Latest news with #limestonecliffs
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Want a cheap Maldives-like holiday in Indonesia? The problem is getting there
Ora Beach on Indonesia's Seram Island is framed by tropical vegetation and dramatic limestone cliffs, the waters are aquarium-like, and there is nary an influencer with a smartphone in sight. It is a Maldives experience for a fraction of the price. Advertisement Some 1,600 kilometres (990 miles) away in Bali – not that there is any direct flight – traffic snarls around temple corners, the air is thick with noise pollution from motorbikes, plastic rubbish is matted into gutters, and the surge of visitors has, in many places, eclipsed the island's deeper spiritual essence. And yet, that is where the government is placing most of its tourism bets. Officials want Bali to be a holiday escape and everything else besides. There are plans to establish Bali as a family office hub and an export centre for seaweed . In late June, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto inaugurated the Sanur Special Economic Zone to develop medical tourism. A beach on Seram Island. Photo: Shutterstock Banking on Bali – Indonesia's most internationally recognised destination – was a deliberate strategy to help the Southeast Asian nation's vital tourism sector recover in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic . But that approach is not paying off, with the province's economic growth slowing as visitors' spending declines. Advertisement Meanwhile, tourism operators in other parts of the country are crying out for investment.
ABC News
04-08-2025
- Science
- ABC News
Inside Palau's isolated marine lakes where millions of rare jellyfish are disappearing
Hidden behind limestone cliffs in Palau lie strange, saltwater lakes that are home to ecological wonders including a species of golden jellyfish found nowhere else on earth. But after a mass disappearance, scientists, guides, and local communities are working together to uncover what went wrong and whether these fragile creatures are finally making a return. Talent: Ron Leidich, Biologist and tour operator of Paddling Palau Sharon Patris, Research biologist at the Coral Reef Research Foundation Mac Sasao, Tour guide and naturalist at Paddling Palau Reporter: Sophie Ly
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Discover Roman-Era Weapon, Oldest on Record
Thanks to radiocarbon dating, archaeologists have finally been able to date an ancient boomerang first found 40 years ago. The boomerang was discovered in 1985 in the Obłazowa Cave within Poland's limestone cliffs. It was crafted from a woolly mammoth's tusk and was initially believed to be about 18,000 years old, making it the oldest boomerang ever found on record. But a new study published in PLOS ONE has revealed some surprising information. By using an advanced technique known as Bayesian modeling, Sahra Talamo and her international team of researchers have found that the boomerang likely originated between 42,000 and 39,000 years ago. They determined the date by analyzing the indirect dating of human and animal remains discovered near the boomerang's location. This dating would make the boomerang older than agriculture itself, having been crafted long before the final peak of the Ice Age. During this time, anatomically modern humans still co-mingled with Neanderthals and were only just starting to develop their own technology. "It's the world's oldest boomerang and the world's only one of this shape and length to be discovered in Poland," Talamo told the BBC. Due to the boomerang's shape and construction, some questions remain as to whether it was crafted as a weapon or a toy. Some believe it could have been used as both. The shape would have allowed the boomerang to sail far, but it's a 'non-returning' device. Talamo believes that its deliberate construction, as well as fox-tooth pendants adorning the outside, indicate that the boomerang may have had a ceremonial purpose, a hypothesis backed up by its specific burial location. "These are totally clear indicators of behaviors we're unfamiliar with… that are so different from everything we saw in the deeper, Neanderthal-left cultural layers in Obłazowa," co-author Paweł Valde-Nowak told Live Discover Roman-Era Weapon, Oldest on Record first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 6, 2025
