I N T E R N A T I O N A L
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Thursday, April 4, 2019
Mick Jagger to undergo heart surgery: report WASHINGTON - Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger will undergo surgery to replace a heart valve, with the band postponing the North American leg of a tour as a result, a report said Monday. The iconic British band had announced Saturday it was delaying the “No Filter” tour for the 75-yearold rocker to receive an unspecified medical treatment.Leading industry magazine Rolling Stone reported on Monday the cause was heart valve surgery, following an earlier report from Drudge Report, which added the procedure would take place this Friday in New York. “Mick Jagger has been advised by doctors that he cannot go on tour at this time as he needs medical treatment,” the band said in a statement after the postponement. “The doctors have advised Mick
that he is expected to make a complete recovery so that he can get back on stage as soon as possible.” Jagger himself tweeted: “I’m so sorry to all our fans in America & Canada with tickets. I really hate letting you down like this. “I’m devastated for having to postpone the tour but I will be working very hard to be back on stage as soon as I can. Once again, huge apologies to everyone.” Jagger has eight children, five grandchildren and a great-granddaughter, but has maintained his energetic stage performances well into his 70s, playing Britain’s Glastonbury Festival in 2013. The band, who formed in 1962, were due to play 17 shows in the US and Canada between April and June. (afp)
Thursday, April 4, 2019
Actress Michelle Williams
MANDEL NGAN / AFP
Actress Michelle Williams at US Capitol to push for pay equality
WASHINGTON - Hollywood actress Michelle Williams came to Congress Tuesday appealing for a vote on a law to close the gender pay gap, recalling how she was once paid dramatically less than a male colleague for similar work.
Anders WIKLUND / TT NEWS AGENCY / AFP
In this file photo taken on July 1, 2014 British singer and frontman of rock band The Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger performs during a concert in Stockholm.
Nominated for four Academy Awards during her career, the star of “Manchester By the Sea” and “Brokeback Mountain” learned that while she earned $1,000 in 2017 to reshoot scenes for the film “All the Money in the World,” her male costar Mark Wahlberg received $1.5 million “for the exact same amount of work.” The reshoots on the Ridley Scott film were done to remove appearances by Kevin Spacey, who had played a leading role and recently had been charged with sexual assault. “If it was like this for me, a white woman in a glamorized industry, how were my sisters suffering across their profession?” Williams said. The 38-year-old actress’s appearance at the US Capitol was organized by House Democrats to mark Equal Pay Day, meant to symbolize how far
into the year a woman must work to make what men earned in the previous year. “Today, American women still earn, on average, only 80 cents for every dollar earned by a man, while African-American women earn only 61 cents and Latinas earn only 53 cents for every dollar paid to men,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives last week passed the Paycheck Fairness Act aimed at ending gender-based pay discrimination, still a problem decades after the Equal Pay Act of 1963 passed into law. The new measures would prevent employers from asking prospective workers how much they made in previous jobs, and by barring companies from punishing women when they try to negotiate salaries.
No date has been set for a vote in the US Senate, which is controlled by Republicans. “The ball’s now in the Senate court,” Williams said. “This is the next critical moment, please don’t let it pass by.” The Williams/Wahlberg pay discrepancy made national headlines when actress Jessica Chastain revealed it on social media, and it gained traction amid the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment. Following the backlash, Wahlberg donated his $1.5 million earnings to a charity that addresses inequality and injustice in the workplace. Several Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls including senators Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders on Tuesday urged the Senate to follow the House’s lead and pass the pay equity legislation. (afp)
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Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, center, walks into a courtroom at Kuala Lumpur High Court in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, April 3, 2019. Najib appeared in court Wednesday for the start of his corruption trial, exactly 10 years after he was first elected to office only to suffer a spectacular defeat last year on allegations he pilfered millions of dollars from a state investment fund.
Malaysia ex-PM Najib goes on trial over 1MDB mega-scandal
Malaysia’s disgraced ex-leader Najib Razak pleaded not guilty to all charges against him as he went on trial Wednesday over a multi-billion-dollar fraud, almost a year after his shock election loss. The 65-year-old faced the first of several trials over his alleged involvement in the looting of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, a state investment vehicle established to develop the economy of the Southeast Asian nation.
The former premier and his cronies are accused of plundering billions of dollars from the fund and spending it on everything from high-end real estate to artworks and a luxury yacht. He had been tipped to win another term in office easily last year and extend his coalition’s six-decade stranglehold on power, only to be soundly defeated by his former boss, Mahathir Mohamad, who rode a wave of public anger over 1MDB to the premiership. In the months that followed, once-dormant investigations into the controversy were relaunched and Najib was hit with dozens of corruption charges linked to the plundering of the fund. A small crowd of supporters was waiting for Najib as he arrived at the Kuala Lumpur court ahead of his trial, and he prayed with them for a few minutes before entering the building to shouts of “Long Live Najib”.
- ‘Near absolute power’ Looking relaxed in the dock, he denied seven corruption and moneylaundering charges related to the alleged theft of 42 million ringgit ($10.3 million) from SRC International, a former 1MDB unit. It is just a fraction of the hundreds of millions of dollars that he allegedly stole. Opening the prosecution, Attorney-General Tommy Thomas told the High Court it was the “first trial in our courts against a former prime minister, who for nearly a decade occupied the most powerful office in the land and wielded near absolute power. Continued to page 6
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, April 4, 2019
Bali News
International
Cagaan residents vivaciously do cleanup
Form a sanitation community, educate children to fight garbage
STRONG desire to create a clean and beautiful environment motivates a number of residents of Cagaan customary village, Pejeng Kangin, to carry out a continuous sanitation movement. They also formed the Get United to Clean up Cagaan (Batu Cadas) Community held every week to clean up local area from garbage, especially plastic. Self-reliantly, this community is also gradually arranging land by planting various ornamental plants. As seen on Sunday (Mar. 31), dozens of people of various ages worked together to clean up one
of the river points at Cagaan Kaja hamlet, Pejeng Kangin, Tampaksiring, Gianyar. Using makeshift
tools, they looked so eager to clean up garbage and wild plants hampering the river flow. Amassed garbage was then collected by children. After the area was clean, residents planted frangipani trees and other ornamental plants on the banks of the river. Coordinator of the Batu Cadas, Komang Purwantara, explained the activity is collaboration between the Batu Cadas community and
the Satya Winangun art studio of Cagaan Kaja. Members of the studio consisting of children were tasked to collect garbage and plastic waste. The plastic waste is then taken to the Satya Pertiwi Waste Bank at the local hamlet. The existence of the waste bank is responded positively by the local youth. Apart from mutual assistance activities to clean the environment, children are used to going
IBP/kmb
Dozens of people of various ages worked together to clean up one of the river points at Cagaan Kaja hamlet, Pejeng Kangin, Tampaksiring, Gianyar.
around collecting plastic waste. “Children of the art studio have a garbage bank. The plastic they bring there has a nominal value and will be made into savings. The waste bank has been running for a year,” he said. He explained that at the beginning of the establishment, the Batu Cadas community consisted of 30 people. After a number of activities, the number of members increased and now reaches 40 people posing the residents of Cagaan Kaja and Cagaan Kelod hamlet. They carry out cleanup and arrangement activities in stages. Tools, consumption and ornamental plants are donated by community members. So far, the cleanup activities are still targeting the river area. They want to make sure the river posing the source of irrigation can be free from waste, especially plastic. “But later the program will be expanded by targeting other regions such as temple environment. We do this slowly, while instilling the spirit of family and mutual cooperation,” he explained. Meanwhile, headman of Pejeng Kangin, Gede Purnadi Yoga, who participated in the activity, revealed the government cannot actually move on its own to create a clean and beautiful environment. On that account, the role and continuity of all components of society is needed. “This is a form of community participation really expected by the government,” he said. Particularly at Pejeng Kangin, the sanitation movement of the residents contributes greatly in realizing the tourism village. Moreover, the village government is improving by arranging a number of hidden tourism potentials, where one of which is the Gana waterfall. (ded)
Bringing along dozens of bullets, US tourist arrested MANGUPURA - US citizen with the initials DTS, 27, was arrested at the International Departure Terminal of Ngurah Rai Airport, Badung, last week (Mar. 31). DTS was found carrying 31 bullets and 2 magazines. Furthermore, this case is handled by the Ngurah Rai Airport Police Station. According to sources on Mon-
day (Apr. 1), DTS was a prospective passenger of the Garuda Indonesia GA-870 of Denpasar-Incheon route, South Korea. From South Korea he would fly to his home country. Upon arrival at Ngurah Rai International Departure Terminal, inspection of luggage was carried out by using an X-ray machine on
Sunday at 22:45. At that time, it was known if there was a suspicious object in his suitcase. Then, the airport officers conducted a manual inspection and found dozens of active ammunition and two magazines. Over the findings of the dangerous items, the officers then coordinated with Aviation Security (Avsec) as well as Custom and Excise Office
to conduct further checks. “The passenger concerned wants to go back to his home country with his girlfriend. Finally, their flight was postponed while the man was handed over to the police station,” said the source. Meanwhile, Chief of Ngurah Rai Police Station, Agung Raka Nugraha, when asked for his con-
firmation justified the case. His authority is currently still investigating. While in Bali, DTS vacationed with his girlfriend. “DTS claimed that the items (bullet and magazine) were brought from his home country. He is still being interrogated. They should comply with the laws in Indonesia,” he said. (kmb36)
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Thursday, April 4, 2019
15
Restoring vitality with hydrotherapy at The Ritz-Carlton, Bali
An iconic design feature at The Ritz-Carlton, Bali, the Hydro Vital Pool is surrounded by lush foliage and takes its name from the Greek word for water and the Latin word for life to provide a unique and indulgent water healing experience. Pool Sessions are now available at 30 Minutes for IDR 288,000++, 60 Minutes for IDR 388,000++ and 90 Minutes for IDR 488,000++. “The benefits of hydrotherapy and its soothing effect on the mind and body have long been known and we are delighted to offer our guests this highly enjoyable and therapeutic form of water healing at the award-winning Ritz-Carlton Bali Spa”, says General Manager, Karim Tayach. The Ritz-Carlton, Bali Spa provides a blissful sanctuary for guests at one of the best hotels in Bali. Inspired by the transformative powers of the Indian Ocean, water has a key role to play both in deluxe spa rituals and exclusive spa ingredients that utilize the ocean’s bounty, such as pearls and seaweed. Nestled into lush tropical surrounds
deep within the spa complex, the Hydro-Vital Pool provides a unique and deeply restorative form of hydrotherapy with a range of jets and water features that massage the entire body. Benefits include improving blood circulation, stimulating the lymphatic system and flushing toxins. Gently heated, the pool has five different zones each targeting a different area of the body, starting with the Serenity Zone which features an air bubble bench to relax and stimulate the muscles in preparation for the circuit. The Reflex Zone has powerful air jets from below, aimed at energizing the feet, the vertical massage jets of the Rejuvenation Zone alleviate muscle tension, while the De-stress Zone waterfall shower focuses intense pressure on the upper back and shoulders. The aptly named Relaxation Zone completes the circuit with an underwater massage lounger that soothes and calms the whole body. A Hydro Vital Pool session can be enjoyed before or after a signature massage or spa ritual,
or experienced as a rejuvenating therapy on its own. Guests can complete the hydro circuit by themselves, or let a therapist guide them – should they have more specific health concerns. Fun Aqua Yoga classes are also offered in the Hydro Vital Pool on Wednesday afternoons, allowing participants to enjoy the benefits of gentle stretching free from the pull of gravity. Hydro Vital Pool prices include access to a Wet Lounge (his and hers), fitted with whirlpool, cold plunge pool, sauna and steam room. Those looking for a purely relaxing aquatic experience can enjoy a second pool within The Ritz-Carlton, Spa Bali. Fringed in tropical greenery, the Balinese Bathing Pool has been created as a tranquil oasis, a place to sooth the senses and float away all your cares. For more information and to reserve your treatment on the Hydro Vital Pool and other services at The Ritz-Carlton, Bali Spa, please contact rc.dpssw.spa@ritzcarlton. com or +(62)361 849 8988.
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Thursday, April 4, 2019
Health
International
Pregnant women who work night shifts have higher risk of miscarriage, study suggests
COPENHAGEN - Pregnant women who work at least two night shifts in one week may have a heightened risk of miscarriage the following week, a new study suggests. “Women working night shifts are exposed to light at night which disrupts their circadian rhythm and decreases the release of melatonin,” lead author Dr. Luise Molenberg Begtrup explained in an email. “Melatonin has been shown to be important in maintaining a successful pregnancy, possibly by preserving the function of the placenta.” To take a closer look at the possible impact of night shifts on pregnancy, Begtrup, a researcher in the department of occupational and environmental medicine at Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital in Copenhagen, and her colleagues analyzed pregnancy outcomes in 22,744 public service workers, most of whom were employed in Danish hospitals. The researchers matched these women with records from the Dan-
ish Medical Birth Register, which provided information on pregnancies that resulted in births, and the Danish National Patient Register, which yielded information on miscarriages. Among the 10,047 women in the study who had done some night shift work during weeks three through 21 of their pregnancies, there were 740 miscarriages. Among the 12,697 women who did no night shift work, there were 1,149 miscarriages, according to the report in Occupational & Environmental Medicine. After accounting for maternal age, body mass index, smoking, number of previous births, socioeconomic status and former miscarriages, Begtrup and her colleagues found that working two or more nights in a single week between weeks 8 and 22 was associated with a 32 percent increased risk
of miscarriage in the following week. The researchers also found that women who worked 26 or more night shifts between weeks 4 and 22 were more than twice as likely to miscarry as those who worked no nights — but this finding was based on just eight women. While the researchers have found an association, it’s not proof that night shift work causes miscarriage, said Dr. Zev Williams, chief of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “This was not a randomized trial,” Williams said. “With something like this, there are so many other confounders.” In other words, there are many other factors that the night shift workers might have in common that the study did not account for. “This kind of data is not strong enough for people to think they need to change their lifestyles,” Williams
IBP/net
Pregnant women who work at least two night shifts in one week may have a heightened risk of miscarriage the following week, a new study suggests. said. “My concern is that people who had a miscarriage are going to think: ‘Oh my gosh, because I worked this night shift, I lost my baby. We are already seeing so many people wracked with stress and guilt because they had a miscarriage.”
Even if it could be proven that night shifts did raise the risk of miscarriage, “in an individual case that risk is so small, ending night shifts would not have a major effect on reducing the rates of pregnancy loss,” Williams said. (net)
U.S. health officials alarmed by paralyzing illness in kids
VIRGINIA - One morning last fall, 4-year-old Joey Wilcox woke up with the left side of his face drooping. It was the first sign of an unfolding nightmare. Three days later, Joey was in a hospital intensive care unit, unable to move his arms or legs or sit up. Spinal taps and other tests failed to find a cause. Doctors worried he was about to lose the ability to breathe. “It’s devastating,” said his father, Jeremy Wilcox, of Herndon, Virginia. “Your healthy child can catch a cold — and then become paralyzed.” Joey, who survived but still suffers some of the effects, was one of 228 confirmed victims in the U.S. last year of acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, a rare, mysterious and sometimes deadly paralyzing illness that seems to ebb and flow on an every-other-year cycle and is beginning to alarm public health officials because it is striking more and more children. Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said it may bear similarities to polio, which smoldered among humans for centuries before it exploded into fearsome epidemics in the 19th and 20th centuries. Fauci, who published a report about the disease Tuesday in the journal mBio, said it is unlikely AFM will become as bad as polio, which struck tens of thousands of U.S. children annually before a vaccine became available in the 1950s. But he warned: “Don’t assume that it’s going to stay at a couple of hundred cases every other year.”
While other countries have reported cases, including Canada, France, Britain and Norway, the size and pattern of the U.S. outbreaks have been more pronounced. More than 550 Americans have been struck this decade. The oldest was 32. More than 90 percent were children, most around 4, 5 or 6 years old. Most had a cold-like illness and fever, seemed to get over it, then descended into paralysis. In some cases it started in small ways — for example, a thumb that suddenly wouldn’t move. Some went on to lose the ability to eat or draw breath. Many families say their children have regained at least some movement in affected limbs, but stories of complete recovery are unusual. Health officials cannot say how many recovered completely, partly or not at all, or how many have died, though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says deaths are rare. Scientists suspect the illness is being caused chiefly by a certain virus that was identified more than 55 years ago and may have mutated to become more dangerous. But they have yet to prove that. And while doctors have deployed a number of treatments singly or in combination — steroids, antiviral medications, antibiotics, a bloodcleansing process — the CDC says there is no clear evidence they work. Many parents say that when they first brought their child to the emergency room, they quickly realized to their horror that the doctors were at sea, too.
“Everyone is desperate for some magical thing,” said Rachel Scott, a Tomball, Texas, woman whose son Braden developed AFM in 2016 and has recovered somewhat after intensive physical therapy but still cannot move his right arm and has trouble swallowing and moving his neck. A growing number of experts agree that physical therapy makes a difference. “These kids can continue to recover very slowly, year over year. ... It’s driven by how much therapy they do,” said Dr. Benjamin Greenberg of UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, one of the nation’s foremost experts on the condition. Wilcox, Joey’s father, said his son made huge improvements that way. Joey can run and use his arms. Still, muscle tone is weak in his right leg and shoulder, and he still has left-side facial paralysis. “He can’t completely smile,” his dad said. Other stories are more tragic. Katie Bustamante’s son Alex developed AFM in 2016. The suburban Sacramento, California, mother realized something was wrong when she asked the boy, then 5, why he wasn’t eating his yogurt. Alex replied that his thumb had stopped working and he couldn’t hold his spoon. That morning was the start of 17 months of hospital stays, surgeries, therapy, and struggles with doctors and insurers to find a way to restore his ability to breathe. It ended one morning last May, when the Bustamantes woke up to find Alex had died. Government officials need to step
up, Bustamante said. “I want them to research it and find the cause, and I want them to find a way to prevent it,” she said. “This is growing. This shouldn’t be happening.” More and more experts feel certain the main culprit is an enterovirus called EV-D68, based on the way waves of AFM have coincided with spikes of respiratory illnesses caused by EVD-68. Enteroviruses are a large family of viruses, some of which, such as polio, can damage the central nervous system, while many others cause mild symptoms or none at all. In the U.S., doctors began reporting respiratory illnesses tied to EVD68 in 1987, though usually no more than a dozen in any given year. Then, in what may have been one of the first signs of the AFM waves to come, a 5-year-old boy in New Hampshire died in 2008 after developing neck tenderness and fever, then weakened arms and deadened legs. The boy had EVD-68, and in a report published in an obscure medical journal, researchers attributed his death to the virus. The first real burst of AFM cases hit in 2014, when 120 were confirmed, with the largest concentrations in California and Colorado. What ensued was an even-year, odd-year pattern: Cases dropped to 22 in 2015, jumped to 149 in 2016, and fell again, to 35 in 2017. Last year they reached 228, a number that may grow because scores of illnesses are still being investigated. In keeping with the cyclical pat-
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International
tern, just four cases have been confirmed this year so far. CDC officials consider an illness AFM based on scans and other evidence showing a certain kind of damage to the spinal cord. Proof of an enterovirus infection is not required for a case to be counted, mainly because such evidence has been hard to come by. So far, CDC investigators have been able to find evidence of enteroviruses in the spinal fluid of only four of 558 confirmed cases. Scientists are using more sensitive spinal-fluid tests in hopes of establishing the connection between AFM and EV-D68 more firmly. That, in turn, could spur more focused work on treatments and maybe even a vaccine. Meanwhile, Fauci’s agency has put out a call for researchers to apply for federal funds, and is tapping a University of Alabama-anchored network of pediatric research centers to work on the illness. The CDC is pledging a greater focus, too. Parents have accused the agency of doing little more than counting cases and have complained that when they tried to contact CDC, they encountered only automated phone trees and form responses. CDC officials have begun holding meetings and calls with families, set up a scientific task force and working to monitor cases more closely. Fauci suggested it would be a mistake to assume that surges will take place every other year forever. The next one “may be in 2019, for all we know,” he said. (net)
Thursday, April 4, 2019
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Tourism village lacks of innovation
SEMARAPURA - The existence of tourism villages is quite mushrooming in Klungkung. In total, there are 18 tourism villages in accordance with the Regent Decree. Seeing the existence at this time, tourism villages are considered to have not made a positive contribution in developing Klungkung tourism. So far, tourism villages are still lacking in innovation to give attraction to tourist visits. The head of the Klungkung Tourism Office, Nengah Sukasta, recently stated the requirements of tourism villages must have potential, accommodation, tourism awareness groups, human resources as well as supporting facilities. He stressed the 18 tourism villages having been established had fulfilled the criteria set by the regional government. However, the criteria of each tourism village to attract tourist visits are unclear. “We have also repeatedly asked for periodic reports on their visits, but not all are able to comply with. The tourism villages we see developing are like the Paksebali and Kamasan, although they are not as expected,” said Sukasta. He observed the lack of periodic reports on the progress of the tourism village because of the possibility of irregular tourist visits and readiness of the tourism awareness group itself. Sukasta rejected to mention which tourism villages had minimal contribution and seemed not ready to bear the title of tourism village. However, the progress has become a separate note that there must be a restoration, so that the existence of tourism villages can contribute to tourism of the region. For example, the addition of tourist visits and option of tourist objects
that can be visited will have an impact on the empowerment of local communities with the development of tourism potential at respective village. Seeing such situation, he claimed that Tourism Office will not stand idly by. Coaching process continues to be provided. The concept of tourism village, according to him, is the village should be proactive in developing its potential. The problem of this tourism village is indeed different. Klungkung mainland seems difficult to develop its potential, but Nusa Penida shows first the potential and it is then sought by many people. Such a situation makes him often have to spend time to Nusa Penida every Saturday and Sunday to see the object directly, while doing coaching. “In Nusa Penida, the object is promoted by other people. As a result, many people are curious and finally come directly to Nusa Penida. The location is indeed beautiful, like the newest one, namely the Gamat Beach,” he said. For information, the local government sets a high target in the regionally generated revenue (PAD) of 2019 for tourism. Klungkung Tourism Office targets revenue to rise by more than 100 percent. This year, the target of regional revenue specifically for the Tourism Office reaches IDR 7,081,825,000. This amount significantly increases from the previous year only reaching IDR 3,052,259,000. With such revenue target, the Tourism Office also raises the target of tourist visits. This year, the number of tourist visit is targeted to reach 543,979 people from the target of 343,979 people. (kmb31)
IBP/olo
The garbage swept away by tidal seawater looks scattered around the shoreline so that it looks very dirty.
Drifting garbage fills in Gilimanuk Beach
NEGARA — Along the coast of Gilimanuk lately is filled with drifting garbage. The garbage swept away by tidal seawater looks scattered around the shoreline so that it looks very dirty. This condition was still seen on Monday afternoon (Apr. 1). The garbage previously drifting on the Bali Strait is now stranded on Gilimanuk Beach. Starting from Samiana Beach to Penginuman, Gilimanuk, the longitudinal garbage looks to cover the beach. Most of the garbage is plastic food and beverage wrap. In addition, many tree branches are also found among them. Due to the large amount of garbage, black sandy beach is not visible.
Unda river tourist area in Paksebali Village.
IBP/net
According to residents, the garbage is alleged to have come along with the tide last Sunday. A local resident revealed that he saw garbage scattered just on Monday afternoon. Previously, on Sunday morning, the beach was still clean. He told the garbage will be pull back by the waves if left unhandled. “When the high tides happen, there must be scattered garbage here,” said Lukito, one of the residents.
Some residents actually scavenge fortune from the drifting garbage. Usable goods and branches are taken advantage for firewood. The wood can be sold but must be dried out first. Residents collect the wood and put it on the beach right on the breakwater. “If we don’t use it at home, we can sell it,” said Ahmad, another resident. In addition, some other residents
also collected beverage bottle waste because they could be sold in junk. Hamlet chief of Penginuman, Mohammad Ikrom, stated the drifting garbage often occurs on Gilimanuk Beach. The latest garbage on Monday is alleged to just appear on Tuesday afternoon. When the tide is high, he said that along the coast of Gilimanuk will become a regular stranded area of the drifting garbage. (kmb26)
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Bali News
Thursday, April 4, 2019
International
Thursday, April 4, 2019
International
13
Black, gay woman elected Chicago mayor in historic vote
AFP
IBP/kmb35
Many of the carving works created by local residents have been sent overseas.
White standstone carving of Singapadu goes international
GIANYAR - Singapadu village is now famous for its carvings. One of them is the white sandstone carving. Many of the carving works created by local residents have been sent overseas. I Made Parnawa, for instance, is now busy working on a large size white sandstone carvings that will later be sent to Saudi Arabia. This man from Banjar Silakarang, Singapadu Kaler, Sukawati, claimed to have received an order from Saudi Arabia. Unmitigatedly, the white carvings are of large size. To complete the order is estimated to take him around two months. “So far, the workmanship has only reached about 30 percent because
its size is quite large, namely 23 x 3 meters. We carve it here. It will be rearranged here before being delivered,” he explained some time ago. To work on the carving orders, he only employs two carvers, namely his colleagues from the same hamlet. He said the carving
motif to be delivered to Arabia is still a simple modification technique in the form of samblungan (floral style) or trees in water. He explained the jumbo-sized carving is an aquarium theme because most of the carvings features marine nuance. “In Arabia, it will be used to decorate house walls, villas and
hotels. In terms of carving style, it is very appropriate to be installed in a minimalist building. In addition, the quality of this white sandstone will be more durable if installed in hot region,” he concluded. He admitted the tree-style carving is not too difficult for minimalist buildings. But for Balinese carvings, he often encounters difficulties related to its complicated design. So for the cheapest carvings style, he sets the price at IDR 1,750,000 per meter, and the most
expensive is IDR 2,750,000 per meter. “The most difficult is the making of panel, and the wayang tradition motif is rather complicated. A wayang or puppet motif measuring 1x1 will take me up to two weeks,” he said. He admitted it is not the first overseas order. Previously, there were also several orders from overseas. “At the moment, our colleagues are still in Australia to install floral style carvings,” he said. (kmb35)
JBT returns to increase tariff of Bali Mandara Toll
Bali Mandara toll road
IBP/kmb
MANGUPURA - PT Jasa Marga Bali Tol (JBT) as the operator of the Bali Mandara toll road will return to adjust tariffs for vehicles passing on the toll road. This adjustment will be made in November 2019. According to Director of Jasamarga Bali Tol, Enkky Sasono, the tariff adjustment is a common thing to happen considering that in accordance with the schedule; tariff adjustments are usually made every 2 years. “According to the schedule, at the end of the year, in November, tariff adjustments will be made. As formulation, the adjustment will be made by referring to the regional inflation rate,” he said when met amid the signing of cooperation on toll road information in Kuta on Monday (Apr. 1). To implement it later, his manage-
ment is currently still waiting for the inflation data in Bali both from the regional government and from the Central Statistics Agency. He said the data will later be used as a reference for the regulator to calculate how many tariff adjustments to be applied on the Bali Mandara toll road. “We expect the inflation trend in Bali to rise, but in general the increase in inflation in Bali is relatively lower compared to the national one,” he said. Even though the tariff adjustments will be made, in terms of service, he also promised to continuously improve services for toll road users. The service meant is by providing traffic information on the toll road. Enkky said it is carried out in collaboration with one of the radio stations in Bali,
related to the updated information on the traffic situation on the toll road. With these efforts, the Bali Mandara toll road is expected to be more developed and customers can provide input to JBT in an effort to advance the toll road. He admitted that Bali Mandara toll road is indeed not too long so the traffic conditions are certainly different from the ones in Java. However, he admitted the information is surely still needed considering the Bali Mandara toll road is connected to public roads in three different regions. “In the future, we hope the information will link to the Bali Transportation Agency and Bali Police, so the information is more complete,” he hoped. (kmb23)
Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (C) attends an event in Bandar Seri Begawan on April 3, 2019. Brunei’s sultan called for Islamic teachings in the country to be strengthened as strict new sharia punishments, including death by stoning for gay sex and adultery, were due to come into force on April 3.
Brunei introduces stoning to death for gay sex, adultery
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN - Brunei on Wednesday introduced harsh new sharia laws, including death by stoning for adultery and gay sex, despite a storm of global criticism from politicians, celebrities and rights groups. The tough penal code in the tiny country on tropical Borneo island -- ruled by the all-powerful Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah -- fully came into force following years of delays. The laws, which also include amputation of hands and feet for thieves, make Brunei the first place in East or Southeast Asia to have a sharia penal code at the national level, joining several mostly Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia. Rape and robbery are also punishable by death under the code and many of the new laws, such as capital punishment for insulting the Prophet Mohammed, apply to nonMuslims as well as Muslims. The decision to push ahead with the punishments has sparked alarm around the world, with the United Nations labelling them “cruel and inhumane” and celebrities, led by actor George Clooney and pop star Elton John, calling for Bruneiowned hotels to be boycotted. In a public address to mark a special date in the Muslim calendar, the sultan called for stronger Islamic teachings but did not mention the
new penal code. “I want to see Islamic teachings in this country grow stronger,” he said in the nationally televised speech at a convention centre near the capital Bandar Seri Begawan. The sultan, who has been on the throne for over five decades, also insisted that Brunei was a “fair” country and the environment for visitors was “safe and harmonious”. Government officials later confirmed the laws had entered into force. - ‘Barbaric to the core’ The sharia laws have triggered worldwide condemnation, and Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, described the code as “barbaric to the core, imposing archaic punishments for acts that shouldn’t even be crimes”. The European Union said in a statement that some of the new punishments “amount to torture, acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”. They are particularly upsetting for the country’s small lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Before the new laws, sex between men was already illegal in Brunei and punishable with up to 10 years in jail. But the new code stipulates death by stoning as a punishment for sex between men, while women convicted of having sexual relations with other women face up to 40 strokes of the cane or a maximum 10-year jail term. A 33-year-old gay Bruneian man, who spoke anonymously, said the new laws were “unfair, cruel and should not happen”. “It really takes away my happiness and freedom to express myself, and depresses me so much,” he told AFP. Zulhelmi bin Mohamad, a transgender woman who fled Brunei last year and is seeking asylum in Canada, told AFP that the environment will be more terrifying for the country’s LGBT community, who were already leading “very secretive” lives. “Some worry a lot and would like to escape the country before they are found out not to be... heterosexual,” the 19-year-old said. (afp)
CHICAGO - Chicago on Tuesday became the biggest US city to elect a black woman its mayor, as voters put their faith in an openlygay political novice to tackle difficult problems of economic inequality and gun violence. Lori Lightfoot, a 56-year-old former federal prosecutor and practicing lawyer who has never before held elected office, won the Midwestern city’s mayoral race in a lopsided victory. She beat out Toni Preckwinkle, a career politician who is also black, by a wide margin of 74 to 26 percent with most ballots counted. “We were up against powerful interests,” Lightfoot said in a victory speech, with her wife and young daughter by her side. “Today, you did more than make history, you created a movement for change,” she told a cheering crowd. Lightfoot will become Chicago’s first openly gay mayor as well as the first African America woman to hold the post. Since 1837, Chicago voters have elected only one black mayor and one female mayor. Her ascendancy to the top of Chicago government was a stunning development in a city where insider deals and entrenched party politics held sway for decades. “It is a city-wide rejection of the Chicago political establishment at the mayoral level,” Evan McKenzie, political science professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago, told AFP. Preckwinkle, the chief executive of Cook County in which Chicago is located, has for decades held various local elected offices, which analysts said hurt her in an election in which voters were looking to shake up city hall. Among the top issues were high levels of gun violence that claims more lives than in other major American cities, and years of political corruption in the Democratic stronghold.
The initial field in the mayoral race consisted of 14 contenders, but Lightfoot managed an upset -- sidelining moderates and establishment figures by promising to clean up city government and reduce economic inequality. She and Preckwinkle were the final two left competing in Tuesday’s run-off election. - ‘New ideas’ Voters left little doubt they wanted the next mayor to tackle the major issues vexing the city of 2.7 million people -- including economic disparities and gun violence. “The message is that (voters) want new ideas and cleaner government,” McKenzie said. Community groups have for years complained about disparities in living conditions among the sprawling city’s diverse communities. Gun violence, fueled by gangs and the drug trade, plagues economicallydepressed neighborhoods in the South and West, which are majority African American. The downtown business district, and areas to the north and along the city’s famed lake shore, have enjoyed an economic boom even as more than 550 people were murdered last year alone. Reforming the police department, which has a sordid history of abusive tactics, and city hall, which is mired in a federal corruption probe of one of its members, were priorities for voters, McKenzie said. Lightfoot headed a panel investigating the city’s policing problems and held a number of appointed positions in city government. She has promised to increase affordable housing, fight homelessness and crime, and boost oversight of the police department. “We can and will finally put the interests of our people, all of our people, ahead of the interests of a powerful few,” Lightfoot said Tuesday night. (afp)
Kamil Krzaczynski / AFP
Chicago mayor elect Lori Lightfoot speaks during the election night party in Chicago, Illinois on April 2, 2019.
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International
Thursday, April 4, 2019
International
BUSINESS Report: Asian economies lag as trade tensions drag on growth
BANGKOK - Trade tensions between China and the United States are putting a drag on economies in the region, with growth likely to continue to slow in the coming two years, the Asian Development Bank says in a report released Wednesday.
The Manila, Philippines-based regional lender’s latest economic outlook forecasts that growth in developing Asia will slow slightly to 5.7% this year and 5.6% in 2020. In 2017 growth was at 6.2%. “The main risk to the outlook is still the ongoing trade conflict, as heightened trade policy uncertainty can negatively affect investment and manufacturing activity,” it said. “A sharper slowdown in the advanced economies or the PRC (People’s Republic of China) is another risk.” The update comes as China and the U.S. prepare for another round of talks, this week in Washington, aimed at resolving their dispute over China’s industrial policies and acquisition of technology. After the dispute escalated in mid-2018, with both sides imposing billions of dollars’ worth of tariffs on each other’s products, world trade weakened, contracting nearly 2% in January from a year earlier, the report shows. It said the solid growth momentum in the first nine months of the year began to fade in the last quarter. Growth in industrial production also showed signs of weakness, the ADB report said. This is an added burden as the business cycle for major economies heads into a “negative trend,” said the ADB’s chief economist, Yasuyuki Sawada. “This global business cycle seems to create some impact on Asian economies,” he said in an interview. “It’s not only trade tensions.” Other reports show similar sluggishness in the region, which remains the main driver for world economic growth. The latest set of purchasing manager indexes showed slight improvements in exports in March from January-February for Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan
AP Photo
as well as China. “But other data suggest that growth in China could well weaken again in the near term,” Capital Economics said in a report. “As such, we think it is too soon to predict a turn in fortunes for the region’s manufacturing sectors.” The Asian Development Bank forecasts that growth in major economies will slip to 1.9% in 2019 and 1.6% in 2020 from 2.2% last year. The U.S. economy is forecast to expand at a 2.4% annual rate this year, slowing from 2.9% in 2018, and to decelerate to 1.9% growth in 2020. Japan’s growth will remain flat at 0.8% this year, it estimates, and fall to 0.6% next year. The bank expects growth in the area using the euro to fall to 1.5%
in 2019 and 2020 from 1.8% in 2018. On the positive side, inflation should remain manageable and domestic demand in many economies in Southeast and South Asia is vibrant, the Asian Development Bank said. That’s less true of East Asia, where consumers have grown more cautious about spending: auto sales in China, for example, have plunged in recent months in one of the biggest reversals of sentiment. Developing countries in Asia are seeing an uptick in investment from many parts of the world, especially China, it noted. China’s foreign direct investment in new projects such as renewable energy, textile factories and property in the region nearly tripled, while invest-
ment by the U.S. jumped by nearly three-quarters. While much of the ADB’s report focused on trade and investment, the bank urged governments across the region to devote more resources to cultivating resilience and taking measures to help prevent or mitigate natural disasters. The report noted that 84% of the 206 million people affected by natural disasters each year in 2000-2018 lived in developing Asian economies. More than half of the 60,000 deaths from such catastrophes each year were in this region, which suffers a large share of extreme weather events and earthquakes. The report says that a large share of the $1.7 trillion in annual invest-
ments in infrastructure needed over the coming decade should go to reducing risks from such disasters. One area of concern is insurance. “Almost all direct damage is not covered by insurance,” Sawada said. Another area that could yield strong results is in weather forecasting and warnings in the AsiaPacific, home to four of every five people affected by storms and other disasters. While earthquakes and tsunamis are virtually impossible to predict, when it comes to extreme weather, “there is room for constructing mechanisms and building up early warning systems,” Sawada said. “There is huge potential.” (ap)
Thursday, April 4, 2019
5
Aci Tabuh Rah Pengangon, A Unique Tradition to Invoke Fertility at Kapal Village
Bleganjur gamelan music was played. Hundreds of villagers then threw tipat (rice bag) bantal (pillowlike cake) each other. Although, they seemed to mutually reciprocate, between the two camps (people in the north and south) did not keep any revenge. Their throw was not focused on particular person, but to the air above the opposite camp. Although this looked like a war, they cheered each other due to excitement. It is the atmosphere of the Aci Tabuh Rah Pengangon ritual or often known as the Siat Tipat Bantal at Kapal customary village, Mengwi, Badung district, Thursday (Oct. 5). Hundreds of Kapal customary villagers were involved in the Aci Tabuh Rah Pengangon. In addition to the community, this unique tradition was also attended by the Regional Secretary of Badung district, Wayan Adi Arnawa. The ritual was followed by all Kapal customary villagers. All the villagers were then divided into two camps, namely the northern camp and southern camp. At first, the two camps held a ceremony in the temple and were then resumed with worship at the outermost courtyard of the Desa/Puseh temple of Kapal. Thousands of tipat and bantal were prepared by the temple apparatus. After dividing them, they were thrown each other like a war accompanied with bleganjur gamelan music. Chief of Kapal customary village, Ketut Sudarsana, said that Aci Tabuh Rah Pengangon formerly known as perang tipat (tipat war) is an annual ritual having been carried out for generations at Kapal customary village. This tradition is then preserved, so that it is always carried out by the Kapal customary village. “This activity aims to invoke prosperity for all customary villagers of Kapal,” he said. Aci Tabuh Rah Pengangon has the meaning of offerings or an expression of gratitude
In this Saturday, March 30, 2019, photo, workers assemble LED lights at a factory in Yushan county in central China’s Jiangxi province. Trade tensions between China and the United States are putting a drag on economies in the region, with growth likely to continue to slow in the coming two years, the Asian Development Bank says in a report released Wednesday, April 3, 2019.
Bali News
before God in his manifestation as Lord Shiva. Aci means ‘offering,’ Tabuh means ‘echoing,’ Rah means ‘power’ and Pengangon is another name of Lord Shiva. “Mutual throw of tipat and bantal is aimed to bring together the symbol of pradhana (female) and purusha (male), resulting in fertility,” he explained. Ketut Sudarsana asserted that Aci Tabuh Rah Pengangon is held by customary village because all the villages participated to enjoy the welfare. It is bringing together the tipat as symbol of ocean, pradhana (female) and bantal as symbol of mountain, purusha (male). Uniting the ocean and mountain is believed to be able to create life. “Two differ-
ent things will present a life that can produce a good life,” he said. Tipat and bantal thrown are not to target the opponent’s body but to make them both merge in the air and then fall to the ground. This symbolizes the rendezvous of purusha and pradhana which then produces a seed of life. Remnants of the scattered tipat and bantal are the collected again. Those remaining intact are distributed back to residents for consumption, while the infeasible ones are distributed to residents to be scattered in paddy fields and used as animal feed. It is meant to invoke a good life seed for residents, animals and plants. Sudarsana explained the tradition was
started to be implemented in 1339. It marked the arrival of prime minister of Singasari dynasty in Bali, namely Ki Kebo Waruya. He received a mandate from the Balinese King named Asta Sura Ratna Bumi Banten to renovate the Purusada Temple at Kapal village. When arriving at Kapal, his heart was touched when seeing the condition of local village experiencing famine season. Seeing such condition, he then invoked to deity abiding at Purusada Temple in order to bestow his graces. After applying for it, he was given instructions to perform the aci or ritual dedicated to Lord Shiva by means of tipat and bantal followed by all the Kapal customary villagers. (kmb)
Candi Tebing Tegallinggah, Glory Traces of Past Community Suppose the Dutch archaeologist did not do excavation in the Tegallinggah area, Bedulu, Blahbatuh sub-district, Gianyar, of course we will not enjoy its beauty these days. Well, this archaeologist from Tulip country, Kisjman, conducted an investigation by digging in a small building located in the cliff of Pakerisan River. The building is carved on a cliff wall and only considered as an entrance gate by the local community. However, from the excavation it is known there are stairs leading up inside. On each of the cliffs separated by the river, a complete temple is found with several different niches. The right gate has a larger shape. But unfortunately, nowadays the gate is only in ruins. Two temples
seem to have been carved on a courtyard behind the gate, while the left arch has a half-finished monastery. Construction of the monastery is estimated to have not been completed because of an earthquake it had to be stopped. Seven niches with three phalli were also found in the temple. The lingam depicts the three main deities in Hinduism known as trinity, namely Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. Meanwhile, the existing niche is estimated to be a place of hermitage in order to get closer to God. Until now, the Tegallinggah community considers this region to possess magical powers. Shower water in this place is taken advantage as holy water for religious ceremonies. Not infrequently, it is also used for drinking water. This
place is often visited by spiritual enthusiasts for yoga as very ideal for this purpose. Gianyar district government is seriously repairing this place, starting by building stairs to the cultural heritage estimated to be built in the eleventh century. Also there is a bridge that connects the right and left cliffs. Thus, this place is really worth visiting, not only by those who like history but also the millennial for taking selfie. From Denpasar, it’s around 45 minutes’ drive while from the tourist area of ??Ubud is around 25 minutes. The government also built a parking lot as well as a representative toilet. The cliff temple does indeed imply the greatness and nobility of the culture of the Balinese people of the past. (kmb)
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Thursday, April 4, 2019
W
RLD
Rich and poor united in desperate quest for water in Venezuela
CARACAS - Crippling power blackouts are subjecting Venezuelans to a second phase of deprivation -- massive water shortages that make no distinction in income or social class, forcing rich and poor alike to wait in long lines for drinking water, while some hoist it from sewers to be able to flush their toilets. On the hill in the Caracas neighborhood of Petare -- the country’s largest slum home to more than half a million people -- hundreds of people line up day and night behind two wells. They carry anything that can hold water -- drums, cans, bottles, buckets. When their turn comes, they take as much as they can. The water is not drinkable, but it will allow them some dignity, to bathe or wash clothes. For the past month, repeated massive blackouts have plunged the country into darkness and disarray. As a result, electric water pumps have shut down, forcing a cut in water supplies.
“We are dry. We don’t have a single drop,” said Carmen Moncada, tipping over an empty drum. A little further on, in the district of El Valle, a crowd formed around a manhole, drawing up water for their toilets. President Nicolas Maduro has ordered electricity rationing for the next month in a bid to buy his engineers time to fix the problem, which he blames on opposition sabotage designed “to drive the country crazy.” The working day has officially been shortened to ease the strain on the grid and allow people to get home before dark. Schools that have been shut since March 26 are expected to reopen on Wednesday, however.
- ‘No water’ -
- Prohibitive price -
“We have no water, no electricity, the power cuts are terrible. Food is going bad,” says 78-year-old Ernestine Velasco as she recites a litany of deprivation in her modest house, located on an unpaved street in the March 24 district. “We are having a bad time. There is no transport, there’s nothing.” Lack of water is a chronic problem in this teeming corner of Caracas. Though the cost is minimal, the service is non-existent, Velasco says. “Thank God, we have this,” she adds, pointing to the two wells nearby, though “it’s chaos, it makes you want to run away.” Locals are waiting for the state water company to restore supplies. Even then, they expect it will only be for a few hours.
In a Caracas park where a water tanker is dispensing supplies, a lawyer from the upscale northern neighborhood of La Castellana arrives to buy the whole tanker-full for his apartment building. The driver of the 1969-era truck, which holds 2,100 gallons (8,000 liters) is quick to name his price: “For La Castellana, it’s $200.” Despite the prohibitive price -Venezuela’s minimum wage is just over $5 -- the lawyer doesn’t argue. “This is the price we have to pay to stay in Venezuela,” said the 42-year-old lawyer, who declined to give his name. He said he would have to collect the money from his remaining neighbors, a third of whom have joined the exodus of 2.7 million Venezuelans the United Na-
Malaysia ex-PM...
commenting, to cheers from his supporters waiting outside court. Far from being considered a pariah, the ex-leader has gained a following among members of the country’s Muslim majority as some are worried their long-held privileges are being eroded under the new government. He has become an unlikely social media phenomenon by attacking the new administration’s policies online.
From page 1
“Such privilege carries with it enormous responsibility. “The accused is not above the law,” he added. After the first witness, an official from the Companies Commission of Malaysia, gave largely technical evidence related to corporate records, the trial was adjourned. The judge set the next hearing for April 15, and trial dates until May 10. Najib left without
- Billions plundered -
He was initially due to stand
tions say have have left the country since the economic crisis began in 2015. One possible solution for the lawyer and his neighbors was to sink a well to tap the aquifer at nearby El Avila hill, but that would cost $20,000. Right now, the cheaper solution is the tanker. Every day, people fill up from streams running from the hill. William the driver gets his water at a spring in the city’s Eastern Park -- with government approval -- forming a line with other tanker drivers. In return, they must make three free trips on the government’s behalf to distribute water in various parts of the capital. The army enforces the agreement. But in poor areas like March 24, the trucks are slow to arrive, playing on the nerves of locals like Carmen Veliz. She says that in other areas nearby, there has been no water “for months.” Such exasperation drove hundreds of people onto the streets Sunday to beat pots and pans in a display of outrage in different parts of the capital. At least three people were injured in clashes with police and progovernment armed “colectivos” sent to tamp down the protests. “What is the government doing? Neither one thing nor the other,” says one woman. Referring equally to Maduro’s rival Guaido, she adds: “No one comes to help us...they are all useless.” (afp) trial in February, but appeals by his defence team over procedural matters saw his case put on hold until a judge last week ruled the trial should finally proceed. It was a relief for the government, as there had been mounting public anger about the delay in bringing Najib to justice. Najib’s mentor-turned-nemesis Mahathir, now 93 and in his second stint in office, has pledged to bring the younger man to justice and recoup the huge sums of cash stolen from 1MDB. The US Department of Justice,
International
Trump says ‘100%’ ready to shut down Mexico border
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is “100 percent” prepared to close down the US-Mexico border, warning Congress and Central American governments to take action to stem the flow of migrants into the country. Delays were already increasing at several key border crossings as Trump ratcheted up pressure on Democrats in Congress to toughen US laws against illegal immigrants, threatening to hurt the US economy in the name of border security. “It is a national emergency on the border,” Trump said. If Mexico does not stop migrants from transiting across its territory, and if Congress does not act, he said, “the border’s going to be closed, 100 percent.” “Sure it’s going to have a negative impact on the economy,” he said. “Security is more important to me than trade.” Trump said Democrats were blocking reforms for political reasons but could fix the problem “in 45 minutes.” He was not specific, but Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has asked Congress to give border officials the power to forcibly repatriate Central American illegal immigrants, including children who arrived alone, back to their countries. The threat to close the frontier, which handled some $612 billion worth of trade in 2018, sent shivers through the economy, and drew warnings from allies of the president. “Closing down the border would have potentially catastrophic economic impact on our country, and I would hope we would not be doing that sort of thing,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. McConnell’s call was backed by the Chamber of Commerce, which said in a statement that while it supported immigration reform, closing the border “would inflict severe economic harm on American families, workers, farmers and manufacturers across the United States.” - 100,000 migrants a month -
Despite Trump’s tough rhetoric,
which is investigating the controversy as money was allegedly laundered through the American financial system, believes $4.5 billion in total was looted from 1MDB. Malaysia has also charged Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs over the scandal, alleging the bank and its former employees stole billions of dollars from 1MDB. Goldman units and two exbankers are accused of misappropriating $2.7 billion, bribing officials and giving false statements in relation to bond issues they
Mexico’s foreign minister said he had spoken with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who had told him the border would not be shut. “Until today, the secretary of state of the United States and his team have told us: this is not the policy we are going to apply, closing points on the border,” Marcelo Ebrard said at a press conference. Ebrard added Mexico continued to maintain “a good dialogue” with US authorities and that normal border traffic was expected “as soon as possible.” Homeland Security officials meanwhile said they were preparing for the possibility of a shutdown of at least some border entry points as they divert staff to deal with the flood of migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, expected to hit nearly 100,000 a month. Officials said facilities for handling the migrants -- who for the moment cannot be sent back after they cross the border and request asylum -- are overtaxed and understaffed, creating hazardous conditions. “We are in a full blown emergency. The bottom line is all options are on the table right now,” a senior Homeland Security official, who declined to be named, told journalists Tuesday. “The volume of vulnerable populations that’s arriving is unsustainable... The humanitarian situation cannot be ignored and the security situation cannot be ignored.” Trump said Mexican officials had reacted to his threat to close the border last week by clamping down on the caravans of migrants fleeing poverty and violence in the three Central American countries. Mexico “made a big step over the past two days,” he said, adding that they would have to continue if they don’t want the border closed. He also defended his decision to cut off “hundreds of millions of dollars” in US aid to the three countries, accusing them of arranging the caravans of migrants. The three “don’t do anything for us,” he said. (afp)
arranged for the fund. The bank has vowed to fight the charges. While many of Najib’s suspected accomplices have been caught and charged in Malaysian courts, the alleged mastermind behind the 1MDB scandal, playboy financier Jho Low, is still at large. On Wednesday the Malaysian government said a luxury yacht allegedly bought by Low with $250 million of stolen 1MDB money will be sold for around half that price. The yacht was returned to Malaysia after being seized last year in Indonesia. (afp)
International
Thursday, April 4, 2019
INDONESIAN INDONESIAN
11
ELECTION 2019
JUNI KRISWANTO / AFP
Indonesian President Joko Widodo (C) delivers a speech during a visit in Sragen, Central Java on April 3, 2019. Widodo is running as a presidential candidate for the election taking place on April 17.
President presses for modernizing nation’s agricultural industry
SRAGEN - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has endeavored to drive the modernization of Indonesia’s agricultural industry to strike a fine balance between maintaining quality and swiftly catering to the nation’s demands alongside competing in the global market. “We currently live in a modern age. In my childhood days in village, after completing the harvesting, I would leave the crops out in the yard to dry out. We need to change this practice. Rice mills should be equipped with dryers,” the head of state remarked at the Farmers Association (Gapoktan), the Rice Milling and Rice Businessmen Society (Perpadi) here,
Wednesday. To this end, the president has decided to bridge the gap between Perpadi and banks in a bid to encourage the modernization of the country’s agricultural industry. “It has been a decades-long practice to dry out rice on the roads and in courtyards. We have to alter this practice,” he emphasized. Hence, the president has vowed
to fix a meeting of Gapoktan, Perpadi, the National Logistics Agency (Bulog), and the banks at the Presidential Palace following the election. “Hence, I will arrange a meeting with the banks after Apr 17, so that a bank loan can be readied for equipping these rice mills with dryers,” he remarked. Jokowi highlighted the importance of modernization for matters not restricted to rice but also corn. “The quality has deteriorated since it only goes through the sun-drying process and is not passed through dryers. We have followed this practice for several
years,” Jokowi pointed out. Once the agricultural industry is modernized, the quality of agricultural products can be maintained regardless of the weather conditions. The president also expressed optimism that all rice mills would have modern packaging equipment in addition to dryers. “The rice mill already has a packaging machine. It is crucial that the commodity comes packaged and ready for sale or individual consumption,” he noted. The president emphasized the importance of properly packaging this agricultural product as a brand
that can make the region prosperous and well-known. “Hence, all details will be jotted down in Sragen (a Central Java district). For instance, if there is a brand, what brand is given, from which sub-district, what brand, the brand will appear, Sragen will appear,” he explained. The president further added that in future, Indonesia will bear witness to global developments and change, occurring at a fast pace. “If we do not stay abreast, amend our old practices, and apply new patterns, we will lag behind other nations,” Jokowi added. (ant)
Indonesia, US announce new marine conservation zones in North Maluku
MOROTAI - Three new Marine Conservation Zones (KKP) in North Maluku were declared by Indonesia and the United States to commemorate seven decades of diplomatic relations between both nations, specifically in the marine and fishery sector. “Indonesia’s marine resources are the most unique in the world. When we mark the 70th anniver-
sary of our relations with Indonesia, we reflect on the success in partnership in the course of several decades, including protecting the biological diversity and improving Indonesia’s precious marine natural resources. The unified efforts remain crucial for sustainable earning, given our resources, and for the welfare of the current and future
generations,” US Ambassador to Indonesia Joseph R. Donovan Jr remarked during the declaration on Morotai Island District, here, Wednesday. Donovan Jr and Deputy Governor of North Maluku Muhammad Natsir Thoib and Morotai District Head Beny Laos declared the three new KKP, spanning 226 thousand
hectares, in North Maluku. The USAID and Indonesia’s Maritime Affairs and Fishery Ministry have cooperated for the implementation of the Sustained Ecosystems Advanced (SEA) project to boost fishery production and reinforce food resilience in the provinces of North Maluku, Maluku and West Papua.
Maritime Affairs and Fishery Minister Susi Pudjiastuti commended the decades-long cooperation between the governments of Indonesia and the United States. The minister affirmed that the cooperation has assisted Indonesia in bolstering efforts to safeguard marine biodiversity in various regions. (ant)
10
Destination
Thursday, April 4, 2019
International
Thursday, April 4, 2019
International
Sidemen Village
Rice Field Landscapes and Traditional Farming Village in East Bali AMLAPURA - Sidemen is one of those hidden-away Bali retreats that really is, well, just enchanting. A hidden gem in Northeast Bali, worth to explore its jaw-dropping green rice terraces. Sidemen Village is East Bali’s panoramic answer to the more famous Jatiluwih rice terraces in West Bali. Here you’ll find a rural countryside down the southern hillsides of Bali’s tallest mountain, Mount Agung. Swathes of paddies and plantations in the village’s countryside are tended by their respective farming communities. The village area is a main destination for day trips through the eastern region. It’s where you can find a ‘real Bali’ scene that offers both beautiful Bali rice paddy landscapes and interesting cultural highlights. It’s the quintessential rural image of people doing their washing in the river, farmers working in the fields and carts slowly rolling along the dusty tracks. On the horizon the majestic volcano beckons and we’ve got the stamina to can climb all the way to Pura Bukit Tegeh. From one to another village, even more views — very briefly catching
Gunung Agung through the clouds. Above the tree line, after passing the rice terraces the path will become quite stony, with you having to climb over large boulders and scree during the last quite demanding section of the trek. If you trek in Monsoon season, a good level of fitness and sturdy footwear might be a good advised. There’s also a temple at the
summit, Pura Bukit Tegeh, of a very steep set of stairs (moreless 350 steps) that offers tremendous views, a scenic river flowing through the valley floor and ample opportunity for both trekking (while other spots are more convenient, you can organise an ascent of Gunung Agung from Sidemen) and just more easy-going wanders
through the ricefields. Rice Fields and Crafts of Sidemen Village The scenic and traditional Sidemen Village is between the Klungkung and Besakih Temple route. It’s usually an included stop on sightseeing journeys to the East Bali region. From Ubud, it’s roughly a two-hour
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drive. The main highlights are its expanses of rice fields, with many available tours offering nature and paddy treks. These offer you an immersive experience, often traversing local plantations and crossing rivers. You can also enjoy a leisurely bicycle tour through the relatively downhill routes of the village (see above). Sidemen village is also known among Balinese locals as the top producer of traditional palm toddy called ‘tuak’. The product is also often further refined into ‘arak’ palm wine. Cottage industries producing the beverage are widespread throughout the village. A great souvenir to take home from Sidemen is the villagers’ traditional dye weavings. These are known as ‘songket’ and ‘endek’. The heritage textiles are praised for their intricate motifs and use of colourful handloomed cotton or silk threads. Silk items are naturally on the higher side of the price range. They sometimes reach up to IDR 2 million or USD 160 a length. Both the cloth and a large print of this picture-postcard rice paddy landscape can be perfect mementos of your time in Bali. (IBP/net)
ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / AFP
Mick Schumacher walks out of the garage after his first laps for Ferrari at the in-season test at the Sakhir circuit in the desert south of the Bahraini capital Manama, on April 2, 2019. The 20-year-old, son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, is making his debut for the team where his father won five of his titles.
Mick Schumacher makes Ferrari debut in Bahrain test
SAKHIR - Mick Schumacher followed in his famous father’s footsteps on Tuesday as he completed 56 laps at the wheel of a Ferrari during a Formula One testing session in Bahrain. The 20-year-old son of seventime world champion Michael Schumacher got his first full experience of driving an F1 car at the start of a two-day test at the Sakhir circuit. With his mother Corinna and
grandmother watching on, he posted a best lap of 1min 29.976sec -- a time second only to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen during a session cut short by rain. “I really enjoyed today. It felt like
home in the garage from the very first moment with a lot of people that know me since I was very young,” said Schumacher. “The SF90 (model) is incredible because of the power it has, but it is also smooth to drive, and that’s why I enjoyed myself so much.” Fernando Alonso was also among the 15 drivers who took part. The
Spaniard quit the sport at the end of last season but is carrying on for McLaren in an advisory role. Following his European Formula 3 title last year, Mick Schumacher made his Formula 2 debut on the same track at the weekend, finishing eighth and sixth in the two races. He joined the Ferrari Driver Academy in January, entering into
a partnership with the team that helped his father win five F1 championships. He is also due to have a run in an Alfa Romeo on Wednesday. Michael Schumacher suffered serious head injuries in a skiing accident in December 2013 and has remained in private care ever since the incident. (afp)
Westbrook becomes NBA’s second 20-20-20 man
LOS ANGELES - Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook posted an astonishing tripledouble of 20 points, 20 rebounds and 21 assists on Tuesday in another historic display of all-around excellence. Westbrook was already closing in on a third straight season averaging a triple-double -- achieving double digits in three key statistical categories in a game. In the 2016-17 season he set the record for most triple-doubles in a season with 42, averaging a tripledouble in that campaign and again last season.
With his performance on Tuesday in a 119-103 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, he joined NBA icon Wilt Chamberlain as the only other player in NBA history to post a triple-double of at least 20 points, 20 rebounds and 20 assists. Chamberlain did it in 1968, when he had 22 points, 25 rebounds and 21 assists in a game for the Philadelphia 76ers against Detroit. Westbrook dedicated his performance to slain rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was gunned down on Sunday in Los Angeles. “That wasn’t for me,” West-
brook told broadcaster TNT after the game. “That was for my bro. That’s for Nipsey -- 20 plus 20 plus 20 ... that’s for my bro, rest in peace Nipsey.” Playoff bound but losers of seven of their last 10, the Thunder can use every win they can get in the final week of the regular season. “Each game is important now,” Westbrook said. “I’m just thankful to be able to go out and compete at a high level. I’m thankful to have these teammates, thankful and humbled to be able to go out and play the game I love.” (afp)
Zach Beeker / NBAE / Getty Images / AFP
Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder speaks with Jason Terry after the game against the Los Angeles Lakers in which he joined NBA Legend Wilt Chamberlain as the 2nd player in NBA History to attain a record of 20/20/20 on April 2, 2019 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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Thursday, April 4, 2019
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Kean subject to racist abuse - Juve teammate says he incited crowd
Rising Italy star Moise Kean was targeted by racist abuse after he scored for Juventus on Tuesday -- but teammate Leonardo Bonucci blamed him for inciting the crowd at Cagliari. Goals from 19-year-old Kean and Bonucci gave Juve a 2-0 victory over Cagliari that took them closer to an eighth consecutive Serie A title. Kean slotted in his fourth goal in as many league games in the 85th minute after Bonucci nodded in the opener on 22 minutes in Sardinia. The youngster’s celebration after scoring, however, infuriated the home crowd who had jeered the teenager throughout after he was booked for diving in the first half. Kean, along with his French teammate Blaise Matuidi and Brazilian Alex Sandro, were targeted by monkey noises throughout the
match, but they increased in intensity after the second goal. The Juventus teenager celebrated with his hands outstretched in front of the Cagliari fans after scoring, taking to Instagram later to defend his actions as “the best way to respond to racism”. But Bonucci claimed that Kean should not have provoked the home supporters and said his teammate was partly to blame. “Kean knows that when he scores a goal, he should celebrate that with his teammates. He knows he could have done something differently too,” Bonucci told Sky Sport Italia. “There were racist jeers after
the goal, Blaise heard it and was angered. I think the blame is 5050, because Moise shouldn’t have done that and the Curva (Cagliari fans) should not have reacted that way. “We are professionals, we have to set the example and not provoke anyone.” Coach Massimiliano Allegri agreed Kean “shouldn’t have celebrated in that manner”. “He is a young man and he has to learn, but certain things from the crowd also shouldn’t be heard.” - Objects thrown -
Cagliari fans appeared to throw objects at Kean, and the match was
momentarily stopped and an appeal made over the stadium speakers. Former Paris Saint-Germain player Matuidi appeared furious at the jeers at the same stadium where he was targeted last season. The abuse came on the day that UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said he was “ashamed” by the recent outbreak of racist abuse and vowed to ask referees to stop matches in the future if racist chanting breaks out. Allegri called for the culprits to be identified and banned. “As usual, there are some idiots, but also normal people,” Allegri said. “We have cameras, we identify them and not oneyear ban or two, just give them a lifetime ban.
“We’ve got the technology, if the authorities want to they can identity them. The problem is, they don’t really want to.” Cagliari president Tommaso Giulini, however, blamed Kean for stirring up tensions and said criticism of his club’s supporters was “self-righteousness”. “If (Federico) Bernardeschi had done what Kean did, the reaction would have been the same,” said Giulini. “Nobody had heard anything up to that point. Kean made a mistake, he’s 19, that’s understandable,” he added, saying he “mostly heard whistles”. “There is a drift towards self-righteousness that I don’t like, this club has always been exemplary and has always denounced racist behaviour.” The win put Juventus back 18 points clear of second-placed Napoli, who travel to lowly Empoli on Wednesday, with only eight matches to play. The champions’ next game is at home against AC Milan, who were held 1-1 by Udinese. Juventus shrugged off the absence of star duo Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala, with Mario Mandzukic also out suffering from flu. Cagliari goalkeeper Alessio Cragno denied Kean twice before the teenager finally broke through, scoring from Rodrigo Bentancur’s pass. - Udinese dent Milan top-four hopes -
Marco BERTORELLO / AFP
Juventus’ Italian forward Moise Kean (L) and Cagliari’s Croatian defender Darijo Srna go for the ball during the Italian Serie A football march Cagliari vs Juventus on April 2, 2019 at the Sardignia Arena in Cagliari.
Kevin Lasagna grabbed a point for Udinese to further dent AC Milan’s Champions League ambitions. Polish striker Krzysztof Piatek managed to break through just before the interval after connecting with a Patrick Cutrone cross. But Italian international Lasagna pulled Udinese back level after finishing off a flowing counterattack on 65 minutes. The stalemate complicates the Champions League race for Gennaro Gattuso’s side who are targeting a return to the competition for the first time since the 2013-2014 season. They are fourth, in the final Champions League spot, but Lazio are four points behind with two games in hand ahead of their trip to struggling SPAL on Wednesday.(afp)
Paul ELLIS / AFP
Referee Mike Dean (C) waves away Manchester United’s English defender Ashley Young (R) after he sent Young off during the English Premier League football match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United at the Molineux stadium in Wolverhampton, central England on April 2, 2019.
Ten-man United crash at Wolves
Ashley Young’s needless dismissal and Chris Smalling’s farcical own goal sent Manchester United crashing to a damaging 2-1 defeat against Wolves on Tuesday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side blew a chance to move into third place in the Premier League as they squandered the lead in a disappointing display at Molineux. United remain fifth, but their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League via a top-four finish will be further dented if Tottenham and Chelsea win on Wednesday. It was a frustrating night for Solskjaer,
who saw United suffer a third defeat in their last four games -- underlining how much work the Norwegian still has in front of him following his appointment as permanent manager last week. Scott McTominay’s first goal for United was negated by Diogo Jota before the interval, but the game’s turning point proved to be a second yellow card collected by Young with just 57 minutes gone. United finally caved to Wolves’ pressure 20 minutes later, when Raul Jimenez rose above Phil Jones and headed a Joao Moutinho cross goalwards.
The awkward attempt saw Smalling and goalkeeper David de Gea become entangled, with the former making the final touch as the ball rolled over the line. McTominay’s memorable first ever goal in professional football had come after just 13 minutes and a solid, controlled start by Solskjaer’s team. A patient left-wing build-up ended with Jesse Lingard playing the ball centrally to Fred, with the Brazilian quickly moving it sideways to Scotland international McTominay. The 22-year-old unleashed a brilliant,
right-foot finish from 25 yards that beat the diving Rui Patricio and nestled in the far left-hand corner. It might have been an even healthier position a few moments later, but Romelu Lukaku impeded McTominay as his team-mate lined up another shot from similar range. But with Wolves’ defence looking curiously disorganised, there was still opportunity for Lukaku to chip in a dangerous centre for Lingard, whose closerange header was pawed away to safety by Patricio. (afp)
Neymar to resume training on Wednesday after injury
Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar will returning to training on Wednesday for “on-pitch tests” after two-and-ahalf months out with a foot injury, the club said on Tuesday. The world’s most expensive player has been sidelined since hobbling off during a French Cup win over Strasbourg on January 23, missing PSG’s Champions League last-16 defeat by Manchester United. “@Neymarjr’s recovery from injury is progressing well and he will return to training on Wednesday as scheduled for on-pitch tests,” PSG said on Twitter. “Club specialists will carry out a full medical and radiological assessment in two weeks’ time.” PSG were hoping Neymar would be healed enough to get back on the pitch in
time for a potential Champions League quarter-final later this month, but the French side suffered a humiliating exit as United sensationally overturned a 2-0 first-leg deficit. The 27-year-old may be targeting a return for a potential French Cup final on April 27, should PSG get past Nantes in the last four on Wednesday. Coach Thomas Tuchel said Tuesday that PSG will also be without Edinson Cavani, Angel Di Maria and Thomas Meunier against Nantes. (afp) Brazilian player Neymar, center, watches the friendly soccer match between Brazil and Panama at the Dragao stadium in Porto, Portugal, Saturday, March 23, 2019.
AP Photo/Luis Vieira
8
Thursday, April 4, 2019
Thursday, April 4, 2019
9
Kean subject to racist abuse - Juve teammate says he incited crowd
Rising Italy star Moise Kean was targeted by racist abuse after he scored for Juventus on Tuesday -- but teammate Leonardo Bonucci blamed him for inciting the crowd at Cagliari. Goals from 19-year-old Kean and Bonucci gave Juve a 2-0 victory over Cagliari that took them closer to an eighth consecutive Serie A title. Kean slotted in his fourth goal in as many league games in the 85th minute after Bonucci nodded in the opener on 22 minutes in Sardinia. The youngster’s celebration after scoring, however, infuriated the home crowd who had jeered the teenager throughout after he was booked for diving in the first half. Kean, along with his French teammate Blaise Matuidi and Brazilian Alex Sandro, were targeted by monkey noises throughout the
match, but they increased in intensity after the second goal. The Juventus teenager celebrated with his hands outstretched in front of the Cagliari fans after scoring, taking to Instagram later to defend his actions as “the best way to respond to racism”. But Bonucci claimed that Kean should not have provoked the home supporters and said his teammate was partly to blame. “Kean knows that when he scores a goal, he should celebrate that with his teammates. He knows he could have done something differently too,” Bonucci told Sky Sport Italia. “There were racist jeers after
the goal, Blaise heard it and was angered. I think the blame is 5050, because Moise shouldn’t have done that and the Curva (Cagliari fans) should not have reacted that way. “We are professionals, we have to set the example and not provoke anyone.” Coach Massimiliano Allegri agreed Kean “shouldn’t have celebrated in that manner”. “He is a young man and he has to learn, but certain things from the crowd also shouldn’t be heard.” - Objects thrown -
Cagliari fans appeared to throw objects at Kean, and the match was
momentarily stopped and an appeal made over the stadium speakers. Former Paris Saint-Germain player Matuidi appeared furious at the jeers at the same stadium where he was targeted last season. The abuse came on the day that UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said he was “ashamed” by the recent outbreak of racist abuse and vowed to ask referees to stop matches in the future if racist chanting breaks out. Allegri called for the culprits to be identified and banned. “As usual, there are some idiots, but also normal people,” Allegri said. “We have cameras, we identify them and not oneyear ban or two, just give them a lifetime ban.
“We’ve got the technology, if the authorities want to they can identity them. The problem is, they don’t really want to.” Cagliari president Tommaso Giulini, however, blamed Kean for stirring up tensions and said criticism of his club’s supporters was “self-righteousness”. “If (Federico) Bernardeschi had done what Kean did, the reaction would have been the same,” said Giulini. “Nobody had heard anything up to that point. Kean made a mistake, he’s 19, that’s understandable,” he added, saying he “mostly heard whistles”. “There is a drift towards self-righteousness that I don’t like, this club has always been exemplary and has always denounced racist behaviour.” The win put Juventus back 18 points clear of second-placed Napoli, who travel to lowly Empoli on Wednesday, with only eight matches to play. The champions’ next game is at home against AC Milan, who were held 1-1 by Udinese. Juventus shrugged off the absence of star duo Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala, with Mario Mandzukic also out suffering from flu. Cagliari goalkeeper Alessio Cragno denied Kean twice before the teenager finally broke through, scoring from Rodrigo Bentancur’s pass. - Udinese dent Milan top-four hopes -
Marco BERTORELLO / AFP
Juventus’ Italian forward Moise Kean (L) and Cagliari’s Croatian defender Darijo Srna go for the ball during the Italian Serie A football march Cagliari vs Juventus on April 2, 2019 at the Sardignia Arena in Cagliari.
Kevin Lasagna grabbed a point for Udinese to further dent AC Milan’s Champions League ambitions. Polish striker Krzysztof Piatek managed to break through just before the interval after connecting with a Patrick Cutrone cross. But Italian international Lasagna pulled Udinese back level after finishing off a flowing counterattack on 65 minutes. The stalemate complicates the Champions League race for Gennaro Gattuso’s side who are targeting a return to the competition for the first time since the 2013-2014 season. They are fourth, in the final Champions League spot, but Lazio are four points behind with two games in hand ahead of their trip to struggling SPAL on Wednesday.(afp)
Paul ELLIS / AFP
Referee Mike Dean (C) waves away Manchester United’s English defender Ashley Young (R) after he sent Young off during the English Premier League football match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United at the Molineux stadium in Wolverhampton, central England on April 2, 2019.
Ten-man United crash at Wolves
Ashley Young’s needless dismissal and Chris Smalling’s farcical own goal sent Manchester United crashing to a damaging 2-1 defeat against Wolves on Tuesday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side blew a chance to move into third place in the Premier League as they squandered the lead in a disappointing display at Molineux. United remain fifth, but their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League via a top-four finish will be further dented if Tottenham and Chelsea win on Wednesday. It was a frustrating night for Solskjaer,
who saw United suffer a third defeat in their last four games -- underlining how much work the Norwegian still has in front of him following his appointment as permanent manager last week. Scott McTominay’s first goal for United was negated by Diogo Jota before the interval, but the game’s turning point proved to be a second yellow card collected by Young with just 57 minutes gone. United finally caved to Wolves’ pressure 20 minutes later, when Raul Jimenez rose above Phil Jones and headed a Joao Moutinho cross goalwards.
The awkward attempt saw Smalling and goalkeeper David de Gea become entangled, with the former making the final touch as the ball rolled over the line. McTominay’s memorable first ever goal in professional football had come after just 13 minutes and a solid, controlled start by Solskjaer’s team. A patient left-wing build-up ended with Jesse Lingard playing the ball centrally to Fred, with the Brazilian quickly moving it sideways to Scotland international McTominay. The 22-year-old unleashed a brilliant,
right-foot finish from 25 yards that beat the diving Rui Patricio and nestled in the far left-hand corner. It might have been an even healthier position a few moments later, but Romelu Lukaku impeded McTominay as his team-mate lined up another shot from similar range. But with Wolves’ defence looking curiously disorganised, there was still opportunity for Lukaku to chip in a dangerous centre for Lingard, whose closerange header was pawed away to safety by Patricio. (afp)
Neymar to resume training on Wednesday after injury
Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar will returning to training on Wednesday for “on-pitch tests” after two-and-ahalf months out with a foot injury, the club said on Tuesday. The world’s most expensive player has been sidelined since hobbling off during a French Cup win over Strasbourg on January 23, missing PSG’s Champions League last-16 defeat by Manchester United. “@Neymarjr’s recovery from injury is progressing well and he will return to training on Wednesday as scheduled for on-pitch tests,” PSG said on Twitter. “Club specialists will carry out a full medical and radiological assessment in two weeks’ time.” PSG were hoping Neymar would be healed enough to get back on the pitch in
time for a potential Champions League quarter-final later this month, but the French side suffered a humiliating exit as United sensationally overturned a 2-0 first-leg deficit. The 27-year-old may be targeting a return for a potential French Cup final on April 27, should PSG get past Nantes in the last four on Wednesday. Coach Thomas Tuchel said Tuesday that PSG will also be without Edinson Cavani, Angel Di Maria and Thomas Meunier against Nantes. (afp) Brazilian player Neymar, center, watches the friendly soccer match between Brazil and Panama at the Dragao stadium in Porto, Portugal, Saturday, March 23, 2019.
AP Photo/Luis Vieira
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Destination
Thursday, April 4, 2019
International
Thursday, April 4, 2019
International
Sidemen Village
Rice Field Landscapes and Traditional Farming Village in East Bali AMLAPURA - Sidemen is one of those hidden-away Bali retreats that really is, well, just enchanting. A hidden gem in Northeast Bali, worth to explore its jaw-dropping green rice terraces. Sidemen Village is East Bali’s panoramic answer to the more famous Jatiluwih rice terraces in West Bali. Here you’ll find a rural countryside down the southern hillsides of Bali’s tallest mountain, Mount Agung. Swathes of paddies and plantations in the village’s countryside are tended by their respective farming communities. The village area is a main destination for day trips through the eastern region. It’s where you can find a ‘real Bali’ scene that offers both beautiful Bali rice paddy landscapes and interesting cultural highlights. It’s the quintessential rural image of people doing their washing in the river, farmers working in the fields and carts slowly rolling along the dusty tracks. On the horizon the majestic volcano beckons and we’ve got the stamina to can climb all the way to Pura Bukit Tegeh. From one to another village, even more views — very briefly catching
Gunung Agung through the clouds. Above the tree line, after passing the rice terraces the path will become quite stony, with you having to climb over large boulders and scree during the last quite demanding section of the trek. If you trek in Monsoon season, a good level of fitness and sturdy footwear might be a good advised. There’s also a temple at the
summit, Pura Bukit Tegeh, of a very steep set of stairs (moreless 350 steps) that offers tremendous views, a scenic river flowing through the valley floor and ample opportunity for both trekking (while other spots are more convenient, you can organise an ascent of Gunung Agung from Sidemen) and just more easy-going wanders
through the ricefields. Rice Fields and Crafts of Sidemen Village The scenic and traditional Sidemen Village is between the Klungkung and Besakih Temple route. It’s usually an included stop on sightseeing journeys to the East Bali region. From Ubud, it’s roughly a two-hour
Place Your Add Here
It is for Job Vacancy, Property, Selling or Buying Please contact Gugiek : 08123840500
drive. The main highlights are its expanses of rice fields, with many available tours offering nature and paddy treks. These offer you an immersive experience, often traversing local plantations and crossing rivers. You can also enjoy a leisurely bicycle tour through the relatively downhill routes of the village (see above). Sidemen village is also known among Balinese locals as the top producer of traditional palm toddy called ‘tuak’. The product is also often further refined into ‘arak’ palm wine. Cottage industries producing the beverage are widespread throughout the village. A great souvenir to take home from Sidemen is the villagers’ traditional dye weavings. These are known as ‘songket’ and ‘endek’. The heritage textiles are praised for their intricate motifs and use of colourful handloomed cotton or silk threads. Silk items are naturally on the higher side of the price range. They sometimes reach up to IDR 2 million or USD 160 a length. Both the cloth and a large print of this picture-postcard rice paddy landscape can be perfect mementos of your time in Bali. (IBP/net)
ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / AFP
Mick Schumacher walks out of the garage after his first laps for Ferrari at the in-season test at the Sakhir circuit in the desert south of the Bahraini capital Manama, on April 2, 2019. The 20-year-old, son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, is making his debut for the team where his father won five of his titles.
Mick Schumacher makes Ferrari debut in Bahrain test
SAKHIR - Mick Schumacher followed in his famous father’s footsteps on Tuesday as he completed 56 laps at the wheel of a Ferrari during a Formula One testing session in Bahrain. The 20-year-old son of seventime world champion Michael Schumacher got his first full experience of driving an F1 car at the start of a two-day test at the Sakhir circuit. With his mother Corinna and
grandmother watching on, he posted a best lap of 1min 29.976sec -- a time second only to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen during a session cut short by rain. “I really enjoyed today. It felt like
home in the garage from the very first moment with a lot of people that know me since I was very young,” said Schumacher. “The SF90 (model) is incredible because of the power it has, but it is also smooth to drive, and that’s why I enjoyed myself so much.” Fernando Alonso was also among the 15 drivers who took part. The
Spaniard quit the sport at the end of last season but is carrying on for McLaren in an advisory role. Following his European Formula 3 title last year, Mick Schumacher made his Formula 2 debut on the same track at the weekend, finishing eighth and sixth in the two races. He joined the Ferrari Driver Academy in January, entering into
a partnership with the team that helped his father win five F1 championships. He is also due to have a run in an Alfa Romeo on Wednesday. Michael Schumacher suffered serious head injuries in a skiing accident in December 2013 and has remained in private care ever since the incident. (afp)
Westbrook becomes NBA’s second 20-20-20 man
LOS ANGELES - Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook posted an astonishing tripledouble of 20 points, 20 rebounds and 21 assists on Tuesday in another historic display of all-around excellence. Westbrook was already closing in on a third straight season averaging a triple-double -- achieving double digits in three key statistical categories in a game. In the 2016-17 season he set the record for most triple-doubles in a season with 42, averaging a tripledouble in that campaign and again last season.
With his performance on Tuesday in a 119-103 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, he joined NBA icon Wilt Chamberlain as the only other player in NBA history to post a triple-double of at least 20 points, 20 rebounds and 20 assists. Chamberlain did it in 1968, when he had 22 points, 25 rebounds and 21 assists in a game for the Philadelphia 76ers against Detroit. Westbrook dedicated his performance to slain rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was gunned down on Sunday in Los Angeles. “That wasn’t for me,” West-
brook told broadcaster TNT after the game. “That was for my bro. That’s for Nipsey -- 20 plus 20 plus 20 ... that’s for my bro, rest in peace Nipsey.” Playoff bound but losers of seven of their last 10, the Thunder can use every win they can get in the final week of the regular season. “Each game is important now,” Westbrook said. “I’m just thankful to be able to go out and compete at a high level. I’m thankful to have these teammates, thankful and humbled to be able to go out and play the game I love.” (afp)
Zach Beeker / NBAE / Getty Images / AFP
Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder speaks with Jason Terry after the game against the Los Angeles Lakers in which he joined NBA Legend Wilt Chamberlain as the 2nd player in NBA History to attain a record of 20/20/20 on April 2, 2019 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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Thursday, April 4, 2019
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RLD
Rich and poor united in desperate quest for water in Venezuela
CARACAS - Crippling power blackouts are subjecting Venezuelans to a second phase of deprivation -- massive water shortages that make no distinction in income or social class, forcing rich and poor alike to wait in long lines for drinking water, while some hoist it from sewers to be able to flush their toilets. On the hill in the Caracas neighborhood of Petare -- the country’s largest slum home to more than half a million people -- hundreds of people line up day and night behind two wells. They carry anything that can hold water -- drums, cans, bottles, buckets. When their turn comes, they take as much as they can. The water is not drinkable, but it will allow them some dignity, to bathe or wash clothes. For the past month, repeated massive blackouts have plunged the country into darkness and disarray. As a result, electric water pumps have shut down, forcing a cut in water supplies.
“We are dry. We don’t have a single drop,” said Carmen Moncada, tipping over an empty drum. A little further on, in the district of El Valle, a crowd formed around a manhole, drawing up water for their toilets. President Nicolas Maduro has ordered electricity rationing for the next month in a bid to buy his engineers time to fix the problem, which he blames on opposition sabotage designed “to drive the country crazy.” The working day has officially been shortened to ease the strain on the grid and allow people to get home before dark. Schools that have been shut since March 26 are expected to reopen on Wednesday, however.
- ‘No water’ -
- Prohibitive price -
“We have no water, no electricity, the power cuts are terrible. Food is going bad,” says 78-year-old Ernestine Velasco as she recites a litany of deprivation in her modest house, located on an unpaved street in the March 24 district. “We are having a bad time. There is no transport, there’s nothing.” Lack of water is a chronic problem in this teeming corner of Caracas. Though the cost is minimal, the service is non-existent, Velasco says. “Thank God, we have this,” she adds, pointing to the two wells nearby, though “it’s chaos, it makes you want to run away.” Locals are waiting for the state water company to restore supplies. Even then, they expect it will only be for a few hours.
In a Caracas park where a water tanker is dispensing supplies, a lawyer from the upscale northern neighborhood of La Castellana arrives to buy the whole tanker-full for his apartment building. The driver of the 1969-era truck, which holds 2,100 gallons (8,000 liters) is quick to name his price: “For La Castellana, it’s $200.” Despite the prohibitive price -Venezuela’s minimum wage is just over $5 -- the lawyer doesn’t argue. “This is the price we have to pay to stay in Venezuela,” said the 42-year-old lawyer, who declined to give his name. He said he would have to collect the money from his remaining neighbors, a third of whom have joined the exodus of 2.7 million Venezuelans the United Na-
Malaysia ex-PM...
commenting, to cheers from his supporters waiting outside court. Far from being considered a pariah, the ex-leader has gained a following among members of the country’s Muslim majority as some are worried their long-held privileges are being eroded under the new government. He has become an unlikely social media phenomenon by attacking the new administration’s policies online.
From page 1
“Such privilege carries with it enormous responsibility. “The accused is not above the law,” he added. After the first witness, an official from the Companies Commission of Malaysia, gave largely technical evidence related to corporate records, the trial was adjourned. The judge set the next hearing for April 15, and trial dates until May 10. Najib left without
- Billions plundered -
He was initially due to stand
tions say have have left the country since the economic crisis began in 2015. One possible solution for the lawyer and his neighbors was to sink a well to tap the aquifer at nearby El Avila hill, but that would cost $20,000. Right now, the cheaper solution is the tanker. Every day, people fill up from streams running from the hill. William the driver gets his water at a spring in the city’s Eastern Park -- with government approval -- forming a line with other tanker drivers. In return, they must make three free trips on the government’s behalf to distribute water in various parts of the capital. The army enforces the agreement. But in poor areas like March 24, the trucks are slow to arrive, playing on the nerves of locals like Carmen Veliz. She says that in other areas nearby, there has been no water “for months.” Such exasperation drove hundreds of people onto the streets Sunday to beat pots and pans in a display of outrage in different parts of the capital. At least three people were injured in clashes with police and progovernment armed “colectivos” sent to tamp down the protests. “What is the government doing? Neither one thing nor the other,” says one woman. Referring equally to Maduro’s rival Guaido, she adds: “No one comes to help us...they are all useless.” (afp) trial in February, but appeals by his defence team over procedural matters saw his case put on hold until a judge last week ruled the trial should finally proceed. It was a relief for the government, as there had been mounting public anger about the delay in bringing Najib to justice. Najib’s mentor-turned-nemesis Mahathir, now 93 and in his second stint in office, has pledged to bring the younger man to justice and recoup the huge sums of cash stolen from 1MDB. The US Department of Justice,
International
Trump says ‘100%’ ready to shut down Mexico border
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is “100 percent” prepared to close down the US-Mexico border, warning Congress and Central American governments to take action to stem the flow of migrants into the country. Delays were already increasing at several key border crossings as Trump ratcheted up pressure on Democrats in Congress to toughen US laws against illegal immigrants, threatening to hurt the US economy in the name of border security. “It is a national emergency on the border,” Trump said. If Mexico does not stop migrants from transiting across its territory, and if Congress does not act, he said, “the border’s going to be closed, 100 percent.” “Sure it’s going to have a negative impact on the economy,” he said. “Security is more important to me than trade.” Trump said Democrats were blocking reforms for political reasons but could fix the problem “in 45 minutes.” He was not specific, but Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has asked Congress to give border officials the power to forcibly repatriate Central American illegal immigrants, including children who arrived alone, back to their countries. The threat to close the frontier, which handled some $612 billion worth of trade in 2018, sent shivers through the economy, and drew warnings from allies of the president. “Closing down the border would have potentially catastrophic economic impact on our country, and I would hope we would not be doing that sort of thing,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. McConnell’s call was backed by the Chamber of Commerce, which said in a statement that while it supported immigration reform, closing the border “would inflict severe economic harm on American families, workers, farmers and manufacturers across the United States.” - 100,000 migrants a month -
Despite Trump’s tough rhetoric,
which is investigating the controversy as money was allegedly laundered through the American financial system, believes $4.5 billion in total was looted from 1MDB. Malaysia has also charged Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs over the scandal, alleging the bank and its former employees stole billions of dollars from 1MDB. Goldman units and two exbankers are accused of misappropriating $2.7 billion, bribing officials and giving false statements in relation to bond issues they
Mexico’s foreign minister said he had spoken with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who had told him the border would not be shut. “Until today, the secretary of state of the United States and his team have told us: this is not the policy we are going to apply, closing points on the border,” Marcelo Ebrard said at a press conference. Ebrard added Mexico continued to maintain “a good dialogue” with US authorities and that normal border traffic was expected “as soon as possible.” Homeland Security officials meanwhile said they were preparing for the possibility of a shutdown of at least some border entry points as they divert staff to deal with the flood of migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, expected to hit nearly 100,000 a month. Officials said facilities for handling the migrants -- who for the moment cannot be sent back after they cross the border and request asylum -- are overtaxed and understaffed, creating hazardous conditions. “We are in a full blown emergency. The bottom line is all options are on the table right now,” a senior Homeland Security official, who declined to be named, told journalists Tuesday. “The volume of vulnerable populations that’s arriving is unsustainable... The humanitarian situation cannot be ignored and the security situation cannot be ignored.” Trump said Mexican officials had reacted to his threat to close the border last week by clamping down on the caravans of migrants fleeing poverty and violence in the three Central American countries. Mexico “made a big step over the past two days,” he said, adding that they would have to continue if they don’t want the border closed. He also defended his decision to cut off “hundreds of millions of dollars” in US aid to the three countries, accusing them of arranging the caravans of migrants. The three “don’t do anything for us,” he said. (afp)
arranged for the fund. The bank has vowed to fight the charges. While many of Najib’s suspected accomplices have been caught and charged in Malaysian courts, the alleged mastermind behind the 1MDB scandal, playboy financier Jho Low, is still at large. On Wednesday the Malaysian government said a luxury yacht allegedly bought by Low with $250 million of stolen 1MDB money will be sold for around half that price. The yacht was returned to Malaysia after being seized last year in Indonesia. (afp)
International
Thursday, April 4, 2019
INDONESIAN INDONESIAN
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ELECTION 2019
JUNI KRISWANTO / AFP
Indonesian President Joko Widodo (C) delivers a speech during a visit in Sragen, Central Java on April 3, 2019. Widodo is running as a presidential candidate for the election taking place on April 17.
President presses for modernizing nation’s agricultural industry
SRAGEN - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has endeavored to drive the modernization of Indonesia’s agricultural industry to strike a fine balance between maintaining quality and swiftly catering to the nation’s demands alongside competing in the global market. “We currently live in a modern age. In my childhood days in village, after completing the harvesting, I would leave the crops out in the yard to dry out. We need to change this practice. Rice mills should be equipped with dryers,” the head of state remarked at the Farmers Association (Gapoktan), the Rice Milling and Rice Businessmen Society (Perpadi) here,
Wednesday. To this end, the president has decided to bridge the gap between Perpadi and banks in a bid to encourage the modernization of the country’s agricultural industry. “It has been a decades-long practice to dry out rice on the roads and in courtyards. We have to alter this practice,” he emphasized. Hence, the president has vowed
to fix a meeting of Gapoktan, Perpadi, the National Logistics Agency (Bulog), and the banks at the Presidential Palace following the election. “Hence, I will arrange a meeting with the banks after Apr 17, so that a bank loan can be readied for equipping these rice mills with dryers,” he remarked. Jokowi highlighted the importance of modernization for matters not restricted to rice but also corn. “The quality has deteriorated since it only goes through the sun-drying process and is not passed through dryers. We have followed this practice for several
years,” Jokowi pointed out. Once the agricultural industry is modernized, the quality of agricultural products can be maintained regardless of the weather conditions. The president also expressed optimism that all rice mills would have modern packaging equipment in addition to dryers. “The rice mill already has a packaging machine. It is crucial that the commodity comes packaged and ready for sale or individual consumption,” he noted. The president emphasized the importance of properly packaging this agricultural product as a brand
that can make the region prosperous and well-known. “Hence, all details will be jotted down in Sragen (a Central Java district). For instance, if there is a brand, what brand is given, from which sub-district, what brand, the brand will appear, Sragen will appear,” he explained. The president further added that in future, Indonesia will bear witness to global developments and change, occurring at a fast pace. “If we do not stay abreast, amend our old practices, and apply new patterns, we will lag behind other nations,” Jokowi added. (ant)
Indonesia, US announce new marine conservation zones in North Maluku
MOROTAI - Three new Marine Conservation Zones (KKP) in North Maluku were declared by Indonesia and the United States to commemorate seven decades of diplomatic relations between both nations, specifically in the marine and fishery sector. “Indonesia’s marine resources are the most unique in the world. When we mark the 70th anniver-
sary of our relations with Indonesia, we reflect on the success in partnership in the course of several decades, including protecting the biological diversity and improving Indonesia’s precious marine natural resources. The unified efforts remain crucial for sustainable earning, given our resources, and for the welfare of the current and future
generations,” US Ambassador to Indonesia Joseph R. Donovan Jr remarked during the declaration on Morotai Island District, here, Wednesday. Donovan Jr and Deputy Governor of North Maluku Muhammad Natsir Thoib and Morotai District Head Beny Laos declared the three new KKP, spanning 226 thousand
hectares, in North Maluku. The USAID and Indonesia’s Maritime Affairs and Fishery Ministry have cooperated for the implementation of the Sustained Ecosystems Advanced (SEA) project to boost fishery production and reinforce food resilience in the provinces of North Maluku, Maluku and West Papua.
Maritime Affairs and Fishery Minister Susi Pudjiastuti commended the decades-long cooperation between the governments of Indonesia and the United States. The minister affirmed that the cooperation has assisted Indonesia in bolstering efforts to safeguard marine biodiversity in various regions. (ant)
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International
Thursday, April 4, 2019
International
BUSINESS Report: Asian economies lag as trade tensions drag on growth
BANGKOK - Trade tensions between China and the United States are putting a drag on economies in the region, with growth likely to continue to slow in the coming two years, the Asian Development Bank says in a report released Wednesday.
The Manila, Philippines-based regional lender’s latest economic outlook forecasts that growth in developing Asia will slow slightly to 5.7% this year and 5.6% in 2020. In 2017 growth was at 6.2%. “The main risk to the outlook is still the ongoing trade conflict, as heightened trade policy uncertainty can negatively affect investment and manufacturing activity,” it said. “A sharper slowdown in the advanced economies or the PRC (People’s Republic of China) is another risk.” The update comes as China and the U.S. prepare for another round of talks, this week in Washington, aimed at resolving their dispute over China’s industrial policies and acquisition of technology. After the dispute escalated in mid-2018, with both sides imposing billions of dollars’ worth of tariffs on each other’s products, world trade weakened, contracting nearly 2% in January from a year earlier, the report shows. It said the solid growth momentum in the first nine months of the year began to fade in the last quarter. Growth in industrial production also showed signs of weakness, the ADB report said. This is an added burden as the business cycle for major economies heads into a “negative trend,” said the ADB’s chief economist, Yasuyuki Sawada. “This global business cycle seems to create some impact on Asian economies,” he said in an interview. “It’s not only trade tensions.” Other reports show similar sluggishness in the region, which remains the main driver for world economic growth. The latest set of purchasing manager indexes showed slight improvements in exports in March from January-February for Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan
AP Photo
as well as China. “But other data suggest that growth in China could well weaken again in the near term,” Capital Economics said in a report. “As such, we think it is too soon to predict a turn in fortunes for the region’s manufacturing sectors.” The Asian Development Bank forecasts that growth in major economies will slip to 1.9% in 2019 and 1.6% in 2020 from 2.2% last year. The U.S. economy is forecast to expand at a 2.4% annual rate this year, slowing from 2.9% in 2018, and to decelerate to 1.9% growth in 2020. Japan’s growth will remain flat at 0.8% this year, it estimates, and fall to 0.6% next year. The bank expects growth in the area using the euro to fall to 1.5%
in 2019 and 2020 from 1.8% in 2018. On the positive side, inflation should remain manageable and domestic demand in many economies in Southeast and South Asia is vibrant, the Asian Development Bank said. That’s less true of East Asia, where consumers have grown more cautious about spending: auto sales in China, for example, have plunged in recent months in one of the biggest reversals of sentiment. Developing countries in Asia are seeing an uptick in investment from many parts of the world, especially China, it noted. China’s foreign direct investment in new projects such as renewable energy, textile factories and property in the region nearly tripled, while invest-
ment by the U.S. jumped by nearly three-quarters. While much of the ADB’s report focused on trade and investment, the bank urged governments across the region to devote more resources to cultivating resilience and taking measures to help prevent or mitigate natural disasters. The report noted that 84% of the 206 million people affected by natural disasters each year in 2000-2018 lived in developing Asian economies. More than half of the 60,000 deaths from such catastrophes each year were in this region, which suffers a large share of extreme weather events and earthquakes. The report says that a large share of the $1.7 trillion in annual invest-
ments in infrastructure needed over the coming decade should go to reducing risks from such disasters. One area of concern is insurance. “Almost all direct damage is not covered by insurance,” Sawada said. Another area that could yield strong results is in weather forecasting and warnings in the AsiaPacific, home to four of every five people affected by storms and other disasters. While earthquakes and tsunamis are virtually impossible to predict, when it comes to extreme weather, “there is room for constructing mechanisms and building up early warning systems,” Sawada said. “There is huge potential.” (ap)
Thursday, April 4, 2019
5
Aci Tabuh Rah Pengangon, A Unique Tradition to Invoke Fertility at Kapal Village
Bleganjur gamelan music was played. Hundreds of villagers then threw tipat (rice bag) bantal (pillowlike cake) each other. Although, they seemed to mutually reciprocate, between the two camps (people in the north and south) did not keep any revenge. Their throw was not focused on particular person, but to the air above the opposite camp. Although this looked like a war, they cheered each other due to excitement. It is the atmosphere of the Aci Tabuh Rah Pengangon ritual or often known as the Siat Tipat Bantal at Kapal customary village, Mengwi, Badung district, Thursday (Oct. 5). Hundreds of Kapal customary villagers were involved in the Aci Tabuh Rah Pengangon. In addition to the community, this unique tradition was also attended by the Regional Secretary of Badung district, Wayan Adi Arnawa. The ritual was followed by all Kapal customary villagers. All the villagers were then divided into two camps, namely the northern camp and southern camp. At first, the two camps held a ceremony in the temple and were then resumed with worship at the outermost courtyard of the Desa/Puseh temple of Kapal. Thousands of tipat and bantal were prepared by the temple apparatus. After dividing them, they were thrown each other like a war accompanied with bleganjur gamelan music. Chief of Kapal customary village, Ketut Sudarsana, said that Aci Tabuh Rah Pengangon formerly known as perang tipat (tipat war) is an annual ritual having been carried out for generations at Kapal customary village. This tradition is then preserved, so that it is always carried out by the Kapal customary village. “This activity aims to invoke prosperity for all customary villagers of Kapal,” he said. Aci Tabuh Rah Pengangon has the meaning of offerings or an expression of gratitude
In this Saturday, March 30, 2019, photo, workers assemble LED lights at a factory in Yushan county in central China’s Jiangxi province. Trade tensions between China and the United States are putting a drag on economies in the region, with growth likely to continue to slow in the coming two years, the Asian Development Bank says in a report released Wednesday, April 3, 2019.
Bali News
before God in his manifestation as Lord Shiva. Aci means ‘offering,’ Tabuh means ‘echoing,’ Rah means ‘power’ and Pengangon is another name of Lord Shiva. “Mutual throw of tipat and bantal is aimed to bring together the symbol of pradhana (female) and purusha (male), resulting in fertility,” he explained. Ketut Sudarsana asserted that Aci Tabuh Rah Pengangon is held by customary village because all the villages participated to enjoy the welfare. It is bringing together the tipat as symbol of ocean, pradhana (female) and bantal as symbol of mountain, purusha (male). Uniting the ocean and mountain is believed to be able to create life. “Two differ-
ent things will present a life that can produce a good life,” he said. Tipat and bantal thrown are not to target the opponent’s body but to make them both merge in the air and then fall to the ground. This symbolizes the rendezvous of purusha and pradhana which then produces a seed of life. Remnants of the scattered tipat and bantal are the collected again. Those remaining intact are distributed back to residents for consumption, while the infeasible ones are distributed to residents to be scattered in paddy fields and used as animal feed. It is meant to invoke a good life seed for residents, animals and plants. Sudarsana explained the tradition was
started to be implemented in 1339. It marked the arrival of prime minister of Singasari dynasty in Bali, namely Ki Kebo Waruya. He received a mandate from the Balinese King named Asta Sura Ratna Bumi Banten to renovate the Purusada Temple at Kapal village. When arriving at Kapal, his heart was touched when seeing the condition of local village experiencing famine season. Seeing such condition, he then invoked to deity abiding at Purusada Temple in order to bestow his graces. After applying for it, he was given instructions to perform the aci or ritual dedicated to Lord Shiva by means of tipat and bantal followed by all the Kapal customary villagers. (kmb)
Candi Tebing Tegallinggah, Glory Traces of Past Community Suppose the Dutch archaeologist did not do excavation in the Tegallinggah area, Bedulu, Blahbatuh sub-district, Gianyar, of course we will not enjoy its beauty these days. Well, this archaeologist from Tulip country, Kisjman, conducted an investigation by digging in a small building located in the cliff of Pakerisan River. The building is carved on a cliff wall and only considered as an entrance gate by the local community. However, from the excavation it is known there are stairs leading up inside. On each of the cliffs separated by the river, a complete temple is found with several different niches. The right gate has a larger shape. But unfortunately, nowadays the gate is only in ruins. Two temples
seem to have been carved on a courtyard behind the gate, while the left arch has a half-finished monastery. Construction of the monastery is estimated to have not been completed because of an earthquake it had to be stopped. Seven niches with three phalli were also found in the temple. The lingam depicts the three main deities in Hinduism known as trinity, namely Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. Meanwhile, the existing niche is estimated to be a place of hermitage in order to get closer to God. Until now, the Tegallinggah community considers this region to possess magical powers. Shower water in this place is taken advantage as holy water for religious ceremonies. Not infrequently, it is also used for drinking water. This
place is often visited by spiritual enthusiasts for yoga as very ideal for this purpose. Gianyar district government is seriously repairing this place, starting by building stairs to the cultural heritage estimated to be built in the eleventh century. Also there is a bridge that connects the right and left cliffs. Thus, this place is really worth visiting, not only by those who like history but also the millennial for taking selfie. From Denpasar, it’s around 45 minutes’ drive while from the tourist area of ??Ubud is around 25 minutes. The government also built a parking lot as well as a representative toilet. The cliff temple does indeed imply the greatness and nobility of the culture of the Balinese people of the past. (kmb)
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Bali News
Thursday, April 4, 2019
International
Thursday, April 4, 2019
International
13
Black, gay woman elected Chicago mayor in historic vote
AFP
IBP/kmb35
Many of the carving works created by local residents have been sent overseas.
White standstone carving of Singapadu goes international
GIANYAR - Singapadu village is now famous for its carvings. One of them is the white sandstone carving. Many of the carving works created by local residents have been sent overseas. I Made Parnawa, for instance, is now busy working on a large size white sandstone carvings that will later be sent to Saudi Arabia. This man from Banjar Silakarang, Singapadu Kaler, Sukawati, claimed to have received an order from Saudi Arabia. Unmitigatedly, the white carvings are of large size. To complete the order is estimated to take him around two months. “So far, the workmanship has only reached about 30 percent because
its size is quite large, namely 23 x 3 meters. We carve it here. It will be rearranged here before being delivered,” he explained some time ago. To work on the carving orders, he only employs two carvers, namely his colleagues from the same hamlet. He said the carving
motif to be delivered to Arabia is still a simple modification technique in the form of samblungan (floral style) or trees in water. He explained the jumbo-sized carving is an aquarium theme because most of the carvings features marine nuance. “In Arabia, it will be used to decorate house walls, villas and
hotels. In terms of carving style, it is very appropriate to be installed in a minimalist building. In addition, the quality of this white sandstone will be more durable if installed in hot region,” he concluded. He admitted the tree-style carving is not too difficult for minimalist buildings. But for Balinese carvings, he often encounters difficulties related to its complicated design. So for the cheapest carvings style, he sets the price at IDR 1,750,000 per meter, and the most
expensive is IDR 2,750,000 per meter. “The most difficult is the making of panel, and the wayang tradition motif is rather complicated. A wayang or puppet motif measuring 1x1 will take me up to two weeks,” he said. He admitted it is not the first overseas order. Previously, there were also several orders from overseas. “At the moment, our colleagues are still in Australia to install floral style carvings,” he said. (kmb35)
JBT returns to increase tariff of Bali Mandara Toll
Bali Mandara toll road
IBP/kmb
MANGUPURA - PT Jasa Marga Bali Tol (JBT) as the operator of the Bali Mandara toll road will return to adjust tariffs for vehicles passing on the toll road. This adjustment will be made in November 2019. According to Director of Jasamarga Bali Tol, Enkky Sasono, the tariff adjustment is a common thing to happen considering that in accordance with the schedule; tariff adjustments are usually made every 2 years. “According to the schedule, at the end of the year, in November, tariff adjustments will be made. As formulation, the adjustment will be made by referring to the regional inflation rate,” he said when met amid the signing of cooperation on toll road information in Kuta on Monday (Apr. 1). To implement it later, his manage-
ment is currently still waiting for the inflation data in Bali both from the regional government and from the Central Statistics Agency. He said the data will later be used as a reference for the regulator to calculate how many tariff adjustments to be applied on the Bali Mandara toll road. “We expect the inflation trend in Bali to rise, but in general the increase in inflation in Bali is relatively lower compared to the national one,” he said. Even though the tariff adjustments will be made, in terms of service, he also promised to continuously improve services for toll road users. The service meant is by providing traffic information on the toll road. Enkky said it is carried out in collaboration with one of the radio stations in Bali,
related to the updated information on the traffic situation on the toll road. With these efforts, the Bali Mandara toll road is expected to be more developed and customers can provide input to JBT in an effort to advance the toll road. He admitted that Bali Mandara toll road is indeed not too long so the traffic conditions are certainly different from the ones in Java. However, he admitted the information is surely still needed considering the Bali Mandara toll road is connected to public roads in three different regions. “In the future, we hope the information will link to the Bali Transportation Agency and Bali Police, so the information is more complete,” he hoped. (kmb23)
Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (C) attends an event in Bandar Seri Begawan on April 3, 2019. Brunei’s sultan called for Islamic teachings in the country to be strengthened as strict new sharia punishments, including death by stoning for gay sex and adultery, were due to come into force on April 3.
Brunei introduces stoning to death for gay sex, adultery
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN - Brunei on Wednesday introduced harsh new sharia laws, including death by stoning for adultery and gay sex, despite a storm of global criticism from politicians, celebrities and rights groups. The tough penal code in the tiny country on tropical Borneo island -- ruled by the all-powerful Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah -- fully came into force following years of delays. The laws, which also include amputation of hands and feet for thieves, make Brunei the first place in East or Southeast Asia to have a sharia penal code at the national level, joining several mostly Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia. Rape and robbery are also punishable by death under the code and many of the new laws, such as capital punishment for insulting the Prophet Mohammed, apply to nonMuslims as well as Muslims. The decision to push ahead with the punishments has sparked alarm around the world, with the United Nations labelling them “cruel and inhumane” and celebrities, led by actor George Clooney and pop star Elton John, calling for Bruneiowned hotels to be boycotted. In a public address to mark a special date in the Muslim calendar, the sultan called for stronger Islamic teachings but did not mention the
new penal code. “I want to see Islamic teachings in this country grow stronger,” he said in the nationally televised speech at a convention centre near the capital Bandar Seri Begawan. The sultan, who has been on the throne for over five decades, also insisted that Brunei was a “fair” country and the environment for visitors was “safe and harmonious”. Government officials later confirmed the laws had entered into force. - ‘Barbaric to the core’ The sharia laws have triggered worldwide condemnation, and Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, described the code as “barbaric to the core, imposing archaic punishments for acts that shouldn’t even be crimes”. The European Union said in a statement that some of the new punishments “amount to torture, acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”. They are particularly upsetting for the country’s small lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Before the new laws, sex between men was already illegal in Brunei and punishable with up to 10 years in jail. But the new code stipulates death by stoning as a punishment for sex between men, while women convicted of having sexual relations with other women face up to 40 strokes of the cane or a maximum 10-year jail term. A 33-year-old gay Bruneian man, who spoke anonymously, said the new laws were “unfair, cruel and should not happen”. “It really takes away my happiness and freedom to express myself, and depresses me so much,” he told AFP. Zulhelmi bin Mohamad, a transgender woman who fled Brunei last year and is seeking asylum in Canada, told AFP that the environment will be more terrifying for the country’s LGBT community, who were already leading “very secretive” lives. “Some worry a lot and would like to escape the country before they are found out not to be... heterosexual,” the 19-year-old said. (afp)
CHICAGO - Chicago on Tuesday became the biggest US city to elect a black woman its mayor, as voters put their faith in an openlygay political novice to tackle difficult problems of economic inequality and gun violence. Lori Lightfoot, a 56-year-old former federal prosecutor and practicing lawyer who has never before held elected office, won the Midwestern city’s mayoral race in a lopsided victory. She beat out Toni Preckwinkle, a career politician who is also black, by a wide margin of 74 to 26 percent with most ballots counted. “We were up against powerful interests,” Lightfoot said in a victory speech, with her wife and young daughter by her side. “Today, you did more than make history, you created a movement for change,” she told a cheering crowd. Lightfoot will become Chicago’s first openly gay mayor as well as the first African America woman to hold the post. Since 1837, Chicago voters have elected only one black mayor and one female mayor. Her ascendancy to the top of Chicago government was a stunning development in a city where insider deals and entrenched party politics held sway for decades. “It is a city-wide rejection of the Chicago political establishment at the mayoral level,” Evan McKenzie, political science professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago, told AFP. Preckwinkle, the chief executive of Cook County in which Chicago is located, has for decades held various local elected offices, which analysts said hurt her in an election in which voters were looking to shake up city hall. Among the top issues were high levels of gun violence that claims more lives than in other major American cities, and years of political corruption in the Democratic stronghold.
The initial field in the mayoral race consisted of 14 contenders, but Lightfoot managed an upset -- sidelining moderates and establishment figures by promising to clean up city government and reduce economic inequality. She and Preckwinkle were the final two left competing in Tuesday’s run-off election. - ‘New ideas’ Voters left little doubt they wanted the next mayor to tackle the major issues vexing the city of 2.7 million people -- including economic disparities and gun violence. “The message is that (voters) want new ideas and cleaner government,” McKenzie said. Community groups have for years complained about disparities in living conditions among the sprawling city’s diverse communities. Gun violence, fueled by gangs and the drug trade, plagues economicallydepressed neighborhoods in the South and West, which are majority African American. The downtown business district, and areas to the north and along the city’s famed lake shore, have enjoyed an economic boom even as more than 550 people were murdered last year alone. Reforming the police department, which has a sordid history of abusive tactics, and city hall, which is mired in a federal corruption probe of one of its members, were priorities for voters, McKenzie said. Lightfoot headed a panel investigating the city’s policing problems and held a number of appointed positions in city government. She has promised to increase affordable housing, fight homelessness and crime, and boost oversight of the police department. “We can and will finally put the interests of our people, all of our people, ahead of the interests of a powerful few,” Lightfoot said Tuesday night. (afp)
Kamil Krzaczynski / AFP
Chicago mayor elect Lori Lightfoot speaks during the election night party in Chicago, Illinois on April 2, 2019.
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Thursday, April 4, 2019
Health
International
Pregnant women who work night shifts have higher risk of miscarriage, study suggests
COPENHAGEN - Pregnant women who work at least two night shifts in one week may have a heightened risk of miscarriage the following week, a new study suggests. “Women working night shifts are exposed to light at night which disrupts their circadian rhythm and decreases the release of melatonin,” lead author Dr. Luise Molenberg Begtrup explained in an email. “Melatonin has been shown to be important in maintaining a successful pregnancy, possibly by preserving the function of the placenta.” To take a closer look at the possible impact of night shifts on pregnancy, Begtrup, a researcher in the department of occupational and environmental medicine at Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital in Copenhagen, and her colleagues analyzed pregnancy outcomes in 22,744 public service workers, most of whom were employed in Danish hospitals. The researchers matched these women with records from the Dan-
ish Medical Birth Register, which provided information on pregnancies that resulted in births, and the Danish National Patient Register, which yielded information on miscarriages. Among the 10,047 women in the study who had done some night shift work during weeks three through 21 of their pregnancies, there were 740 miscarriages. Among the 12,697 women who did no night shift work, there were 1,149 miscarriages, according to the report in Occupational & Environmental Medicine. After accounting for maternal age, body mass index, smoking, number of previous births, socioeconomic status and former miscarriages, Begtrup and her colleagues found that working two or more nights in a single week between weeks 8 and 22 was associated with a 32 percent increased risk
of miscarriage in the following week. The researchers also found that women who worked 26 or more night shifts between weeks 4 and 22 were more than twice as likely to miscarry as those who worked no nights — but this finding was based on just eight women. While the researchers have found an association, it’s not proof that night shift work causes miscarriage, said Dr. Zev Williams, chief of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “This was not a randomized trial,” Williams said. “With something like this, there are so many other confounders.” In other words, there are many other factors that the night shift workers might have in common that the study did not account for. “This kind of data is not strong enough for people to think they need to change their lifestyles,” Williams
IBP/net
Pregnant women who work at least two night shifts in one week may have a heightened risk of miscarriage the following week, a new study suggests. said. “My concern is that people who had a miscarriage are going to think: ‘Oh my gosh, because I worked this night shift, I lost my baby. We are already seeing so many people wracked with stress and guilt because they had a miscarriage.”
Even if it could be proven that night shifts did raise the risk of miscarriage, “in an individual case that risk is so small, ending night shifts would not have a major effect on reducing the rates of pregnancy loss,” Williams said. (net)
U.S. health officials alarmed by paralyzing illness in kids
VIRGINIA - One morning last fall, 4-year-old Joey Wilcox woke up with the left side of his face drooping. It was the first sign of an unfolding nightmare. Three days later, Joey was in a hospital intensive care unit, unable to move his arms or legs or sit up. Spinal taps and other tests failed to find a cause. Doctors worried he was about to lose the ability to breathe. “It’s devastating,” said his father, Jeremy Wilcox, of Herndon, Virginia. “Your healthy child can catch a cold — and then become paralyzed.” Joey, who survived but still suffers some of the effects, was one of 228 confirmed victims in the U.S. last year of acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, a rare, mysterious and sometimes deadly paralyzing illness that seems to ebb and flow on an every-other-year cycle and is beginning to alarm public health officials because it is striking more and more children. Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said it may bear similarities to polio, which smoldered among humans for centuries before it exploded into fearsome epidemics in the 19th and 20th centuries. Fauci, who published a report about the disease Tuesday in the journal mBio, said it is unlikely AFM will become as bad as polio, which struck tens of thousands of U.S. children annually before a vaccine became available in the 1950s. But he warned: “Don’t assume that it’s going to stay at a couple of hundred cases every other year.”
While other countries have reported cases, including Canada, France, Britain and Norway, the size and pattern of the U.S. outbreaks have been more pronounced. More than 550 Americans have been struck this decade. The oldest was 32. More than 90 percent were children, most around 4, 5 or 6 years old. Most had a cold-like illness and fever, seemed to get over it, then descended into paralysis. In some cases it started in small ways — for example, a thumb that suddenly wouldn’t move. Some went on to lose the ability to eat or draw breath. Many families say their children have regained at least some movement in affected limbs, but stories of complete recovery are unusual. Health officials cannot say how many recovered completely, partly or not at all, or how many have died, though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says deaths are rare. Scientists suspect the illness is being caused chiefly by a certain virus that was identified more than 55 years ago and may have mutated to become more dangerous. But they have yet to prove that. And while doctors have deployed a number of treatments singly or in combination — steroids, antiviral medications, antibiotics, a bloodcleansing process — the CDC says there is no clear evidence they work. Many parents say that when they first brought their child to the emergency room, they quickly realized to their horror that the doctors were at sea, too.
“Everyone is desperate for some magical thing,” said Rachel Scott, a Tomball, Texas, woman whose son Braden developed AFM in 2016 and has recovered somewhat after intensive physical therapy but still cannot move his right arm and has trouble swallowing and moving his neck. A growing number of experts agree that physical therapy makes a difference. “These kids can continue to recover very slowly, year over year. ... It’s driven by how much therapy they do,” said Dr. Benjamin Greenberg of UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, one of the nation’s foremost experts on the condition. Wilcox, Joey’s father, said his son made huge improvements that way. Joey can run and use his arms. Still, muscle tone is weak in his right leg and shoulder, and he still has left-side facial paralysis. “He can’t completely smile,” his dad said. Other stories are more tragic. Katie Bustamante’s son Alex developed AFM in 2016. The suburban Sacramento, California, mother realized something was wrong when she asked the boy, then 5, why he wasn’t eating his yogurt. Alex replied that his thumb had stopped working and he couldn’t hold his spoon. That morning was the start of 17 months of hospital stays, surgeries, therapy, and struggles with doctors and insurers to find a way to restore his ability to breathe. It ended one morning last May, when the Bustamantes woke up to find Alex had died. Government officials need to step
up, Bustamante said. “I want them to research it and find the cause, and I want them to find a way to prevent it,” she said. “This is growing. This shouldn’t be happening.” More and more experts feel certain the main culprit is an enterovirus called EV-D68, based on the way waves of AFM have coincided with spikes of respiratory illnesses caused by EVD-68. Enteroviruses are a large family of viruses, some of which, such as polio, can damage the central nervous system, while many others cause mild symptoms or none at all. In the U.S., doctors began reporting respiratory illnesses tied to EVD68 in 1987, though usually no more than a dozen in any given year. Then, in what may have been one of the first signs of the AFM waves to come, a 5-year-old boy in New Hampshire died in 2008 after developing neck tenderness and fever, then weakened arms and deadened legs. The boy had EVD-68, and in a report published in an obscure medical journal, researchers attributed his death to the virus. The first real burst of AFM cases hit in 2014, when 120 were confirmed, with the largest concentrations in California and Colorado. What ensued was an even-year, odd-year pattern: Cases dropped to 22 in 2015, jumped to 149 in 2016, and fell again, to 35 in 2017. Last year they reached 228, a number that may grow because scores of illnesses are still being investigated. In keeping with the cyclical pat-
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tern, just four cases have been confirmed this year so far. CDC officials consider an illness AFM based on scans and other evidence showing a certain kind of damage to the spinal cord. Proof of an enterovirus infection is not required for a case to be counted, mainly because such evidence has been hard to come by. So far, CDC investigators have been able to find evidence of enteroviruses in the spinal fluid of only four of 558 confirmed cases. Scientists are using more sensitive spinal-fluid tests in hopes of establishing the connection between AFM and EV-D68 more firmly. That, in turn, could spur more focused work on treatments and maybe even a vaccine. Meanwhile, Fauci’s agency has put out a call for researchers to apply for federal funds, and is tapping a University of Alabama-anchored network of pediatric research centers to work on the illness. The CDC is pledging a greater focus, too. Parents have accused the agency of doing little more than counting cases and have complained that when they tried to contact CDC, they encountered only automated phone trees and form responses. CDC officials have begun holding meetings and calls with families, set up a scientific task force and working to monitor cases more closely. Fauci suggested it would be a mistake to assume that surges will take place every other year forever. The next one “may be in 2019, for all we know,” he said. (net)
Thursday, April 4, 2019
3
Tourism village lacks of innovation
SEMARAPURA - The existence of tourism villages is quite mushrooming in Klungkung. In total, there are 18 tourism villages in accordance with the Regent Decree. Seeing the existence at this time, tourism villages are considered to have not made a positive contribution in developing Klungkung tourism. So far, tourism villages are still lacking in innovation to give attraction to tourist visits. The head of the Klungkung Tourism Office, Nengah Sukasta, recently stated the requirements of tourism villages must have potential, accommodation, tourism awareness groups, human resources as well as supporting facilities. He stressed the 18 tourism villages having been established had fulfilled the criteria set by the regional government. However, the criteria of each tourism village to attract tourist visits are unclear. “We have also repeatedly asked for periodic reports on their visits, but not all are able to comply with. The tourism villages we see developing are like the Paksebali and Kamasan, although they are not as expected,” said Sukasta. He observed the lack of periodic reports on the progress of the tourism village because of the possibility of irregular tourist visits and readiness of the tourism awareness group itself. Sukasta rejected to mention which tourism villages had minimal contribution and seemed not ready to bear the title of tourism village. However, the progress has become a separate note that there must be a restoration, so that the existence of tourism villages can contribute to tourism of the region. For example, the addition of tourist visits and option of tourist objects
that can be visited will have an impact on the empowerment of local communities with the development of tourism potential at respective village. Seeing such situation, he claimed that Tourism Office will not stand idly by. Coaching process continues to be provided. The concept of tourism village, according to him, is the village should be proactive in developing its potential. The problem of this tourism village is indeed different. Klungkung mainland seems difficult to develop its potential, but Nusa Penida shows first the potential and it is then sought by many people. Such a situation makes him often have to spend time to Nusa Penida every Saturday and Sunday to see the object directly, while doing coaching. “In Nusa Penida, the object is promoted by other people. As a result, many people are curious and finally come directly to Nusa Penida. The location is indeed beautiful, like the newest one, namely the Gamat Beach,” he said. For information, the local government sets a high target in the regionally generated revenue (PAD) of 2019 for tourism. Klungkung Tourism Office targets revenue to rise by more than 100 percent. This year, the target of regional revenue specifically for the Tourism Office reaches IDR 7,081,825,000. This amount significantly increases from the previous year only reaching IDR 3,052,259,000. With such revenue target, the Tourism Office also raises the target of tourist visits. This year, the number of tourist visit is targeted to reach 543,979 people from the target of 343,979 people. (kmb31)
IBP/olo
The garbage swept away by tidal seawater looks scattered around the shoreline so that it looks very dirty.
Drifting garbage fills in Gilimanuk Beach
NEGARA — Along the coast of Gilimanuk lately is filled with drifting garbage. The garbage swept away by tidal seawater looks scattered around the shoreline so that it looks very dirty. This condition was still seen on Monday afternoon (Apr. 1). The garbage previously drifting on the Bali Strait is now stranded on Gilimanuk Beach. Starting from Samiana Beach to Penginuman, Gilimanuk, the longitudinal garbage looks to cover the beach. Most of the garbage is plastic food and beverage wrap. In addition, many tree branches are also found among them. Due to the large amount of garbage, black sandy beach is not visible.
Unda river tourist area in Paksebali Village.
IBP/net
According to residents, the garbage is alleged to have come along with the tide last Sunday. A local resident revealed that he saw garbage scattered just on Monday afternoon. Previously, on Sunday morning, the beach was still clean. He told the garbage will be pull back by the waves if left unhandled. “When the high tides happen, there must be scattered garbage here,” said Lukito, one of the residents.
Some residents actually scavenge fortune from the drifting garbage. Usable goods and branches are taken advantage for firewood. The wood can be sold but must be dried out first. Residents collect the wood and put it on the beach right on the breakwater. “If we don’t use it at home, we can sell it,” said Ahmad, another resident. In addition, some other residents
also collected beverage bottle waste because they could be sold in junk. Hamlet chief of Penginuman, Mohammad Ikrom, stated the drifting garbage often occurs on Gilimanuk Beach. The latest garbage on Monday is alleged to just appear on Tuesday afternoon. When the tide is high, he said that along the coast of Gilimanuk will become a regular stranded area of the drifting garbage. (kmb26)
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Thursday, April 4, 2019
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Cagaan residents vivaciously do cleanup
Form a sanitation community, educate children to fight garbage
STRONG desire to create a clean and beautiful environment motivates a number of residents of Cagaan customary village, Pejeng Kangin, to carry out a continuous sanitation movement. They also formed the Get United to Clean up Cagaan (Batu Cadas) Community held every week to clean up local area from garbage, especially plastic. Self-reliantly, this community is also gradually arranging land by planting various ornamental plants. As seen on Sunday (Mar. 31), dozens of people of various ages worked together to clean up one
of the river points at Cagaan Kaja hamlet, Pejeng Kangin, Tampaksiring, Gianyar. Using makeshift
tools, they looked so eager to clean up garbage and wild plants hampering the river flow. Amassed garbage was then collected by children. After the area was clean, residents planted frangipani trees and other ornamental plants on the banks of the river. Coordinator of the Batu Cadas, Komang Purwantara, explained the activity is collaboration between the Batu Cadas community and
the Satya Winangun art studio of Cagaan Kaja. Members of the studio consisting of children were tasked to collect garbage and plastic waste. The plastic waste is then taken to the Satya Pertiwi Waste Bank at the local hamlet. The existence of the waste bank is responded positively by the local youth. Apart from mutual assistance activities to clean the environment, children are used to going
IBP/kmb
Dozens of people of various ages worked together to clean up one of the river points at Cagaan Kaja hamlet, Pejeng Kangin, Tampaksiring, Gianyar.
around collecting plastic waste. “Children of the art studio have a garbage bank. The plastic they bring there has a nominal value and will be made into savings. The waste bank has been running for a year,” he said. He explained that at the beginning of the establishment, the Batu Cadas community consisted of 30 people. After a number of activities, the number of members increased and now reaches 40 people posing the residents of Cagaan Kaja and Cagaan Kelod hamlet. They carry out cleanup and arrangement activities in stages. Tools, consumption and ornamental plants are donated by community members. So far, the cleanup activities are still targeting the river area. They want to make sure the river posing the source of irrigation can be free from waste, especially plastic. “But later the program will be expanded by targeting other regions such as temple environment. We do this slowly, while instilling the spirit of family and mutual cooperation,” he explained. Meanwhile, headman of Pejeng Kangin, Gede Purnadi Yoga, who participated in the activity, revealed the government cannot actually move on its own to create a clean and beautiful environment. On that account, the role and continuity of all components of society is needed. “This is a form of community participation really expected by the government,” he said. Particularly at Pejeng Kangin, the sanitation movement of the residents contributes greatly in realizing the tourism village. Moreover, the village government is improving by arranging a number of hidden tourism potentials, where one of which is the Gana waterfall. (ded)
Bringing along dozens of bullets, US tourist arrested MANGUPURA - US citizen with the initials DTS, 27, was arrested at the International Departure Terminal of Ngurah Rai Airport, Badung, last week (Mar. 31). DTS was found carrying 31 bullets and 2 magazines. Furthermore, this case is handled by the Ngurah Rai Airport Police Station. According to sources on Mon-
day (Apr. 1), DTS was a prospective passenger of the Garuda Indonesia GA-870 of Denpasar-Incheon route, South Korea. From South Korea he would fly to his home country. Upon arrival at Ngurah Rai International Departure Terminal, inspection of luggage was carried out by using an X-ray machine on
Sunday at 22:45. At that time, it was known if there was a suspicious object in his suitcase. Then, the airport officers conducted a manual inspection and found dozens of active ammunition and two magazines. Over the findings of the dangerous items, the officers then coordinated with Aviation Security (Avsec) as well as Custom and Excise Office
to conduct further checks. “The passenger concerned wants to go back to his home country with his girlfriend. Finally, their flight was postponed while the man was handed over to the police station,” said the source. Meanwhile, Chief of Ngurah Rai Police Station, Agung Raka Nugraha, when asked for his con-
firmation justified the case. His authority is currently still investigating. While in Bali, DTS vacationed with his girlfriend. “DTS claimed that the items (bullet and magazine) were brought from his home country. He is still being interrogated. They should comply with the laws in Indonesia,” he said. (kmb36)
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Restoring vitality with hydrotherapy at The Ritz-Carlton, Bali
An iconic design feature at The Ritz-Carlton, Bali, the Hydro Vital Pool is surrounded by lush foliage and takes its name from the Greek word for water and the Latin word for life to provide a unique and indulgent water healing experience. Pool Sessions are now available at 30 Minutes for IDR 288,000++, 60 Minutes for IDR 388,000++ and 90 Minutes for IDR 488,000++. “The benefits of hydrotherapy and its soothing effect on the mind and body have long been known and we are delighted to offer our guests this highly enjoyable and therapeutic form of water healing at the award-winning Ritz-Carlton Bali Spa”, says General Manager, Karim Tayach. The Ritz-Carlton, Bali Spa provides a blissful sanctuary for guests at one of the best hotels in Bali. Inspired by the transformative powers of the Indian Ocean, water has a key role to play both in deluxe spa rituals and exclusive spa ingredients that utilize the ocean’s bounty, such as pearls and seaweed. Nestled into lush tropical surrounds
deep within the spa complex, the Hydro-Vital Pool provides a unique and deeply restorative form of hydrotherapy with a range of jets and water features that massage the entire body. Benefits include improving blood circulation, stimulating the lymphatic system and flushing toxins. Gently heated, the pool has five different zones each targeting a different area of the body, starting with the Serenity Zone which features an air bubble bench to relax and stimulate the muscles in preparation for the circuit. The Reflex Zone has powerful air jets from below, aimed at energizing the feet, the vertical massage jets of the Rejuvenation Zone alleviate muscle tension, while the De-stress Zone waterfall shower focuses intense pressure on the upper back and shoulders. The aptly named Relaxation Zone completes the circuit with an underwater massage lounger that soothes and calms the whole body. A Hydro Vital Pool session can be enjoyed before or after a signature massage or spa ritual,
or experienced as a rejuvenating therapy on its own. Guests can complete the hydro circuit by themselves, or let a therapist guide them – should they have more specific health concerns. Fun Aqua Yoga classes are also offered in the Hydro Vital Pool on Wednesday afternoons, allowing participants to enjoy the benefits of gentle stretching free from the pull of gravity. Hydro Vital Pool prices include access to a Wet Lounge (his and hers), fitted with whirlpool, cold plunge pool, sauna and steam room. Those looking for a purely relaxing aquatic experience can enjoy a second pool within The Ritz-Carlton, Spa Bali. Fringed in tropical greenery, the Balinese Bathing Pool has been created as a tranquil oasis, a place to sooth the senses and float away all your cares. For more information and to reserve your treatment on the Hydro Vital Pool and other services at The Ritz-Carlton, Bali Spa, please contact rc.dpssw.spa@ritzcarlton. com or +(62)361 849 8988.
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Thursday, April 4, 2019
Mick Jagger to undergo heart surgery: report WASHINGTON - Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger will undergo surgery to replace a heart valve, with the band postponing the North American leg of a tour as a result, a report said Monday. The iconic British band had announced Saturday it was delaying the “No Filter” tour for the 75-yearold rocker to receive an unspecified medical treatment.Leading industry magazine Rolling Stone reported on Monday the cause was heart valve surgery, following an earlier report from Drudge Report, which added the procedure would take place this Friday in New York. “Mick Jagger has been advised by doctors that he cannot go on tour at this time as he needs medical treatment,” the band said in a statement after the postponement. “The doctors have advised Mick
that he is expected to make a complete recovery so that he can get back on stage as soon as possible.” Jagger himself tweeted: “I’m so sorry to all our fans in America & Canada with tickets. I really hate letting you down like this. “I’m devastated for having to postpone the tour but I will be working very hard to be back on stage as soon as I can. Once again, huge apologies to everyone.” Jagger has eight children, five grandchildren and a great-granddaughter, but has maintained his energetic stage performances well into his 70s, playing Britain’s Glastonbury Festival in 2013. The band, who formed in 1962, were due to play 17 shows in the US and Canada between April and June. (afp)
Thursday, April 4, 2019
Actress Michelle Williams
MANDEL NGAN / AFP
Actress Michelle Williams at US Capitol to push for pay equality
WASHINGTON - Hollywood actress Michelle Williams came to Congress Tuesday appealing for a vote on a law to close the gender pay gap, recalling how she was once paid dramatically less than a male colleague for similar work.
Anders WIKLUND / TT NEWS AGENCY / AFP
In this file photo taken on July 1, 2014 British singer and frontman of rock band The Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger performs during a concert in Stockholm.
Nominated for four Academy Awards during her career, the star of “Manchester By the Sea” and “Brokeback Mountain” learned that while she earned $1,000 in 2017 to reshoot scenes for the film “All the Money in the World,” her male costar Mark Wahlberg received $1.5 million “for the exact same amount of work.” The reshoots on the Ridley Scott film were done to remove appearances by Kevin Spacey, who had played a leading role and recently had been charged with sexual assault. “If it was like this for me, a white woman in a glamorized industry, how were my sisters suffering across their profession?” Williams said. The 38-year-old actress’s appearance at the US Capitol was organized by House Democrats to mark Equal Pay Day, meant to symbolize how far
into the year a woman must work to make what men earned in the previous year. “Today, American women still earn, on average, only 80 cents for every dollar earned by a man, while African-American women earn only 61 cents and Latinas earn only 53 cents for every dollar paid to men,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives last week passed the Paycheck Fairness Act aimed at ending gender-based pay discrimination, still a problem decades after the Equal Pay Act of 1963 passed into law. The new measures would prevent employers from asking prospective workers how much they made in previous jobs, and by barring companies from punishing women when they try to negotiate salaries.
No date has been set for a vote in the US Senate, which is controlled by Republicans. “The ball’s now in the Senate court,” Williams said. “This is the next critical moment, please don’t let it pass by.” The Williams/Wahlberg pay discrepancy made national headlines when actress Jessica Chastain revealed it on social media, and it gained traction amid the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment. Following the backlash, Wahlberg donated his $1.5 million earnings to a charity that addresses inequality and injustice in the workplace. Several Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls including senators Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders on Tuesday urged the Senate to follow the House’s lead and pass the pay equity legislation. (afp)
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Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, center, walks into a courtroom at Kuala Lumpur High Court in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, April 3, 2019. Najib appeared in court Wednesday for the start of his corruption trial, exactly 10 years after he was first elected to office only to suffer a spectacular defeat last year on allegations he pilfered millions of dollars from a state investment fund.
Malaysia ex-PM Najib goes on trial over 1MDB mega-scandal
Malaysia’s disgraced ex-leader Najib Razak pleaded not guilty to all charges against him as he went on trial Wednesday over a multi-billion-dollar fraud, almost a year after his shock election loss. The 65-year-old faced the first of several trials over his alleged involvement in the looting of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, a state investment vehicle established to develop the economy of the Southeast Asian nation.
The former premier and his cronies are accused of plundering billions of dollars from the fund and spending it on everything from high-end real estate to artworks and a luxury yacht. He had been tipped to win another term in office easily last year and extend his coalition’s six-decade stranglehold on power, only to be soundly defeated by his former boss, Mahathir Mohamad, who rode a wave of public anger over 1MDB to the premiership. In the months that followed, once-dormant investigations into the controversy were relaunched and Najib was hit with dozens of corruption charges linked to the plundering of the fund. A small crowd of supporters was waiting for Najib as he arrived at the Kuala Lumpur court ahead of his trial, and he prayed with them for a few minutes before entering the building to shouts of “Long Live Najib”.
- ‘Near absolute power’ Looking relaxed in the dock, he denied seven corruption and moneylaundering charges related to the alleged theft of 42 million ringgit ($10.3 million) from SRC International, a former 1MDB unit. It is just a fraction of the hundreds of millions of dollars that he allegedly stole. Opening the prosecution, Attorney-General Tommy Thomas told the High Court it was the “first trial in our courts against a former prime minister, who for nearly a decade occupied the most powerful office in the land and wielded near absolute power. Continued to page 6
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