 are Mexican nationals, and
one is from India, the ministry said.
They were crammed into a
house and held in squalid conditions for two to three weeks, officials
said. Photos released by the interior ministry showed blankets, shoes
and buckets scattered on the fenced-in home's patio.
"The victims said that
they had the intention of entering the United States of America, but
they were held against their will while a suspected criminal group
contacted their families by phone and demanded different sums of money
that were sent to their kidnappers," Interior Ministry spokesman Eduardo
Sanchez said.
Rather than taking them across the border, human traffickers apparently handed the migrants over to criminal groups, he said.
An anonymous tip describing people with weapons at a home in the city of Gustavo Diaz Ordaz led Mexican soldiers to the scene.
In front of the house, soldiers spotted a gunman who tried to flee with they arrived, Sanchez said.
They detained suspect Juan Cortez Arrez, 20, and handed him over to prosecutors.
Drug cartels that operate in the area are known to have kidnapped migrants in the past and requested ransoms for their release.
Sanchez did not identify any criminal group that could be involved and declined to respond to questions.
Amnesty International
has said that immigrants in Mexico "face a variety of serious abuses
from organized criminal gangs, including kidnappings, threats and
assaults."
At least 11,333 migrants were kidnapped during a six-month period in 2010, Mexico's National Commission for Human Rights said.
That year, authorities also found the bodies of 72 slain immigrants from Central and South America on an abandoned ranch near the Mexico-U.S. border.
The Central American migrants freed Thursday included 77 Salvadorans, 50 Guatemalans and 23 Hondurans.
Two of them were pregnant, and 20 of them were minors.
More than 26,000 people
have gone missing in Mexico over the past six years as violence surged
and the country's government cracked down on drug cartels, according to
Mexico's Interior Ministry. Authorities don't have data on how many of
the disappearances were connected with organized crime.
Cyberattacks and North Korea top issues for talks between Obama and Xi
Cyberattacks and North Korea top issues for talks between Obama and Xi
June 7, 2013 -- Updated 1414 GMT (2214 HKT)
Obama-Xi relationship: It's complicated
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Obama and Xi are meeting at an estate outside Los Angeles
- The setting is less formal than traditional summits between top leaders
- Observers say it is a chance to set the agenda for future U.S.-Chinese relations
- Cybersecurity and North Korea are seen as the key issues
"This is an attempt to
set out the ground rules for how our two countries will work together in
the 21st century," said Kurt Campbell, who recently served as U.S.
assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
Officials in Beijing are
also trumpeting the potential importance of the event, the first time
the two leaders have met in person since Xi became China's paramount
leader.
The meeting is of "profound historic and strategic significance," Hong Lei, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said Thursday.
The setting of the
meeting, in the Sunnylands estate outside Los Angeles, is unusually
informal and a far cry from the elaborately choreographed summits
typically held between Chinese and American leaders.
Who is China's new leader?
First lady skipping China summit
Most important relationship in the world
What will Obama, Xi discuss?
"This is the first time
in 50 years that leaders will sit down, somewhat unscripted, to have a
real conversation about our relationship," Campbell said in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour. "It's long overdue and important."
Hacking allegations
The issues of cybersecurity and North Korea are expected to top the agenda.
The United States has recently become more vocal about
linking cyberattacks on American businesses and government agencies to
Chinese authorities. The attacks allegedly to involve attempts to steal
secret military and corporate technology and information.
Beijing has repeatedly
denied the accusations, saying that hacking is a global problem, of
which China is also a victim. But the chorus of voices arguing that the
Chinese stance is untenable is growing.
"In the past, rogue
behavior such as cybertheft may have provided a shortcut to greatness,"
the editorial board of the Washington Post wrote this week.
"But no longer. If China fails to evolve toward more responsible
behavior both abroad and at home, a backlash that is already forming in
the United States and among its neighbors will swell."
Some observers, however,
have noted that Obama will have to raise cybersecurity and spying
issues with Xi against the unflattering backdrop of recent reports alleging widespread surveillance of phone and Internet data by U.S. intelligence agencies.
North Korea
The two leaders may make progress on the North Korea question, according to Campbell.
"I think the Chinese
have just about had it with North Korea," he said. "They recognize that
the steps that they have taken -- nuclear provocations -- are creating
the context for more military activities on the part of the United
States and other countries that ultimately are not in China's best
strategic interests."
Tensions spiked on the
Korean Peninsula in March and April as the North unleashed a torrent of
dramatic threats against the United States and South Korea. The menacing
rhetoric came amid U.S-South Korean military drills and after the
United Nations had stepped up sanctions on Pyongyang in response to the
latest North Korean nuclear test in February.
The U.S. officials called on China, North Korea's key ally, to rein in the provocative behavior of Kim Jong Un's regime.
The situation in the
region has become calmer in recent weeks. The clearest sign of a
possible thaw in relations came Thursday when North and South Korea
agreed to hold talks about reopening their shared industrial complex
that Pyongyang shut down in April.
Previous meeting
Friday isn't the first
time Obama and Xi have met. The two leaders held talks in Washington
last year, while Xi still held the title of vice president.
During that visit, in addition to the more formal engagements, the Chinese leader visited a small town in Iowa, where he had stayed in the 1980s, when he was a provincial official.
He also took in a Lakers game in Los Angeles.
Beyond the riot zone: Why Taksim Square matters to Turks
(CNN) -- It's a congested, sprawling transport hub
surrounded by 1950s architecture and predominantly used by commuters or
tourists to cross the city of Istanbul.
Anti-government riots erupt in Turkey
Protests 'unprecedented' in Turkey
Turkey's media in crisis
Turkey's economic outlook
Turkey protests take festive turn
Turkey's riot icon: Woman in red dress
Turkish family mourns slain protester
Who is supporting Turkey's leader?
But proposed changes to
Taksim Square have seen it become the flashpoint for protests that have
swept through Turkey in the past week, leaving thousands injured and
focusing the world's attention on the government of Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan.
Taksim has been no
stranger to violence. In 1977, at least 34 protesters died during May
Day clashes with police. May 1 rallies in the square were banned in 1980
and were only allowed to legally resume in 2010. On May Day this year,
there were riots after city authorities again refused to grant trade
unions and youth groups permission to demonstrate in Taksim, blaming
construction work being carried out in the square.
Professor Ersin Kalaycioglu,
professor of political science at Istanbul's Sabanci University, said
significantly, Taksim Square was also known as "republic square,"
because it was built by the Republic of Turkey's founding fathers to
commemorate the war of liberation. "Taksim Square is connected to
Istiklal Caddesi -- Independence Avenue -- and Cumhuriyet Caddesi -- the
Avenue of the Republic. So there is a lot of symbolism that has to do
with the Turkish Republic," he said.
The Turkish word "taksim"
translates as "divide" and Kalaycioglu said Taksim Square was so-named
because the area used to be the site of Istanbul's main reservoir, where
the water was divided up.
Anti-government riots erupt in Turkey
Protests 'unprecedented' in Turkey
Turkey's media in crisis
Turkey's economic outlook
In the 20th Century and
earlier, the area was only partially inhabited, he said, housing a
military barracks and military training ground and a cemetery running
down the slopes and a military hospital that still remains.
"In the 1930s the
cemetery was moved to another part of town and the area was opened up
for apartment buildings -- and at one point it was one of the 'poshest'
parts of the city," he said. "Most of the apartment buildings face the
Bosphorus [the strait that connects the Black Sea and the Sea of
Marmara]," he said. "Because of its majestic view, [Taksim] is an
attraction in its own right." It was estimated that millions of people
went through the area to work every day, Kalaycioglu said.
Since the protests,
however, Taksim has been blocked to traffic. This impromptu
pedestrianization inadvertently reflects the authorities' plan to divert
all traffic from the square. Kalaycioglu said plans to take the traffic
underground included a pedestrian curb but after the tunnel was dug it
was discovered that not enough room had been allowed for foot traffic.
That was when the government decided to slice off part of Taksim's Gezi
Park -- one of the last green spaces in Istanbul's center -- "which the
ecologists and architects of the city started to argue against."
"When machines were sent
in to take down the trees, the people who had been protesting there
tried to stop them and a row intervened between the construction company
and the protesters -- and police intervened," Kalaycioglu said.
But in an interview with
CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Mevlut Cavusoglu, the deputy chairman of
Erdogan's AK Party said the project for Taksim Square had enjoyed
cross-party support. "This project was actually supported by all the
political parties in the city council and it was adapted unanimously at
the city council," Cavusoglu said. He added that the number of trees in
the square would be increased by the project -- with plans to replant 10
of those being removed from Gezi Park.
Cavusoglu denied reports
that a mall was part of the project. "The building of a shopping mall
has never been considered here in Taksim Square. What is [being]
considered is the pedestrian way and putting car traffic under the
tunnel and enlarging Taksim Square," he said. "Only old military
barracks is considered to rebuild. "
Turkey's Ottoman past
The barracks being
reconstructed are from the 19th Century, a period when Turkey was still
ruled by Ottoman sultans, who declared themselves the "caliphs" -- or
spiritual leaders -- of the Muslim world. In 1922, first president of
the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, sent the last sultan into
exile and two years later, banned the caliphate and declared Turkey a
secular state -- so the ideals of the Republic of Turkey clash with
those of the country's Ottoman past.
The big issue there is, is of course freedom of expression and to
be treated as stakeholders -- not as cockroaches. More is at stake than
just Taksim Square.
Professor Ersin Kalaycioglu
Professor Ersin Kalaycioglu
The plans to rebuild Ottoman-era barracks had raised two different issues -- the physical change and the idea behind it, said Benjamin Fortna, professor of Middle Eastern history at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London.
"The idea -- building a
replica of a past building - probably suggests to some people that the
government's trying to link itself to the Ottoman past. But of course
the square does exist from the Ottoman period." Fortna said many people
objected to a "kind of glorification" of the Ottoman era, which the
early republic had tried to "ignore and denigrate."
Kalaycioglu said the
barracks had also been associated with the massacre of Christian army
officers during a major uprising against constitutional rule in 1909.
"In the minds of the people, [the uprising] was the conspiracy of the
sultan who tried to get rid of the officers in 1908 by using religious
provocation," he said. "That left an indelible mark in the minds of the
people that religion could be deployed as a major factor against
modernization."
That concept was "at the
very base" of Erdogan's AK Party, Kalaycioglu said. The plans for
Taksim Square also including the building of a mosque, he said. This
meant "anybody objecting to the project would be objecting to a mosque"
and the AKP was presenting objectors as atheist, secular, communist,
anti-democratic and anti the people, he said. "The masses on their side
will be conservative and Sunni Muslim," he said.
The proposed mosque
would also overshadow the statues of the major figures of the republic
represented on the Monument to the Republic in Taksim Square,
Kalaycioglu said.
Taksim's lack of
religious connotations was "probably one of the reasons that it was
favored by the republic as a modern urban space," Fortna said. The plan
to build a mosque in Taksim was therefore "highly controversial and
something that those with a secular orientation in the city and the
country itself would resist," he said. "The other side would see it as a
natural place to have a mosque."
The term "secular" --
most often understood in the West as referring to the separation of
religion and government -- was often applied to Turkey, Fortna said.
"But in Turkey itself they use the French term 'laïque.' In Turkey you
really have the situation that's related to the founding of the republic
- that the state will kind of control religion," Fortna said. "So, for
example, the Directorate of Religious Affairs is responsible for
deciding the text that Muslim clerics can deliver in their Friday
sermons. "
Kalaycioglu said the
government also planned to demolish the Ataturk Cultural Center. They
[Erdogan's government] want to get rid of anything and everything to do
with Ataturk," he said. Kalaycioglu suggested that another example of
this was the government's proposal to close down Ataturk Airport --
Istanbul's main international hub -- and build a new airport in the
north. He said this would involve excavating a new channel between the
Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. "All this to get rid of the name of
Ataturk. There's a lot of ideological baggage."
Turkey protests take festive turn
Turkey's riot icon: Woman in red dress
Turkish family mourns slain protester
Who is supporting Turkey's leader?
'Contested space'
Fortna said Taksim had
long being a contested space and plans to change it would always be
likely to cause controversy. "Because it's such a central location and
because of its particular make-up and associations -- whatever happens
there will probably be heavily scrutinized and criticized," he said.
"Taksim is a place where
demonstrators habitually gather. There's always a May Day protest for
example. It's a place where people would naturally gravitate -- it's one
of the few places where there's a fairly large open space in the city,"
he said.
The current
demonstrators have demanded Erdogan's resignation, accusing his
government of creeping authoritarianism, while the prime minister has
said the protests are part of an attempt by opponents who lost to his AK
Party to beat it "by other means." "The issue of trees in Gezi Park
thing is just the trigger," he said on Monday.
Kalaycioglu said the
number of protesters had surged after evidence emerged of a brutal
police response to the initial Taksim demonstration. He said the
government had "started to argue that it was just a group of marauders"
but that a huge majority seemed to be ordinary citizens, from all ages
and walks of life and the government had eventually realized this and
pulled the police out of the scene.
In his interview with
Amanpour, Cavusoglu -- Erdogan's deputy -- acknowledged that police had
been heavy-handed and said their actions would be investigated but
insisted that the government represented the Turkish people. "At each
election the people have been increasing their support for our
government and our prime minister," he said. "We are the democratic
government and democratically elected parliament."
But Kalaycioglu said the
protests had spread spontaneously through Turkey, "motivated by the
same theme." The government was "jumping on freedom of expression and
freedom of the press," he said. "The big issue there is, is of course
freedom of expression and to be treated as stakeholders -- not as
cockroaches. More is at stake than just Taksim Square."
Matang Wildlife Center
The Matang Wildlife Center
is located in the Kubah National Park in Malaysia. It consists of
lowland forests that house a variety of animals in huge enclosures, an
education center to help students become more aware of what Borneo has
to offer in the way of animals, flora and fauna.
Universities the world over send researchers to learn about endangered animal species and how to promote conservation.
The
Center seeks to restore and improve conservation of confiscated animals
and the study of flora and fauna of the Borneo region. The Matang
Wildlife Center is home to the Great Orangutan Project which
rehabilitates orangutans. Phase 1 orangutans at the center are involved
in programs designed to stimulate their mental and physical attributes.
During Phase 2, some orangutans are in a rehabilitation program designed to eventually release them into the Kubah National Park which is next to the Matang Wildlife Center. In Phase 3, the Center attempts to establish new orangutan populations in other areas.
The
Matang Wildlife Center has recently introduced the Malayan sun bear to
the animal population. The sun bear is the smallest creature in the bear
family and for the past two years, this little bear species has been
given its own enclosures in an attempt to introduce them to the habitat.
Ordinary travelers who only want to enjoy nature and relax among the waterfalls, rock pools and nature trails can also enjoy the abundance that the Matang Wildlife Center has to offer. Visitors can stay in the Center’s accommodations consisting of 2 – 2 room chalet units and a hostel unit consisting of 8 rooms.
The
Matang Wildlife Center is about 30 Kilometers from Kuching City and
transportation by taxi is recommended since there is no bus schedule for
the Center.
Universities the world over send researchers to learn about endangered animal species and how to promote conservation.
The
Center seeks to restore and improve conservation of confiscated animals
and the study of flora and fauna of the Borneo region. The Matang
Wildlife Center is home to the Great Orangutan Project which
rehabilitates orangutans. Phase 1 orangutans at the center are involved
in programs designed to stimulate their mental and physical attributes.During Phase 2, some orangutans are in a rehabilitation program designed to eventually release them into the Kubah National Park which is next to the Matang Wildlife Center. In Phase 3, the Center attempts to establish new orangutan populations in other areas.
The
Matang Wildlife Center has recently introduced the Malayan sun bear to
the animal population. The sun bear is the smallest creature in the bear
family and for the past two years, this little bear species has been
given its own enclosures in an attempt to introduce them to the habitat.Ordinary travelers who only want to enjoy nature and relax among the waterfalls, rock pools and nature trails can also enjoy the abundance that the Matang Wildlife Center has to offer. Visitors can stay in the Center’s accommodations consisting of 2 – 2 room chalet units and a hostel unit consisting of 8 rooms.
The
Matang Wildlife Center is about 30 Kilometers from Kuching City and
transportation by taxi is recommended since there is no bus schedule for
the Center.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)