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More Malaysians visit Bali PAGE 8
AFP
Jonas Brothers Lead Kids’ Choice Award Nominations PAGE 12
AFP/File – File phtoo shows an Iraqi soldier on patrol in the mainly Sunni Muslim city of Ramadi.
Iraqi official: 9 killed in Ramadi blast BAGHDAD – An Iraqi hospital official says 9 people have been killed and 15 injured in a morning explosion outside government offices in western Iraq.
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Tesla workers die when plane hits N. Calif. home
EAST PALO ALTO, Calif. – A twin-engine plane carrying three employees of electric car maker Tesla Motors struck a set of power lines after takeoff Wednesday and crashed into a fog-shrouded residential neighborhood, raining fiery debris over homes, sending residents running for safety and killing everyone aboard. But the crash somehow caused no injuries or deaths on the ground despite a wing slamming into a home where a day care center operated. The seven people inside the house, including an infant, all escaped moments before the home went up in flames. Menlo Park Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman said the Cessna 310 either struck a 100-foot electrical tower or clipped its power transmission lines and broke apart, dropping debris throughout the working-class Silicon Valley neighborhood. Continued on page 6
A government official from the Anbar province, where the blast took place, blamed the attack on a suicide bomber. The explosion Thursday happened at the gate of a compound that includes the provincial governor’s office, police headquar-
ters and courts. A police official put the initial casualty count at 6 dead and 10 wounded. Conflicting counts are common in the chaotic aftermath of an attack in Iraq. Continued on page 6
AP
AP – Menlo Park firefighters inspect the scene after a Cessna 310 hit a house in East Palo Alto, Calif.
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International
Friday, February 19, 2010
Bali News Deceiving Prospective Brother-in-Law, Arrested Police IDR 100 Million Used Unclearly Denpasar (Bali Post)—
Kadek AY, 26, was really slick in carrying out his evil actions. Various ways had been done for profit. Not only deceiving his friends, his prospective brother-in-law also became his target. Proven, certificate of land and house belonging to his prospective brother-in-law were pawned at IDR 100 million. However, the fiduciary money was used up by the suspect in no obvious purpose. Not only that, the motorcycle belonged to Kristina, 24, who lived in Wisma Nusa Permai housing complex, Benoa Village, South Kuta, was also over credited for IDR 3.5 million. More than a year the action went smoothly, but eventually was discovered, too. The suspect was arrested by detective unit of South Kuta Sector Polce controlled by Chief of Detective Unit, I Gede Ardana, last Monday (Feb 15). Chief of South Kuta Sector Police, Nanang Prihasmoko, last Wednesday (Feb 17) confirmed his party had arrested the suspect. Youth who stays on Jalan Danau Buyan Barat, Taman Griya housing complex, Jimbaran, had been arrested. Until now, the case has been being developed and the suspect was examined intensively at police station. Evil action of the suspect began when he established relationship with Kristina. During the two years of dating, Kristina’s family approved their relationship. This situation seemed to be taken advantage by the suspect to run his action. The suspect pretended to be serious in the relationship with Kristina. The suspect had ventured to borrow the certificate of the house and land of Kristina’s parents. Based on the reason of the suspect, the certificate would be mortgaged and the money obtained was used to buy a house. To convince the familyof his girlfriend, the suspect showed the land at Nuansa Kori housing complex at Jimbaran. The certificate was used to proposed the money in the Village Credit Agency (LPD). Subsequently, the suspect took the money worth IDR 100 million. He argued the money would be used to buy a house when he married to Kristina, explained Chief Nanang. Over time, the defendant sold Honda Vario with police plate DK 8902 DB owned by his girlfriend on January 11, 2009. Such motorcycle was overcredited to Budi Octavianus at IDR 3.5 million. From this action, the evil guise of the suspect was revealed. Budi Octavianus looked for the suspect to Kristina’s house. ”Budi Octavianus has given the money worth IDR 100 million for the purchase of a car but received no goods,” he explained. Kristina fell into confusion. Kris and Budi Octavianus sought the suspects in a rent car company located at the area of Legian, Kuta. Kristina popeyed to see her motorcycle there. Moreover, Budi Octavianus told there if the motorcycle has been on over credit. ”In fact, the suspect was not found there and said to have fled to Jakarta,” he said. Knowing this, the case was reported to the South Kuta Sector Police. After a week came from Jakarta, the suspect was finally arrested at particular location at Renon, Denpasar. After interrogated, the suspect was known to have embezzled the laptop ofhis colleagues. But the case was reported to Denpasar Metro Police. ”We are still going into the case. We have recently secured evidence in the form of motorcycle. Meanwhile, the money has been spent by the suspect,” added Chief Nanang. (kmb21)
Transfer of Land Function Expands, Mangrove Forests Threatened Mangupura (Bali Post)—
Transfer of land function due to rapid unstoppable development, threatens the existence of mangrove forests in the region of Badung. Today, the sustainability of mangrove forest area reaching 600 hectares is at stakes. If supervision and control of the government is not maximum, gradually the Badung mangrove forest will turn to the house-shop forest. Head of Badung Agricultural, Forestry and Plantation Services, I Gusti Made Agung, last Wednesday (Feb 17) said that around the year 1990, the mangrove forest area in the region reached thousands of hectares. Unfortunately, the forest area is increasingly undermined by rampant development that dominated by the interests ofbusinesses such as for shop buildings. As a result, now only 600 hectares of mangrove forest re-
main to survive, especially at Tuban and Jimbaran area. One of the foremost constraints of control over the functions of mangrove forests, said Made Agung, was the status of land ownership. He said, forest land was dominated by private ownership. This condition resulted government in difficult position to regulate the forest use. In terms of supervision and control of land, Badung
Regency only authorized to supervise and check the condition of forests. While licensing authority in land use, now fully lies in the hands of Bali Provincial Government. ”We’re in Badung just supervise it regularly. Afterward, we report the result to the province for further action,” he said. He added, apart from the environmental aspect such as to prevent abrasion and maintaining ecosystem biodiversity, the impact on the decline of mangrove forest is felt by community. Fishermen take advantage of mangrove forests as a source of fish. Therefore, they appealed to all parties to keep on monitoring and preserving the existence of mangrove forest. (ded)
Governor of Bali Sends a Letter to the Ministry
Asks to Improve the VoA Services Denpasar (Bali Post)—
Highlight on bad services to foreign tourists related to VoA at arrival terminal of Ngurah Rai International Airport drew the attention of the Governor of Bali Made Mangku Pastika. Head of Bali Government Tourism Office, Ida Bagus Kade Subhiksu through the message simply stated, the Governor of Bali has sent a letter to a number of related ministries such as Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Minister of Law and Human Rights. Of course, the letter was also forwarded to President SBY. In addition to the letter, the Governor also showed a video on VoA service at the arrival terminal. ”The essence of the letter of Governor conveys how the problem happening to foreign tourists at the arrival terminal can be addressed,” he said. Chief of Bali Tourism Government Office gave response via SMS because when contacted his handphone for several times always told mailbox. Head of Public Relations, Bali Provincial Government, Ketut Teneng, was contacted at separate place to justify about the sending of letter and video. Because, the problem of VoA at arrival terminal belonged to domain of the central government. The video documented about the chaos of VoA service at arrival terminal of Ngurah Rai Airport. Essen-
tially, through such video and letter, the Governor hoped the services to foreign visitors at arrival terminal could be immediately improved. The matter of tourist congestion related to VoA service, he said, was not only caused by overwhelming foreign tourists at any given moment. However, at the times when foreign tourists desperately needed service so fast only few counters were active. ”For example there are nine counters, only three are active. Then, how to provide quick services to accumulated foreign tourists in long queue and the service takes for hours,” he said. Even, Governor of Bali was so upset so he asked the relevant staff to conduct investigation how long it took to get the VoA by disguising as tourists. Meanwhile, General Manager (GM) of PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero) of Ngurah Rai Airport, Heru Legowo some time ago could also provide information about the crowdedness on the VoA services. According to him, our airport has not been adequate to accommodate such myriad of passengers. At certain hours, during the flight coming concurrentlythe accumulation would occur in the immigration booth. ”Bali is a part of Indonesia’s image in the eyes of the world. We do not want people disappointed,” said
Patrialis Akbar, Minister of Law and Human Rights during a raid on last November 16, 2009. Patrialis and Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik came to the counter of VoA management that filled by foreign tourists. At 26 counters handling VoA services and eight counters for non-VoA services, there were six units of the computer that did not work. On the occasion Patrialis promised to replace the damaged computers, and even he said his party would provide tens of units of computer as back-up. For this reason, according to a member of the Badung House as well as practitioners of tourism, the Ngurah Rai Airport needed to have adequate facilities that could provide comfort to tourists. The facility could be a VIP service for all travelers so they did not get bored of coming to Bali. ”Travelers to Bali expected happiness, they should not be faced with such problems,”said a a member of Badung House, Wayan Puspanegara. Meanwhile, former Branch Manager of PT AP I (Persero) of Ngurah Rai International Airport, Gusti Made Dordy said the solution needed was by providing incentive to the duty officers of Immigration, Customs and Excise, at least equalled to that of the employees of PT AP (Persero) of Ngurah Rai. (029)
z Founder : K.Nadha, z Chief Editor: ABG Satria Naradha z Managing Editor: Wirata z Editors: Alit Purnata, Alit Susrini, Alit Sumertha, Darmasunu, Daniel Fajry, Diah Dewi,Martinaya, Mawa, Palgunadi, Sri Hartini, Suana, Sueca, Sugiartha, Sutiawan, Wirya, Yudi Winanto zDenpasar: Dira Arsana, Giriana Saputra, Mas Ruscitadewi, Oka Rusmini, Umbu Landu Paranggi, Subagiadnya, Subrata, Suentra, Sumatika, Asmara Putra. Bangli: Pujawan, Buleleng: Adnyana, Gianyar: Agung Dharmada, Karangasem: Budana, Klungkung: Bali Putra Ariawan, Tabanan: Surpi. Jakarta: Nikson, Suharto Olii, Indu P. Adi, Ahmadi Supriyanto, Achmad Nasrudin, Hardianto, Darmawan S. Sumardjo, Heru B Arifin, Asep Djamaluddin, Ade Irawan, Ipik Tanoyo. NTB: Agus Talino, Syamsudin Karim, Izzul Khairi, Raka Akriyani, Nur Haedin, Suyadnya. Surabaya: Bambang Wilianto. z Development: Alit Purnata, Mas Ruscitadewi. z Office: Jalan Kepundung 67 A Denpasar 80232. Telephone (0361)225764, Facsimile: 227418, P.O.Box: 3010 Denpasar 80001. Bali Post Jakarta, Advertizing: Jl.Palmerah Barat 21F. Telp 021-5357602, Facsimile: 021-5357605 Jakarta Pusat. NTB: Jalam Bangau No. 15 Cakranegara Telp. (0370) 639543, Facsimile: (0370) 628257. Publiser: PT Bali Post
Bali News
International
Friday, February 19, 2010
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Four ‘Arak’ Dealers Arrested KARANGASEM – The traditional wine (Arak) merchants in Karangasem kept arrested. On Tuesday (16 / 2) and Wednesday (17 / 2) yesterday, four dealers of Arak were arrested in four different villages. Total of 130 liters of Flaming Arak were secured by the police, while the dealers were charged with misdemeanor. Liaison of Karangasem Police AKP Syamsul Hayat under the permission of the Police Chief on Wednesday, in Karangasem justified the arrests. The two dealers arrested on Tuesday (16 / 2) are: I Ketut Teak (38) from Banjar Dangin Sema, Buana Giri,
Bebandem and Wayan Suardana (32) from Banjar Telun Wayah, Sidemen. Meanwhile, the other suspects arrested are:
Nengah Sumendra (40) from Banjar Pungutan Tri Eka Buana, and Made Witarsa (26) from Tri Buana Eka village. All four deal-
Social Affair Department’s Boat in Benel Dam Commercialized Negara (Bali Post) —
Benel Dam in Tunas Mekar suburb, Manistutu Village, Melaya is in fact not only useful to supply water for Subak (traditional farming units) in Manistutu and Peh, Kaliakah. Being opened for the public since the end of 2009, the reservoir that was constructed for three years is also a tourist attraction. In almost every evening, there are visitors who come simply to see and enjoy the atmosphere of an artificial lake worth billions of rupiah. Inevitably, not a few of them want to explore the water reservoir. However, because there is no such facility, the management of the dam initiated the commercializing of the reservoir’s operational boat. According to the gathered information, this boat was an aid to the regency of Jembrana from Social Affair Department (Depsos) last year. Previously, the boat is located in the Gulf of Gilimanuk, but after the dam filled with water, the boat was then placed there.
According to the management, the visitors who want to go around the reservoir can be carried on the boat. However, they must pay fares to replace fuel costs. It costs around 20,000 rupiah per person with minimum passengers of five people. “You can charter it for yourself, but it will cost more,” explained one of visiting citizens. Every weekend, the reservoir that lies beneath the Berambang Protected Forest, Negara and Manistutu – Melaya, is very busy. In fact, added residents, recently there is also a large group of people from Java who had come to see this new reservoir. Many of them wanted to go around the reservoir, but because there is only one boat and that was truly purposed for reservoir’s operation, the request had to be rejected. A number of traders who came from surrounding areas have also begun to line up to make merchandise shops around the dam. Benel Reservoir’s water source, other than rainwater, is also from the two
rivers flowing from the forest. Opposite condition is suffered by another dam in the same district, Palasari Dam. The legacy from President Suharto’s Era is now more often dried out and abandoned. According to neighboring residents, the flow of water reservoirs is now fully depending on rain water. Before the decentralization (Regional Autonomy), the Palasari Water Reservoir was still operating because the water source came from the forest. After the Regional Autonomy, regencies fight each other for water sources. As a result, water resources of Palasari reservoirs located in the woods was diverted to Buleleng to fulfill the water needs in North Bali. “After that (the source of water transferred), there is rarely any water in this dam. Subak units can only hope for plenty of rain,” said one citizen. Facilities at the dam are now neglected. When the water has drained out and receded, residents can even graze their cattle on the bottom of the reservoir. (sur)
Paralyzed For Five Years
Former Civil Defense Officer Hopes for a Wheelchair MALANG – An unfortunate fate is experienced by a former Civil Defense Officer from Manistutu Village, Nengah Suarba (65). The citizen of Karang Katulampa suburb, Manistutu has been lying helplessly for years. Suarba is suffering from post-traumatic paralysis after the traffic accident happened in Cekik, Gilimanuk five years ago. For the same five years, he was untouched by the government health service unlike other citizens. Found in his home, on Wednesday (17 / 2) yesterday, Suarba confessed that he can not do anything being paralyzed. Even for everyday activities such as bathing and eating, he needs to be assisted by his child or wife. When seeing his wife mowing the grass, he could not do anything to help. “I can only be comforted by listening to the local
radio broadcasts while lying on the bed,” he explained. When asked about the JKJ (Government Health Care Insurance), Suarba admitted to have not got it. Limited funds made him could not go on medication. “There is not a single village or health official have come here. Don’t even think about getting the JKJ, I am not strong enough to go on a bike. Let alone to rent a car, I have no money,” he complained. Without any money to spare, Suarba can only summon a midwife to come to his house which costs 30,000 rupiah. Suarba also complained about the lack of concern from the government for the poor and sick people such as himself, despite his devotion as a Civil Defense Officer since 1977. Before paralyzed, Suarba made
money by selling chickens. When the accident happened five years ago, he was buying chickens in Gilimanuk. Since it was dawn and dark, on the way to West Bali National Park, he hit a passing animal until he fell. As the result of collision, his tail bone was hurt, making Suarba’s body became rigid and paralyzed. Except the help for the disabled from Social Affair Department he got a year ago, there has been nothing for him this year. “Usually I am given 300 thousand each month. But, I guess not this year,” he said. Truthfully, Suarba is ashamed to ask for help continuously. He is eager to be cured and to work independently, so he will no longer bother other people. Suarba only hopes for a wheelchair’s assistance. (sur)
ers were carrying a gallon of Arak each, containing 30 liters to 40 liters of the traditional wine. Karangasem Regency has not been able to resolve the problem of traders/dealers that are kept being arrested by the police. Regent Geredeg had promised a plan to gather hundreds of wine makers in Karangasem to produce Arak
and export them to Japan, such as Sake. Unfortunately, the promised has not been delivered until now. Last year, hundreds of wine makers went on a protest at Karangasem Parliament, demanding Karangasem regency officials to find a solution and requesting the police to not go into houses to arrest the owners of Arak. (013)
Related to Irrigation of Subak in Bali
Keep the Water Properly WATER has very important meaning for the Hindus. Water is not merely for the sake of life—drunk, used to cleanse the body, irrigate the fields and used for cooking, but also for spiritual purification. Water that has been invoked any strength to Ida Sang Hyang Widi Wasa or God, and given a soul with a spell, will become holy water (Tirtha Amerta). It is this holy water used to carry out any spiritual purification and so on. “The importance of water for life makes the Hindus highly glorify the water. As a matter of fact, predecessors of Hindu have left indigenous wisdom to glorify the water. Such important indigenous wisdom continues to be interpreted and its spirit is revitalized to maintain the water,” said religious observer Gusti Ketut Widana and environmentalist from the State University of Yogyakarta Dr. IGP Suryadarma, last Tuesday (Feb 16). Gusti Widana said, in the context of maintaining the sanctity or sacredness of water, the Hindu knows the concept of interpreting natural forces scientifically—in this case, water. On that account, it is known as Lord Vishnu, a manifestation of God as the ruler of water. Thus, water is truly made sacred and used properly. Even, at the water sources such as springs, lake, sea or ocean is erected a shrine or temple. As consequence, it is known by the name of Pura Ulun Suwi, Pura Ulun Danu, and Pura Segara and so on. In order to harmonize the environment of the lake (water of the lake), Hinduism knows a ceremony called Danu Kertih and for the sea is called Samudera Kertih. Because the water serves as source of life—without water there is no life—so please keep water properly. Similar opinion was delivered by IGP Suryadarma. Ground water is not separable from the evaporating sea water and then fell into the rain. Rain water was captured by trees on the mountain, and then absorbed into the ground. In order that rain water does not flow away into the sea, farmers save it through farming activities. Through farming culture, water is well-managed to produce food, mainly rice. Not only rice, water sources are also found in fruits such as juicy-watermelon, cucumber, orange and so forth. Therefore, if wish the water remains well maintained, agriculture must be secured together, while never denudes forests and attempt to plant lots of trees continuously. “Similarly, agriculture does not just produce food, but it contains cultural values. If we want to make the cultural values harmonious all the times, all components must be involved to empower the agriculture of Bali. Each living person needs to eat. Food is produced from agricultural activities. Therefore, all parties should be involved in guarding and promoting the agriculture,” said the lecturer from Marga Tabanan. For example, in order to make farmers remain loyal to farming activities, the government should provide tax incentives. Similarly, among tourism sector should contribute to the preservation of agricultural and forest conservation. Therefore, visitors to Bali are also interested in seeing the preservation of nature—in this case the agriculture. Frequently, the authorities take advantage of mountain water for the benefit of clean water. Thus, agricultural activities play very large role in the underground water supply. The fields of agriculture will supply water into the soil. If the water or river is not channeled to the rice fields, water will flow into the sea for granted. As a result, urban land progressively turns dry and results in hot air, while this condition ultimately leads us to crisis of underground water. To make the water supply remain available in the soil, it is required to make catchment wells. (lun)
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News
Friday, February 19, 2010
International
UN envoy to meet freed Myanmar opposition aide AFP
YANGON (AFP) – A UN envoy will meet the freed deputy of Aung San Suu Kyi’s party Thursday on a trip to military-ruled Myanmar to inspect progress on human rights ahead of polls, the opposition said. Tomas Ojea Quintana, on the fourth day of a five-day trip to the Southeast Asian nation, was due to meet Tin Oo, vice chairman of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in the former capital Yangon, they said. The government freed 83-yearold Tin Oo from house arrest at the weekend. He was detained along with Suu Kyi in 2003 after a projunta mob attacked their motorcade, killing dozens of people. Quintana will also meet Win Tin, a dissident journalist who was Myanmar’s longest serving prisoner until his release in September 2008, and five other members of the party’s central executive committee. “Altogether seven committee members including U Tin Oo and
U Win Tin will meet with Mr Quintana this evening. The authorities informed us already,” NLD spokesman Nyan Win told AFP. Quintana has asked to meet Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi, who has spent 14 of the last 20 years in detention, but there was still no word on whether the ruling junta would allow him. The Argentinian diplomat arrived in Yangon Thursday from the northwestern town of Sittwe and was due to go to the notorious Insein Prison, where dozens of dissidents are held. “He just arrived from Sittwe. He will directly go to Insein prison to meet with prisoners in there,” a Myanmar official said on condition of anonymity. On Wednesday, Quintana travelled to a prison in Rakhine state on the northwestern border with Bangladesh and met several political prisoners, sources said. They included Htay Kywe, a prominent student activist serving a 65-year jail sentence for his role in mass protests led by Buddhist monks against the regime in 2007.
Whalers, activists clash again in Antarctic waters AP
SYDNEY – A group of conservationists threw bottles of butyric acid at Japanese whalers and blasted their ship with paint balls, while the Japanese fired water cannons in their latest Antarctic Ocean clash, both sides said Thursday. No one was injured in Wednesday’s confrontation, the most recent in a string of increasingly aggressive clashes between U.S.-based activist group Sea Shepherd and the whaling fleet. Japan condemned the conservationists’ actions as dangerous and violent. Sea Shepherd said they are simply doing what is necessary to protect whales. Sea Shepherd has long used butyric acid, produced from rancid butter, in their annual fight to stop the whalers and maintains that the substance is nontoxic. Earlier this month, Japan
claimed three crew members on one of its whaling vessels suffered face and eye injuries from an acid attack. “We don’t throw acid on them — we throw rotten butter, which technically is butyric acid,” Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson told The Associated Press by satellite phone from the Antarctic on Thursday. “We’ve been throwing rotten butter at them for five years.” Watson said his crew also shot paint balls at the Nisshin Maru to cover up a sign that said “research.” Japan hunts hundreds of mostly minke whales — which are not an endangered species — in Antarctic waters each year under its whaling research program, an allowed exception to the International Whaling Commission’s 1986 ban on commercial whaling. Whale meat not used for study is sold for consumption in Japan, which critics say is the real reason for the hunts.
AP
In this photo taken Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010 released by the Institute of Cetacean Research of Japan
AFP/File
File photo shows Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Twin Towers in the Malaysian capital city.
Rights groups outraged over caning of Malaysian woman AFP
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – The caning of three Muslim women for having illicit sex, the first time the penalty has been carried out under Islamic law in Malaysia, drew outrage from rights activists on Thursday. The case has fuelled concerns over rising “Islamisation” in Malaysia, where religious courts have been clamping down on rarely enforced religious laws that ban alcohol and sex out of wedlock for Muslim Malays. The women were caned earlier this month at a women’s prison outside Kuala Lumpur, the home minister revealed Wednesday, saying they received the punishment while they were fully clothed and were not injured. Amnesty International said there has been an “epidemic” of caning in the Muslim-majority country, where many more people have been whipped under civil laws. “The Malaysian government needs to abolish this cruel and degrading punishment, no matter what the offense,” said Asia-Pacific director Donna Guest. Legal commentators said that the Islamic courts — which operate in parallel to the civil system in Malaysia — were becoming increasingly confident, threatening Malaysia’s status as a secular nation. “It looks to me as if it is the Sharia courts are trying to assert themselves by imposing this rather mediaeval punishment,” said Azmi Sharom, from the law faculty of Universiti Malaya.
“There’s been more and more debate over the past five years over whether this country is becoming more Islamised, so they could be showing their strength just to make a point.” Activist group Sisters in Islam said it was “shocked” at news of the caning, and that it went ahead even as a caning sentence handed down last year to a Muslim woman caught drinking beer was being reviewed and hotly debated. “To do this surreptitiously implies that the government wanted to hide this degrading and unjust treatment from public scrutiny,” said Hamidah Marican, executive director of Sisters in Islam. “This case constitutes further discrimination against Muslim women in Malaysia,” she said, adding that it violated a constitutional ban on whipping women. Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Wednesday that two of the women were caned six times while the third woman was given four strokes. Islamic scholars have said the punishment would have been carried out with a cane that is smaller and lighter then the heavy length of rattan used in the civil justice system for rapists and murderers.
“I hope this will not be misunderstood so much that it defiles the purity of Islam,” Hishammuddin said. “The punishment is to teach and give a chance to those who have fallen off the path to return and build a better life in future.” Islamic authorities triggered uproar last year when they sentenced mother-of-two Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno to six strokes of the cane after she was caught drinking beer in a hotel nightclub. Her case, which was to have been the first time a woman was caned under Islamic law in Malaysia, is still under review after she was given a last-minute reprieve amid intense media coverage. Malaysia’s Bar Council said it was “shocking” that the caning of the three women went ahead while the Kartika case was unresolved. “Whipping as a punishment for any offence is anachronistic and inconsistent with a compassionate society,” it said in a statement. Observers say that the dynamic of “political Islam” has escalated since 2008 elections that saw the longserving Barisan Nasional coalition lose unprecedented ground to the three-member opposition alliance. After minority voters deserted the coalition, its lead party the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) is now vying with the conservative Islamic party PAS, an opposition member, for the votes of Malays.
International IMIGRATION Australian Consulate General Jalan Tantular 32 Renon Denpasar Phone: +62 361 241118 Fax: +62 361 221195 (General) +62 361 241120 (Immigration)
General Info
Friday, February 19, 2010
HOSPITAL Denpasar There are 4 major hospitals usually used by foreigners Denpasar General Hospital (RSUP Sanglah), Kasih Ibu Hospital, Rumah Sakit Wongaya and Rumah Sakit Dharma Husada.
HOSPITAL Bangli Bangli General Hospital Jl. Kesumayuda 27, Bangli Phone : +62 366 91521 Gianyar
Royal Danish & Norwegian Mimpi Resort Jimbaran, Bali Phone +62.361.701 070 The Czech Republic Jalan Pengembak No. 17 Sanur, Bali Phone +62.361.286 465 France Consulate Agency Jalan Merta Sari Gang II No. 8 Sanur, Bali Phone +62.361.285 485 The Federal Republic of Germany Jalan Pantai Karang No 17 Sanur, Bali Phone +62.361.288 535 The Republic of Hungary Jalan By Pass No 219 Sanur, Bali Phone +62.361.287 701 Italian Consulate Jalan By Pass Ngurah Rai Jimbaran, Bali Phone +62.361.701 005 Honorary Consulate of Mexico Jalan Mohamad Yamin 1 A, Renon, Denpasar, Bali Phone +62.361.223 266 Honorary Consulate of The Netherlands Jalan Raya Kuta 127, Bali Phone +62.361.761 506 Honorary Consulate of Spain Komplek Istana Kuta Galleria Blok Vallet 2 No 11. Jalan Patih Jelantik Kuta, Bali Phone +62.361.769 286 USA Consulate Agency Jalan Hayam Wuruk No. 188 Denpasar, Bali Phone +62.361.222 426 Consulate General of Japan Jalan Raya Puputan No. 170 Renon, Denpasar, Bali Phone +62.361.227 628 Honorary Consulate of British Jalan Tirta Nadi No. 20 Sanur, Bali Phone +62.361.270 601 Swiss and Austria Consulate Jalan Patih Jelantik, Komplek Pertokoan Istana Galleria Phone +62.361.751 735 Honorary Consulate of Brazil Jalan Legian No. 186, Bali Phone +62.361.757 775 Honorary Consulate of Thailand Jalan Raya Puputan Renon 81, Denpasar, Bali Phone +62.361.263 310 Embassy of India Jalan Raya Puputan Renon 42-44, Denpasar, Bali Phone +62.361.241 978 Honorary Consulate of Sweden anf Finland Segara Village Hotel, Jalan Segara Ayu, Sanur, Bali Phone +62.361.282 223 Honorary Consulate of Malaysia Alam Kulkul Boutique Resort, Jalan Pantai Kuta, Bali Phone +62.361.752 520
RSUP Sanglah is the main provincial public hospital. Its facilities have improved since the emergency ward had been built in 1991. Difficult/critical cases would not become a problem anymore since it has complete equipments. It is located on Jl. Kesehatan Selatan 1 Sanglah Denpasar with : Phone : 227 911 – 15 Fax : 226 363 Kasih Ibu Hospital is a private hospital which caters for less serious cases such as diarrhea, intestinal disorders, anemia, asthma and minor accidents. Kasih Ibu is also equipped to care for pregnant women. This hospital is located on Jl. Teuku Umar 120 Denpasar. Phone : 223 036 Fax : 268 690. Rumah Sakit Wongaya (Public Hospital; Psychiatric Unit) Jl. Kartini, Denpasar. Phone : 222 142. Rumah Sakit Dharma Husada , (Private) Jl. Sudirman No 50, Denpasar Phone : 227 560, 234 824 In relating with health, Bali also has insurance and medical evacuation company, that is: AEA International - SOS Assistance Bali. PT Abhaya Eka Astiti, Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai No. 24X, Kuta 80361. Phone : 755 768 Fax : 755 768 One thing that should be noted by tourists here is that the Blood Bank in Bali normally carries no stock of Rhesus (Rh) Negative blood. Badung Bali Medical Clinics There are some medical clinics that are well known by foreigners in Bali. Some of them are western owned and operated : Bali International Medical Center (BIMC) Bali International Medical Centre (BIMC) provides excellent Primary Health Care & Emeregency Medical Services for tourists, traveler, and expatriate living in Bali. Emeregency Room, Ambulance, Clinic Services, Insurance & Medical Evacuations also available. Open 24 hours Phone : 761 2631. Located Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai No.100X, Kuta, Bali 80361 - Indonesia. http://www.bimcbali.com International SOS Clinic Bali Opened in 1999, offers International SOS members and visitors to Bali comprehensive primary health care and 24-hour emergency medical service. Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai 505X, Kuta 80361, Bali - Indonesia Phone : 720 100 Fax : 721 919 E-mail : info@sos-bali.com ttp ://www.sos-bali.com Bali Nusa Dua Emergency Clinic Jl Pratama No. 81 Phone : 771 324 Kuta Clinic Jl. Raya Kuta Phone : 753 268 Dental Clinic Dr Indra Guizot, Jl. Patimura 19, Denpasar Phone : 222 445, 234 375 DDS. Ritjie Rihartinah, Jl Pratama No. 81 Nusa Dua Phone : 771 324 Retno W. Agung, Jln. Bypass Ngurah Rai No.4A Br. Tamansari – Sanur Phone : 288 501
Clinic Mas Jl. Raya Mas, Ubud Phone : +62 361 974573 Toyo Clinic Jl. Pengosekan, Ubud Phone : +62 361 978078 Permata Bunda Clinic Jl. Patih Jelantik 50 X, Gianyar Phone : +62 361 942082 Ubud Clinic Jl Raya Ubud No.36 Campuhan, Ubud Phone : +62 361 974911 Gianyar General Hospital Jl. Ciung Wanara 2, Gianyar Phone : +62 361 943049 Karangasem Karangasem General Hospital Jl. Ngurah Rai, Karangasem Phone : +62 363 21001 Klungkung Klungkung General Hospital Jl. Flamboyan 40-4, Klungkung Phone : +62 366 21371 Negara Negara General Hospital Jl. Gelar, Negara Phone : +62 365 41006 Tabanan Laboratorium Clinic Jl. Gunung semeru No. 8, Tabanan Phone : +62 361 819260 Mengwi Clinic Jl. I Gusti Ngurah Rai 46, Tabanan Phone : +62 361 880550 Darma Kerti Hospital Jl. Teratai 16, Tabanan Phone : +62 361 812359 Tabanan General Hospital Jl. Pahlawan 14, Tabanan Phone : +62 361 811027 Singaraja Prodia Clinic Jl. RA Kartini 12, Singaraja Bali 0362 - 24-516 Singaraja Hospital Jl. Ngurah Rai 30, Singaraja Bali 0362 - 22-573 Pet Clinics Kayumas: (0361) 226934 Sayang Binatang: (0361) 483121 Satwa Kertha Husada: (0361) 263018 Pantai Sindhu: (0361) 287518 Sidakarya: (0361) 724492 Pedungan: (0361) 720026
TAXIS Praja Taxi : (0361) 289090 Bali Taxi : (0361) 701111 Ngurah Rai Taxi : (0361) 724724 Pan Wirthi Taxi : (0361) 723366 Komotra Taxi : (0361) 758855
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Friday, February 19, 2010
News
Missionaries freed by Haitian judge land in US MIAMI – Eight American missionaries freed by a Haitian judge landed in Miami early Thursday, nearly three weeks after the group was charged with kidnapping for trying to take 33 children out of the quake-stricken country. A U.S. Air Force C-130 cargo plane carrying the Americans landed at 12:04 a.m. at Miami International Airport, said Lt. Kenneth Scholz of the U.S. Southern Command. Two other missionaries with the group remained in detention in Haiti for further questioning. After arriving, seven of the eight went to a hotel adjoining the airport. Ignoring repoters’ questions, the group walked briskly through the hotel lobby and got in an elevator as photographers snapped pictures. Their swift departure from Haiti began a day earlier when Judge Bernard Saint-Vil said eight of the 10 missionaries were free to leave without bail because parents of the children had testified they voluntarily gave their children to the missionaries believing the Americans would give them a better life. “The parents gave their kids away voluntarily,” Saint-Vil said in explaining his decision. He said, however, that he still wanted to question the group’s leader, Laura Silsby, and her former nanny, Charisa Coulter, because they had visited Haiti prior to the quake to inquire about obtaining orphans. Just after dusk in Haiti, the bedraggled, sweat-stained group of eight walked out of the jail escorted by U.S. diplomats. They waited until they were safely inside a white embassy van before some flashed smiles and gave a thumbs up to reporters. Their plane took off from Port-au-Prince shortly thereafter as a group of reporters watched. Silas Thompson, 19, of Twin Falls, Idaho, plopped into the back seat, breathing heavily and beaming with relief. He’d accompanied his father Paul, a pastor, on the mission not knowing that Silsby
had not obtained the proper papers, said his U.S.-based lawyer, Caleb Stegall. The missionaries were charged with child kidnapping for trying to take 33 Haitian children to the Dominican Republic on Jan. 29 without Haitian adoption certificates. Their detentions came just as aid officials were urging a halt to short-cut adoptions in the wake of the earthquake. Before their release, Haiti’s No. 2 justice official, Claudy Gassent, informed them of the judge’s decision but said he also gave them a lecture. “They know they broke the law,” he said. The missionaries say they were on a do-it-youself “rescue mission” to take child quake victims to a hastily prepared orphanage in the Dominican Republic, denying the trafficking charge. Silsby originally said they were taking only orphaned and abandoned children, but The Associated Press determined that at least 20 were handed over willingly by their parents, who said the Baptists had promised to educate them and let their parents visit. Saint-Vil said he did not release Silsby, 47, or Coulter, 24, because of their previous activities in Haiti during a December visit. Silsby hastily enlisted the rest of the group after the quake. Coulter, of Boise, Idaho, is diabetic and the judge signed an order Wednesday afternoon authorizing her hospitalization. Stegall, a Kansas district attorney who also represents firefighter Drew Culberth of Topeka, told the AP by phone that his clients’ wives were “enormously relieved” after speaking at length by phone to their husbands before the men left Haiti.
Iraqi From page 1 The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to release the information. Anbar’s governor was badly wounded in an assassination attempt in late December. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below. His implicit support for religious Shiite parties, however, has been used to question the cleric’s neutrality. In the latest statement, al-Sistani said he did not support any particular coalition contesting the election, but stressed that voters should only give their votes to “the best and the most concerned with Iraq’s interests at present and in the future.” Al-Sistani in the past has shown sympathy toward religious Shiite
groups, particularly the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, a party established in Iran in the 1980s with the support of that country’s ruling clerical establishment. The Supreme Council has closely cooperated with the United States, but is known to be the Iraqi party closest to Tehran. It is leading a mostly Shiite coalition in the March 7 vote that includes supporters of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who is believed to have been living in Iran for the past two years. Shiite Prime Minister Nouri alMaliki and his Dawa Party are in a rival coalition. The two are fighting an intense battle for votes in Baghdad and in the Shiite south of Iraq, home to the holiest Shiites shrines and much of the country’s oil wealth.
AP
From right: Paul Thompson, 43, of Twin Falls, Idaho, Steve McMullin, 56, of Twin Falls, Idaho and Drew
Tesla workers From page 1 Federal aviation investigators said they were looking whether foggy weather played a role in the crash. National Transportation Safety Board investigators will be at the crash site for several days and a preliminary report will be available by next week, said Josh Kawthra, an NTSB investigator. The city of Palo Alto said most of the city and surrounding area — about 28,000 customers — had no electricity for most of the day because of the crash. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. officials said most homes and businesses would have their electricity restored by Wednesday evening. A spokeswoman for Palo Altobased Facebook Inc. said its offices were without power but the outage was not affecting the Web site. Hewlett-Packard Co.’s corporate headquarters also were dark, and employees were asked to find other places to work Wednesday, a spokeswoman said. The crash rattled Tesla Motors, one of only a few companies producing and selling purely electric cars. The identities of the employees were not released. The plane was owned by Doug Bourn of Santa
Clara, identified by a Tesla spokesman as a senior electrical engineer at the company. “Tesla is a small, tightly knit company, and this is a tragic day for us,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a statement. The Cessna crashed around 7:55 a.m. shortly after takeoff from the Palo Alto Airport and was bound for Hawthorne Municipal Airport in Southern California, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The crash site is a mile northwest of the airport, near Tesla’s headquarters in San Carlos. A wing fell onto the house where a children’s day care operated, and the rest of the plane struck the front retaining wall of another house down the street before landing on two vehicles on the street, Schapelhouman said. Debris also struck two neighboring houses, he said. Pamela Houston, an employee of the day care, said she was feeding an infant when she heard a loud boom that she initially thought was an earthquake until she “saw a big ball of fire hit the side of the house.” Houston said she screamed to the others in the house — the owner, the owner’s husband and their three children — and the group safely escaped before the home went up in flames. “There are not even words to describe what it felt like,” she said. “I am very thankful to God that he allowed us to get out.” The occupants of the homes have been accounted for, although au-
thorities can’t be completely sure of the fatality count until crews begin clearing the wreckage, Schapelhouman said. “Either by luck or the skill of the pilot, the plane hit the street and not the homes on either side,” he added. “That saved people in this community.” Kate McClellan, 57, said she was walking her dog when she saw a plane descend from the foggy sky and strike the tower, causing power lines to swing wildly in the air. “It burst into flames, and then it kept flying for bit before it hit some houses and exploded,” McClellan said. The crash comes at a difficult time for Tesla, which employs 515 people worldwide and just three weeks ago disclosed plans to hold an initial public offering of stock. In its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said its future business is dependent on the successful rollout of new vehicles. The two-door Roadster sports car is the only product that the money-losing company currently sells, retailing for $109,000. It has sold about 1,000 since its inception, and its next vehicle — the Model S sedan — is due in showrooms in 2012. It has a base price of $57,400, although a federal tax credit could reduce the cost to less than $50,000.
International
Indonesia Today
Friday, February 19, 2010
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Banks still facing problems with lowering interest rates Antara
JAKARTA - A University of Indonesia (UI) researcher said banks would still find it difficult to lower their credit interest rates in 2010. “Banks will still be reluctant to cut their interest rates because they are still facing high risks. I am not sure they will do it,” M Chatib Basri of UI’s Institute of Economic
and Social Research (LPEM UI) said here on Thursday. He said inflation in 2010 would be higher than in 2009 in line with global economic improvements
which would generate greater demand for commodities. On the other hand, he said, the production capacity is still lower than the increasing demand. The expected rising inflation will cause banks to wait and see. “Prices of commodities and oil at home and abroad are on the rise. This will boost inflation to a rate
Vice President inspect Kramat Jati market Antara
JAKARTA - Vice President Boediono held a dialog with fruit and vegetable traders at the Kramat Jati central distribution market in East Jakarta. The vice president’s visit to the market place on Thursday was aimed at monitoring prices and the distribution of the people’s necessaries.
He is in the company of Minister of Trade Mendag Mari Elka Pangestu, Logistics Agency (Bulog) president director Sutarto Alimoeso, and Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo. During the dialogs, Budiono asked the traders on prices, supply and distribution of vegetables and fruits. On the occasion, Boediono was briefed by president director of PD
Pasar Jaya Jangga Lubis on the prices of these commodities. “The prices and distribution had been practically stable, although some had been slightly raised,” Jangga said. Before leaving the market, the Vice President waved his hand goodbye to the hundreds of traders followed closely by them.
Pregnant rhino gives hope for Indonesian species Agence France-Presse
JAKARTA - Indonesian conservationists Thursday hailed a breakthrough in efforts to save the critically endangered Sumatran rhino after a female called Ratu became pregnant in captivity. Tests on Tuesday revealed that eight-year-old Ratu was carrying a calf
after mating with Andalas, the first of only three Sumatran rhinos born in captivity in more than a century, experts said. “We’re really happy to see the ultrasound has spotted the foetus and umbilical cord in Ratu’s uterus,” said Widodo Ramono of the Indonesian Rhino Foundation, which is conducting the breeding programme.
AP Photo/Indonesian Rhino Foundation
In this undated photo released by the Indonesian Rhino Foundation locally known as Yayasan Badak Indonesia or YABI and the International Rhino Foundation (IRF), a female Sumatran rhino named Ratu is seen at Way Kambas Rhino Reservation in Lampung, Indonesia.
“This is very, very good news... It will be the first Sumatran rhino born in captivity in Indonesia.” The two-horned forest-dwelling Sumatran rhinoceros is one of the most endangered mammals in the world, with only about 200 remaining in the wild, up to 180 in Indonesia and the rest in Malaysia, Ramono said. Andalas was born on September 13, 2001 in Cincinnati Zoo, while Ratu was rescued in 2005 after she was chased from a forest on Sumatra by villagers who reportedly mistook her for a mythical monster and tried to kill her. They were brought together last year in a breeding sanctuary set up in Way Kambas national park in Lampung, South Sumatra province, two years after Andalas was brought from the United States to participate in the programme. “At the beginning, we were quite pessimistic as Andalas was aggressive and unfriendly towards the female rhinos,” Ramono said. “He chased and fought Ratu or the other females and suffered quite serious wounds that needed at least a month to heal. “But suddenly on November 16, Andalas softened his attitude towards Ratu and he tried to mate with her for the first time, but he didn’t do it properly.” The pair finally got it right on their fourth attempt on January 13, when Ratu conceived, he said. Poaching is one of the biggest killers of Sumatran rhinos, whose numbers have dropped more than 50 percent over the last 15 years. Their horns are reputed to have medicinal properties.
higher than that in 2009,” he said. He said that one of the efforts to lower the interest rates was to optimize the Credit Bureau of Bank Indonesia (BI/the central bank), particularly with regard to the provision of information on debtors for banks. “The role of BI’s Bureau of Credit Affairs should be optimized so that banks would be able to get informa-
tion on the risks customers are facing. This would make banks trust those who they will extend credits and in this case it just could lower credit interest rates,” he said. He predicted that in 2010 growth would be at 5.5 - 6 percent and inflation at 6 - 7 percent.
Two Haiti earthquake survivors back in Jakarta Antara
JAKARTA - Two Indonesians who survived the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010, Endang Dwi Satriyani and Yogi Anggoro, met a foreign ministry official here on Wednesday to tell their stories. The two, who had been working as volunteers for a United Nations (UN) mission to stabilize Haiti (Minustah), arrived from Haiti on Saturday (Feb 13) and met with Teguh Wardoyo, director of the foreign ministry’s citizens’ and legal entities’ protection unit. Both said they were grateful they had survived the earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands of people in Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince, and could return home safely to share their experience in the horrific disaster. “The earthquake happened just after office hours, when most employees were already in the streets on their way home. I imagine there would have been many more casualties if the temblor had hit during office hours,” said Yogi, who had joined the UN in October 2009. He said, at the time he was in a group of workers dismantling a former Jordanian military camp near a logistics base, close to Port-au-Prince’s airport. “Then, the quake came. The ground under me vibrated vertically, so I could not remain in a standing position. The camp’s position also shifted about 15 centimeters,” Yogi said, adding that the quake lasted approximately three minutes. “The first thought that came to my mind was the Aceh earthquake and I immediately also thought of a possible tsunami,” said Yogi who had worked in Save the Children and American Red Cross disaster relief groups for 2.5 years in the aftermath of
the Aceh earthquake and tsunami. Meanwhile, Endang, who was at the UN office located about 15 kilometers from Yogi’s location at the time, said that she was in the office where she worked. “Usually at 4:45 pm I was already on my way to wait for the bus, but a friend offered me a ride home, so I stayed for about five minutes. Within these five minutes the earthquake happened,” said Endang. Endang said that her office was located on the first floor near the entrance of the building of three stories. Everybody panicked when the earthquake happened and people rushed out of the building. “After the earthquake, me and my friends waited at the parking lot because my apartment was cracked and the UN security staff did not allow me to stay in the apartment again,” said Endang. Endang and Yogi arrived in Jakarta on Saturday night last week, and both will return to Haiti at the beginning of next March because they still have duties and responsibilities to do. According to Endang she was grateful to be stationed in Haiti, as many of her colleagues had been assigned in the conflict area. From communications made by Indonesian representatives in New York with them, she also learned about the presence of three Balinese Indonesians working at the Hotel Caribee in Portau-Prince, The three Indonesians were Ni Luh Made Juini, Ni Ketut Yastri Astiti and I Gusti Putu Ayu Putu Sukerti but they were also safe and had returned to Denpasar. Ni Ketut Yastri Astiti and I Gusti Putu Ayu Putu Sukerti returned to Indonesia on January 29, 2010, because they still had a valid US visa and Ni Luh Made Juini had to manage her visa extension before returning to Bali on February 5, 2010.
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Internationa
Friday, February 19, 2010
Bali Today More Malaysians visit Bali Antara
DENPASAR - More Malaysian tourists came to Bali last year making the country the fourth biggest supplier of foreign tourists to the island. “Malaysia is the fourth biggest supplier of tourists to Bali after Australia, Japan and China,” the head of Bali’s statistics office, Ida Komang Wisnu, said here on Tuesday. A total of 135,190 Malaysians came to Bali last year, up by 4.21 percent from 129,723 in the year before. Wisnu said almost all of the Malaysian tourists flew directly from their country to Bali while only one came aboard a cruise ship. Malaysia contributes 5.67 percent of total foreign visitors to the island recorded at 2,38 million last year, up by 14.48 percent from 2.08 millions recorded in the previous year.
Wisnu said the number of tourists from six countries grouped in the ten biggest tourist contributors rose quite significantly. Five other countries that sent more tourists to Bali last year are Australia (up 42.52 percent), China (up 56.98 pct), France (up 46.52 pct), the Netherlands (up 22.14 pct) and Britain (up 13.07 pct). Four countries that sent fewer tourists last year are Japan (down 7.20 pct), South Korea (down 7.43 pct), Taiwan (down 7.67 pct) and Germany (down 9.11 pct). Wisnu suspected that the world financial crisis had been the cause of the decline.
ISI becomes the world tourism destination Antara DENPASAR – The Campus of Art Institute of Denpasar (ISI) becomes the world tourism destination because it’s performing many art attractions. According to ISI official I Gusti Ayu Srinatih, MSi tourists visit to ISI has been a monthly program for ISI Denpasar. Moreover on this past two month, there are three visit programs that conducted in this campus. In ISI Campus, tourists were able to see Balinese dances, among others Pendet or wel-
coming dance, and Old Mask Dance (Tari Topeng Tua). During the visitation, Ayu was giving the foreign tourists, which most of them came from Australia, workshop about Balinese dance and art instruments. In those workshop tourists will get knowledge about the basic movement of Balinese dance and instruments. Besides attending the workshop, tourists also have the chance to see Balinese art completely by visiting the art museum of ISI Denpasar.
Bali Post/Doc
Tourists holding the surfer boards in Kuta Beach, Bali Island. More Malaysian tourists came to Bali last year making the country the fourth biggest supplier of foreign tourists to the island.
Several tourism guest houses receive security standard management Antara MANGUPURA, Badung – Around 75 tourism guest houses in Badung Regency, Bali receive the certificate of security standard management that handed by The head of Badung’s tourism office I Made Subawa. The certificates being handed to several tourism guest houses that located at South Kuta subdistrict, Kuta, North Kuta, and Mengwi. According to Subawa who read the written speech of Badung’s Regent Anak Agung Gde Agung tourism is the sector that very sensitive to various issues, especially security. ‘’The certification system is very important to develop the marketing side of
Bali’s tourism and Badung Regency,” he said. He explained on keeping the existence of tourism, security and comfort must be maintained. ‘’We should realize that security is not merely the task of security officers, but also everyone in this regency,” said Subawa. He expressed hoped that the socialization of security standard on accommodation service will held continuously, moreover with the security certification of guest houses. ‘’The certification will give motivation to management of guest houses to make some innovations and increase the quality of security and safety service,” he stated.
Photo by Telkomsel
GM Sales and Customer Service Telkomsel Bali Nusra Region Syaiful Bachri (middle) holding the cellular phone during the launching of Cheap Internet Package start from IDR0.26. All prepaid customers of Telkomsel can use this cheap tariff by registering to *363#. Other than the cheap internet package, Telkomsel also re-opening the Flash Unlimited subscription’s for Kartu Halo customers. For Telkomsel Priority customers, they can choose Basic Package that cost IDR125,000 for quota access of 500MB. Meanwhile other than Telkomsel Priority customers can choose between Advance package and Pro package. Each of these two packages have different quota access and speed, the Advance offers 1GB quota access up to 512 kbps that will cost the customers IDR225,000 meanwhile the Pro gives 2GB quota access up to 3.6 Mbps that cost IDR400,000.
al
Friday, February 19, 2010
Balinese Culture
Nokia launched its first Nokia Solution Partner in Indonesia Bali Post DENPASAR - Nokia Solution Partner (NSP) that already exists in three countries, which are China, Thailand, and India, is now available in Indonesia. The NSP which serve a total solution for Nokia’s customers is not establish in Jakarta, Bandung, or Surabaya but in Denpasar or to be precisely in Cellular World, the biggest cellular shop in Bali. Arie C. Kusnadi, Retail Manager NSP Nokia Indonesia on Thursday during the inauguration ceremony of NSP Denpasar, stated that Bali is one of emerging market in the cellular industry. In fact, according to Arie, the characteristic of Bali’s consumers are unique because it’s consisting of local people and foreigners, who visit or stay in Bali. ‘’The Bali’s consumers are more adapt with the new technology and they seem to buy them quickly compare to other cities,” he said. The growth of cellular consumers in Bali, according to Arie, above ten percent and it seems increase significantly in years to come. Nokia, as one of the biggest cellular producers, is seeing this tendency as potential market to explore. ‘’We have many variants and products that range from low-end until the high-end types. Consumers can choose the right product to what they afford and need, both for their job and other activities,” Arie stated. Malika Jiwaji, Retail Man-
ager Cellular World also admitted that the growth of Bali’s market really amazing. Malika said in the Cellular World the most favorite cellular product is Nokia. This brand holds around 60 percent of the Cellular World selling. In this year, Malika optimistic the growth of cellular selling will keep growing, even
though the prediction only below 10 percent. ‘’Cellular World is the biggest retailer that sell Nokia products with legal guarantee from Nokia Indonesia, not from others or black market products,” explained Malika that accompanied with Assistant Manager Marketing Cellular World Andre Zachary. (iah)
(Cucumber with Coconut Sauce) Overview: The bland flavor of cucumbers can be enhanced when prepared with coconut milk and spicy seasonings. Ingredients: 2 tbsp oil 3 shallots, peeled and sliced 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced 2 large red chilies, seeded and sliced ½ tsp dried shrimp paste 2 cups coconut milk 2 medium sized cucumbers, peeled, seeded and sliced 1 tsp salt ¼ tsp black peppercorns, crushed Fried shallots to garnish Preparation: Heat oil in heavy saucepan. Add shallots, garlic and chilies and sauté for 2 minutes over low heat. Mix in shrimp paste and sauté for another minute. Pour in coconut milk and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add cucumbers and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are cooked. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with salt and pepper. Garnish with fried shallots. Helpful hints: Any type of green bean can be used instead of the long Asian variety. (www.baliguide.com/balifood)
Rujak Bali Post/Edi
Retail Manager of Cellular World Malika Jiwaji (middle) explaining to the press about the opening of Nokia Solution Partner in her store on Thursday. Nokia Solution Partner (NSP) that already exists in three countries, which are China, Thailand, and India, is now available in Indonesia. The NSP which serve a total solution for Nokia’s customers is not build in Jakarta, Bandung, or Surabaya but in Denpasar or to be precisely in Cellular World, the biggest cellular shop in Bali.
Otonan: Real ’Birthday’ Celebration for Companions Month by month has gone by and another year is coming. Time is so significant to humans when he performs action and writes down his story of life. When having arrived at certain point, he may need a short break for an introspection and commemoration of a beautiful moment in his lifetime. Yes, it’s commonly known as birthday, an annual celebration of the day on which one was born. Etymologically, there may have been a common ‘misperception’ here where birthday in the Gregorian calendar should be celebrated on the same day as the word suggests and not the same date (should be birth date). On the contrary, otonan in the Balinese (Hindu) tradition is similar thing but of different context. This one is celebrated every 210 days on the same day based on Javano-Balinese wuku year. So, it can be said a real birthday. For example, if one was born on Wednesday (day) Kliwon (five-day week) Dungulan (one of thirty wukus), he will celebrate his
Timun Mesanten
otonan on the same day as above. Another difference between the two is the dating system, particularly on the starting point of new date. If the Gregorian starts at 00:01, the wuku start at the sunrise. Sometimes there is also misunderstanding among some Balinese to determine the day of a baby that was born at dawn, let’s say on Wednesday Kliwon Dungulan at 04:00. Based on Gregorian calendar, the day and date have belonged to the next (Thursday) and will become its ‘birth date’ later. However, its otonan should not follow this calendar system, but as the baby was born at 04:00, it should belong to Wednesday (Buda) based on the wuku system. This misdating may often inflict mistakes in determining his otonan day and its character does not accord with the Hindu astrology. This then needs something like ritual adjustment in Hindu belief to the appropriate day through an exorcism rite as mentioned in palm-leaf manuscript
that commonly used as reference like Wrehaspati Kalpa. Otonan in Balinese tradition is actually a private and comprehensive ritual that only celebrated by the family internally. By certain kinds of oblation, the ritual is intended for one’s inner and outer self along with his kanda empat or four companions that are believed to accompany him since birth to the end of lifetime and even the period after death. They are expressed in personification as amniotic fluid, vernix cascosa, the afterbirth and the blood. In Hindu belief, the names of the four companions will change in keeping with the increasing age of the human self and so are the places where they indwell. The four will loyally keep the self in this world. If ‘spiritual’ communication and empowerment run well among the five, one will never feel fearful wherever he goes and can do healing. As loyal and eternal companions, too, they will accompany the self around the clock. (BTN/*)
(Vegetable & Fruits Salad with Palm Sugar Sauce) Overview: This popular snack, in intriguing mixture of sweet, sour and spicy hot flavors, is prepared at countless warung throughout Bali. Ingredients: 1 small pineapple, peeled and sliced evenly 1 sour mango, peeled and sliced 1 pamelo or grapefruit, peeled and cut in segments 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced 3 water apples (jambu), quartered (optional) 1 medium sized star fruit, sliced ½ small papaya, peeled, cut in half, seeded and sliced in even segments 1 green apple, peeled and sliced 1-cup rujak sauce Preparation: Combine all ingredients in salad bowl and mix well. Serve at room temperature. Helpful hint: although this is served as snack in Bali, you can serve it as part of Balinese meal or buffet. Rujak sauce: 6 tbsp tamarind pulp 1-cup palm sugar syrup 1tsp dried shrimp paste, roasted 6 bird’s eye chilies, left whole ½ tsp salt ½ cup water Preparation: Combine all ingredients in a heavy pan and bring slowly to the boil. Stir well and simmer for 10 minutes. When cool, squeeze to extract all the juice from the tamarind and strain through a sieve. (www.baliguide.com/balifood)
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Friday, February 19, 2010
International Destinations Uluwatu Temple
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ULUWATU Temple is a Hindu temple set on the cliff bank in south part of Bali Peninsula. It is one of Sad Kahyangan Temple in Bali (six big groups of Bali Temples), located in Pecatu Village, Sub district of South Kuta, and Badung Regency or about 25 Km southerly part of Denpasar town. It is situated on the coral reef sordid to sea about 80 meters above the sea level. It is featured by a small dry forest which is mostly called by Alas Kekeran (interdict forest) which is belong to the temple and dwelt by a lot of monkeys and other animal. Name of Uluwatu was come from the word Ulu meaning the head and Watu meaning stone. Therefore Uluwatu Temple mean the temple built in tip of coral reef. In the right and left of temple building or Pelinggih Ida Bagus Ratu Jurit located in complex of Uluwatu Temple, there are two stone mangers that look like a boat. When both of it are united, hence it’s look similar to sarcophagus, the famous stone from megalithic era culture. There is archaeology omission coming from 16 centuries in firm of arch or winged entrance gate. Winged entrance gate is one of the scarce archaeology omissions. Winged entrance gate that is existing in Uluwatu Temple (a period of its making) can be compared with the same one located in mosque complex in Sendangduwur Village, Lamongan, East Java.
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The period of its making is relevant with the year Candrasengkala found at this inscription. Candrasengkala founded in the mosque is written by the wording Gunaning Salira Tirta Hayu meaning year 1483 Saka or 1561 Masehi. If the sarcophagus that existing in Dalem Jurit complex area represents the artifact, hence Uluwatu Temple represents the place sanctified since era of megalithic culture (About 500 S.M). In papyrus of Usana Bali mentioned that Mpu Kuturan (The Hindu Priest who spread out the Hinduism in Bali) had built a lot of temple in this island and one of them Uluwatu Temple. In papyrus of Dwijendra Tatwa has been elaborated that Mpu Kuturan had visited this temple twice. Implicit at papyrus Padma Bhuwana that Uluwatu Temple draw in the direction that is located in Southwest functioning to worship the Rudra God, one of the god in nine god (Dewata Nawa Sanga). Rudra God is the Deity Siwa as Pemralina or return to provenance. In this papyrus also mention that Uluwatu Temple is the Kahyangan World worshiped by entire Hindu people. Since this area is opened for public, it is visited by many people from all over the world because it has beautiful panorama with spectacular sunset and stunning view of Indian Ocean and deep the cliff bank. It is the perfect to visit in Bali. (www.balistarisland.com)
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Friday, February 19, 2010
11
BUSINESS
Bank of Japan holds key interest rate at 0.1 percent Agence France-Presse
TOKYO - Japan’s central bank kept its super-low interest rates unchanged Thursday as it fights stubborn deflation in the world’s second-largest economy. The Bank of Japan, facing political pressure not to end stimulus measures too early, held its benchmark rate steady at 0.1 percent, where it has been since December 2008, saying beating deflation was a critical challenge. “Japan’s economy is picking up mainly due to various policy measures taken at home and abroad, although there is not yet sufficient momentum to support a self-sustaining recovery in domestic private demand,” it said in a statement. “The Bank recognises that it is a critical challenge for Japan’s economy to overcome deflation and return to a sustainable growth path with price stability,” the BoJ added. “In the conduct of monetary policy, the Bank will aim to maintain the extremely
accommodative financial environment.” The central bank has projected that Japan’s economy will see three years of deflation as it claws back from its worst slump in decades. Japan was stuck in a deflationary spiral for years after its asset price bubble burst in the early 1990s, hitting corporate earnings and prompting consumers to put off purchases in the hope of further price drops. Japan plunged into a year-long recession in 2008 as its exports collapsed due to a severe global downturn. It returned to growth in the second quarter of 2009, but the recovery remains fragile with falling consumer prices, high public debt and weak domestic demand all major concerns for policymakers.
Qantas slashes first class seats as profits drop 72 percent
AP Photo/Paul Sakuma
In this photo made Jan. 23, 2010, a recruiter, right, talks to an applicant at a job fair in Santa Clara, Calif. The Federal Reserve saw improved economic growth with high unemployment but decided against signaling an exit from extraordinary support measures at last month’s meeting, the minutes showed Wednesday. Agence France-Presse
SYDNEY - Australian airline Qantas Airways dramatically cut back on its first class service on Thursday after announcing a 72 percent drop in half-year profits to 58 million Australian dollars (52 mil-
lion US). Chief executive Alan Joyce said 29 aircraft would be reconfigured at a cost of 400 million Australian dollars, leaving first class available only on Airbus A380 routes between Australia and Los Angeles and London. “Our first class product will remain on key routes,” Joyce told reporters. “It’s a rebalance — there are more business class seats and less first class seats. “It’s a restatement of our investment in premium (seating) but we think the balance between first, business and premium economy needed to be readjusted,” Joyce added. The Qantas chief was up-beat about the first-half result, pointing out that many of Qantas’ competitors were booking losses in the wake of the financial crisis. “According to IATA (International Air Transport Association), the world’s airlines will record net losses of 5.6 billion US dollars in 2010,” he said. “While the operating environment has been unprecedented and challenging, this result reflects the strength and diversity of our operations.” Underlying profit for the full financial year ending in June was expected to be between 300-400 million Australian dollars, Joyce said. He said all sectors of Qantas’ operations, including budget off-shoot Jetstar, were in profit. The company opted not to pay an interim dividend to shareholders.
AP Photo/Jeremy Piper
Qantas Airways Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce speaks during an announcement of the Qantas Group’s half-year financial results in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010. Qantas on Thursday posted a 72 percent dive in net profit for the first half of the 2009-10 business year due to a drop in demand and scrapped its dividend payments.
Fed sees improved growth as it maintains stimulus Agence France-Presse
WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve saw improved economic growth with high unemployment but decided against signaling an exit from extraordinary support measures at last month’s meeting, the minutes showed Wednesday. The Fed projected the US economy would expand in a range of 2.8 percent to 3.5 percent this year, noting a “moderate pace” of recovery from recession, at the January 26-27 policy meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The central bank’s previous forecast, last November, estimated gross domestic product — the broad measure of the nation’s goods and services output — would expand in a broader range between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent. Though the overall economy appeared in better condition, unemployment was expected to remain high as businesses showed little willingness to hire new workers in the face of economic security, the FOMC minutes showed. The Fed predicted the jobless rate to hover between 9.5 percent and 9.7 percent, higher than the November estimate of 9.3 percent to 9.7 percent. Inflation also was expected to accelerate slightly, to a rate between 1.4 percent and 1.7 percent, up from 1.3-1.6 percent, according to the data presented at the meeting.
“Participants saw the economic news as broadly in line with the expectations for moderate growth and subdued inflation in 2010 that they held when the committee met in mid-December,” the minutes said. The FOMC members expected the economic recovery to continue, “but most anticipated that the pickup in output and employment growth would be rather slow relative to past recoveries from deep recessions.” The FOMC voted 9-1 at the January meeting to keep the base federal funds rate in a range of zero to 0.25 percent, where it had been for more than a year. In the accompanying statement to the January rate decision, the FOMC reaffirmed that it expects to hold “exceptionally low” rates “for an extended period” to support the economic recovery. It also said it expects to stick to its schedule to wind down its trillion-dollar-plus effort to pump money into the financial system through the purchases of mortgage-backed securities and other debt. The lone dissenting vote, by Kansas City Fed president Thomas Hoening, raised speculation that the Fed would relax its extremely accommodative monetary policy, known as quantitative easing, and wind down its securities purchases sooner than previously anticipated.
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Friday, February 19, 2010
Entertainment
International
Rihanna: ‘I Used Rated R Album To Vent’ RIHANNA’S latest album Rated R was her most emotional work to date - the star admits she was “venting” her personal issues on the record. Rated R was the first new material the Umbrella hit-maker released following her infamous bust-up with ex-lover Chris Brown last February. The pre-Grammy Awards fight left the singer battered and bruised, and Brown was later given a community service order and five years probation. And recording the album was a cathartic experience for the Bajan beauty. She tells Australia’s The Daily Telegraph, “Making this album was a lot of fun I have to say, it was really good for me. The vocal performances definitely were influenced by the emotion, the feeling.” “I wasn’t just singing lines. I was singing every word and every word meant something because it was my story. It was a lot more personal, a lot more real... I was venting.”
‘Harry Potter’ author hit with plagiarism lawsuit J.K. Rowling has been named in a lawsuit alleging she stole ideas for her wildly popular and lucrative “Harry Potter” books from another British author. The estate of the late Adrian Jacobs on Wednesday added Rowling as a defendant in a lawsuit it filed in June against Bloomsbury Publishing PLC for alleged copyright infringement, according to a statement released by the estate’s representatives, who are based in Australia. The lawsuit, filed in a London court, claims Rowling’s book “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” copied substantial parts of Jacobs’ 1987 book, “The Adventures of Willy the Wizard — No. 1 Livid Land.” Jacobs’ estate also claims that many other ideas from “Willy the Wizard” were copied into the “Harry Potter” books. Jacobs died in London in 1997. “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” is the fourth book in Rowling’s series and was published in July 2000. Sydney agent Max Markson, who is representing the trustee of Jacobs’ estate, Paul Allen, said Rowling was added to the lawsuit after Allen learned that the statute of limitations to sue her had not run out, as previously thought. “I estimate it’s a billion-dollar case,” Markson said Thursday. “That’ll be the decision of the courts, obviously.” There was no immediate comment from Rowling. In June, Bloomsbury said the allegation that Rowling lifted from Jacobs’ work was “unfounded, unsubstantiated and untrue.” Bloomsbury said Jacobs’ estate first approached the company in 2004 with its claims, but was unable to identify any text in the “Harry Potter” books that was copied from “Willy the Wizard.” In a statement, Allen said the estate is also seeking legal advice on whether the Harry Potter films and soon-to-be-opened Harry Potter theme park breach copyright law.
Jonas Brothers
Jonas Brothers Lead Kids’ Choice Award Nominations JOE Jonas and his brother Nick will battle it out at the upcoming Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards after both were nominated for a top honor. The siblings received nods in the Favorite TV Actor category for their roles in Disney show JONAS- but face tough competition from twins Cole and Dylan Sprouse, who star in The Suite Life on Deck. Disney queen Miley Cyrus is up against her pal Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place), Miranda Cosgrove (Icarly) and Keke Palmer (True Jackson VP) for the Favorite TV Actress award - but her hit series Hannah Montana has been sensationally snubbed in the Favorite TV Show category. Gomez and Cosgrove’s shows will fight it out for that honor, along with Sonny With A Chance and The Suite Life on Deck. Cyrus dominates the music categories - picking up nods for Favorite Female and Favorite Song for Party in the USA. The track goes up against I Gotta Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas, Paparazzi by Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift’s You Belong with Me. The teen sensation, Swift and Gaga face R&B su-
perstar Beyonce Knowles in the Favorite Female category, while JayZ, Sean Kingston, Mario and Ne-Yo are all in the running for the Favorite Male nod. The Black Eyed Peas and the Jonas Brothers picked up one further nod each - for Favorite Music Group. They’ll face British band Coldplay and rockers Linkin Park. It’s the battle of the movie hunks in the Favorite Actor category - Zac Efron (17 Again) will face off against Taylor Lautner (The Twilight Saga: New Moon), Shia LeBeouf (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) and Tyler Perry (Star Trek). In the actress category, Cyrus receives a nod for Hannah Montana: The Movie and is up against Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Megan Fox (Transformers: Revenge of the
Sony Sued Over Beyonce’s ‘Video’ Underwear AP Photo/Jill Connelly, File
In this July 8, 2000 file photo, Harry Potter fan Sean Brennan, 10, looks at J.K. Rowling’s ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,’ the newest Harry Potter book, moments after buying it when it went on sale at midnight at the Barnes and Noble in Calabasas, Calif. Rowling has been named in a lawsuit alleging she stole ideas for her wildly popular and lucrative ‘Harry Potter’ books from another British author. The estate of the late Adrian Jacobs on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010, added Rowling as a defendant in a lawsuit it filed in June against Bloomsbury Publishing PLC for alleged copyright infringement, according to a statement released by the estate’s representatives, who are based in Australia.
SONY Music bosses are fighting legal action from underwear manufacturer Triumph amid accusations Beyonce’s lingerie in her Video Phone promo is a direct copy of one of their designs. The R&B superstar dons a black and white two-piece in one scene in the music video, which also features Lady Gaga, complete with matching bracelets and sunglasses. Triumph executives took issue with the outfit, alleging it bared striking similarities to their creation
by Bulgarian designer Iskren Lozanov, and filed suit against Sony for copyright infringement earlier this year. Lawyers for Sony argued Beyonce’s underwear had been inspired by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, but a judge recently dismissed their claim, ruling in Triumph’s favor because Lozanov’s design was so unique. Bosses at the record label have consulted with the Halo hit-maker and are now preparing to file legal papers to appeal the decision.
Fallen) and Zoe Saldana (Star Trek). Action blockbusters Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and X-Men Origins: Wolverine are up against fan favorite The Twilight Saga: New Moon and kids’ classic Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel for the Favorite Movie accolade, while Up, A Christmas Carol, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Monsters vs. Aliens are all in contention for the Animated Movie award. Monsters vs. Aliens stars Reese Witherspoon and Seth Rogen are both nominated in the Favorite Animated Movie Voice category, along with Jim Carrey (A Christmas Carol) and Ray Romano (Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs). The Kids’ Choice Awards take place in Los Angeles on March 27th.
Life Style
International
Friday, February 19, 2010
13
Tablets, smartbooks aim to fill PC-phone gap Associated Press Writer
AP Photo/NASA
This image provided by NASA shows the immense Andromeda galaxy, also known as Messier 31, captured in full in this new image from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. NASA on Wednesday Feb. 17, 2010 released the first images from the instrument which spots celestial objects that give off infrared light. Andromeda is the closest large galaxy to our Milky Way galaxy, and is located 2.5 million light-years from our sun.
NASA releases first images from WISE spacecraft Asssociated Press Writer
PASADENA, Calif. – A glowing comet. A star-forming cloud. A new view of the Andromeda galaxy. A dense galaxy cluster. NASA on Wednesday released the first images from its sky-mapping spacecraft, which captured a hodgepodge of cosmic targets two months after its launch on a mission to map the entire sky. “We’ve got a candy store of images coming down from space,” principal investigator Edward Wright of the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a state-
ment. Since launching in December, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE for short, has sent back more than 250,000 raw images. NASA processed several of
them for the public. Orbiting some 325 miles above the Earth, WISE scans the sky in search of hard-to-see asteroids, comets, stars, galaxies and other celestial objects. One of its main tasks is to spot objects that may pose a danger to Earth. Unlike optical telescopes, WISE is designed to detect objects that give off infrared light or heat. The $320 million project is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Archbishop Tutu’s DNA helps show African diversity Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK – Scientists who decoded the DNA of some southern Africans have found striking new evidence of the genetic diversity on that continent, and uncovered a surprise about the ancestry of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. They found, for example, that any two Bushmen in their study who spoke different languages were more different genetically than a European compared to an Asian. That was true even if the Bushmen lived within walking distance of each other. “If we really want to understand human diversity, we need to go to (southern) Africa and we need to study those people,” said Stephan Schuster of Pennsylvania State University. He’s an author of the study, which appears in Thursday’s issue of the journal Nature. The study also found 1.3 million tiny variations that hadn’t been observed before in any human DNA. That should help scientists sort out whether particular
genes promote certain diseases or influence a person’s response to medications. Findings like that could have payoffs both within Africa and elsewhere, experts said. The genetic diversity of Africa’s population is no surprise to scientists. Modern humans evolved on that continent about 200,000 years ago and have lived there longer than anyplace else. So that’s where they’ve had the most time to develop genetic differences. The varied environments of Africa have also encouraged genetic differences. Africa was the ancient source of modern humans worldwide, so “we’re looking really back into the wellspring of our genetic origins here,” said Richard Gibbs, a study author from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. The study focused on genomes, a person’s complete collection of DNA. The researchers decoded genomes of a Kalahari Desert bushman and of Tutu, the 1984 Nobel Peace laureate and former head of the An-
glican Church of Southern Africa. They also decoded partial genomes from three other Bushmen. Tutu was included to represent a Bantu ancestry, in contrast to Bushmen. Bantu people have a tradition of farming, while Bushmen are longtime huntergatherers who represent the oldest known lineage of modern humans. But when researchers looked at Tutu’s genome, they found surprising evidence that his mother’s ancestry includes at least one Bushman woman. It’s not clear how many generations back that woman lived. Tutu told The Associated Press that discovering he is related to “these wise people” made him feel “very privileged and blessed.” While the study found many previously unknown DNA variations in Tutu’s genome and especially the Bushman DNA, it’s important to remember that overall, the genomes of any two people are virtually identical. The differences tracked in the new study lie in individual “letters” of the 3 billion-letter genetic sequence.
BARCELONA, Spain – If you’ve got a car and a bicycle, do you need a motorcycle too? Wireless carriers are betting that you do. They’re making a big push this year for the motorcycles of the gadget world: devices that are bigger than a phone but smaller than a laptop. The most famous entrant in the category is Apple Inc.’s iPad, which comes out next month. But many other manufacturers are crowding into the niche, and were planning to do so even before Apple’s announcement in January. Some of them are making keyboard-less “tablet” computers in the vein of the iPad. Others are making small laptop-like things known as “smartbooks” that will sell for a few hundred dollars. Hewlett-Packard Co. showed its first smartbook this week in Barcelona at Mobile World Congress, the world’s largest cell phone trade show. At first glance, HP’s Compaq AirLife 100 looks just like a netbook — a small laptop — but the inner workings are quite different. Rather than using Microsoft Corp.’s Windows software, the smartbook runs Android, which Google Inc. created for mobile devices and gives away for free. Rather than using a computer processor from Intel Corp. or Advanced Micro Devices Inc., the AirLife uses a chip from Qualcomm Inc. that has cell phone heritage. The AirLife works somewhat like a cell phone as well: It’s ready to use as soon as you flip the lid open. Like a phone, it receives your e-mail even when it’s in standby mode with the lid closed. Because the Qualcomm chip uses a lot less power than a PC chip, HP says the AirLife can be used for 12 hours between charging. Smartbooks are like cell phones in another way: Wireless carriers will sell them. Spain’s Telefonica will sell the AirLife in Europe and Latin America sometime this spring. There are no plans for a U.S. launch, but HP competitor Lenovo Group has revealed a very similar device, the Skylight, which AT&T Inc. will carry in the U.S. (AT&T will also
provide wireless broadband service for the iPad.) The carriers will sell smartbooks because the devices have built-in modems for Internet access on cellular networks. That means they’ll usually come with a monthly service fee, in exchange for which carriers will subsidize the purchase prices, perhaps in the $200 to $400 range. (AT&T and Telefonica have not announced their prices yet.) Dell Inc. is using the same technology — Android software running on a Qualcomm chip — for a tablet computer with a touch screen that is 5 inches on the diagonal. An iPhone screen is 3.5 inches, so the Mini 5 is reminiscent of a big iPhone. It’s set to be released in the U.S. later this year. Freescale Semiconductor Inc. was at the show to demonstrate the types of “in-between” devices that can be made using its chips, including a prototype tablet that slides into a docking station with a keyboard. It also showed the “Qooq,” a French tablet designed to show recipes in the kitchen, for things like “les cupcakes.” “There’s definitely a space between handsets and laptops, and I think it’s great for us that Apple has validated that space, as well as HP,” said Freescale spokesman Steve Sperle. Chip maker Nvidia Corp. brought six tablets and two smartbooks running its chips. They’re made by Asian manufacturers that are largely unknown to the public, and the idea is that they’ll be sold by wireless carriers, said spokesman Shawn Adamek. The world’s largest maker of PC processors, Intel Corp., doesn’t want to be left out of the new market either. It has talked for a few years about getting its chips into “mobile Internet devices,” and that ambition seems to be coming to fruition at last. However, cell phone-style chips such as ones made by Nvidia, Freescale and Qualcomm still have the advantage of using less power, yielding longer battery lives. At the show, OpenPeak Inc., a maker of “white label” devices that are rebranded by other companies, showed off a 7-inch tablet computer running Intel’s new “Moorestown” chip.
AP Photo/Manu Fernandez
A new notebook ‘Airlife 100’ by Compac is displayed at the Mobile World congress in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010. The Mobile World Congress will be held from Feb. 15-18.
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Sport
Friday, February 19, 2010
International
Utah stay sharp with win over Hornets Reuters -
NEW ORLEANS - Utah maintained their recent hot streak with a 98-90 victory over the New Orleans Hornets Wednesday, earning the Jazz an 11th win in their last 12 games. Paul Millsap scored 24 points off the bench and Carlos Boozer added 16 and 15 rebounds to spark his team in the fourth quarter where they were pressed by the Hornets. With the game tied 85-85 late in the final quarter, Boozer scored six points during a quick 9-2 run to help Utah close out the game. Peja Stojakovic and rookie Darren Collison had 24 apiece but could not prevent the Hornets from losing for the fifth time in seven games. New Orleans are 3-5 since All-Star guard Chris Paul went down with a knee injury. Paul is expected to be out at least another three weeks. While the Hornets’ (28-26) decline continues apace, the Jazz (3419) have climbed to third on the Western Conference ladder. “We’re learning how to win and learning how to play things out,” Utah coach Jerry Sloan told reporters. “Our team hasn’t really had to gut things out. I think they’re doing a better job of having to do that and playing better defense at times and giv-
ing themselves a chance to win.” Point guard Deron Williams, who made his first All-Star appearance last weekend, tallied 16 points and 10 assists. “I was just trying to get everyone involved,” Williams said. “I had the turnovers early and makes me a little tentative because I didn’t want to keep doing it. Second half I just came out and wanted to be aggressive and get going a little bit.” Utah shot 54 percent, largely on the strength of Millsap’s 11-for-13 effort. The Jazz trailed for much of the first half then established a nine-point lead with a run midway through the third. The Hornets yielded another strong effort from Collison, who is starting in place of Paul. The first-year player entered the night averaging 19.3 points and 9.5 assists in the lead guard position.
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko, left, of Russia, keeps the ball away from New Orleans Hornets forward Peja Stojakovic, of Serbia, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010. Utah defeated New Orleans 98-90.
Roddick beats Blake in three-set thriller at Memphis Reuters -
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga struggled for form in his first match since his Australian Open semi-final defeat before overcoming Josselin Ouanna 7-6 6-4
MEMPHIS, Tennessee - Andy Roddick reversed a run of three successive defeats to fellow American James Blake with a hard fought 6-3 4-6 7-6 first round victory at the Memphis Championships on Wednesday. Top-seeded Roddick had served for the match at 5-4 in the final set but Blake broke him to extend the battle, before Roddick capitalised on three errors in the tie-break to take it 7-3. Roddick, who lost the final of the San Jose Open to Fernando Verdasco last week, utilised his pow-
erful serve throughout and finished the match with 22 aces and converted 76 percent of his first serves. The American, who is defending the title in Memphis, was one of the few seeded players to advance on Wednesday with third seed Radek Stepanek beaten 7-6 7-5 by Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis in the second round. Fourth seed Tommy Haas was also upset 6-4 3-6 6-4 by Belgium’s Xavier Malisse in a first round match. Top seed Maria Sharapova breezed through her second round match in the women’s draw with an easy 6-1 6-1 victory over American Bethanie Mattek-Sands in under an hour.
Rusty Tsonga made to battle by Ouanna in Marseille Reuters -
MARSEILLE, France - Holder Jo-Wilfried Tsonga struggled for form in his first match since his Australian Open semi-final defeat before overcoming Josselin Ouanna 7-6 64 in the Marseille Open on Wednesday. Second-seed Tsonga staved off two break points before snatching the opening set 11 points to nine in the tiebreak. He then served 10 aces in the second set to seal a hard-fought second round victory against fellow Frenchman and world number 121 Ouanna. “I hadn’t played for three weeks
and I need to find the right pace again,” Tsonga told reporters. “It is always hard to play against a friend,” the world number nine added. “No player has ever retained his title in Marseille so I know what my challenge is but let’s go step by step.” Tsonga will meet either Belgium’s Olivier Rochus or Ukraine’s Illya Marchenko in the quarter-finals. Frenchman Michael Llodra, who lost to Tsonga in the final last year, surprised Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, seeded seventh, 7-6 6-4 while fourthseeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo suffered an early exit with a 6-2 3-6 6-1 defeat against German Mischa Zverev.
AP Photo/Lance Murphey
Andy Roddick returns to James Blake during their match at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championship tennis tournament in Memphis, Tenn., Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010. Roddick defeated Blake 6-3, 4-6, 7-6.
Sport
International
Friday, February 19, 2010
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Bayern goal likely to add to pressure for technology Reuters -
MUNICH - Bayern Munich substitute Miroslav Klose inadvertently added to the pressure for the use of technology to help referees by heading a controversial late winner against Fiorentina in the Champions League on Wednesday. Despite benefiting from the goal in the 2-1 win, Bayern coach Louis van Gaal was quick to add his name to the list of those who want some form of aid for officials at top games. “It was clearly offside,” said the Dutchman, refreshingly honest in a situation where many of his colleagues might have simply said they did not see the incident. “I’ve been banging on about this for 10 years. There is so much interest in our world of football that we can not any more go without technological assistance. “This time, we were lucky, but against Girondins Bordeaux in the group stage, we were on the wrong end.” Klose was on his own in the penalty area when he scored from Ivica Olic’s headed pass. Norwegian referee Tommy Henning Ovrebo, at the centre of controversy for his handling of the ChelseaBarcelona semi-final last season, confirmed the goal amid furious protests from the Italian side. Bayern said that UEFA president Michel Platini was among the
crowd for the match. The Frenchman has already said he is hopeful the introduction of extra linesmen behind each goal — an experiment being conducted in the Europa League — can help referees without the use of technology. But with sports such as cricket, tennis and rugby all using some form of technology, it may not satisfy the critics who say that soccer has become too important to tolerate obvious mistakes that are magnified by television replays. Last November, there was a huge outcry when French striker Thierry Henry used his hand to set up his team’s decisive goal in a World Cup qualifier against Ireland. The incident took on political overtones with protests outside the French embassy in Dublin. Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli did not want to go into the merits of possible solutions. “It was a clamorous mistake,” he said.
AP Photo/Frank Augstein
Fiorentina’s goalkeeper Sebastian Frey is on the ground after Munich’s Miroslav Klose, center, scored during the Champions League round of the last sixteen first leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and ACF Fiorentina in Munich, Germany, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010. Munich won by 2-1.
Controversial Porto winner sets stage for stirring return Reuters -
AP Photo/Armando Franca
FC Porto’s Ruben Micael, left, and Arsenal’s Sol Campbell react after Arsenal’s goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski from Poland handled the ball outside the box during their Champions League, round of 16, first leg soccer match Wednesday, Feb. 17 2010, at the Dragao stadium in Porto, northern Portugal.
LISBON - Porto’s controversial winner against Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday left Arsene Wenger fuming and set the stage for a thrilling second leg in London next month. Porto take a 2-1 advantage to the Emirates Stadium, with their second goal leaving Arsenal coach Wenger perplexed. Referee Martin Hansson penalised a Sol Campbell back pass to keeper Lukasz Fabianski and then allowed Ruben Micael to take the free kick quickly for Radamel Falcao to tap in. “It’s hard to understand this, but who am I? Maybe I am not intelligent enough to understand it,” Wenger said. “The referee made a goal from a move with no danger. Besides that, how did he see Campbell’s pass as intentional?” Hansson was also at the centre of the storm around Thierry Henry’s handball in France’s World Cup playoff against Ireland last year. Porto coach Ferreira said the goal was not a novelty nor illegal. Wenger’s Arsenal had scored a similar goal in 2004 against Chelsea, with Henry scoring from a quick free kick while the Chelsea defence were caught napping, Ferreira said. Portuguese commentators
wondered how Arsenal could concede such a soft goal. “In a tournament like this, with quick-thinking players ready to use trickery, it’s hard to understand what happened to Arsenal,” Joao Pinto, the former Portugal international who is now a TV and newspaper commentator, wrote in the O Jogo daily. The game had already proved eventful before Falcao’s goal, with a Fabianski howler gifting Porto the lead and Campbell scoring the equaliser to mark a remarkable return to the tournament after scoring in the 2006 final. Campbell, who had been playing in England’s fourth tier for Notts County five months ago, enjoyed the return to Europe’s top club competition. “Yes its been a long slog to come back, and I had to dig in but its just great to be back,” he added. “I think the main thing is at least we got a goal and now we have got them at home — and we are good at home and hopefully will get the right result.” Arsenal will expect to have some of their long list of injured players back for the March 9 last 16 second leg. “The second leg will be different,” Wenger said. “When we play at home we have another psychological strength.
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I N T E R N A T I O N A L
Friday, February 19, 2010
Sport
Vettel fastest as testing resumes Jerez-
Sebastian Vettel put Red Bull at the head of the order on a test day for the first time in 2010, as the third pre-season test got underway with another wet day at Jerez. Conditions were difficult throughout the day, with sunshine only occasionally breaking through between heavy showers and persistent dampness. Vettel made the most of a brighter spell in early afternoon to set a best time of 1m22.593s, which stood as the day’s fastest. Lewis Hamilton made a last minute improvement as the track dried again to take second, 0.424 seconds down on Vettel. The McLaren driver demoted Ferrari’s Felipe Massa to third. Both drivers had earlier lost a little time by stopping on track and contributing to the day’s tally of five red flags. Sebastien Buemi kept Toro Rosso near the top of the times with fourth place, ahead of Sauber’s Pedro de la Rosa and Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher. The latter was the most active driver of the day, completing 111 laps. “The weather was really changing all the time today which made it difficult to follow our planned programme and to have a clear picture of everyone’s
performance,” Schumacher said. “From the laps that we achieved, we have again confirmed the reliability of the car, and from the impressions and data gathered, we can say that the pace and performance looks very good. We have a strong basis to keep up the development this week here in Jerez and next week at the final test in Barcelona.” De la Rosa also admitted the weather did not help, but the Spaniard was still satisfied with his work. “The conditions were obviously not ideal today, but overall things went well for us, and we were able to complete all the work we had on the programme for today,” he said. “However, we hope to get in some more laps in dry conditions because we still have a lot of work to do. The weather forecast is not very good for tomorrow, so we have to make the most of every dry window we get.”
AP Photo/Miguel Angel Morenatti
Red Bull Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany steers his car during a testing session at the Jerez race track in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010.
Lotus thrilled with early reliability Jerez -
The Lotus F1 team was thrilled to complete a trouble-free first day of official Formula 1 testing at Jerez on Wednesday. Fairuz Fauzy was behind the wheel for the team’s first full test day and completed 76 laps and finished 11th quickest - 0.6s faster than fellow new team Virgin, which did just 10 laps. Lotus chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne revealed that the team’s performance exceeded even their own expectations as it experienced no reliability problems at all. “We had no real troubles,” Gascoyne told AUTOSPORT. “A couple of little temperature issues in the first couple of runs, which is to be expected. But in general reliability was excellent. We didn’t have power steering on, so when it dried out the
loads were just too heavy to drive effectively. Apart from that it was an excellent day for the whole team, everything went better than we could have hoped.” Gascoyne says the team believed it had produced a reliable car and that it now has a solid base from which to work on its speed. “We knew the car went together very well and we weren’t concerned about its reliability,” he added. “But obviously you’ve got to run a car and see what happens. Really, we had no issues at all with the car and we now need to start working on performance and see how quick it is. We always said we wanted to put a good, solid car on the track and present and run it professionally, and I think today showed that we’ll be able to do that.”
The team’s power steering system was delayed but will arrive at Jerez tonight to be fitted for tomorrow’s running. Fauzy was impressed after his first run in the car and is confident that there is a lot more time to come from the T127 tomorrow. “We expected to have a bit of problems but none so far, there was no single failure at all,” Fauzy told AUTOSPORT. “Thank God the car is reliable, I was very impressed. The objective was to put some mileage on the car and for me to do laps for the superlicence test, and we managed to get through without any problems.” “I was very impressed with the car, it feels very balanced and there’s a lot of potential. I was a bit unlucky without the power steering, if it’s there I’m sure I can find another three or four seconds at least.”