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Sport
Monday, August 11, 2008
Loeb: I won’t let them strike back Deutschland - Defending champion Sebastien Loeb has vowed not to give his rivals the chance to fight back on Rallye Deutschland as he looks to build on his victory last time out in Finland.
The Citroen star became only the fourth driver from outside Finland and Sweden to win in Finland last time out after coming out on top of a threeday long battle for victory with main title rival Mikko Hirvonen; the pair being split by just nine seconds after the completion of the 24th and final stage. That win has seen Loeb close to within a point of Hirvonen in the title race but the Frenchman goes into the Rallye Deutschland as the man to beat, having been the only driver to take victory on the asphalt event since it became part of the WRC calendar back in 2002. Indeed, Citroen is unbeaten in Germany since 2001 with Philippe Bugalski having taken the
final win before the event secured WRC status. Should Loeb maintain that record this time around, then he will move to head of the standings regardless of where Hirvonen is able to finish, and having beaten the Ford man in his own back yard, Loeb said he was looking to now continue his love affair with the German stages in the tenth round of the year. “Following our win in Finland, on the home soil of our main rivals, we have no intention of letting them strike back on an event that has always been favourable to us,” the Frenchman, who has won six of the nine events held so far this season, said. “I have tended to enjoy a certain
amount of success on the Rallye Deutschland, but it has never been an easy event to win. It has often been a very close run thing. I am looking forward to this year’s visit to Germany because we will no doubt have lots of supporters there. However, it’s a rally that calls for great caution because the stages can be extremely treacherous. “We will be looking to win; not to take our score to seven consecutive wins in Trier but because that would be give our chances in both championships a big boost. The Citroen C4 is very competitive on this sort of terrain and we will endeavour to make the most of that. We will also face the delights of tyre choices for the first time in quite a while. I don’t know how big an effect that will have on the way the event unfolds, but we will do our best to make the right calls every time.”
Bridgestone reveals final tyre allocations
AFP PHOTO / LEHTIKUVA / Roope Salonen FINLAND OUT
Frenchman Sebastien Loeb driving a Citroen C4 celebrates his win with his co-driver Daniel Elena (L) on the podium in Jyvaskyla Paviljonki in WRC Rally of Finland in Central Finland on August 3, 2008.
16 Pages Number 167 1st Year
Bridgestone has announced the compound allocations of tyres for the final four rounds of the 2008 season. The Japanese company will take its soft and super soft compounds to Formula One’s first night race in Singapore, while medium and soft compounds will be used at the Japanese Grand Prix, remaining unchanged from last year. The hard and medium compounds will again be used in China. For the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, Bridgestone announced a change and will now take the medium and soft compounds, instead of the soft and super soft used in 2007. “After eleven races this season
we can now confirm our tyre allocations for the final four races of the year,” said Hirohide Hamashima, Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development. “This will be the first time for Formula One in Singapore and we will bring the soft and super soft compounds for this interesting new street course.” “High grip will be required at
this track which is the primary reason for our choice. In Japan and China we will use the same compounds as we used in 2007. For Brazil we have moved a step harder in our allocation range.” “This race can be very hot, as we saw last year, and our data from the thrilling final race of last season showed us that this change would be beneficial for the teams.”
e-mail: info_ibp@balipost.co.id online: http://www.balipost. co.id/international Price: Rp 3.000,-
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Robert Kilagat and Trianingsih won the Bali 10K Nikki Blonsky’s Dad Denied Bail PAGE 12
Loeb: I won’t let them strike back PAGE 16
AP Photo/George Abdaladze
A wounded Georgian woman lies in front of an apartment building, damaged by a Russian airstrike, in the northern Georgian town of Gori, on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008.
Georgia: In ‘state of war’ with Russia Associated Press Writer
TBILISI - Russia expanded its bombing blitz Sunday against neighboring U.S.-allied Georgia, targeting the country’s capital for the first time as Russian and Georgian troops continued battling for the contested province of South Ossetia.
WEATHER FORECAST CITY
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18 - 29
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20 - 32
SURABAYA
21 - 32
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Monday, August 11, 2008
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Russian jets raided a plant on the eastern outskirts of Tbilisi that builds Su-25 ground jets used by Georgia in the conflict. The attack inflicted some damage to its runways but caused no casualties, said Georgia’s Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili.
“We heard a plane go over and then a big explosion,” said Malkhaz Chachanidze, a 41-year old ceramics artist whose house is located just outside the fence of the factory, which has been running since the Soviet era. “It woke us up, everything shook.” Continued on page 6
“Peaceday” in ARMA Museum
Wisdom is simplicity with the power of love Bali Post
Fear made us further from our soul. This fact was stated by the spiritual teacher from Atlantis Foundation in Germany Peter Voss on ‘Peaceday’ event that was conducted in Arma Museum on Saturday August 9, 2008. The feeling of security can be gained by spiritual power and love. Mr. Voss said that the current human was acquainted in previous life. They also had believed in different religions and being different tribes then they are today. Because of that, there is no need to resist other tribes, nation, or religions. “There is no reason for us to hate each other,” added Mr. Voss. Continued on page 6
BP/iwan darmawan
Students of Peter Voss sing spiritual songs in ARMA Museum, Ubud, in ‘Peaceday’ event.
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International
Monday, August 11, 2008
News WORLD NEWS
Don’t fear religion, Bush tells China Agence France-Presse
BEIJING - US President George W. Bush urged China’s leaders not to be afraid of religious freedom as he attended a church service in Beijing on Sunday and held talks with Chinese leader Hu Jintao.
Homophobia MEXICO CITY With new HIV infections rising at alarming rates among gay and bisexual men in many countries, activists at an international conference warn that homophobia must be stamped out if AIDS is to be controlled.
John Edwards WASHINGTON The ex-mistress of former presidential candidate John Edwards says she will not participate in DNA testing to establish the paternity of her daughter.
US elections WASHINGTON Republican John McCain portrays Barack Obama as focused on his own ambition over military success in Iraq, as the Democrat argues that McCain favors extending a war that is hurting Americans at home. Source: ap
It is a point the US leader has repeated for several days during his trip to the Chinese capital for the opening of the Olympic Games, a visit he has promised would not be used to politicise China’s moment on the world stage. But a beaming Bush emerged from the Kuanjie Protestant church with his arms around fellow smiling worshippers and told the throng of waiting reporters and on-lookers that religion was nothing for China to be afraid of. “Laura and I just had the great joy and privilege of worshipping here in Beijing,” Bush said. “You know, it just goes to show that God is universal and God is love, and no state, man or woman should fear the influence of loving religion.” Bush later alluded to a moment “full of spirituality” in the church when he appeared very briefly before the media with Hu before the two leaders retired for lunch and more private talks. The US president has often credited faith for helping him overcome his struggle with alcohol, and US leaders have often raised the issue of religion when talking about what they have seen as flaws in the Chinese system. China’s officially atheist communist rulers strictly suppressed religion for
three decades after coming to power in 1949. The following 30 years have seen a flourishing of many forms of religion, but the government continues to maintain tight controls, fearful of the potential challenge to its rule from any kind of large organisation. Believers are meant to attend only state-sanctioned churches, such as Kuanjie. Bush raised the religion issue for the first time during this trip one day before arriving for Friday’s opening of the Games, using a major speech in Thailand to take China to task over its record on human rights. “America stands in firm opposition to China’s detention of political dissidents and human rights advocates and religious activists,” he said. “We press for openness and justice, not to impose our beliefs but to allow the Chinese people to express theirs.” In his weekly US radio address on Saturday, he said: “This trip has reaffirmed my belief that men and women who aspire to speak their conscience and worship their God are no threat to the future of China.” The president has been treading a delicate diplomatic line over the past month as he navigated between calls
AFP PHOTO/GABRIEL BOUYS
US President George W. Bush gestures as he attends the women’s preliminary basketball match USA vs. Czech Republic at the Olympic basketball gymnasium during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on August 9, 2008. from rights groups for a tough stance Amnesty International criticised the US on China and Beijing’s insistence the leader for choosing to worship at a stateGames should not be about politics. controlled establishment rather than one The White House has already pro- of the underground churches which are tested at China’s treatment of interna- frequently persecuted by the authorities. tional activists who are pressing Beijing Bush attended the spectacular Olymto exert its influence over Sudan to end pic opening ceremony Friday, and apart the conflict in Darfur. from the low key meeting with Hu his By choosing to worship with sev- visit is intended to be mainly a private eral dozen Christians at the austere family affair. Kuanjie church, where he heard a On Sunday Bush cheered on US children’s choir sing “Amazing Grace” swimming superstar Michael Phelps to in English and Chinese, Bush again a first gold medal inside the futuristic walked a fine line around controversy. “Water Cube”. He was due to watch the While he risked upsetting his hosts heavyweight China-US basketball clash with an outward display of religion, later in the day.
Famed Palestinian poet Mahmud Darwish dies Agence France-Presse
WASHINGTON - Mahmud Darwish, widely considered one of the greatest Palestinian poets, died Saturday in a US hospital following open-heart surgery, hospital officials told AFP. “Mr Darwish has died at 1:35 pm (1835 GMT),” Ann Brimberry, a spokeswoman for the Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas, where he was being treated told AFP. The 67-year-old writer was placed on life support two days ago following complications arising from the surgery, a friend told AFP in Jerusalem earlier, asking not to be named. Darwish has published more than two dozen books of poetry and prose rooted in his experience of Palestinian exile and the bitter Middle East
conflict, in a career spanning nearly five decades. Widely considered one of the Arab world’s greatest poets, Darwish has been harshly critical of Israel over the years and was detained several times in the 1960s before going into self-imposed exile in 1970. Over the next 25 years Darwish wandered from place to place, spending time in several Arab capitals and briefly residing in Moscow and Paris. He received numerous literary awards during his career, including the Ibn Sina Prize, the Lenin Peace Prize, the 1969 Lotus prize from the Union of Afro-Asian Writers, France’s Knight of Arts and Belles Lettres medal in 1997, the 2001 Prize for Cultural Freedom from the Lannan Foundation, the Moroccan Wissam of intellectual merit handed to him by King Mohammad VI of Morocco, and the Stalin Peace Prize,
according to the Academy of American Poets. “Darwish is the essential breath of the Palestinian people, the eloquent witness of exile and belonging,” the poet Naomi Shihab Nye once said of him. Born in 1941 in an Arab village in what is now northern Israel, Darwish and his family were expelled during the 1948 war that followed the creation of the Jewish state, though they returned to Israel a few years later. A sequence of poetic prose written about his experience living in Beirut during the Israeli invasion and bombardment of Lebanon in 1982 was translated into English in 1995 under the title “Memory for Forgetfulness.” In 1988 he wrote the official Palestinian declaration of independence and served on the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) until 1993, when he resigned in
protest at the Oslo autonomy accords. He has been living in the West Bank town of Ramallah since 1995. In 2000, a proposal by then Israeli education minister Yossi Sarid to teach Darwish’s works in public schools sparked a political firestorm and led the right-wing opposition to register a no-confidence vote in the government. In July 2007, Darwish decried the Islamist Hamas movement’s bloody takeover of the Gaza Strip a month earlier in his first poetry recital in Israel since quitting the Jewish state in 1970. “We woke up from a coma to see a monocolored flag (of Hamas) do away with the fourcolor flag (of Palestine),” Darwish said before some 2,000 people who attended the reading in the northern port city of Haifa.
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Sport
International
Monday, August 11, 2008
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Marseille’s eight-goal draw at Rennes Agence France - Presse
PARIS - Marseille let slip a 3-1 lead at Rennes to draw 4-4 in a topsy turvy match on the opening day of the 2008/09 French football championship on Saturday night. Eric Gerets’ high-profile club looked set fair for victory with their two-goal lead at the interval, and briefly went ahead 4-3 in injury time, but Rennes’ Bruno Cheyrou found the net in the fourth minute of time added on to level the match. Paris Saint Germain, who won the League Cup last season yet spent the season fighting relegation, lost 1-0 at Monaco to a Frederic Nimano goal 11 minutes from time. Reigning seven-times French champions Lyon host Toulouse in their opening match of the new campaign on Sunday. Superb performances by Hatem Ben Arfa and keeper Steve Mandanda were not enough for Marseille to make a big impact in their opening match in Brittany. The end of the match was simply amazing. Mandanda’s 90th minute own goal to allow Rennes to pull back to 3-3, when the ball rebounded off his back from an El Amin Erbate clearance, had many thinking the match would end like that. Not so and in fact two goals were to come.
In the second minute of injury time, Elliot Grandin put Marseille 43 ahead but amazingly Cheyrou levelled the scores two minutes later. Bakari Kone, Ben Arfa and Mamadou Niang all scored for Marseille after Olivier Thomert had given Rennes an early lead. Thomert scored a second soon after the break. It is arguable whether this match helped Marseille’s preparations for Wednesday’s Champions League third qualifying round, first leg at Norwegians Brann, but it certainly showed their deficiencies in defence. The new-look PSG under Charles Villeneuve was deservedly beaten by a young and spirited Monaco side at the Louis-II stadium. PSG, who host Bordeaux next week, simply did not merit more than defeat. Le Guen himself believed the opposite, thinking his side deserved a point. “I am disappointed because we controlled the match till half time,” Le Guen said. “I think we created more chances than Monaco but then we lowered our physical work. We could have played strong right to the
end and taken a point.” Monaco had a quiet summer in the transfer market but showed great understanding between Jean-Jacques Gosso and Camel Meriem as well as good quality teamwork. Without the injured Serge Gakpe, Djamel Bakar, Yannick Sagbo, and Freddy Adu, who was at the Olympics, Monaco were hampered going forward. Monaco even had the setbacks of losing defender and knee-victim Adriano in the 13th minute and then Leandro Cufre in the 22nd but a PSG lacking bite were not able to make the most of it. It was later announced by Monaco that Adriano and Cufre, who has a thigh injury, would both be out for around six weeks though further tests on Sunday would clarify the length of their absences.
Eto’o Set to Stay at Barca
BARCELONA - Samuel Eto’o looks like staying at Barcelona, according to reports from Catalonia. For most of the summer it appeared almost certain that the Cameroon hitman would join Ronaldinho and Deco as a big-name departure from the Nou Camp following the exit of coach Frank Rijkaard. There were plenty of clubs reportedly interested in fighting it out for his signature including Chelsea, Spurs, and Lyon. But now Spanish daily Mundo Deportivo claims new coach Pep Guardiola has decided to keep Eto’o at Barca. Eto’o has performed well in pre-season and spirit within the squad is good. And Mundo claims that after discussing the matter with key players and the club’s hierarchy, Guardiola has decided not to sell. Meanwhile Celtic hope to take further ad-
vantage of a special deal with Barcelona that should see young midfielder Marc Crosas move to Parkhead for a cut-price fee. Celtic will pay an initial £415,000 for the 20-year-old, who made his first-team debut in 2006, rising to a potential £1.6million depending on appearances. The deal, which is expected to be finalised in the coming days, is the culmination of talks between the clubs which were first initiated four years ago by Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell and then manager Martin O’Neill. The complex transfer gives Barcelona the right to buy back Crosas in two years for £1.65million with the Glasgow club retaining 25% of his worth. If the Catalan club do not take up that option, they would receive 25% of any transfer fee Celtic receive from another club. Crosas, who helped Lyon win the French league and cup double in a loan spell last season, is the first player to move from Barca under the terms. But Lawwell has revealed that Argentina forward Javier Saviola and Portugal winger Ricardo Quaresma earlier refused the opportunity. “We would have taken Quaresma and Saviola but the players decided not to come,” he told the Sunday Herald. “We have always thought that this formula could be successful. So we have looked at Crosas. We are not finally there but that deal is now a structure which will hopefully allow us to add players going forward.”
Samuel Eto’o
AFP PHOTO FRANK PERRY
Marseille’s forward Ben Arfa (L) and midfielder Lorik Cana vie with Renne’s defender Sylvain Marveaux and midfielder Bruno Cheyrou (R) during the French L1 Football match Rennes vs. Marseille on August 9, 2008, in Rennes, western France.
AFP PHOTO/PAUL ELLIS
Manchester City manager Mark Hughes (R) shakes hands with AC Milan manager Carlo Ancelloti before their pre-season friendly football match at The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, north-west England on August 9, 2008.
Ancelotti sees ” improvements” London -
Carlo Ancelotti and Clarence Seedorf are trying to “think positive” after their latest friendly defeat to Manchester City. Milan have struggled with an injury crisis during pre-season and fell 1-0 at Eastlands on Saturday evening. “I saw small improvements, although we are still a long way from good form,” said the Coach following Valeri Bojinov’s winning goal. “I would like to see the team focused more on the season that is coming up rather than to these friendly tests. Clearly Manchester City had a different match fitness to us, as they are close to the start of their domestic campaign.” “Despite our absences, we tried to work around that by putting Massimo Ambrosini in a more advanced role so he could use his strength in the air.” The match also saw Uru-
guayan talent Tabarè Viudez make his Milan debut just days after completing his transfer. “Viudez moved well, did some good things and I think he is a lad we can count on for the future.” Seedorf is getting a lot of playing time this summer, as Kaka, Marco Borriello and Pippo Inzaghi are injured with Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato at the Olympics. “We have to think positive,” insisted the Dutchman. “I saw Nelson Dida in better shape than he was last season. He proved he is physically ready.” Dida was in goal because Ancelotti had announced he would rotate the three ‘keepers during these friendly games against Sevilla, Chelsea and Manchester City. Of the three performances, Abbiati stood head and shoulders above the pack and is expected to be given first choice status for the start of the Serie A season.
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Monday, August 11, 2008
Sport
World champ Spain crush Greece in basketball opener Agence France - Presse
Phelps, wearing the new form-fitting Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit, sparked an American charge which saw them win five medals in the pool for a Games total of eight including two gold. Wins in shooting and archery kept China on top of the table with four golds and a silver as the weather broke in Beijing and heavy rain disrupted tennis and archery while making for treacherous conditions in the women’s cycling road race. On the second full day of competition, Phelps was leading a galaxy of stars on show including basketball’s Yao Ming and LeBron James, as well as tennis players Roger Federer and Jelena
Jankovic. At the pool, where the first four finals produced two world records, 23-year-old Phelps took centre stage as he opened his bid to break Mark Spitz’s 36-year record of seven golds at one Games by winning the men’s 400m individual medley. With US President George W. Bush applauding in the stands, Phelps carved 1.41 seconds off his world record 4:05.25 set last June, but admitted afterwards he didn’t have high expectations before the race. “I was in the ready room. I didn’t feel so good, I got these cold chills,” he said. “Afterwards, I looked up and saw President Bush
giving me the thumbs up and holding up the American flag. That was pretty cool.” But the Olympics, with its theme of “One World, One Dream”, continued to be dogged by political reality. A series of bomb blasts, followed by gunfire, rocked a town in China’s mainly Muslim northwestern region of Xinjiang, state media reported, adding eight people were killed with four injured. The bloody turmoil unfolding in the troubled, breakaway region of South Ossetia, meanwhile, came perilously close to sparking a walkout from the Games by Georgia’s 35-strong squad in protest at Russia’s role in the fighting.
BEIJING - Spanish coach Aito Garcia is already worried about the reigning world basketball champions getting ahead of themselves after an emotional opening victory over Greece on Sunday in the Olympic tournament. Rudy Fernandez scored 16 points and fellow National Basketball Association standout Jose Calderon added 13 to power Spain past Greece 81-66 in a rematch of the 2006 World Championship final. “It was a great game, a very important game for us,” Fernandez said. “It was our defense and the running game. Those were the keys to the win.” The Spaniards, featuring several National Basketball Association players, joined Germany atop the Group B preliminary round table and will be joined by the winner of a later game between the US group of NBA stars and host China. “I hope we’re playing better every game. I hope we improve in everything,” said Garcia, who took the job after Pepu Hernandez was fired as coach in June. “Sometimes when we win the first game, we dream we’re going to the quarter-finals. Sometimes we think too much of the future. For us the next step is the next game against China.” Spain’s Pau Gasol added 11 points and seven rebounds. The star center for the NBA runnerup Los Angeles Lakers played only about half the game. “It feels great to start with a win,” Gasol said. “We know if we all make shots we will do well. We didn’t look at the scoreboard. We just played our game.” Vasileios Spanoulis led Greece with 15 points while Dimitiros Diamantdis added 14 points. Greek coach Panagiotis Giannakis was unhappy about 11-of-24 free throw shooting and 15 turnovers. “From the first minute, we looked nervous. We missed a lot of free throws and we made some easy mistakes. That make it easy for Spain to control the game,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who is the op-
Agence France - Presse
allist from Sydney with sister Venus but who was making her debut in Olympic singles after missing Athens with a knee injury, led the 47th-ranked Govortsova 6-3, 2-1, when heavy rain forced the interruption. Williams raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first set, but the Belarussian made the American former world number one
work hard for her points. Although Williams broke again to take an ominous 5-1 lead, Govortsova rebounded to break and then hold serve on her own game. The Belarussian had breakpoint in the next game but Williams held her nerve to win a cracking rally for deuce before play was interrupted for 30 minutes by rain.
Williams survived a second breakpoint to win the first set 6-3 when play resumed, and broke Govortsova in the first game of the second set. The set stood at 2-1 in Williams’ favour when heavy rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning, saw the players scurry off court. In earlier first round matches, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki beat
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
United States’ Michael Phelps laughs as he listens to the national anthem after winning the gold in the men’s 400-meter individual medley final during the swimming competitions in the National Aquatics Center at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008.
Phelps’ golden record start sets Games alight Agence France - Presse
BEIJING - Swimming superstar Michael Phelps launched his quest for Olympic Games immortality on Sunday by smashing his own world record in winning the first of a potential eight gold medals.
ponent. What matters is making free throws and don’t give the ball to the opponents. We’re going to try the next game not to give that present.” Chris Kaman, a 7-foot center for the Los Angeles Clippers, scored 24 points and Dallas Mavericks star playmaker Dirk Nowitzki added 23 to spark Germany past Angola 9566 in the Group B opener. “We moved the ball well and defended well together,” Nowitzki said. “Hopefully we can build on this because we have a tough game next against Greece.” Former American J.R. Holden scored a game-high 19 points to lead Russia past Iran 71-49 in the Group A opener. “It was a good start. We had a little pressure on us but overall it went pretty well,” said Holden, who dismissed criticism of his switching homelands. “I don’t worry about it because I don’t read it.”
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Spain’s Rudy Fernandez, right, tries to score around Greece defender Ioannis Bourousis during the first quarter of their men’s preliminary basketball game at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008.
Serena’s Olympic advance kept on hold by rain
BEIJING - Number four seed Serena Williams was kept waiting for victory in her first round Olympic Games match against tournament debutant Olga Govortsova of Belarus on Sunday. The eight-time Grand Slam champion, a doubles gold med-
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International
International
Selima Sfar of Tunisia 6-4, 6-1, and Australian Samantha Stosur overcame Sara Errani of Italy 6-3, 6-2. Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova went through to the second round with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Poland’s Marta Domachowska. Joining her will be Italy’s Francesca Schiavone, a 6-4, 6-2 winner over Uzbek Akgul Amanmuradova.
Monday, August 11, 2008
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Mbeki arrives in Zimbabwe amid signs of deal in crisis talks Agence France-Presse
HARARE - South African President Thabo Mbeki arrived in Harare on Saturday to meet Zimbabwe’s political rivals amid signs that a power-sharing deal to end the country’s crisis could be near. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, as well as the country’s highly influential security chiefs and government ministers, greeted Mbeki at the airport as the South African leader began his one-day visit. Mugabe and security officials then accompanied Mbeki to the Sheraton Hotel in central Harare, leaving shortly afterward while Mbeki remained. Government sources said the two presidents would meet on Sunday. Mbeki, the mediator for the negotiations, is to hold talks with Mugabe, opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai and the leader of a smaller MDC faction, Arthur Mutambara, during his visit. Negotiators from all sides pushed ahead with talks late Saturday and it was likely they would continue into the night, said Mutambara spokesman
Edwin Mushoriwa. Mbeki’s trip follows more than two weeks of discussions between representatives of the rival parties in South Africa, and with both Mugabe and Mbeki’s government reporting progress in the talks. Mugabe spokesman George Charamba said in Zimbabwean state media on Saturday that the talks had reached a “milestone.” “This is an important milestone that has been registered in the interparty dialogue,” Charamba said in the Herald. “He is going to meet the three principals basically to update them on the progress made so far and to consult on how to take the dialogue forward.” It was unclear whether the meetings with the rivals would be held separately or in one session.
A source close to the negotiations told AFP earlier Saturday: “We are not yet sure how the meetings will go. “There are things which were referred to the principals and need to be sorted out before President Mbeki comes. At the moment there is no clear position.” Power-sharing talks began after the political rivals signed a deal on July 21 laying the framework for negotiations following Mugabe’s re-election in a one-candidate poll in June widely condemned as a farce. Tsvangirai boycotted the June 27 presidential run-off despite finishing ahead of Mugabe in the March first round, citing rising violence against his supporters that had killed dozens and injured thousands. In a sign the two sides were moving closer to an agreement, the parties issued a joint statement earlier this week calling on their supporters to halt political violence. The main sticking points in the talks are believed to involve what roles Mugabe and Tsvangirai would
AFP PHOTO/Desmond Kwande
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe (L) stands beside South African President Thabo Mbeki (C) on August 9, 2008 on Mbeki’s arrival at Harare international airport in Harare. play in a power-sharing government. Tsvangirai believes his firstround total gives him the right to the lion’s share of power, but sources in his party said previously that Mugabe’s negotiators had only
offered him one of several vicepresidential posts. The ruling ZANU-PF party has insisted the 84-year-old Mugabe must be recognised as president as part of any deal, since he won the June 27 vote.
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Monday, August 11 , 2008
News
International
Life Style
International
Morales, an indigenous leader with combative style
This photo taken in 2006 and released on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008, by U.S. scientist S. Blair Hedges, an evolutionary biologist at Penn State University, the globe’s tiniest snake is shown curled up on a U.S. quarter. Hedges said Sunday he has discovered the globe’s tiniest species of snake in the easternmost Caribbean island of Barbados, with full-grown adults typically less than four inches (10 centimeters) long. He named the diminutive snake ‘Leptotyphlops carlae’ after his herpetologist wife, Carla Ann Hass.
Agence France-Presse
LA PAZ - As a coca farmer who rose to become Bolivia’s first indigenous president, Evo Morales has overcome big obstacles thanks to his indomitable character and his combative nature. Those traits are in evidence in the referendum he called for Sunday in a bid to reassert his authority over rebellious governors trying to dilute his socialist reforms. In many ways, Morales, 48, is a reflection of his closest ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Both are capable of stirring rhetoric, both give all to their jobs and leave no time for personal lives — and both are righteous to the point of dogmatism in their determination to impose nationalistic changes inspired by Simon Bolivar, a 19th century Venezuelan who helped several Spanish colonies in South America win independence. Born of humble beginnings to an Aymara Indian family in the Andes in 1956, Morales revels in his common touch. In international meetings, he is easily distinguished in his striped sweater or tie-less jacket and shirt among the costly suits. When he was a child, four of his siblings died before age two. He was forced by drought to move to a coca-producing area at the start of the 1980s, where he played trumpet in a band and football, both of which allowed him to travel around the country. He soon became a leader of coca farmers and led a number of protests that served to heighten his profile and his politicization. He argued vociferously against the US-led campaign declaring coca cultivation to be a narco-trafficking activity because of the leaf’s use in producing cocaine. Many of Bolivia’s Indians chew the leaf or use it in a brew, believing it has medicinal properties. In 2002, Morales ran for the presidency but narrowly lost. The winner, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, lasted only a year in power though before he handed over power to his vice-president, party because of pressure from pressure by Morales’s union movement. In 2005, Morales ran again, and won with nearly 54 percent of the ballots. He quickly established his “anti-imperialist” (read: antiUS) credentials and his affinity with Chavez and Cuba’s Fidel Castro. That tie with Chavez, and his refusal to enter into dialog, especially with right-leaning governors, hardened opposition against him. His main base of support is Bolivia’s indigenous population, which makes up 60 percent of the country’s 10 million AP Photo/STR inhabitants. President Evo Morales.
YANGON - Myanmar’s detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been allowed a rare meeting with her lawyer to discuss her ongoing house arrest, a spokesman for her party said Sunday. “Last Friday (August 8), The Lady met with her lawyer U Kyi Win from 1pm to 3pm regarding her detention,” said Nyan Win, National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesman, referring to Aung San Suu Kyi. “This is the first such meeting since 2004,” he added. The surprise meeting at her lakeside Yangon home came a day after the new UN human rights envoy for Myanmar Tomas Ojea Quintana left the country after his first visit. Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for most of the last 19 years.
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Representative of the Arab League Ahmed Benhelli (R) speaks with deputies who are in favour of the recent Mauritanian coup d’etat at a hotel in Nouakchott on August 9, 2008 prior to meeting with the former head of Mauritania’s presidential guard and the junta leader General Mohamed Ould Abdel.The African Union suspended Mauritania from the bloc following this week’s coup and the United States suspended non-humanitarian aid to the country.
African Union suspends Mauritania following coup
“The AU will suspend Mauritania’s membership until the country returns to constitutional government,” said Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe, whose country holds the panAfrican bloc’s rotating presidency, in a statement. On Wednesday the former head of Mauritania’s presidential guard, General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, led a coup against President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi after he tried to make changes in the military leadership. The coup has been widely condemned by the international community even though the new military junta has promised to quickly hold “fair and transparent” elections. The United States suspended nonhumanitarian aid to Mauritania following the coup and on Saturday Arab League emissary Ahmed Ben Hilli travelled to Nouakchott where he met with Aziz to “get assurances about the demoncratic process in the country”.
Aziz told the Arab League representative he would keep constitutional institutions in place. “He also said he would organise a presidential election within a short period of time,” said Ben Hilli following their meeting. An AU delegation was also expected Saturday evening in Nouakchott. “The coup is a serious setback for Mauritanians because it has robbed the people of their basic right to freely elect leaders of their own choice,” said Membe, who is also the chairman of the AU’s council of ministers. Friday saw hundreds of people turn out for an anti-coup rally on the streets of Nouakchott, capital of the nation of 3.1 million people. On Thursday, the AU condemned the coup and called for a “return to constitutional order and the re-establishment without delay of the institutions that the Mauritanian people have democratically chosen.”
The Arab League emissary meanwhile was informed the ousted president of Mauritania was not in danger. The general “told me he was in good health, well-treated, in good conditions”, said Ben Hilli. In an interview with the Arab language daily Asharq al-Awsat, the coup leader said: “We will not release the overthrown president for the moment, for security reasons. We are trying to re-establish calm and to lower tensions.” Abdallahi became Mauritania’s first democratically elected president last year after a period of transition supervised by a military council that deposed the previous president in a bloodless coup in August 2005.The largely desert country has a history of coups since its independence from France in 1960. Mauritania was shaken between December 2007 and February 2008 by three attacks from extremists linked to Al-Qaeda which left seven people dead including four French tourists. The attacks caused the organisers of the 2008 Dakar rally to cancel the race, which usually crosses the Mauritanian deserts.
Agence France-Presse
The bomb had been planted about 200 metres (650 feet) from a small Afghan army base, he said, accusing Taliban insurgents of laying the device. The extremist Taliban, who were in government between 1996 and 2001, use bombs in near-daily attacks that are targeted mainly at Afghan and international security forces but kill more civilians. The Canadian soldier killed in Zhari became the 154th international troop to die in Afghanistan this year, most of them losing their lives in militant attacks. Other soldiers in the nearly 40nation International Security Assis-
tance Force were wounded in ambushes Saturday in the province of Kapisa, ISAF told AFP without giving details. Two insurgents were killed in return fire, an ISAF press officer told AFP. The Afghan interior ministry said four insurgents were killed while the defence ministry said 10 were dead or wounded. Neither ISAF nor the government could confirm Afghan media reports that civilians also died. A team had gone to the area, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Kabul, to investigate, interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said.
Agence France-Presse
NOUAKCHOTT - The African Union on Saturday suspended Mauritania from the bloc following this week’s coup in the west African nation, while an emissary from the Arab League held talks with the coup’s leader.
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi granted Bomb kills five Afghan labourers meeting with lawyer Agence France-Presse
Monday, August 11 , 2008
KANDAHAR - A roadside bomb apparently intended for Afghan soldiers blew up a vehicle of labourers headed to grape fields in southern Afghanistan Sunday, killing five of the men, police said. The blast was in Zhari, in Kandahar province, the same area as where a Canadian soldier was killed in an attack announced Saturday. “This morning some people were going to the grape fields when the bomb exploded on their vehicle. Five people died and three were wounded,” Zhari district police chief Bismullah Khan told AFP.
AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi AP Photo/Penn State University, S. Blair Hedges
Barbadians slam discovery, naming of tiny snake Associated Press Writer
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - A small snake has sparked a big debate in Barbados. Residents of the wealthy Caribbean nation have been heating up blogs and clogging radio airwaves to vent their anger at a U.S. scientist, who earlier this week announced his “discovery” of the world’s smallest snake and named it “Leptotyphlops carlae,” after his wife Carla. “If he needs to blow his own trumpet ... well, fine,” said 43-yearold Barbadian Charles Atkins. “But my mother, who was a simple housewife, she showed me the snake when I was a child.” One writer to the Barbados Free Press blog took an even tougher tone, questioning how someone could “discover” a snake long known to locals, who called it the thread snake. “How dare this man come in here and name a snake after his wife?” said the writer who identified themselves as Margaret Knight. The man she refers to is Penn State University evolutionary biologist S. Blair Hedges, whose research teams also have discovered the world’s tiniest lizard in the Dominican Republic and the smallest frog in Cuba. Hedges recently became the first to describe the snake — which is so small it can curl up on a U.S. quarter — when he published his observations and genetic test results in the journal “Zootaxa.” Full-grown adults typically are less than 4 inches long. Hedges told The Associated Press on Friday that he understands Barbadians’ angry reactions, but under established scientific practice, the first person to do a full description of a species is said to have discovered it and gives it a scientific name. He said most newly “discovered” species are already well known to locals, and the term refers to the work done in a laboratory to establish a genetic profile. In the study, he reported that two specimens he analyzed were found in 1889 and 1963.
“There are no false claims here, believe me,” Hedges said. Damon Corrie, president of the Caribbean Herpetological Society, acknowledged that Hedges is the first to scientifically examine and describe the snake, but the so-called discovery makes locals seem ignorant.
“It gives the impression that people here ... depend on people from abroad to come and show us things in our own backyard,” Corrie said. Karl Watson, a historian and ornithologist at the University of the West Indies in Barbados, said it’s common for people to get excited over very tiny or very large animals. “Probably people have overreacted. ... It’s nationalism going a bit awry,” Watson said. Hedges agreed: “I think they’re carrying it a bit too far.” “Snakes are really apolitical,” he said.
Nissan Motors staff shows their hybrid car’s engine at their laboratory in Yokosuka, near Tokyo, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008. Nissan offered test-drives of its hybrid. Hybrids deliver better mileage than comparable gasengine vehicles by switching between an engine and an electric motor.
AFP PHOTO FILES / Yoshikazu TSUNO
A picture taken on April 26, 2002 shows Piero Ferrari, Italian sportscar maker Ferrari vice chairman and son of Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari, displaying a Ferrari FX, next generation top model designed by Pininfarina for the world premiere at the Tokyo Contemporary Art Museum. Andrea Pininfarina died in a car crash, the Ansa news agency announced on August 7, 2008.
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Monday, August 11 , 2008
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International
US comedian, ‘Ocean’s 11' star Bernie Mac dead at 50
American stabbed to death in Beijing as Olympics get underway
The star of the critically acclaimed “The Bernie Mac Show” succumbed several days after being hospitalized for pneumonia which arose from a longstanding lung ailment, sarcoidosis, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Danica Smith told People magazine. “¡He¿ passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital,” Smith said. “No other details are available at this time.” Born in Chicago on October 5, 1957, Bernard Jeffrey McCullough got his start in the city’s African-American comedy clubs, and broke into the big time after winning a national comedy contest in 1989. His reputation grew after he made it to the HBO hit show “Def Comedy Jam,” pitching his wry, pointed style at audiences of all colors. “If you let people put tags on you, you’ll never be able to remove them,” he told the Chicago Tribune last year. In the semi-autobiographical “The Bernie Mac Show,” a hit for Fox television from 2001 to 2006, he plays a man charged with taking care of his sister’s three children after she is sent for rehabilitation. In 2001 he featured next to Brad Pitt and George Clooney as a casino card dealer in “Ocean’s Eleven” and returned in the subsequent two sequels. He also featured in the 2003 film
Todd Bachman, his wife Barbara, their daughter Elisabeth and a Chinese guide were attacked as they visited the Drum Tower monument, a popular tourist site in the centre of the city, according to the US Olympic Committee (USOC). The assailant, a 47-year-old man from eastern China, then jumped to his death off the second storey of the monument, police said in a statement, without giving details as to why he carried out the attack. “The United States Olympic Committee is saddened to confirm the death of Todd Bachman, father-in-law of United States Olympic Men’s Indoor Volleyball Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon,” the USOC said on their website. “Mr. Bachman and his wife Barbara were visiting the Drum Tower in Beijing, China, when they were attacked shortly after noon by an assailant wielding a knife. “Their daughter Elisabeth was with them at the time of the attack. “Mr. Bachman died as a result of injuries sustained in the attack. Mrs. Bachman suffered serious injuries and was transported to a local hospital for emergency treatment. Her injuries are serious and life-threatening.” Their daughter was not hurt, although police said the Chinese guide was. The USOC added that the Bachmans were not wearing apparel that identified them as relatives of members of the US Olympic team and cited police as saying the killer acted alone. Lang Ping, the coach of the US women’s volleyball team, said the players were stunned when they heard of the death just before their opening win over Japan. “We were shocked,” said the coach. “Most of the players called their parents. I
BEIJING - A Chinese man stabbed to death the father-in-law of US Olympic volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon in Beijing on Saturday in an attack that left his wife seriously injured, raising new fears about security at the Games.
AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, file
Luke Wilson’s Golf Line Hits The Market Actor Luke Wilson has designed a street sneaker/golf shoe hybrid for sportswear firm Puma. The Old School star, an avid golfer, teamed up with Swedish sports star Johan Edfors to create a line of Puma golf products - and he expects the new multi-purpose shoes to be the range’s big seller. Wilson jokes he came up with the idea while preparing for a lazy summer in Hollywood. He says, “In between the strikes that keep happening in Hollywood, I have quite a bit of extra time on my hands, so, in between fixing up old Victorian houses and designing clothes and creating my own line of hair conditioner.” Wilson plugged his new shoe on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday night by giving the late-night program’s host the golf sneakers he
AP Photo/Shea Walsh, file
Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves attend the Muxo Private Launch Party in Los Angeles.
McConaughey to plant son’s placenta in orchard
Bernie Mac accepts his award for Actor in a Comedy Series at the NAACP Image Awards in Universal City, Calif. The award-winning actor-comedian has died at age 50 from complications of pneumonia, his publicist said Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008.
was wearing as a gift. The actor left the show in his socks. Wilson told Kimmel he still has no idea why he was approached to create a golf fashion line - because he’s famously unstylish. He added, “I have friends that make fun of me (because) I tend to dress in the same colors, so I wind up looking a bit like the UPS (delivery) guy or just your local postman.” Although he made his film debut in the acclaimed independent film Bottle Rocket, actor Luke Wilson initially got more recognition for his real-life role as Drew Barrymore’s boyfriend than for his acting. Fortunately for Wilson, his onscreen talents outlasted his relationship with Barrymore, and he has enjoyed steady employment and increasing visibility through substantial roles in a number of films.
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Agence France-Presse
US comedian Bernie Mac, who played an ex-felon blackjack dealer in the “Ocean’s Eleven” series and had his own sitcom on television, has died at 50, his publicist said Saturday. “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” and was a car salesman in last year’s hit “Transformers.” He also had a major part in “Old Dogs,” the Robin Williams-John Travolta comedy scheduled for release in 2009. The Chicago Tribune said he is survived by his wife Rhonda McCullough and a daughter, Je’Niece.
Monday, August 11 , 2008
Matthew McConaughey says the birth of his son will help bring a little joy to others in the world someday. The actor kept the placenta from the July birth of his son and plans to plant it in an orchard, he tells CNN’s “House Call with Dr. Sanjay Gupta” in interview scheduled to air in two parts Aug. 9 and Aug 16. McConaughey says he hopes it will fertilize the land, a ritual long followed in several cultures. “It’s going to be in the orchards and it’s going to bear some wonderful fruit,” he says, according to an interview transcript. “When I was in Australia, they had a placenta tree that was on the river ... and all the placentas of all that tribe, all that clan, whatever aboriginal tribe that was,
all the placentas went under that one tree and it was this huge behemoth of just health and strength.” “This tree was just growing taller and stronger above the rest of Mother Nature around it. It was gorgeous.” McConaughey also says he and his girlfriend Camila Alves have enjoyed integrating their new baby, Levi Alves McConaughey, into their lives. Already they’ve started introducing him to the “sights and the sounds” of the world — including a John Mellencamp concert. “You’re never told in our house, ‘Shh, Levi is sleeping.’ No. Get used to the ambiance. Come with us. That’s how I was raised,” he says.
Nikki Blonsky’s Dad Denied Bail Hairspray star Nikki Blonsky’s father will remain in jail for a minimum of 11 days after he was denied bail on felony charges of grievous bodily harm after an altercation at an airport last week. Carl Blonsky was arrested with his daughter following a fight with reality TV star Bianca Golden on July 29th and both were taken into custody by Turks and Caicos Islands police. A judge at the Providenciales Magistrates’ Court ruled on Friday that Blonsky Sr. must wait until August 19th before he can post bail. According to Prosecutor Samantha Glinton, Golden’s mother Elaine had to be airlifted to a Florida hospital, where she stayed for five days before being released to a neurologist as a result of Blonsky’s alleged attack. Glinton added: “While her (Elaine Golden’s) condition has improved, she still has some problems. She is in the healing stage. She has a right cerebral traumatic lesion, according to the report. She has a slurred left side, left side weakness, insomnia, and memory impairment.” Blonsky’s lawyer, Oliver Smith, contended prosecutors are “trying to set up a potential lawsuit” by exaggerating Golden’s injuries, telling the court: “My client ...is not a wealthy man. He works in a sewage plant. No prior convictions.” The altercation between Blonsky and Golden is alleged to have started in the departure lounge at the Providenciales International Airport after the actress attempted to save seats for her family, and Golden had nowhere to sit. Nikki Blonsky and former America’s Next Top Model contestant Golden remain free on bail.
AP Photo/Mark Ralston, Pool
President Hu Jintao.
AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTON
A Chinese security guard locks the gate at the historic Drum Tower where a US citizen was murdered in Beijing on August 9, 2008. A Chinese man stabbed two US relatives of a US Olympic volleyball coach in Beijing, killing one of them, the US Olympic Committee said on its website. Local police had earlier said one US tourist was killed and another injured when a Chinese man attacked them at the historic Drum Tower monument in central Beijing.
told them to be strong.” The attack occurred despite China deploying massive security in Beijing for the Olympics, with more than 150,000 police and other personnel on patrol across the city. An estimated 450,000 foreigners are expected to come to Beijing for the Olympics, which opened on Friday night and will finish on August 24. The killing also happened as US President George W. Bush was in the city to attend the Games and he expressed his condolences. “The President has been informed and his heart goes out to the families of the victims,” a White House official travelling with Bush said. “The White House and US embassy have offered whatever assistance the family needs. US officials have also been in touch with Chinese authorities on the matter.”
Acts of violence against foreigners in Beijing and throughout China are extremely rare, with expatriates happy to wander around the streets of the capital late at night. However, foreigners have been victims of some high-profile attacks this year. Last month, a Chinese man murdered a 22-year-old model in Shanghai and a Japanese embassy employee was slightly wounded in a knife attack in Beijing. Chinese authorities have been clearly on edge over security in the lead-up to the Olympics, warning of a wide range of threats to people coming to Beijing for the event. China has expressed most concern about Islamic terrorists trying to wreck the Games, and Chinese authorities said militants attacked and killed 16 policemen in the Muslim-populated far northwest of the country last week.
Thousands rally to mark ‘death’ of Australian river
Agence France-Presse
SYDNEY - Thousands of people rallied in southern Australia Sunday to protest the dwindling water levels in one of the country’s greatest rivers, claiming the loss was causing an environmental disaster. The 5,000-strong crowd gathered near the mouth of the 2,530 kilometre (1,569 mile) Murray to hold two minute’s silence to mark the ‘death’ of the river, which forms part of Australia’s most important agricultural region. Kym McHugh, mayor of the local Alexandrina Council, said the ceremony near the South Australian town of Goolwa
was to “underscore this eleventh hour bid to save the nation’s greatest river.” “It sent a very clear message by saying we’ve had a lot of talk about the river system, a lot of science, we all know what the problem is — we just want politicians to have the will to fix it up,” he told national news agency AAP. “They need to secure water upstream and send it down.” Water levels are so low in the Murray River, due to drought and irrigation, that the freshwater lakes the river feeds into are turning to acid. The federal government last week said there was not enough water in the sys-
tem to save the freshwater lakes, leading to suggestions that ocean water could be used to prevent the lakes from drying out. But the council wants the government to release water held in storage in upstream states into the river so it can flow down and prevent an environmental, economic and social disaster in the region. “We need to give these lakes another chance,” McHugh said. The Murray, along with the 2,740kilometre Darling River and 1,690kilometre Murrumbidgee River, form the Murray Darling Basin, which accounts for some 40 percent of the nation’s agricultural production.
Hu expresses sympathy over Olympic murder Agence France-Presse
BEIJING - Chinese President Hu Jintao on Sunday expressed sympathy over the murder of a US Olympic coach’s relative in Beijing, as he discussed the issue with George W. Bush, state media reported. “I would like to express my heartfelt sympathy to you and the family of the victims over this unfortunate incident,” Xinhua news agency quoted Hu as telling the US president, who is in Beijing for the Games. A Chinese man stabbed to death the father-in-law of the US men’s volleyball team on Saturday at a tourist spot in Beijing. The coach’s mother-in-law was also injured in the attack and was in a critical condition on Sunday.
Thai gang kidnaps five children, kills one Agence France-Presse
BANGKOK - A gang headed by a policeman kidnapped five children in eastern Thailand as they were being driven to school, killing one girl so she would not identify them, a top police official said Sunday. Four kidnappers abducted a six-year-old boy and four girls aged three, six, 14 and 16, in Chachoengsao province on Friday morning, said deputy national police chief Jongruk Jutanond. The 39-year-old man driving the youth was also kidnapped, and the abductors demanded a three-million-baht (90,000-dollar) ransom from the man’s family. The driver was related to all of the kidnapped children. The driver’s 14-year-old niece was found dead Saturday in Chonburi province near Bangkok, while his 16-yearold daughter survived with injuries and told police who were her father’s captors. “The policeman involved in the kidnapping was close to this family. They tried to kill them (the girls) to prevent them from telling the truth,” he said. The kidnappers released the three smaller children on Saturday, and police arrested two people later that day, including a police corporal, who Jongruk said had gambling debts. “They confessed that they had kidnapped people for ransom,” he said. The driver and two of the suspected abductors remain missing.
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Monday, August 11, 2008
News
Monday, August 11, 2008
125 dead, missing after storms hit northern Vietnam Agence France-Presse
AP Photo/Xinhua, Shen Qiao
In this photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, police officers clean the bombing site in the compound of the public security station in Kuqa County, northwest China’s Xinjiang Ugyur Autonumous Region, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008.
Police attacked in China’s Muslim northwest Agence France-Presse
BEIJING - Security forces killed five attackers who bombed a police station in China’s mainly Muslim far northwest on Sunday, state media said, in the latest violence there to coincide with the Olympics. Explosions shook the remote city of Kuqa while it was still dark on Sunday morning, with the assailants targetting the police station and a government office, Xinhua news agency reported. Two policemen and a security guard were injured in the bombings, while security personnel killed five attackers, according to Xinhua, which was the only official source in tightly controlled China for details of the incident. The violence was the latest to rock the region of Xinjiang, a vast area in China’s northwest that borders central Asia, where Islamic separatists have vowed to stage attacks in an effort to wreck the Beijing Olympics. In one of the deadliest attacks in China in years, two alleged Muslim militants using explosives and knifes to attack policemen out jogging in the Xinjiang town of Kashgar on August 4, leaving 16 dead and 16 wounded. China blamed that attack, which occurred four days before the start of the Games, on Islamic militant Uighur separatists.
Xinjiang has about 8.3 million ethnic Muslim Uighurs, many of whom express anger at what they say has been decades of repressive Communist Chinese rule. Two short-lived East Turkestan republics emerged in Xinjiang in the 1930s and 1940s, when Chinese central government control was weakened by civil war and Japanese invasion. China has repeatedly accused Uighur militants of the banned East Turkestan Islamic Movement of plotting attacks on the Olympics and has implemented sweeping security in Xinjiang and in Beijing in the lead-up the Games. The army and police quickly imposed heavy security in Kuqa, which has a population of about 400,000, following Sunday’s violence, according to Xinhua and a local resident. “Don’t come today, the town centre is closed,” a receptionist at the Kuqa Hotel told AFP by phone. Kuqa is about 740 kilometres (460 miles) from Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang, and over 3,000
kilometres (1800 miles) from Beijing. Uighur separatists in Xinjiang have released two video statements threatening to attack the Olympics. But Olympic organisers sought to reassure the hundreds of thousands of foreigners in China to attend the Games that Sunday’s attack should be of no concern for them. “I do not believe this will have an impact on the Olympic Games... I do not think it is related to the Olympics,” Wang Wei, vice president of the organising committee for the Games, told reporters in Beijing. He emphasised that security had already been stepped up in Xinjiang. Chinese authorities on Friday announced they had stepped up controls on religious figures and potential “trouble-makers” in Kashgar to guard against future incidents. Critics say China’s communist rulers have exaggerated the security threat in Xinjiang and elsewhere to justify the repression of unhappy minorities such as the Uighurs.
Peaceday...
attention of the children and their education. The young generation will struggle for the peace of their country and the world. In the event, tenths of Voss’s students who came from all over the world sang spiritual songs about world peace accompanied by guitar, percussion, and violin. According to Voss, simple word can make us realize that we can gain something. Together we are strong and quietly we can overcome the limitation in life. Meanwhile, Anak Agung Rai, the
founder of Arma Museum said that his museum had become the bridge of the cultural relathionship between the east and the west. “even tough Bali is a small island but it is one of the main attraction in the world. Because of that, if there someone from the west wanted to find the eastern part of the world then we would like to facilitate them,” added Mr. Rai The event was attended by the newly elected Bali’s Governor Made Mangku Pastika and other Balinese priests.
From page 1 However, often happen that the human born today was filled with holes and patches which made us hate other and always made us want to fight. Mr. Voss explained, “It needed understanding of spiritual things so our clothes will become clean.” Furthermore, if a country want to be peaceful then the country must pay
HANOI - At least 125 people were dead or missing in mountainous northern Vietnam on Sunday after heavy rains brought by tropical storm Kammuri triggered widespread flash floods and landslides. Thousands of troops, police and emergency services were rushed to flooded towns in the poor and heavily deforested region to deliver drinking water, food and medicines to people stranded on the roofs of their houses. By early Sunday, two days after the rains first hit the area, 86 people were confirmed dead and 39 listed as missing, according to reports compiled by AFP from central and provincial emergency relief agencies. One train engine was overturned by floods, but no one was injured, on the railway line between the capital Hanoi and Lao Cai near the Chinese border, while the parallel highway was cut by landslides in several places. About 300 homes were destroyed and 3,500 damaged by the floods, which had also wiped out about 5,000
BUSINESS
hectares (12,000 acres) of crops, authorities said. “We have mobilised all forces, including the military and police, to overcome the effects of the floods,” Bui Quang Vinh, Communist Party chief of the worst-hit Lao Cai province, told state broadcaster VTV by telephone. “We are trying to get to the flood victims, bury the dead and provide medical treatment to the injured,” he said, adding that the family of each person killed would receive three million dong (175 dollars). At least 36 people were killed and 31 remained missing in Lao Cai, but officials said the toll could rise as some areas, including Bat Xat district, remained isolated due to blocked roads. “Many portions of road have been destroyed,” said Vinh. “Telecommunications cables have been cut. In some areas it takes half a day to walk from the local commune headquarters to the places were victims are stranded.” At least 29 people were killed and four were missing in Yen Bai province, five were dead in Phu Tho, and one was missing in Bac Kan.
New economic challenges for China hamper currency’s rise Agence France-Presse
SHANGHAI - At a time when the world’s top athletes strive to set records at the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese currency has unexpectedly put on hold its steady move towards new highs. Over the past nine trading days, the Yuan has declined against the US dollar six times, throwing into doubt the conventional wisdom that its strengthening was the inevitable result of China’s rise as an economic world power. “The current noticeable weakening in the Yuan has never happened before,” said Liu Dongliang, a Shenzhenbased foreign exchange analyst with China Merchants Bank. The markets appear to be betting that this is more than a short-term phenomenon. Non-deliverable forwards, which reflect expectations for future movements in the exchange rate, show a decidedly less bullish mood on the Chinese currency. While in March, non-deliverable forwards still implied a forecast of an 11.5 percent strengthening of the Yuan against the dollar; it has now fallen to a modest 3.4 percent, according to
Georgia... From page 1 Russian jets have been roaming Georgia’s skies since Friday. They raided several air bases and bombed the Black Sea port city of Poti, which has a sizable oil shipment facility. The Russian warplanes also struck near the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline which carries Caspian crude to the West, but no supply interruptions have been reported. U.S. President George W. Bush called for an end to the Russian bombings and an immediate halt to the violence. “The attacks are occurring in regions of Georgia far from the zone of conflict in South Ossetia. They mark a dangerous escalationin the crisis,” Bush said in a statement to reporters while attending the Olympic Games in Beijing. Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili called it an “unprovoked brutal Russian invasion.” A Russian raid on Gori near South Ossetia Saturday which apparently targeted a military base on the town’s outskirts left numerous civilian casualties. An Associated Press reporter who visited the town shortly after the strike saw several apartment buildings in ruins, some still on fire, and scores of dead bodies and bloodied civilians. The elderly, women and children were among the victims. Russian officials said they weren’t targeting civilians, but Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Georgia brought the airstrikes upon itself by bombing civilians and Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia. He warned that the small Caucasus country should expect more attacks. “Whatever side is used to bomb civilians and the positions of peace-
keepers, this side is not safe and they should know this,” Lavrov said. Saakashvili on Saturday proposed a cease-fire, but Russia said it wants Georgia to first pull its troops from South Ossetia and sign a pledge not to use force against the breakaway province. The diplomatic standoff continued Saturday in the U.N. Security Council, which met for the third time since late Thursday night to try to help resolve the situation. Another meeting requested by Georgia was scheduled for Sunday afternoon. Georgia, a U.S. ally whose troops have been trained by American soldiers, launched the major offensive to regain control over South Ossetia overnight Friday. Heavy rocket and artillery fire and air strikes pounded the provincial capital, Tskhinvali. Lavrov told reporters Saturday that some 1,500 people had been killed in South Ossetia since Friday, with the death toll rising. The figures could not be independently confirmed. But Tskhinvali residents who survived the bombardment by hiding in basements and later fled the city estimated that hundreds of civilians had died. They said bodies were lying everywhere. Utiashvili, the Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman, said the Georgian troops were still in control of Tskhinvali on Sunday morning but added that Russian troops were attacking the city from several directions. A Russian general said Saturday that his troops had driven the Georgian troops out of the city, but another Russian officer, Maj. Gen. Marat Kulakhmetov, admitted in televised remarks Sunday that the fighting in the city was continuing.
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AP Photo/Richard Vogel
A gas station attendant lowers gas prices at a filling station in Los Angeles on Saturday, Aug. 9,2008. The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline has dropped in Los Angeles County for 32 consecutive days, falling 48.9 cents since hitting a record high, the Oil Price Information Service reported today.
Oil sinks on stronger dollar, slips below $116 Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK - Oil prices resumed their descent Friday, dropping briefly below $116 a barrel as a huge jump in the U.S. dollar and expectations of slowing global demand offset supply concerns over a sabotaged pipeline in Turkey. Light, sweet crude for September delivery slumped $3.47 to $116.55 a barrel in afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after dipping as low as $115.61. Prices for gasoline, heating oil and natural gas also dropped. In London, September Brent crude plunged $3.93 to $113.93 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Many analysts have pointed to the $117-a-barrel mark for crude oil as technically significant - a move below this level suggests, they say, that oil’s recent slide is more than a brief pullback. Crude peaked at $147.27 on July 11. With the dollar launching a massive rebound against the euro and yen after the European Central Bank and the Bank of England both left their benchmark interest rates unchanged, energy traders found reason to sell - especially since the ECB indicated that there probably wouldn’t be any more rate hikes to come. Higher interest rates make a country’s currency more attractive to invest in.
Capital Economics, a London-based consultancy. Although the US dollar has generally strengthened on a global scale, this may only be part of the explanation of why the Yuan has weakened. Subtle changes in the economic conditions facing China may be the real reason, according to economists. “We attribute it to the shift in domestic policy — the central bank has adjusted its policy for a slower speed in appreciation,” said China Merchant Bank’s Liu. The central bank statement, issued last month, said it would “use various monetary policy tools to create good conditions for stable, relatively fast growth,” while mentioning in passing that “upward pressure on prices is clear.” This was a change from the firstquarter report in which the central bank had placed its priorities squarely on fighting inflation, and it reflected
changes in macroeconomic dynamics. China’s economy expanded by 10.4 percent in the first half and 10.1 percent in the second quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said earlier this month, down from growth of 11.9 percent recorded for all of 2007. Growth in the consumer price index peaked at 8.7 percent in February — nearly a 12-year high — but softened to a more manageable 7.1 percent in June. This removed some of the rationale for a continued strengthening of the yuan, which had been to ease inflation by lowering the prices of imported goods. At the same time, a slowdown in the rise of the yuan might comfort the export sector, which is suffering from the weakened global economy. In the first half of the year, the trade surplus declined nearly 12 percent from the same period in 2007.
Spain facing worse economic slowdown than expected
Agence France-Presse
MADRID - The Spanish economy, long a motor of growth and job creation in the eurozone, is facing a deeper and faster-thanexpected slowdown as the impact of the end of a property boom spreads to other sectors. “The economy is decelerating sharply, the correction in the construction sector is still ongoing, and the outlook for the near to medium term is rather bleak,” investment bank Morgan Stanley said in a report issued last week. “We believe the deterioration of Spain is just in the beginning stages,” it added, predicting “the bulk of the pain will be suffered in 2009.” Last month Economy Minister Pedro Solbes slashed the government’s economic growth forecast for this year and the next from 2.3 percent to 1.6 and 1.0 percent respectively. The Spanish economy, the fourth-largest in the eurozone, began to stumble last year as rising interest rates and the international
credit crunch put the brakes on a decade-long property boom. The country is especially vulnerable to higher lending costs because the majority of mortgages have variable rates and the housing sector accounts for a much larger share of the economy than in the rest of the European Union. One desperate Spaniard who could no longer pay the mortgage on a Madrid flat he bought in 2005 tried to dispose of it through an Internet lottery in May before authorities pulled the plug on the venture because it lacked the proper authorization. Last month Martinsa-Fadesa became the first major Spanish property developer to seek bankruptcy protection from creditors since the property boom ended and industry analysts expect more firms will follow its lead. The slump in the property sector has fuelled a sharp rise in unemployment which, combined with rising food and fuel prices, has hurt consumer confidence and retail sales. New car sales plunged 27.5 percent in July from the same time last year, the third consecutive monthly drop in
sales of over 20 percent, according to Spanish automobile manufacturers’ association ANFAC figures. Retail sales fell 7.9 percent in June in calendar-adjusted terms from the same time last year, its worst plunge since Spain began registering the results in 2004. The drop is putting the squeeze on many multinationals whose results had been boosted until recently by Spain’s credit-fuelled expansion. Last month British cellphone operator Vodafone, Europe’s largest mobile operator, warned that its results would suffer in 2008 due to the sharp slowdown in Spain. British luxury goods group Burberry have told shareholders that Spain has become a “very complicated market” while Coca-Cola has reported a drop in sales in Spain. The number of registered unemployed in Spain rose by 1.5 percent in July from the previous month to a 10-year high of 2.43 million, with nearly two of every three layoffs taking place in the construction sector.
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Business
Monday, August 11, 2008
International
International
McDonald’s July same-store sales rise 8 percent Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - Despite a tough U.S. economy, McDonald’s Corp. posted an 8 percent gain in July same-store sales on Friday as hungry consumers worldwide lined up for breakfast items and the classic Big Mac sandwich.
Indonesia Today
Monday, August 11, 2008
7
Thousands hold rally outside US Consulate Office Antara
Many consumers have cut back on eating out amid economic weakness and rising gasoline prices, but business at the Golden Arches held up well in July, especially in the U.S. Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least 13 months, grew 6.7 percent in the U.S. Same-store sales are a key indicator of restaurant performance because the measure growth at existing locations rather than newly opened ones. Total sales worldwide soared 15.9 percent. The world’s biggest hamburger chain attributed the strong domestic performance to its focus on breakfast, chicken and drink items. McDonald’s rolled out a new chicken biscuit breakfast sandwich, a chicken sandwich for lunch and espresso-based coffee drinks in certain locations.
Advertising for its Big Mac sandwich also boosted results in July, the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company said. International sales have typically been strong for McDonald’s – a trend that continued in July. Same-store sales jumped 7.6 percent in Europe, led by sales in Britain, France and Russia. And in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa region, same-store sales climbed 7.2 percent because of extended hours and menu items. Shares of the Dow Jones industrial average component rose $2.39, or 3.8 percent, to $64.23. Earlier in the session, the stock hit $64.33, an all-time high. Deutsche Bank analyst Jason West said results were strong across all regions, but called the U.S. a
“particular standout.” “McDonald’s clearly continues to be one of the few consistent performers in a challenging consumer sector,” West wrote in a note to investors. Cowen & Co. analyst Paul Westra expects momentum to continue as McDonald’s rolls out specialty coffee beverages in more locations. The Beijing Olympics also offers McDonald’s an opportunity to further market promotional tie-ins, Westra said. McDonald’s is a sponsor of the games, which started on Friday. The strong July performance from McDonald’s comes amid rising costs that are affecting many other companies in the restaurant industry. Last month, McDonald’s warned of rising beef and chicken costs and
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A customer moves through the drive up lane to place their order at a McDonald’s restaurant in Springfield, Ill., July 23, 2008. Despite a tough U.S. economy, McDonald’s Corp. posted an 8 percent gain in July samestore sales on Friday as hungry consumers worldwide lined up for breakfast items and the classic Big Mac sandwich.
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SURABAYA - Thousands of activists of the Indonesian Islamic Organization Hizbut Tahir Indonesia (HTI) staged a rally outside the office of the US Consulate General here on Sunday in protest against US Congress’s letter asking for the release of two detained sympathizers of the outlawed Free Papua Organzation (OPM).
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JAKARTA - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced the National Energy and Water Efficiency Movement in the National Monument (Monas) square here on Sunday. “We know that oil and fuel are becoming more and more expensive and electricity subsidies are becoming higher and higher. We are facing clean water shortages in a number of regions and Indonesia is still classified as a country which is wasteful in using energy and water,” the president told about 5,000 people attending the morning gthering function. He said that the people were virtually unwilling to see fuel oil and electricity prices to continuously increase and disproportionate subsidies to keep on burdening the state budget. The president said he had the target that the government’s rank and file would cut their energy and water consumption by 30 percent. “Surely we can. We should not be pessimistic. We surely are able to control it and therefore we should not merely get here to-
gether,” the president said. He cited as an example the presidential palace, the cabinet secretariat office and the state secretariat building which were already able to reduce (their energy consumption) by 31.7 percent last May and June. He said that if with the world fuel oil price of US$120 a barrel Indonesia was able to save on energy use by about 20 to 30 percent, the subsidy in the state budget could be reduced by about Rp45-70 trillion. “If in the early stage of this movement we can only carry out half of it, we can still save some Rp20 trillion,” he said. On the occasion, the president also asked the energy and water efficiency task force to work well and report the results of its observation each month. The function was also attended by Mrs Ani Yudhoyono, Home Affairs Minister Mardiyanto, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Minister/State Secretary Hatta Radjasa, Research and Technology Minister Kusmayanto Kadiman and Transportation Minister Jusman Syafi’i Djalaml.
AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim
Indonesian Muslim the hard-line Islamic Hizbut Tahrir holds banner read “ Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia refuse interfere America in Papua” during a demonstration in front of U.S. embassy in Jakarta, Saturday, Aug 9, 2008. Hardline Muslims marched through the Indonesia’s capital Jakarta on Saturday to protest the letter signed by 40 members of the US congress to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urging him to free two Papuan political prisoners.
US pilot killed in Indonesia crash Agence France-Presse
JAKARTA - The body of a US pilot has been found in wreckage of a plane which crashed in jungle-clad mountains in Indonesia’s Papua province during a humanitarian flight, an aid worker said Sunday. “The pilot died when his plane crashed into a jungle” near Ndundu village, about 250 kilometres (155 miles) southwest of Jayapura, a representative of the Association of Mission Aviation aid group said.
A helicopter sent by the Christian humanitarian association spotted the wreckage in thick jungle 6,400 metres (21,000 feet) above sea level. It was able to land and identify the body of pilot Dave Clapper but could not retrieve the remains. “We will coordinate with the provincial rescue team to evacuate the pilot’s body,” the aid worker said. The pilot was delivering food to inaccessible communities when the Pilatus Porter plane went missing on
Saturday. The cause of the crash is not known. Papua rescue team coordinator Sunarto said fog was hampering recovery efforts. “It’s quite difficult and dangerous in these conditions. We will move as soon as the weather is good,” he told AFP. Papua, a province of mountains and thick jungle in the western half of New Guinea Island, relies heavily on air transport in the absence of a substantial road network.
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the US Congress request. Tens of members of the HTI also staged a rally outside the US embassy on Saturday asking Washington not to meddle in Indonesia’s domestic affairs. The demonstrators unfurled banners reading “HTI Rejects US Intervention in Papua” and “Prevent the Nation’s Disintegration”. The HTI held the rally after 40 US Congressmen reportedly had written to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono demanding the “immediate and unconditional” release of two sympathizers of the OPM, Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage. Karma and Pakage were sentenced to 15 years and 10 years imprisonment respectively in May 2005 for hoisting the “Bintang Kejora” (Morning Star) flag of OPM in Abepura, Papua, on December 1, 2004.
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The HTI activists began their rally at 9 am carrying posters and banners with messages criticizing the US government which they said had gone too far in intervening into Indonesia’s domestic affairs. Rally coordinator Fikri A Zudian said the US intervention was seen in a letter signed by 40 US congressmen who asked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to release two members of the separatist OPM, Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage. “The US said that freedom of thought should be respected while in fact the two OPM members had committed a rebellious act and hoisted the morning star flag,” he said. He said that the US Congress letter was proof of the US intervention into Indonesia’s domestic affairs and of its support for the outlawed OPM. Therefore, he said, HTI called on President Yudhoyono and the rank and file of his government to reject
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8
International
Monday, August 11, 2008
Bali Today
Balinese Culture
Bali need alternative airport Antara
SANUR – Indonesian Culture and Tourism Minister, Jero Wacik hoped that Bali’s Government will build new airport because the capacity of Ngurah Rai Airport is not adequate anymore. Enlarging or widen the airport id out of the question because there is no room left around the airport. When visited Bali Sanur Festival (SVF) 2008 in Sanur, Wacik hoped that the elected governor Made Mangku Pastika will act for the benefit of Bali’s tourism in the future. “I have spooked with Mangku Pastika and he understand my concern and promised to act quickly,” added Wacik. The increasing volume of flights made Ngurah Rai airport is no longer suitable to accommodate the traffic so there was suggestion to make an alternative airport and build a new one in Bali. Last year, the total tourists visited Bali was 1.7 million tourists and this year predicted that the tourists
coming to Bali will be around 2 million people. Wacik said “if the tourists visited Bali reach 3 million mark, then the Ngurah Rai airport will not able to accommodate them.” The Bali’s Government must come up with the idea to solve the problem. The issue of developing Ngurah Rai Airport often occurs in Bali but the locals didn’t agree and the government and the house of representative also can not find an agreement for the matter. If the government decided to build new Airport then it must be done in northern Bali where the land is still available.
DENPASAR - Robert Kilagat Kosgei, runner from Kenya, won the Bali 10K which was held on Sunday, August 10, 2008. Kilagat finish the race in 29:37:93 followed by Mekonnen Yiman Emiru from Ethiopia with 29:44:22. The third until fifth position was taken by Nicholas Merica Chemaringo with 30:04:88, Julius Mbugua Kangethe (30:12:17) and Sammy Kiprop Kiptoo (30:17:36) In the women international elite class, the winner was the Indonesian runner Trianingsih from middle Java with the time 33:22:18
followed by Suzy Walsham frm Australia and Rebby Cherono Koech from Kenya in second and third place. The race was followed be around 8,000 runners from all over the world. The Bali 10K started in Puputan Street, Dewi Sartika Diponegoro - Surapati - Hayam Wuruk and finished in front of Bali’s struggle monument. For the elite class, the total price was $10,500 and for the local class, the total price was 58.2 million rupiah. The local class divided into national elite, public and students class.
Robert Kilagat and Trianingsih won the Bali 10K
The foto shows Garuda airplane take off from Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali. Indonesian Culture and Tourism Minister, Jero Wacik hoped that Bali’s Government will build new airport because the capacity of Ngurah Rai Airport is not adequate anymore. Enlarging or widen the airport id out of the question because there is no room left around the airport.
Japanese facing death sentence for carrying drug
Antara
FOTO ANTARA/Nyoman Budhiana
The women elite winner of Bali 10 K Running Competition, from right to left Trianingsih (Indonesia), Suzy Walsham (Australia), Rebby Cherono Koech (kenya), Margaret Wangui Ujuguna (kenya) and Janet Jelagat Rono (Kenya) during the awarding ceremony on Sunday, August 10.
Monday, August 11, 2008
DENPASAR - A Japanese tourist who was arrested at Denpasar’s Ngurah Rai airport recently for possession of 102 grams of marijuana may face life-long imprisonment or the death penalty, police said. Sigumari Kurusai (41) was stopped by Ngurah Rai Airport customs officers after they had found the marijuana hidden in his luggage. Kurusai had then just disembarked from a flight from Singapore, Bali police information officer Sr Com AS Reniban said here Friday. “He could be given the death penalty or a life sentence based on Article 82, section 1, of the Narcotics Law of 1997,” Reniban said. “We are now processing the case as he was found to be in possession of 21 plastic clips of marijuana weighing a total of 102 grams,” he said. During preliminary questioning it was established that Kurasai had been a frequent visitor to Bali since 2005 and it was possible he had been a drug dealer in Bali all along. Police also learned that Kurusai bought the drugs in Thailand and carried the stuff to Bali via Singapore.
Antara
“Dodol” Vendors Appear in Numbers on the Galungan
Galungan day is a great feast for the Hindus that have been eagerly looking forward to it for some time. For the Galungan festive day, some preparations have been carried out, especially by the women. Instead, preparation of Galungan has taken place since the Tumpek Bubuh. The most marked preparation on welcoming the Galungan festivity in Buleleng (North Bali) is the making of assorted cakes. A month prior to the festivity, devotees in Buleleng have pounded flour as ingredient of making dodol (taffy made of sticky rice, coconut milk, and palm sugar) and satuh. In addition, they also pick a large number of young coconut leaves to make oblation and bamboo for penjor. Also other snack products sales are increasing within three days before Galungan, commenced with penyekeban namely ripening bananas. And, four days prior to Galungan is penapean (a day to make fermented rice) and penyajaan (a day to make several cakes). After wards, one day before Galungan occurs the penampahan (slaughtering domestic animal/pig) and its summit celebration falls on Wednesday (3/5) called Galungan. Considering the condition and situation of the community currently, they are very busy with various professions. Therefore, much spare time for Galungan preparations is diminishing. As a consequence, they tend to look for all-
practical things, namely by buying all oblational ingredients at markets. Unquestionably, this condition brings a good fortune to vendors that provide a variety of needs for the festivity. At Anyar Market, Singaraja, for instance, its status changes into a market providing many kinds of cakes by the Galungan. The best selling cakes are dodol and satuh. Dodol is made of flour and white or black sticky rice. It’s wrapped with a sheath of dry corn and deliberately prepared in small roll with the extent of some 8-10 cm and diameter of 2 cm. Both ends are fastened with bamboo strings. In terms of its colour, there are black, red and green dodol. Celebrating Galungan in Buleleng seems less perfect without the presence of dodol cake. To make this dodol cake takes somewhat long time, chiefly on cooking it. On cooking, it needs mixing finely again and again. That’s why cooking dodol entails carefulness and perseverance because if we mix it late, dodol will be singed and get a bad mixture. The flavour of each dodol reflects the place of its origin. Dodol from Kubutambahan has different flavour from that of Bondalem, Sangsit, and Seririt and go on. Dodol is sold at small wraps and fastened in such a way that every string contains ten pieces. (BTN/I Ketut Supir)
Balinese pattern patented in US
DENPASAR – Approximately 1,800 kinds of paintings which were modified by for souvenirs purpose had been patented in United States. That will give bad effect to the creativity of Balinese artists in the future. I Made Bandem, a lecturer in Indonesian Art Institute (ISI) Denpasar, said that opinion in the seminar entitled ‘The Future of Balinese Art: chances and challenges’ in Neka Museum yesterday, August 10, 2008. Bandem said “Balinese artists can be accused of plagiarizing the pattern because many of the patterns had been patented abroad even if the pattern was made originally by Balinese artists.” For that reason, he thinks that Bali’s Government needs to establish a copyright department to help Balinese artists in creating their own motifs or pattern and to develop Balinese craft. “Hopefully I Made Mangku Pastika, the elected Bali’s Governor, can initiate the forming of a copyright department in order to pro-
tect the creativities and art works of the Balinese artists,” added Bandem. Meanwhile, I Wayan Dibia, also a lecturer in ISI Denpasar, the protection of copyrights are very important for artists. The efforts need to be supported by the awareness and understanding of the local Balinese about copyright. Dibya added that the attempt to repair the mentality of Balinese people must be done openly in honest way, appreciate each other, and work together to develop Balinese art that free from counterfeiting and forgery on the value of art and culture. The other aspects that need to be considered are the individual and collective rights in local, national, and global context. The socialization of copyright must be done without destroying the tradition of Bali. The one day seminar was held by the fine art department in ISI Denpasar. There were three speakers in the seminar; they were Made Mangku Pastika, Pande Suteda Neka, and an artist Kun Adnyana. The seminar was attended by more than 150 people.
Bali’s Beaches on Canvas Bali has a lot of interesting beaches as tourist attractions, with various characteristics respectively. For example it’s white sandy beaches with good waves for surfing and diving, while enjoying the beautiful under water sea panoramas. Moreover Bali’s beaches also function as painting objects, by the painters likes Arie Smit and Affandi. Ari has made a lot of paintings using beaches as the object and they are: Sanur Beach, Kuta, Lovina and also other beaches which are very interesting to visit. Its impressionism style (but Arie prefers to call himself a poetical realist) that appears in his paintings with Bali’s beaches characters complete with its hot weather and blue water. Some of Arie’s paintings are saved at Neka Museum, in Sanggingan, Ubud. In his paintings you can see clearly, that Arie very much comprehends the character of beaches. The hot weather, sea waves, and also lumps of clouds in the sky are appearing on the canvas. Different with Affandi (the late), from all of his beach paintings, Kusamba Beach (Klungkung) is the most sought after. The painting has expressionism style making it very exclusive. Affandi usually paints nature. It makes him ready to work in hot places for several hours. But according to him it couldn’t stop his aim to work around the beach. A painting of 2 meters can be finished in several hours. “But, before he starts to paint, sometimes he will spend several days to observe its object “said an art observer. When he find out the inspiration, he will enjoy the nature, and catch many kinds shapes of ships and fishermen’s houses that are spread along the coast, and also catch the sun shine and waves. All of these will be saved in his mind and will be drawn on the (canvas). (BTN/Gung Man)
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Dodol (like seen in the picture) is very popular traditional cake during The Galungan celebration in Buleleng Regency. Hindu’s Bali is celebrating Galungan day every 210 days which fall on August 20 in this year.
Another pork dish prepared on Penampahan Galungan is a delicious and tempting sausage or the Balinese call it urutan. It is made of sliced pork blended with complete spices and Salam leaf then encased with intestines. Each tip is fastened with string of coconut fiber. There is slight difference between urutan and sausage in the market, namely in terms of its content. If urutan contains larger slice of meat, sausage uses minced meat. Having completed this urutan, it can be fried or dried under sunlight first, then be fried. Some of this dish will be used for ingredients of offerings presented on Kuningan Day, a celebration falling ten days after Galungan. (BTN/pun)
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8
International
Monday, August 11, 2008
Bali Today
Balinese Culture
Bali need alternative airport Antara
SANUR – Indonesian Culture and Tourism Minister, Jero Wacik hoped that Bali’s Government will build new airport because the capacity of Ngurah Rai Airport is not adequate anymore. Enlarging or widen the airport id out of the question because there is no room left around the airport. When visited Bali Sanur Festival (SVF) 2008 in Sanur, Wacik hoped that the elected governor Made Mangku Pastika will act for the benefit of Bali’s tourism in the future. “I have spooked with Mangku Pastika and he understand my concern and promised to act quickly,” added Wacik. The increasing volume of flights made Ngurah Rai airport is no longer suitable to accommodate the traffic so there was suggestion to make an alternative airport and build a new one in Bali. Last year, the total tourists visited Bali was 1.7 million tourists and this year predicted that the tourists
coming to Bali will be around 2 million people. Wacik said “if the tourists visited Bali reach 3 million mark, then the Ngurah Rai airport will not able to accommodate them.” The Bali’s Government must come up with the idea to solve the problem. The issue of developing Ngurah Rai Airport often occurs in Bali but the locals didn’t agree and the government and the house of representative also can not find an agreement for the matter. If the government decided to build new Airport then it must be done in northern Bali where the land is still available.
DENPASAR - Robert Kilagat Kosgei, runner from Kenya, won the Bali 10K which was held on Sunday, August 10, 2008. Kilagat finish the race in 29:37:93 followed by Mekonnen Yiman Emiru from Ethiopia with 29:44:22. The third until fifth position was taken by Nicholas Merica Chemaringo with 30:04:88, Julius Mbugua Kangethe (30:12:17) and Sammy Kiprop Kiptoo (30:17:36) In the women international elite class, the winner was the Indonesian runner Trianingsih from middle Java with the time 33:22:18
followed by Suzy Walsham frm Australia and Rebby Cherono Koech from Kenya in second and third place. The race was followed be around 8,000 runners from all over the world. The Bali 10K started in Puputan Street, Dewi Sartika Diponegoro - Surapati - Hayam Wuruk and finished in front of Bali’s struggle monument. For the elite class, the total price was $10,500 and for the local class, the total price was 58.2 million rupiah. The local class divided into national elite, public and students class.
Robert Kilagat and Trianingsih won the Bali 10K
The foto shows Garuda airplane take off from Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali. Indonesian Culture and Tourism Minister, Jero Wacik hoped that Bali’s Government will build new airport because the capacity of Ngurah Rai Airport is not adequate anymore. Enlarging or widen the airport id out of the question because there is no room left around the airport.
Japanese facing death sentence for carrying drug
Antara
FOTO ANTARA/Nyoman Budhiana
The women elite winner of Bali 10 K Running Competition, from right to left Trianingsih (Indonesia), Suzy Walsham (Australia), Rebby Cherono Koech (kenya), Margaret Wangui Ujuguna (kenya) and Janet Jelagat Rono (Kenya) during the awarding ceremony on Sunday, August 10.
Monday, August 11, 2008
DENPASAR - A Japanese tourist who was arrested at Denpasar’s Ngurah Rai airport recently for possession of 102 grams of marijuana may face life-long imprisonment or the death penalty, police said. Sigumari Kurusai (41) was stopped by Ngurah Rai Airport customs officers after they had found the marijuana hidden in his luggage. Kurusai had then just disembarked from a flight from Singapore, Bali police information officer Sr Com AS Reniban said here Friday. “He could be given the death penalty or a life sentence based on Article 82, section 1, of the Narcotics Law of 1997,” Reniban said. “We are now processing the case as he was found to be in possession of 21 plastic clips of marijuana weighing a total of 102 grams,” he said. During preliminary questioning it was established that Kurasai had been a frequent visitor to Bali since 2005 and it was possible he had been a drug dealer in Bali all along. Police also learned that Kurusai bought the drugs in Thailand and carried the stuff to Bali via Singapore.
Antara
“Dodol” Vendors Appear in Numbers on the Galungan
Galungan day is a great feast for the Hindus that have been eagerly looking forward to it for some time. For the Galungan festive day, some preparations have been carried out, especially by the women. Instead, preparation of Galungan has taken place since the Tumpek Bubuh. The most marked preparation on welcoming the Galungan festivity in Buleleng (North Bali) is the making of assorted cakes. A month prior to the festivity, devotees in Buleleng have pounded flour as ingredient of making dodol (taffy made of sticky rice, coconut milk, and palm sugar) and satuh. In addition, they also pick a large number of young coconut leaves to make oblation and bamboo for penjor. Also other snack products sales are increasing within three days before Galungan, commenced with penyekeban namely ripening bananas. And, four days prior to Galungan is penapean (a day to make fermented rice) and penyajaan (a day to make several cakes). After wards, one day before Galungan occurs the penampahan (slaughtering domestic animal/pig) and its summit celebration falls on Wednesday (3/5) called Galungan. Considering the condition and situation of the community currently, they are very busy with various professions. Therefore, much spare time for Galungan preparations is diminishing. As a consequence, they tend to look for all-
practical things, namely by buying all oblational ingredients at markets. Unquestionably, this condition brings a good fortune to vendors that provide a variety of needs for the festivity. At Anyar Market, Singaraja, for instance, its status changes into a market providing many kinds of cakes by the Galungan. The best selling cakes are dodol and satuh. Dodol is made of flour and white or black sticky rice. It’s wrapped with a sheath of dry corn and deliberately prepared in small roll with the extent of some 8-10 cm and diameter of 2 cm. Both ends are fastened with bamboo strings. In terms of its colour, there are black, red and green dodol. Celebrating Galungan in Buleleng seems less perfect without the presence of dodol cake. To make this dodol cake takes somewhat long time, chiefly on cooking it. On cooking, it needs mixing finely again and again. That’s why cooking dodol entails carefulness and perseverance because if we mix it late, dodol will be singed and get a bad mixture. The flavour of each dodol reflects the place of its origin. Dodol from Kubutambahan has different flavour from that of Bondalem, Sangsit, and Seririt and go on. Dodol is sold at small wraps and fastened in such a way that every string contains ten pieces. (BTN/I Ketut Supir)
Balinese pattern patented in US
DENPASAR – Approximately 1,800 kinds of paintings which were modified by for souvenirs purpose had been patented in United States. That will give bad effect to the creativity of Balinese artists in the future. I Made Bandem, a lecturer in Indonesian Art Institute (ISI) Denpasar, said that opinion in the seminar entitled ‘The Future of Balinese Art: chances and challenges’ in Neka Museum yesterday, August 10, 2008. Bandem said “Balinese artists can be accused of plagiarizing the pattern because many of the patterns had been patented abroad even if the pattern was made originally by Balinese artists.” For that reason, he thinks that Bali’s Government needs to establish a copyright department to help Balinese artists in creating their own motifs or pattern and to develop Balinese craft. “Hopefully I Made Mangku Pastika, the elected Bali’s Governor, can initiate the forming of a copyright department in order to pro-
tect the creativities and art works of the Balinese artists,” added Bandem. Meanwhile, I Wayan Dibia, also a lecturer in ISI Denpasar, the protection of copyrights are very important for artists. The efforts need to be supported by the awareness and understanding of the local Balinese about copyright. Dibya added that the attempt to repair the mentality of Balinese people must be done openly in honest way, appreciate each other, and work together to develop Balinese art that free from counterfeiting and forgery on the value of art and culture. The other aspects that need to be considered are the individual and collective rights in local, national, and global context. The socialization of copyright must be done without destroying the tradition of Bali. The one day seminar was held by the fine art department in ISI Denpasar. There were three speakers in the seminar; they were Made Mangku Pastika, Pande Suteda Neka, and an artist Kun Adnyana. The seminar was attended by more than 150 people.
Bali’s Beaches on Canvas Bali has a lot of interesting beaches as tourist attractions, with various characteristics respectively. For example it’s white sandy beaches with good waves for surfing and diving, while enjoying the beautiful under water sea panoramas. Moreover Bali’s beaches also function as painting objects, by the painters likes Arie Smit and Affandi. Ari has made a lot of paintings using beaches as the object and they are: Sanur Beach, Kuta, Lovina and also other beaches which are very interesting to visit. Its impressionism style (but Arie prefers to call himself a poetical realist) that appears in his paintings with Bali’s beaches characters complete with its hot weather and blue water. Some of Arie’s paintings are saved at Neka Museum, in Sanggingan, Ubud. In his paintings you can see clearly, that Arie very much comprehends the character of beaches. The hot weather, sea waves, and also lumps of clouds in the sky are appearing on the canvas. Different with Affandi (the late), from all of his beach paintings, Kusamba Beach (Klungkung) is the most sought after. The painting has expressionism style making it very exclusive. Affandi usually paints nature. It makes him ready to work in hot places for several hours. But according to him it couldn’t stop his aim to work around the beach. A painting of 2 meters can be finished in several hours. “But, before he starts to paint, sometimes he will spend several days to observe its object “said an art observer. When he find out the inspiration, he will enjoy the nature, and catch many kinds shapes of ships and fishermen’s houses that are spread along the coast, and also catch the sun shine and waves. All of these will be saved in his mind and will be drawn on the (canvas). (BTN/Gung Man)
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Dodol (like seen in the picture) is very popular traditional cake during The Galungan celebration in Buleleng Regency. Hindu’s Bali is celebrating Galungan day every 210 days which fall on August 20 in this year.
Another pork dish prepared on Penampahan Galungan is a delicious and tempting sausage or the Balinese call it urutan. It is made of sliced pork blended with complete spices and Salam leaf then encased with intestines. Each tip is fastened with string of coconut fiber. There is slight difference between urutan and sausage in the market, namely in terms of its content. If urutan contains larger slice of meat, sausage uses minced meat. Having completed this urutan, it can be fried or dried under sunlight first, then be fried. Some of this dish will be used for ingredients of offerings presented on Kuningan Day, a celebration falling ten days after Galungan. (BTN/pun)
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Business
Monday, August 11, 2008
International
International
McDonald’s July same-store sales rise 8 percent Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - Despite a tough U.S. economy, McDonald’s Corp. posted an 8 percent gain in July same-store sales on Friday as hungry consumers worldwide lined up for breakfast items and the classic Big Mac sandwich.
Indonesia Today
Monday, August 11, 2008
7
Thousands hold rally outside US Consulate Office Antara
Many consumers have cut back on eating out amid economic weakness and rising gasoline prices, but business at the Golden Arches held up well in July, especially in the U.S. Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least 13 months, grew 6.7 percent in the U.S. Same-store sales are a key indicator of restaurant performance because the measure growth at existing locations rather than newly opened ones. Total sales worldwide soared 15.9 percent. The world’s biggest hamburger chain attributed the strong domestic performance to its focus on breakfast, chicken and drink items. McDonald’s rolled out a new chicken biscuit breakfast sandwich, a chicken sandwich for lunch and espresso-based coffee drinks in certain locations.
Advertising for its Big Mac sandwich also boosted results in July, the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company said. International sales have typically been strong for McDonald’s – a trend that continued in July. Same-store sales jumped 7.6 percent in Europe, led by sales in Britain, France and Russia. And in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa region, same-store sales climbed 7.2 percent because of extended hours and menu items. Shares of the Dow Jones industrial average component rose $2.39, or 3.8 percent, to $64.23. Earlier in the session, the stock hit $64.33, an all-time high. Deutsche Bank analyst Jason West said results were strong across all regions, but called the U.S. a
“particular standout.” “McDonald’s clearly continues to be one of the few consistent performers in a challenging consumer sector,” West wrote in a note to investors. Cowen & Co. analyst Paul Westra expects momentum to continue as McDonald’s rolls out specialty coffee beverages in more locations. The Beijing Olympics also offers McDonald’s an opportunity to further market promotional tie-ins, Westra said. McDonald’s is a sponsor of the games, which started on Friday. The strong July performance from McDonald’s comes amid rising costs that are affecting many other companies in the restaurant industry. Last month, McDonald’s warned of rising beef and chicken costs and
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A customer moves through the drive up lane to place their order at a McDonald’s restaurant in Springfield, Ill., July 23, 2008. Despite a tough U.S. economy, McDonald’s Corp. posted an 8 percent gain in July samestore sales on Friday as hungry consumers worldwide lined up for breakfast items and the classic Big Mac sandwich.
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SURABAYA - Thousands of activists of the Indonesian Islamic Organization Hizbut Tahir Indonesia (HTI) staged a rally outside the office of the US Consulate General here on Sunday in protest against US Congress’s letter asking for the release of two detained sympathizers of the outlawed Free Papua Organzation (OPM).
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JAKARTA - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced the National Energy and Water Efficiency Movement in the National Monument (Monas) square here on Sunday. “We know that oil and fuel are becoming more and more expensive and electricity subsidies are becoming higher and higher. We are facing clean water shortages in a number of regions and Indonesia is still classified as a country which is wasteful in using energy and water,” the president told about 5,000 people attending the morning gthering function. He said that the people were virtually unwilling to see fuel oil and electricity prices to continuously increase and disproportionate subsidies to keep on burdening the state budget. The president said he had the target that the government’s rank and file would cut their energy and water consumption by 30 percent. “Surely we can. We should not be pessimistic. We surely are able to control it and therefore we should not merely get here to-
gether,” the president said. He cited as an example the presidential palace, the cabinet secretariat office and the state secretariat building which were already able to reduce (their energy consumption) by 31.7 percent last May and June. He said that if with the world fuel oil price of US$120 a barrel Indonesia was able to save on energy use by about 20 to 30 percent, the subsidy in the state budget could be reduced by about Rp45-70 trillion. “If in the early stage of this movement we can only carry out half of it, we can still save some Rp20 trillion,” he said. On the occasion, the president also asked the energy and water efficiency task force to work well and report the results of its observation each month. The function was also attended by Mrs Ani Yudhoyono, Home Affairs Minister Mardiyanto, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Minister/State Secretary Hatta Radjasa, Research and Technology Minister Kusmayanto Kadiman and Transportation Minister Jusman Syafi’i Djalaml.
AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim
Indonesian Muslim the hard-line Islamic Hizbut Tahrir holds banner read “ Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia refuse interfere America in Papua” during a demonstration in front of U.S. embassy in Jakarta, Saturday, Aug 9, 2008. Hardline Muslims marched through the Indonesia’s capital Jakarta on Saturday to protest the letter signed by 40 members of the US congress to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urging him to free two Papuan political prisoners.
US pilot killed in Indonesia crash Agence France-Presse
JAKARTA - The body of a US pilot has been found in wreckage of a plane which crashed in jungle-clad mountains in Indonesia’s Papua province during a humanitarian flight, an aid worker said Sunday. “The pilot died when his plane crashed into a jungle” near Ndundu village, about 250 kilometres (155 miles) southwest of Jayapura, a representative of the Association of Mission Aviation aid group said.
A helicopter sent by the Christian humanitarian association spotted the wreckage in thick jungle 6,400 metres (21,000 feet) above sea level. It was able to land and identify the body of pilot Dave Clapper but could not retrieve the remains. “We will coordinate with the provincial rescue team to evacuate the pilot’s body,” the aid worker said. The pilot was delivering food to inaccessible communities when the Pilatus Porter plane went missing on
Saturday. The cause of the crash is not known. Papua rescue team coordinator Sunarto said fog was hampering recovery efforts. “It’s quite difficult and dangerous in these conditions. We will move as soon as the weather is good,” he told AFP. Papua, a province of mountains and thick jungle in the western half of New Guinea Island, relies heavily on air transport in the absence of a substantial road network.
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the US Congress request. Tens of members of the HTI also staged a rally outside the US embassy on Saturday asking Washington not to meddle in Indonesia’s domestic affairs. The demonstrators unfurled banners reading “HTI Rejects US Intervention in Papua” and “Prevent the Nation’s Disintegration”. The HTI held the rally after 40 US Congressmen reportedly had written to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono demanding the “immediate and unconditional” release of two sympathizers of the OPM, Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage. Karma and Pakage were sentenced to 15 years and 10 years imprisonment respectively in May 2005 for hoisting the “Bintang Kejora” (Morning Star) flag of OPM in Abepura, Papua, on December 1, 2004.
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The HTI activists began their rally at 9 am carrying posters and banners with messages criticizing the US government which they said had gone too far in intervening into Indonesia’s domestic affairs. Rally coordinator Fikri A Zudian said the US intervention was seen in a letter signed by 40 US congressmen who asked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to release two members of the separatist OPM, Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage. “The US said that freedom of thought should be respected while in fact the two OPM members had committed a rebellious act and hoisted the morning star flag,” he said. He said that the US Congress letter was proof of the US intervention into Indonesia’s domestic affairs and of its support for the outlawed OPM. Therefore, he said, HTI called on President Yudhoyono and the rank and file of his government to reject
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Monday, August 11, 2008
News
Monday, August 11, 2008
125 dead, missing after storms hit northern Vietnam Agence France-Presse
AP Photo/Xinhua, Shen Qiao
In this photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, police officers clean the bombing site in the compound of the public security station in Kuqa County, northwest China’s Xinjiang Ugyur Autonumous Region, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008.
Police attacked in China’s Muslim northwest Agence France-Presse
BEIJING - Security forces killed five attackers who bombed a police station in China’s mainly Muslim far northwest on Sunday, state media said, in the latest violence there to coincide with the Olympics. Explosions shook the remote city of Kuqa while it was still dark on Sunday morning, with the assailants targetting the police station and a government office, Xinhua news agency reported. Two policemen and a security guard were injured in the bombings, while security personnel killed five attackers, according to Xinhua, which was the only official source in tightly controlled China for details of the incident. The violence was the latest to rock the region of Xinjiang, a vast area in China’s northwest that borders central Asia, where Islamic separatists have vowed to stage attacks in an effort to wreck the Beijing Olympics. In one of the deadliest attacks in China in years, two alleged Muslim militants using explosives and knifes to attack policemen out jogging in the Xinjiang town of Kashgar on August 4, leaving 16 dead and 16 wounded. China blamed that attack, which occurred four days before the start of the Games, on Islamic militant Uighur separatists.
Xinjiang has about 8.3 million ethnic Muslim Uighurs, many of whom express anger at what they say has been decades of repressive Communist Chinese rule. Two short-lived East Turkestan republics emerged in Xinjiang in the 1930s and 1940s, when Chinese central government control was weakened by civil war and Japanese invasion. China has repeatedly accused Uighur militants of the banned East Turkestan Islamic Movement of plotting attacks on the Olympics and has implemented sweeping security in Xinjiang and in Beijing in the lead-up the Games. The army and police quickly imposed heavy security in Kuqa, which has a population of about 400,000, following Sunday’s violence, according to Xinhua and a local resident. “Don’t come today, the town centre is closed,” a receptionist at the Kuqa Hotel told AFP by phone. Kuqa is about 740 kilometres (460 miles) from Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang, and over 3,000
kilometres (1800 miles) from Beijing. Uighur separatists in Xinjiang have released two video statements threatening to attack the Olympics. But Olympic organisers sought to reassure the hundreds of thousands of foreigners in China to attend the Games that Sunday’s attack should be of no concern for them. “I do not believe this will have an impact on the Olympic Games... I do not think it is related to the Olympics,” Wang Wei, vice president of the organising committee for the Games, told reporters in Beijing. He emphasised that security had already been stepped up in Xinjiang. Chinese authorities on Friday announced they had stepped up controls on religious figures and potential “trouble-makers” in Kashgar to guard against future incidents. Critics say China’s communist rulers have exaggerated the security threat in Xinjiang and elsewhere to justify the repression of unhappy minorities such as the Uighurs.
Peaceday...
attention of the children and their education. The young generation will struggle for the peace of their country and the world. In the event, tenths of Voss’s students who came from all over the world sang spiritual songs about world peace accompanied by guitar, percussion, and violin. According to Voss, simple word can make us realize that we can gain something. Together we are strong and quietly we can overcome the limitation in life. Meanwhile, Anak Agung Rai, the
founder of Arma Museum said that his museum had become the bridge of the cultural relathionship between the east and the west. “even tough Bali is a small island but it is one of the main attraction in the world. Because of that, if there someone from the west wanted to find the eastern part of the world then we would like to facilitate them,” added Mr. Rai The event was attended by the newly elected Bali’s Governor Made Mangku Pastika and other Balinese priests.
From page 1 However, often happen that the human born today was filled with holes and patches which made us hate other and always made us want to fight. Mr. Voss explained, “It needed understanding of spiritual things so our clothes will become clean.” Furthermore, if a country want to be peaceful then the country must pay
HANOI - At least 125 people were dead or missing in mountainous northern Vietnam on Sunday after heavy rains brought by tropical storm Kammuri triggered widespread flash floods and landslides. Thousands of troops, police and emergency services were rushed to flooded towns in the poor and heavily deforested region to deliver drinking water, food and medicines to people stranded on the roofs of their houses. By early Sunday, two days after the rains first hit the area, 86 people were confirmed dead and 39 listed as missing, according to reports compiled by AFP from central and provincial emergency relief agencies. One train engine was overturned by floods, but no one was injured, on the railway line between the capital Hanoi and Lao Cai near the Chinese border, while the parallel highway was cut by landslides in several places. About 300 homes were destroyed and 3,500 damaged by the floods, which had also wiped out about 5,000
BUSINESS
hectares (12,000 acres) of crops, authorities said. “We have mobilised all forces, including the military and police, to overcome the effects of the floods,” Bui Quang Vinh, Communist Party chief of the worst-hit Lao Cai province, told state broadcaster VTV by telephone. “We are trying to get to the flood victims, bury the dead and provide medical treatment to the injured,” he said, adding that the family of each person killed would receive three million dong (175 dollars). At least 36 people were killed and 31 remained missing in Lao Cai, but officials said the toll could rise as some areas, including Bat Xat district, remained isolated due to blocked roads. “Many portions of road have been destroyed,” said Vinh. “Telecommunications cables have been cut. In some areas it takes half a day to walk from the local commune headquarters to the places were victims are stranded.” At least 29 people were killed and four were missing in Yen Bai province, five were dead in Phu Tho, and one was missing in Bac Kan.
New economic challenges for China hamper currency’s rise Agence France-Presse
SHANGHAI - At a time when the world’s top athletes strive to set records at the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese currency has unexpectedly put on hold its steady move towards new highs. Over the past nine trading days, the Yuan has declined against the US dollar six times, throwing into doubt the conventional wisdom that its strengthening was the inevitable result of China’s rise as an economic world power. “The current noticeable weakening in the Yuan has never happened before,” said Liu Dongliang, a Shenzhenbased foreign exchange analyst with China Merchants Bank. The markets appear to be betting that this is more than a short-term phenomenon. Non-deliverable forwards, which reflect expectations for future movements in the exchange rate, show a decidedly less bullish mood on the Chinese currency. While in March, non-deliverable forwards still implied a forecast of an 11.5 percent strengthening of the Yuan against the dollar; it has now fallen to a modest 3.4 percent, according to
Georgia... From page 1 Russian jets have been roaming Georgia’s skies since Friday. They raided several air bases and bombed the Black Sea port city of Poti, which has a sizable oil shipment facility. The Russian warplanes also struck near the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline which carries Caspian crude to the West, but no supply interruptions have been reported. U.S. President George W. Bush called for an end to the Russian bombings and an immediate halt to the violence. “The attacks are occurring in regions of Georgia far from the zone of conflict in South Ossetia. They mark a dangerous escalationin the crisis,” Bush said in a statement to reporters while attending the Olympic Games in Beijing. Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili called it an “unprovoked brutal Russian invasion.” A Russian raid on Gori near South Ossetia Saturday which apparently targeted a military base on the town’s outskirts left numerous civilian casualties. An Associated Press reporter who visited the town shortly after the strike saw several apartment buildings in ruins, some still on fire, and scores of dead bodies and bloodied civilians. The elderly, women and children were among the victims. Russian officials said they weren’t targeting civilians, but Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Georgia brought the airstrikes upon itself by bombing civilians and Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia. He warned that the small Caucasus country should expect more attacks. “Whatever side is used to bomb civilians and the positions of peace-
keepers, this side is not safe and they should know this,” Lavrov said. Saakashvili on Saturday proposed a cease-fire, but Russia said it wants Georgia to first pull its troops from South Ossetia and sign a pledge not to use force against the breakaway province. The diplomatic standoff continued Saturday in the U.N. Security Council, which met for the third time since late Thursday night to try to help resolve the situation. Another meeting requested by Georgia was scheduled for Sunday afternoon. Georgia, a U.S. ally whose troops have been trained by American soldiers, launched the major offensive to regain control over South Ossetia overnight Friday. Heavy rocket and artillery fire and air strikes pounded the provincial capital, Tskhinvali. Lavrov told reporters Saturday that some 1,500 people had been killed in South Ossetia since Friday, with the death toll rising. The figures could not be independently confirmed. But Tskhinvali residents who survived the bombardment by hiding in basements and later fled the city estimated that hundreds of civilians had died. They said bodies were lying everywhere. Utiashvili, the Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman, said the Georgian troops were still in control of Tskhinvali on Sunday morning but added that Russian troops were attacking the city from several directions. A Russian general said Saturday that his troops had driven the Georgian troops out of the city, but another Russian officer, Maj. Gen. Marat Kulakhmetov, admitted in televised remarks Sunday that the fighting in the city was continuing.
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AP Photo/Richard Vogel
A gas station attendant lowers gas prices at a filling station in Los Angeles on Saturday, Aug. 9,2008. The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline has dropped in Los Angeles County for 32 consecutive days, falling 48.9 cents since hitting a record high, the Oil Price Information Service reported today.
Oil sinks on stronger dollar, slips below $116 Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK - Oil prices resumed their descent Friday, dropping briefly below $116 a barrel as a huge jump in the U.S. dollar and expectations of slowing global demand offset supply concerns over a sabotaged pipeline in Turkey. Light, sweet crude for September delivery slumped $3.47 to $116.55 a barrel in afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after dipping as low as $115.61. Prices for gasoline, heating oil and natural gas also dropped. In London, September Brent crude plunged $3.93 to $113.93 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Many analysts have pointed to the $117-a-barrel mark for crude oil as technically significant - a move below this level suggests, they say, that oil’s recent slide is more than a brief pullback. Crude peaked at $147.27 on July 11. With the dollar launching a massive rebound against the euro and yen after the European Central Bank and the Bank of England both left their benchmark interest rates unchanged, energy traders found reason to sell - especially since the ECB indicated that there probably wouldn’t be any more rate hikes to come. Higher interest rates make a country’s currency more attractive to invest in.
Capital Economics, a London-based consultancy. Although the US dollar has generally strengthened on a global scale, this may only be part of the explanation of why the Yuan has weakened. Subtle changes in the economic conditions facing China may be the real reason, according to economists. “We attribute it to the shift in domestic policy — the central bank has adjusted its policy for a slower speed in appreciation,” said China Merchant Bank’s Liu. The central bank statement, issued last month, said it would “use various monetary policy tools to create good conditions for stable, relatively fast growth,” while mentioning in passing that “upward pressure on prices is clear.” This was a change from the firstquarter report in which the central bank had placed its priorities squarely on fighting inflation, and it reflected
changes in macroeconomic dynamics. China’s economy expanded by 10.4 percent in the first half and 10.1 percent in the second quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said earlier this month, down from growth of 11.9 percent recorded for all of 2007. Growth in the consumer price index peaked at 8.7 percent in February — nearly a 12-year high — but softened to a more manageable 7.1 percent in June. This removed some of the rationale for a continued strengthening of the yuan, which had been to ease inflation by lowering the prices of imported goods. At the same time, a slowdown in the rise of the yuan might comfort the export sector, which is suffering from the weakened global economy. In the first half of the year, the trade surplus declined nearly 12 percent from the same period in 2007.
Spain facing worse economic slowdown than expected
Agence France-Presse
MADRID - The Spanish economy, long a motor of growth and job creation in the eurozone, is facing a deeper and faster-thanexpected slowdown as the impact of the end of a property boom spreads to other sectors. “The economy is decelerating sharply, the correction in the construction sector is still ongoing, and the outlook for the near to medium term is rather bleak,” investment bank Morgan Stanley said in a report issued last week. “We believe the deterioration of Spain is just in the beginning stages,” it added, predicting “the bulk of the pain will be suffered in 2009.” Last month Economy Minister Pedro Solbes slashed the government’s economic growth forecast for this year and the next from 2.3 percent to 1.6 and 1.0 percent respectively. The Spanish economy, the fourth-largest in the eurozone, began to stumble last year as rising interest rates and the international
credit crunch put the brakes on a decade-long property boom. The country is especially vulnerable to higher lending costs because the majority of mortgages have variable rates and the housing sector accounts for a much larger share of the economy than in the rest of the European Union. One desperate Spaniard who could no longer pay the mortgage on a Madrid flat he bought in 2005 tried to dispose of it through an Internet lottery in May before authorities pulled the plug on the venture because it lacked the proper authorization. Last month Martinsa-Fadesa became the first major Spanish property developer to seek bankruptcy protection from creditors since the property boom ended and industry analysts expect more firms will follow its lead. The slump in the property sector has fuelled a sharp rise in unemployment which, combined with rising food and fuel prices, has hurt consumer confidence and retail sales. New car sales plunged 27.5 percent in July from the same time last year, the third consecutive monthly drop in
sales of over 20 percent, according to Spanish automobile manufacturers’ association ANFAC figures. Retail sales fell 7.9 percent in June in calendar-adjusted terms from the same time last year, its worst plunge since Spain began registering the results in 2004. The drop is putting the squeeze on many multinationals whose results had been boosted until recently by Spain’s credit-fuelled expansion. Last month British cellphone operator Vodafone, Europe’s largest mobile operator, warned that its results would suffer in 2008 due to the sharp slowdown in Spain. British luxury goods group Burberry have told shareholders that Spain has become a “very complicated market” while Coca-Cola has reported a drop in sales in Spain. The number of registered unemployed in Spain rose by 1.5 percent in July from the previous month to a 10-year high of 2.43 million, with nearly two of every three layoffs taking place in the construction sector.
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Entertainment
Monday, August 11 , 2008
International
News
International
US comedian, ‘Ocean’s 11' star Bernie Mac dead at 50
American stabbed to death in Beijing as Olympics get underway
The star of the critically acclaimed “The Bernie Mac Show” succumbed several days after being hospitalized for pneumonia which arose from a longstanding lung ailment, sarcoidosis, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Danica Smith told People magazine. “¡He¿ passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital,” Smith said. “No other details are available at this time.” Born in Chicago on October 5, 1957, Bernard Jeffrey McCullough got his start in the city’s African-American comedy clubs, and broke into the big time after winning a national comedy contest in 1989. His reputation grew after he made it to the HBO hit show “Def Comedy Jam,” pitching his wry, pointed style at audiences of all colors. “If you let people put tags on you, you’ll never be able to remove them,” he told the Chicago Tribune last year. In the semi-autobiographical “The Bernie Mac Show,” a hit for Fox television from 2001 to 2006, he plays a man charged with taking care of his sister’s three children after she is sent for rehabilitation. In 2001 he featured next to Brad Pitt and George Clooney as a casino card dealer in “Ocean’s Eleven” and returned in the subsequent two sequels. He also featured in the 2003 film
Todd Bachman, his wife Barbara, their daughter Elisabeth and a Chinese guide were attacked as they visited the Drum Tower monument, a popular tourist site in the centre of the city, according to the US Olympic Committee (USOC). The assailant, a 47-year-old man from eastern China, then jumped to his death off the second storey of the monument, police said in a statement, without giving details as to why he carried out the attack. “The United States Olympic Committee is saddened to confirm the death of Todd Bachman, father-in-law of United States Olympic Men’s Indoor Volleyball Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon,” the USOC said on their website. “Mr. Bachman and his wife Barbara were visiting the Drum Tower in Beijing, China, when they were attacked shortly after noon by an assailant wielding a knife. “Their daughter Elisabeth was with them at the time of the attack. “Mr. Bachman died as a result of injuries sustained in the attack. Mrs. Bachman suffered serious injuries and was transported to a local hospital for emergency treatment. Her injuries are serious and life-threatening.” Their daughter was not hurt, although police said the Chinese guide was. The USOC added that the Bachmans were not wearing apparel that identified them as relatives of members of the US Olympic team and cited police as saying the killer acted alone. Lang Ping, the coach of the US women’s volleyball team, said the players were stunned when they heard of the death just before their opening win over Japan. “We were shocked,” said the coach. “Most of the players called their parents. I
BEIJING - A Chinese man stabbed to death the father-in-law of US Olympic volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon in Beijing on Saturday in an attack that left his wife seriously injured, raising new fears about security at the Games.
AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, file
Luke Wilson’s Golf Line Hits The Market Actor Luke Wilson has designed a street sneaker/golf shoe hybrid for sportswear firm Puma. The Old School star, an avid golfer, teamed up with Swedish sports star Johan Edfors to create a line of Puma golf products - and he expects the new multi-purpose shoes to be the range’s big seller. Wilson jokes he came up with the idea while preparing for a lazy summer in Hollywood. He says, “In between the strikes that keep happening in Hollywood, I have quite a bit of extra time on my hands, so, in between fixing up old Victorian houses and designing clothes and creating my own line of hair conditioner.” Wilson plugged his new shoe on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday night by giving the late-night program’s host the golf sneakers he
AP Photo/Shea Walsh, file
Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves attend the Muxo Private Launch Party in Los Angeles.
McConaughey to plant son’s placenta in orchard
Bernie Mac accepts his award for Actor in a Comedy Series at the NAACP Image Awards in Universal City, Calif. The award-winning actor-comedian has died at age 50 from complications of pneumonia, his publicist said Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008.
was wearing as a gift. The actor left the show in his socks. Wilson told Kimmel he still has no idea why he was approached to create a golf fashion line - because he’s famously unstylish. He added, “I have friends that make fun of me (because) I tend to dress in the same colors, so I wind up looking a bit like the UPS (delivery) guy or just your local postman.” Although he made his film debut in the acclaimed independent film Bottle Rocket, actor Luke Wilson initially got more recognition for his real-life role as Drew Barrymore’s boyfriend than for his acting. Fortunately for Wilson, his onscreen talents outlasted his relationship with Barrymore, and he has enjoyed steady employment and increasing visibility through substantial roles in a number of films.
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Agence France-Presse
US comedian Bernie Mac, who played an ex-felon blackjack dealer in the “Ocean’s Eleven” series and had his own sitcom on television, has died at 50, his publicist said Saturday. “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” and was a car salesman in last year’s hit “Transformers.” He also had a major part in “Old Dogs,” the Robin Williams-John Travolta comedy scheduled for release in 2009. The Chicago Tribune said he is survived by his wife Rhonda McCullough and a daughter, Je’Niece.
Monday, August 11 , 2008
Matthew McConaughey says the birth of his son will help bring a little joy to others in the world someday. The actor kept the placenta from the July birth of his son and plans to plant it in an orchard, he tells CNN’s “House Call with Dr. Sanjay Gupta” in interview scheduled to air in two parts Aug. 9 and Aug 16. McConaughey says he hopes it will fertilize the land, a ritual long followed in several cultures. “It’s going to be in the orchards and it’s going to bear some wonderful fruit,” he says, according to an interview transcript. “When I was in Australia, they had a placenta tree that was on the river ... and all the placentas of all that tribe, all that clan, whatever aboriginal tribe that was,
all the placentas went under that one tree and it was this huge behemoth of just health and strength.” “This tree was just growing taller and stronger above the rest of Mother Nature around it. It was gorgeous.” McConaughey also says he and his girlfriend Camila Alves have enjoyed integrating their new baby, Levi Alves McConaughey, into their lives. Already they’ve started introducing him to the “sights and the sounds” of the world — including a John Mellencamp concert. “You’re never told in our house, ‘Shh, Levi is sleeping.’ No. Get used to the ambiance. Come with us. That’s how I was raised,” he says.
Nikki Blonsky’s Dad Denied Bail Hairspray star Nikki Blonsky’s father will remain in jail for a minimum of 11 days after he was denied bail on felony charges of grievous bodily harm after an altercation at an airport last week. Carl Blonsky was arrested with his daughter following a fight with reality TV star Bianca Golden on July 29th and both were taken into custody by Turks and Caicos Islands police. A judge at the Providenciales Magistrates’ Court ruled on Friday that Blonsky Sr. must wait until August 19th before he can post bail. According to Prosecutor Samantha Glinton, Golden’s mother Elaine had to be airlifted to a Florida hospital, where she stayed for five days before being released to a neurologist as a result of Blonsky’s alleged attack. Glinton added: “While her (Elaine Golden’s) condition has improved, she still has some problems. She is in the healing stage. She has a right cerebral traumatic lesion, according to the report. She has a slurred left side, left side weakness, insomnia, and memory impairment.” Blonsky’s lawyer, Oliver Smith, contended prosecutors are “trying to set up a potential lawsuit” by exaggerating Golden’s injuries, telling the court: “My client ...is not a wealthy man. He works in a sewage plant. No prior convictions.” The altercation between Blonsky and Golden is alleged to have started in the departure lounge at the Providenciales International Airport after the actress attempted to save seats for her family, and Golden had nowhere to sit. Nikki Blonsky and former America’s Next Top Model contestant Golden remain free on bail.
AP Photo/Mark Ralston, Pool
President Hu Jintao.
AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTON
A Chinese security guard locks the gate at the historic Drum Tower where a US citizen was murdered in Beijing on August 9, 2008. A Chinese man stabbed two US relatives of a US Olympic volleyball coach in Beijing, killing one of them, the US Olympic Committee said on its website. Local police had earlier said one US tourist was killed and another injured when a Chinese man attacked them at the historic Drum Tower monument in central Beijing.
told them to be strong.” The attack occurred despite China deploying massive security in Beijing for the Olympics, with more than 150,000 police and other personnel on patrol across the city. An estimated 450,000 foreigners are expected to come to Beijing for the Olympics, which opened on Friday night and will finish on August 24. The killing also happened as US President George W. Bush was in the city to attend the Games and he expressed his condolences. “The President has been informed and his heart goes out to the families of the victims,” a White House official travelling with Bush said. “The White House and US embassy have offered whatever assistance the family needs. US officials have also been in touch with Chinese authorities on the matter.”
Acts of violence against foreigners in Beijing and throughout China are extremely rare, with expatriates happy to wander around the streets of the capital late at night. However, foreigners have been victims of some high-profile attacks this year. Last month, a Chinese man murdered a 22-year-old model in Shanghai and a Japanese embassy employee was slightly wounded in a knife attack in Beijing. Chinese authorities have been clearly on edge over security in the lead-up to the Olympics, warning of a wide range of threats to people coming to Beijing for the event. China has expressed most concern about Islamic terrorists trying to wreck the Games, and Chinese authorities said militants attacked and killed 16 policemen in the Muslim-populated far northwest of the country last week.
Thousands rally to mark ‘death’ of Australian river
Agence France-Presse
SYDNEY - Thousands of people rallied in southern Australia Sunday to protest the dwindling water levels in one of the country’s greatest rivers, claiming the loss was causing an environmental disaster. The 5,000-strong crowd gathered near the mouth of the 2,530 kilometre (1,569 mile) Murray to hold two minute’s silence to mark the ‘death’ of the river, which forms part of Australia’s most important agricultural region. Kym McHugh, mayor of the local Alexandrina Council, said the ceremony near the South Australian town of Goolwa
was to “underscore this eleventh hour bid to save the nation’s greatest river.” “It sent a very clear message by saying we’ve had a lot of talk about the river system, a lot of science, we all know what the problem is — we just want politicians to have the will to fix it up,” he told national news agency AAP. “They need to secure water upstream and send it down.” Water levels are so low in the Murray River, due to drought and irrigation, that the freshwater lakes the river feeds into are turning to acid. The federal government last week said there was not enough water in the sys-
tem to save the freshwater lakes, leading to suggestions that ocean water could be used to prevent the lakes from drying out. But the council wants the government to release water held in storage in upstream states into the river so it can flow down and prevent an environmental, economic and social disaster in the region. “We need to give these lakes another chance,” McHugh said. The Murray, along with the 2,740kilometre Darling River and 1,690kilometre Murrumbidgee River, form the Murray Darling Basin, which accounts for some 40 percent of the nation’s agricultural production.
Hu expresses sympathy over Olympic murder Agence France-Presse
BEIJING - Chinese President Hu Jintao on Sunday expressed sympathy over the murder of a US Olympic coach’s relative in Beijing, as he discussed the issue with George W. Bush, state media reported. “I would like to express my heartfelt sympathy to you and the family of the victims over this unfortunate incident,” Xinhua news agency quoted Hu as telling the US president, who is in Beijing for the Games. A Chinese man stabbed to death the father-in-law of the US men’s volleyball team on Saturday at a tourist spot in Beijing. The coach’s mother-in-law was also injured in the attack and was in a critical condition on Sunday.
Thai gang kidnaps five children, kills one Agence France-Presse
BANGKOK - A gang headed by a policeman kidnapped five children in eastern Thailand as they were being driven to school, killing one girl so she would not identify them, a top police official said Sunday. Four kidnappers abducted a six-year-old boy and four girls aged three, six, 14 and 16, in Chachoengsao province on Friday morning, said deputy national police chief Jongruk Jutanond. The 39-year-old man driving the youth was also kidnapped, and the abductors demanded a three-million-baht (90,000-dollar) ransom from the man’s family. The driver was related to all of the kidnapped children. The driver’s 14-year-old niece was found dead Saturday in Chonburi province near Bangkok, while his 16-yearold daughter survived with injuries and told police who were her father’s captors. “The policeman involved in the kidnapping was close to this family. They tried to kill them (the girls) to prevent them from telling the truth,” he said. The kidnappers released the three smaller children on Saturday, and police arrested two people later that day, including a police corporal, who Jongruk said had gambling debts. “They confessed that they had kidnapped people for ransom,” he said. The driver and two of the suspected abductors remain missing.
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Monday, August 11 , 2008
News
International
Life Style
International
Morales, an indigenous leader with combative style
This photo taken in 2006 and released on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008, by U.S. scientist S. Blair Hedges, an evolutionary biologist at Penn State University, the globe’s tiniest snake is shown curled up on a U.S. quarter. Hedges said Sunday he has discovered the globe’s tiniest species of snake in the easternmost Caribbean island of Barbados, with full-grown adults typically less than four inches (10 centimeters) long. He named the diminutive snake ‘Leptotyphlops carlae’ after his herpetologist wife, Carla Ann Hass.
Agence France-Presse
LA PAZ - As a coca farmer who rose to become Bolivia’s first indigenous president, Evo Morales has overcome big obstacles thanks to his indomitable character and his combative nature. Those traits are in evidence in the referendum he called for Sunday in a bid to reassert his authority over rebellious governors trying to dilute his socialist reforms. In many ways, Morales, 48, is a reflection of his closest ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Both are capable of stirring rhetoric, both give all to their jobs and leave no time for personal lives — and both are righteous to the point of dogmatism in their determination to impose nationalistic changes inspired by Simon Bolivar, a 19th century Venezuelan who helped several Spanish colonies in South America win independence. Born of humble beginnings to an Aymara Indian family in the Andes in 1956, Morales revels in his common touch. In international meetings, he is easily distinguished in his striped sweater or tie-less jacket and shirt among the costly suits. When he was a child, four of his siblings died before age two. He was forced by drought to move to a coca-producing area at the start of the 1980s, where he played trumpet in a band and football, both of which allowed him to travel around the country. He soon became a leader of coca farmers and led a number of protests that served to heighten his profile and his politicization. He argued vociferously against the US-led campaign declaring coca cultivation to be a narco-trafficking activity because of the leaf’s use in producing cocaine. Many of Bolivia’s Indians chew the leaf or use it in a brew, believing it has medicinal properties. In 2002, Morales ran for the presidency but narrowly lost. The winner, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, lasted only a year in power though before he handed over power to his vice-president, party because of pressure from pressure by Morales’s union movement. In 2005, Morales ran again, and won with nearly 54 percent of the ballots. He quickly established his “anti-imperialist” (read: antiUS) credentials and his affinity with Chavez and Cuba’s Fidel Castro. That tie with Chavez, and his refusal to enter into dialog, especially with right-leaning governors, hardened opposition against him. His main base of support is Bolivia’s indigenous population, which makes up 60 percent of the country’s 10 million AP Photo/STR inhabitants. President Evo Morales.
YANGON - Myanmar’s detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been allowed a rare meeting with her lawyer to discuss her ongoing house arrest, a spokesman for her party said Sunday. “Last Friday (August 8), The Lady met with her lawyer U Kyi Win from 1pm to 3pm regarding her detention,” said Nyan Win, National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesman, referring to Aung San Suu Kyi. “This is the first such meeting since 2004,” he added. The surprise meeting at her lakeside Yangon home came a day after the new UN human rights envoy for Myanmar Tomas Ojea Quintana left the country after his first visit. Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for most of the last 19 years.
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AFP PHOTO GEORGES GOBET
Representative of the Arab League Ahmed Benhelli (R) speaks with deputies who are in favour of the recent Mauritanian coup d’etat at a hotel in Nouakchott on August 9, 2008 prior to meeting with the former head of Mauritania’s presidential guard and the junta leader General Mohamed Ould Abdel.The African Union suspended Mauritania from the bloc following this week’s coup and the United States suspended non-humanitarian aid to the country.
African Union suspends Mauritania following coup
“The AU will suspend Mauritania’s membership until the country returns to constitutional government,” said Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe, whose country holds the panAfrican bloc’s rotating presidency, in a statement. On Wednesday the former head of Mauritania’s presidential guard, General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, led a coup against President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi after he tried to make changes in the military leadership. The coup has been widely condemned by the international community even though the new military junta has promised to quickly hold “fair and transparent” elections. The United States suspended nonhumanitarian aid to Mauritania following the coup and on Saturday Arab League emissary Ahmed Ben Hilli travelled to Nouakchott where he met with Aziz to “get assurances about the demoncratic process in the country”.
Aziz told the Arab League representative he would keep constitutional institutions in place. “He also said he would organise a presidential election within a short period of time,” said Ben Hilli following their meeting. An AU delegation was also expected Saturday evening in Nouakchott. “The coup is a serious setback for Mauritanians because it has robbed the people of their basic right to freely elect leaders of their own choice,” said Membe, who is also the chairman of the AU’s council of ministers. Friday saw hundreds of people turn out for an anti-coup rally on the streets of Nouakchott, capital of the nation of 3.1 million people. On Thursday, the AU condemned the coup and called for a “return to constitutional order and the re-establishment without delay of the institutions that the Mauritanian people have democratically chosen.”
The Arab League emissary meanwhile was informed the ousted president of Mauritania was not in danger. The general “told me he was in good health, well-treated, in good conditions”, said Ben Hilli. In an interview with the Arab language daily Asharq al-Awsat, the coup leader said: “We will not release the overthrown president for the moment, for security reasons. We are trying to re-establish calm and to lower tensions.” Abdallahi became Mauritania’s first democratically elected president last year after a period of transition supervised by a military council that deposed the previous president in a bloodless coup in August 2005.The largely desert country has a history of coups since its independence from France in 1960. Mauritania was shaken between December 2007 and February 2008 by three attacks from extremists linked to Al-Qaeda which left seven people dead including four French tourists. The attacks caused the organisers of the 2008 Dakar rally to cancel the race, which usually crosses the Mauritanian deserts.
Agence France-Presse
The bomb had been planted about 200 metres (650 feet) from a small Afghan army base, he said, accusing Taliban insurgents of laying the device. The extremist Taliban, who were in government between 1996 and 2001, use bombs in near-daily attacks that are targeted mainly at Afghan and international security forces but kill more civilians. The Canadian soldier killed in Zhari became the 154th international troop to die in Afghanistan this year, most of them losing their lives in militant attacks. Other soldiers in the nearly 40nation International Security Assis-
tance Force were wounded in ambushes Saturday in the province of Kapisa, ISAF told AFP without giving details. Two insurgents were killed in return fire, an ISAF press officer told AFP. The Afghan interior ministry said four insurgents were killed while the defence ministry said 10 were dead or wounded. Neither ISAF nor the government could confirm Afghan media reports that civilians also died. A team had gone to the area, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Kabul, to investigate, interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said.
Agence France-Presse
NOUAKCHOTT - The African Union on Saturday suspended Mauritania from the bloc following this week’s coup in the west African nation, while an emissary from the Arab League held talks with the coup’s leader.
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi granted Bomb kills five Afghan labourers meeting with lawyer Agence France-Presse
Monday, August 11 , 2008
KANDAHAR - A roadside bomb apparently intended for Afghan soldiers blew up a vehicle of labourers headed to grape fields in southern Afghanistan Sunday, killing five of the men, police said. The blast was in Zhari, in Kandahar province, the same area as where a Canadian soldier was killed in an attack announced Saturday. “This morning some people were going to the grape fields when the bomb exploded on their vehicle. Five people died and three were wounded,” Zhari district police chief Bismullah Khan told AFP.
AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi AP Photo/Penn State University, S. Blair Hedges
Barbadians slam discovery, naming of tiny snake Associated Press Writer
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - A small snake has sparked a big debate in Barbados. Residents of the wealthy Caribbean nation have been heating up blogs and clogging radio airwaves to vent their anger at a U.S. scientist, who earlier this week announced his “discovery” of the world’s smallest snake and named it “Leptotyphlops carlae,” after his wife Carla. “If he needs to blow his own trumpet ... well, fine,” said 43-yearold Barbadian Charles Atkins. “But my mother, who was a simple housewife, she showed me the snake when I was a child.” One writer to the Barbados Free Press blog took an even tougher tone, questioning how someone could “discover” a snake long known to locals, who called it the thread snake. “How dare this man come in here and name a snake after his wife?” said the writer who identified themselves as Margaret Knight. The man she refers to is Penn State University evolutionary biologist S. Blair Hedges, whose research teams also have discovered the world’s tiniest lizard in the Dominican Republic and the smallest frog in Cuba. Hedges recently became the first to describe the snake — which is so small it can curl up on a U.S. quarter — when he published his observations and genetic test results in the journal “Zootaxa.” Full-grown adults typically are less than 4 inches long. Hedges told The Associated Press on Friday that he understands Barbadians’ angry reactions, but under established scientific practice, the first person to do a full description of a species is said to have discovered it and gives it a scientific name. He said most newly “discovered” species are already well known to locals, and the term refers to the work done in a laboratory to establish a genetic profile. In the study, he reported that two specimens he analyzed were found in 1889 and 1963.
“There are no false claims here, believe me,” Hedges said. Damon Corrie, president of the Caribbean Herpetological Society, acknowledged that Hedges is the first to scientifically examine and describe the snake, but the so-called discovery makes locals seem ignorant.
“It gives the impression that people here ... depend on people from abroad to come and show us things in our own backyard,” Corrie said. Karl Watson, a historian and ornithologist at the University of the West Indies in Barbados, said it’s common for people to get excited over very tiny or very large animals. “Probably people have overreacted. ... It’s nationalism going a bit awry,” Watson said. Hedges agreed: “I think they’re carrying it a bit too far.” “Snakes are really apolitical,” he said.
Nissan Motors staff shows their hybrid car’s engine at their laboratory in Yokosuka, near Tokyo, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008. Nissan offered test-drives of its hybrid. Hybrids deliver better mileage than comparable gasengine vehicles by switching between an engine and an electric motor.
AFP PHOTO FILES / Yoshikazu TSUNO
A picture taken on April 26, 2002 shows Piero Ferrari, Italian sportscar maker Ferrari vice chairman and son of Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari, displaying a Ferrari FX, next generation top model designed by Pininfarina for the world premiere at the Tokyo Contemporary Art Museum. Andrea Pininfarina died in a car crash, the Ansa news agency announced on August 7, 2008.
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Sport
World champ Spain crush Greece in basketball opener Agence France - Presse
Phelps, wearing the new form-fitting Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit, sparked an American charge which saw them win five medals in the pool for a Games total of eight including two gold. Wins in shooting and archery kept China on top of the table with four golds and a silver as the weather broke in Beijing and heavy rain disrupted tennis and archery while making for treacherous conditions in the women’s cycling road race. On the second full day of competition, Phelps was leading a galaxy of stars on show including basketball’s Yao Ming and LeBron James, as well as tennis players Roger Federer and Jelena
Jankovic. At the pool, where the first four finals produced two world records, 23-year-old Phelps took centre stage as he opened his bid to break Mark Spitz’s 36-year record of seven golds at one Games by winning the men’s 400m individual medley. With US President George W. Bush applauding in the stands, Phelps carved 1.41 seconds off his world record 4:05.25 set last June, but admitted afterwards he didn’t have high expectations before the race. “I was in the ready room. I didn’t feel so good, I got these cold chills,” he said. “Afterwards, I looked up and saw President Bush
giving me the thumbs up and holding up the American flag. That was pretty cool.” But the Olympics, with its theme of “One World, One Dream”, continued to be dogged by political reality. A series of bomb blasts, followed by gunfire, rocked a town in China’s mainly Muslim northwestern region of Xinjiang, state media reported, adding eight people were killed with four injured. The bloody turmoil unfolding in the troubled, breakaway region of South Ossetia, meanwhile, came perilously close to sparking a walkout from the Games by Georgia’s 35-strong squad in protest at Russia’s role in the fighting.
BEIJING - Spanish coach Aito Garcia is already worried about the reigning world basketball champions getting ahead of themselves after an emotional opening victory over Greece on Sunday in the Olympic tournament. Rudy Fernandez scored 16 points and fellow National Basketball Association standout Jose Calderon added 13 to power Spain past Greece 81-66 in a rematch of the 2006 World Championship final. “It was a great game, a very important game for us,” Fernandez said. “It was our defense and the running game. Those were the keys to the win.” The Spaniards, featuring several National Basketball Association players, joined Germany atop the Group B preliminary round table and will be joined by the winner of a later game between the US group of NBA stars and host China. “I hope we’re playing better every game. I hope we improve in everything,” said Garcia, who took the job after Pepu Hernandez was fired as coach in June. “Sometimes when we win the first game, we dream we’re going to the quarter-finals. Sometimes we think too much of the future. For us the next step is the next game against China.” Spain’s Pau Gasol added 11 points and seven rebounds. The star center for the NBA runnerup Los Angeles Lakers played only about half the game. “It feels great to start with a win,” Gasol said. “We know if we all make shots we will do well. We didn’t look at the scoreboard. We just played our game.” Vasileios Spanoulis led Greece with 15 points while Dimitiros Diamantdis added 14 points. Greek coach Panagiotis Giannakis was unhappy about 11-of-24 free throw shooting and 15 turnovers. “From the first minute, we looked nervous. We missed a lot of free throws and we made some easy mistakes. That make it easy for Spain to control the game,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who is the op-
Agence France - Presse
allist from Sydney with sister Venus but who was making her debut in Olympic singles after missing Athens with a knee injury, led the 47th-ranked Govortsova 6-3, 2-1, when heavy rain forced the interruption. Williams raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first set, but the Belarussian made the American former world number one
work hard for her points. Although Williams broke again to take an ominous 5-1 lead, Govortsova rebounded to break and then hold serve on her own game. The Belarussian had breakpoint in the next game but Williams held her nerve to win a cracking rally for deuce before play was interrupted for 30 minutes by rain.
Williams survived a second breakpoint to win the first set 6-3 when play resumed, and broke Govortsova in the first game of the second set. The set stood at 2-1 in Williams’ favour when heavy rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning, saw the players scurry off court. In earlier first round matches, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki beat
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
United States’ Michael Phelps laughs as he listens to the national anthem after winning the gold in the men’s 400-meter individual medley final during the swimming competitions in the National Aquatics Center at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008.
Phelps’ golden record start sets Games alight Agence France - Presse
BEIJING - Swimming superstar Michael Phelps launched his quest for Olympic Games immortality on Sunday by smashing his own world record in winning the first of a potential eight gold medals.
ponent. What matters is making free throws and don’t give the ball to the opponents. We’re going to try the next game not to give that present.” Chris Kaman, a 7-foot center for the Los Angeles Clippers, scored 24 points and Dallas Mavericks star playmaker Dirk Nowitzki added 23 to spark Germany past Angola 9566 in the Group B opener. “We moved the ball well and defended well together,” Nowitzki said. “Hopefully we can build on this because we have a tough game next against Greece.” Former American J.R. Holden scored a game-high 19 points to lead Russia past Iran 71-49 in the Group A opener. “It was a good start. We had a little pressure on us but overall it went pretty well,” said Holden, who dismissed criticism of his switching homelands. “I don’t worry about it because I don’t read it.”
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Spain’s Rudy Fernandez, right, tries to score around Greece defender Ioannis Bourousis during the first quarter of their men’s preliminary basketball game at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008.
Serena’s Olympic advance kept on hold by rain
BEIJING - Number four seed Serena Williams was kept waiting for victory in her first round Olympic Games match against tournament debutant Olga Govortsova of Belarus on Sunday. The eight-time Grand Slam champion, a doubles gold med-
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International
Selima Sfar of Tunisia 6-4, 6-1, and Australian Samantha Stosur overcame Sara Errani of Italy 6-3, 6-2. Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova went through to the second round with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Poland’s Marta Domachowska. Joining her will be Italy’s Francesca Schiavone, a 6-4, 6-2 winner over Uzbek Akgul Amanmuradova.
Monday, August 11, 2008
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Mbeki arrives in Zimbabwe amid signs of deal in crisis talks Agence France-Presse
HARARE - South African President Thabo Mbeki arrived in Harare on Saturday to meet Zimbabwe’s political rivals amid signs that a power-sharing deal to end the country’s crisis could be near. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, as well as the country’s highly influential security chiefs and government ministers, greeted Mbeki at the airport as the South African leader began his one-day visit. Mugabe and security officials then accompanied Mbeki to the Sheraton Hotel in central Harare, leaving shortly afterward while Mbeki remained. Government sources said the two presidents would meet on Sunday. Mbeki, the mediator for the negotiations, is to hold talks with Mugabe, opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai and the leader of a smaller MDC faction, Arthur Mutambara, during his visit. Negotiators from all sides pushed ahead with talks late Saturday and it was likely they would continue into the night, said Mutambara spokesman
Edwin Mushoriwa. Mbeki’s trip follows more than two weeks of discussions between representatives of the rival parties in South Africa, and with both Mugabe and Mbeki’s government reporting progress in the talks. Mugabe spokesman George Charamba said in Zimbabwean state media on Saturday that the talks had reached a “milestone.” “This is an important milestone that has been registered in the interparty dialogue,” Charamba said in the Herald. “He is going to meet the three principals basically to update them on the progress made so far and to consult on how to take the dialogue forward.” It was unclear whether the meetings with the rivals would be held separately or in one session.
A source close to the negotiations told AFP earlier Saturday: “We are not yet sure how the meetings will go. “There are things which were referred to the principals and need to be sorted out before President Mbeki comes. At the moment there is no clear position.” Power-sharing talks began after the political rivals signed a deal on July 21 laying the framework for negotiations following Mugabe’s re-election in a one-candidate poll in June widely condemned as a farce. Tsvangirai boycotted the June 27 presidential run-off despite finishing ahead of Mugabe in the March first round, citing rising violence against his supporters that had killed dozens and injured thousands. In a sign the two sides were moving closer to an agreement, the parties issued a joint statement earlier this week calling on their supporters to halt political violence. The main sticking points in the talks are believed to involve what roles Mugabe and Tsvangirai would
AFP PHOTO/Desmond Kwande
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe (L) stands beside South African President Thabo Mbeki (C) on August 9, 2008 on Mbeki’s arrival at Harare international airport in Harare. play in a power-sharing government. Tsvangirai believes his firstround total gives him the right to the lion’s share of power, but sources in his party said previously that Mugabe’s negotiators had only
offered him one of several vicepresidential posts. The ruling ZANU-PF party has insisted the 84-year-old Mugabe must be recognised as president as part of any deal, since he won the June 27 vote.
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International
Monday, August 11, 2008
News WORLD NEWS
Don’t fear religion, Bush tells China Agence France-Presse
BEIJING - US President George W. Bush urged China’s leaders not to be afraid of religious freedom as he attended a church service in Beijing on Sunday and held talks with Chinese leader Hu Jintao.
Homophobia MEXICO CITY With new HIV infections rising at alarming rates among gay and bisexual men in many countries, activists at an international conference warn that homophobia must be stamped out if AIDS is to be controlled.
John Edwards WASHINGTON The ex-mistress of former presidential candidate John Edwards says she will not participate in DNA testing to establish the paternity of her daughter.
US elections WASHINGTON Republican John McCain portrays Barack Obama as focused on his own ambition over military success in Iraq, as the Democrat argues that McCain favors extending a war that is hurting Americans at home. Source: ap
It is a point the US leader has repeated for several days during his trip to the Chinese capital for the opening of the Olympic Games, a visit he has promised would not be used to politicise China’s moment on the world stage. But a beaming Bush emerged from the Kuanjie Protestant church with his arms around fellow smiling worshippers and told the throng of waiting reporters and on-lookers that religion was nothing for China to be afraid of. “Laura and I just had the great joy and privilege of worshipping here in Beijing,” Bush said. “You know, it just goes to show that God is universal and God is love, and no state, man or woman should fear the influence of loving religion.” Bush later alluded to a moment “full of spirituality” in the church when he appeared very briefly before the media with Hu before the two leaders retired for lunch and more private talks. The US president has often credited faith for helping him overcome his struggle with alcohol, and US leaders have often raised the issue of religion when talking about what they have seen as flaws in the Chinese system. China’s officially atheist communist rulers strictly suppressed religion for
three decades after coming to power in 1949. The following 30 years have seen a flourishing of many forms of religion, but the government continues to maintain tight controls, fearful of the potential challenge to its rule from any kind of large organisation. Believers are meant to attend only state-sanctioned churches, such as Kuanjie. Bush raised the religion issue for the first time during this trip one day before arriving for Friday’s opening of the Games, using a major speech in Thailand to take China to task over its record on human rights. “America stands in firm opposition to China’s detention of political dissidents and human rights advocates and religious activists,” he said. “We press for openness and justice, not to impose our beliefs but to allow the Chinese people to express theirs.” In his weekly US radio address on Saturday, he said: “This trip has reaffirmed my belief that men and women who aspire to speak their conscience and worship their God are no threat to the future of China.” The president has been treading a delicate diplomatic line over the past month as he navigated between calls
AFP PHOTO/GABRIEL BOUYS
US President George W. Bush gestures as he attends the women’s preliminary basketball match USA vs. Czech Republic at the Olympic basketball gymnasium during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on August 9, 2008. from rights groups for a tough stance Amnesty International criticised the US on China and Beijing’s insistence the leader for choosing to worship at a stateGames should not be about politics. controlled establishment rather than one The White House has already pro- of the underground churches which are tested at China’s treatment of interna- frequently persecuted by the authorities. tional activists who are pressing Beijing Bush attended the spectacular Olymto exert its influence over Sudan to end pic opening ceremony Friday, and apart the conflict in Darfur. from the low key meeting with Hu his By choosing to worship with sev- visit is intended to be mainly a private eral dozen Christians at the austere family affair. Kuanjie church, where he heard a On Sunday Bush cheered on US children’s choir sing “Amazing Grace” swimming superstar Michael Phelps to in English and Chinese, Bush again a first gold medal inside the futuristic walked a fine line around controversy. “Water Cube”. He was due to watch the While he risked upsetting his hosts heavyweight China-US basketball clash with an outward display of religion, later in the day.
Famed Palestinian poet Mahmud Darwish dies Agence France-Presse
WASHINGTON - Mahmud Darwish, widely considered one of the greatest Palestinian poets, died Saturday in a US hospital following open-heart surgery, hospital officials told AFP. “Mr Darwish has died at 1:35 pm (1835 GMT),” Ann Brimberry, a spokeswoman for the Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas, where he was being treated told AFP. The 67-year-old writer was placed on life support two days ago following complications arising from the surgery, a friend told AFP in Jerusalem earlier, asking not to be named. Darwish has published more than two dozen books of poetry and prose rooted in his experience of Palestinian exile and the bitter Middle East
conflict, in a career spanning nearly five decades. Widely considered one of the Arab world’s greatest poets, Darwish has been harshly critical of Israel over the years and was detained several times in the 1960s before going into self-imposed exile in 1970. Over the next 25 years Darwish wandered from place to place, spending time in several Arab capitals and briefly residing in Moscow and Paris. He received numerous literary awards during his career, including the Ibn Sina Prize, the Lenin Peace Prize, the 1969 Lotus prize from the Union of Afro-Asian Writers, France’s Knight of Arts and Belles Lettres medal in 1997, the 2001 Prize for Cultural Freedom from the Lannan Foundation, the Moroccan Wissam of intellectual merit handed to him by King Mohammad VI of Morocco, and the Stalin Peace Prize,
according to the Academy of American Poets. “Darwish is the essential breath of the Palestinian people, the eloquent witness of exile and belonging,” the poet Naomi Shihab Nye once said of him. Born in 1941 in an Arab village in what is now northern Israel, Darwish and his family were expelled during the 1948 war that followed the creation of the Jewish state, though they returned to Israel a few years later. A sequence of poetic prose written about his experience living in Beirut during the Israeli invasion and bombardment of Lebanon in 1982 was translated into English in 1995 under the title “Memory for Forgetfulness.” In 1988 he wrote the official Palestinian declaration of independence and served on the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) until 1993, when he resigned in
protest at the Oslo autonomy accords. He has been living in the West Bank town of Ramallah since 1995. In 2000, a proposal by then Israeli education minister Yossi Sarid to teach Darwish’s works in public schools sparked a political firestorm and led the right-wing opposition to register a no-confidence vote in the government. In July 2007, Darwish decried the Islamist Hamas movement’s bloody takeover of the Gaza Strip a month earlier in his first poetry recital in Israel since quitting the Jewish state in 1970. “We woke up from a coma to see a monocolored flag (of Hamas) do away with the fourcolor flag (of Palestine),” Darwish said before some 2,000 people who attended the reading in the northern port city of Haifa.
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Monday, August 11, 2008
15
Marseille’s eight-goal draw at Rennes Agence France - Presse
PARIS - Marseille let slip a 3-1 lead at Rennes to draw 4-4 in a topsy turvy match on the opening day of the 2008/09 French football championship on Saturday night. Eric Gerets’ high-profile club looked set fair for victory with their two-goal lead at the interval, and briefly went ahead 4-3 in injury time, but Rennes’ Bruno Cheyrou found the net in the fourth minute of time added on to level the match. Paris Saint Germain, who won the League Cup last season yet spent the season fighting relegation, lost 1-0 at Monaco to a Frederic Nimano goal 11 minutes from time. Reigning seven-times French champions Lyon host Toulouse in their opening match of the new campaign on Sunday. Superb performances by Hatem Ben Arfa and keeper Steve Mandanda were not enough for Marseille to make a big impact in their opening match in Brittany. The end of the match was simply amazing. Mandanda’s 90th minute own goal to allow Rennes to pull back to 3-3, when the ball rebounded off his back from an El Amin Erbate clearance, had many thinking the match would end like that. Not so and in fact two goals were to come.
In the second minute of injury time, Elliot Grandin put Marseille 43 ahead but amazingly Cheyrou levelled the scores two minutes later. Bakari Kone, Ben Arfa and Mamadou Niang all scored for Marseille after Olivier Thomert had given Rennes an early lead. Thomert scored a second soon after the break. It is arguable whether this match helped Marseille’s preparations for Wednesday’s Champions League third qualifying round, first leg at Norwegians Brann, but it certainly showed their deficiencies in defence. The new-look PSG under Charles Villeneuve was deservedly beaten by a young and spirited Monaco side at the Louis-II stadium. PSG, who host Bordeaux next week, simply did not merit more than defeat. Le Guen himself believed the opposite, thinking his side deserved a point. “I am disappointed because we controlled the match till half time,” Le Guen said. “I think we created more chances than Monaco but then we lowered our physical work. We could have played strong right to the
end and taken a point.” Monaco had a quiet summer in the transfer market but showed great understanding between Jean-Jacques Gosso and Camel Meriem as well as good quality teamwork. Without the injured Serge Gakpe, Djamel Bakar, Yannick Sagbo, and Freddy Adu, who was at the Olympics, Monaco were hampered going forward. Monaco even had the setbacks of losing defender and knee-victim Adriano in the 13th minute and then Leandro Cufre in the 22nd but a PSG lacking bite were not able to make the most of it. It was later announced by Monaco that Adriano and Cufre, who has a thigh injury, would both be out for around six weeks though further tests on Sunday would clarify the length of their absences.
Eto’o Set to Stay at Barca
BARCELONA - Samuel Eto’o looks like staying at Barcelona, according to reports from Catalonia. For most of the summer it appeared almost certain that the Cameroon hitman would join Ronaldinho and Deco as a big-name departure from the Nou Camp following the exit of coach Frank Rijkaard. There were plenty of clubs reportedly interested in fighting it out for his signature including Chelsea, Spurs, and Lyon. But now Spanish daily Mundo Deportivo claims new coach Pep Guardiola has decided to keep Eto’o at Barca. Eto’o has performed well in pre-season and spirit within the squad is good. And Mundo claims that after discussing the matter with key players and the club’s hierarchy, Guardiola has decided not to sell. Meanwhile Celtic hope to take further ad-
vantage of a special deal with Barcelona that should see young midfielder Marc Crosas move to Parkhead for a cut-price fee. Celtic will pay an initial £415,000 for the 20-year-old, who made his first-team debut in 2006, rising to a potential £1.6million depending on appearances. The deal, which is expected to be finalised in the coming days, is the culmination of talks between the clubs which were first initiated four years ago by Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell and then manager Martin O’Neill. The complex transfer gives Barcelona the right to buy back Crosas in two years for £1.65million with the Glasgow club retaining 25% of his worth. If the Catalan club do not take up that option, they would receive 25% of any transfer fee Celtic receive from another club. Crosas, who helped Lyon win the French league and cup double in a loan spell last season, is the first player to move from Barca under the terms. But Lawwell has revealed that Argentina forward Javier Saviola and Portugal winger Ricardo Quaresma earlier refused the opportunity. “We would have taken Quaresma and Saviola but the players decided not to come,” he told the Sunday Herald. “We have always thought that this formula could be successful. So we have looked at Crosas. We are not finally there but that deal is now a structure which will hopefully allow us to add players going forward.”
Samuel Eto’o
AFP PHOTO FRANK PERRY
Marseille’s forward Ben Arfa (L) and midfielder Lorik Cana vie with Renne’s defender Sylvain Marveaux and midfielder Bruno Cheyrou (R) during the French L1 Football match Rennes vs. Marseille on August 9, 2008, in Rennes, western France.
AFP PHOTO/PAUL ELLIS
Manchester City manager Mark Hughes (R) shakes hands with AC Milan manager Carlo Ancelloti before their pre-season friendly football match at The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, north-west England on August 9, 2008.
Ancelotti sees ” improvements” London -
Carlo Ancelotti and Clarence Seedorf are trying to “think positive” after their latest friendly defeat to Manchester City. Milan have struggled with an injury crisis during pre-season and fell 1-0 at Eastlands on Saturday evening. “I saw small improvements, although we are still a long way from good form,” said the Coach following Valeri Bojinov’s winning goal. “I would like to see the team focused more on the season that is coming up rather than to these friendly tests. Clearly Manchester City had a different match fitness to us, as they are close to the start of their domestic campaign.” “Despite our absences, we tried to work around that by putting Massimo Ambrosini in a more advanced role so he could use his strength in the air.” The match also saw Uru-
guayan talent Tabarè Viudez make his Milan debut just days after completing his transfer. “Viudez moved well, did some good things and I think he is a lad we can count on for the future.” Seedorf is getting a lot of playing time this summer, as Kaka, Marco Borriello and Pippo Inzaghi are injured with Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato at the Olympics. “We have to think positive,” insisted the Dutchman. “I saw Nelson Dida in better shape than he was last season. He proved he is physically ready.” Dida was in goal because Ancelotti had announced he would rotate the three ‘keepers during these friendly games against Sevilla, Chelsea and Manchester City. Of the three performances, Abbiati stood head and shoulders above the pack and is expected to be given first choice status for the start of the Serie A season.
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Monday, August 11, 2008
Loeb: I won’t let them strike back Deutschland - Defending champion Sebastien Loeb has vowed not to give his rivals the chance to fight back on Rallye Deutschland as he looks to build on his victory last time out in Finland.
The Citroen star became only the fourth driver from outside Finland and Sweden to win in Finland last time out after coming out on top of a threeday long battle for victory with main title rival Mikko Hirvonen; the pair being split by just nine seconds after the completion of the 24th and final stage. That win has seen Loeb close to within a point of Hirvonen in the title race but the Frenchman goes into the Rallye Deutschland as the man to beat, having been the only driver to take victory on the asphalt event since it became part of the WRC calendar back in 2002. Indeed, Citroen is unbeaten in Germany since 2001 with Philippe Bugalski having taken the
final win before the event secured WRC status. Should Loeb maintain that record this time around, then he will move to head of the standings regardless of where Hirvonen is able to finish, and having beaten the Ford man in his own back yard, Loeb said he was looking to now continue his love affair with the German stages in the tenth round of the year. “Following our win in Finland, on the home soil of our main rivals, we have no intention of letting them strike back on an event that has always been favourable to us,” the Frenchman, who has won six of the nine events held so far this season, said. “I have tended to enjoy a certain
amount of success on the Rallye Deutschland, but it has never been an easy event to win. It has often been a very close run thing. I am looking forward to this year’s visit to Germany because we will no doubt have lots of supporters there. However, it’s a rally that calls for great caution because the stages can be extremely treacherous. “We will be looking to win; not to take our score to seven consecutive wins in Trier but because that would be give our chances in both championships a big boost. The Citroen C4 is very competitive on this sort of terrain and we will endeavour to make the most of that. We will also face the delights of tyre choices for the first time in quite a while. I don’t know how big an effect that will have on the way the event unfolds, but we will do our best to make the right calls every time.”
Bridgestone reveals final tyre allocations
AFP PHOTO / LEHTIKUVA / Roope Salonen FINLAND OUT
Frenchman Sebastien Loeb driving a Citroen C4 celebrates his win with his co-driver Daniel Elena (L) on the podium in Jyvaskyla Paviljonki in WRC Rally of Finland in Central Finland on August 3, 2008.
16 Pages Number 167 1st Year
Bridgestone has announced the compound allocations of tyres for the final four rounds of the 2008 season. The Japanese company will take its soft and super soft compounds to Formula One’s first night race in Singapore, while medium and soft compounds will be used at the Japanese Grand Prix, remaining unchanged from last year. The hard and medium compounds will again be used in China. For the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, Bridgestone announced a change and will now take the medium and soft compounds, instead of the soft and super soft used in 2007. “After eleven races this season
we can now confirm our tyre allocations for the final four races of the year,” said Hirohide Hamashima, Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development. “This will be the first time for Formula One in Singapore and we will bring the soft and super soft compounds for this interesting new street course.” “High grip will be required at
this track which is the primary reason for our choice. In Japan and China we will use the same compounds as we used in 2007. For Brazil we have moved a step harder in our allocation range.” “This race can be very hot, as we saw last year, and our data from the thrilling final race of last season showed us that this change would be beneficial for the teams.”
e-mail: info_ibp@balipost.co.id online: http://www.balipost. co.id/international Price: Rp 3.000,-
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Robert Kilagat and Trianingsih won the Bali 10K Nikki Blonsky’s Dad Denied Bail PAGE 12
Loeb: I won’t let them strike back PAGE 16
AP Photo/George Abdaladze
A wounded Georgian woman lies in front of an apartment building, damaged by a Russian airstrike, in the northern Georgian town of Gori, on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008.
Georgia: In ‘state of war’ with Russia Associated Press Writer
TBILISI - Russia expanded its bombing blitz Sunday against neighboring U.S.-allied Georgia, targeting the country’s capital for the first time as Russian and Georgian troops continued battling for the contested province of South Ossetia.
WEATHER FORECAST CITY
TEMPERATURE OC
DENPASAR
24 - 29
JAKARTA
23 - 32
BANDUNG
18 - 29
YOGYAKARTA
20 - 32
SURABAYA
21 - 32
SUNNY
BRIGHT/CLOUDY
RAIN
Source: BMG
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Russian jets raided a plant on the eastern outskirts of Tbilisi that builds Su-25 ground jets used by Georgia in the conflict. The attack inflicted some damage to its runways but caused no casualties, said Georgia’s Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili.
“We heard a plane go over and then a big explosion,” said Malkhaz Chachanidze, a 41-year old ceramics artist whose house is located just outside the fence of the factory, which has been running since the Soviet era. “It woke us up, everything shook.” Continued on page 6
“Peaceday” in ARMA Museum
Wisdom is simplicity with the power of love Bali Post
Fear made us further from our soul. This fact was stated by the spiritual teacher from Atlantis Foundation in Germany Peter Voss on ‘Peaceday’ event that was conducted in Arma Museum on Saturday August 9, 2008. The feeling of security can be gained by spiritual power and love. Mr. Voss said that the current human was acquainted in previous life. They also had believed in different religions and being different tribes then they are today. Because of that, there is no need to resist other tribes, nation, or religions. “There is no reason for us to hate each other,” added Mr. Voss. Continued on page 6
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Students of Peter Voss sing spiritual songs in ARMA Museum, Ubud, in ‘Peaceday’ event.