Edisi 23 Agustus 2011 | International Bali Post

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Highlighting Historical Passage of Klungkung PAGE 8

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16 Pages Number 174 3st Year

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Tuesday, August 23, 2011

World urges Gadhafi to surrender

New ‘O Brother’ set serves up more old-timey music PAGE 12

AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini

People celebrate the capture in Tripoli of Moammar Gadhafi’s son and one-time heir apparent, Seif al-Islam, at the rebelheld town of Benghazi, Libya, early Monday, Aug. 22, 2011. Libyan rebels raced into Tripoli in a lightning advance Sunday that met little resistance as Moammar Gadhafi’s defenders melted away and his 40-year rule appeared to rapidly crumble.

Associated Press

WEATHER FORECAST

ROME — World leaders said Monday the end is near for the regime of Moammar Gadhafi and called on the Libyan leader to relinquish power, as hundreds of Libyans living abroad celebrated in the streets after rebels took control of most of the Libyan capital.

With events unfolding quickly and clashes reported Monday near Gadhafi’s compound in Tripoli, leaders across European capitals urged Gadhafi to avoid a bloodbath of his own people and turn himself in to the International Criminal Court.

“The time is up,” Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Monday. “There is no alternative to surrendering and handing himself in to justice.”

“If Gadhafi keeps inciting a civil war, he alone will be responsible for a dramatic blood-

bath that we must all try to avert,” Frattini told Sky Italia.

France, whose military effort was central to the NATO campaign in Libya — welcomed the rebels’ advances. President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a statement Sunday evening that Gadhafi should “avoid inflicting any more unnecessary suffering on his people by renouncing without delay what is left of his power and by immediately ordering the forces that are still loyal to him to cease fire.”

Continued on page 6

CITY

TEMPERATURE OC

DENPASAR

21 - 30

JAKARTA

24 - 32

BANDUNG

17 - 25

Local governments across Bali urged to act promptly

YOGYAKARTA

19 - 31

Bali Post

SURABAYA

19 - 31

DENPASAR - Drastic soar in HIV/AIDS cases in Bali has been very worrying. Currently, the number of disease weakening the immunity of human body in Bali has exceeded 4,552 cases in which 483 cases of which are new cases recorded from January to August 2011.

To slow down the rate of HIV/AIDS cases, Governor of Bali and regents/ mayor throughout Bali are urged to quickly perform a systematic attempt

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HIV/AIDS cases rise sharply and resolve the problems threatening the future of Bali. Moreover, those contracted by the deadly disease are the most productive age groups, including the students.

Deputy Chairman of Commission IV of Bali House, Ketut Kariyasa Adnyana, revealed the matter to Bali Post on Sunday (Aug 21).

This people’s representative from Buleleng recognized that implementation of regulation against the HIV/AIDS patient was a real dilemma. On the one hand,

the patient’s name should be disguised because if published there was a fear if they would get discrimination. But, on the other hand, if there was no control over them, then they potentially transmitted the disease to many people through sexual intercourse and other high-risk behaviors. He said the data indicating the 4,552 cases in Bali today were those who came to the doctor to acquire treatment or based on the data obtained from hospital. Meanwhile, the patients who did not check-up

their health might be much more than such amount. “HIV/AIDS cases are like an iceberg phenomenon. If they totally calculate, they probably amount to 70,000-10,000 people,” he reminded.

Furthermore, Kariyasa Adnyana asked the governor and regents/mayor in Bali to further show off their seriousness in eradicating the distribution of drugs because it was of the fastest transmitting paths of virus through the use of hypodermic needle.

Continued on page 6

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International

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Bali News Four Days No Water, Farmers and Fish Cultivators Threatened Gianyar (Bali Post) –

Hundreds of farmers and fish cultivators at Gunung Sari Teben irrigation, Blahbatuh, Gianyar, are threatened to be bankrupt as the river they depend on has been dry for the pas five days as stated by one of the cultivator groups Tunjung Sari Mekar at Pering Village who’s also Head of the fish cultivator groups, Wayan Sudiarta, last Sunday (21/8). With at least 14-30 cultivators are in a group, it is predicted 300 of them are disadvantaged by this situation not yet including those not in a group.

It was mentioned the situation has been going on since the day after the nation’s Independence Day (18/8) causing problems for Pering, Belega and Keramas Villages. The stop was caused as there was a diversion due to a damage on a main tunnel in east of Samampan Village, Kemenuh, Sukawati which waters in the irrigation. Farmers has no ability to fix this condition and hoped

government to at least fix it so it will eb normal again as their plants really need it. Meanwhile Head of Gianyar Public Works Agency admitted have reported the damages to the Province Government’ Public Works Agency remembering this is their responsibility. “Both sides have checked and now we are still waiting for their respond,” Sudiarta concluded. (kmb16)

Condominium not taxable

Badung worried to lose tax potential Mangupura (Bali Post)—

Accommodation in the form of apartment, condominium and the like are not taxable according to the Law No. 28/2009 in particularly in the article 32 paragraph (3) letter (a). It is feared that Badung will lose adequately potential taxes.

This happens in Badung because a lot of condominiums and apartments are now popping up with a professional management like a hotel.

Such concern was expressed

by Chairman of the Tax Special Committee in the Badung House, I Nyoman Satria, Sunday (Aug 21). According to him, the number of condominiums and apartments or the like in Badung would continue to grow. This condition could be used as a loophole by rogue investors so their business would be not taxable. “Many condominiums and apartments

in Badung had been operated with hotel management. If they are not taxable, it means we will lose a sizable tax potential,” he said.

In the discussion of Regional Regulation draft (Ranperda) about taxes, the committee would get around the matter by inserting an additional explanation in the articles of explanation. For example, the apartments, condominiums and the like that were managed like a hotel would remain taxable.

Separately, Division Head of Infrastructure, Badung Government Tourism Office (Disparda) revealed that until the end of 2010 there were 13 units of condominium hotel (condotel), with a total of 1,700 rooms. According to him, since the issuance of the Regent Regulation regarding to Condotel, it had been made an adjustment of the apartment’s permit to condotel. (kmb25)

IBP/ist

The oyster mushroom which is a promising business to be carried out.

Oyster Mushrooms, Promising Business At this time oyster mushrooms are more likely to be a favourite for the people yet with the demand not along with the production cause the potential bigger to develop as stated in Oyster Mushroom training held last Sunday (21/8) at Bali TV’s Wantilan.

According to speaker Nengah Suciati, the mushrooms are mostly needed by

hotels and restaurants yet in Bali not many are cultivating it so not really fulfilling the needs of businesses and companies. With that, this should be optimised as it is one of an easy and advantaging chance as it doesn’t need a lot of space to cultivate it. “The harvest time also doesn’t depend on seasons and keep continuing. The maintenance also not hard,” Suciati explained.

One of the participants that included housewives and students from the whole Bali, Wayan Sudiarsa, seemed very interested. He explained he joined it to know the business opportunity and how to cultivate oyster mushrooms. Besides speaking of it, a practice of cultivating it also was shown including how to make a media to grow it or called baglog. (san)

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Bali News

International

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

3

Subak Museum rehabilitation budgeted at IDR 1 billion Tabanan (Bali Post)—

IBP/Ole

The distilation factory of the clove leaves which will be made into oil.

Life of clove farmers

Leaves of clove can also make money BECAUSE of extreme weather condition over the past two years, most clove farmers in Buleleng face crop failures. Their cloves are not flowering. If flowering, most of them fall before the harvest. Fortunately, although there are no flowers, recently farmers are still able to sell their clove leaves to produce essential oil.

Dry clove leaves were previously only considered as waste and then buried in the soil. Now, they are becoming ingredient that can still bring in money.

Blessing of clove leaves emerges after the rampant establishment of clove leaves distillation business (essential oil) in North Bali. As oil ingredient, one kilogram of dried leaves of clove can be sold at IDR 1,000 to IDR 1,500 per kilogram.

A farmer at Gesing Village, Banjar Subdistrict, Sunday (Aug 21), said that within the past few months a lot of collectors were looking for dry clove leaves at his village. Even, the buyers were coming directly to the gardens of residents to buy clove leaves that had fallen from trees and dried by the sun. Since then, he amassed dry clove leaves in his garden for sale. As a result, the clove leaves which were usually left to rot under the trees could be sold up to IDR 1,000 per kilogram.

“Thanks God, their leaves can bring in additional income after the plants are no longer flowering at all,” he said.

According to him, before knowing the leaves of clove were salable, he often threw them away. Even, the rotten clove leaves could damage the

plant’s roots. The leaves having high oil content caused the roots of plants damaged, so their growth was slow and finally caused the plants die. “In the past, the leaves around the tree should be cleaned up because if they rotted the roots of plant would be damaged.

Now, we can sell those leaves, so we get benefit and the leaves will no longer damage the crops,” explained the farmer.

In the meantime, a businessman of essential oil, Agus Darmayasa, stated that dry clove leaves were purchased from several subaks in Gesing, Gobleg, Tigawasa, Busungbiu Village and surrounding areas. Aside from looking for the leaves to the garden of local residents, he also received a supply from numerous collectors who delivered them directly to distillery factory at Rangdu Village, Seririt Subdistrict. “Today, many people also get involved in distillery business. As a result, it is rather difficult for me to buy leaves. Other than waiting for supply from collectors, I also purchase directly to the garden of residents,” he explained.

According to Darmayasa, not all dry clove leaves distilled could produce oil. Leaves containing much oil

were the leaves falling when the plants were flowering. Additionally, dry clove leaves should not be mixed with other leaves or leaves that had been contaminated by soil. Dry clove leaves were distilled by boiling them with special fireplace. Then, its vapor was then cooled down by water so that it resulted in refined oil. Every five hundred kilograms of dried clove leaves were boiled for eight hours. “The current leaves have fewer oil content because there are no flowering plants. For every five hundred kilograms of clove leaves oil refined, I can acquire maximally 9 to 12 kilograms of oil,” he observed.

When asked about the price of oil, Agus Darmayasa said that for the time being the price of half-finished oil was fairly stable. Every one kilogram of half-finished oil was sold to collectors from outside Bali at IDR 100,000. At such price, he claimed to get a nice profit after reduced with the purchase of clove leaves and labor cost. “Oil demand remains good but the leaves we distill produce a little oil content. Meanwhile, since many entrepreneurs purchase the leaves, the price consequently soars,” he added. (kmb)

Tabanan Government is preparing again a large project. This time, the Subak Museum will be totally rehabilitated to support the Jatiluwih tourist area in acquiring an award from the UNESCO. Unmitigatedly, the budget proposed worth IDR 1 billion. The budget itself will be used to remodel the museum area into the center of agricultural miniature in Bali. As planned, the budget will be proposed to central government.

Rehabilitation of the agricultural museum area located at Sanggulan Hamlet, Kediri, is targeted to accomplish in the upcoming 2012. It was said that an expert team of UNESCO begins to pay attention to the Jatiluwih area that will be declared a world cultural heritage. “We are still planning the location of the museum, including preparing the Jatiluwih area in order to draw the attention of UNESCO,” said the Head of Tabanan Tourism and Cultural Agency, Wayan Diasa, Sunday (Aug 21). Rehabilitation of the subak museum had been preceded by a discussion with the Division Head of History and Antiquities, Bali Government Tourism Office, Wiragati Bagiasih, Thursday (Aug 18).

According to Diasa, the area of subak museum would be made an international information center. On that account, the arrangement had to be undertaken excellently. Pursuant to the plan, the area would be made a miniature farm of Bali consisting of the Catur Angga area at Batukaru, Taman Ayun, Tukad Pakerisan, Ulun Danu Batur and Lake Batur. Since the construction was quite a lot, the proposed budget was also in adequately large amount. He said the project was a joint activity between Tabanan Regency and Bali Province considering the status of subak museum was owned by Bali Government.

Related to the Jatiluwih area, Diasa said that his party had prepared a Regent Regulation on everlasting rice field to support the agricultural area into a culture reserve. “Next September-October, a team of advisor of UNESCO will come to see the real condition of Jatiluwih,” he said.

Diasa added that the team of UNESCO wanted to re-evaluate and conduct an observation at Jatiluwih area. He said there were some incomplete requirements so that UNESCO cancelled to reward the Jatiluwih area. In response to such condition, the regency and provincial government would fix the existing deficiencies. They involved in the integrity system of the region, ranging from Parhyangan (spiritual aspect), Palemahan (environmental aspect) and Pawongan (social aspect) pursuant to the concept of Tri Hita Karana.

Meanwhile, the Head of History and Antiquities, Bali Government Tourism Office, Wiragati Bagiasih, confirmed that she was optimistic the next assessment of UNESCO team would give a good appreciation to the Jatiluwih area because it had a different property than the other historic areas in the world. “We have an immortal culture, unlike that of the rest of the world cultural heritage merely consisting of a monument,” she said. Other countries did not have a culture like subak system that had been nicely managed, including the ritual of its community. (udi)

IBP/File

A staff is taking picture inside of the Subak Museum which is located in Tabanan Regency.

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News

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

International

Egypt, Israel try to defuse tension over killings Reuters

CAIRO - Egypt and Israel tried to defuse a diplomatic crisis over the killing of five Egyptian security personnel during an Israeli operation against crossborder raiders, as crowds of Egyptians protested angrily at the Israeli embassy in Cairo.

The crisis began when five Egyptian security personnel died as Israeli forces pursued a Palestinian faction who killed eight people in southern Israel on Thursday. Israel said the group entered Israel from the Gaza Strip via Egypt’s Sinai desert.

Several hundred protesters remained in front of the Israeli embassy near the Nile waterfront on Sunday, watched over by hundreds of troops and police. Some said they would stay until Israel’s ambassador was ejected from Egypt.

One demonstrator scaled several floors of the high-rise embassy building overnight to tear

down the Israeli flag and replace it with an Egyptian one. Ahmad al-Shahat quickly shot to fame on Twitter under the name “Flagman,” while newspapers and one would-be Egyptian leader feted him as a hero. “Hamdeen Sabahy, the Egyptian presidential candidate, sends a salute of pride to Ahmad al-Shahat, the public hero who burned the Zionist flag that spoiled the Egyptian air for 30 years,” Sabahi said in statement.

A protest of any size near the Israeli embassy would have been quickly smothered by state security in the era of Egypt’s former President Hosni Mubarak.

The Cairo-based Arab League condemned “the Israeli attack on the Egyptian forces” in a statement and said Israel bore “full responsibility for this crime.”

However, there were signs that Egypt and Israel were both trying to ease the gravest crisis in their relations since longtime ruler Mubarak’s overthrow in February.

REUTERS/Syrian TV/Reuters TV

A still image taken from video shows Syria’s President Bashar Assad speaking during an interview with state television in Damascus August 21, 2011.

Assad warns action against Syria will backfire Reuters

BEIRUT - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday unrest sweeping the country had become more militant but he was confident it could be controlled and warned that any military action against his nation would backfire.

REUTERS/ Nir Elias

The Egyptian national flag can be seen on the roof of the Egypt embassy in Tel Aviv next to an Israeli flag from a nearby resident’s balcony August 20, 2011.

Assad faces Western calls to step down over his harsh crackdown on five months of protests in which the United Nations says around 2,000 civilians have died, but he said Syria would not accept outside interference.

“As for the threat of a military action ... any action against Syria will have greater consequences (on those who carry it out), greater than they can tolerate,” he said in an interview

broadcast on Syrian television.

“First, because of Syria’s geopolitical location and second (because of) Syrian capabilities. They know part of it but they do not know the other parts and they will not be able to afford the results,” he said.

Syria, which borders Israel, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey and Jordan, has regional influence because of its alliance with Iran and its role in Lebanon, de-

spite ending a 29-year military presence there in 2005. It also has influence in Iraq and supports militant groups Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah.

No country has yet proposed the kind of action against Syria which NATO forces have carried out in support of Libyan rebels seeking to topple Muammar Gaddafi.

But the United States and Europe called on Assad last week to step down and Washington imposed new sanctions, including freezing Syrian state assets and prohibiting imports of Syrian Syria might take advice from countries in the region, “but we do not allow any country to interfere in our decision,” Assad said.

Prosecutor to drop Strauss-Kahn case: report Reuters

NEW YORK - Prosecutors will ask a judge to dismiss all charges in the sexual assault case against former IMF director Dominique StraussKahn at a court hearing on Tuesday, the New York Post reported on Sunday, citing unnamed sources.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office will file a motion recommending the case be dropped and laying out the chronology of events that led to that point, according to the Post.

Strauss-Kahn, who has denied the allegations, was once seen as a leading contender to be president of France until a maid, Nafissatou Diallo, accused him of sexual assault

on May 14 at New York’s Sofitel Hotel. He was arrested and forced to resign as head of the International Monetary Fund a few days later.

The case has teetered since late June when prosecutors disclosed that Diallo, a 32-year-old Guinean immigrant, had lied on her U.S. asylum application and about other aspects of her past.

That revelation threatened her credibility as a witness and led prosecutors to agree to release StraussKahn, 62, from house arrest, though he remains barred from leaving the country. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

The Post reported that the prosecutors’ motion would detail concerns about Diallo’s credibility and

make it clear they do not believe they can prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Erin Duggan, the spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, declined to comment, as did Chief Assistant District Attorney Daniel Alonso, the office’s top deputy. Douglas Wigdor, one of Diallo’s lawyers, said he could not confirm the report.

“If the district attorney drops this important case, it will be a major setback for all women who are victims of sexual crimes and no doubt deter others from coming forward,” he said in an email from Paris, where he plans to hold a press conference Tuesday following the court hearing in New York.

REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique StraussKahn and his wife Anne Sinclair leave their temporary Manhattan residence in New York July 6, 2011.

Activities

International

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

5

Aston Announces Further Expansion of Favehotels IBP

JAKARTA - Aston International has announced the further expansion of its 2 star select service Favehotel network in Indonesia and Malaysia with 25 new hotels, making Favehotels the largest and fastest growing budget hotel chain in the region.

These new hotels will add 3280 new rooms to the Aston Group’s hotel network with several important destinations such as Jakarta, Jogjakarta and Bali seeing multiple Favehotels being developed simultaneously.

Norbert Vas, Vice President Sales & Marketing for Aston International said in a statement issued after the Aston group signed its 25th new Favehotel contract earlier this week; “The select service hotel business is all about distribution, brand awareness and consistency. The more Favehotels we open the better for

each one of them and the better for our brand loyal guests. Aston with its extensive and diversified regional network is benefiting from very strong brand recognition and significant resources In Indonesia.”

The newly announced Favehotel locations are, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bali, Bandung, Bogor, Langkawi, Malang, Medan, Pekanbaru, Solo, Solo Baru, and Tangerang.

Besides its goal to expand Favehotels all over the Indonesian archipelago, Aston also continues to grow the groups more upscale brands and has recently held a topping of ceremony for a 5 star Grand Aston Yogjakarta, announced several new 4 star Astons for Jakarta, Serpong, Purwokerto, Bojonegoro, Makassar and Surabaya and is the final phase of opening a 400 plus room 3 star Quest Hotel in the central Philippine city of Cebu.

Temple Ceremony Calendar Event for August 7 through August 30, 2011 7 Aug Redite Paing Pahang Pasek Toh Jiwa Kekeran - Mengwi -Badung Pasek Sadra Peguyangan - Badung

15 Aug Soma Keliwon Krulut Pasel Gelgel Kekeran Temple Mngwi Badung Merajan Pasek Subadra Temple Kramas-Gianyar

9 Aug Anggara Wage Pahang Batu Madeg (Meru Tumpang Sanga) Besakih Hyang Tibha Batuan Sakah

20 Aug Tumpek Krurut Pasek Gelgel Temple Br Tengah Buleleng Dalem Pemuteran Temple Jelantik Tojan - Klungkung Pedarmaan Bhujangga W. Temple Besakih Taman Sari Temple Gunungsari Penebel - Tabanan Dalem Tarukan Temple Bebalang Bangli Benua Kangin Temple Besakih Merajan Kanginan Temple Besakih

10 aug Buda Keliwon Pahang Luhur Puncak Padang Dawa Baturiti Tabanan Silayukti Temple Padangbai-Karangasem Aer Jeruk Sukawati Dangin Pasar Batuan-Sukawati Penataran Temple Batuyang-Batubulan Desa Lembeng Ketewel-Sukawati Pasek Bendesa Dukuh-Kediri-Tabanan Kawitan Dalem Sukawati Gianyar Kresek Banyuning-Buleleng Puseh Temple Bebandem-Karangasem Merajan Pasek Kubayan-Gaji Merajan pasek Gelgel Jeroan Abang-Songan Merajan Pasek Subrata Temaga Merajan Pasek Gelgel Bungbungan Sad Kahyangan Batu Medahu. S Nusa Penida Buda Kliwon Penatih-Denpasar Penataran Dukuh Nagasari Bebandem Karangasem Pasek Bendesa Temple Tagtag Paguyangan Pulasari Temple Sibang Gede Abiansemal Batur Sari Temple Ubud Penataran Agung Temple Sukawati 13 Aug Purnama Karo Gelap Temple Besakih Dangkahyangan Temple Pengukur-ukur Pejeng Merajan Gerya Temple Kebon Tabanan Candi Goro Temple Tianyar-Kubu Karangasem Ponjok Batu Temple Tejakula-Buleleng

21 Aug Redite Umanis Merakih Parangan Tengah Temple Ceningan Kangin - Lembongan Dalem Temple Celuk Sukawati - Gianyar 24 Aug Buda Wage Merakih Bendesa Mas Kepisah Temple Pedungan - Denpasar Selatan Natih Temple Banjar Kalah - Batubulan Puseh. Temple Silakarang - Singapadu dalem Petitenget Temple Kerobokan - Kuta Dalem Pulasari Temple Samplangan - Gianyar Kubayan - Kepisah Temple Pedungan - Denpasar - Selatan Pasek gelgel Temple Banjar Tanahpegat - Tabanan Paibon Banjar Bengkel Sumerta - Denpasar Pasek Temple Lumintang - Denpasar Panti Penyarikan Medahan Sanding - Tampaksiring Pasar Agung Temple Kaba-kaba - Tabanan 30 Aug Anggar Kasih Tambir Dalem Puri Batuan Temple Sukawati Dalem Kediri Temple Silakarang - Singapadu Dalem Temple Sukawati Dalem Temple Singakerta - Ubud dalem Lembeng Temple Ketewel - Sukawati Paibon Pasek Tangkas Temple Peliatan - Ubud

Balinese Temple Ceremony EVERY Temple and Shrine has a special date for it annual Ceremony, or “ Odalan “, every 210 days according to Balinese calendar, including the smaller ancestral shrine which each family possesses. Because of this practically every few days a ceremony of festival of some kind takes place in some Village in Bali.

There are also times when the entire island celebrated the same Holiday, such as at Galungan, Kuningan, Nyepi day, Saraswati day, Tumpek Landep day, Pagerwesi day, Tumpek Wayang day etc.

The dedication or inauguration day of a Temple is considered its birth day and celebration always takes place on the same day if the wuku or 210 day calendar is used. When new moon is used then the celebration always happens on new moon or full moon. The day of course can differ the religious celebration of a temple lasts at least one full day with some temple celebrating for three days while the celebration of Besakih temple, the Mother Temple, is never less than 7 days and most of the time it lasts for 11 days, depending on the importance of the occasion.

The celebration is very colorful. The shrine are dressed with pieces of cloths and sometimes with brocade, sailings, decorations of carved wood and sometimes painted with gold and Chinese coins, very beautifully arranged, are hung in the four corners of the shrine. In front of shrine are placed red, white or black umbrellas depending which Gods are worshipped in the shrines.

In front of important shrine one sees, besides these umbrellas soars, tridents and other weapons, the “umbulumbul”, long flags, all these are prerogatives or attributes of Holiness. In front of the Temple gate put up “Penjor”, long bamboo poles, decorated beautifully ornaments of young coconut leaves, rice and other products of the land.

Most beautiful to see are the girls in their colorful attire, carrying offerings, arrangements of all kinds fruits and colored cakes, to the Temple. Every visitor admires the grace with which the carry their load on their heads.

6

News

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Symbol of inter-Korean detente faces demise Associated Press Writer

SEOUL, South Korea — Pyongyang’s vow Monday to scrap all South Korean property at a joint mountain resort could mark the end of what was once a rare haven for curious southern tourists within the borders of North Korea.

For a decade, visitors from the South came in droves to Diamond Mountain, essentially a modern South Korean resort an hour’s drive into the North, where they could play golf, relax in hot springs and soak up the folklore of the beautiful nearby mountain.

However, one of the few bright spots of cooperation between the divided countries has been on hold since a North Korean soldier shot and killed a South Korean woman visiting the resort three years ago.

North Korea is now threatening to end it completely by getting rid of South Korean assets and opening up the resort to international investors. On Monday, Pyongyang ordered all South Korean workers at the resort to leave within 72 hours and banned any South Korean property from being removed.

The North is angered by Seoul’s refusal to resume the lucrative tours until Pyongyang formally apologizes for the shooting death and allows a joint investigation.

Diplomats from the United States and the two Koreas are separately pursuing tentative talks meant to jump-start North Korean nuclear disarmament talks, but the meltdown at Diamond Mountain of what was once a promising symbol of potential inter-Korean cooperation shows how deep animosity runs on the Korean peninsula.

The South immediately expressed regret Monday about the North’s comments on Diamond Mountain and voiced its intention to seek international mediation.

Nestled near a craggy mountain range that stretches down to the sea, the resort drew hundreds of millions of dollars of South Korean investment until the shooting death brought cross-border tours to a halt in July 2008.

AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man

In this photo taken on Nov. 19, 2003, South Korean tourists tour at the Diamond Mountain in North Korea. North Korea is ordering on Monday, Aug. 22, 2011 all South Korean workers at a troubled joint mountain resort to leave within 72 hours.

HIV/AIDS...

From page 1 Additionally, local governments across Bali were also urged to quickly discipline the presence of illegal roadside cafés because their existence was an effective gathering venue of young people to shed behavior that could plunge them into the transmission of HIV/AIDS. Moreover, not a few of those illegal roadside cafés also employed waitresses taking a side job as commercial sex worker. “Therefore, the mushrooming illegal roadside cafés scattered all over Bali, including at rural areas, must be closely monitored. If they are proved unlicensed or illegal, simply discipline them,” he said.

As reported previously, the Head of Bali Health Services, Nyoman Sutedja, admitted the soar of HIV/ AIDS cases in Bali was very worrying. Currently, the number of disease weakening the immunity of human body in Bali had reached 4,552 cases. In terms of the number of people, Bali was still ranked fifth nationally after West Java, East Java, Papua and Jakarta.

However, in terms of prevalence or ratio between the number of patients to the number of residents in the local area, Bali was ranked second nationally after Papua. (kmb13)

World...

From page 1 British Prime Minister David Cameron cut short a family vacation to chair a meeting of the country’s special security committee on Libya. His office said Sunday that it was clear “the end is near for Gadhafi,” and called on him to “go now to avoid any further suffering for his own people.”

Poland, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, issued a statement saying it “welcomes the end” of Gadhafi’s rule.

The comments were echoed in Berlin, where German vice chancellor and Economy Minister Philipp Roesler told reporters: “I hope very much that Gadhafi will be found very quickly, will be caught, and then handed over to the international court, brought very quickly to the Hague.”

The International Criminal Court has indicted Gadhafi on charges of crime against humanity, along with one of his sons, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, and Libya’s intelligence chief.

Seif Gadhafi was arrested by rebel forces, while another one of Gadhafi’s sons was kept under house arrest.

Frattini said there was no longer room for mediation, including allowing Gadhafi to go into exile or remain in Libya but relinquish power — as had been suggested at various points during the past five months of fighting. NATO began airstrikes in Libya under a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for the protection of civilians.

South Africa — which has criticized the NATO bombing and led failed African Union efforts to mediate between the rebels and Gadhafi — insisted it had sent no planes to Libya to evacuate Gadhafi. It said it had received no request from him for asylum, and was involved in no efforts to extricate him.

“I’m quite amazed that there’s even an insinuation that we are facilitating evacuation of anyone,” said Foreign Minister Maite NkoanaMashabane. She said that “for sure, he will not ask to come here” and noted that South Africa is an International Criminal Court member — in an apparent implication that South Africa would have to arrest Gadhafi if he arrived there.

The government of Malta, a tiny Mediterranean island close

to north Africa, has also denied reports that Gadhafi was headed there.

On Sunday, U.S. President Barack Obama urged Gadhafi to accept reality and relinquish power. “The surest way for the bloodshed to end is simple: Moammar Gadhafi and his regime need to recognize that their rule has come to an end,” the president said.

Outside of the country, Libyan expatriates celebrated what they felt was already the end of the regime.

In Ankara, the Turkish capital, dozens of Libyans flocked to the embassy to celebrate the rebels’ seizing much of Tripoli.

They removed the Gadhafi regime’s green flag from a mast and replaced it with the rebels’ tricolor one. They grabbed Gadhafi posters from inside the building, smashed or set them on fire as the embassy staff watched. The group, which included women and children, then proceeded to chant and dance as they waved the rebels’ flags.

A similar scene occurred in Malta, where some 200 Libyans entered the Libyan embassy on Sunday to hoist the Libyan independence flag while setting fire to pictures of Gadhafi and his green flag. The celebrations continued through the night and were still on Monday morning.

“The celebrations we currently see in Libya, and not least in the streets of Tripoli, all point in one direction: the Libyan people’s struggle for freedom has gone into the playoffs,” said Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen of Denmark. “It is crucial that the final phase is handled in a dignified manner and that the (opposition) National Transitional Council remains united to manage the transition toward the holding of free elections.”

In Russia, Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the State Duma’s international affairs committee, told the Interfax news agency that “the situation for Gaddafi has passed the point of no return.”

Moscow has denounced the NATO bombing of forces loyal to Gadhafi, and kept up that criticism Monday. Kosachev called NATO’s airstrikes in Sunday night’s assault on Tripoli “regrettable” and said this “will cast doubts on the legitimacy of current and future events in the country.”

Indonesia Today

International

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

7

Mahfud MD retakes oath as constitutional court chairman Antara

FOTO ANTARA/Puspa Perwitasari

Mahfud MD (middle) took an oath as a Constitutional Court (MK) chairman here on Monday after he was reelected in a vote recently.

JAKARTA - Mahfud MD took an oath as a Constitutional Court (MK) chairman here on Monday after he was reelected in a vote recently.

Mahfud was reelected to be an MK chairman until 2014 in a vote by nine MK council members on August 18, 2011. He won five votes beating Harjono who won two votes, Hamdan Zoelva with one vote and one absentee.

“The vote has gone in a business as usual atmosphere without a media fanfare that compared the capability and acceptability of MK judges,” he said in his speech at the oath taking ceremony.

The ceremony was attended by MK judges and state institution leaders such as the chairman of the People‘s Consultative Assembly (MPR), Taufik Kiemas, Supreme

Court chairman Harifin A Tumpa, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chief Busyro Muqoddas, Judicial Commission chairman Eman Suparman, General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Hafiz Anshary, Defense Forces (TNI) commander Admiral Agus Suhartono and National Police deputy chief Nanan Sukarna.

All MK judges have a right to elect and to be elected but four judges had declared not to use their right to be elected namely Anwar Usman, Akil Mochtar, Muhammad Alim and Maria Farida Indrati.

Mahfud MD was first elected as MK chairman in 2008 replacing Jimly Asshiddiqie. He has earned fame following his law enforcement breakthroughs such as his decision to play the tape of conversations between bribery suspect Anggodo and several law enforcement officials.

No KPK plan yet to move Nazaruddin‘ to another jail Antara

JAKARTA - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) still has no plan to move graft suspect Muhammad Nazaruddin from his present place of detention, a spokesman said.

“We have no plan yet to move (him) until the post-fasting holiday of Idul Fitri,” KPK chairman Busyro Muqoddas said here on Monday.

Nazaruddin had so far been detained at the police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) headquarters‘ detention center in Depok, West Java, after he arrived here from Cartagena, Colombia,

where he was caught on August 7.

Busyro said the KPK had decided to put Nazaruddin at Mako Brimob detention center for security reasons and also because of the security guarantee from the National Police chief.

Nazaruddin‘s lawyer OC Kaligis had said his client had asked to be moved to Cipinang De-

tention Center in East Jakarta because he wanted to be more comfortable when conducting discussions.

To see Nazaruddin family members or guests are required to get permits from KPK while they may also visit on certain days and hours.

KPK has also installed a close circuit television (CCTV) unit to monitor Nazaruddin in his cell.

While he was hiding abroad Nazaruddin, the former treasurer of the ruling Democrat Party, had made controversial statements accusing some members of his party elite of being involved in his case. He has also

accused some KPK members of having negotiated a case with him.

Nazaruddin left for Singapore on May 23 or a day before KPK asked the ministry of law to issue a travel ban for him.

KPK has named Nazaruddin suspect in a bribery case linked to the SEA Games athlete project in Palembang. KPK has also suspected him of allegedly being involved in dozen other projects worth more than Rp6 trillion.

After questioning by KPK recently Nazaruddin confessed he had been guilty and ready to be sen-

tenced for many years in jail in exchange for the safety of his wife and children.

For that he has sent a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who in his reply said that he would never intervene in the process of his case by KPK. His wife, Neneng Sri Wahyuni, is now still at large and she has also been named graft suspect by the KPK. President Yudhoyono said law enforcement agencies had a duty of protecting every citizen but it does not mean that a person involved in a criminal case will be protected.

President welcomes letter from 29 figures RI ready to produce bird flu vaccine: minister Antara

JAKARTA - Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had not yet received the letter reportedly written by 29 national figures to support him to actively and concretely take firm action against corrupters.

“I read the letter in the media and I must say it was good and certainly we thank them for their positive concern,” Dipo said here on Monday.

As many as 29 national figures sent a letter to President Suslo Bambang Yudhoyono on August 20, 2011. In the letter they appealed to the President to take harsh action against corrupters including his party‘s former treasurer Nazaruddin.

The national figures include former defense forces commander retired general Endriartono Sutarto, Paramadina University Rector Anis Baswedan, former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy Erry Riyana, sociologist Imam Prasodjo, State Islamic University rector Komaruddin Hidayat and Mas Achmad Santoso.

Dipo said the letter was good and the government appreciated it because it did not contain hatred or slander.

“Yes, we thank them because they support the President in the efforts to eradicate corruption which is Presi-

dent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono`s commitment, policy and program,” he said.

Dipo Alam said in President Yudhoyono‘s mind there was no such thing as ‘courageous or not courageous”. He said President Yudhoyono would always carry out his policies and actions based on the law and democracy.

He admitted that some people wished PresidentYudhoyono would use his power like former president Soekarno in the Old Order era or Soeharto during the New Order era.

Dipo Alam who is a former student activisit said that since 1998 the two presidents‘ ways of ruling had been reformed and now Indonesia is a law-based and democratic country in which President Yudhoyono would not be able to continue ruling after the end of his second term in 2014.

“The President`s power is now spread in various state institutions and regional governments as a consequence of decentralization including in the media and community members as has been shown by the implementation of the right to expression by the 29 national figures with their letter,” he said.

Dipo said “the more support the President gets certainly the better. So let us just wait for their letter and more support. Now is the fasting month of Ramadhan and therefore I would say `thank God` for their support.”

Antara

SURABAYA - Indonesia is ready to produce H5N1 (bird flu) vaccine following the transfer of an H5N1 seed producing vaccine, “A/ Indonesia/Unair/2005” from the Surabaya-based Airlangga University, the welfare affairs minister said.

Coordinating Minister for People‘s Welfare Agung Laksono made the statement here on Sunday, adding that Unair is the only university in the country for avian flu research.

Minister Laksono who was accompanied among others by deputy education minister Prof Fasli Jalal and Unair rector Prof Fasich Apt, said seed vaccine production for human beings still relies on staterun pharmaceutical maker PT Bio Farma.

H5N1 vaccine is cheaper if it is produced locally, the minister said.

Therefore, Laksono hoped PT Bio Farma will soon produce H5N1 vaccine for human beings.

In addition, samples from Airlangga University‘s research should not be taken abroad, because it is needed for local consumption, and the equipment, buildings, and the research resources belong to the Indonesian people, the minister added.

8

International

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Bali Today Foreign Divers Admire Marine Life of East Bali

IBP/Net

Kertagosa

Kerthagosa Festival:

Highlighting Historical Passage of Klungkung A number of kids looked good at playing Balinese traditional gamelan music in combination with the modern ones. Meanwhile, female teenagers were dancing gracefully and male teenagers were creatively playing the bleganjur gamelan musical instruments. Their parents did not want to be left behind, with half his breath they consistently looked energetic to participate in the gamelan music presentation. It is a brief description on spirit of the artists of Klungkung Regency in joining a series of Cultural Parade in conjunction with the Kerthagosa Festival on Thursday (Aug 18).

The Cultural Parade first held by Klungkung Government was attended by representatives of each subdistrict and school highlighting diverse themes. Participants of the parade were released in the Puputan Klungkung Square then moved toward the City Square of Klungkung.

The Regent of Klungkung, I Wayan Candra, Chairman of Klungkung House and King of Dalem Semara Putra along with invitees were looking so fascinated to see the young generations of Klungkung that deeply involved in their culture.

Indeed, the parade started off at 3:00 p.m. Local Time was really a venue to show off the creativities of the artists from the Serombotan (assorted salads with spicy sauce) region. Appearance of each participant was well arranged so that they became an interesting art spectacle.

Each participant showed off their best artistic creativity by perform-

ing a display in front of the stage of honor. The themes featured were also diverse, but more troupes recounted about the history of Klungkung, Ramayana and Mahabharata epic as well as popular folklores in Bali.

The attires in use looked so beautiful and elegant. As consequence, they could draw every single spectator. Endek cloth, artificial flowers, typical songket cloth of Klungkung jazzed up the appearance of each participant. However, the costumes had been nicely adapted to the needs of respective theme featured. “Since they are showed on stage, all compositions should be arranged properly,” said Cok Nala, one of the committee members of the cultural parade.

It was commenced from the agility of Korsik Drum Band, a marching band group of Klungkung Government and then followed by the

appearance of Pembina Kumara Kindergarten of Klungkung. Each subdistrict displayed their respective typical arts. Sequence of the cultural parade were from the subdistrict of Nusa Penida, Dawan, Klungkung, Banjarangkan and ended by the participation of students of the Indonesia Institute of Art (ISI) of Denpasar featuring the body painting.

Head of Klungkung Cultural and Tourism Agency, I Nengah Wijana, in the sidelines of the event said that such activity was intended to further discover the regeneration and echo the tourism potential of Klungkung Regency through presentation of the art and cultural event featuring the representatives from each subdistrict throughout Klungkung Regency. “This parade is just an initial measure, on the following day will be resumed with the culmination in the form of Kerthagosa Festival,” he said. (BTN/015)

The beauty of undersea vista with a rich diversity of biota invites admiration of divers from around the world. In fact, the life of coral reefs and various kinds of ornamental fish living at some points of waters is considered undersea heaven.

According to some tourists, biodiversity living under the sea around Bali in fact has a natural charm that is very compelling. Even, they are almost the same as the charm offered by Bunaken (Manado, North Sulawesi), which has been known throughout the world.

Jemeluk waters for example. According to some tourists, the tourist resort at Purwakerti Beach has peculiarities that could not be found in waters anywhere in the world. Coral reefs in this tourist resort make tourists to drop their option for diving in this area. Diverse endangered coral reefs belonged to aquapora species and a number of new ones could only be found at Jemeluk Beach.

In terms of its form, they vary. Some species resemble to a form of table or flowers. In addition, there is also a rare fish species such as unibrand, stingrays, tuna, sharks, and green turtles.

I Gede Suta as one of the tourism businesspeople in this region revealed that at Jemeluk could be found a Japanese shipwreck of World War II with the size of 14 x 10 meters. The ship had been overgrown by beautiful coral reefs and widely favored because of its beauty. When glancing at the sea from the cliffs, it will be seen a beautiful scenery with Mount Agung as the background and a vast expanse of sea.

According to story developing in the local community, the name Jemeluk comes from the word ‘nyeluk’ standing for the bay. Therefore, Jemeluk poses a beautiful bay with calm and not bumpy waves.

“Since the water is crystal clear, visitors can see the beauty of coral reefs and marine biota living in it from the top of the cliff,” said Gede Suta.

In the midst of rapid development of marine tourism, the issue on the damage to coral reef is indeed frightening specter for the circle of marine tourism entrepreneurs. According to Suta, the damage of existing coral reefs at Jemeluk was not solely caused by human activities. The existing damage was due to residual stray of bomb during the World War II. Nevertheless, such damage starts diminishing because of the growth of new coral reef.

Meanwhile, various efforts had been made to preserve it. One of them was by developing cubical artificial reef resembling a pyramid that had been cultivated since several years ago. (BTN/BB)

International

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Balinese Culture River snail served with Balinese cherry potato Aside from retaining a beautiful view and challenging attraction like rafting and splashing, river also poses a habitat of various food sources. There are fish, crab, shrimp and snails. Balinese people may call the latter as ungun or river snail. This snail has two forms, namely ordinary snail and half snail. The half snail shapes like carapace of turtle. Its flesh is open and has a piece of thin bone. When boiled, its flesh will easily get released from its carapace, while the ordinary one should be taken out by pin, needle and so on.

When their delicacy is combined with sabrang or Balinese cherry potato, they will have typical flavor. Its shape is much smaller than common potato and its leaf resembles to that of broadleaf thyme (jinten). Apart from combined with river snail or chicken, this cherry potato is also good if cooked as single vegetable. It is usually sold at traditional market or village stalls.

Ingredients: 2 handful river snail, 250gram sabrang or cherry potato (peeled) and 800ml water for gravy.

Ground spices: 6 cloves shallot, 3 cloves garlic, 2 small chilies, 1 candlenut, 2 tbsp grated coconut (ground with other spices), 1 slice turmeric, 1 slice aromatic ginger and 1 slice galangal Others: 1 pc salam leaf, 1 tbsp palm oil and ½ tsp salt.

IBP/Eka Adhiyasa

A tourist carry big parachute kite for kite surfing. During the windy season like this month, many tourists playing kite surfing in the beach, like Mertasari Beach in Sanur, Bali Island.

Method: · Cleanse thoroughly the river snail and cherry potato and drain. · Pre-heat the palm oil on the frying pan. Stir-fry the ground spices until smelling fragrant. Add some water and wait until boiling. · Put the cherry potato and river snail together into the pan. Add salt, salam leaf and please wait until the cherry potato is cooked. · Take out and it is now ready to serve. (BTN/punia)

Lempog :

Sweet side of cassava cake To get different flavor, cassava can be served in many ways. One of them is by making it into lempog cake. In the past, this cake was popular and often served in social activities such as activities at rice field or socioreligious ones. The reason for this was easy to make and its raw material was widely available at rural area as they cultivated it.

By nature, it is made from boiled cassava. With additional ingredients like palm sugar and salt, they are pounded together in the mortar or plastic base. By doing so, it will be easier to turn each side of the batter in order it will be tender evenly. When the batter has been completely tender, it can be sliced into various shapes as your taste. To serve it, do not forget to sprinkle with grated coconut. Ultimately, have a nice flavor! (BTN/punia) C.045 ibp

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10

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Destinations

International

Ubud Monkey Forest IBP

Ubud Monkey Forest is a small rain forest dwelt by some group of monkeys and other tropical animals.

It is strategically located in the hearth of Ubud Village, precisely located in the region of Padang Tegal Village, Ubud Sub district and Gianyar Regency. Monkey Forests in Balinese language called Wanara Wana are spread out in the island and Ubud Monkey Forest itself own very important function of the continuity the monkey habitat in Bali.

Meanwhile the local community own important role to keep this forest naturally in order to all wild animals able to live smoothly.

Ubud Monkey Forest is dwelt by 200 monkeys, pertained to long tail inclusive macaques or macaca fascicularis group which owns the wide disseminating area. Among the amount monkeys living in this forest, there are 23 adult male, 79 adult female and 98 still babies. All

International Bali Post Classifieds Contact us

C.0008505-kom

the monkeys in this forest consisted of three groups, dwell certain area and use the certain place and certain time. However, it also happened that entire group can use the forest and whenever two groups exist at same place and time, they will fight each other. These monkeys are believed as Gods Guard of Dalem Agung Temple, The Hindu Temple exist in the middle of forest. There are three Holy Temples in this monkey forest and those are existing surround the forest and it is estimated built in the middle of 14 century, in the early governance of Gelgel dynasty. Dalem Agung Temple is located in northwest from the forest represent the existence of most important temples. Beside of two others, that are Permandian Temple, in Westside from this forest and Prajapati Temple which is located in south-east side where the place of Dewa Siwa (Siwa God), one of the Khayangan Temple in Padang Tegal Village.

... gets maximum benefits with minimum charge Denpasar : +62 361 22-5764 Jakarta : +62 21 535-6271

Jl. Kepundung 67 A, e-mail: info_ibp@balipost.co.id Jl. Palmerah Barat 21 F

C.0002683-rpa

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

BUSINESS Japan signals readiness to intervene in currencies Reuters

TOKYO - Japan will take decisive action against any speculative moves in the currency market, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said, signaling Tokyo’s readiness to intervene to stem further yen rises after its spike to a record high last week.

Noda said he saw recent yen rises as even more one-sided than before and that Tokyo would exchange information closely with other countries regarding currencies, suggesting it would stay in frequent contact with its Group of Seven partners.

“We will watch markets even more closely than before to see whether there is any speculative activity. We won’t rule out any measures and will take decisive action when necessary,” Noda told reporters on Monday.

Noda, Prime Minister Naoto Kan and top government spokesman Yukio Edano all repeated the phrase throughout the day, a sign that it has become the new line Tokyo would use to warn markets that intervention is an imminent possibility.

Market expectations of currency intervention briefly sent the dollar to a one-and-a-half week high of 77.23 yen on Monday, off the record low of 75.95 yen hit last Friday.

But prospects of intervention failed to offset stock market worries about slowing U.S. growth, pushing Tokyo’s Nikkei average to a five-month closing low.

Tokyo intervened unilaterally in the currency market and eased monetary policy on August 4. But the steps have not stopped investors from seeking the yen as a safe haven against risk.

Trade Minister Banri Kaieda, who along with Noda is a contender to replace Kan when he steps down as early as the end of this month, said on Monday it would be best if Japan and the United States could jointly intervene in the currency market, according to Kyodo news agency.

“Intervention is aimed at teaching (market players) that if they buy the yen too much, they will get burned,” he said.

AP Photo/Hiro Komae

A woman and a man are reflected on the window of a stock price monitor at a securities company in Tokyo Monday, Aug. 22, 2011.

But Kaieda does not have jurisdiction over currency policy, and was likely expressing his hope than signaling that any serious negotiation with Washington has taken place.

Markets are bracing for another round of intervention but doubt whether it will be effective in sustainably weakening the yen, particularly with little chance that Tokyo can persuade its G7 counterparts to act jointly in the currency market.

“I don’t think Japan will intervene as long as the dollar stays around current levels above 76.50 yen. But if it falls back below 75, it may step in. The authorities are ready to act at any time and that’s probably the message they are trying to send,” said Naoki Iizuka, senior economist at Mizuho Securities.

“Stock prices may briefly rally if Tokyo intervenes. But it would be difficult to change the market’s (weak-dollar) trend.”

If the government were to intervene, the BOJ is ready to support the yen-weakening effort by holding off from draining the extra yen that flows to the markets via intervention, and possibly by easing monetary policy further.

The BOJ will consider loosening policy, possibly before its next rate review in September, if yen gains push down Tokyo stock prices enough to hit business sentiment, sources familiar with the central

bank’s thinking have said.

Policymakers, however, are caught in a dilemma. They know the limits of trying to stem yen rises with policy action. But if they hold off on meeting words with action for too long, the effect of verbal warnings will quickly fade.

Upcoming events that may drive down the dollar, such as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech on Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and U.S. payrolls data on September 2, may also wipe out any yen-weakening effect if Tokyo acts now.

Any currency intervention and monetary easing would thus be more of a symbolic attempt to show the authorities’ determination to address yen rises, as Japanese companies complain about the pain from yen gains and threaten to shift production overseas, analysts say.

Political uncertainty may also delay policies to address the potential harm from a strong yen on the economy. Ruling party lawmakers are maneuvering to select a successor to Kan, which may slow progress in coming up with steps to support growth in a third extra budget.

Japanese rating agency Rating and Investment Information (R&I) said on Monday the country’s political stalemate was a worry and warned that it looks increasingly hard for Japan to maintain its top sovereign credit rating.

11

All eyes on Bernanke as recession looms Reuters

WASHINGTON With the global economy sputtering and financial markets on the rocks, the world needs reassurance the U.S. central bank stands ready to save the day.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will make a AP Photo/ speech on Friday at a Ben Bernanke lodge in Wyoming’s Jackson Hole, where policymakers and academics meet once a year to talk shop.

Last year, Bernanke used the podium to suggest the Fed could help growth by buying long-term bonds, a prelude to a program enacted soon afterward that did just that.

However, no grand new plan is expected to be hatched at this year’s meeting.

In part that’s because the Fed already unveiled a new policy tool this month when it pledged to keep interest rates near zero into 2013.

Central banks rarely make such promises, so consider that a big move.

But the world grows more nervous every day that a new recession lurks around the corner. Economists see rising risks that U.S. growth could evaporate, while Europe languishes in a debt crisis. Even strong performers like China and Brazil show signs of slowing.

Moreover, stocks have plunged, further threatening the economy because consumers could pull back if they sense their retirement savings are dwindling.

So at the very least, Bernanke will be expected to hold our hands a little when he speaks.

“Markets are increasingly hoping there will be some signs that the Fed will coming running to the rescue,” said Paul Dales, an economist at Capital Economics in Toronto.

Most economists expect Bernanke will explain what’s in his policy toolbox while promising to use those tools if necessary.

Markets will hush when he begins his speech, and he will be mindful not to disappoint.

One danger looming over the world economy — and which could goad Bernanke into more action — is the prospect that the European crisis could worsen.

Investors are nervous that some countries might not pay back their debts, so they are demanding some European governments pay higher interest rates to borrow.

Ireland, Portugal and Greece currently cannot borrow on the market, and now market forces appear to be tilting against larger countries, threatening to create a much larger crisis.

Policymakers are scrambling to contain this, with the European Central Bank buying Italian and Spanish bonds this month.

But the ECB is internally divided over that move, creating further anxiety for investors. On Monday, the central bank will release figures that could show how committed it is to propping up Italy and Spain.

A bad reaction by investors to that data — or to revised readings due during the week on U.S. and British second-quarter economic performance — could increase pressure on Bernanke to act.

Indeed, many people in the market expect the Fed will eventually launch QE3, the name given to what would be the third installment of a program to help the economy by buying assets on the market.

“Expectations are for more to happen. It’s just a question of exact timing of when it happens,” said Goldman Sachs economist Andrew Tilton in New York.

When Bernanke takes the podium, his speech will be measured against that expectation.

12

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Entertainment

International

Mead’s new vampire spinoff manages to stand apart Associated Press Writer

“Bloodlines” (Razorbill), by Richelle Mead: Sydney doesn’t have time to worry about pimples or a date to the prom. Instead, she’s worried about the vampire princess she’s sworn to protect to avoid a civil war that would likely cost human lives.

Richelle Mead’s young adult “Bloodlines” is set in the same world of the Moroi, Strigoi and dhampirs (human-vampire hybrids) as her Vampire Academy Series, which she completed in December.

It’s a spinoff narrated by Sydney, a side character in the Vampire Academy books.

Sydney is an alchemist who protects humans from the volatile world of vampires. Her father is important in the world of alchemists and has trained her since she was a child. She’s one of the best, though she recently lost her father’s trust because of a rogue operation.

Alchemists use magic, mostly in the form of powerful gold tattoos that are kept secret. The tattoos are made with a mix of vampire blood that gives them superhuman strength and speed. Moroi Princess Jill Dragomir is being hunted by the Strigoi, a rival vampire race. To avoid civil war, Sydney takes Jill and her bodyguards to Palm Springs, Calif., to attend high school as human teenagers.

As the line between vampires and humans begins to blur, Sydney has to decide what’s more important: her family and her past or her new friends. Readers of the Vampire Academy Series will have no trouble following “Bloodlines.” But this is more than a spinoff, and those unfamiliar with the previous series won’t be left behind.

“Bloodlines” stands out from the crowded vampire genre because it’s not centered on a human-vampire romance, which is considered quite repulsive. Sydney is very clear on the subject: “Humans and vampires can’t be together!

It’s disgusting and wrong.”

Instead, “Bloodlines” is about the complications of an old culture centered on old beliefs that doesn’t necessarily translate to a new generation.

While there are a few love stories throughout the book, the focus on Sydney’s internal struggle is quite refreshing. “Bloodlines” proves there’s more to being a teenager caught in a complicated world of secrets and lies than cute boys.

AP Photo/Disney

In this image released by Disney, from left, Tim Blake Nelson, George Clooney and John Turturro are shown in a scene from “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” An expanded version of the soundtrack for “O Brother.

New ‘O Brother’ set serves up more old-timey music Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES — George Clooney isn’t the only one whose singing didn’t make the final cut of “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and the film’s best-selling soundtrack, which helped turn old-timey music into hit pop tunes again.

Clooney’s stab at singing the film’s signature song still remains in the vaults, but an expanded version of the soundtrack — in stores Tuesday — packs 14 extra tracks, including 12 previously unreleased cuts from music producer T Bone Burnett’s “O Brother” sessions.

The two-CD set, which also includes the 19 tunes from the original soundtrack, helps celebrate the 10th anniversary of the “O Brother” triumph at the 2001 Grammys, where it was picked as album of the year.

The film’s $45 million haul at the domestic box-office was at the time the biggest success yet for filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen,

‘The Glee Project’ ends with a twist Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK — If the creators of “Glee” are looking for new faces to bring into the fold then they’ve found it with “The Glee Pr oject.” Nineteen-y ear-old Samuel Larsen from Los Angeles and 18-year-old Damian McGinty of Derry City, Ireland, both won the inaugural season of the talent competition show

where they each get a seven-episode arc on “Glee.”

Larsen, a rocker with dreadlocks, was described as having a “cool, indy, rock spirit” that has been missing from the hit Fox show.

The judges believed McGinty, however, was the most likable and most improved. The show put 12 contestants through a “Glee” bootcamp where they

were critiqued on their singing, dancing and acting throughout the 10-week series.

The other finalists, Lindsay Pearce, 20, and Alex Newell, 18, didn’t go home losers.

The show’s co-creator Ryan Murphy was so impressed he decided to write them into two episodes of the show. “Glee” returns for its new season in September.

but it was a pittance compared to Hollywood blockbusters.

The album, though, was a runaway hit, selling 9 million copies, ranking as one of the 10 top-selling soundtracks ever and inspiring renewed interest in long-neglected rootsy music that continues today. As the studio engineer tells Clooney’s gang in the film, “people can’t seem to get enough” of that old-timey stuff.

“That type of music had been around my whole life. There was a period of time in the late 1950s and early ’60s where it was actually popular music, and I knew there hadn’t been a light shone on it for some number of years,” Burnett said.

“We knew we were getting ready

to shine a very bright light on it with a George Clooney movie and a George Clooney video, for that matter. I thought there was a very good chance that it would penetrate the zeitgeist, these singers and musicians; for a lot of people to hear them and think this was good music. The thing I didn’t foresee was all the banjo sales increasing by 7,000 percent.”

The expanded soundtrack features more songs by performers who were on the original album, among them Norman Blake, the Fairfield Four and the Peasall Sisters, and others who didn’t make it on the initial release, including Van Dyke Parks, Colin Linden and Alan O’Bryant.

The double album features two previously unreleased tracks by the late John Hartford, a banjo player and music folklorist who wrote “Gentle on My Mind.” Burnett recalls that Hartford recorded 30 or 40 songs in a single day as they were working on the “O Brother” soundtrack.

Science This undated image provided by Jalila Essaidi shows Essaidi pointing a gun at a target at an undisclosed location. Utah State research Randy Lewis and Essaidi have constructed a “bulletproof skin” with Lewis supplying the silk threads from a genetically engineered silk worm that Essaidi weaved into a lattice of human skin cells to create a layer that was capable of repelling a bullet.

AP Photo/Courtesy Jalila Essaida

Utah researcher helps artist make bulletproof skin Associated Press Writer

SALT LAKE CITY — A bio-art project to create bulletproof skin has given a Utah State researcher even more hope his genetically engineered spider silk can be used to help surgeons heal large wounds and create artificial tendons and ligaments.

Researcher Randy Lewis and his collaborators gained worldwide attention recently when they found a commercially viable way to manufacture silk fibers using goats and silkworms that had spider genes inserted into their makeup.

Spider silk is one of the strongest fibers known and five times stronger than steel. Lewis’ fibers are not that strong but much stronger than silk spun by ordinary worms. With Lewis’ help, Dutch artist Jalila Essaidi conducted an experiment weaving a lattice of human skin cells and silk that was capable of stopping

bullets fired at reduced speeds.

“Randy and I were moved by the same drive I think, curiosity about the outcome of the project,” Essaidi said in an email interview. “Both the artist and scientist are inherently curious beings.” Lewis thought the project was a bit off the wall at first, Essaidi acknowledged. “But in the end, what curious person can say no to a project like this?” she said.

Essaidi, who used a European genetics-in-art grant to fund her project at the Designers & Artists 4 Genomics Awards, initially wanted to use Lewis’ spider silk from goats to capitalize on

the “grotesque factor” of the mammalspider combination.

But Lewis didn’t yet have enough of the spider goat silk to send hundreds of yards to Essaidi. So he sent her spools of silk from silkworms he had genetically engineered in a fashion similar to the goats. Essaidi initially intended to fire .22 caliber bullets at the “skin” stretched in a frame.

But she decided to place the “skin” on a special gelatin block used at the Netherlands Forensic Institute.

Using a high-speed camera, she showed a bullet fired at a reduced speed piercing the skin woven with an ordinary worm’s silk But when tested with Lewis’ genetically engineered worm’s silk grafted between the epidermis and dermis, the skin didn’t break. Neither was able to repel a bullet fired at normal speed from a .22 caliber rifle.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

13

LG expands its Optimus smartphone range LG is adding a mid-range Android smartphone to its popular Optimus series. The handset, dubbed the LG Optimus Sol (aka LGE730), runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and offers many of the features found on LG’s other Optimus handsets — but at a more affordable price.

“The Optimus Sol stands out from its competitors as the most affordable 1 GHz Android smartphone with an AMOLED display,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “By introducing a no-nonsense phone that boasts one of the best displays on the market, we think we have a real winner for consumers looking for a subtle but visually stunning phone.”

The Optimus Sol boasts a bright 3.8" Ultra AMOLED display which provides better clarity outdoors and “a reduction in image quality degradation” compared to standard AMOLED displays said LG. The device measures up at just 9.8mm slim and has an “enhanced idle-based power management system” that claims to boost the phone’s battery life by up to 30 percent. The midrange handset also packs in a 5MP camera, DLNA connectivity and WiFi direct.

According to German technology website BestBoyz, the LG Optimus Sol will be priced at •299 which should put it in competition with the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray, the newly announced Huawei Vision, and the Samsung Conquer.

It is expected to arrive in Europe in the beginning of mid-September, followed by releases in Central and South America.

IBP/ist

International

LG expands its Optimus smartphone range with the affordable ‘Sol’

Invasive ‘burning bush’ getting genetic makeover Associated Press Writer

HARTFORD, Conn. — The burning bush shrub, whose blazing autumn hues illuminate many eastern U.S. landscapes, may soon be getting a makeover to curb its voracious appetite for other plants’ land, sunlight and soil nutrients.

After almost a decade of work, a University of Connecticut scien-

AP Photo/University of Connecticut, Yi Li

This October 2006 photo released by the University of Connecticut shows Euonymus alata shrubs known as burning bushes in Storrs, Conn.

tist and his research team have pinpointed the genetic combination to grow a seedless, non-invasive version of burning bush without sacrificing its stunning fall colors and durability. In short, they’ve neutered the incorrigible plant to make it behave.

Horticulture experts say the newly published findings by Dr. Yi Li and others at the New England Invasive Plant Center in Storrs could be a boon for landscapers and gardeners, who’ve pushed annual sales of burning bush — also known as winged Euonymus alatus — past $38 million nationwide.

Those sales figures come despite its listing as an invasive plant in 21

states, and outright sales bans in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. And since UConn will hold the patent with Li, the university also could receive significant royalties if the non-invasive burning bush is a big seller.

“It’s a great use of science and a win for everybody if they can take a popular, invasive plant and render it sterile so it’s still sellable,” said Robert Heffernan, executive director of the Connecticut Green Industries Council.

“People do love this plant and they ask for it. That brilliant red color in the autumn makes it look like it’s absolutely on fire.”

14

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Sport

International

Bahamas pull out of World Cup qualifiers Reuters

BERNE - Bahamas have pulled out of the 2014 World Cup qualifying competition, FIFA said on Monday.

Soccer’s governing body did not give any further details on the withdrawal of Bahamas who had been due to play in Group C in the second round of the CONCACAF zone along with Panama, Dominica and Nicaragua.

FIFA said the group would now be contested by three teams with the winners progressing to the next stage of qualifying. Bahamas beat Turks and Caicos Islands 10-0 on aggregate in a two-leg preliminary tie, Lesly St Fleur scoring five goals in a 6-0 first-leg win.

They were the biggest risers in last month’s FIFA rankings, leaping from 197th place to 152nd. The Bahamas Tribune said the withdrawal was caused by the unavailability of a new Chinese-built 23,000 capacity stadium which the federation had planned to use for home games.

It added that although the stadium was handed over by the Chinese government in June, approach roads, car parks, landscaping and sewerage had not been completed.

The report said the alternative would have been to play home matches at neutral venues but the cost would have been prohibitive.

AP Photo/Tim Hales

Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko, right, has a shot at goal saved by Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen during their English Premier League soccer match at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton, England, Sunday Aug. 21, 2011.

Man City go top, Montpellier lead in France Reuters

LONDON - Big-spending Manchester City maintained their perfect start to the Premier League season with a 3-2 win at Bolton Wanderers, while Arsenal capped a week to forget with a 2-0 home defeat by Liverpool. In France, Montpellier HSC remained the only side with a 100 percent record, while there were surprise leaders in Germany too where last season’s relegation battlers Borussia Moenchengladbach have set the early pace in the Bundesliga.

Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers top the early standings after winning their second successive matches of the new Premier League season on Sunday. City won 3-2 at Bolton Wanderers while Wolves beat Fulham 2-0 at Molineux to make their best start in the top flight since 1979. City lead the standings on goal difference, while champions Manchester United could join them on Monday if they beat Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford when Spurs play their first match of the season.

It was another miserable weekend for Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal who lost 2-0 at home to Liverpool, but despite all the problems fac-

ing his side, who have yet to score in the league, the manager pledged his commitment to the club. “I am disappointed by our start to the season but there is no chance I will walk away,” Wenger, manager since 1996, said. “There is only the chance I will still try to give my best for the club.”

While in Germany, Borussia Moenchengladbach and Hanover 96 lead the table with seven points from three games after a weekend in which the nine games produced an impressive 33 goals.

Moenchengladbach, who narrowly survived relegation last term, are top on goal difference after a 4-1 victory over VfL Wolfsburg.

Schalke 04 scored four times in

the last 35 minutes to recover from two goals down to win 4-2 at Mainz 05, while Bayern Munich thumped Hamburg SV 5-0 at home. in France, Montpellier are the surprise leaders in France with the only 100 percent record after three matches. They hammered Stade Rennes 4-0 but fellow south coast side Olympique Marseille could only manage a 0-0 draw at home to St Etienne.

Big-spending Paris St Germain recorded their first win of the campaign, beating Valenciennes 2-1 thanks to Nene’s second-half penalty, while champions Lille won 2-1 at Caen and Olympique Lyon struggled to a 1-1 draw at Stade Brest.

Two-match ban equals more woe for Wenger Reuters

BERNE - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was handed a twomatch European ban for failing to abide by the conditions of a previous suspension and will miss Wednesday’s Champions League qualifier at Udinese, UEFA said on Monday. The disciplinary board of European soccer’s governing body also fined the English Premier League club 10,000 euros ($14,418) “for improper conduct by its officials” during last week’s playoff round first leg which Arsenal won 1-0.

Frenchman Wenger was banned from that game for his behaviour in last season’s round of 16 tie at Barcelona but television pictures showed him sitting in the stands and talking on a mobile phone in the first half, apparently passing instructions to the bench.

“Disciplinary regulations stipulate that a manager may not communicate with his team during a fixture for which he is suspended and may follow the game from the stands only,” UEFA said. Arsenal are planning an appeal. Wenger said last week he was confused over the rules.

“It was difficult because you didn’t really know what the rules were.

It was a bit confusing. It is a real concern because up to what level can you stop someone doing their job?” he said. Wenger’s latest suspension is a further blow for Arsenal who have taken part in the Champions League group stage for 13 seasons but could see that run ended on Wednesday.

The London club have been hit by recent injuries and the sale of captain Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona. They have also taken only one point from their first two Premier League matches although that would pale into insignificance if they missed out on qualification for the Champions League.

IBP/ap

Arsene Wenger

Sport

International

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

15

Sharapova sinks Jankovic in Cincinnati final Reuters

MASON, Ohio - Russia’s Maria Sharapova beat Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic 4-6 7-6 6-3 to win the Cincinnati Open on Sunday and install herself as one of the favourites for the U.S. Open.

There were 16 breaks of serve in a topsy-turvy final but Sharapova emerged strongest in the end to claim her second title of the season and the 24th of her career in the lead up to the final grand slam event of the season, starting in New York on Aug. 29.

“It was a really tough one out there. It was so physical and in the end, it could have gone either way,” said Sharapova. “We kept breaking each other in the beginning. It felt like one of us played a few good points and than the other one and the levels were up and down throughout the match.

“So, I’m just fortunate that at the end of the day I’m the winner.”

Sharapova started the match brightly, serving well and looking

swift on her feet as she took a 4-1 lead but then Jankovic fought back and her Russian opponent crumbled in alarming fashion.

Jankovic won the next five games to take the set as Sharapova’s serve fell to pieces with five doublefaults contributing to her problems.

The second set was riddled with unforced errors from both players, 27 from Sharapova and 21 from Jankovic but the Russian won the tie-break 7-3 to force the match into a third set.

The first six games of the third set were all broken before Sharapova held serve to go 4-3 up and she showed her old killer instinct to finish off the encounter.

Sharapova’s other win this season came in Rome.

Maria Sharapova, from Russia, holds the championship trophy after defeating Jelena Jankovic, from Serbia, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3, in the women’s final at the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament, Sunday, Aug. 21, 2011, in Mason, Ohio.

Bolt confident of another 3 gold medals in Daegu Associated Press Writer

DAEGU, South Korea — Usain Bolt will put his famous “Who faster?” taunt to the test again at the world championships.

So far, it has worked every time it has mattered most. Ever since his stunning world records and gold medals in the 100 and 200 meters at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and his repeat at the 2009 Berlin World Championships, the Jamaican sprinter has become a global sports superstar.

So when the championships open Saturday, most of the attention will focus on Bolt. Not that he minds. As usual, he is already making light of the pressure and expectations. “I am always confident. I am unbeaten this year and aim to defend all my titles in Daegu,” Bolt told The Associated Press in an email.

On top of his individual gold medals, he also helped Jamaica win titles in the sprint relays at Beijing and Berlin. Anything less than nine gold medals from Beijing and two world championships would be a disappointment for him ahead of the 2012 London Olympics. Yet he needs another overpowering show at the 53,000-capacity Daegu Stadium, because his statistics over the past two years have not completely matched his braggadocio.

When it comes to “who faster?”

in the 100 in 2011, Bolt is not on top of the list. He is not even the top Jamaican. His compatriot Asafa Powell holds the leading time of 9.78 seconds, with Bolt posting the sixth-fastest time of 9.86 — way off his world record of 9.58.

He is not worried, though, having been in similar positions before. Two years ago, Tyson Gay was fastest ahead of the world championships but when it came to the biggest matchup of the competition, Bolt blew everyone away with a world record.

“I think it will be the same as Berlin. Some people ran well in the early season, but it is the cham-

pionships that count,” Bolt said.

“We always train to peak at the major championships. My coach sets out the program with this as the goal.” Gay had been hampered by a sore groin in Berlin, and injury caught up with him even before the championships this year.

The American pulled out of the 100 meters at the U.S. nationals in June because of a hip injury.

Bolt was troubled by a bad back last year, and even if his times have been less than exceptional since, he says it no longer bothers him. “The back injury was last year. I haven’t had any problems with it this year,” he said.

AP Photo/Puma, Chung Sung-Jun

In this photo provided by Puma, Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt, center, poses for a photograph with women in traditional Korean dress at the Dalgubal Grand Bell in Daegu, South Korea, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011.

AP Photo/Al Behrman

Modest Murray’s chances for U.S. Open improve Reuters

MASON, Ohio - Andy Murray won his seventh Masters series final with victory over world number one Novak Djokovic on Sunday and his prospects of winning a grand slam have never looked better. Djokovic was forced to retire with a shoulder injury when trailing 6-4 3-0 in the Cincinnati Open final and while the world number one was confident of playing at the U.S. Open, Murray could again be the main beneficiary.

Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, who have dominated the sport until Djokovic’s remarkable year this season, both went out in the quarter-finals at Cincinnati. Spaniard Nadal has struggled with a heel problem and looked short of his best during this week, before eventually bowing out to American Mardy Fish.

Federer’s loss to Czech Tomas Berdych in Cincinnati came after a third round exit in Canada and the 30-year-old has not won a tournament since Doha in January. So

perhaps the stars are lining up for the 24-year-old Murray, who has never won a grand slam title yet so remains naturally cautious about writing off his main rivals.

“The thing is, you never know,” he told reporters. “Those guys could end up making the semi-finals of the U.S. Open, and then you get a chance to see whether it is a chance. If all of them lose early, then, you know, obviously my chances would go up.

“But I’m sure, come the start of the U.S. Open next Monday, all of them will be fine. I think each one of them will be playing great tennis, much better than they have played here.” Murray knows that Cincinnati is a far cry from a grand slam but he was encouraged by the fact he performed so well on a surface and in weather that is comparable to what awaits at Flushing Meadows.

“I think the conditions are similar. It’s normally pretty humid in New York and the courts are very similar to the ones here,” said the Scotsman.

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

16

Sport

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Button returns to Race of Champions JENSON Button has become the third Formula 1 world champion to sign up for this year’s Race of Champions, joining Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher.

2009 F1 title winner Button last contested the RoC in his world championship season, when he reached the semi-finals and took Great Britain to the Nations Cup final in partnership with Andy Priaulx.

“I’m really looking forward to coming back to the Race Of Champions again in December,” said Button. “It’s a great way to round off the season and it’s always fun to meet up with old friends from all the different forms of motorsport.

“Apart from last year when I had a clash of commitments, I’ve turned into something of an ROC regular. It’s a lot of fun and everyone wants

to put on a good show for the fans. In the ROC Nations Cup Team Germany had an annoying habit of beating us at Wembley so it’s probably about time someone managed to pay them back on their home ground...”

RoC chief Fredrik Johnsson welcomed Button back to the event, which takes place in Dusseldorf’s ESPRIT Arena on 3-4 December.

“He has always been a hugely entertaining performer in this event and we’ve always appreciated his appearances,” said Johnsson.

“The last two were particularly memorable as he came to Wembley in 2008 when he didn’t know if he’d still be driving in F1 in 2009. Then, 12 months later, he returned to ROC as F1 world champion. We look forward to plenty more excitement from him in December.”

REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo

McLaren Formula One driver Jenson Button of Britain (C), his father John (L), girlfriend Jessica Michibata (R) and other members of team.

Schumacher hopes can celebrate at Spa Mercedes GP is hoping that the high-speed nature of Spa-Francorchamps will help Michael Schumacher celebrate in style on the 20th anniversary of his Formula 1 debut in Belgium this weekend. The Brackleybased team’s 2011 challenger should be well-suited to the long straights and high speed corners of Spa, having faced difficulties in recent outings at tight and twisty venues like the Hungaroring.

Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug reckons that the Spa characteristics and a team refreshed after the summer break could help deliver a good result on a big weekend for Schumacher. “Our team members have been able to recharge their batteries during the mandatory shutdown period, and we will head to Spa fully motivated for the final part of the season,” said Haug.

“It will be a special weekend for Michael, who will mark the 20th anniversary of his Formula 1 debut this weekend, which is an outstanding and remarkable achievement. The races at Spa have historically been full of surprises and the weather has mostly played a major role.

“The layout of the circuit should

suit our current technical package a little bit better than was the case at the previous two races.” Schumacher, who made his debut at Spa in 1991 and won his maiden race at the venue the following year, said that he was heading into the weekend eager to mark his special occasion in a good way.

“The race in Spa will certainly have a special touch to it this time, as this is where I drove my first ever Formula 1 race 20 years ago,” he said. “It’s hard to believe that this was such a long time ago. “A lot has changed in those 20 years, but one thing has not: the track is still sensational. I just love the great nature of the location and the resulting layout with all the ups and downs.

“To me, Spa remains my ‘living room’, because it has been the stage for so many things which have been remarkable for my sporting career. This is why this time I would like to specifically send a big thank you to all my fans for their loyalty and support, which I was happy to receive during those 20 years and also since my comeback.

“Talking about the sporting side prior to Spa, we are all returning from the summer break with fresh motivation and energy, and will try to set an exclamation mark at the Belgian Grand Prix.”

REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh

Mercedes Formula One driver Michael Schumacher of Germany waves to supporters as he arrives for drivers parade before the Hungarian F1 Grand Prix at the Hungaroring circuit near Budapest July 31, 2011.