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Thursday, January 3, 2019

Kevin Spacey denied request to skip court hearing over groping claim

LOS ANGELES - Kevin Spacey will be forced to appear in court in a week’s time after a judge denied his request to skip a hearing over allegations he groped a young man.

The 59-year-old US actor has been told to attend court to formally hear charges against him on 7 January.

Spacey, an Oscar-winner, denies groping an 18-year-old in a restaurant in Nantucket, Massachusetts in 2016.

He is charged with felony indecent assault and battery, and is pleading not guilty.

Spacey argued he should be excused from appearing next week because his presence would “amplify the negative publicity already generated in connection with this

case”.

His lawyer Juliane Balliro claimed in court documents that Spacey’s appearance would only “heighten prejudicial media interest in the case” and increase the risk of contaminating the jury pool.

But Nantucket district court judge Thomas Barrett disagreed on Monday and turned down Spacey’s request.

Spacey was charged earlier this month over claims he stuck his hands into the young man’s trousers and grabbed his genitals.

The complainant’s mother, former TV news anchor Heather Unruh, said in a 2017 news conference that Spacey had bought her son “drink after drink after drink” and had “made his move” when the boy was drunk. (net)

e-mail: info_ibp@balipost.co.id online: http://www.internationalbalipost.com. http://epaper.internationalbalipost.com.

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Disasters rock Indonesia’s ‘10 New Balis’ tourism push

Picture-postcard Tanjung Lesung was a cornerstone of Indonesia’s bid to supercharge its tourism industry, boasting palm-fringed beaches, a towering volcano in the middle of turquoise waters and a rainforest sanctuary for endangered Javan rhinos.

IBP/net

Ethical, diverse and not a silicone breast in sight -- feminist filmmakers are standing up to mass-market porn with adult movies free of male domination and gender stereotypes.

But the beachside town now lies in ruins, pummelled by a deadly tsunami that has raised fresh questions about disaster preparedness and the future of a multi-billion-dollar push to replicate Bali’s success across the Southeast Asian archipelago. The shattered community was hosting a pop concert when the waves crashed ashore last month, at night and without warning.

Several members of the Indonesian band Seventeen and more than 100 others at the Tanjung Lesung Beach Hotel were killed -- about a quarter of those who died in the volcano-triggered tsunami.

A clutch of other area hotels was also devastated, with beachside cottages flattened and debris -- chairs, tables and the band’s audio equipment -- scattered everywhere.

Tourism minister Arief Yahya, who ordered that the town be rebuilt in six months, brushed aside concerns sparked by the tsunami -- which was triggered by a sudden eruption of the Anak Krakatoa volcano.

“Disasters can happen anywhere in Indonesia,” he told AFP during a recent visit there. “We need to have (tsunami) early warning systems, especially in tourist destinations. We’re going to make that happen.”

But some are less convinced, especially since disaster monitors became aware of the killer waves after they had already smashed into the coastline along western Java and southern Sumatra.

Feminist filmmakers tackle adult movie machismo

BERLIN - Ethical, diverse and not a silicone breast in sight -- feminist filmmakers are standing up to mass-market porn with adult movies free of male domination and gender stereotypes.

Kevin Spacey denies the allegations.

IBP/net

Their films aim to show realistic, consent-based and egalitarian sex instead of the superhuman bedroom exploits of macho studs and submissive women.

“Feminist porn is part of a fight against misogyny on the same territory and with the same weapons as the sex movie mainstream,” French filmmaker Ovidie, 38, told AFP at a recent film festival on the subject in Berlin. The first attempts at feminist pornography date back to the 1980s in the United States, but the movement has received a new lease of life in response to a flood of free online porn in the internet age.

The easy availability of even hardcore porn online has raised concerns that a generation of young people is being exposed to material that

could warp their sexual attitudes and expectations. To counter this effect, Berlin’s centre-left Social Democrats who govern the city-state in coalition with the Greens, are now proposing to use feminist adult films in sex education programmes.

- ‘X-Girl vs. Supermacho’ Traditional adult films “always follow the same kind of choreography... men dominate women,” said Ovidie, who has spearheaded the “femporn” movement in France.

In her “Stories of Sex(es)” and “X-Girl vs. Supermacho”, women are no longer reduced to objects -- on the contrary, they are in charge. To be truly “feminist” the productions must meet several criteria, explained Laura Meritt, a

German linguist and specialist on the movement.

In addition to portraying the desires “of all genders” -- including of men, who in most porn are “merely reduced to their penis” -- the cast must be “varied physically and culturally” and not of uniformly perfect physique, she said.

Condom use is a must and so are ethical “working conditions, based on consent, where everyone has the choice to take part in certain practices or not,” Meritt said.

An actress who goes by the name of Misungui Bordelle said that the sex scenes are usually shot with “the least possible” interruption, rather than through the mainstream industry’s “methodical execution... with many takes”. (afp)

- Blockbuster Bali “It’s going to be even more difficult to promote (the area), especially now that buildings are destroyed and the volcano is more active,” said Tedjo Iskandar, a Jakarta-based travel analyst.

About 42 percent of Indonesia’s 14 million foreign tourists headed to the popular resort island of Bali last year, giving a $17 billion boost to Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

The government picked Tanjung Lesung and nine other locations as part of its “10 New Balis” strategy, a plan unveiled in 2016 with an eye to courting Chinese, Singaporean and other investors as its pushes to hit 20 million tourists annually.

You can find International Bali Post at: 1 Kuta Beach Club Jl. Bakung Sari Kuta 2 Wen Dys Kuta the Coffe Bear Jl. Pantai Kuta 3 Seminyak Paradiso Bali Hotel Jl. Camplung Tanduk 4 Ramayana Resort&Spa Jl. Bakung Sari Kuta 5 The Lokha Legian Resort&Spa Jl. Padma Legian Kuta 6 66 Corner Live Sport Emtertaiment Jl. Doble Six/Werkudara 23 7 Leghawa Grill Jl. D.Tamblingan No. 51 8 Retno Barr dan Restoran Jl. D.Tamblingan No.126 A Sanur 9 Elkomedor Jl. D.Tamblingan 140

10 Malaika Scret 11 Snack Shack 12 Warung Lokal 13 Cokro Cafee 14 T.J.Bar 15 J & N Kebab 16 Goanna Bar 17 Batu Jimbar 18 Ramayana Cafee

Jl. D.Poso No 68 Jl. D.Poso No. 50D Jl. D.Poso No. 39 Jl. D.Poso Sanur Jl. D.Poso Sanur Jl. D.Poso Sanur Jl. D.Poso Sanur Jl. D.Tamblingan Sanur Jl. D.Tamblingan

19 Smirnof Cafee Jl. D.Tamblingan Sanur 20 Legwa Hotel Jl. D.Tamblingan Sanur 21 Nu Laser Cafee Jl. D.Tamblingan Sanur 22 Ganesa Book Jl. D.Tamblingan Sanur 23 All For Daiving Jl. D.Tamblingan Sanur 24 Barocca Jl.Petitenget 17 DKerobokan 25 Lantern Jl.Petitenget 17E Kerobokan 26 Shearlock Jl.Petitenget 17C Kerobokan Klod 27 Cafe Degan Jl.Petitenget 9 Kerobokan Klod

28 Kopi Made Jl. Raya Puputan No. 106 Dps 29 Dimsum Manan Jl. Raya Niti Mandala Renon No 148 30 Furama Jl. Raya Niti Mandala No. 148 Renon 31 Warung Subah Renon Jl. Mohamad Yamin No.18 32 Ayam Betutu khas Gilimanuk Jl. Merdeka No.88 Renon 33 Bali Bakery Jl. Hayam Wuruk 184 Denpasar

Continued to page 6 Azwar Ipank / AFP

This picture taken on January 1, 2019 shows the Anak (Child) Krakatoa volcano, which caused the December 22, 2018 tsunami, erupting in the Sunda Straits between the main islands of Java and Sumatra. A section of Anak Krakatoa’s crater collapsed after an eruption and slid into the ocean, generating the tsunami that killed at least 426 people and left 23 missing according to authorities.

News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http:// globalfmbali.listen2myradio.com or live video streaming at http://radioglobalfmbali. com and http://ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.

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Thursday, January 3, 2019

Bali News

International

International

Waste volume on New Year’s turn breaks a record

MANGUPURA - Celebration of the New Year’s Eve 2019 in Badung district resulted in a disaster for the local Environmental and Sanitation Agency (DLHK). Naturally, this annual celebration is the trigger for the surge of garbage in the region. Moreover, the surge in the waste volume for the New Year 2019 broke a record.

Head of the Badung Environmental and Sanitation Agency, Putu Eka Merthawan, acknowledged the difficulty of overcoming the waste problem related to the celebration. This condition is felt almost every year end. However, this year it is considered more severe because of being accompanied by marine debris dumped along the coast.

“Every celebration to welcomes the New Year, the volume of garbage surely increases, making the janitor overwhelmed to handle it. Moreover, this time the surge of garbage reached a record of 30 percent compared to previous years,” complained Eka Merthawan when confirmed on Tuesday (Jan. 1).

According to him, in the 2017 celebration night, the beach waste was only 50 tons per day. However, in similar celebration of this year it jumped to 85 tons per

day. “It is an extraordinary surge. When compared to previous year, the data indicated the tree waste reached 50 percent, but in 2018 to 2019 almost reached 95 percent of tree waste and the handling are very difficult because of many trees,” he explained.

He said the surge of garbage occurred almost along the shoreline in Badung district ranging from Kuta Beach, Legian, Pererenan and Jimbaran to Batu Bolong. The high volume of garbage makes this bureaucrat from Sempidi mobilize a thousand personnel.

“We mobilized a thousand personnel to deal with celebratory waste and marine debris but we are still overwhelmed even though we have been assisted by heavy equipment. In the meantime, our team has been working to clean up garbage from the morning,” he explained.

Seeing the high volume of waste, this former Badung Public Relations Officer urged the public to be aware of environmental sanitation by not littering the waste of fireworks and snack packs.

“If the community is aware, of course our burden will be reduced because we can focus on handling marine debris that will occur every end of the year due to rainfall and strong winds,” he said while adding the collected waste is directly transported to Suwung landfill. (kmb27)

IBP/dodok

Activities

Thursday, January 3, 2019

ROCK ‘N RUN THE 18TH CHAPTER: SAVE THE PLANET. CHARITY 5K FUN RUN IBP/Yudi Karnaedi

Driving to increase 37 million passengers

AP 1 continues reclamation covering an area of 107 hectares MANGUPURA - Throughout 2018, Ngurah Rai International Airport recorded an increase in the number of passengers and aircraft served. As of November, there were 21.7 million passengers and 148,000 aircrafts. Of the two statistics, at least until November the statistics indicated there was an increase of 10.6 percent and 10.8 percent respectively when compared to the record of the same period in 2017. With the ongoing record kept in December, the target set at the beginning of the year was almost surely exceeded.

President Director of Angkasa Pura I (AP1), Faik Fahmi, stated that with 21 million passengers in 2018, it will encourage the capacity to reach 37 million passengers per year. For this reason, the efforts carried out are reclamation across the area of 107 hectares.

“That’s for the addition of 400 meters of runway from the initial length of 3,000 meters so that it totally becomes 3,400 meters.

Later on, the reclamation process will continue the current workmanship,” he said when met after a joint prayer to welcome the change of the year at Ngurah Rai Airport on Tuesday (Jan. 1).

In addition to making the runway, said Faik, there will also the development of apron including

additional terminals. Meanwhile, the double runway discourse is not done, but only extended. Previously, it was said there was indeed the addition of apron carried out to support the IMF Annual Meeting.

At present, it will continue to the initial increase of up to 47 hectares from the current 35 hectares with the ability to accommodate up to 28 million passengers per year. For the second stage, only 60 hectares have been added, bringing the total area to 107 hectares.

The addition of runways and supporting facilities is indeed to bring in more tourists. At present, it is indeed hampered because the airport is unable to accommodate passenger growth. Moreover, at this time the airline flight slots in line to operate in the airport is quite high.

Regarding the request of the Minister of Transportation to the Angkasa Pura (AP) 1, it has delivered the readiness to manage the construction of the North Bali airport. It will immediately coordinate with related stakeholders. “North Bali Airport is very prospective because it has very significant tourist growth. Moreover, North Bali is one of the potential regions that can be developed. Thus, the growth of tourists in Ngurah Rai and North Bali can be balanced,” he hoped. (kmb23)

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The 18th Rock ‘N Run 5K fun run, is an annual charity event organized by Hard Rock Hotel Bali that was held on Sunday morning 30 September 2018 in Kuta. This year, over 1,400 runners as well as generous sponsors came together to help raise Rp 200,000,000 in proceeds that will go to towards the education and conservation of coral around Bali.

Funds were raised from participation fees, sponsorship, auctions sales and bazaar, with 100% of proceeds from this year’s event will be donated to the Coral Triangle Center in Sanur, Bali, a-non-profit organization.

The 5 km race was very close finish won by Nyoman Agus Erawan Saputra with a time of 19.10. Gregorius came in 2nd place with a time of 19.12 and Julio finished 3rd with 19:14.

Brooke was the 1st female with a time of 23:10, followed by Kanna at 23:14 and Yunita finished in 3rd place with 23:37. The Fawcett’s won the Family category, while Elle and Lisa won the Best Costume category.

“Over the last 20 years, Hard Rock Hotel Bali has been at the forefront of corporate responsibility within our industry in Bali and we remain committed to assisting the local community and environment anyway we can. We have raised billions of Rupiah since the inception of this annual event for various local charities and this year once again we are thrilled to see the turnout and support. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors, community partners, media partners, Hard Rock Hotel Bali team, and all the participants who have contributed to this very event.

In keeping with our motto ‘Save the Planet’, the proceeds of this year’s event will certainly assist in growing the education of coral conservation in Bali.” said Mr Shane Coates, General Manager of Hard Rock Hotel Bali.

Sponsors for this event include Toyota Agung Kuta, APN Bali, Hard Rock Hotel Penang, Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya, Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur, The Boathouse Phuket, Rock Shop, Jamie’s Italian Kuta Beach, Hard Rock Café Bali, Thai Airways, Rimba Jimbaran Bali by Ayana, Renaissance Resort & Spa, Radisson Blu, W Hotel Bali, Hydro Coco, Le Meridien Jimbaran, Movenpick Resort & Spa Jimbaran, Dynasty Resort, Menjangan Dynasty Resort, Bali Beach Golf Course, Desa Visesa Ubud, , Nilamani Hotels, Wyndham Garden Kuta Beach, Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay, Waterbom Kuta, Waka Gangga, Bali Safari Marine Park, Natya Group, Natys Restaurant, Beachwalk Shopping Center, BCA, C.V Massa, Jagir Advertising, Spring, Hard Rock FM Bali, D’OZ Radio Bali, Jawa Post, Nirwana TV, Bali Plus, Bali Pocket, Bali Advertiser, The Beat Magazine, The Beat Radio Plus, Tribun Bali, Bali Post International, Bali Tribun, Bali TV, NOW! Bali Magazine, Mangsi, RIOT, Fake Runners Bali, IndoRunners, Island Wolf Pack, JimbaRUN, Lan Melaib Kuta, Jeg Melaib Bali.

For more information or to book a stay at Hard Rock Hotel Bali, please visit http://bali.hardrockhotels.net/.

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Thursday, January 3, 2019

Health

International

The $35 billion race to cure a silent killer that affects 30 million Americans

IBP/net

Still, medical researchers continue to caution against its use because little is known about its effects on health.

What we learned about marijuana in 2018

MICHIGAN - 2018 has been a banner year for the legal marijuana industry, as the national market for weed skyrocketed and five more states legalized it, reflecting widespread popular support.

This year, Vermont and Michigan became the ninth and 10th states to legalize recreational marijuana, which is also legal In the District of Columbia. And voters in Missouri, Oklahoma and Utah overwhelmingly approved ballot measures making medical marijuana legal. That means 33 states plus D.C. now approve the illicit drug for medical use, raising the question of whether the U.S. will follow Canada’s lead in legalizing marijuana nationwide.

In 2019, legalization for recreational use seems imminent in New York and New Jersey.

The wave of legalization is taking place as the latest polls show that nearly two-thirds of Americans

endorse it, double the rate in 2000.

Investors are noticing too, pouring an estimated $10 billion into the industry in North America this year.

Still, medical researchers continue to caution against its use because little is known about its effects on health. Here is a review of what we’ve learned about marijuana and marijuana-based products in 2018.

Today’s weed stronger than yesterday’s

Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana and typically used as a measure of potency. Over the past decade, the quantity of THC in marijuana in the United States has risen steadily, and the change has

been more dramatic where there is a legal market.

A study published in 2016 tested over 38,000 samples of marijuana seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration from 1995 to 2014.

The average THC content in 1995 was around 4 percent. By 2014, it had risen to 12 percent.

One legal market is in Washington state. “The average potency of the flower product sold in Washington’s state-licensed markets is over 20 percent, and the average potency of extract-based products — like oils for vaping pens, dabs and the like — is in the neighborhood of 70 percent,” said Jonathan Caulkins, a drug policy researcher and professor at Carnegie Mellon University. (net)

FLORIDA - At the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, the liver transplant group is busy handling an onslaught of patients who have come from all over the country in hopes of a chance at life. For many, a liver transplant is their last hope, after being diagnosed with a deadly disease sweeping the nation at epic proportions. People crowd the unit and undergo scores of testing and evaluation in an effort to get on the hospital’s coveted transplant list. It’s a program with a 94 percent survival rate after liver transplant, one of the highest in the nation.

For many the culprit is a serious form of fatty liver disease called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, also known as NASH. An outgrowth of the obesity epidemic in the Western world and around the globe, it causes scarring and inflammation that can lead to liver cirrhosis, cardiac and lung complications, liver cancer and death.

Yet few people know about it.

Across the United States, millions of people of all ages suffer from this silent killer that slowly morphs from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition that now affects 89 million in the U.S., according to the Center for Disease Analysis. The National Institutes of Health estimates as many as 30 million people, or 12 percent of U.S. adults, now have NASH. The effects of the disease — which include fibrosis, ascites (fluid accumulation in the abdomen), bleeding varices in the esophagus and liver cancer — are devastating. “By 2020 NASH will overtake hepatitis C as the No. 1 cause of liver transplantation in the U.S.,” says Dr. Maria Yataco, a gastroenterologist who is conducting research on NASH and liver disease at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.

What is even scarier is the fact that liver specialists are seeing patients that are younger and younger with this disease due the rising obesity rates. “Today we are seeing people in their 20s and 30s with NASH,” says Dr. Leona KimSchluger, a hepatologist and professor at the Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. “There is even NASH in the pediatric population.”

“Right now it is estimated the U.S. is spending $5 billion annually in health-care costs related to the disease, which include chemotherapy, transplants, tests and hospitalizations,” says health-care economist Home Razavi, managing director of the Center for Disease Analysis, who is working with ministers of health around the world to gather data and help them develop a national health strategy for NASH. “But the costs will rise to $18 billion by 2030 if this disease goes unchecked.”

In spite of the large U.S. patient population at risk, the CDC has not

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International

addressed the crisis, and there is no FDA-approved treatment available, experts point out.

Even worse, signs of the disease are asymptomatic, so a person often is not diagnosed with NASH until it advances to a late stage, when cirrhosis begins to ravage the body, according to Dr. Laurent Fischer, senior vice president and head of global drug development at Allergan.

By that point the only option is a transplant to avert death. That’s because physicians typically do not screen for fatty liver disease as part of the annual physical they give patients when they analyze for other life-threatening conditions, like heart disease, diabetes, breast and colon cancer.

Wayne Gagne a 67-year-old locomotive engineer in Nashua, New Hampshire, can attest to that. Now on hospice care, he found out he had NASH totally by accident in 2011 after going to the emergency room at his local hospital for heart problems.

There doctors did a battery of tests to diagnosis his issues, including an ultrasound of his abdomen, and found he had the disease. “By then he had cirrhosis of the liver, and his only option was a transplant,” says his wife Gigi. But his heart condition precluded him from being a candidate.

“Routine checkups never revealed he had NASH,” Gigi recalls, “all the blood tests of his liver enzymes were fine, so no one knew. We just thought if he lost weight and had a healthy life style he would be OK.” Since then Wayne has suffered with a host of complications including acities, varices in his esophagus and severe muscle loss and muscle cramps. His heart condition is worsening, another complication from NASH. (net)

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Build synergy in the year of productivity and quality

WE have entered a new phase in the struggle of life in various sectors. In Chinese year, the 2019 belonging to the Year of the Pig is considered a year with full of surprises at least for Bali. The fate of Bali’s economy will also be at stake. Many people put up optimistic targets with 6.00 - 6.40 percent but the challenge is relatively difficult. Likewise, Bali has the potential to face serious challenges. Political pressure, digital world movement and weakness of alternative economic strengthening become a serious threat.

In 2019, until entering the first semester – Bali’s economy will be faced with challenges and vulnerabilities in the field of economic politics. Political campaigns tending to move on a pragmatic economic approach cause friction. The economic community is divided into two camps. This condition lasted until April 2014. This made the economic community out of focus.

Clearly, it is very vulnerable economically. The pace of growth in the digital world also makes market players still adapt. It becomes an obstacle because it will lead to changes in the way business is

done. And the most serious challenge is certainly a never-ending trade war as a global risk.

Looking at the various economic potentials in 2019 and the risks for Bali, Bali Post organized a discussion with practitioners and economists such as Viraguna Bagoes Oka, Dr. I Gde Made Sadguna and Deputy Director of Bank Indonesia for Bali Representative Office, Azka Subhan. Their scrutiny of Bali’s 2019 economy is generally positive. However, the magnitude of the obstacles has forced us to manage 2019 professionally in Bali.

The year 2019 must be managed as a year of productivity and quality. This year should not be passed as a political year without any efforts to make recoveries and move on the economic agitation of Bali.

The world economy in the Year of the Earth Pig is rather cloudy characterized by sluggish growth and shrouds in obvious uncertainties affecting Bali. Economic growth of the world is predicted to decline and lie in the range of 3.5 percent. At the national level, President Joko Widodo targeted a 5.3-percent growth rate for 2019. Positive impact of massive infrastructure development in all regions of Indonesia should begin to show off the results in 2019. Presidential election and simultaneous regional

IBP/eka

Looking at the various economic potentials in 2019 and the risks for Bali, Bali Post organized a discussion with practitioners and economists.

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elections will clearly encourage to aggregate the demand from the consumption side. As long as there is no political commotion triggering business concerns, we can expect a positive impact on economic growth.

Bank Indonesia for Bali Representative Office estimated that Bali’s economic growth will be in the range of 6 percent to 6.40 percent. This optimism is mainly supported by the trend of tourism sector activity remaining to increase. Some policies of the new elected governor of Bali will also surely have a positive impact on Bali’s economic growth. Gubernatorial Regulation No.79 and 80 issued recently will encourage the growth of the local garment industry to meet the increasing demand for traditional Balinese clothing and stimulate the activities of the related service sector.

Policies encouraging the use of agricultural products and local handicraft industries to be released in the near future will certainly increase the contribution of the agricultural sector to encourage economic growth in Bali.

However, business people and the economy of Bali must continuously strive to increase productivity and product quality. Bali business players must compete and meet local market demand and export markets. Business opportunities created by various central and regional government policies must be utilized optimally. Business sector must continuously make investments by utilizing the development of information and communication technology and continuously investing in ‘human capital’ so that Balinese human resources can compete and take advantage of the technological advances in product and business development.

To encourage economic acceleration of Bali, Bank Indonesia for Bali Representatives Office urged the tourism sector to be improved so the benefits could be obtained from the Bali’s economy more significantly. Other sources of economic growth supporting tourism must also be prioritized such as the plantation or agriculture sectors through export-oriented coffee and cacao and the development of various creative industries being in line with Bali’s local culture and wisdom.

In the short term, Bali certainly must be able to realize a reliable government. Leadership of Bali should have a role model with a long-term and resilient vision in its implementation. The leader must also have professional skills and make Bali independent in controlling inflation. It should still inspire the movement of the business world to invest and make a real breakthrough in minimizing the gap of poverty. Economic engagement in the tourism sector in Bali is carried out with a competitive quality and productivity approach. Economists also recommended to prevent tariff wars so as to suppress cheap tourism conditions. In addition to strengthening the agricultural sector as a tourism buffer, Bali also has to move in the creative industry. (kmb)

Most local residents involved in cases of drug abuse

IBP/net

Across the United States, millions of people of all ages suffer from this silent killer that slowly morphs from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition that now affects 89 million in the U.S., according to the Center for Disease Analysis.

SINGARAJA - Crime of drug abuse in Buleleng is high. They do not only regard the number of cases revealed, but most of the perpetrators involved are local residents.

No wonder, this situation is quite alarming.

This was stated by Chief of Buleleng Police, Suratno, last week, saying that throughout 2018 there were totally 55 cases of drug abuse revealed. From the cases, police arrested 63 suspects. The number rose 10 percent compared to the cases in 2017 reaching 50 cases. More seriously, out of the 63 suspects, 58 perpetrators are from

Buleleng while three others are from West Java, one from Central Java, and another from Denpasar.

“The most apprehensive is that most of the users are from Buleleng,” he said.

According to Chief Suratno, the circulation pattern still uses a sticking system. This is quite difficult for police to develop the case. From the results of the arrests, criminals often claimed to get their drugs through mobile phone contact.

To prevent massive drug trafficking, his party encouraged the customary village to form an awig-awig or customary bylaw

program regulating the prevention and control of narcotics. With customary sanctions, it is expected to be able to prevent residents from drug abuse in North Bali. So far, police authority together with the Buleleng National Narcotics Agency (BNNK) have been intensely correlating to encourage village leaders “We encourage the role of customary village to jointly combat drug abuse. Based on the study and the fact, the customary sanctions are quite effective in taking action against the crime of drug abuse,” he said. (kmb38)

IBP/kmb

Crime of drug abuse in Buleleng is high. They do not only regard the number of cases revealed, but most of the perpetrators involved are local residents.

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Bali News

Thursday, January 3, 2019

International

‘Cinema’ to be built in Besakih sanctified area physical appearance in person how beautiful it is. We will make a place to see at some points in the north, south, east and west. Visitors will no longer be allowed to carelessly enter the sanctum,” he explained.

Thus, continued Koster, sacredness of Besakih Temple can be maintained considering that all this time, something indeed made sacred in Bali actually tends to be degraded. Virtually, overseas the non-sacred goods are even made sacred so that they have economic value. On the other hand, the road to Besakih Temple will be arranged both the national and provincial roads.

“I think Karangasem will advance because of this (sacred area of Besakih) that will be part of the center for economic growth managed in the right way. Thus, Besakih will become something sacred because it is indeed sacred, not made sacred like overseas,” he said.

The plan to build cinema in the sacred area of Besakih is welcomed positively by Chairman of Commission III of the Bali House of Representatives, I Nengah Tamba. Moreover, the cinema will play a short film about the embryo of Besakih Temple.

In general, the idea of structuring the Besakih sacred area protection program including the importance of road access to Besakih Temple is considered to have been in line with

TOKYO - Japan’s Emperor Akihito delivered his final New Year’s address Wednesday before his abdication later this year, telling tens of thousands of well-wishers that he was praying for peace.

IBP/kmb

Governor of Bali, Wayan Koster the legislator’s thinking so far.

“We have also talked about the importance of road access to Besakih Temple because we don’t want it to happen every time there is a big ceremony. Congestion will arise,” he said after attending the Final Speech 2018 and Welcoming the New Year 2019 by Governor of Bali.

Tamba added that beauty and sanitation of the road on the left and right side must be maintained especially on the national roads. Aside from the national road access to Besakih Temple, all the roads in Bali like the

Jalan Bypass Ida Bagus Mantra, the trees in the median garden must be made beautiful. “Give a new nuance so that it will not look like in the current condition where is the tree going? Is it just to make green? We will allocate a budget to make the good ones,” he added.

Regarding the idea of building the cinema, Tamba also considered it important to realize it immediately because the tourists making a visit to Besakih indeed should know about the Besakih Temple comprehensively before they go around seeing

the temple. On that account, tourists must first go to cinema to witness a kind of short documentary film about the embryo of Besakih Temple with duration of about 30 minutes.

“It is meaningful and compact with the presentation on the forerunner of what the Besakih Temple is along with the Hindu ceremonies. With such presentation, tourists will know exactly about the Besakih Temple along with its profile. Hopefully, it can become the main attraction and very much hope it to happen,” said this Democratic Party politician. (kmb32)

Ubud targets honeymoon tourism

IBP/kmb

Ubud, having been previously known, is increasingly famous for its romantic atmosphere.

13

Tears as Japan emperor gives last New Year’s address

DENPASAR - Bali provincial government prepares the implementation of the Besakih sanctified area program. The budget has even been allocated in the Bali Regional Budget 2019. The area will be arranged neatly, ranging from the parks, parking lots, restaurants to the road to get there. Besides, in the Besakih sanctified area there will be a special cinema building for screening films about the Besakih Temple and spots to see the temple.

“So, we will make a program for the protection of the Besakih sanctified area with regard to parhyangan (spiritual), palemahan (environment), and pawongan (community). It is no longer like the current condition that is chaotic,” said Governor of Bali, Wayan Koster, in the Year End Speech and Welcoming the New Year 2019 at the Ksiraarnawa Building, Denpasar Art Center on Monday (Dec. 31).

According to Koster, the arrangement from the parhyangan aspect will involve the sulinggih (Brahmin priests). Meanwhile, the arrangement of palemahan and pawongan aspects will team up with various parties, especially the regent of Karangasem.

“We will arrange the park, parking lot, restaurant, food stall and prepare the cinema for the screening of documentary film on Besakih Temple,” he explained accompanied by Deputy Governor of Bali, Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati.

Koster added there is a need to make documentation about the history of Besakih Temple in video format.

This includes when the temple was established, who did it along with the ritual paraphernalia needed for religious procession at the Besakih Temple.

“Later on, visitors will see it (the history of Besakih Temple—Ed) in the cinema building. After that, they will come out if wishing to see the

Thursday, January 3, 2019

International

DENPASAR - Since the film Eat, Pray and Love played by Julia Robert in 2008, Ubud is increasingly known in the world. Many people want to know more about Ubud after watching the movie with the setting of Ubud. Ubud, having been previously known, is increasingly famous for its romantic atmosphere. It is proved by the level of visits to Ubud booming in 2014 and 2015.

Co-Founder of Pramana Experience, I Nyoman Sudirga Yusa, said that most foreign tourists coming to Ubud are Europeans reaching 73 percent, especially from the United Kingdom. “We are participating in various events in the UK and the government is also intensifying promotions in Germany and the UK,” he said. In low season, European tourists visiting Ubud remain stable,

where the occupancy approached 87 percent in November 2018.

The government’s target is to bring in 20 million foreign tourists, where China is the most overall.

However, the European guests currently dominate Ubud. Indeed from the 1920s, the first to build the Ubud destination were European artists, such as Arie Smith, Bonnet, Antonio Blanco and so forth. “Ubud is indeed a strong European base because it has been indeed known from that year in Europe,” he said. European tourists appreciated to Balinese culture and customs more. “They love culture more. Once talking about culture, they must get interested,” he said.

European tourists spend money at the same amount as that of Australian and American markets.

Seeing the potential of Ubud, Pra-

mana Experience targets honeymoon tourism market. According to Yusa, when people have honeymoon, whatever is offered will be purchased.

“Rooms for any price are purchased because they are happy. Indeed the target is small, but we see big money spending. The average honeymoon in Ubud is worth IDR 15 million per couple,” he said.

He targeted that at the beginning of 2019 the occupancy will reach 6575 percent. To that end, his properties in Ubud indeed offer an intimate location and services. “It is our core or the strength of Pramana Experience.

We also display Balinese activities into the properties such as yoga, Balinese cooking classes, majejahitan (preparing oblations), using Balinese clothing, and decorative gowns,” he explained. (kmb42)

The Imperial Palace said more than 114,600 people had flocked to the royal residence by early Wednesday afternoon, with more still arriving for a final chance to see the 85-year-old royal deliver his traditional annual greeting.

The emperor will become the first Japanese monarch to abdicate in around two centuries when he steps down from the throne on April 30, ending his three-decade reign.

“Happy New Year. I’m sincerely glad to celebrate the new year together with you under the clear sky,” he told the crowd, many waving Japanese flags and shouting “Banzai”, meaning “long live”.

“I hope this year will be a good year for as many people as possible,” the soft-spoken Akihito said in a dark suit, flanked by Empress Michiko and other family members.

“I pray for the peace and happiness of the people of our country and the world,” he added. The emperor delivers a brief New Year’s greeting every year, and was expected to appear five times on Wednesday to address as many well-wishers as possible.

Some in the morning crowd yelled “Thank you very much” as the emperor waved, while others sang the national anthem. One woman in the front row shed tears as she looked up at the balcony.

“I came here with my mother to imprint his last appearance as emperor in our memories,” said Yume Nishimura, a university student, as she waited in a long queue to enter the palace.

“I want to tell him we appreciate his hard work for the country,” she told AFP. Kazuo Iwasaki, a 68-year-old pensioner, said: “I hope he will be able to spend his post-

JIJI PRESS / AFP

Japan’s Emperor Akihito (R) and Crown Prince Naruhito (L) wave to the crowd during the New Year’s greeting ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on January 2, 2019. retirement years in a healthy and relaxing manner with Empress Michiko.”

- Pacifist views Akihito shocked the country in 2016 when he signalled his desire to take a back seat, citing his age and health problems.

His eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, is set to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne a day after his father’s abdication, continuing the rule of the world’s oldest imperial family.

The status of the emperor is sensitive in Japan given its 20th-century history of war waged

in the name of Akihito’s father Hirohito, who died in 1989.

Akihito has keenly embraced the more modern role as a symbol of the state -- imposed after World War II ended. Previous emperors including his father had been treated as semi-divine.

The palace, surrounded by stone walls and mossy moats, is opened to the public twice a year -- on the emperor’s birthday and the second day of New Year -- for the royal family to greet well-wishers.

In a rare emotional address to mark his

85th birthday last month, Akihito pointed to the “countless lives” lost in the war.

“It gives me deep comfort that the Heisei Era (his reign) is coming to an end, free of war in Japan,” he said in a press statement.

Akihito has used his speeches and travels to express his strong pacifist views, which are sharply at odds with the aggressive expansionism Japan pursued under his father’s rule. The emperor has also worked to bring the royal household closer to the people and frequently visited the disadvantaged and families hit by natural disasters. (afp)

Two women enter flashpoint India temple

ARUN SANKAR / AFP

In this file photo taken on October 18, 2018 Indian Hindu devotees are pictured at the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala in the southern state of Kerala.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Two women secretly entered one of Hinduism’s holiest shrines on Wednesday, breaching a blockade around the Sabarimala temple where devotees have been enraged by an Indian Supreme Court decision to overturn a ban on women aged between 10 and 50.

The pair entered the hilltop temple in Kerala state just before dawn under police protection and left undetected, officials confirmed.

Sabarimala has been at the centre of an increasingly angry showdown between Hindu traditionalists who support the longstanding ban and women activists who have been forced back several times from the

temple. Video images showed the women, Kanaka Durga and Bindu, who has only one name, wearing black tunics with their heads bowed as they rushed in.

“We did not enter the shrine by climbing the 18 holy steps but went through the staff gate,” one of the women, who both remain under police guard, later told reporters.

Kerala state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said: “It is a fact that the women entered the shrine.

Police are bound to offer protection to anyone wanting to worship at the shrine.”

The defiant act is certain to set off a new furore in India over gender.

The Supreme Court on September 28 declared illegal a decadesold ban on women of menstruating age at Sabarimala, which is a fourhour uphill trek from the nearest village.

Repeated efforts by women to enter the temple after the ruling have been rebuffed by Hindu devotees with police having to step in to escort them out.

As soon as news of Wednesday’s breach spread, the temple head priest ordered the shrine closed for a purification ritual -- reflecting the old but still prevalent belief that menstruating women are impure.

It reopened after around an hour. (afp)

12

International

Thursday, January 3, 2019

BUSINESS Trade war, big profits, wild swings: a look at 2018 markets

Bali News

International

As an expression of gratitude that people have implemented tapa bratha penyepian or penance, the day after Nyepi known as Ngembak Geni was filled with Majelangu Market by Tuban customary village on Wednesday (Mar. 29). Located along the highway of Tuban, the Majelangu Market was also filled with various activities, booth of merchants and implementation of emed-emedan tradition.

Deputy Chief of Tuban customary village, in charge of Pawongan or social affairs, Ketut Lenen, said that on entering the third year, the Majelangu Market is held as a form of open house (simakrama) between residents around the neighborhood of Tuban village. Most booths of merchant were filled by residents in the neighborhood of Tuban customary village. A total of approximately 90 booths enlivened this annual event.

Related to the tradition of emed-emedan, said Lenen, in the past this activity was held in front of the village temple of Tuban under the banyan tree by using aerial roots of the banyan tree. Today, the emed-emedan tradition uses a rope as the means. “This tradition was usually held right on Nyepi Day. However, this time Nyepi has gone worldwide, so that in honor of the Nyepi celebration, the emed-emedan tradition is moved to Ngembak Geni,” he said.

According to Lenen, the meaning of emed-emedan tradition is to strengthen togetherness and familial relationship as well as to have fun. In the past, participants consisted of young people, but today it is also followed by the housewives coalesced into PKK group. “We hope that in the future this tradition can be more vibrant,” he said. (kmb)

Investors grew worried that the testy U.S.China trade dispute and higher interest rates would slow the economy, hurting corporate profits. A slowing U.S. housing market and forecasts of weaker global growth in 2019 stoked traders’ unease. In October the market entered a volatile skid as traders sold technology companies and other growth sectors in favor of less-risky assets, such as government bonds.

The autumn sell-off knocked the benchmark S&P 500 index into a correction, or a drop of 10 percent from its all-time high. The index ended with its worst annual performance in a decade, losing 6.2 percent.

VIVA VOLATILITY The stock market’s gyrations grew more volatile in 2018 as investors faced uncertainty over trade and rising interest rates. The benchmark S&P 500 index slid into a “correction,” or a drop of 10 percent from its high, twice this year. Bond yields surged as investors sought less risky investments, though gold weakened after rallying early in the year.

AP Photo/Richard Drew

Specialist Matthew Greiner works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Dec. 28, 2018.

U.S. stocks wavered between small gains and losses Friday, struggling to maintain the momentum from a two-day winning streak following a week of volatile trading. forecasting further weakness in housing next year and higher mortgage rates.

got more than half its revenue from abroad in the last year, including about 12 percent from China, according to FactSet.

wonder if Facebook, Google, Snap and other tech companies will face new regulations. Twitter fared better after several rough years

ECONOMIC HEADWINDS The pace of global economic growth will slow next year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said recently.

Trade growth and investment have been slackening on the back of tariff hikes, the Paris-based economic think tank says. It warns world economic activity could be weaker in the years ahead if the U.S. and China impose further penalties on each other’s goods.

PROFIT POWER Corporate America’s earnings growth surged in 2018, driven by lower tax bills and a growing economy. The strong results helped to briefly spur the stock market to new highs. More recently, investors have grown concerned that 2018 may be the peak for corporate profit growth, especially given recent signs that the global economy is slowing.

That’s one reason analysts are forecasting more modest earnings growth next year.

OIL SLICK Falling oil prices used to be welcome news in the U.S., but that was before the oil boom of the last decade. A drop in oil can still mean lower gas prices for drivers. But this year’s 40 percent plunge from a four-year peak of about $76 a barrel in October is unequivocally bad news for the oil companies that have helped domestic production roughly double over the past seven years.

BIG AND SMALL Smaller stocks surged this spring as trade tensions dominated the headlines. Investors believed those companies, which do less business overseas compared to larger companies, would feel less pain during a prolonged trade dispute. But smaller companies are also weaker financially and are more likely to struggle when the U.S. economy slows, and Wall Street grew very worried about that possibility later in the year. That caused huge losses.

TRADE TREMORS President Donald Trump said early this year that trade wars are good and “easy to win,” but worries about the effect of tariffs on international trade — and corporate profits — have weighed on stocks. Boeing’s stock became a proxy of sorts for investors as worries about trade waxed and waned. Boeing

DO YOU SUBSCRIBE? Facebook and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, were longtime market favorites until mid-2018. Facebook faced controversies related to user privacy and concerns its services enabled election meddling and contributed to violence overseas. Analysts projected a slowdown in user growth. Investors also began to

NOT HOME The U.S. housing market stalled in 2018 as years of prices climbing faster than incomes coupled with a steady rise in mortgage rates took their toll. The higher borrowing costs and prices have put homeownership out of reach for many would-be buyers. Sales of existing homes posted their biggest annual drop in four years in October. Economists are

HIGH, AND LOW, TIMES A majority of U.S. states have legalized marijuana to varying degrees, and companies are scrambling to get in on the action. Both the NYSE and Nasdaq saw their first purely cannabis companies list shares in 2018. But stocks in the companies that produce and sell marijuana have largely underperformed the overall market this year. (ap)

5

Emed-emedan Tradition, Maintain Togetherness and Kinship

Wall Street started 2018 strong, buoyed by a growing economy and corporate profits. It didn’t end that way. U.S. stocks climbed to new highs in January, shook off a sudden, steep drop by spring and rode a wave of tax cut-juiced corporate earnings growth to another all-time high by September.

Then the jitters set in.

EVERYTHING STRUGGLED “Diversify” is one of the bedrock tenets of investing, and it’s supposed to shine brightest when markets are turbulent. The hope is that if U.S. stocks are struggling, markets in other areas of the world will be doing better.

Or bonds. Or gold. This year, though, nearly everything has been a loser.

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Unique Shell-Decorated Keben, Where to Buy?

Keben or ritual basket craftsmen at Kukuh village, Marga, have innovation to make unique product compared to the common ones. If keben craftsmen in Bali mostly take advantage of the same raw material, those at Kukuh village should think twice to look for different things to make it look unique, and the usage of sea shells as decoration becomes the option.

One of the craftsmen, Wayan Suryani, 46, stated that she has pursued the craft business with her sister since ten years ago. At that time, the craft used glass ornaments.

However, since more and more craftsmen apply such glass decoration right now, she and her sister then tried new material namely sea

shells. However, to meet the shell raw material, it should be brought in from Java. The sea shell used for decoration is very difficult to find in Bali. So, she must bring in from Java. “The sea shell used for decoration is difficult to be found here in Bali,” she said.

At least, there are six types of sea shells to be used as decoration.

For once ordering sea shell, said Suryani, she usually requests 100 kilograms per type of the shell.

The purchase of sea shell is made when receiving an order from consumers. “Our order is fluctuating.

Sometimes there are a few pieces in a month and sometimes we get no order at all. So, the order of the shell is made if there are already

craft orders,” she added.

Habitually, the keben crafts are ordered on average of 30 pieces. To accomplish the order, she should engage six craftsmen where one craftsman can produce two pieces of keben basket each day.

The price offered for this shelldecorated craft varies based on the complexity of the design and the variety of sea shells in use. On average, the price is between IDR 200,000 and IDR 300,000. Other than fulfilling the demand of buyers in Bali, this shell-decorated handicraft also draws the interest of consumers from outside Bali.

“Some buyers from Sulawesi also order my craft products,” concluded Suryani. (kmb)

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Thursday, January 3, 2019

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International

International

RLD

Thursday, January 3, 2019

11

Taiwan reunification with China ‘inevitable’: Xi

BEIJING - Taiwan’s unification with the mainland is “inevitable”, President Xi Jinping said Wednesday, warning against any efforts to promote the island’s independence and saying China would not renounce the option of using military force to bring it into the fold.

China still sees democratic Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since the end of a civil war on the mainland in 1949.

“China must and will be united... which is an inevitable requirement for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese people in the new era,” Xi said in a speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of a message sent to Taiwan in 1979, in which Beijing called for unification and an end to military confrontation.

“We make no promise to give up the use of military force and reserve the option of taking all necessary means” against Taiwanese separatist activities and “outside forces” that interfere with reunification, he said.

In his speech, Xi described unification under a “one country, two systems” approach that would “safeguard the interests and well-being of Taiwanese compatriots”.

Taiwan considers itself a sovereign state, with its own currency, political and judicial systems, but has never declared formal independence from the mainland.

Relations have been strained for the past two years since the election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who has refused to acknowledge Beijing’s stance that the island is part of “one China”.

On Tuesday, Tsai warned Beijing that Taiwan’s people would never give up the kind of freedoms unseen on the authoritarian mainland.

Beijing “must respect the insistence of 23 million people for freedom and democracy” and “must use peaceful and equal terms to handle our differences”, she said.

ally and its main arms supplier despite switching diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979.

Xi’s speech is likely to be “very poorly received,” by the US, said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, who studies Chinese foreign policy.

-’One country, two systems’-

To accommodate differences in Taiwan’s political system and civil society, China has proposed adopting the “one country, two systems” policy, which was implemented in Hong Kong after the British handed the city back to China in 1997.

But some say the erosion of civil liberties in Hong Kong sets a negative precedent for Taiwan.

“They (China) are gobbling up Hong Kong, not just politically but culturally and economically too”, Claudia Mo, a pro-democracy Hong Kong lawmaker, told AFP. “It’s so obvious that they’re trying to assimilate Hong Kong into wider mainland China in every way. How would any Taiwanese think that’s going to work for them?”

Others believed Taiwanese could slowly come on board.

“People’s heart won’t change in one day, but I think one

country, two systems is a way to do it. The unification might take one, two, or even three more generations to achieve,” said a 55-year old construction worker in Hong Kong who gave his surname as Lam. Last October, tens of thousands of Taiwan independence campaigners took to the streets in the first large-scale protest calling for an outright independence vote since the island first became a democracy more than 20 years ago.

But some in Taiwan say worsening relations with Beijing have harmed business, as cuts to pensions and a reduction in public holidays compound frustrations over a stagnant economy where salaries have not kept up with the rise in cost of living.

Last year, Taiwan’s ruling party suffered a massive defeat in mid-term polls, causing Tsai to resign as leader of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, while the main opposition Kuomintang, which oversaw an unprecedented thaw with Beijing before Tsai took office in 2016, made gains.

Beijing has adopted a multi-pronged approach to diminish Taiwan’s presence on the international stage in recent years, including blocking it from global forums and poaching its dwindling number of official diplomatic allies. (afp)

IBP/net

Some 2,050 election campaign violations recorded in 2018: Bawaslu

-’Too risky’-

Though Xi’s speech takes a strong stance against Taiwanese separatists and pushes for reunification, it is aimed mostly at domestic audiences, analysts say.

“It’s rather empty and doesn’t have any new points except that cross-strait unification would not affect the interests of other countries,” said Fan Shih-ping, political analyst at National Taiwan Normal University, adding that Xi’s words may also be intended for the US, which views Taiwan as part of its Indo-Pacific strategy.

In 2018, the US sent multiple ships through the Taiwan Strait –- which China considers its territory but the US and others see as international waters open to all -- infuriating Beijing.

Washington also remains Taipei’s most powerful unofficial

Disasters...

From page 1

The list includes ancient Buddhist and Hindu temples, tropical islands near Jakarta, the Mount Bromo volcano in eastern Java, and a national park that is home to Komodo dragons -- the world’s biggest lizard.

But the killer tsunami has dealt a blow to plans to pump some $4 billion into Tanjung Lesung.

And it is not the only spot in the government’s tourism plan to suffer a disaster -- natural or

PALU - The General Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) has recorded a total of 2,050 violations during the election process in 2018.

man-made -- that could scare away tourists.

Lombok, next to Bali, was rocked by earthquakes in the summer that killed more than 500 and sparked a mass exodus of foreigners from the tropical paradise.

That was weeks after Lake Toba on Sumatra island -- also on the “New Bali” list -- was the scene of a ferry accident that left almost 200 people missing or dead.

- Caught off guard -

IBP/AFP

A mother carries her child past a television in New Taipei City on January 2, 2019 showing China’s leader Xi Jinping making a speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of a message sent to Taiwan in 1979.

In May, Indonesia’s secondbiggest city Surabaya was hit by

suicide bombings carried about by Islamist extremists, while Bali was rocked as the Mount Agung blew its top at the end of 2017.

The volcano is 75 kilometres (45 miles) away from tourist areas and the eruption posed little danger to visitors, but it still left hundreds of thousands stranded as flights were cancelled.

Indonesia’s upbeat tourism numbers plunged in the second half of 2018 after the Lombok quakes, a quake-tsunami disaster on Sulawesi island that killed thousands, and a Lion Air plane crash in October

which killed all 189 people on board.

Indonesia is one of the most disaster-prone nations on Earth, straddling the Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates collide.

And the frequent disasters it has suffered recently have highlighted the country’s woeful state of preparedness.

Early warning systems in the city of Palu on Sulawesi -- and elsewhere -- had not been working since 2012 because of budget shortfalls and bureaucratic bungling.

In the latest disaster in the Sunda

Strait, Indonesian monitors initially said there was no tsunami threat at all. They were later forced to issue a correction and an apology, pointing to a lack of early warning systems for the high death toll.

Jakarta’s tourism push may still have a chance, but only if it gets serious about safety, said I Ketut Ardana, head of the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies’ Bali office.

“The (government) needs to better inform locals and tourists so they’re prepared when a disaster strikes,” he said. (afp)

“For 2018, we have recorded some 2,050 violations during the election process,” Ratna Dewi Pettalolo, the commissioner of Bawaslu, noted here, Monday.

Presidential and legislative elections will be organized directly, democratically, and simultaneously across Indonesia on April 17, 2019, which will be the fourth so far.

The campaign period, to last until April 13, 2019, kicked off in Indonesia, with the General Election Commission (KPU) organizing an event for the signing of a declaration pledging a peaceful campaign in Jakarta on September 23, 2018.

Of the total violations, 1,669 were found by Bawaslu, while 381 were discovered based on reports filed by the public.

The violations comprised 1,319 cases of administrative violations, 106 potential crimes, 96 cases concerning election

code of ethics, and 24 related to neutrality of civil servants.

Some 820 violations were committed by election participants, 546 by election campaign teams, 520 by election executors, 108 by illegible voters, 30 by officials, and 24 by civil servants. There were also more than 500 reports on disputes. Many cases of violations also concern election campaign props.

Next year`s race will be a re-run of the bitter 2014 presidential election, as incumbent Joko Widodo and retired general Prabowo Subianto are again set to go head-to-head. (ant)

Indonesia`s international investment position remains stable: BI

JAKARTA - Indonesia`s International Investment Position (IIP) was relatively stable in the third quarter of 2018.

Indonesia`s IIP at the end of the third quarter of 2018 recorded a net liability of US$297.0 billion, or 28.5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), relatively unchanged from that at the end of the previous quarter, according to a statement from BI here on Monday.

The development was in line with the slightly higher Foreign Financial Liability (FFL) position

compared to the increase in the Foreign Financial Asset (FFA) position.

Indonesia`s FFL position increased along with the influx of foreign capital inflows.

Indonesia`s FFL position at the end of the third quarter of 2018 rose $1.6 billion, or 0.3 percent quarter-to-quarter (qtq), to $633.6 billion.

The increase was driven by the influx of foreign capital flows, mostly in the form of direct investment and other investments,

reflecting optimism in the domestic economic performance.

Further increase in the FFL position was restrained by the strengthening of the US dollar against the rupiah that resulted in a decline in the value of the rupiah-denominated investment instruments.

Indonesia`s FFA position increased mainly due to acquisition of other investment assets.

Indonesia`s FFA position at the end of the third quarter of 2018 rose $1.5 billion, or 0.5 percent qtq, to $336.6 billion.

In addition to other investments, the acquisitions of direct investment and portfolio investment assets also contributed to the increase in the FFA position.

BI views that the development of Indonesia`s IIP at the end of the third quarter of 2018 remained healthy.

This is reflected in the relatively stable ratio of Indonesia`s net IIP liability to the GDP in the average range of peer countries at some 29 percent.

In addition, the structure of

Indonesia`s net liability position was dominated by long-term instruments. Nevertheless, BI will remain vigilant over the risk of Indonesia`s net IIP liability position to the economy.

Going forward, BI believes that Indonesia`s IIP performance will improve further in line with maintained economic stability and continued recovery of Indonesia economy, supported by consistency and synergy in the policy mix of monetary, fiscal, and structural reforms. (ant)

10

Destination

Thursday, January 3, 2019

International

Thursday, January 3, 2019

International

Leonard’s 45 points fuel Raptors over Jazz, Bucks win

Mount Batur Volcano in Kintamani BANGLI - A Bali volcano can be a sightseeing highlight on your next trip to Bali’s highland region.

The Kintamani volcano or Mount Batur, in particular, is a very popular trek. The captivating Mount Batur surrounds the 13-square kilometre Batur caldera lake. Those with a penchant for adventure can take a winding road down to the lake shore. This leads you to Toya Bungkah, Ulun Danu Batur temple, and a collection of hot springs. The Kintamani area consists of three

main villages, namely Penelokan, Batur, and Kintamani. There are also some old Balinese villages around Batur Lake, often referred to as Bali Aga villages. Penelokan is a popular stopover. It serves as a vantage point at the southernmost part of the crater rim. From here, you can enjoy the sweeping views over the magnificent Bali volcano.

Penelokan serves as the best site to enjoy the panoramas. You can view Batur’s rugged features of dark lava slopes and black molten

rocks from the village’s roadside.

The lush green vegetation and the blue-green coloured lake serves as a stark contrast. Mount Batur is popular for climbing. You can observe the sunrise from the ridges of this Bali volcano on early morning treks. From high, you can enjoy the vista overlooking the large and beautiful Batur caldera to its northwest. Lake Batur is on the southeastern side of the volcano.

The lake is 16 kilometres wide and is a popular fishing spot. Batur’s village of Toya Bungkah has hot lakeside hot springs, known for its curative mineral water. It is a popular choice among trekkers to spend the night before hiking up Mount Batur in time to watch the sunrise. West of the adjacent Mount Abang is the secluded old Balinese village of Trunyan. It’s a place that’s known for its ancient burial traditions using an open graveyard.

The Pancering Jagat Temple is an interesting site here. Its name is derived from a four metre-tall statue, ‘Ratu Gede Pusering Jagat’.

Good to Know The fertile Kintamani area is a top producer of fruit and vegetables in Bali. This highland area is at approximately 400 metres above sea level. Kintamani is also known as the largest bamboo producer on the island. The giant ‘petung’ type of bamboo harvested here is widely used for making traditional furniture items. Lake Batur is the main source of irrigation water for most of Bali.

Locals also breed freshwater fish here. The water temperature at the Toyabungkah hotsprings can reach

Place Your Add Here

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up to 45 degrees Celcius. Kintamani is in Bangli, the only district on the island without a shoreline. Enjoy the best panoramic views from this Bali volcano from 10:00 to 15:00.

Hiking up Mount Batur usually takes three hours. Official guides are recommended. ‘Mountain guides’, however, are self-titled and have a reputation for being rather pushy.

You can book climbs from our tour options above. Like Mount Agung, Mount Batur is active. Be sure to check its volcanic activity alert levels before planning a trek. (net)

Karim JAAFAR / AFP

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning against Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Damir Dzumhur during the ATP Qatar Open tennis competition’s first round in Doha on January 1, 2019.

‘Fantastic’ Djokovic eases to opening Qatar win, Thiem crashes out

LOS ANGELES - Kawhi Leonard poured in a career-high 45 points to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 122-116 NBA victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.

With the win the Raptors improved to 28-11, keeping the pressure on the Milwaukee Bucks who boosted their league-leading record in terms of winning percentage to 26-10 with a 121-98 victory over Detroit.

The Raptors were again without injured Jonas Valanciunas and Kyle Lowry -- whose return date remains uncertain after he received antiinflammatory injections to combat back pain last week.

In their absence, Leonard excelled, making all seven of his field goal attempts in the third quarter as he scored 19 points in the period and the Raptors -- who trailed by two at halftime -- pulled away.

After making just two threepointers in the first half, the Raptors connected on their first three from beyond the arc in the third to seize control of the contest.

They took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter, and while the Jazz managed to cut the deficit to

as few as four, they couldn’t get any closer.

“They’re a well-coached team, they’ve got great guys on their team that compete every possession,” Leonard said. “We just tried to stay in it til the end of the game. We had to get some stops on the defensive end and try to come back and execute on the offensive end -- it was a good win for us tonight.”

Pascal Siakam contributed a career-best 28 points with 10 rebounds for the Raptors and Norman Powell added 14 points off the bench as Toronto improved to 28-11.

In Milwaukee, the Bucks won their fourth straight with the help of 25 points from Brook Lopez, 22 from Khris Middleton and 18 from Eric Bledsoe.

“I was feeling good,” Lopez said. “We were moving the ball really well ... my guys were making great passes to me all night.”

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo had a relatively modest 15 points, but they included a stunning one-handed dunk over Jon Leuer in the final minute of the first quarter. (afp)

DOHA - Novak Djokovic took just 55 minutes to claim his first win of 2019, brushing aside Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-2 in the Qatar Open first round on Tuesday.

The world number one showed he was intent on taking his form from last season into the new year with a totally dominant display against the Bosnian world number 47.

“It’s fantastic to be back and to start off the tournament like I have done makes me very confident and very happy,” said the Serb.

He added: “Results-wise and time-wise it did look quite comfortable (but) I don’t think it’s nice and fair to say it’s easy because I have respect for Dzumhur.”

Djokovic, who has won the last two Grand Slams -- at Wimbledon and the US Open to take his majors total to 14 -- completed the match in under an hour by predictably converting his first match point.

The 31-year-old, who has made it clear he wants to match or better Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slams, was untroubled throughout.

Djokovic said he hoped that news of his comfortable victory in Doha “travels” to his rivals around the world.

“You do follow, especially what your top rivals are doing, who are they playing, watch highlights,” he said.

Djokovic’s record in Doha is now 13 wins and just one defeat and his path to a potential third title in four years -- playing in Qatar is an established part of his warm-up for the Australian Open -- was helped by results elsewhere as the two other highest ranking seeds were defeated at the first hurdle.

Austria’s Dominic Thiem, the number two seed, was surprisingly beaten by the world number 55, France’s Pierre Hugues-Herbert, 6-3, 7-5 in the last match on Tuesday.

And Djokovic’s Doha stroll on

centre court followed a high quality match between veteran Stan Wawrinka and rising star Karen Khachanov. The Swiss three-time Grand Slam winner won 7-6 (9/7), 6-4 to claim a notable scalp against the powerful Russian.

Khachanov, the third seed, finished last season ranked at a careertime high of number 11 and was the man who ended Djokovic’s 22-match winning streak in Paris.

He is many people’s tip to push through and challenge the established stars.

However, Khachanov had no answer to an inspired Wawrinka, currently ranked 66th in the world, as he returns from a serious knee injury.

“Today was a great match, a great level,” said Wawrinka, who has suffered an injury-plagued last two seasons. (afp)

Copyright 2019 NBAE Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images/AFP

Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors shoots the ball against the Utah Jazz on January 1, 2019 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

8

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Thursday, January 3, 2019

South Korea counting on red-hot Son to shine on Asian Cup quest South Korea are hoping Son Heung-min’s dazzling pace and goals can help them end a 59-year wait to be crowned continental kings as the newly expanded Asian Cup starts at the weekend.

Tottenham Hotspur’s South Korean striker Son Heung-Min celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the English Premier League football match between between Cardiff City and Tottenham Hotspur at Cardiff City Stadium in Cardiff, south Wales on January 1, 2019.

Holders Australia, four-time winners Japan, Carlos Queiroz’s Iran and hosts the United Arab Emirates are all formidable opponents, but none will relish facing Paulo Bento’s Koreans.

The 2015 runners-up have put their stamp on the international scene in recent times, stunning holders Germany at last year’s World Cup before winning the Asian Games football tournament in September.

Son, 26, was at the heart of both successes and his delight was plain to see at the Asian Games in Indonesia, where victory earned the team an exemption from South Korea’s compulsory, 21-month military service.

The Tottenham Hotspur forward, who has a deadly shot with either foot, has been in scorching form for his club, scoring seven goals in his last seven Premier League games.

But he will sit out South Korea’s first two games next week under a deal with his club in return for his release for last year ’s Asian Games.

Son, the most prolific Asian in Premier League history, will hope South Korea get the job done against the Philippines and Kyrgyzstan before he jets in for their final Group C clash against China on January 16.

The Koreans, edged 2-1 by Australia after the 2015 final went to extra time, haven’t won the Asian Cup since 1960 -- a puzzling record con-

sidering their 10 World Cup appearances, including the 2002 semi-finals.

- Arnold’s predicament -

Japan are among their chief rivals in UAE, after they were the only Asian side to reach the World Cup knock-outs before narrowly going down to Belgium in the last 16.

The Blue Samurai, winners of four of the last seven editions, will demand improvements on 2015, when as defending champions they slipped up with a penalties defeat to UAE in the last eight.

Recent results have been encouraging, including a 4-3 win over Uruguay, and Hajime Moriyasu has picked on form after ditching World Cup stars Shinji Kagawa and Shinji Okazaki in favour of younger players.

Australia, however, seem to have gone backwards since they lifted the trophy in Sydney in 2015, and it’s a tall order for new coach Graham Arnold who is plunged into the title defence just four games into the job.

After record scorer Tim Cahill retired, Arnold’s predicament worsened last month when midfield lynchpin Aaron Mooy suffered a serious knee injury and was ruled out of tournament.

Three-time winners Iran look much more settled, and after winning plaudits for their narrow 1-0 defeat to Spain and 1-1 draw with Portugal at the World Cup, Carlos Queiroz’s side have gone unbeaten in their six games since.

With attacking talent including Rubin Kazan’s Sardar Azmoun, with 24 goals in 40 internationals, and Brighton winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Iran will expect to do better than 2015, when they were ousted in a combustible quarter-final against arch-rivals Iraq. (afp)

9

Charging Liverpool challenge Man City to prove their greatness

Chelsea sign American star Pulisic from Dortmund American international Christian Pulisic, regarded as one of the hottest properties in European football, signed for Premier League side Chelsea for a reported fee of £58 million ($74m) from Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old right winger -- who has had more playing time in the Champions League this term than the Bundesliga as coach Lucien Favre generally prefers England international Jadon Sancho in that position -- has been loaned back to the German league leaders until the end of the season.

“In the summer I move on to Chelsea and to a new competition, the English Premier League,” Pulisic said in a statement issued

by Chelsea.

“It’s a privilege to have signed for such a legendary club and I look forward to working hard towards being a contributor to their team of world class players.”

Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said she looked forward to Pulisic becoming a major influence at the club for years to come.

“We are delighted to have signed one of Europe’s most sought-after young players,” she said.

“Christian has shown his quality during a fantastic spell in Germany and at just 20, we believe he has the potential to become an important Chelsea player for many years to come.”

Michael Zorc, Dortmund’s sport director, said given the size of the offer the club would have been foolish to turn it down. “It has always been Christian’s big dream to play in the Premier League,” said Zorc.

“That’s certainly got to do with his American background, and therefore we were unable to extend his contract.

“With this background and given the short remaining period on his contract, we decided to accept the extraordinarily lucrative offer from FC Chelsea.”

Pulisic, who had also been linked with Premier League leaders Liverpool, has been at Dortmund since he was 15 and aged just 17 made both his Bundesliga debut and international debut for the United States having turned down an approach from Crotia to play for them.

A former national Under-17 captain, in November 2018 he became the youngest player to captain the United States senior side aged 20 years and 63 days. (afp)

“I start to read and then I start to think ‘Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp’ and I cannot focus,” said Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola last month, admitting Liverpool’s charge to depose the Premier League champions has been in his head for some time.

But in their very first game of 2019, City already find themselves in must-win territory to haul Liverpool back into view by inflicting the leaders’ first defeat of the season and cutting a seven-point lead to four at the Etihad on Thursday.

“With the position of Liverpool, if we drop points then it is over, it is finished; it would be almost impossible,” said Guardiola after Sunday’s 3-1 win at Southampton.

Guardiola’s obsession with Liverpool and Klopp in particular is not surprising. For a serial winner, no side and no manager has caused the Catalan as many problems as the German.

City have won just one of seven meetings since Guardiola joined Klopp in England after locking horns in charge of

Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

A shock run of three defeats in four Premier League games in December has left City playing catch up to a Liverpool side eyeing history by ending a 29-year wait to win the league.

But even when seemingly no one else could stop City as they stormed to the title with a record 100 points last season, Klopp’s men were a constant menace.

- ‘They scare me’ -

IBP/afp

Liverpool’s Swiss midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri (C) celebrates with Liverpool’s Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Salah (R) and teammates after scoring their third goal during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on December 26, 2018. Liverpool won the game 4-0.

Last January, it was City who were on course to equal Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ of 2003-04 until they went to Anfield in January and were blown away by a three-goal salvo in nine second-half minutes to lose 4-3 despite a late rally.

In the documentary “All Or Nothing” which chronicled City’s title triumph, Guardiola is seen admitting to his coaching staff ahead of returning to Anfield for the Champions League quarterfinal, first leg: “They scare me.

They’re dangerous, I mean it.”

It takes a lot to frighten a coach who has won 24 trophies in three different countries, but Guardiola’s fears were realised as another Liverpool blitz secured a 3-0 win.

Six days later, Liverpool won again at the Etihad, withstanding a City onslaught for 45 minutes to take control in the second period once Guardiola had lost his cool and been sent to the stands.

Now Liverpool have extended that ability for short destructive bursts into a title challenge for the long haul.

The addition of Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker and a first full season with the world’s most expensive defender Virgil van Dijk has seen Klopp’s men concede just eight times in 20 Premier League games. (afp)

8

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Thursday, January 3, 2019

South Korea counting on red-hot Son to shine on Asian Cup quest South Korea are hoping Son Heung-min’s dazzling pace and goals can help them end a 59-year wait to be crowned continental kings as the newly expanded Asian Cup starts at the weekend.

Tottenham Hotspur’s South Korean striker Son Heung-Min celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the English Premier League football match between between Cardiff City and Tottenham Hotspur at Cardiff City Stadium in Cardiff, south Wales on January 1, 2019.

Holders Australia, four-time winners Japan, Carlos Queiroz’s Iran and hosts the United Arab Emirates are all formidable opponents, but none will relish facing Paulo Bento’s Koreans.

The 2015 runners-up have put their stamp on the international scene in recent times, stunning holders Germany at last year’s World Cup before winning the Asian Games football tournament in September.

Son, 26, was at the heart of both successes and his delight was plain to see at the Asian Games in Indonesia, where victory earned the team an exemption from South Korea’s compulsory, 21-month military service.

The Tottenham Hotspur forward, who has a deadly shot with either foot, has been in scorching form for his club, scoring seven goals in his last seven Premier League games.

But he will sit out South Korea’s first two games next week under a deal with his club in return for his release for last year ’s Asian Games.

Son, the most prolific Asian in Premier League history, will hope South Korea get the job done against the Philippines and Kyrgyzstan before he jets in for their final Group C clash against China on January 16.

The Koreans, edged 2-1 by Australia after the 2015 final went to extra time, haven’t won the Asian Cup since 1960 -- a puzzling record con-

sidering their 10 World Cup appearances, including the 2002 semi-finals.

- Arnold’s predicament -

Japan are among their chief rivals in UAE, after they were the only Asian side to reach the World Cup knock-outs before narrowly going down to Belgium in the last 16.

The Blue Samurai, winners of four of the last seven editions, will demand improvements on 2015, when as defending champions they slipped up with a penalties defeat to UAE in the last eight.

Recent results have been encouraging, including a 4-3 win over Uruguay, and Hajime Moriyasu has picked on form after ditching World Cup stars Shinji Kagawa and Shinji Okazaki in favour of younger players.

Australia, however, seem to have gone backwards since they lifted the trophy in Sydney in 2015, and it’s a tall order for new coach Graham Arnold who is plunged into the title defence just four games into the job.

After record scorer Tim Cahill retired, Arnold’s predicament worsened last month when midfield lynchpin Aaron Mooy suffered a serious knee injury and was ruled out of tournament.

Three-time winners Iran look much more settled, and after winning plaudits for their narrow 1-0 defeat to Spain and 1-1 draw with Portugal at the World Cup, Carlos Queiroz’s side have gone unbeaten in their six games since.

With attacking talent including Rubin Kazan’s Sardar Azmoun, with 24 goals in 40 internationals, and Brighton winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Iran will expect to do better than 2015, when they were ousted in a combustible quarter-final against arch-rivals Iraq. (afp)

9

Charging Liverpool challenge Man City to prove their greatness

Chelsea sign American star Pulisic from Dortmund American international Christian Pulisic, regarded as one of the hottest properties in European football, signed for Premier League side Chelsea for a reported fee of £58 million ($74m) from Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old right winger -- who has had more playing time in the Champions League this term than the Bundesliga as coach Lucien Favre generally prefers England international Jadon Sancho in that position -- has been loaned back to the German league leaders until the end of the season.

“In the summer I move on to Chelsea and to a new competition, the English Premier League,” Pulisic said in a statement issued

by Chelsea.

“It’s a privilege to have signed for such a legendary club and I look forward to working hard towards being a contributor to their team of world class players.”

Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said she looked forward to Pulisic becoming a major influence at the club for years to come.

“We are delighted to have signed one of Europe’s most sought-after young players,” she said.

“Christian has shown his quality during a fantastic spell in Germany and at just 20, we believe he has the potential to become an important Chelsea player for many years to come.”

Michael Zorc, Dortmund’s sport director, said given the size of the offer the club would have been foolish to turn it down. “It has always been Christian’s big dream to play in the Premier League,” said Zorc.

“That’s certainly got to do with his American background, and therefore we were unable to extend his contract.

“With this background and given the short remaining period on his contract, we decided to accept the extraordinarily lucrative offer from FC Chelsea.”

Pulisic, who had also been linked with Premier League leaders Liverpool, has been at Dortmund since he was 15 and aged just 17 made both his Bundesliga debut and international debut for the United States having turned down an approach from Crotia to play for them.

A former national Under-17 captain, in November 2018 he became the youngest player to captain the United States senior side aged 20 years and 63 days. (afp)

“I start to read and then I start to think ‘Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp’ and I cannot focus,” said Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola last month, admitting Liverpool’s charge to depose the Premier League champions has been in his head for some time.

But in their very first game of 2019, City already find themselves in must-win territory to haul Liverpool back into view by inflicting the leaders’ first defeat of the season and cutting a seven-point lead to four at the Etihad on Thursday.

“With the position of Liverpool, if we drop points then it is over, it is finished; it would be almost impossible,” said Guardiola after Sunday’s 3-1 win at Southampton.

Guardiola’s obsession with Liverpool and Klopp in particular is not surprising. For a serial winner, no side and no manager has caused the Catalan as many problems as the German.

City have won just one of seven meetings since Guardiola joined Klopp in England after locking horns in charge of

Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

A shock run of three defeats in four Premier League games in December has left City playing catch up to a Liverpool side eyeing history by ending a 29-year wait to win the league.

But even when seemingly no one else could stop City as they stormed to the title with a record 100 points last season, Klopp’s men were a constant menace.

- ‘They scare me’ -

IBP/afp

Liverpool’s Swiss midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri (C) celebrates with Liverpool’s Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Salah (R) and teammates after scoring their third goal during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on December 26, 2018. Liverpool won the game 4-0.

Last January, it was City who were on course to equal Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ of 2003-04 until they went to Anfield in January and were blown away by a three-goal salvo in nine second-half minutes to lose 4-3 despite a late rally.

In the documentary “All Or Nothing” which chronicled City’s title triumph, Guardiola is seen admitting to his coaching staff ahead of returning to Anfield for the Champions League quarterfinal, first leg: “They scare me.

They’re dangerous, I mean it.”

It takes a lot to frighten a coach who has won 24 trophies in three different countries, but Guardiola’s fears were realised as another Liverpool blitz secured a 3-0 win.

Six days later, Liverpool won again at the Etihad, withstanding a City onslaught for 45 minutes to take control in the second period once Guardiola had lost his cool and been sent to the stands.

Now Liverpool have extended that ability for short destructive bursts into a title challenge for the long haul.

The addition of Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker and a first full season with the world’s most expensive defender Virgil van Dijk has seen Klopp’s men concede just eight times in 20 Premier League games. (afp)

10

Destination

Thursday, January 3, 2019

International

Thursday, January 3, 2019

International

Leonard’s 45 points fuel Raptors over Jazz, Bucks win

Mount Batur Volcano in Kintamani BANGLI - A Bali volcano can be a sightseeing highlight on your next trip to Bali’s highland region.

The Kintamani volcano or Mount Batur, in particular, is a very popular trek. The captivating Mount Batur surrounds the 13-square kilometre Batur caldera lake. Those with a penchant for adventure can take a winding road down to the lake shore. This leads you to Toya Bungkah, Ulun Danu Batur temple, and a collection of hot springs. The Kintamani area consists of three

main villages, namely Penelokan, Batur, and Kintamani. There are also some old Balinese villages around Batur Lake, often referred to as Bali Aga villages. Penelokan is a popular stopover. It serves as a vantage point at the southernmost part of the crater rim. From here, you can enjoy the sweeping views over the magnificent Bali volcano.

Penelokan serves as the best site to enjoy the panoramas. You can view Batur’s rugged features of dark lava slopes and black molten

rocks from the village’s roadside.

The lush green vegetation and the blue-green coloured lake serves as a stark contrast. Mount Batur is popular for climbing. You can observe the sunrise from the ridges of this Bali volcano on early morning treks. From high, you can enjoy the vista overlooking the large and beautiful Batur caldera to its northwest. Lake Batur is on the southeastern side of the volcano.

The lake is 16 kilometres wide and is a popular fishing spot. Batur’s village of Toya Bungkah has hot lakeside hot springs, known for its curative mineral water. It is a popular choice among trekkers to spend the night before hiking up Mount Batur in time to watch the sunrise. West of the adjacent Mount Abang is the secluded old Balinese village of Trunyan. It’s a place that’s known for its ancient burial traditions using an open graveyard.

The Pancering Jagat Temple is an interesting site here. Its name is derived from a four metre-tall statue, ‘Ratu Gede Pusering Jagat’.

Good to Know The fertile Kintamani area is a top producer of fruit and vegetables in Bali. This highland area is at approximately 400 metres above sea level. Kintamani is also known as the largest bamboo producer on the island. The giant ‘petung’ type of bamboo harvested here is widely used for making traditional furniture items. Lake Batur is the main source of irrigation water for most of Bali.

Locals also breed freshwater fish here. The water temperature at the Toyabungkah hotsprings can reach

Place Your Add Here

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up to 45 degrees Celcius. Kintamani is in Bangli, the only district on the island without a shoreline. Enjoy the best panoramic views from this Bali volcano from 10:00 to 15:00.

Hiking up Mount Batur usually takes three hours. Official guides are recommended. ‘Mountain guides’, however, are self-titled and have a reputation for being rather pushy.

You can book climbs from our tour options above. Like Mount Agung, Mount Batur is active. Be sure to check its volcanic activity alert levels before planning a trek. (net)

Karim JAAFAR / AFP

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning against Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Damir Dzumhur during the ATP Qatar Open tennis competition’s first round in Doha on January 1, 2019.

‘Fantastic’ Djokovic eases to opening Qatar win, Thiem crashes out

LOS ANGELES - Kawhi Leonard poured in a career-high 45 points to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 122-116 NBA victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.

With the win the Raptors improved to 28-11, keeping the pressure on the Milwaukee Bucks who boosted their league-leading record in terms of winning percentage to 26-10 with a 121-98 victory over Detroit.

The Raptors were again without injured Jonas Valanciunas and Kyle Lowry -- whose return date remains uncertain after he received antiinflammatory injections to combat back pain last week.

In their absence, Leonard excelled, making all seven of his field goal attempts in the third quarter as he scored 19 points in the period and the Raptors -- who trailed by two at halftime -- pulled away.

After making just two threepointers in the first half, the Raptors connected on their first three from beyond the arc in the third to seize control of the contest.

They took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter, and while the Jazz managed to cut the deficit to

as few as four, they couldn’t get any closer.

“They’re a well-coached team, they’ve got great guys on their team that compete every possession,” Leonard said. “We just tried to stay in it til the end of the game. We had to get some stops on the defensive end and try to come back and execute on the offensive end -- it was a good win for us tonight.”

Pascal Siakam contributed a career-best 28 points with 10 rebounds for the Raptors and Norman Powell added 14 points off the bench as Toronto improved to 28-11.

In Milwaukee, the Bucks won their fourth straight with the help of 25 points from Brook Lopez, 22 from Khris Middleton and 18 from Eric Bledsoe.

“I was feeling good,” Lopez said. “We were moving the ball really well ... my guys were making great passes to me all night.”

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo had a relatively modest 15 points, but they included a stunning one-handed dunk over Jon Leuer in the final minute of the first quarter. (afp)

DOHA - Novak Djokovic took just 55 minutes to claim his first win of 2019, brushing aside Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-2 in the Qatar Open first round on Tuesday.

The world number one showed he was intent on taking his form from last season into the new year with a totally dominant display against the Bosnian world number 47.

“It’s fantastic to be back and to start off the tournament like I have done makes me very confident and very happy,” said the Serb.

He added: “Results-wise and time-wise it did look quite comfortable (but) I don’t think it’s nice and fair to say it’s easy because I have respect for Dzumhur.”

Djokovic, who has won the last two Grand Slams -- at Wimbledon and the US Open to take his majors total to 14 -- completed the match in under an hour by predictably converting his first match point.

The 31-year-old, who has made it clear he wants to match or better Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slams, was untroubled throughout.

Djokovic said he hoped that news of his comfortable victory in Doha “travels” to his rivals around the world.

“You do follow, especially what your top rivals are doing, who are they playing, watch highlights,” he said.

Djokovic’s record in Doha is now 13 wins and just one defeat and his path to a potential third title in four years -- playing in Qatar is an established part of his warm-up for the Australian Open -- was helped by results elsewhere as the two other highest ranking seeds were defeated at the first hurdle.

Austria’s Dominic Thiem, the number two seed, was surprisingly beaten by the world number 55, France’s Pierre Hugues-Herbert, 6-3, 7-5 in the last match on Tuesday.

And Djokovic’s Doha stroll on

centre court followed a high quality match between veteran Stan Wawrinka and rising star Karen Khachanov. The Swiss three-time Grand Slam winner won 7-6 (9/7), 6-4 to claim a notable scalp against the powerful Russian.

Khachanov, the third seed, finished last season ranked at a careertime high of number 11 and was the man who ended Djokovic’s 22-match winning streak in Paris.

He is many people’s tip to push through and challenge the established stars.

However, Khachanov had no answer to an inspired Wawrinka, currently ranked 66th in the world, as he returns from a serious knee injury.

“Today was a great match, a great level,” said Wawrinka, who has suffered an injury-plagued last two seasons. (afp)

Copyright 2019 NBAE Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images/AFP

Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors shoots the ball against the Utah Jazz on January 1, 2019 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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Thursday, January 3, 2019

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Taiwan reunification with China ‘inevitable’: Xi

BEIJING - Taiwan’s unification with the mainland is “inevitable”, President Xi Jinping said Wednesday, warning against any efforts to promote the island’s independence and saying China would not renounce the option of using military force to bring it into the fold.

China still sees democratic Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since the end of a civil war on the mainland in 1949.

“China must and will be united... which is an inevitable requirement for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese people in the new era,” Xi said in a speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of a message sent to Taiwan in 1979, in which Beijing called for unification and an end to military confrontation.

“We make no promise to give up the use of military force and reserve the option of taking all necessary means” against Taiwanese separatist activities and “outside forces” that interfere with reunification, he said.

In his speech, Xi described unification under a “one country, two systems” approach that would “safeguard the interests and well-being of Taiwanese compatriots”.

Taiwan considers itself a sovereign state, with its own currency, political and judicial systems, but has never declared formal independence from the mainland.

Relations have been strained for the past two years since the election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who has refused to acknowledge Beijing’s stance that the island is part of “one China”.

On Tuesday, Tsai warned Beijing that Taiwan’s people would never give up the kind of freedoms unseen on the authoritarian mainland.

Beijing “must respect the insistence of 23 million people for freedom and democracy” and “must use peaceful and equal terms to handle our differences”, she said.

ally and its main arms supplier despite switching diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979.

Xi’s speech is likely to be “very poorly received,” by the US, said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, who studies Chinese foreign policy.

-’One country, two systems’-

To accommodate differences in Taiwan’s political system and civil society, China has proposed adopting the “one country, two systems” policy, which was implemented in Hong Kong after the British handed the city back to China in 1997.

But some say the erosion of civil liberties in Hong Kong sets a negative precedent for Taiwan.

“They (China) are gobbling up Hong Kong, not just politically but culturally and economically too”, Claudia Mo, a pro-democracy Hong Kong lawmaker, told AFP. “It’s so obvious that they’re trying to assimilate Hong Kong into wider mainland China in every way. How would any Taiwanese think that’s going to work for them?”

Others believed Taiwanese could slowly come on board.

“People’s heart won’t change in one day, but I think one

country, two systems is a way to do it. The unification might take one, two, or even three more generations to achieve,” said a 55-year old construction worker in Hong Kong who gave his surname as Lam. Last October, tens of thousands of Taiwan independence campaigners took to the streets in the first large-scale protest calling for an outright independence vote since the island first became a democracy more than 20 years ago.

But some in Taiwan say worsening relations with Beijing have harmed business, as cuts to pensions and a reduction in public holidays compound frustrations over a stagnant economy where salaries have not kept up with the rise in cost of living.

Last year, Taiwan’s ruling party suffered a massive defeat in mid-term polls, causing Tsai to resign as leader of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, while the main opposition Kuomintang, which oversaw an unprecedented thaw with Beijing before Tsai took office in 2016, made gains.

Beijing has adopted a multi-pronged approach to diminish Taiwan’s presence on the international stage in recent years, including blocking it from global forums and poaching its dwindling number of official diplomatic allies. (afp)

IBP/net

Some 2,050 election campaign violations recorded in 2018: Bawaslu

-’Too risky’-

Though Xi’s speech takes a strong stance against Taiwanese separatists and pushes for reunification, it is aimed mostly at domestic audiences, analysts say.

“It’s rather empty and doesn’t have any new points except that cross-strait unification would not affect the interests of other countries,” said Fan Shih-ping, political analyst at National Taiwan Normal University, adding that Xi’s words may also be intended for the US, which views Taiwan as part of its Indo-Pacific strategy.

In 2018, the US sent multiple ships through the Taiwan Strait –- which China considers its territory but the US and others see as international waters open to all -- infuriating Beijing.

Washington also remains Taipei’s most powerful unofficial

Disasters...

From page 1

The list includes ancient Buddhist and Hindu temples, tropical islands near Jakarta, the Mount Bromo volcano in eastern Java, and a national park that is home to Komodo dragons -- the world’s biggest lizard.

But the killer tsunami has dealt a blow to plans to pump some $4 billion into Tanjung Lesung.

And it is not the only spot in the government’s tourism plan to suffer a disaster -- natural or

PALU - The General Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) has recorded a total of 2,050 violations during the election process in 2018.

man-made -- that could scare away tourists.

Lombok, next to Bali, was rocked by earthquakes in the summer that killed more than 500 and sparked a mass exodus of foreigners from the tropical paradise.

That was weeks after Lake Toba on Sumatra island -- also on the “New Bali” list -- was the scene of a ferry accident that left almost 200 people missing or dead.

- Caught off guard -

IBP/AFP

A mother carries her child past a television in New Taipei City on January 2, 2019 showing China’s leader Xi Jinping making a speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of a message sent to Taiwan in 1979.

In May, Indonesia’s secondbiggest city Surabaya was hit by

suicide bombings carried about by Islamist extremists, while Bali was rocked as the Mount Agung blew its top at the end of 2017.

The volcano is 75 kilometres (45 miles) away from tourist areas and the eruption posed little danger to visitors, but it still left hundreds of thousands stranded as flights were cancelled.

Indonesia’s upbeat tourism numbers plunged in the second half of 2018 after the Lombok quakes, a quake-tsunami disaster on Sulawesi island that killed thousands, and a Lion Air plane crash in October

which killed all 189 people on board.

Indonesia is one of the most disaster-prone nations on Earth, straddling the Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates collide.

And the frequent disasters it has suffered recently have highlighted the country’s woeful state of preparedness.

Early warning systems in the city of Palu on Sulawesi -- and elsewhere -- had not been working since 2012 because of budget shortfalls and bureaucratic bungling.

In the latest disaster in the Sunda

Strait, Indonesian monitors initially said there was no tsunami threat at all. They were later forced to issue a correction and an apology, pointing to a lack of early warning systems for the high death toll.

Jakarta’s tourism push may still have a chance, but only if it gets serious about safety, said I Ketut Ardana, head of the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies’ Bali office.

“The (government) needs to better inform locals and tourists so they’re prepared when a disaster strikes,” he said. (afp)

“For 2018, we have recorded some 2,050 violations during the election process,” Ratna Dewi Pettalolo, the commissioner of Bawaslu, noted here, Monday.

Presidential and legislative elections will be organized directly, democratically, and simultaneously across Indonesia on April 17, 2019, which will be the fourth so far.

The campaign period, to last until April 13, 2019, kicked off in Indonesia, with the General Election Commission (KPU) organizing an event for the signing of a declaration pledging a peaceful campaign in Jakarta on September 23, 2018.

Of the total violations, 1,669 were found by Bawaslu, while 381 were discovered based on reports filed by the public.

The violations comprised 1,319 cases of administrative violations, 106 potential crimes, 96 cases concerning election

code of ethics, and 24 related to neutrality of civil servants.

Some 820 violations were committed by election participants, 546 by election campaign teams, 520 by election executors, 108 by illegible voters, 30 by officials, and 24 by civil servants. There were also more than 500 reports on disputes. Many cases of violations also concern election campaign props.

Next year`s race will be a re-run of the bitter 2014 presidential election, as incumbent Joko Widodo and retired general Prabowo Subianto are again set to go head-to-head. (ant)

Indonesia`s international investment position remains stable: BI

JAKARTA - Indonesia`s International Investment Position (IIP) was relatively stable in the third quarter of 2018.

Indonesia`s IIP at the end of the third quarter of 2018 recorded a net liability of US$297.0 billion, or 28.5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), relatively unchanged from that at the end of the previous quarter, according to a statement from BI here on Monday.

The development was in line with the slightly higher Foreign Financial Liability (FFL) position

compared to the increase in the Foreign Financial Asset (FFA) position.

Indonesia`s FFL position increased along with the influx of foreign capital inflows.

Indonesia`s FFL position at the end of the third quarter of 2018 rose $1.6 billion, or 0.3 percent quarter-to-quarter (qtq), to $633.6 billion.

The increase was driven by the influx of foreign capital flows, mostly in the form of direct investment and other investments,

reflecting optimism in the domestic economic performance.

Further increase in the FFL position was restrained by the strengthening of the US dollar against the rupiah that resulted in a decline in the value of the rupiah-denominated investment instruments.

Indonesia`s FFA position increased mainly due to acquisition of other investment assets.

Indonesia`s FFA position at the end of the third quarter of 2018 rose $1.5 billion, or 0.5 percent qtq, to $336.6 billion.

In addition to other investments, the acquisitions of direct investment and portfolio investment assets also contributed to the increase in the FFA position.

BI views that the development of Indonesia`s IIP at the end of the third quarter of 2018 remained healthy.

This is reflected in the relatively stable ratio of Indonesia`s net IIP liability to the GDP in the average range of peer countries at some 29 percent.

In addition, the structure of

Indonesia`s net liability position was dominated by long-term instruments. Nevertheless, BI will remain vigilant over the risk of Indonesia`s net IIP liability position to the economy.

Going forward, BI believes that Indonesia`s IIP performance will improve further in line with maintained economic stability and continued recovery of Indonesia economy, supported by consistency and synergy in the policy mix of monetary, fiscal, and structural reforms. (ant)

12

International

Thursday, January 3, 2019

BUSINESS Trade war, big profits, wild swings: a look at 2018 markets

Bali News

International

As an expression of gratitude that people have implemented tapa bratha penyepian or penance, the day after Nyepi known as Ngembak Geni was filled with Majelangu Market by Tuban customary village on Wednesday (Mar. 29). Located along the highway of Tuban, the Majelangu Market was also filled with various activities, booth of merchants and implementation of emed-emedan tradition.

Deputy Chief of Tuban customary village, in charge of Pawongan or social affairs, Ketut Lenen, said that on entering the third year, the Majelangu Market is held as a form of open house (simakrama) between residents around the neighborhood of Tuban village. Most booths of merchant were filled by residents in the neighborhood of Tuban customary village. A total of approximately 90 booths enlivened this annual event.

Related to the tradition of emed-emedan, said Lenen, in the past this activity was held in front of the village temple of Tuban under the banyan tree by using aerial roots of the banyan tree. Today, the emed-emedan tradition uses a rope as the means. “This tradition was usually held right on Nyepi Day. However, this time Nyepi has gone worldwide, so that in honor of the Nyepi celebration, the emed-emedan tradition is moved to Ngembak Geni,” he said.

According to Lenen, the meaning of emed-emedan tradition is to strengthen togetherness and familial relationship as well as to have fun. In the past, participants consisted of young people, but today it is also followed by the housewives coalesced into PKK group. “We hope that in the future this tradition can be more vibrant,” he said. (kmb)

Investors grew worried that the testy U.S.China trade dispute and higher interest rates would slow the economy, hurting corporate profits. A slowing U.S. housing market and forecasts of weaker global growth in 2019 stoked traders’ unease. In October the market entered a volatile skid as traders sold technology companies and other growth sectors in favor of less-risky assets, such as government bonds.

The autumn sell-off knocked the benchmark S&P 500 index into a correction, or a drop of 10 percent from its all-time high. The index ended with its worst annual performance in a decade, losing 6.2 percent.

VIVA VOLATILITY The stock market’s gyrations grew more volatile in 2018 as investors faced uncertainty over trade and rising interest rates. The benchmark S&P 500 index slid into a “correction,” or a drop of 10 percent from its high, twice this year. Bond yields surged as investors sought less risky investments, though gold weakened after rallying early in the year.

AP Photo/Richard Drew

Specialist Matthew Greiner works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Dec. 28, 2018.

U.S. stocks wavered between small gains and losses Friday, struggling to maintain the momentum from a two-day winning streak following a week of volatile trading. forecasting further weakness in housing next year and higher mortgage rates.

got more than half its revenue from abroad in the last year, including about 12 percent from China, according to FactSet.

wonder if Facebook, Google, Snap and other tech companies will face new regulations. Twitter fared better after several rough years

ECONOMIC HEADWINDS The pace of global economic growth will slow next year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said recently.

Trade growth and investment have been slackening on the back of tariff hikes, the Paris-based economic think tank says. It warns world economic activity could be weaker in the years ahead if the U.S. and China impose further penalties on each other’s goods.

PROFIT POWER Corporate America’s earnings growth surged in 2018, driven by lower tax bills and a growing economy. The strong results helped to briefly spur the stock market to new highs. More recently, investors have grown concerned that 2018 may be the peak for corporate profit growth, especially given recent signs that the global economy is slowing.

That’s one reason analysts are forecasting more modest earnings growth next year.

OIL SLICK Falling oil prices used to be welcome news in the U.S., but that was before the oil boom of the last decade. A drop in oil can still mean lower gas prices for drivers. But this year’s 40 percent plunge from a four-year peak of about $76 a barrel in October is unequivocally bad news for the oil companies that have helped domestic production roughly double over the past seven years.

BIG AND SMALL Smaller stocks surged this spring as trade tensions dominated the headlines. Investors believed those companies, which do less business overseas compared to larger companies, would feel less pain during a prolonged trade dispute. But smaller companies are also weaker financially and are more likely to struggle when the U.S. economy slows, and Wall Street grew very worried about that possibility later in the year. That caused huge losses.

TRADE TREMORS President Donald Trump said early this year that trade wars are good and “easy to win,” but worries about the effect of tariffs on international trade — and corporate profits — have weighed on stocks. Boeing’s stock became a proxy of sorts for investors as worries about trade waxed and waned. Boeing

DO YOU SUBSCRIBE? Facebook and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, were longtime market favorites until mid-2018. Facebook faced controversies related to user privacy and concerns its services enabled election meddling and contributed to violence overseas. Analysts projected a slowdown in user growth. Investors also began to

NOT HOME The U.S. housing market stalled in 2018 as years of prices climbing faster than incomes coupled with a steady rise in mortgage rates took their toll. The higher borrowing costs and prices have put homeownership out of reach for many would-be buyers. Sales of existing homes posted their biggest annual drop in four years in October. Economists are

HIGH, AND LOW, TIMES A majority of U.S. states have legalized marijuana to varying degrees, and companies are scrambling to get in on the action. Both the NYSE and Nasdaq saw their first purely cannabis companies list shares in 2018. But stocks in the companies that produce and sell marijuana have largely underperformed the overall market this year. (ap)

5

Emed-emedan Tradition, Maintain Togetherness and Kinship

Wall Street started 2018 strong, buoyed by a growing economy and corporate profits. It didn’t end that way. U.S. stocks climbed to new highs in January, shook off a sudden, steep drop by spring and rode a wave of tax cut-juiced corporate earnings growth to another all-time high by September.

Then the jitters set in.

EVERYTHING STRUGGLED “Diversify” is one of the bedrock tenets of investing, and it’s supposed to shine brightest when markets are turbulent. The hope is that if U.S. stocks are struggling, markets in other areas of the world will be doing better.

Or bonds. Or gold. This year, though, nearly everything has been a loser.

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Unique Shell-Decorated Keben, Where to Buy?

Keben or ritual basket craftsmen at Kukuh village, Marga, have innovation to make unique product compared to the common ones. If keben craftsmen in Bali mostly take advantage of the same raw material, those at Kukuh village should think twice to look for different things to make it look unique, and the usage of sea shells as decoration becomes the option.

One of the craftsmen, Wayan Suryani, 46, stated that she has pursued the craft business with her sister since ten years ago. At that time, the craft used glass ornaments.

However, since more and more craftsmen apply such glass decoration right now, she and her sister then tried new material namely sea

shells. However, to meet the shell raw material, it should be brought in from Java. The sea shell used for decoration is very difficult to find in Bali. So, she must bring in from Java. “The sea shell used for decoration is difficult to be found here in Bali,” she said.

At least, there are six types of sea shells to be used as decoration.

For once ordering sea shell, said Suryani, she usually requests 100 kilograms per type of the shell.

The purchase of sea shell is made when receiving an order from consumers. “Our order is fluctuating.

Sometimes there are a few pieces in a month and sometimes we get no order at all. So, the order of the shell is made if there are already

craft orders,” she added.

Habitually, the keben crafts are ordered on average of 30 pieces. To accomplish the order, she should engage six craftsmen where one craftsman can produce two pieces of keben basket each day.

The price offered for this shelldecorated craft varies based on the complexity of the design and the variety of sea shells in use. On average, the price is between IDR 200,000 and IDR 300,000. Other than fulfilling the demand of buyers in Bali, this shell-decorated handicraft also draws the interest of consumers from outside Bali.

“Some buyers from Sulawesi also order my craft products,” concluded Suryani. (kmb)

4

Bali News

Thursday, January 3, 2019

International

‘Cinema’ to be built in Besakih sanctified area physical appearance in person how beautiful it is. We will make a place to see at some points in the north, south, east and west. Visitors will no longer be allowed to carelessly enter the sanctum,” he explained.

Thus, continued Koster, sacredness of Besakih Temple can be maintained considering that all this time, something indeed made sacred in Bali actually tends to be degraded. Virtually, overseas the non-sacred goods are even made sacred so that they have economic value. On the other hand, the road to Besakih Temple will be arranged both the national and provincial roads.

“I think Karangasem will advance because of this (sacred area of Besakih) that will be part of the center for economic growth managed in the right way. Thus, Besakih will become something sacred because it is indeed sacred, not made sacred like overseas,” he said.

The plan to build cinema in the sacred area of Besakih is welcomed positively by Chairman of Commission III of the Bali House of Representatives, I Nengah Tamba. Moreover, the cinema will play a short film about the embryo of Besakih Temple.

In general, the idea of structuring the Besakih sacred area protection program including the importance of road access to Besakih Temple is considered to have been in line with

TOKYO - Japan’s Emperor Akihito delivered his final New Year’s address Wednesday before his abdication later this year, telling tens of thousands of well-wishers that he was praying for peace.

IBP/kmb

Governor of Bali, Wayan Koster the legislator’s thinking so far.

“We have also talked about the importance of road access to Besakih Temple because we don’t want it to happen every time there is a big ceremony. Congestion will arise,” he said after attending the Final Speech 2018 and Welcoming the New Year 2019 by Governor of Bali.

Tamba added that beauty and sanitation of the road on the left and right side must be maintained especially on the national roads. Aside from the national road access to Besakih Temple, all the roads in Bali like the

Jalan Bypass Ida Bagus Mantra, the trees in the median garden must be made beautiful. “Give a new nuance so that it will not look like in the current condition where is the tree going? Is it just to make green? We will allocate a budget to make the good ones,” he added.

Regarding the idea of building the cinema, Tamba also considered it important to realize it immediately because the tourists making a visit to Besakih indeed should know about the Besakih Temple comprehensively before they go around seeing

the temple. On that account, tourists must first go to cinema to witness a kind of short documentary film about the embryo of Besakih Temple with duration of about 30 minutes.

“It is meaningful and compact with the presentation on the forerunner of what the Besakih Temple is along with the Hindu ceremonies. With such presentation, tourists will know exactly about the Besakih Temple along with its profile. Hopefully, it can become the main attraction and very much hope it to happen,” said this Democratic Party politician. (kmb32)

Ubud targets honeymoon tourism

IBP/kmb

Ubud, having been previously known, is increasingly famous for its romantic atmosphere.

13

Tears as Japan emperor gives last New Year’s address

DENPASAR - Bali provincial government prepares the implementation of the Besakih sanctified area program. The budget has even been allocated in the Bali Regional Budget 2019. The area will be arranged neatly, ranging from the parks, parking lots, restaurants to the road to get there. Besides, in the Besakih sanctified area there will be a special cinema building for screening films about the Besakih Temple and spots to see the temple.

“So, we will make a program for the protection of the Besakih sanctified area with regard to parhyangan (spiritual), palemahan (environment), and pawongan (community). It is no longer like the current condition that is chaotic,” said Governor of Bali, Wayan Koster, in the Year End Speech and Welcoming the New Year 2019 at the Ksiraarnawa Building, Denpasar Art Center on Monday (Dec. 31).

According to Koster, the arrangement from the parhyangan aspect will involve the sulinggih (Brahmin priests). Meanwhile, the arrangement of palemahan and pawongan aspects will team up with various parties, especially the regent of Karangasem.

“We will arrange the park, parking lot, restaurant, food stall and prepare the cinema for the screening of documentary film on Besakih Temple,” he explained accompanied by Deputy Governor of Bali, Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati.

Koster added there is a need to make documentation about the history of Besakih Temple in video format.

This includes when the temple was established, who did it along with the ritual paraphernalia needed for religious procession at the Besakih Temple.

“Later on, visitors will see it (the history of Besakih Temple—Ed) in the cinema building. After that, they will come out if wishing to see the

Thursday, January 3, 2019

International

DENPASAR - Since the film Eat, Pray and Love played by Julia Robert in 2008, Ubud is increasingly known in the world. Many people want to know more about Ubud after watching the movie with the setting of Ubud. Ubud, having been previously known, is increasingly famous for its romantic atmosphere. It is proved by the level of visits to Ubud booming in 2014 and 2015.

Co-Founder of Pramana Experience, I Nyoman Sudirga Yusa, said that most foreign tourists coming to Ubud are Europeans reaching 73 percent, especially from the United Kingdom. “We are participating in various events in the UK and the government is also intensifying promotions in Germany and the UK,” he said. In low season, European tourists visiting Ubud remain stable,

where the occupancy approached 87 percent in November 2018.

The government’s target is to bring in 20 million foreign tourists, where China is the most overall.

However, the European guests currently dominate Ubud. Indeed from the 1920s, the first to build the Ubud destination were European artists, such as Arie Smith, Bonnet, Antonio Blanco and so forth. “Ubud is indeed a strong European base because it has been indeed known from that year in Europe,” he said. European tourists appreciated to Balinese culture and customs more. “They love culture more. Once talking about culture, they must get interested,” he said.

European tourists spend money at the same amount as that of Australian and American markets.

Seeing the potential of Ubud, Pra-

mana Experience targets honeymoon tourism market. According to Yusa, when people have honeymoon, whatever is offered will be purchased.

“Rooms for any price are purchased because they are happy. Indeed the target is small, but we see big money spending. The average honeymoon in Ubud is worth IDR 15 million per couple,” he said.

He targeted that at the beginning of 2019 the occupancy will reach 6575 percent. To that end, his properties in Ubud indeed offer an intimate location and services. “It is our core or the strength of Pramana Experience.

We also display Balinese activities into the properties such as yoga, Balinese cooking classes, majejahitan (preparing oblations), using Balinese clothing, and decorative gowns,” he explained. (kmb42)

The Imperial Palace said more than 114,600 people had flocked to the royal residence by early Wednesday afternoon, with more still arriving for a final chance to see the 85-year-old royal deliver his traditional annual greeting.

The emperor will become the first Japanese monarch to abdicate in around two centuries when he steps down from the throne on April 30, ending his three-decade reign.

“Happy New Year. I’m sincerely glad to celebrate the new year together with you under the clear sky,” he told the crowd, many waving Japanese flags and shouting “Banzai”, meaning “long live”.

“I hope this year will be a good year for as many people as possible,” the soft-spoken Akihito said in a dark suit, flanked by Empress Michiko and other family members.

“I pray for the peace and happiness of the people of our country and the world,” he added. The emperor delivers a brief New Year’s greeting every year, and was expected to appear five times on Wednesday to address as many well-wishers as possible.

Some in the morning crowd yelled “Thank you very much” as the emperor waved, while others sang the national anthem. One woman in the front row shed tears as she looked up at the balcony.

“I came here with my mother to imprint his last appearance as emperor in our memories,” said Yume Nishimura, a university student, as she waited in a long queue to enter the palace.

“I want to tell him we appreciate his hard work for the country,” she told AFP. Kazuo Iwasaki, a 68-year-old pensioner, said: “I hope he will be able to spend his post-

JIJI PRESS / AFP

Japan’s Emperor Akihito (R) and Crown Prince Naruhito (L) wave to the crowd during the New Year’s greeting ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on January 2, 2019. retirement years in a healthy and relaxing manner with Empress Michiko.”

- Pacifist views Akihito shocked the country in 2016 when he signalled his desire to take a back seat, citing his age and health problems.

His eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, is set to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne a day after his father’s abdication, continuing the rule of the world’s oldest imperial family.

The status of the emperor is sensitive in Japan given its 20th-century history of war waged

in the name of Akihito’s father Hirohito, who died in 1989.

Akihito has keenly embraced the more modern role as a symbol of the state -- imposed after World War II ended. Previous emperors including his father had been treated as semi-divine.

The palace, surrounded by stone walls and mossy moats, is opened to the public twice a year -- on the emperor’s birthday and the second day of New Year -- for the royal family to greet well-wishers.

In a rare emotional address to mark his

85th birthday last month, Akihito pointed to the “countless lives” lost in the war.

“It gives me deep comfort that the Heisei Era (his reign) is coming to an end, free of war in Japan,” he said in a press statement.

Akihito has used his speeches and travels to express his strong pacifist views, which are sharply at odds with the aggressive expansionism Japan pursued under his father’s rule. The emperor has also worked to bring the royal household closer to the people and frequently visited the disadvantaged and families hit by natural disasters. (afp)

Two women enter flashpoint India temple

ARUN SANKAR / AFP

In this file photo taken on October 18, 2018 Indian Hindu devotees are pictured at the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala in the southern state of Kerala.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Two women secretly entered one of Hinduism’s holiest shrines on Wednesday, breaching a blockade around the Sabarimala temple where devotees have been enraged by an Indian Supreme Court decision to overturn a ban on women aged between 10 and 50.

The pair entered the hilltop temple in Kerala state just before dawn under police protection and left undetected, officials confirmed.

Sabarimala has been at the centre of an increasingly angry showdown between Hindu traditionalists who support the longstanding ban and women activists who have been forced back several times from the

temple. Video images showed the women, Kanaka Durga and Bindu, who has only one name, wearing black tunics with their heads bowed as they rushed in.

“We did not enter the shrine by climbing the 18 holy steps but went through the staff gate,” one of the women, who both remain under police guard, later told reporters.

Kerala state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said: “It is a fact that the women entered the shrine.

Police are bound to offer protection to anyone wanting to worship at the shrine.”

The defiant act is certain to set off a new furore in India over gender.

The Supreme Court on September 28 declared illegal a decadesold ban on women of menstruating age at Sabarimala, which is a fourhour uphill trek from the nearest village.

Repeated efforts by women to enter the temple after the ruling have been rebuffed by Hindu devotees with police having to step in to escort them out.

As soon as news of Wednesday’s breach spread, the temple head priest ordered the shrine closed for a purification ritual -- reflecting the old but still prevalent belief that menstruating women are impure.

It reopened after around an hour. (afp)

14

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Health

International

The $35 billion race to cure a silent killer that affects 30 million Americans

IBP/net

Still, medical researchers continue to caution against its use because little is known about its effects on health.

What we learned about marijuana in 2018

MICHIGAN - 2018 has been a banner year for the legal marijuana industry, as the national market for weed skyrocketed and five more states legalized it, reflecting widespread popular support.

This year, Vermont and Michigan became the ninth and 10th states to legalize recreational marijuana, which is also legal In the District of Columbia. And voters in Missouri, Oklahoma and Utah overwhelmingly approved ballot measures making medical marijuana legal. That means 33 states plus D.C. now approve the illicit drug for medical use, raising the question of whether the U.S. will follow Canada’s lead in legalizing marijuana nationwide.

In 2019, legalization for recreational use seems imminent in New York and New Jersey.

The wave of legalization is taking place as the latest polls show that nearly two-thirds of Americans

endorse it, double the rate in 2000.

Investors are noticing too, pouring an estimated $10 billion into the industry in North America this year.

Still, medical researchers continue to caution against its use because little is known about its effects on health. Here is a review of what we’ve learned about marijuana and marijuana-based products in 2018.

Today’s weed stronger than yesterday’s

Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana and typically used as a measure of potency. Over the past decade, the quantity of THC in marijuana in the United States has risen steadily, and the change has

been more dramatic where there is a legal market.

A study published in 2016 tested over 38,000 samples of marijuana seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration from 1995 to 2014.

The average THC content in 1995 was around 4 percent. By 2014, it had risen to 12 percent.

One legal market is in Washington state. “The average potency of the flower product sold in Washington’s state-licensed markets is over 20 percent, and the average potency of extract-based products — like oils for vaping pens, dabs and the like — is in the neighborhood of 70 percent,” said Jonathan Caulkins, a drug policy researcher and professor at Carnegie Mellon University. (net)

FLORIDA - At the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, the liver transplant group is busy handling an onslaught of patients who have come from all over the country in hopes of a chance at life. For many, a liver transplant is their last hope, after being diagnosed with a deadly disease sweeping the nation at epic proportions. People crowd the unit and undergo scores of testing and evaluation in an effort to get on the hospital’s coveted transplant list. It’s a program with a 94 percent survival rate after liver transplant, one of the highest in the nation.

For many the culprit is a serious form of fatty liver disease called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, also known as NASH. An outgrowth of the obesity epidemic in the Western world and around the globe, it causes scarring and inflammation that can lead to liver cirrhosis, cardiac and lung complications, liver cancer and death.

Yet few people know about it.

Across the United States, millions of people of all ages suffer from this silent killer that slowly morphs from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition that now affects 89 million in the U.S., according to the Center for Disease Analysis. The National Institutes of Health estimates as many as 30 million people, or 12 percent of U.S. adults, now have NASH. The effects of the disease — which include fibrosis, ascites (fluid accumulation in the abdomen), bleeding varices in the esophagus and liver cancer — are devastating. “By 2020 NASH will overtake hepatitis C as the No. 1 cause of liver transplantation in the U.S.,” says Dr. Maria Yataco, a gastroenterologist who is conducting research on NASH and liver disease at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.

What is even scarier is the fact that liver specialists are seeing patients that are younger and younger with this disease due the rising obesity rates. “Today we are seeing people in their 20s and 30s with NASH,” says Dr. Leona KimSchluger, a hepatologist and professor at the Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. “There is even NASH in the pediatric population.”

“Right now it is estimated the U.S. is spending $5 billion annually in health-care costs related to the disease, which include chemotherapy, transplants, tests and hospitalizations,” says health-care economist Home Razavi, managing director of the Center for Disease Analysis, who is working with ministers of health around the world to gather data and help them develop a national health strategy for NASH. “But the costs will rise to $18 billion by 2030 if this disease goes unchecked.”

In spite of the large U.S. patient population at risk, the CDC has not

Bali News

International

addressed the crisis, and there is no FDA-approved treatment available, experts point out.

Even worse, signs of the disease are asymptomatic, so a person often is not diagnosed with NASH until it advances to a late stage, when cirrhosis begins to ravage the body, according to Dr. Laurent Fischer, senior vice president and head of global drug development at Allergan.

By that point the only option is a transplant to avert death. That’s because physicians typically do not screen for fatty liver disease as part of the annual physical they give patients when they analyze for other life-threatening conditions, like heart disease, diabetes, breast and colon cancer.

Wayne Gagne a 67-year-old locomotive engineer in Nashua, New Hampshire, can attest to that. Now on hospice care, he found out he had NASH totally by accident in 2011 after going to the emergency room at his local hospital for heart problems.

There doctors did a battery of tests to diagnosis his issues, including an ultrasound of his abdomen, and found he had the disease. “By then he had cirrhosis of the liver, and his only option was a transplant,” says his wife Gigi. But his heart condition precluded him from being a candidate.

“Routine checkups never revealed he had NASH,” Gigi recalls, “all the blood tests of his liver enzymes were fine, so no one knew. We just thought if he lost weight and had a healthy life style he would be OK.” Since then Wayne has suffered with a host of complications including acities, varices in his esophagus and severe muscle loss and muscle cramps. His heart condition is worsening, another complication from NASH. (net)

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Build synergy in the year of productivity and quality

WE have entered a new phase in the struggle of life in various sectors. In Chinese year, the 2019 belonging to the Year of the Pig is considered a year with full of surprises at least for Bali. The fate of Bali’s economy will also be at stake. Many people put up optimistic targets with 6.00 - 6.40 percent but the challenge is relatively difficult. Likewise, Bali has the potential to face serious challenges. Political pressure, digital world movement and weakness of alternative economic strengthening become a serious threat.

In 2019, until entering the first semester – Bali’s economy will be faced with challenges and vulnerabilities in the field of economic politics. Political campaigns tending to move on a pragmatic economic approach cause friction. The economic community is divided into two camps. This condition lasted until April 2014. This made the economic community out of focus.

Clearly, it is very vulnerable economically. The pace of growth in the digital world also makes market players still adapt. It becomes an obstacle because it will lead to changes in the way business is

done. And the most serious challenge is certainly a never-ending trade war as a global risk.

Looking at the various economic potentials in 2019 and the risks for Bali, Bali Post organized a discussion with practitioners and economists such as Viraguna Bagoes Oka, Dr. I Gde Made Sadguna and Deputy Director of Bank Indonesia for Bali Representative Office, Azka Subhan. Their scrutiny of Bali’s 2019 economy is generally positive. However, the magnitude of the obstacles has forced us to manage 2019 professionally in Bali.

The year 2019 must be managed as a year of productivity and quality. This year should not be passed as a political year without any efforts to make recoveries and move on the economic agitation of Bali.

The world economy in the Year of the Earth Pig is rather cloudy characterized by sluggish growth and shrouds in obvious uncertainties affecting Bali. Economic growth of the world is predicted to decline and lie in the range of 3.5 percent. At the national level, President Joko Widodo targeted a 5.3-percent growth rate for 2019. Positive impact of massive infrastructure development in all regions of Indonesia should begin to show off the results in 2019. Presidential election and simultaneous regional

IBP/eka

Looking at the various economic potentials in 2019 and the risks for Bali, Bali Post organized a discussion with practitioners and economists.

3

elections will clearly encourage to aggregate the demand from the consumption side. As long as there is no political commotion triggering business concerns, we can expect a positive impact on economic growth.

Bank Indonesia for Bali Representative Office estimated that Bali’s economic growth will be in the range of 6 percent to 6.40 percent. This optimism is mainly supported by the trend of tourism sector activity remaining to increase. Some policies of the new elected governor of Bali will also surely have a positive impact on Bali’s economic growth. Gubernatorial Regulation No.79 and 80 issued recently will encourage the growth of the local garment industry to meet the increasing demand for traditional Balinese clothing and stimulate the activities of the related service sector.

Policies encouraging the use of agricultural products and local handicraft industries to be released in the near future will certainly increase the contribution of the agricultural sector to encourage economic growth in Bali.

However, business people and the economy of Bali must continuously strive to increase productivity and product quality. Bali business players must compete and meet local market demand and export markets. Business opportunities created by various central and regional government policies must be utilized optimally. Business sector must continuously make investments by utilizing the development of information and communication technology and continuously investing in ‘human capital’ so that Balinese human resources can compete and take advantage of the technological advances in product and business development.

To encourage economic acceleration of Bali, Bank Indonesia for Bali Representatives Office urged the tourism sector to be improved so the benefits could be obtained from the Bali’s economy more significantly. Other sources of economic growth supporting tourism must also be prioritized such as the plantation or agriculture sectors through export-oriented coffee and cacao and the development of various creative industries being in line with Bali’s local culture and wisdom.

In the short term, Bali certainly must be able to realize a reliable government. Leadership of Bali should have a role model with a long-term and resilient vision in its implementation. The leader must also have professional skills and make Bali independent in controlling inflation. It should still inspire the movement of the business world to invest and make a real breakthrough in minimizing the gap of poverty. Economic engagement in the tourism sector in Bali is carried out with a competitive quality and productivity approach. Economists also recommended to prevent tariff wars so as to suppress cheap tourism conditions. In addition to strengthening the agricultural sector as a tourism buffer, Bali also has to move in the creative industry. (kmb)

Most local residents involved in cases of drug abuse

IBP/net

Across the United States, millions of people of all ages suffer from this silent killer that slowly morphs from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition that now affects 89 million in the U.S., according to the Center for Disease Analysis.

SINGARAJA - Crime of drug abuse in Buleleng is high. They do not only regard the number of cases revealed, but most of the perpetrators involved are local residents.

No wonder, this situation is quite alarming.

This was stated by Chief of Buleleng Police, Suratno, last week, saying that throughout 2018 there were totally 55 cases of drug abuse revealed. From the cases, police arrested 63 suspects. The number rose 10 percent compared to the cases in 2017 reaching 50 cases. More seriously, out of the 63 suspects, 58 perpetrators are from

Buleleng while three others are from West Java, one from Central Java, and another from Denpasar.

“The most apprehensive is that most of the users are from Buleleng,” he said.

According to Chief Suratno, the circulation pattern still uses a sticking system. This is quite difficult for police to develop the case. From the results of the arrests, criminals often claimed to get their drugs through mobile phone contact.

To prevent massive drug trafficking, his party encouraged the customary village to form an awig-awig or customary bylaw

program regulating the prevention and control of narcotics. With customary sanctions, it is expected to be able to prevent residents from drug abuse in North Bali. So far, police authority together with the Buleleng National Narcotics Agency (BNNK) have been intensely correlating to encourage village leaders “We encourage the role of customary village to jointly combat drug abuse. Based on the study and the fact, the customary sanctions are quite effective in taking action against the crime of drug abuse,” he said. (kmb38)

IBP/kmb

Crime of drug abuse in Buleleng is high. They do not only regard the number of cases revealed, but most of the perpetrators involved are local residents.

2

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Bali News

International

International

Waste volume on New Year’s turn breaks a record

MANGUPURA - Celebration of the New Year’s Eve 2019 in Badung district resulted in a disaster for the local Environmental and Sanitation Agency (DLHK). Naturally, this annual celebration is the trigger for the surge of garbage in the region. Moreover, the surge in the waste volume for the New Year 2019 broke a record.

Head of the Badung Environmental and Sanitation Agency, Putu Eka Merthawan, acknowledged the difficulty of overcoming the waste problem related to the celebration. This condition is felt almost every year end. However, this year it is considered more severe because of being accompanied by marine debris dumped along the coast.

“Every celebration to welcomes the New Year, the volume of garbage surely increases, making the janitor overwhelmed to handle it. Moreover, this time the surge of garbage reached a record of 30 percent compared to previous years,” complained Eka Merthawan when confirmed on Tuesday (Jan. 1).

According to him, in the 2017 celebration night, the beach waste was only 50 tons per day. However, in similar celebration of this year it jumped to 85 tons per

day. “It is an extraordinary surge. When compared to previous year, the data indicated the tree waste reached 50 percent, but in 2018 to 2019 almost reached 95 percent of tree waste and the handling are very difficult because of many trees,” he explained.

He said the surge of garbage occurred almost along the shoreline in Badung district ranging from Kuta Beach, Legian, Pererenan and Jimbaran to Batu Bolong. The high volume of garbage makes this bureaucrat from Sempidi mobilize a thousand personnel.

“We mobilized a thousand personnel to deal with celebratory waste and marine debris but we are still overwhelmed even though we have been assisted by heavy equipment. In the meantime, our team has been working to clean up garbage from the morning,” he explained.

Seeing the high volume of waste, this former Badung Public Relations Officer urged the public to be aware of environmental sanitation by not littering the waste of fireworks and snack packs.

“If the community is aware, of course our burden will be reduced because we can focus on handling marine debris that will occur every end of the year due to rainfall and strong winds,” he said while adding the collected waste is directly transported to Suwung landfill. (kmb27)

IBP/dodok

Activities

Thursday, January 3, 2019

ROCK ‘N RUN THE 18TH CHAPTER: SAVE THE PLANET. CHARITY 5K FUN RUN IBP/Yudi Karnaedi

Driving to increase 37 million passengers

AP 1 continues reclamation covering an area of 107 hectares MANGUPURA - Throughout 2018, Ngurah Rai International Airport recorded an increase in the number of passengers and aircraft served. As of November, there were 21.7 million passengers and 148,000 aircrafts. Of the two statistics, at least until November the statistics indicated there was an increase of 10.6 percent and 10.8 percent respectively when compared to the record of the same period in 2017. With the ongoing record kept in December, the target set at the beginning of the year was almost surely exceeded.

President Director of Angkasa Pura I (AP1), Faik Fahmi, stated that with 21 million passengers in 2018, it will encourage the capacity to reach 37 million passengers per year. For this reason, the efforts carried out are reclamation across the area of 107 hectares.

“That’s for the addition of 400 meters of runway from the initial length of 3,000 meters so that it totally becomes 3,400 meters.

Later on, the reclamation process will continue the current workmanship,” he said when met after a joint prayer to welcome the change of the year at Ngurah Rai Airport on Tuesday (Jan. 1).

In addition to making the runway, said Faik, there will also the development of apron including

additional terminals. Meanwhile, the double runway discourse is not done, but only extended. Previously, it was said there was indeed the addition of apron carried out to support the IMF Annual Meeting.

At present, it will continue to the initial increase of up to 47 hectares from the current 35 hectares with the ability to accommodate up to 28 million passengers per year. For the second stage, only 60 hectares have been added, bringing the total area to 107 hectares.

The addition of runways and supporting facilities is indeed to bring in more tourists. At present, it is indeed hampered because the airport is unable to accommodate passenger growth. Moreover, at this time the airline flight slots in line to operate in the airport is quite high.

Regarding the request of the Minister of Transportation to the Angkasa Pura (AP) 1, it has delivered the readiness to manage the construction of the North Bali airport. It will immediately coordinate with related stakeholders. “North Bali Airport is very prospective because it has very significant tourist growth. Moreover, North Bali is one of the potential regions that can be developed. Thus, the growth of tourists in Ngurah Rai and North Bali can be balanced,” he hoped. (kmb23)

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The 18th Rock ‘N Run 5K fun run, is an annual charity event organized by Hard Rock Hotel Bali that was held on Sunday morning 30 September 2018 in Kuta. This year, over 1,400 runners as well as generous sponsors came together to help raise Rp 200,000,000 in proceeds that will go to towards the education and conservation of coral around Bali.

Funds were raised from participation fees, sponsorship, auctions sales and bazaar, with 100% of proceeds from this year’s event will be donated to the Coral Triangle Center in Sanur, Bali, a-non-profit organization.

The 5 km race was very close finish won by Nyoman Agus Erawan Saputra with a time of 19.10. Gregorius came in 2nd place with a time of 19.12 and Julio finished 3rd with 19:14.

Brooke was the 1st female with a time of 23:10, followed by Kanna at 23:14 and Yunita finished in 3rd place with 23:37. The Fawcett’s won the Family category, while Elle and Lisa won the Best Costume category.

“Over the last 20 years, Hard Rock Hotel Bali has been at the forefront of corporate responsibility within our industry in Bali and we remain committed to assisting the local community and environment anyway we can. We have raised billions of Rupiah since the inception of this annual event for various local charities and this year once again we are thrilled to see the turnout and support. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors, community partners, media partners, Hard Rock Hotel Bali team, and all the participants who have contributed to this very event.

In keeping with our motto ‘Save the Planet’, the proceeds of this year’s event will certainly assist in growing the education of coral conservation in Bali.” said Mr Shane Coates, General Manager of Hard Rock Hotel Bali.

Sponsors for this event include Toyota Agung Kuta, APN Bali, Hard Rock Hotel Penang, Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya, Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur, The Boathouse Phuket, Rock Shop, Jamie’s Italian Kuta Beach, Hard Rock Café Bali, Thai Airways, Rimba Jimbaran Bali by Ayana, Renaissance Resort & Spa, Radisson Blu, W Hotel Bali, Hydro Coco, Le Meridien Jimbaran, Movenpick Resort & Spa Jimbaran, Dynasty Resort, Menjangan Dynasty Resort, Bali Beach Golf Course, Desa Visesa Ubud, , Nilamani Hotels, Wyndham Garden Kuta Beach, Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay, Waterbom Kuta, Waka Gangga, Bali Safari Marine Park, Natya Group, Natys Restaurant, Beachwalk Shopping Center, BCA, C.V Massa, Jagir Advertising, Spring, Hard Rock FM Bali, D’OZ Radio Bali, Jawa Post, Nirwana TV, Bali Plus, Bali Pocket, Bali Advertiser, The Beat Magazine, The Beat Radio Plus, Tribun Bali, Bali Post International, Bali Tribun, Bali TV, NOW! Bali Magazine, Mangsi, RIOT, Fake Runners Bali, IndoRunners, Island Wolf Pack, JimbaRUN, Lan Melaib Kuta, Jeg Melaib Bali.

For more information or to book a stay at Hard Rock Hotel Bali, please visit http://bali.hardrockhotels.net/.

15

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

16 Pages Number 10 11th year

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

Price: Rp 3.000,-

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Kevin Spacey denied request to skip court hearing over groping claim

LOS ANGELES - Kevin Spacey will be forced to appear in court in a week’s time after a judge denied his request to skip a hearing over allegations he groped a young man.

The 59-year-old US actor has been told to attend court to formally hear charges against him on 7 January.

Spacey, an Oscar-winner, denies groping an 18-year-old in a restaurant in Nantucket, Massachusetts in 2016.

He is charged with felony indecent assault and battery, and is pleading not guilty.

Spacey argued he should be excused from appearing next week because his presence would “amplify the negative publicity already generated in connection with this

case”.

His lawyer Juliane Balliro claimed in court documents that Spacey’s appearance would only “heighten prejudicial media interest in the case” and increase the risk of contaminating the jury pool.

But Nantucket district court judge Thomas Barrett disagreed on Monday and turned down Spacey’s request.

Spacey was charged earlier this month over claims he stuck his hands into the young man’s trousers and grabbed his genitals.

The complainant’s mother, former TV news anchor Heather Unruh, said in a 2017 news conference that Spacey had bought her son “drink after drink after drink” and had “made his move” when the boy was drunk. (net)

e-mail: info_ibp@balipost.co.id online: http://www.internationalbalipost.com. http://epaper.internationalbalipost.com.

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Disasters rock Indonesia’s ‘10 New Balis’ tourism push

Picture-postcard Tanjung Lesung was a cornerstone of Indonesia’s bid to supercharge its tourism industry, boasting palm-fringed beaches, a towering volcano in the middle of turquoise waters and a rainforest sanctuary for endangered Javan rhinos.

IBP/net

Ethical, diverse and not a silicone breast in sight -- feminist filmmakers are standing up to mass-market porn with adult movies free of male domination and gender stereotypes.

But the beachside town now lies in ruins, pummelled by a deadly tsunami that has raised fresh questions about disaster preparedness and the future of a multi-billion-dollar push to replicate Bali’s success across the Southeast Asian archipelago. The shattered community was hosting a pop concert when the waves crashed ashore last month, at night and without warning.

Several members of the Indonesian band Seventeen and more than 100 others at the Tanjung Lesung Beach Hotel were killed -- about a quarter of those who died in the volcano-triggered tsunami.

A clutch of other area hotels was also devastated, with beachside cottages flattened and debris -- chairs, tables and the band’s audio equipment -- scattered everywhere.

Tourism minister Arief Yahya, who ordered that the town be rebuilt in six months, brushed aside concerns sparked by the tsunami -- which was triggered by a sudden eruption of the Anak Krakatoa volcano.

“Disasters can happen anywhere in Indonesia,” he told AFP during a recent visit there. “We need to have (tsunami) early warning systems, especially in tourist destinations. We’re going to make that happen.”

But some are less convinced, especially since disaster monitors became aware of the killer waves after they had already smashed into the coastline along western Java and southern Sumatra.

Feminist filmmakers tackle adult movie machismo

BERLIN - Ethical, diverse and not a silicone breast in sight -- feminist filmmakers are standing up to mass-market porn with adult movies free of male domination and gender stereotypes.

Kevin Spacey denies the allegations.

IBP/net

Their films aim to show realistic, consent-based and egalitarian sex instead of the superhuman bedroom exploits of macho studs and submissive women.

“Feminist porn is part of a fight against misogyny on the same territory and with the same weapons as the sex movie mainstream,” French filmmaker Ovidie, 38, told AFP at a recent film festival on the subject in Berlin. The first attempts at feminist pornography date back to the 1980s in the United States, but the movement has received a new lease of life in response to a flood of free online porn in the internet age.

The easy availability of even hardcore porn online has raised concerns that a generation of young people is being exposed to material that

could warp their sexual attitudes and expectations. To counter this effect, Berlin’s centre-left Social Democrats who govern the city-state in coalition with the Greens, are now proposing to use feminist adult films in sex education programmes.

- ‘X-Girl vs. Supermacho’ Traditional adult films “always follow the same kind of choreography... men dominate women,” said Ovidie, who has spearheaded the “femporn” movement in France.

In her “Stories of Sex(es)” and “X-Girl vs. Supermacho”, women are no longer reduced to objects -- on the contrary, they are in charge. To be truly “feminist” the productions must meet several criteria, explained Laura Meritt, a

German linguist and specialist on the movement.

In addition to portraying the desires “of all genders” -- including of men, who in most porn are “merely reduced to their penis” -- the cast must be “varied physically and culturally” and not of uniformly perfect physique, she said.

Condom use is a must and so are ethical “working conditions, based on consent, where everyone has the choice to take part in certain practices or not,” Meritt said.

An actress who goes by the name of Misungui Bordelle said that the sex scenes are usually shot with “the least possible” interruption, rather than through the mainstream industry’s “methodical execution... with many takes”. (afp)

- Blockbuster Bali “It’s going to be even more difficult to promote (the area), especially now that buildings are destroyed and the volcano is more active,” said Tedjo Iskandar, a Jakarta-based travel analyst.

About 42 percent of Indonesia’s 14 million foreign tourists headed to the popular resort island of Bali last year, giving a $17 billion boost to Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

The government picked Tanjung Lesung and nine other locations as part of its “10 New Balis” strategy, a plan unveiled in 2016 with an eye to courting Chinese, Singaporean and other investors as its pushes to hit 20 million tourists annually.

You can find International Bali Post at: 1 Kuta Beach Club Jl. Bakung Sari Kuta 2 Wen Dys Kuta the Coffe Bear Jl. Pantai Kuta 3 Seminyak Paradiso Bali Hotel Jl. Camplung Tanduk 4 Ramayana Resort&Spa Jl. Bakung Sari Kuta 5 The Lokha Legian Resort&Spa Jl. Padma Legian Kuta 6 66 Corner Live Sport Emtertaiment Jl. Doble Six/Werkudara 23 7 Leghawa Grill Jl. D.Tamblingan No. 51 8 Retno Barr dan Restoran Jl. D.Tamblingan No.126 A Sanur 9 Elkomedor Jl. D.Tamblingan 140

10 Malaika Scret 11 Snack Shack 12 Warung Lokal 13 Cokro Cafee 14 T.J.Bar 15 J & N Kebab 16 Goanna Bar 17 Batu Jimbar 18 Ramayana Cafee

Jl. D.Poso No 68 Jl. D.Poso No. 50D Jl. D.Poso No. 39 Jl. D.Poso Sanur Jl. D.Poso Sanur Jl. D.Poso Sanur Jl. D.Poso Sanur Jl. D.Tamblingan Sanur Jl. D.Tamblingan

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28 Kopi Made Jl. Raya Puputan No. 106 Dps 29 Dimsum Manan Jl. Raya Niti Mandala Renon No 148 30 Furama Jl. Raya Niti Mandala No. 148 Renon 31 Warung Subah Renon Jl. Mohamad Yamin No.18 32 Ayam Betutu khas Gilimanuk Jl. Merdeka No.88 Renon 33 Bali Bakery Jl. Hayam Wuruk 184 Denpasar

Continued to page 6 Azwar Ipank / AFP

This picture taken on January 1, 2019 shows the Anak (Child) Krakatoa volcano, which caused the December 22, 2018 tsunami, erupting in the Sunda Straits between the main islands of Java and Sumatra. A section of Anak Krakatoa’s crater collapsed after an eruption and slid into the ocean, generating the tsunami that killed at least 426 people and left 23 missing according to authorities.

News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http:// globalfmbali.listen2myradio.com or live video streaming at http://radioglobalfmbali. com and http://ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.